End the Year Strong (And Set Yourself Up for Success in 2025)

In this episode, Marissa and Ken discuss four powerful actions to help you finish the year strong and set the stage for a successful 2025. They’ll help you narrow your focus, turn experience into a plan, power the energy you need—and use it all to start dreaming big for 2025.

Key Takeaways

1. Define Your One Thing: Simplify by focusing on one impactful goal for the rest of the year. Choose a goal with a "domino effect" that will positively influence other areas in 2025.
2. Stop and Recalibrate: Conduct an After Action Review with the KISS method (Keep, Improve, Start, Stop) to reflect on the past few months and prioritize what matters most.
3. Protect Time to Connect: Connect with the people who matter most to you and with yourself to give you the energy you need to finish well this year.
4. Start Dreaming for Next Year: Open your mind to possibilities in 2025. Suspend limiting beliefs and allow yourself to think big. Listen to learn the question that unlocks possibility.

Resources

Your Best Year Ever Live!


Watch on YouTube at:  https://youtu.be/mRQbAktDVWo


This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound

Creators & Guests

Host

Ken Freire

From the Big Apple to Middle Tennessee, Ken Freire is the Director of Memberships at Full Focus and the co-host of the Focus on This podcast. Ken has been in ministry for 15 years. He has always been passionate about leading and developing individuals to see their God-given potential and purpose in life. He loves speaking, coaching, and scaling companies. He’s been married for 12 years and is the father of four energetic little kids. In his spare time, he loves to read books on theology, leadership, and spiritual development. He also loves Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Host

Marissa Hyatt

Born and raised south of Nashville, Marissa is the Chief Marketing Officer at Full Focus. She is super passionate about helping people get outside their comfort zones, find their own power, and achieve their dreams. In her free time, she enjoys cooking for friends, baking sourdough bread, and hiking. She geeks out on natural wellness, skincare, personal growth, gardening, and traveling.

What is Focus on This?

Start loving Mondays! Marissa & Ken give you practical tips and proven strategies for increasing your focus so you can be more productive than ever before. Based on the proven Full Focus method used in the Full Focus Planner™, they'll help you banish distractions and get the right stuff done so you can start loving Mondays again. They also speak with guests and listeners who share their own productivity tips to help you make the most of every day. It's the most productive podcast on the internet!

