Welcome to the last quarter of 2023.
To finish the year strong, will you take a 60-day challenge with me?
What is the 60-day challenge?
It is an intentional list of what you want to accomplish in the last 60 days of the year — during a time of year, naturally busy with holiday events and end-of-year deadlines, we get busy with demands and forget our goals.
In John Maxwell’s book, “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership,” he teaches that the Law of “Big Mo” (momentum) is a leader’s greatest friend.
When we find momentum in one activity, we will gain speed in other activities that we participate in. Rather than waiting to create a New Year’s resolution at the beginning of January, begin creating momentum now going into the new year. This approach will help you complete the goals that you set for yourself in 2023 and give you confidence and motivation toward new ambitions in 2024.
There are only two steps to this challenge.
First, create a list, a maximum of 10 things that you want to accomplish this year. Start by reviewing the goals that you chose at the beginning of 2023. What haven’t you completed yet?
Second, get started on the items on your list.
The best part about this activity is that you make the rest of the rules. After you define what you want to accomplish during this busy time of year, what other boundaries do you need to give yourself to be successful?
Here are some ideas of guidelines that I created for myself last year:
Handwrite the list. No computers were allowed during the creation process.
Keep the list visible. Since my list was handwritten, it wasn’t lost in a folder on my computer. I also did not want to stuff the paper in a drawer and lose track of my progress, so I created my 60-day goals on a large Post-it note. I easily could move it from my computer monitor to the refrigerator as I worked through my day.
Find an accountability partner. I shared my 60-day goals with my coach, Antoinette. During our routine meetings, she asked for an update on my progress.
Document progress weekly. To fully evaluate my progress on items on the original list, I created smaller goals within the big goal and added checkboxes to track completion.
Add something fun to the list. I can get caught up in work and forget to embrace the holiday season. Last year, I permitted myself to enjoy one new Hallmark movie every week until Christmas. It was a motivating reward that I looked forward to every weekend.
This year will be my third year participating in a 60-day challenge. In years past, I have not completed everything on my list, but I did start the new year with more than just great aspirations. I began with success and forward movement toward my goals.
As my friend Antoinette taught me, we really can accomplish all that we want to accomplish when we are intentional. What are you excited to complete yet this year? Add it to your list and begin conquering this challenge in the last 60 days of 2023.
Would you like more ideas and details about this challenge? Check out this video where Antoinette and I dig deeper:
youtu.be/fL_UHW1X40w.
Kathie Rotz is an executive leadership coach and speaker with Unity Consulting and the author of “You Have Superpowers” online learning program.
