Do you have a bad case of the “End-of-Year Slump”?

Need a little help snapping out of it?

Well, you’ve come to the right place…

And there’s certainly no judgement here! I’m sure many of us are feeling worn out and maybe even a little discouraged. And a good chunk of those negative feelings are likely happening because we’ve suddenly hit the home stretch of the year, but we know there is still so much that needs to be done before New Year celebrations commence and that big ol’ ball drops in Times Square.

So…how to do beat the end-of-year slump and finish the year out strong? We have some tips! Check out our go-to guidelines which we use to help us stay motivated and get keep getting things done!

So stick with us, and together, we’ll snap out of the slump!

1. Acknowledge Your Feelings

The first step for getting out of the year-end slump is first recognizing that you’re in a slump! You can’t expect to change something without first owning up to the fact that you’re experiencing negativity. Once you’ve identified that you’re not performing at your best, you will then able to put actionable strategies in place to help you overcome the slump.

Recognizing that you have lost a little (or a lot, remember, this is a No Judgement Zone) of your motivation is an important phase because you can then be objective in your plan of action. If you don’t identify the feeling, you will find it hard to rectify as you have not quanitfied it in some way.

2. Identify The Culprits

Step 1: Recognize that you’re in a slump. Step 2? Identify the factors contributing to that slump. Once you’ve recognized that you’re lacking in motivation and in a bit of a slump, your next move is to try and idenfiy the culprits. Or, in other words, what are the contributing factors to your negative feelings?

It may be a time issue. You feel like you have so much to do and so little time to do it in. It may be that your mind has subconsciously shifted to “holiday mode” with all the decorations going up and all the Hallmark holiday movies coming up. It may even be a little bit of the Winter Blues creeping in as the sun spends less time gracing us with it’s presence.

Whatever the cause of your slump and motivation lack, once you identify the culprits, it’s much easier to find a workable plan to conquor them.

3. Think of the End Game

Sometimes, all you need to snap out of a slump is to remember the End Game. And as we come to the end of the year, that End Game may be the family vacation you’re taking, some fun festive traditions you can’t wait for every year, or even just the internatl satisfaction of knowing you finished strong. These can all be great motivators to help you get your head back in the game and finish the year off strong!

Think about how you want to feel when the end of year rolls around. You more than likely want to go on that vacation, spend time with your family, fill in the blank knowing that you completed all you set out to achieve. Use that to spur you forward, diligiently ticking off tasks and completing all the necessary work for the end of the year.

4. Set End-of-Year Goals

Goal setting? Surely that’s not an activity for November! But it is! Particularly if the type of goals you’re setting are end-of-year goals! If you still have things you want to achieve before the end of the year, then you need to have a plan!

Take some time to write down all you still hope to accomplish before you sign off for the year. Look at the long term goals you set for this year. How are these going? What can you still do this year to help you achieve them? For some goals, you have may to make the call to migrate them to next year. And that’s okay!

It can actually help ease up a lot of your end of year anxiety if you make these types of calls. Focus on what you can achieve, migrate what is simply not possible for this year, then give those goals you can still tick off your full attention.

5. Reflect On Accomplishments

For many, when November and December roll around, a case of the year-end blues tends to sneak up on them. And at the heart of it is a feeling that we didn’t get much done through the course of the year. But I am willing to take a bet that those feelings are based on falicies! You got plenty done this year, you’re just not taking stock of all you achieved.

So if you’re also feeling a little year-end blues, make sure to take a moment to reflect on all that you have accomplished over the past 12 months. Remind yourself of your victories, the challenges you overcame, the new things you tried, and even all those little tasks to ticked off your to-do lists, and you’ll likely be amazed at all you’ve already done in the year. And this feels really good! And will help motivate you to finish off strong!

6. Spring Clean Your Workspace

The Northern Hemisphere may be heading for Winter, but a little Spring Cleaning can still work wonders! If you’re feeling like you’re in the year-end slump and have little to no motivation to see your tasks through, try giving your workspace a clean out.

Order your paper work, reduce the clutter, change up the space a bit, or buy a new plant. There’s nothing like an inviting, clean, happy workspace to help you feel motivated to keep doing all that needs to be done.