[00:00:00] Marissa: Well, Ken, we are officially in the holiday season.
[00:00:03] Ken: Yes, we are. It's my favorite season of the year.
[00:00:06] Marissa: Are you already listening to Christmas music?
[00:00:08] Ken: You know what? I started November 1st. I know you did.
[00:00:11] Marissa: I know you did. It is sacrilegious to me. I am a hardcore not until after Thanksgiving.
[00:00:17] Ken: You know that we haven't been around each other for the simple fact that you haven't been hearing me listen to Christmas music.
[00:00:24] Marissa: As we jump into the holiday craziness and the last bit towards the end of the year, we're going to be talking today about how to actually finish strong because I think it's really easy to get swept up in the craziness and lose sight of what you actually are wanting to do before the new year.
[00:00:41] Ken: 100%. The end of the year can be so overwhelming with the holidays, relationships, work, everything that goes on.
[00:00:48] So we're going to talk about Ending the year strong.
[00:00:50] Marissa: All right. Let's get into it.
[00:00:56] Ken: Welcome to another episode of Focus on This, the most [00:01:00] productive podcast on the internet so you can banish distractions, get the right stuff done, and finally start loving Mondays. I'm Ken Freyda here with Marissa Hyatt.
[00:01:09] Marissa: Happy Monday! Happy Monday! We really are at the end of the year and it is wild to think we have a month and a half left.
[00:01:18] Ken: It's crazy.
[00:01:19] Marissa: And let's be honest. We're really saying we probably have an actual month because two of those weeks are likely just wiped off with holiday stuff.
[00:01:28] Ken: Exactly. And if you think about it, for those of you who are planners, and most of you are probably planners listening to this podcast, you're already thinking about January and February, right?
[00:01:36] Like where I am. Yeah. Yeah. Especially for, for marketing sales. We're just like, Oh my gosh, what are we doing for Q1? You know, 2025.
[00:01:44] Marissa: It is really wild to think that we're at the end of the year. And I feel like one of the biggest things that we hear from our clients is that they get totally derailed this time of year from whatever they're trying to accomplish.
[00:01:58] And I often hear people [00:02:00] say, well, I'll just, I'll just wait until January. What we have to tell you today is you don't have to wait till January to actually make forward progress on what you actually want to accomplish. And so we're going to give you four actions to take between now and the end of the year to really set yourself up for success in 2025.
[00:02:19] And really, honestly, get a head start on it, because you just don't have to wait.
[00:02:23] Ken: And you don't have to feel like you're going into 2025 like you failed a little bit in Q4, because you're like, oh, the holidays and everything's wrapped up. No, you could actually finish strong.
[00:02:34] Marissa: I feel like this time of year, I tend to Let my personal goals go and I end up just focusing on work.
[00:02:42] This is our busiest time of the year You know, I'm in marketing you're in sales. This is like we got a you know, hit the end of the year goals that we've got and Inevitably, it's like every single year we do this all day. We teach this stuff and so Still my personal stuff ends up being the first thing to go out the [00:03:00] window.
[00:03:00] I don't feel like I have time for it. I don't feel like I have energy for it. And I really feel like what we're sharing today is the key to enable all of us to stay focused on those personal things that we want, or it could be business related, but most likely what we're going to be talking about today is personal.
[00:03:16] Ken: And you're right. All of us will try to drop one of our balls and make these small little excuses. We're like, Oh, that's a personal thing. It's not really that big of a deal. We could wait to 2025. No, let's do it now. There's a way to do it. So let's jump into it. What's the first action that people can take?
[00:03:32] Marissa: Yeah. The first action is to define your one thing. So before we go any further, you guys, if you are long time listeners of the podcast, you know, that typically we recommend that you have two to three goals per quarter that you're going to focus on. Well, we're already midway into November and You don't have a ton of time to be focusing on your goals.
[00:03:53] It's a unique quarter and that you're busy. Typically people's work is super intense this time of year. So we're [00:04:00] actually going to recommend right now for you to just focus on one thing for the rest of the year. Like we only have so many hours in the day, so much energy that we can give to things. And.
[00:04:13] When this is happening, it's really easy to feel overwhelmed and just throw in the towel completely.
[00:04:18] Ken: And when I think about the one thing that you do, the thing that I keep asking myself is what's the one thing that's going to be successful for me in this current season and going to help me to be successful for Q1?
[00:04:30] Yeah. It's like, what's going to
[00:04:31] Marissa: make the biggest impact for your life? And, you know, I was talking with some of our clients yesterday and we were having this conversation about. Which goals do we focus on? Like I have so many options and I don't know where to focus. And my recommendation to them and to all of you who are listening is pick the thing that will have the largest impact.
