As we fall into the last quarter of the year, I am witnessing an all too familiar situation that many entrepreneurs and sales professionals find themselves in: overload and catch up mode. In a recent conversation with one, she summed it up beautifully saying “I am going at Mach 2 with my hair on fire!”

When one is in business it can sometimes feel like you are on a desert island; alone, adrift and not quite certain what the escape plan should be. What used to seem like plenty of time nine months ago is now a case of, “Holy you-know-what! I only have less than three months left of the year!” and one or more of the following issues is raising their ugly head:

• You are off your sales targets year to date
• Business that you were certain was going to close this year has now been postponed to Q1 next year (through no fault of yours)
• You do not have enough new business in the funnel
• You do not have e
• nough new people to talk to
• You have been so busy working in the weeds that you have not had a chance to come up for air and do any planning for next year (sorry to remind you about next year!)
• You are utterly exhausted and don’t know how you are going to make it through the next three months
• Halloween and the holidays are right around the corner and you are freaking out

Fear not for you are not alone but although there is safety in numbers that is of little comfort right now. Here are my top six tips to help you reboot, put out the fire, salvage your year-end and come out on top when you ring in the New Year.

1. Book some ‘me time’ to stop, breathe and regroup – I can hear many of you now, what does she mean stop I don’t have time! It is impossible for the human body to go full tilt 24/7, everyone needs a chance to power down and recharge their batteries. However, for some reason entrepreneurs and sales professionals chastise themselves that down time is forbidden time.

1. Look at your plan for the balance of the year – then decide if you can realistically do everything that you planned to do back at the start of the year. Sometimes being successful requires making some tough decisions and also admitting to yourself that you are only human.

1. At the end of each day, make a list of the top three things you need to accomplish the next day – make sure they are focused on revenue generating tasks, you want to be in green time which is money making time. Lying awake in bed at night worrying about things will not allow you to get the sleep you need to operate at full capacity during the day.

1. Get out of your office and network – I have a newsflash for you! The four walls in your office are not buying what you have to offer. Networking allows you to meet new people who can and will become your prospects and clients and who will introduce you to other people. It also has the direct effect of bringing your energy level up because you are with other people and you can feed off their energy.

1. You become the average of the five people you spend the most time with – (outside of your immediate family). Take stock of whom you are spending your time with and determine if they have been sucking valuable business time away from you or depleting your energy stockpile. It might be time to make a change in your circle and that is not a bad thing.

1. Determine if you are charging enough – for your products, programs or services and stop giving things away. Your brain is not for free so learn when to say no!

If things have not gone totally according to plan to this spot in the year, simply build a bridge, get over it and keep moving towards the end of the year. You have the power and control to make it a great finish!

To Your Success!