Last Chance! 4Q Starts Now!

Do you ever get any emails that start out with “Last Chance!” I seem to get about 5 a day. It also makes me think I am missing out on something or fixing to miss out. Do you know what FOMO is? It’s a term in our pop-culture that stands for “Fear Of Missing Out.” That’s what online marketers are utilizing when they send you the “Last Chance” message. And typically, this isn’t really your last chance to buy the item they are selling. In a couple of months, or even a year, it will cycle back around again and they will send you the same “Last Chance!” email message!

But I’ve got news for you!  There is one thing that does go by and it is our last chance to take advantage of it. That’s TIME. Time is clicking away. There’s a commercial that plays on our radio station. My daughter doesn’t like it because it makes her feel panicked. It says, “There goes another minute! Go share your faith while you still can.”

Time Wasting

Have you ever thought about how much time we all are wasting each day? I’m reading a great book right now by Louie Giglio, called Goliath Must Fall. I highly recommend it. I’m about half way through.

In one of the chapters, he mentions that the Israelites were sitting on the hillside listening to Goliath come out and taunt them for 40 days. Forty days with no gameplan to try to attack him. Forty days of complacency.

90-Day Goals

Think about what you’ve been working on and accomplishing in your last 40 days. Forty days is about half of 90 days. I use a 90-day goal planning system to work on my goals. It helps me keep my focus. What have you achieved in the past 40 or 90 days? What balls did you drop? What areas of your life are you neglecting?

I love the start of each new quarter. Today is October 1st. The beginning of the 4th Quarter of the year. This is your last quarter to achieve BIG things in 2018.  What are your plans?

I like to sit down at the beginning of each quarter and review my goals. I keep my goals in a cute composition notebook I got at Walmart for $1.

Goal Categories

My goals are divided up into categories. Here are mine:

• Spiritual
• Personal
• Marriage
• Kids
• Business
• Finances/Housework
• Ministry
• Family / Friendships

I like to have 2-5 goals per category. Sometimes I’m working on just getting a new habit in place. Other times, it’s finishing a project in that category.

Questions To Ask Yourself

Take some time today to evaluate where you are with your goals. Make a list of what your new goals are for the quarter. If you already have annual goals, evaluate where you are on those already. If not, just start with some quarterly goals. Here are some questions to help you.

1. How is your spiritual walk? What one area could you work on to up your game spiritually for the end of 2018? Ideas: reading the Bible, memorizing a passage, listening to a sermon on your commute, keeping a prayer list and praying daily.
2. In your personal life, what is one area you could improve? Diet, exercise, water intake, resting, better sleep, better routines, staying on track, reading a good book, etc.
3. How is your marriage going? When’s the last time you had a date? Is it time to plan a getaway with your spouse? Do you have a running list of topics you can discuss the next time you have some time together? How can you show your spouse love or respect? What can you do for them that they would appreciate and would make their life easier?
4. How are your kids doing? Are you teaching them things they need to know spiritually or based on your worldview? Do they need some support from you in their schoolwork? How can you be intentional with them? What skills are you training them in that need a jumpstart? Are you inspecting their work?
5. Only you can know exactly what to ask yourself about your business. But I would ask myself things like: Am I putting forth 100% effort on my tasks? Which task/project is most important to get done this quarter? What would make 4th Quarter awesome in my business? How can I get there?
6. What projects and tasks need to be completed in your home? Are you caught up on bills and finance paperwork? Is there a project in your house that needs to be completed? What three steps could get you there?
7. How are your ministry and service projects going? If you could add work on one area in your volunteer work what should the focus be?
8.  How are you doing with your extended family and friendships? What appointments do you need to make to encourage those relationships? Who could use a nice text message, email or handwritten note?

As you sit down and analyze your last 90 days and the next 90 days, making a short list of your goals can give you focus and help you have a headstart on having the best 4Q ever!

Happy goal-setting,

Michelle