Wind Down Or Wind Up?

Tomorrow is November 1. There are only two months left in 2012 and they are crammed full of diversions: a presidential election; football season; Thanksgiving; Christmas; New Year’s Eve. But looming only 61 days away are the challenges and opportunities of 2013. The question is: Are you going to “wind it down” or “wind it up” between now and year end? Will it make any difference? Oh, yes.

How you finish 2012 will have a big influence on what kind of year 2013 will be. You can wind down and enter 2013 with little momentum, or you can wind it up and enter 2013 with momentum. It’s your choice.

Here are a few suggestions:

At work:
     ◊ Stay focused and wound up on Monday through Friday, but shut it down on weekends.
     ◊ Make a list of 8 things that if done, would really jump start 2013. Get them all done (that’s one per week).
     ◊ Repair or refresh some working relationships. Spend 15 minutes per week with people you have been avoiding because of tension.

At home:
     ◊ On those shut-down weekends, spend time with your spouse and kids doing what they want to do. It’s okay to miss a football game.
     ◊ Free up weekend time by doing one errand every day on the way home from work.
     ◊ Do less. You do not have to win the neighborhood award for the best decorated house and you do not have to have 15 courses at holiday meals.
     ◊ Spend less. Don’t torture yourself the first three months of 2013 paying off 2012 bills.

Personally:
     ◊ To free up time, cut back the length of your workouts, but not the frequency. That way you will “maintain” but not slip back.
     ◊ Eat all you want on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but cut back on the days leading up to the turkey.
     ◊ Worship more. Thanksgiving is about gratitude and Christmas is about Jesus.
     ◊ Give more. You already have enough stuff.

If none of these suggestions are right for you, make your own list. It’s simple. Ask yourself: What will really make a difference in 2013 if I do it in November-December of 2012—or don’t do it? So wind it up, but not so tight it breaks. Then when January comes, you won’t dread it.

[If this post was interesting and useful to you, please forward it to a friend. Thanks.]

2 responses to “Wind Down Or Wind Up?”

Sandy "Greenie" Dewald says:

October 31, 2012 at 2:31 pm

Good stuff CDW! I needed to hear some of this. Halloween through Christmas is always a free fall, and I need to slow the momentum a little and remember the important stuff! Hope you and your girls are all well!

Reply
- Dick Wells says:
  
  November 1, 2012 at 7:42 pm
  
  Thanks, Greenie. We are all good. Busy, but gappily so.
  
  Reply