We break from our regularly scheduled programming for a public service announcement: January 1, 2021 will be here in exactly six weeks.
In the meantime, we have 2020. What are you going to do with 2020’s remaining weeks? Whether you are currently employed, in a job search, or none of the above, these six weeks can be a focused time to energize and bear down on a handful of goals that will be big wins for you.
2020 is the bad guy of years, the evil villain. The internet is littered with tweets cussing out the year, products that give it the finger, and even Christmas ornaments that call out its dastardly deeds. In a year of a worldwide pandemic and all the bad feels—from huge heartache right down to bothersome irritation—it’s tempting to give up on 2020. But 2020 has six weeks left, and for many of us it’s possible to turn those six weeks into a sprint over the finish line, arms raised in triumph. To kick 2020’s butt.
Traditionally, the period between now and New Year’s brings a business slowdown. People take time off, so meetings are harder to schedule and deals tougher to close. Budgets may be depleted, so new projects aren’t initiated. For those in job search, the slowdown also occurs in hiring. December averages 26% fewer new hires than the typical month.
Being 2020 and all, this year we can expect an extra layer of darkness during the holiday period. The pandemic is predicted to become even more deadly and more crippling to businesses. And in the U.S., the political drama shows no sign of abating, remaining a major distraction.
The opportunity is to take full advantage of the quieting. There is nothing you can do about the seasonal slowdown, nor the pandemic or politics, but you can make the six weeks a time of productivity for yourself. Wouldn’t it feel great to begin the new year with a feeling you finally won back your power from 2020?
Think of it like a design sprint, a practice widely applied in tech. This type of sprint is a specific and short period of time when a team focuses on solving a single problem or completing a project.
What will you focus on for your sprint? Some ideas:
- You could use the season to make concerted efforts to strengthen your connections—both with colleagues for networking but also old friends or relatives just for fun.
- You could organize the area of your life that would really help you hit the ground running in 2021. What are the tasks you normally don’t have the time or focus for? If you’re in job search mode, maybe that means revising your LinkedIn profile. Or having a photographically inclined friend take your updated profile photo with their new iPhone.
- You could focus on special family time—starting a new holiday tradition or starting a project together that you’ve put off.
- You could get involved in a volunteer project to help your community, such as Meals on Wheels delivery or election issues.
My own sprint plans include a big push to finish a book I’ve been working on, creating a series of “legacy” videos for my kids, and instituting a new weekly family game night. An essential part of the plan is to remove the daily distractions of the news and social media.
You have a choice. You can continue to curse 2020 and have the non-goal of riding its last weeks out, hoping for a magical return to happy times on January 1. Or you can be your best self, rise up, and use the time as fuel to really accomplish something.
For your “win back 2020” sprint, you have a finish line clearly painted—January 1, 2021. Now, go!
PSA complete. 🙂