Summer is fast approaching, and while you might be dreaming of sunny beaches and lazy summer days, you might also feel anxious about the progress you have not yet made during the first half of the year.
Wasn’t it just January when you were making plans to change the world? And here we are days away from June 1st. How much progress have you made in your personal and professional goals? If you are like many of us, not as much as you hoped. Yikes!
With the busyness of summer — family vacations, packing the kids up for camps and activities, and projects around the house — it can be hard to imagine finding the time or the energy to accomplish anything. Once September comes, that post-summer panic quickly sets in and we realize we have less than 4 months to meet our 2019 goals!
I’m here to help. Let’s take a breath, review the numbers, and make a plan to get things done before that panic sets in.
First, take the next 2-3 days to plan for success, and the remaining few weeks between now and the beginning of July to get those plans well underway. Ask yourself some of these questions to help quickly catapult you from your current state to your desired future state.
- What progress have you made, and what lags behind? Make a list. You might have made more progress than you realize. Feel good about what you HAVE done! Now, get crystal clear about which goals you haven’t tackled.
- Why have you not made more progress toward the goals you’d like to accomplish? Consider what’s holding you back. Whether it’s needing to involve someone else, waiting for a meeting with a grantee, or not getting approval quickly enough. Address these needs in the next 30 days.
- What are you trying to accomplish and what is the fastest way you can accomplish it? Make a list of what needs to occur by September 1st to keep you on track, and figure out what you will need to ensure that happens.
- What’s the 20% of effort that will drive 80% of results? Re-think your commitment to perfection. My rule of thumb is “If you’re 80% there, you move.” The remaining 20% will take 75% more time and not provide much value. You can always tweak and course correct along the way.
- What could you eliminate in the next 90 days? In order to make progress, we often need to shed the things that hold us back or are no longer needed. Look at your calendar for the next 3 months and highlight everything that does NOT help you implement your goals, or that you dread doing. Can you eliminate it, delegate it or shorten it? Go for it. Your time should be spent on activities that help you quickly achieve your goals, not drain your energy.
Send me an email or schedule a call with me, and we’ll make sure you replace your impending post-summer panic with a focused and effective outlook for fall.
Of course, addressing questions like these are easy to suggest but sometimes harder to address, especially if you are bogged down by bureaucracy or overloaded with demands. If you want to get back on track for the remaining months of the year, it’s helpful to have an outside perspective to guide you and help you cut through the clutter.
I provide advice and counsel for grantmakers who want to develop and implement strategies, jump start new initiatives (or ones that have lost some steam), or simply accomplish more — and more rapidly. Send me an email or schedule a call with me, and we’ll make sure you replace your impending post-summer panic with a focused and effective outlook for fall.
© 2019 Kris Putnam-Walkerly. All rights reserved. Permission granted to excerpt or reprint with attribution.
About Kris Putnam-Walkerly
I’m a global philanthropy expert, advisor and award-winning author. I help ultra-high net worth donors, celebrities, foundations and Fortune 500 companies dramatically increase the clarity, speed, impact and joy of their giving. I’m the author of Confident Giving: Sage Advice for Funders, was named one of “America’s Top 25 Philanthropy Speakers”(along with U2’s Bono!), I write about philanthropy for Forbes.com, Alliance Magazine, De Dikke Blauwe and am frequently quoted in leading publications such as Bloomberg, NPRand WSJ.
Whether you are just getting started in philanthropy, want to refresh your giving strategy, or need to catapult yourself to your desired future, I can help. Let’s talk! Call me at +1-800-598-2102 x1, email me at kris@putnam-consulting.com or schedule a call.
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“Kris is a wonderful and objective resource for professional coaching. She promotes thoughtful consideration of myriad issues to help determine the big picture, while simultaneously helping define strategic direction. Her clarity of thought helps each individual articulate his or her destination and develop the roadmap to get there.”
Tina Markanda, Executive Director, Foundation for a Healthy High Point
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Want to learn more? Visit my website to learn how I help funders, access free resources, and read client testimonials.
