Let go

Dear Leader, it’s okay to let it go.

The last few weeks of the calendar year can feel like a race to the finish line. Perhaps you, like me, are realizing that some of those items you’d hoped to accomplish before the end of the calendar year actually aren’t going to get done after all.

✅ Maybe your priorities shifted mid-week.
✅ Maybe something unexpected came up that required your immediate attention.
✅ Maybe someone asked for your help, and you took time out of your day to partner and assist.

✅ Maybe your kids’ school had a midday event or an early dismissal.
✅ Maybe you had to run to 5 stores to find something you needed for your winter work party.
✅ Maybe you overslept this morning and missed your scheduled work block.

Whatever the reason, and whatever hasn’t gotten done, it’s okay to let it go.

You can rest assured that the finish line we see quickly approaching at the end of the calendar year is actually also 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚. 🏁

Instead of pressuring yourself to complete your entire to-do list by the end of 2024, you can consider your efforts now to be a jumpstart for 2025. In that way, you’re already ahead!

If something on your list feels overwhelming, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Here are some options for how to “let go” of the pressure of your current to-do list:

💡 𝟭. 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂. Take a task from your list and calendar a work block in January where you will begin it. Trust that Future You will bring to this task a renewed and refreshed energy, and leave a note in the work block with any special instructions you want to delegate.

💡 𝟮. 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲, 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲. If something feels too big to complete, break it down into smaller pieces and elect to do only one small piece of the larger whole before the year is out. Leave the rest for 2025.

💡 𝟯. 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗩𝗢𝗜𝗖𝗘. Say out loud to yourself that you have chosen a new, delayed timeline for your task. When you use your voice to say your choice out loud, it becomes more real. (It no longer lives just in your head). Bonus points if you voice your choice to someone else. The more you share the shift, the more concrete it becomes.

When we let go, we make space to take hold of something new.