A Guide to Finishing Strong in 2020

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It may be hard to believe, but we’ve still got about 30% of the year ahead of us.

Longest year ever? Maybe. But as we look down the barrel of these last few months, we can see things with clear eyes. It will be challenging. We still don’t have a vaccine. We aren’t gathering in large groups yet. Most offices are still closed. Kids are doing remote learning. The cold months will be hard. So given that we have clarity around our present reality, what will we do with this opportunity?

I really do believe it’s an opportunity.

I remember in January having some big plans and goals for the year. A lot of them had to be adjusted or abandoned altogether when the reality of what this year would look like set in.

But now we know what we’re dealing with. I wrote an article in April about “life after the pandemic” as if it would emerge in early summer. How quaint. Now I, along with the entire population, recognize the gravity of the pandemic and how this is a long haul catastrophe, not a 90-day event.

So in this new reality we're living in, what do you want to look back on and have accomplished in 2020?

We can’t compare pandemic and non-pandemic times. What does it mean to finish strong in the present reality of 2020? There are no surprises at this point (we don’t think!) so given the reality of the situation, how do you want to grow? What can you accomplish? By answering the questions below you can get clarity around what you want to prioritize so that in the future you can look back on these last months of 2020 and say “I lived it well.”

Ask Yourself These Questions to Finish Strong in 2020

  • What can I focus on and achieve in the strangest year in decades?

  • How can I make good habits easy and bad habits harder? 

  • What is worth my time during this last 30% of the year and what is not? What is worth the investment?

  • Looking back on the last eight months, what have I learned about the 80/20 rule in my life and work? Is there anything I can let go of that is taking up more space than it deserves? How can I simplify? 

  • What should I put greater attention and focus on? What will pay off? 

  • What patterns do I see emerging? 

  • What do I need to take into consideration as I make plans for these last months of the year? 

  • What do I want more of?

  • What do I want less of?

  • How can I extend grace to others and to myself?

  • What kind of tone would I like to set in my home and with those who I influence most?

There's 16 weeks left in the year. I read today a man said “any day spent above the ground is a day to be thankful for.” That’s a humbling perspective.

Our time here really is valuable. And there is value in the suffering we are experiencing. So I ask, what will you do with this gift of time?