[00:04:51] Like you're talking about Ken, where it has an impact on the rest of your life. And so you're using this for the next, You know, month and a half, but hopefully this is [00:05:00] going to bleed into Q1 and have kind of that downstream effect where it just trickles down and you know, you are off to the races January 1st.
[00:05:08] Ken: Another question that I like to ask our clients is what's the domino effect, right? What's the one domino you hit that will hit all the other ones and you feel like, Oh my gosh, I am really making momentum.
[00:05:18] Marissa: You know, Shalene Johnson, um, she calls this the push goal, the initial goal that will have an effect on all the other goals, make all of them easier.
[00:05:27] You know, faster, better. And so you kind of think of it like that, like what goal could you focus on right now? The one thing that if you did it now in January, it would make all your other goals easier to accomplish. Maybe it's a habit you need to install. Maybe this is getting rid of something, quitting something, you know, bad habit, or, you know, if you paid down debt right now, which could seem counterintuitive, it's the holidays, a lot of spending is happening, but what if you actually kind of tightened up?
[00:05:55] And paid that off so that January one, you're totally free from that. And you don't [00:06:00] have to carry that in to 2025.
[00:06:01] Ken: A great testimony that I could share is last year around this time, I started my habit goal of drinking water.
[00:06:09] Marissa: Right. Right. Yeah. What did you say? You were going to have a camelback or something?
[00:06:13] Ken: Oh, one of the things that I wanted to do was, you and I are both kind of like all individuals. For all of you who I talk to on the phones or clients in our coaching program, you're kind of the same way where you're just. It's always just like I could do things for 90 days really hard, but then you fall off.
[00:06:29] So I started to flip it and I said, what's the one thing I could do that I could build that habit that's going to give me the energy and the motivation to keep going on my health journey. Yeah. So back in October I decided let's do water. And then after I did water, I was like, okay, let's try to go to bed a little bit earlier.
[00:06:46] I didn't do a lot earlier. I just did a little bit. I was like, let me go to bed 15 minutes earlier.
[00:06:50] Marissa: That's good.
[00:06:51] Ken: I'm naturally a night owl. So I was like, I can't go to bed at nine. That's like too extreme for me. And then little by little, I started to take stuff off in May. [00:07:00] We did the, uh, crazy health challenge here.
[00:07:04] And I got rid of sugar. Well, now it's November and I've not had any extra sweets.
[00:07:09] Marissa: Okay. Are you going to hold onto this though for the, for the holidays? Like, I mean, Thanksgiving is in a couple of weeks. Are you?
[00:07:15] Ken: Yeah, I'm fully committed. No pie? No pie.
[00:07:17] Marissa: No pie.
[00:07:18] Ken: I know. It's so hard. Oh gosh.
[00:07:20] Marissa: Okay. Wow.
[00:07:22] Ken: I'm just trying, you know, I'm like
[00:07:23] Marissa: Good for you.
[00:07:24] Right
[00:07:24] Ken: now I'm committed, but all that to say, like I've little, a little by little been doing that. And I think just the other day I texted you. I'm like, Hey, I got sick for a while, but then one of the pros to it is I met my health goal, my weight goal that I wanted to hit. I'm like, I hit it. There's a silver lining.
[00:07:38] But I'm able to keep that and maintain it. And I just feel so much better about myself a year later now that I've actually hit these goals because I just focused on the one thing.
[00:07:46] Marissa: What I like particularly about what you said is it's small. Movement forward. You're not talking about some massive action that you have to take 15 habits you need to install, you know, to be successful.
[00:07:59] You're talking [00:08:00] about like going to bed 15 minutes earlier. Anybody can do that or drinking more water. Anybody can do that. And seemingly isn't that big of a deal, but the effect that it has on how you're able to feel every day when you wake up is huge and it's affecting probably your work life, your relationship, your.
[00:08:19] You know, ability to parent and show up in that way, your friendships, all of it. Because if you're sleeping well, if you're feeling good within your health, you're able to show up in a different way.
[00:08:28] Ken: 100%. I have more clarity and focus.
[00:08:30] Marissa: Okay. So action number one is to define your one thing. So habit goal, this could be an achievement goal that you want to do before the end of the year that will really set you up as you get into January.
[00:08:42] Now, action number two is to stop and recalibrate. So what are we talking about here?
[00:08:46] Ken: What you need to do here is that. You need to do an extra after action review, right? We do this during our weekly previews all the time, but I think this is really important for you to look at and just say, what do you need to start doing?
[00:08:58] What do you need to stop doing? What [00:09:00] do you need to continue doing in this particular season? Cause we all know that you have holidays coming up. Right. And sometimes we forget that we have to add like the extra travel time or just the emotional and mental energy that it takes. You might be seeing in laws, you might be seeing your parents, like just extra family and that just gets a little bit of exhausting.
