Dec 22, 2023 3 min read Friday at Five: Finish Your Week Well

Friday at Five: Goals

Happy Friday, friends!

I'm on the home stretch of the self-editing phase of my book, with over half the chapters edited!... Granted, in the editing process, I discovered another chapter that needed to be written. But no matter. We're going to get it done.

This year, the end of the year is all about wrapping up everything that has been on the back burner. That's at work and at home.

What's one thing you'll get done before the end of the year?

Send it to me. Let's hold each other to it.

Now, on to this week's Friday at Five to help us finish the week well:

💬 "Civilize the mind. Make savage the body." - Codie Sanchez

🤔 Funeral

I attended a funeral this week. While not exactly fun, they're always challenging. The presiding pastor made a statement that stuck with me: "In every community, there are people who live there, and there are pillars that the community is built on. She was a pillar of this community."

Powerful.

Here are a few notable things about this person that helped her have a huge impact that might be worth adopting:

Show up when someone needs help without being asked.
Encourage others, especially when they're facing adversity.
Create places where others feel welcome.
Stick around. Staying power is a superpower.
When tragedy strikes, move forward anyway.
Believe the best is ahead of you.

🍩 Do Something Fun

This is your friendly reminder to do something fun in the next seven days, but preferably sooner than later.

This week, I took my son to the donut shop. We always take a quarter for the gumball machine. It's awesome!

What's something you and your people enjoy doing? Do that. Soon. Like, could you make it happen today?

🎯 New Year Goals

As the year comes to a close, I have a consistent rhythm of evaluation and goal-setting birthed from several personal development programs. Here are the things I do:

Reflection

Review Last Year's Goals - What did I finish? What did I start? What did I write down and forget about?
Calculate Net Worth - I created a blank version of my own here if you want to calculate yours. Get it here.

Goal Setting

Set Life Stage Goals - Based on my core values and roles - these are 3-10 year goals. Some are just copied and pasted from last year, but a lot of times, I have to rewrite them. (Hint: You need to figure out your core values and roles before you can set meaningful and worthwhile goals.)
Set Next Year's Goals - Based on my life stage goals - these are aggressive 12-month goals.
Set Next Year's Calendar - Build a weekly calendar and monthly guide to complete next year's goals. Without this, my "goals" are just daydreams.
Goal Checklist - Print a goal checklist of all the goals that will stay in my work bag for the next 12 months. This keeps everything in front of me.
Build New Year's Tax Projections and Budgets
Review with Shelby - I want her to be fully onboard with where I'm trying to go over the next year, from the daily calendar to the yearly goals and beyond.

This has been an incredibly helpful exercise. If you've never done something like it, just try. See what changes.

🎄 Christmas

Christmas is awesome! And yet, it can be stressful. Here are a few things Shelby and I do to enjoy the season:

We only go to one place per day. Family is important, but so is rest. When possible, it's helpful to attend only one gathering per day. This is getting complicated with growing families, but it's worth it.

We attend church together. As a church staff, this is always complicated. But it's incredibly meaningful to make sure we attend a service together, reminding us of the reason behind all that we're doing.

We get our shopping done early. Usually. This year, we totally failed at that. I've already got it on my to-do list to pick things out in November before Black Friday. It's amazing how much fun the season is when you're not racing to the finish.

🤔 Funeral

🍩 Do Something Fun

🎯 New Year Goals

🎄 Christmas

Want to connect?