Are you feeling the pressure to end the year on a high note, pushing yourself to the brink just because it's Q4? You're not alone—and I get it. But here's the thing: this frantic push to "finish strong" often leads to burnout, stress, and exhaustion. In this episode of Work Life Harmony, I’m breaking down why that year-end messaging isn't doing us any favors and how you can let go of it for good.

In this episode I cover: 

• The negative impact of “end the year strong” messaging and why it leads to burnout.
• How to maintain a steady state year-round with effective annual and quarterly planning.
• Strategies for avoiding the Q4 rush and prioritizing well-being during the holiday season.
• Why the “new year, new you” mindset sets people up for failure and how to break free from it.
• The importance of guilt-free rest and relaxation through mindful time management.

Listen to the episode here!

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FULL TRANSCRIPT:

[00:00:00] How many times have you seen the message out there right now, this time of year when we're in the Q4 frenzy of this, let's end the year strong. Well, guess what? I'm not ending the year strong and I strongly encourage you not to either.  

[00:00:16] Hey friends. Welcome back to Work Life Harmony. Before we kick things off, I'm going to kind of set the stage here for today. If you are looking for messaging, permission, validation, et cetera, to not Push to the end of the year, you're going to love this episode, right? This is for you at the time that this podcast is, you know, being aired, this is the time of year where we start to see all sorts of messaging out there around let's end the year strong, right? 

[00:00:50] Or dig deep and let's, you know, look back to what you didn't get done this year. And now's the time to make sure that when this year ends, you're not looking back with regret. I am here to tell you, I think that messaging is. terrible. And I think it continues, or I know it continues to cause this constant problem that leads to overwhelm, exhaustion, and burnout. 

[00:01:16] Now, if you happen to be watching the video version of this podcast, You will see I am not dressed today as a woman who is pushing hard, nor looking to quote, end the year strong. Today happens to be a day where I'm in my sweats and my baseball hat. I've planned for that and it is fantastic. So here is just some systemic problems with this you know, end the year strong messaging. 

[00:01:41] That I want you to really think about because it's subtle, but it will absolutely set you up to be in a terrible state by December 31st and January 1st. When you are in this mindset of end the year strong, all right, dig deep, let's catch up. The only time. that I hear that messaging where it's actually been a value to me is years ago I used to complete and kind of some endurance events around a marathon. 

[00:02:11] Once I used to do some long distance triathlons and it'd be that last, like last leg of the race. And people would be telling you like, come on and strong, like dig deep. You can do it. But And in that moment, it was very helpful because it was almost over, right? And I was exhausted already and it was the final push. 

[00:02:31] But here's what happens. You cross that finish line and it was like actual collapsing. All right. Now, if you're running a physical race and you're really trying to push yourself for that day, fine. But that is not a way to live our life, right? So if you're getting caught up in this, I need to end the year strong. 

[00:02:53] I need to dig deep. What you're actually doing is you're elevating, you know, those cortisol levels, you're getting anxious. You're mentally telling yourself, I got to do more, more, more right. That awful old school definition of productivity where we're defining our worth by our output. You're pushing yourself really hard and then you're going to collapse at the end of the year, right? 

[00:03:17] And what it's also subtly implying is you haven't been doing enough all year long, right? Because if you had been doing enough all year long, then there wouldn't be this need to dig deep and finish the year strong. So this is why I am choosing not to end the year strong. I'm ending the year in a steady state. 

[00:03:42] My goal every year is to end the year in the same steady state that I started it. Now, layered into you know, this timing of year, let's face it, we're rolling into what is traditionally already a very stressful time, especially for women as we roll into the holiday season, right? And if you've got kids at home, this could be exam time for them. 

[00:04:06] They're going to have, you know, fall breaks and winter breaks and all of that. So members of your family might already be feeling some stress. You've got the, you know, all the holidays, vacations, et cetera, coming. And now we're supposed to layer in this, let's end the year strong. It's no wonder why women that I work with will very vulnerably say to me, like, I'm starting to hate the holidays every year. 

