Four Tips for Planning a Smoother Year End

The holiday season has officially kicked off, and with only a few weeks left in 2022, you may be feeling the heat to get all your loose ends tied up. While it’s supposed to be the merriest time of the year, a buildup of stress at work and at home—not to mention endless to-do lists—can cause even the jolliest among us to feel a bit grinchy.

Throughout a nearly 20-year entrepreneurial career, I’ve learned what works (and what doesn’t) to help me and my team best navigate the end of Q4. Before taking a holiday hiatus, consider these tried-and-true tips for a smoother year end.

Take your organization’s temperature

As a leader, you hopefully have a pretty good idea about what’s going on in your organization and the direction your business is headed in 2023. Now is a great time to take that one step further and prioritize checking in with your internal stakeholders. Most organizations see an uptick in resignations this time of year, so proactively reaching out to your staff and identifying retention strategies will always serve you well.

Think strategically about your business and your people—after all, they are your competitive advantage.

Develop an end-of-year checklist

Accountability is key year-round, but especially as we near the end of Q4. Developing an end-of-year checklist can not only keep you and your organization on track, but it can also help all team members better serve clients. For example, the year-end checklist we use at All In One Accounting allows for collaboration with clients, outlining recommended year-end accounting activities and helping us plan for how we can support them. It may sound basic, but it works! (And it helps us facilitate clearer communication and deliver on our promises to clients.)

Plan for PTO days

One of the best things you can do is encourage your employees to utilize their benefits like paid time off. It’s been a difficult couple years for all of us—with many ups and downs along the way—and it’s crucial that you and your staff take time off for rest, rejuvenation, and reflection.

However, before folks head out for the holidays be sure you’ve created (and communicated) a skeleton crew plan. Who will be in the office each day? How will client inquiries be handled? What happens if a crisis occurs? This requires a bit of planning, but the peace of mind is worth it.

Prioritize well-being—including your own

Like me, you probably juggle work, family, and community commitments that compete for your attention this time of year. Business and personal stressors also tend to get magnified as the year ends, resulting in less sleep, less exercise, and poorer nutrition. But amidst the hustle and bustle, I’ve found that being intentional about prioritizing my own well-being is crucial to me showing up better for my family, friends, and team. I make it a priority to work out regularly—even when I’m pulled in a hundred different directions—because I know I’ll feel better and more focused afterward.

So go ahead and have that Christmas cookie, but also look for ways that you can better manage your stress. Whether that’s talking to a professional, checking in with an accountability partner, or leaning into health and wellness benefits, set yourself up so you can actually enjoy the holiday season. For me, that includes planning and working hard to end 2022 on a high note so I can spend time with my kids when they’re home from school the last two weeks of December.?

As an organization, we also look for ways to reduce the stress on team members this time of year. That means not worrying about having a holiday party in December—and certainly not trying to squeeze one into January (our busiest month with “1099 season!”). Instead, we hold a holiday celebration for team members in February, a time when we know our staff will truly be able to pause and enjoy coming together to celebrate our collective accomplishments.

No matter what your holiday season looks like, be kind to yourself and others. This can be a difficult time of year for people for many reasons, from worrying about finances to missing loved ones. Lead the way with empathy and grace—your team will no doubt thank you for it.?