How to Reset and Refocus Your Business Goals for Success in September
It’s September as I write this article. (Though it doesn’t matter what time of year you read it!)
I don’t know if it’s because, while growing up, the school year always started after the Labor Day Weekend or if it’s the season change to Autumn, but there is something about September that has always felt like a refresh, a new beginning.
I always feel like I am uninspired, on hold, just going with the flow in the summer, but once September hits, I am ready to revisit my dreams and create a strategic action plan.
It’s like nature is telling us….”OK you kicked back, relaxed, played, had fun in the sun, and now it’s time to get back to business!”
It’s like the energy shifts and with kids going back to school, adults are refocused on moving forward. The theme of the season feels like reconnecting to your vision, your goals, your dreams, and start setting the intention to move towards them each and every day.
September marks a fresh start, a perfect time to realign with your business goals after the summer months. Whether you’ve lost momentum or simply need a reset, this is your opportunity to recharge and refocus on your dreams.
It’s ok if you feel like you got off track. Maybe you are reading this and life has just been “life-ing” and you feel disconnected to your dreams and your action plan. It’s never too late to jump back in and reconnect.
One of the best things you can remember is that your dreams don’t expire. They don’t have an expiration date. You’re not late. You didn’t miss out on anything. It’s always just about reconnecting and recommitting.
Here are 4 simple steps to help you refocus on their business goals, create a strategic plan, and reset their mindset to achieve success for the remainder of the year.
1. Assess and Reflect on Your Current Progress
“Where Are You Now?”
The first step to refocusing is assessing where you stand. Reflect on your original goals, celebrate your wins, and acknowledge the areas where you’ve drifted off track.
It doesn’t matter if you feel like you’ve lost momentum or you want different things right now. This is a refresh, so spend time time reflecting on where you are now, the journey up until this point.
Take a moment to journal your progress, identifying what has worked and what needs to be improved.
This will set the stage to prepare you to create a roadmap for where you are going next. What you have now, where you are now, has given you what you need to take the next step forward. Now is the time to gain some perspective and awareness so you can strategize efficiently with clarity and confidence.
2. Creating a Fresh Strategic Plan for Action
“Start Fresh with a New Plan”
Tip 1: Revisit Your Vision:
This is where you realign your short-term goals with your long-term goals and vision.
Ask yourself if your original business and personal goals still resonate with where you want your business to go.
As business owners (and humans!) it’s ok if your goals change, if you want to shift focus, if what you desired in January no longer resonates with you. You may have a vision for your business and the lifestyle you desire to lead, BUT now find that how you are structuring your business, the offers you promote, the way you market your business, how many hours a week you work, etc, shifted and changed.
This is where you get to decide what is right for you IN THIS MOMENT. Then create a plan around that for the next 90 days.
Tip 2: Set Priorities for Q4:
A new plan, means knowing what priorities are right for you in this next quarter. Identify the key priorities you want to focus on for the last few months of the year, then break these down into actionable tasks that you can tackle weekly and monthly.
Choose no more than 3 priorities so you can go all in and focus your attention, time, and energy to have the biggest impact. You don’t want to be too overloaded with goals, or you may not see the results you desire the next few months.
Tip 3: Streamline and Simplify:
It’s time to reassess your current activities. Take a look at your current to-do list and eliminate tasks that aren’t essential to your top goals. Simplifying your workload will make it easier to focus on what matters most.
Sometimes we get so focused on the things we think are important and spend our time on, that we forget to look up and ask if we even want to do these things anymore or if they are still aligned with the vision we are creating.
This is the PERFECT time to check in and start reassessing what you currently focus your time and effort on.
Tip 4: Create a Detailed Action Plan:
A goal without a plan is just a dream.
You need to map out how you are going to get to your quarterly dream. This starts with setting goals. Take time to map out the next steps you need to take to reach your goals. You want a personal and business strategy that feel so aligned with where you are right now and the vision for where you desire to be, that’s why it’s so important to be honest with yourself about what you truly want and what isn’t working for you, so you can create the RIGHT plan of action for you!