[00:09:19] So you just got to keep that stuff in mind.
[00:09:21] Marissa: Well, I think one of the things that I love about this process, so if you're not familiar, an after action review is essentially. Our process for helping you think about the past and process it in a way that helps set you up for success for the future. So it's a series of question.
[00:09:35] If you're, you know, a full focus planner user, you know this process well, even though you may not know that you know it because we do it in the weekly preview, we do it in our quarterly preview, but essentially all this is, is you're asking what went well and what didn't and what do I want to change? We call this the KISS method.
[00:09:52] It's an acronym. There's four things. K I S S. So keep, what do you want to keep doing? What do you want to improve? [00:10:00] What do you want to start? And what do you want to stop? And I think that if you could just ask yourself these four questions, maybe look at the last 30 days, the last 90 days, and just ask yourself, what do you want to keep, improve, start, or stop?
[00:10:14] And that will help you kind of be able to recalibrate for this next month and a half that we have before the end of the year.
[00:10:21] Ken: You know what's funny about the kiss method, right? The other definition for that acronym is keep it simple, stupid. And I think about that for action number one, right? Of like, what's your number one goal?
[00:10:31] Keep it simple, right?
[00:10:33] Marissa: I love that. It's so true. Well hopefully I call you stupid guys'. Remember I didn't. Stupid . That's okay. Hopefully you guys will remember that. 'cause it is easy to remember. So if you're in a position, take out a piece of paper, write that acronym down and just fill in what. So whatever comes to mind for the last 30, 90 days, whatever feels right.[00:11:00]
[00:11:02] Action number three.
[00:11:03] Ken: Protect time to connect. This one's going to be different from most high achievers because most high achievers, they like to finish a task. They want to accomplish something. But we're actually saying. Hey, no, no, in this season, it's a great time to actually focus on connecting all these holidays that we are going to be celebrating.
[00:11:22] These are moments where you could build relationships with people to slow down and stop and actually say, you know what? What's really important here? Right. It's our relationships. It's our family. It's the people that we care about the most. Yeah. So this is a beautiful time to prioritize time with people.
[00:11:40] Marissa: Consequence of not doing this is burnout. We're not just talking about connecting with other people here and we'll get into this. We're talking about also connecting with yourself. You know, we've got all of our end of the year goals at work that we're all probably trying to hustle and hit. We also have all the holiday activities, [00:12:00] cooking, grocery shopping, gift shopping, all that kind of stuff, putting up your Christmas lights, you know, doing all the decorating, everything that is related to that.
[00:12:09] Then on top of that, there's all the social events, the Christmas parties, the Thanksgiving, the friends giving the, you know, fill in the blank. And it just becomes overwhelming really fast. And if you're not careful, if you're not connecting, you're going to burn out. And so. Rather than taking this as, okay, we've got to go now, say yes to every single invitation that comes our way and that's how we're going to connect, we're talking about really prioritizing the relationships that energize you.
[00:12:35] So there's going to be probably some circumstances where you're going to be in the holiday parties or holiday events or whatever with people who may drain you or maybe you're an introvert and that's really intense stimulation for you. And so what we want you to focus on is actually connecting and prioritizing time with the people that energize you, which I think a lot of us don't think about at this time of year.
[00:12:58] You know, we just feel [00:13:00] obligated to say yes to everyone. Here's your permission to say no to some of that
[00:13:05] Ken: at the same time. Also schedule a time to connect with yourself.
[00:13:08] Marissa: Yeah,
[00:13:09] Ken: because this is a part where especially for extroverts, right? We're both extroverts Yeah, we're connecting with so many other people that sometimes we forget to slow down and say what's going on with us ourselves and what's happening Internally in our own hearts and souls.
[00:13:23] So making sure that even in the holidays you carve out some time for yourself to rejuvenate Get refreshed so that you can go into 2025 better than ever.
[00:13:33] Marissa: Right. It's really true. I feel like this is the most important thing and it can be so easy to let those activities, that self care that we have just go out the window because it feels like impossible.
[00:13:45] We have way too many other things grabbing at our time. My encouragement is figure out one thing that you can do every day, just in the spirit of this one thing. What is one little thing that you could do that's. Maybe it's only five minutes, [00:14:00] maybe it's two minutes. That is something that you can accomplish every single day.
[00:14:03] You can commit to that will fill your tank up. So this could be sitting in silence. For five minutes just pure silence allowing your brain to settle and just not have input, you know It's like all day long. We have input this could be doing some kind of prayer or meditation This could be going on a walk for me.
