Managers, picture this: you’ve got maybe two real working weeks left in the year.
The post-Thanksgiving haze is settling in. Your team is tired. You’re tired.
The to-do list is longer than the daylight hours, and somewhere in the mix you still have performance reviews, end-of-year projects, and a calendar full of people trying to “squeeze in one last meeting.”
If we’re honest, most folks are just trying to get to the holiday break without face-planting.
This is exactly when finishing strong feels hardest, like pushing a boulder uphill with no traction in sight.
But here’s the good news: momentum works both ways. And with a few intentional shifts, you can get that boulder to crest the hill so you and your team roll into the new year with clarity and confidence instead of burnout.
Here’s three tips to shift momentum so that you’re able to finish the year strong.
Take Stock of Your Progress
This time of year has a sneaky way of highlighting everything undone. But leaders who finish well do something different: they pause long enough to name their wins.
When you take a moment to reflect on what has gone right, what you’ve built, solved, survived, or improved, two things happen:
- You remember that you can do hard things.
- You remember how you did hard things. Those skills are transferable.
Suddenly, the year doesn’t feel like it’s slipping away and you’re standing on solid ground again. Now you’re armed with both encouragement from past success and a template for future success.
Narrow Your Focus
Say it with me: you’re probably doing too much already.
That’s a recipe for burnout and it’s also a surefire way get fewer things done. Since you have a limited window of productive time left in the calendar let’s use it wisely. What’s the most important things that you could do right now? Focus on doing that one thing and doing it well.
What about all the other stuff you ask? Here’s a hint: write them down. Getting your to-dos out of your head and onto a page is one of the simplest ways to reclaim energy and quiet the noise. It’s not avoidance, it’s assigning your stress a later appointment. Which brings me to the final tip…
Do the next right thing.
Momentum doesn’t require perfection. It requires motion. Momentum is nothing but a string of steps that cascade into what feels like effortless flow. But it starts with a single step.
The next right thing isn’t always the loudest thing. In fact, as Ken Blanchard said, “Urgent things shout. Important things whisper. Listen to the whispers.” If you can’t hear the whisper, it’s probably too loud in your world. Reduce the noise, close the extra tabs and step away from the inbox. Give yourself 10 minutes of quiet so clarity can reintroduce itself.
Afterwards, it’s simply a matter of execution. At this stage, done is better than good. It’s a matter of getting going, not achieving perfection.
And if your next right thing is investing in yourself…
A lot of managers end the year saying, “Next year will be different.” Don’t be that person, ready to break another promise to yourself. Actually take a step forward.
If you’re ready to:
- Strengthen how you give feedback
- Improve how your team experiences you
- And enter January with actual momentum instead of managerial guilt…
Then your next right thing might be joining the Founding Circle of the ManagerEQ™ App, our new AI-powered coaching platform built to help managers practice the daily habits that drive performance, clarity, and culture.
And you can still get in. Let this be the one thing you check off your list as you roll into 2026 with confidence and momentum.
