It’s the end of September. You look at the goals you set back in January (the fitness plan, the promotion, the book you were going to write, the practice you were going to build) and you feel the gap between what you said you would do and what you actually did. The temptation is to shrug, mutter “next year,” and quietly close the tab.
Please don’t.
The three months in front of you are not a consolation prize. According to behavioral science, they are one of the best windows all year to restart.
Why now is not “too late”
Wharton researchers Hengchen Dai, Katherine Milkman, and Jason Riis coined the term Fresh Start Effect to describe a well-documented pattern: people are significantly more likely to pursue their goals right after “temporal landmarks” like the start of a new week, month, quarter, or semester. Their studies found that gym visits, diet-related searches, and commitments to pursue goals all spike after these moments.
October 1 is a temporal landmark stacked on top of a temporal landmark. It is the start of a new month, the start of Q4, and it lands in the wake of the back-to-school reset most of us still feel in our bones. The calendar is offering you exactly the psychological runway you need.
The trap that makes people quit
There is a pattern in self-regulation research called the what-the-hell effect, first identified by researchers Janet Polivy and C. Peter Herman. Once we perceive that we have already failed at a goal (broken the diet, missed the workout, blown the quarter), we tend to abandon the effort altogether. One slip becomes a spiral.
“I’m too far behind to hit my goal, so I might as well not try” is the executive version of the same trap. It sounds reasonable. It is not.
The healthiest response to being behind is not “start over in January.” It is “make progress today.”
Four things to do this week
- Redefine the win. You are almost certainly not going to hit the goal you set in January exactly as written. That is fine. Ask yourself a better question: what would meaningful progress in the next 90 days look like? If your target was to add 12 new clients, is 4 realistic? If it was to run three miles, is one? Set a smaller, honest goal you can actually reach by December 31, and let the original number be information rather than an indictment.
- Make an if-then plan. Peter Gollwitzer and Paschal Sheeran’s meta-analysis of 94 studies found that “implementation intentions” (concrete plans in the form “if situation X happens, then I will do Y”) had a medium-to-large effect on goal achievement. “I will exercise more” fails. “If it is Tuesday at 6:00 a.m., I will put on my running shoes and walk to the end of the block” works. Write down the when, the where, and the how.
- Stack small wins. Harvard’s Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer analyzed nearly 12,000 daily work diaries and found that the single strongest driver of motivation, creativity, and engagement was one thing: making progress on meaningful work, even in small increments. They called this the Progress Principle. One phone call. One paragraph written. One difficult conversation had. Small wins compound, and more importantly, they change how you feel about the effort itself.
- Talk to yourself the way you would talk to a colleague. Research by Dr. Kristin Neff at UT Austin has consistently shown that self-compassion is associated with greater personal initiative, less procrastination, and more motivation, not less. Beating yourself up for being behind does not fuel action. It fuels avoidance. If someone on your team came to you and said, “I’m three-quarters of the way through the year and I’ve barely started,” you would not tell them they were a failure. Extend the same honesty and kindness inward.
What “finishing strong” actually means
Finishing strong does not mean hitting your original number. It means arriving at December 31 with momentum instead of regret. It means being able to say, “I made real progress in the last quarter,” which is a very different sentence from “I failed at my resolutions.”
Ninety days is enough time to build a new habit. It is enough time to close a deal, finish a draft, run a program, mend a relationship, or start a practice. It is not enough time to erase nine months of drift, and it does not need to be.
You have one quarter left. Use it.
Love,
Certified Professional Coach and Psychologist
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How often have you wished for that person in your life who listens deeply, doesn’t judge you, and doesn’t try to fix you? That person who holds space for you to talk through your struggles, your hopes, and dreams so that you can live the personal and professional life that you truly want? I’m that person. Yes, I’m a psychologist and a professional life and leadership coach but my superpower is listening, deep, empathic, compassionate listening. If you’ve been seeking a professional listener who will help you live the life you truly desire, let’s set up a time to talk. My email is Lisa@LisaKaplin.com