We are nearing the end of another year.  Thus, it is an excellent time to look at how far you have come.  You may look back and see a lot of improvement over where you were last season.  On the other hand, you might find yourself in roughly the same situation.  Here at Develpreneur, we find that unacceptable.  Our goal is for everyone to live more and better each year.  The status quo is not good enough.  Let’s look at how to embrace these few weeks with a final push and set ourselves up for a great new year.

A Final Push Can Be a Huge Launchpad

When you look back at what has been dogging you for the year, it is usually easy to see the results of procrastination.  In this case, let’s look at the things we were “going to do.”  This list can include small things like cleaning a closet or backing up that server.  However, your list might consist of big tasks like learning a new language, writing a book, or launching a business.

I bring good news.  All of these goals are possible.  Well, maybe not completing them, but getting them underway.  Even better, ending the year with a big push energize you for the upcoming year.  Instead of worrying about resolutions in January you can be well on your way to accomplishing big goals.

Get Tactical

One of the problems with a New Year Resolution is that it includes the time frame of a whole year.  That is potentially a very long time.  Heck, we have all new professional sports champions nearly every year.  That’s a lot of blood, sweat, and tears expended during that period.  Rather than worry about a year, let’s focus on a few weeks.  That already sounds better, doesn’t it?  A year is too long; a few weeks is do-able.

When we look at a final push in a year, we get focused on small goals and a short amount of time.  For example, writing a book in a couple of weeks is tricky.  Writing a chapter sounds like a piece of cake in comparison.  Similarly, launching a business can be scary and overwhelming.  Creating a business plan in between parties and watching Holiday movies sounds better.  We might even see that as a change of pace from the hectic busyness Holidays often bring.

Make It Manageable

As an early gift to you, here are some big ideas you might have on your bucket list and quick hits to tackle in the next few weeks.  The goal for these is to keep the big goal in mind while working on the smaller part.  When you achieve the more modest goal (Yes I said “when” not “if”) then celebrate as if you met the larger goal.

Write A Book – Create an Outline and a First Chapter.  Leave the editing for next year unless you are feeling driven to do more.

Start a Podcast – Give your podcast a name, a theme, and create a list of your first 15 episodes.  What you will discuss, who you will interview, etc.  Start a blog page for the Podcast.  No Need to advertise or even publish anything just lay the groundwork.

Create a Product – Sketch out the idea, give it a name and list what will make it desirable to your customers.

Launch a Business – Create a Vision and Mission Statement.  What will your flagship product or service be? How will you be different from the competition?  Check out the competition and look at how they are inferior to your idea.

Start a Blog – Create a site either from scratch or through a service like BlueHost or WordPress.org. Start with a title page or something similar that describes the blog.  You can keep it to a paragraph or two.  Write your first three blog posts.  No need to publish them or tell anyone, just get the content down.

The first steps are often the hardest.  As you can see from the list above, we can use our final push to get those first steps under our belt.  If you have a big goal you would like to tackle in these last weeks that we have not mentioned, shoot us an email or use contact us on the site.  We will be glad to consider your situation and some significant first steps we can suggest to help you get into the new year with a sense of accomplishment and drive for more.

Rob Broadhead

Rob is a founder of, and frequent contributor to, Develpreneur. This includes the Building Better Developers podcast. He is also a lifetime learner as a developer, designer, and manager of software solutions. Rob is the founder of RB Consulting and has managed to author a book about his family experiences and a few about becoming a better developer. In his free time, he stays busy raising five children (although they have grown into adults). When he has a chance to breathe, he is on the ice playing hockey to relax or working on his ballroom dance skills.

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