Your new goals should be SMART goals – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely. SMART goals are a best practice for monitoring and managing your progress along the way. Include specific deadlines and checkpoints to track your progress and keep yourself accountable. Clear goals give you a clear roadmap to success, and attainable goals keep you motivated and confident in your actions.
Need a planner to help you turn your dream into a plan?: Download the FREE BECOMING Quarterly Journal and Planner and start mapping out your next quarter’s goal, step by step, month by month, week by week, day by day.
3. Resetting Your Confidence and Mindset
“Get Your Mindset Ready for Success”
I’ll say this till I’m blue in the face: MINDSET IS EVERYTHING!
A dream and vision is important, a plan is necessary, but it all can’t come to fruition without the mindset to fuel your confidence and energy to actually take action!
Tip 1: Practice Self-Compassion:
If you feel like you’ve fallen behind, don’t be hard on yourself. Embrace a growth mindset by seeing challenges as opportunities to learn and grow.
Even if you feel like you haven’t moved closer to your desired goals, doesn’t mean you haven’t made progress.
Every step you take, every experience you have, everything you learn is helping you grow and change, and giving you the tools you need to confidently get to where you desire to be.
Tip 2: Rebuild Your Confidence with Small Wins:
Set small, achievable goals to rebuild your confidence. Start by celebrating small victories along the way. This will motivate you to keep going.
I tell my clients to get a jar and some slips of paper and write down small wins that happen each day. Then when you are feeling like progress is slow or your limiting beliefs and fears take over, you can open the jar and read all that you have accomplished so far!
Starting a gratitude journaling process is also a great way to lean into all the GREAT things already happening in your life and business and all the progress you are making. (You can find daily gratitude and abundance journaling pages in the BECOMING Quarterly Journal and Planner!)
Tip 3: Visualize Success:
If you want to stay connected to your vision, you need to spend time each day visualizing your future success. If you want to see progress towards your vision, you need to align your actions with WHO YOU ARE BECOMING, not who you are now or what your life and business looks like now.
Connecting to your vision helps remind you of where you are going, and that you have everything you need already inside you to get there. This mental practice can help strengthen your belief in your ability to achieve your goals.
Tip 4: Surround Yourself with Positivity:
Surround yourself with positive influences—whether it’s inspiring content, a supportive community, or affirmations—to keep your mindset strong.
Remember, any goal and dream you go after requires you to rewire your nervous system, thoughts, and beliefs from ones that were limiting to ones that KNOW you can achieve your goals. When you surround yourself with positive influences, words of wisdom, and affirmations frequently, your brain starts to prioritize these thoughts moving forward.
Check out this article, 6 Ways to Shift from Scarcity to Abundance Mindset, to help support your mindset to and align your thoughts and beliefs for success.
4. Maintaining Momentum
“Stay Committed to Your Fresh Start”
Obviously, and most importantly, once you’ve reset your goals and mindset, it’s important to stay consistent and committed. Schedule regular check-ins with yourself to ensure you stay on track and make adjustments as needed.
Check in with your vision AND your plan EVERYDAY. Ask yourself once a week how you are feeling about your goals, what is holding you back, do they still feel right for you, do you need to tweak anything.
Then make sure each night or each morning, you are making a plan for the day that aligns with the next best step to take that day to keep moving forward.
And of course, if you need more accountability, hire a coach (here is a link for a FREE 30 minute Momentum Call to see what support you may need!), or find a group of peers in a local networking group or facebook group to help keep you accountable.
With these 4 key ways to refocus and with a fresh strategic plan and a renewed mindset, you’re ready to take your business to the next level.
This month is your opportunity to reset and finish the year strong.
Action Item:
Set aside some time today to grab your journal or download the BECOMING Quarterly Journal and Planner and make a fresh start with your goals and dreams.
Now is the perfect time to decide where you want to go over the next 90 days. Magic can happen from now until the end of the year. All it takes is consistency and commitment from you building new habits, taking consistent action, and focusing on an empowering mindset to fuel your excitement and motivation.
Download the complete BECOMING Quarterly Journal and Planner to combine your daily journaling and daily planning all in one place.
