Giving Compass' Take:

• Consultant Kris Putnam-Walkerly gives some tips on how to focus in the year's final months in order to hit whatever goals you have in your philanthropy mission.

• No matter how organized you are, it's always a helpful reminder to eliminate distractions and narrow targets. How can you deliver on the things you really want to accomplish?

• Here's another thing that will help everyone meet their goals: working in a group.

There are fewer than 65 working days left until the end of the year, depending on how many holidays you celebrate. Even fewer if, like me, you take the last half of December off. The great news is that there is still plenty of time to meet your year-end goals!

Here’s what to do:

  1. Identify the ONE thing you must accomplish before the end of the year. One. Write it down, and focus your attention on reaching that one goal. Create a game plan with a timeline, and block out time in your calendar daily or weekly to accomplish it.
  2. Remove unnecessary distractions and dramatically streamline your work. Look at your calendar for the next four months and identify all the time suckers. Dramatically reduce or eliminate them.
  3. Get help. Delegate what you can. I once made a list of everything I was doing in my consulting work, and divided into 3 categories: things that bring me joy/give me energy, things I hate to do, and things I can do but could easily be delegated. It was illuminating.

These tips will not only help you finish out this year without added stress, but also make it less stressful and more productive. Just remember to breathe, stay focused, and see how much you can accomplish!

Read the full article about meeting end-of-the-year goals by Kris Putnam-Walkerly at Putnam Consulting Group.