7. Change Your Routine

Did you know the end-of-year slump can be vanquished simply by changing up your routine? Yup! Simply changing things up can be a great energy boost to see the year out strong.

You’re not looking to do anything too drastic. You’re not looking to form a new habit or completely overhaul your routine. You’re just looking for some small changes you can make to energize you moving forward.

You could simply just re-shuffle some of your daily activities to better suit the season. If you’re working from home, try working from a different space in your home or adding a quick workout routine to your schedule for when you need a boost. Or even just work from your favorite coffee shop one or two mornings in the week. These changes can breathe new life into your routine and this can give your energy levels that much-needed boost.

8. Rest Up

Whenever we’re trying to “catch up” one of the first things to take a hit are our sleeping hours. We burn the midnight oil, put things off to ‘do later’ and consequently, we start losing out on that much needed rest.

Good sleep each night needs to be prioritized! Rather than cutting into your bedtime, aim to make your waking hours more productive. Or cut back on your Netflix time, or the time spent on your different social media platforms. These are hours you can easily exchange to focus on your end-of-year tasks, rather than your much-needed sleep time!

9. Take A Break

Sometimes a short break is the best way to reset your motivation. Yes, it sounds counter-productive, but scheduling in little breaks in between all that you need to do can be a really effective way to keep you going strong.

It can be an “off-weekend” where you set away from your work and do some of those things that rejuvenate you. Spend time in the kitchen trying out new recipes if that’s your thing, go for a hike, take a tour of your city, get together with family or friends, just do something that fills your soul a bit. This can be a really great way to get your head back in the game and all systems “Go!” come Monday.

10. Beat the Burnout

When you’re pushing to finish all your tasks and projects, and all those little things that creep up at the end of the year, it’s easy to hit burnout. Burnout happens when we’re working so hard and for so long, under stressful conditions, that we lose sight of why we wanted to complete the task in the first place. The joy of the job is gone, our motivation and enthusiasm dries up and suddenly, all those tasks you did easily are really tough! Definitely not a fun space to be!

You can beat burnout firstly by keeping your immune system strong. Get that good, consistent rest, drink plenty of water, eat food that nourishes your body, and consider upping your vitamin and mineral intake to help keep things in balance.

The last two strategies are solid ones in their own right, but combined with the above, are also great combators against burnout…

11. Keep Up the Exercise

As the great Elle Woods once said, “Excercise gives you endorphines, and endorphines make you happy.” And what better reason could you need to get out there and exercise!

Like our sleep, we sometimes put exercising on the back burner when we’re in a bit of a slump, and a bit overwhelmed and overworked. “I don’t have the time to exercise,” we say to ourselves, but we’re not getting any more done, and on top of that, we feel our happinesss meter start slipping to the read zone. So our advice is to keep up with the exercise! Build a yoga session, a dance class, a home HIIT workout, or a run into your schedule, and keep to it! You’ll soon experience a great difference in your mood and your motivation!

12. Don’t Neglect Self-Care

And lastly, don’t neglect self-care. Self-care is one of those things that many think is only for “when I have time” but the opposite is actually true. Make time for self-care, and you are likely to find more time to do all that you need to do. And self-care can be a great way to help you beat that end-of-year slump!

Self-care is really just making the time to take stock of our mental health, and implementing the techniques that help us keep focused, motivated, and happy . And this is particularly important when we’re wanting to keep motivated, as motivation is usually one of the first things to go when our mental health suffers.

Even during the mad rush towards the end of the year, schedule in activities that help you recharge, debrief, or just slow down a bit. You’ll then find you have the energy and motivation to keep going and reach your year-end goals. 

Closing Thoughts

As the year draws to a close, it’s easy to feel unmotivated, discouraged, and maybe even a little depressed. But there’s no need to stay in that end-of-year slump. Once you’ve indentified your negative feelings, and identified some of your triggers, put these tried-and-tested strategies in place to help you finish the year off strong!

Mentally, you’ll be in a much better space, and when the new year rolls around, you’ll be able to start on a fresh, clean slate.