How to Wrap 2020 Like a Human
12 key practices for ending the year with intention
As a culture, we don’t do endings well.
Death is taboo. So are layoffs. We sprint to the finish line at the end of every year (like we do every day and every week), straight past this annual ending, lucky if we have some time to recoup before we’re back at it again in a week or two (at best).
When we don’t end with intention – and stay in (unconscious) go-mode instead – we:
Experience constant stress, which can lead to overwhelm and burnout
Miss a golden opportunity to integrate, learn from, and eventually, build off, the year’s accomplishment
Can’t find time for very important yet rarely urgent visioning and strategic thinking
Are therefore less impactful (not more)
And don’t feel nearly as fulfilled
Yet good endings are precious and vital, and in the world of work, few endings are as important as the end of a work year. Especially this Year of All Years.
Ending with intention invites the opposite of all the above. We feel more relaxed. We learn from our efforts (and leverage them in the New Year). We think more strategically and end up focusing on more of the right things. By cramming less onto our plates and ending with intention, we are more impactful – not less – and we feel far more fulfilled.
Good endings also set us up for a potent year to come, because as the saying goes, “The key to a good beginning is a good ending.”
So, how do we do it? How do we end a year with intention, like a human being?
Here are 12 practices to start now:
First, Set the Intention
Conscious endings begin with clear intentions. Tell yourself: “I will end this year like a human being, not a machine. I will end well, in a way that allows me to feel fulfilled and enter my break feeling some resourcefulness instead of utter depletion.” Choose to end the year well.
Then, Fight Your Inner Demon
Once you commit to ending well – or even consider it – all sorts of self judgments will most likely come up: “Here you go being self-centered again.” “How can you let other people down like this?” “Your career is over if you do this.” “What do you know about ending well, anyway? You can’t possibly do this well.”
All of the above is BS perpetuated by your slave-driving, never-enough inner critic (if most of the above is actually true of your team or company, it might be time to find a new place to share your life force and talents in 2021). We all have this inner critic inside – and (s)he’s not all bad. (S)he keeps us honest, motivated, and productive. But this year, thank her/him and assign her/him a new mission: to help you stay focused on ending the year like a human. It’s been the Year of all Years, after all. (Bonus: by acting in a way that is human at year’s end, we do the work of taming and integrating our inner critic just a bit more. Always a good thing - for us and for those around us.)
Next, Plan, Prioritize and Cut
OK, sounds great – but how the heck am I supposed to end the year like a human when I have so much left to do? Write down your year-end objectives, then cut 30% off your plate. Or more. I’m saying this as an experienced and ambitious founder and CEO. Few things I’m doing are so important they can’t happen in a few weeks or a few months, or happen now but at a smaller scale. It is impossible to end the year like a human when you’ve packed in too much. In fact, the price of packing in too much is our humanity. Focus in on what’s essential and let the rest go.
Schedule a Staycation (even a short one)
Staycations are seriously underrated. You probably can’t go far this year anyway, so why not try one? A week. Two weeks. Your company may have given everyone more time off this year. At The People Piece, we always provide a mandatory 2 weeks off at the end of each year, and we’re adding another day this year to make it 17 days straight - including the weekends – of No work.
Don’t schedule too much into your time off. Don’t sign up for a week-long self-improvement course or vow to finally reorganize your house. That’s your never enough slave driver at work again. Well meaning, but perpetually in overdrive. Leave yourself some precious, unplanned space (and some meditation time or even a retreat can be very nurturing if you’re up for it and can make the time).
Celebrate Accomplishments
You’ve navigated and accomplished so much this year. We all have. Take the time to review it and celebrate it, both on your own and with your team. Have a team member compile the stats and create a few slides. Have someone else compile some photos and gather customer testimonials. Get together for an hour and share. Revel in all you’ve done and accomplished. Let yourself be fed.
Harvest Your Learning
Use the space you’ve created to consciously learn from the past year’s efforts. Did you shift your offerings to virtual platforms? Change the way you worked? Maybe tweak – or transform – your business model? Learn to collaborate in new ways? Most likely, yes, yes, yes, and yes. That’s a big deal. Don’t let these learnings go to waste. Distill and harvest them individually and as a team. Schedule a meeting to come back to them in the New Year, so you can act on your insights when your mind is fresh and your motivation is restored.
Take Time to Dream
Block your calendar. Pause your email. Log off Slack. Put your phone on airplane mode. And dream. Imagine what new things you might build or adopt next year. What might staffing look like? How about your tools, systems, or offerings? Harvest some seeds during this precious ending time to review - and possibly plant - in the New Year.
Tie Off Personal Loose Ends
Did you have any crunchy interactions this year that are still sitting with you? Emails or invitations you feel even a little guilty about not responding to? Don’t carry that emotional baggage with you into your break. It can tax you. Instead, schedule a Zoom clearing with someone. Block an hour on your calendar to respond to those emails and invites. Where interacting is not possible or doesn’t feel right, commit to engaging in the New Year, or forgive yourself and move on, so you can truly unplug.
Set Boundaries
Speaking of unplugging: commit to it. Set up that email auto reply. Make it clear you won’t be responding to email until X date. Let key clients know you won’t be available. In this Year of All Years, they probably won’t be available either. Silence notifications. Keep your boundaries tight. Even one or two drinks at the bars of technology and productivity can emotionally sink days of your break.
Create a Plan for Your First Week Back
Plan your first month and week back: higher level for your first month, more granular for your first week back. Wait, I thought we were focusing on ending well? We are. Future planning will allow you to unplug with greater ease, knowing you will be coming back to a schedule and a plan.
Leave Your First Week Back as Clear as Possible of External Engagements
Try to plan very few meetings for your first day back, certainly nothing before 10am, or even better, lunch. Schedule a shorter day or two (it can take a week or two to get back up to full – or almost full – throttle). If at all possible, schedule very few client or customer calls for that first week, and no client or customer engagements (trainings, demos, strategy sessions, etc) if possible. Plan ahead so you can start the New Year on your terms, not someone else’s, and leave time for vision, strategy, and internal team building. You will feel more on top of things and be more productive over the long run.
Be Intentional on Your Last Day in the Office
The last workday before your break matters. Leave at least 50% of your day unscheduled. Don’t plan too many meetings. Don’t plan any meetings to end after 3pm. Pace yourself. Enjoy it. End with a brief ritual, whatever that means to you. Maybe even end early. When your day is done, shut down your computer and put it away in a drawer or closet. You are complete.
Ending well is possible. While we all have tasks to execute and outcomes to achieve before year’s end, we can also choose to do so with intention.
This year, Don’t sprint to the finish line. Instead, wrap this Year of All Years with intention. End well, like a human being.
Wishing you and yours a safe and human end to 2020,
Roni and The People Piece team
PS – In our go-go culture, ending well can be tricky. Contact us if you’d like us to give your team a pep talk here at year end, set up some time with one of our leadership coaches, or talk about how we might help your team – and company – work more intentionally in 2021. Let’s plant some seeds or make a plan, then come back to it next month… after your much deserved break ;)