[00:14:24] That feels really restorative. I usually listen to something that's Encouraging or growth minded during that time, which you know, it's great Sometimes like yesterday went on a walk, Put in a great playlist and I was like, ready to dance. I was like, let's go. Like, and it totally energized me. You know, I had been sitting down all day in meetings and everything, and it just gave me more fuel, which I think is really important for all of us this time of year.
[00:14:48] Ken: Those are all great examples and great thoughts. OK, which leads us to the final action. Action number four. Start dreaming for the next year. Yeah,
[00:14:58] Marissa: this is exciting. This is [00:15:00] where we really can start to dream. You know, maybe you've had a challenging year and you're ready to just like close the chapter and move on and look ahead to 2025.
[00:15:10] And this is the perfect time to start dreaming. Like, what do you want to be true a year from now? When you get into the Thanksgiving season in 2025, what do you want to be true for your life? And that is so exciting to start dreaming about. I just went on a trip with some girlfriends recently up to Vermont.
[00:15:28] We just. stayed in a cabin and all we did was talk for literally four days. We were laughing because we were like, wow, this is like the longest conversation any of us have ever had. You know, did we sleep? Did we do anything? But one of my girlfriends, she gave us this prompt that I thought was so helpful, which is in 2025, wouldn't it be fun if, and just start dreaming, fill in the blank.
[00:15:52] Like, wouldn't it be fun if I traveled more? Wouldn't it be fun if I earned more money? Wouldn't it be fun if I. paid off, you know, whatever debt I [00:16:00] have, wouldn't it be fine if you
[00:16:01] Ken: started jujitsu? Yeah.
[00:16:03] Marissa: Ken's trying to get me to start jujitsu. So wouldn't it be fun if I started jujitsu? Like, how cool would that be?
[00:16:08] You know, whatever it is, like just play with this, have a sense of playful energy. As you start to dream, you're not setting anything in stone yet. You're just allowing your brain to go, Hmm, what would be possible? You know, like what could happen for me this next year? And what if for just a moment you suspended all your fears, all those limiting beliefs, all those thoughts that tell you, well, that can't happen in a year.
[00:16:33] Ken: That part is really important because most people, when you start dreaming about the future, all of the fears come in, right? And all of these thoughts come in of like, well, that's actually not true because of this, this, this, or I have kids, so I can't really do this. And it's just like, No, no, no. Just allow yourself to dream.
[00:16:48] Yeah. And what I love about dreaming is that it actually reveals the true desires of your heart. It's
[00:16:53] Marissa: true. Of what
[00:16:54] Ken: you really want. And many times I have found people set goals actually that don't [00:17:00] align with what's in their desires.
[00:17:01] Marissa: It's true. I think a lot of people fall into this where they feel like, oh gosh, I should do this.
[00:17:06] Yeah. Or I'm supposed to do that thing or okay, it's like time for me to get that thing done. And it's actually not what they want. And so one of the, I think one of the best ways that we can determine what's really in alignment with us or not is how it feels in our body. And I talked with our clients about this yesterday and I was asking them, what does it feel like in your body when something feels in alignment to you?
[00:17:27] Like typically we feel physically drawn, like pulled towards something, you know, like, Ooh, that gets me excited. A lot of people were saying giddy. Yeah. And I loved that. Like think about like where you just are like, oh my gosh, you know, you get excited about it
[00:17:45] Ken: It's like a kid in at christmas waiting for the gifts to open that kind of giddiness like
[00:17:49] Marissa: giddy excited anticipation And if you're feeling that about something that's probably a good clue that it's in alignment with you with your values With your [00:18:00] desires and hopes for the future And so move towards that on the flip side, if it feels like your body is literally like pulling back, like, Whoa, like I don't want that, you know, if you start playing those tapes of, I should do this or so and so said I should, or.
[00:18:16] I'm feeling pressure for whatever reason, that's probably a good indication that it's not in alignment. That you need to either investigate those thoughts a little bit more or completely release them and say, you know, I don't think that's actually for me.
[00:18:29] Ken: My last thought as you are dreaming for the next year, once you get rid of suspending reality, right?
[00:18:38] Sometimes we could dream and you're like dreaming off the charts, but then you do have to come back to reality. At some point, one of the things that I have loved is that when I commit to the dream, then my mind starts to figure out the solution of how to get there with where I'm at in reality.
[00:18:53] Marissa: Totally.
[00:18:54] Well, it's just like trust that your brain can figure this out and just have a little [00:19:00] bit of courage to dream. And see what comes up for you. You might be surprised at what happens. And then, you know, once we actually get into the new year, we start helping you guys with figuring out your goals and all that kind of stuff.
