There Is Still Time: A ROTTNBOZ Fourth-Quarter Reset

October 1: There Is Still Time

The year isn't over. You don't need to start over. You may simply need to get clear about what deserves the next 90 days.

October 1 has an interesting energy.

For many businesses and organizations, it marks the beginning of a new fiscal year. New budgets. New plans. New expectations. New numbers on the board.

For the rest of us, it marks something just as significant:

We have entered the final quarter of the year.

Not the end.

The final quarter.

And there's a difference.

This isn't the moment for the “Well, where did the year go?” conversation yet.

We'll have time for that.

This is the moment to look at the calendar and realize:

There is still time.

You Don't Have to Throw Away the First Nine Months

Sometimes we treat a reset as if everything that happened before it no longer counts.

I don't believe that.

You don't have to erase January through September to make October meaningful.

Some things worked.

Some didn't.

Some goals changed because you changed.

Some things you thought you wanted in January don't fit anymore.

Some plans were interrupted by things you couldn't have predicted.

Some goals may still be sitting exactly where you left them.

And some things you accomplished weren't even on the original list.

Count those too.

Growth doesn't always follow the agenda.

Before deciding what needs to happen next, give yourself a minute to recognize what has already happened.

Look Back—But Don't Move Backward

This is where reflection becomes useful.

Not:

Why didn't I do more?

Try:

What actually worked?

Not:

Why am I so far behind?

Try:

What am I measuring myself against?

Not:

I should have had this figured out by now.

Try:

What do I know on October 1 that I didn't know on January 1?

That's information.

And information gives us something to work with.

One of the things I've learned while building ROTTNBOZ™ is that reflection isn't supposed to become another opportunity to criticize yourself.

Reflection should produce clarity.

Otherwise, we're just replaying old footage.

Give the Next 90 Days a Job

I like this question:

What do I want these next three months to do for me?

Not twenty-seven goals.

Not an entirely new personality by Monday. 😂

Just some direction.

Maybe this quarter is about finishing.

Maybe it's about beginning.

Maybe it's about consistency.

Maybe you need to repair something.

Maybe you need to organize your finances.

Maybe you need to have the conversation.

Maybe you need to complete the application.

Maybe you need to finally write the first page.

Maybe your goal isn't achievement at all.

Maybe these next 90 days need to be about creating more peace in your home, spending time with people you love, rebuilding your confidence, or learning how to stop carrying something that was never yours.

Your quarter doesn't have to look productive to somebody else to be valuable to you.

Give it a purpose.

Document the Quarter You Want to Have

You knew I was going there. 😂

Write it down.

Not because writing something magically makes it happen.

Writing creates a point of reference.

Choose three things:

What am I continuing?

Something is already working. Don't abandon it just because we're entering a new quarter.

What am I changing?

You've had nine months of information. Use it.

What am I completing?

Pick something that deserves to cross the finish line.

That's enough to begin.

October doesn't require a complete reinvention.

Sometimes you need an adjustment—not an overhaul.

And ROTTNBOZ Has Something to Reflect On Too

This quarter feels different for me.

Because somewhere along the way, these words stopped belonging only to me.

You started reading them.

Some of you bought the books.

Some started working through the guides.

Some shared a post.

Some told a friend.

Some told a coworker.

And some of you thought about a person going through something difficult and said:

“You need to read this.”

I don't take that lightly.

Every time you recommend a ROTTNBOZ book, you're doing more than helping a new author find another reader.

Sometimes you're quietly telling another person:

I see what you're going through.

You're not the only one.

Maybe this will help.

That matters to me.

Especially because I'm still new to this.

I'm learning publishing while publishing.

I'm learning how to build a community while welcoming people into it.

I'm learning what resonates with you while continuing to figure out what ROTTNBOZ can become.

And somehow, while I'm learning, you're helping me build it.

Thank you.

Thank you for reading.

Thank you for telling somebody else.

Thank you for sharing the posts.

Thank you for giving a new author a chance.

And thank you especially for putting one of these books into the hands—or onto the screen—of somebody you thought needed to know:

You are not alone in what you're experiencing.

That's bigger than a sale.

Our Next Quarter

So maybe October 1 doesn't need a dramatic declaration.

Maybe we simply need to become a little more intentional.

Look at what happened.

Keep what worked.

Learn from what didn't.

Notice what's changing.

Choose what matters now.

Write it down.

And give yourself the next 90 days to work on it.

We'll talk about endings when it's time to talk about endings.

Today, we're talking about what's still possible.

There are three months sitting in front of us.

Three months of ordinary Tuesdays.

Unexpected opportunities.

Small decisions.

Changed minds.

Completed projects.

New conversations.

Quiet progress.

Second attempts.

And things we don't even know are coming yet.

That's a lot of life still left in this year.

So I'm not asking:

“Did you accomplish everything you planned?”

I'm asking:

What deserves your next 90 days?

Write that one down.

Then let's see what happens.

Welcome to the fourth quarter, ROTTNBOZ community.

We're not wrapping up yet.

We're still building.

Document what you've learned. Protect what matters. Rise into what's next. ™

— Brandi V. Whitten

Founder & Author, ROTTNBOZ™ Document. Protect. Rise. ™