[00:04:32] And this is why, right? Because we continue to just put unnecessary stress. Now here's, here's the double edged sword with this. So we're pining, you know, pounding in this message of end the year strong, right? So now we're all running to January 1st and collapsing on the finish line, exhausted from digging deep for all Q4. 

[00:04:52] And then what smacks us in the face on January 1st, new year, new you. Right. And then all this messaging of apparently we weren't good enough last year, so let's get better this year. It's like, when, when do we ever just get to rest or be, or just have this steady state of living? All right. And you know that I'm always going to tie this into planning, but friends, this is the secret to having that. 

[00:05:21] So instead of going through these pushes and these sprints and collapsing and then rebuilding, We can embrace learning how to create both long term plans, such as annual planning, quarterly planning, really good goal planning, that support you. in a steady state all year long, and then learning how to master the more tactical side of planning, the weekly and the monthly planning that prevent you from getting overbooked and overscheduled so that you can maintain that steady state all year long. 

[00:06:05] Because friends, when, when you have Control over your calendar, control over your time. When you know how to create plans that support traditionally high stress times of the season and prevent you from taking on too much. Then what gets to happen is when Q4 hits. It's really no different than any other. 

[00:06:32] It's different in the terms of the activities that I'm doing. It's different for me in the terms that I'm hyper focused on making sure I do not get caught up in the hype of end of the year pushes. Right? So yes, my activities look very different, but the fact is for me, like by the time December rolls around, I will be doing very little. 

[00:06:55] I will actually be doing less and less will be the complete opposite of ending the year strong from October, November, and December so that my last couple weeks of the year will be filled with rest, relaxation, family time, things like that. And here's the most important part. It's done guilt free because. 

[00:07:21] We have got to learn how to plan for this and take control of our time and our calendars to support it. Now will I still be working on some projects in Q4? Yes. That was part of my plan. It was part of my Q4 plan that tied right back into my annual plan. But again, it's in a very steady state process. 

[00:07:41] This isn't a, I'm cramming to make up for the things that didn't get done earlier in the year. Now, I'll also be very honest and tell you, I already know that one of the goals that I'd set for myself this year is not going to be completed by the end of the year. Now I could choose to quote end the year strong and push and get it done, but I will do so at the sacrifice of my health, both mental, both physical my happiness, my rest, all of that. 

[00:08:11] I would rather instead say, Nope, I'll finish that in Q1 of 2025. and be able to end the year in a steady state than to kill myself in order to get there. Because when I look around, who wins in that, who wins in that state? Nobody does, right? I'm unhappy, which usually means the people that I love most aren't having a really great time because I'm not my best self. 

[00:08:35] And all for what? Because somehow we get caught up in this end of year hype just because the year is changing another number, just because we're going from 2024 to 2025 doesn't make the accomplishment of completing the goal any less than if it maybe is done eight weeks later than what I thought when I was planning out my 2024. 

[00:09:00] All right. So if you are finding yourselves getting caught up. In, you know, the hype, the anxiety, et cetera, of this end of year frenzy. This is me telling you, don't do that to yourself because you're going to end up in a state of exhaustion. I mean, we've all seen those images of athletes, right? That are collapsing across the finish line. 

[00:09:25] Ask yourself, is that how you want to start 2025? Do you want to start exhausted and tapped out then to only feel like now some, somehow you need to create some quote new you because it's a new year. I know I don't. I would like how I end the year to have the same energy, health, wellness, et cetera, as when I start the next year. 

[00:09:52] So this is kind of what I mean by this steady state. So I hope that you will join me in saying we are not going to finish the year strong. There is no need. to dig deep in order to get through this Q4 season here together. And then we can all arrive together on January 1st in a place of contentment and steady state. 

[00:10:20] Happy planning, everyone.