It’s the Final Quarter! How to Make Good Use of the End of the Year
For better or worse it’s football season here in the US.
My favorite college team is ranked fourth in the nation, so all is well with the world.
Even though our biggest rival is ranked third.
Though my team has lots of grand traditions, there is one which other teams have that mine does not. You’ll see it frequently if you watch a game in the second half.
As the third quarter winds to a close, players on the bench and then hoards of people in the stands raise one hand and hold up four fingers.
It’s time for the fourth and final quarter of the game, they’re saying.
And we own the fourth quarter.
On the way to school this week our ten year old marveled that September is almost over. Back to school rhythms are in place, summer vacations seem a distant memory, and conversations about holiday plans are heating up.
And with October 1 comes the start of the fourth quarter.
Dividing the calendar into three-month segments keeps me on track for my annual goals.
A quarter of the year gives ample time to make significant headway on those big yearlong protects. At the same time, a span of three months isn’t so long that those projects drown beneath the urgent—forgotten, never to resurface.
The beginning of a quarter is a great time to ask this question:
What progress can I make in the next three months on the things that matter most to me?
This question merits an hour or two of reflection multiple times a year.
Even more so when we enter the fourth quarter.
Because now is the time to decide what final progress you’ll make on the annual goals you set nine months ago.
What do you want to accomplish in the fourth quarter?
No annual goals? Don’t remember what you wrote? No problem.
For many years as a pastor I did not set annual goals.
At other times I wrote them out in January but it was a distant memory by May.
Even if that describes where you find yourself today, you can leverage the fourth quarter to make some changes.
There’s something you can do this quarter to help you moving forward.
But first I have to tell you why annual goals weren’t helpful for me for a long time.
I made a mistake every year in goal setting. The problem was my timing.
Perhaps like most people I would draw up my goals for the year during the week between Christmas and New Year’s.
It made sense to me. After all, that tends to be a slow week for everyone, pastors included. So I had plenty of time to look at the next year’s calendar and plan out all the things I wanted to do.
Here was my mistake.
The relative leisure of the season prompted an overestimation of what I could accomplish during the normal, elevated pace of pastoral life.
In other words, I set out to accomplish too much.
And once the busyness of the year got rolling, my annual goals increasingly looked like a fantasy.
Now if you don’t have annual goals or if you don’t remember what they were, here’s how you can leverage the fourth quarter.
As you think about what you want to accomplish over the next three months, put this at the top of your list:
To create your list of goals for next year.
That’s right—one of your goals for this quarter is to write out your goals for next year.
It doesn’t have to be fancy.
You don’t need a new app.
Don’t waste your time finding the perfect system. You don’t need to buy anything.
Just create a note in your Notes app—or if you prefer pen and paper, keep a running list on a 3×5 card—and return to it every week during the fourth quarter.
Write down everything that comes to mind: fitness goals, relational goals, ministry goals, development goals, evangelism goals, family goals.
In all these areas and more, ask yourself what you want to accomplish in 2023.
And then as the quarter wears on, edit the list. Revise it. Eliminate some items. Combine others.
Perhaps most importantly, test your list.
The last quarter of the year is traditionally one of the busiest for pastors. What better time to calibrate your annual goals to the realities of ministry life?
Give yourself ten or fifteen minutes a week of dedicated thought.
Are these items doable or overly aspirational? What would I need to stop doing in order to accomplish these things? Is that realistic? What’s the ratio of habit goals to accomplishment goals? Are there enough hours in the day?
You’ve got three months to ponder these questions. Use it.
You’ll be surprised at what you come up with, and just how doable it can be.
I’ll end this reflection with a word for those who’ve been keeping track of your annual goals all year.
The movement from third quarter to fourth quarter is an important opportunity for reflection.
That means you have two important questions to address:
- How much progress have I made on my annual goals so far this year?
- And how much more can I make this quarter?
It’s at this point in the year that I often have to revise my annual goals.
Lower my expectations. Adjust my metrics.
That bugs me. But it’s often necessary.
No matter the time and thought I put into planning, my goals always seem to end up a bit too aspirational.
I think I’m getting better at being realistic.
Maybe.
At any rate no one can predict what will happen in the coming year. Revising goals acknowledges that we’re not in control, that we are servants of another Master.
That what we accomplish is important but not ultimate. Because we don’t own the fourth quarter.
He does.
Let’s talk about it!
What adjustments will you make to your goals this quarter? Let’s talk about it.
Just drop a comment below to share your thoughts.