[00:19:12] You know, you can really start to craft this at that point, getting into the specifics of how do I actually get this thing done. But right now, just dream. The invitation is just to dream. Now I do want to formally invite all of you who are listening to our biggest and best Goal setting event of the entire year and it's really not just a goal setting event.
[00:19:34] It's a goal achievement event This is our two day virtual live event called your best forever live. It is Hands down and this is hard to say because I love life focus But I think Best Year Ever is still hands down my favorite.
[00:19:48] Ken: Is it? Yeah. Wow. And we're actually expanding it this year too. And we're
[00:19:51] Marissa: expanding it.
[00:19:52] It's now a two day event where in the past we've done this as a one day event. This is our 11th year doing this [00:20:00] event, which is so exciting. It's going to be bigger, better than ever before. I am so, so excited. And I think the reason that I love this so much is it feels really tangible. Like. It's not something that is so, Oh, we're just dreaming.
[00:20:16] We're thinking about things. It's like, no, we're really creating your plan for 2025 so that you can have it be actually your best year ever. Like how amazing would it be if this was the year that at the end of the year, you looked back and went, gosh, I was able to accomplish this and that. And man, I saw myself show up in a way.
[00:20:38] In my life that I've never seen before.
[00:20:41] Ken: There is this self confidence and you're proud of yourself because you're like, I did it. I'm giddy. I'm excited. I actually accomplished what I've wanted to accomplish for years. And that's because you decided to invest two days of your time to get this massive result back.
[00:20:56] So it's totally worth it. I love it. I love being a part of it [00:21:00] and connecting with all of you as clients and participants. It's amazing.
[00:21:04] Marissa: It really is. And if you're Thinking about your goals and you're thinking about 2025 and you're asking yourself. Okay. Well I need to create all my goals and I need to be able to create the action plan.
[00:21:15] We do all of that with you. So this isn't just like a conference where you come and you watch it and you're just not an active participant. You are fully engaged throughout this two day process. We have you leave with all of your goals for 2025, your action plan to achieve them. Plus we help you put. All of 2024 to bed.
[00:21:35] You know, we really closed the chapter. We release any kind of limiting beliefs or challenges that came up. We're going to help you get the recognition that you may have not gotten this year, which I think is really important. We're going to help you dream again and get in that dream state. We'll do visualization exercises and all kinds of great things to help you really craft.
[00:21:54] Your best year ever. So if you guys are interested in joining us, we'd love to have you. You can go to [00:22:00] full focus. co slash best year ever to get your tickets. Now, those are not going to be available for forever. So my encouragement is go now we have great prices on those and we would love to see you in January.
[00:22:11] Ken: And for those people who are like, I don't know what my goals are yet for 2025. This would be a great event to come to, right? That's what we're actually going to do at the event is help you figure out what you want to do for 2025.
[00:22:23] Marissa: It really is practical, inspiring, and it's going to leave you not only just with a lot of hope for the new year, but really a sense of confidence that you can actually get what you want done.
[00:22:36] Okay guys, so we gave you four actions today to really set yourself up for success in 2025 and finish this year strong. So, action number one is to define your one thing. What is the one thing you want to focus on between now and the end of the year that is going to have a massive impact on you now and in the year to come?
[00:22:57] Action number two is to stop and recalibrate. This is [00:23:00] where you're going to do your after action review. And ask yourself those questions within that kiss method. Then action number three is to protect time to connect. So this is connecting with others, connecting with yourself. And then lastly, action four is to start dreaming for next year.
[00:23:16] And our encouragement to you is be playful with this. Literally start dreaming again and see what comes up for you. And hopefully we'll see you at your best forever life.
[00:23:32] Ken: Thanks for joining us on focus on this.
[00:23:34] Marissa: This is the most productive podcast on the internet. So please share it with your friends. And if you would go leave a review on whatever podcast platform you're listening on and be sure to join us in the full focus planner community on Facebook, so you can benefit from.
[00:23:49] from the creativity and encouragement of people chasing big goals just like you.
[00:23:54] Ken: And we will actually not be here next week because it's going to be Thanksgiving [00:24:00] week and we want to make sure you spend all your time with your family and friends. And if you are normally listening to our podcast in the car ride, maybe call someone that time.
[00:24:09] Marissa: Yeah, I love that. That's a good idea. Yeah. Well, happy Thanksgiving if you're here in the U. S. and until then,
[00:24:15] Ken: stay focused. Stay focused.
[00:24:18] Marissa: Stay focused.
[00:24:18] Stay focused.