Last week it was 33+ degrees Celsius every day for 6 days straight with the humidity putting it over 40 degrees. For my Fahrenheit friends that is over 104 F every day. Phew, that was hot. Thank goodness I was on vacation at the cottage, sitting in the shade with a breeze and a book.

The challenge with summer for many of us that have cold, long winters is we want to take advantage of the beautiful weather. After all we did not start a business to miss out on everything in our lives, did we? This problem is compounded when you work from home like I do and your kids are off for the summer, wandering around, looking for something to do, and hoping you’ll help them out with a drive or an idea. My kids are not small any longer but they still need direction, so my summer’s work hours have definitely shortened.

To ensure you don’t end up in September thinking to yourself, I could have been so much farther ahead – OR – accepting less because you have to start the momentum all over again, I have some steps you can take right now to ensure you will have a successful 4th quarter.

1. Answer these 3 questions

1. What is your number one (#1) money-making goal that must be completed for the end of the year?
2. What are the three most important things you must complete to reach that #1 goal?
3. When must each of these be complete? (give each one its own due date)

2. Do This

Under each of the three important things you must complete to reach your #1 goal write down 3 – 7 steps you must take to get it completed.

Under each step write down the resources you will need to get it done. Include things like: contact back, set up webpage, record video, get testimonials, etc.

3. Know This

How much time do you need to complete any of the steps? Really knowing if you can actually get it done will allow you to continue to enjoy your summer and be ready to ‘burn rubber’ in September when it’s time to really go again.

Story

One of my clients told me she was worried about completing her curriculum for a new program she was creating. It has 20 courses and her deadline is August 15. This is one of her three most  important things she needs to complete for her #1 goal this year.

I asked her, “how many days she had before August 15”

She answered, “well it is still a month away.”

“OK then – 30 days?” I asked again and she agreed.

“Are you working on this on the weekends?”

“No”

“So you now have 22 days,” I pointed out. “Are you going away during this time?”

“No”

“So If you were to complete 1 course each day, could you do it?

“Yes”

What a relief it was for her to know how truly in-control of her time she was and it gave her the ability to enjoy being with her kids every day in the summer if she wanted to and still be on track to complete her curriculum.