Why the “ber” months are the perfect time to get honest about what’s actually going to get done this year.
Remember January?
New year. Fresh start. BIG plans.
This was going to be the year you finally tackled that project.
You were going to update those job descriptions. Rethink that process. Develop your managers. Get your compensation strategy in order. Review your policies. Address that issue that has been quietly sitting on the back burner for… well, longer than anyone would like to admit.
Then, of course, the year happened.
Priorities shifted. People left. People joined. Something urgent came up. Something else broke. The team got busy. Leadership had other things to focus on.
And now it’s September.
The routines are returning. Summer is winding down. The “ber” months have officially arrived. And suddenly, the end of the year is no longer a distant concept.
It’s coming.
And so is that list.
Enter: The September Scaries
Every year, September brings a certain kind of organizational reckoning.
Maybe it’s because everyone is settling back into routines. Maybe it’s the back-to-back appearance of September, October, November and December on the calendar. Or maybe it’s simply that moment when someone finally says:
“Wait… are we really going to push this to next year again?”
The projects that have been sitting quietly in the background suddenly feel a little louder.
The goals that seemed perfectly reasonable in January now feel suspiciously ambitious.
And all those things you planned to “get to eventually” are now competing for a limited amount of time, attention and capacity.
If this is starting to sound familiar, you’re not alone.
Welcome to the September Scaries.
The Great End of Year Panic
Here’s what usually happens next.
Someone looks at the calendar and realizes Q4 is next month.
Suddenly, everything becomes urgent.
The project that hasn’t been touched since February? Can we get that done before year-end?
The leadership conversation that has been postponed three times? We should probably schedule that.
The manager training you’ve been meaning to do all year? Maybe we can fit it in before December?
The HR process that everyone knows needs to be fixed? Okay, let’s finally deal with it.
Before long, the same organization that didn’t have time for a project in March is trying to squeeze six months of work into six weeks.
This is the Great End of Year Panic.
And honestly? We get it.
But the answer isn’t necessarily to try to do everything at once.
You Don’t Need to Finish Everything. But You Do Need to Get Honest.
September can actually be one of the most valuable points in the year to pause and reassess.
Not to create another overwhelming to-do list.
Not to add 14 new priorities.
And definitely not to convince yourself that everything must be completed by December 31.
Instead, take an honest look at what is still on the list.
Then ask a few important questions:
- What actually needs to get done this year?
Not everything is equally important. Some initiatives are genuinely time-sensitive. Others can wait until 2027 without causing any real problem.
- What keeps getting pushed back — and why?
This is an important one. If something has been sitting on the list all year, the issue may not be the project itself. It may be that no one has the capacity to own it. Or the expertise. Or the time. Or the authority to move it forward.
- What could realistically be completed with the right support?
A project doesn’t have to stay unfinished simply because your internal team can’t take it on alone. Sometimes the right outside perspective, additional capacity or experienced support is enough to get something moving that has been stalled for months.
The Problem Isn’t Always the Project
Organizations are often very good at identifying what needs to be done.
The harder part is figuring out how it’s actually going to happen.
- You know your HR processes need work, but your HR team is already busy keeping up with everything else.
- You know a compensation issue needs attention, but the internal team doesn’t have the expertise or capacity to dig into the data.
- You know an employee relations issue needs to be handled carefully, but you could use an experienced, objective perspective.
- You know your job descriptions need updating, but no one has time to review them.
- You know your managers need support, but training keeps getting postponed.
The list can go on.
The issue isn’t always a lack of awareness. Sometimes it’s simply a lack of bandwidth.
And that’s okay.
Stop Treating “Not Started” Like “Not Possible”
Here’s the good news: September is not too late.
There is still time to make meaningful progress before the end of the year. But meaningful progress doesn’t have to mean finishing everything.
- Maybe you complete the project.
- Maybe you get the right people aligned and develop a plan.
- Maybe you finally get an initiative started instead of pushing it to another year.
- Maybe you bring in additional support so your internal team doesn’t have to choose between the strategic work they want to do and the urgent work they need to do.
The goal isn’t to end the year with an empty to-do list.
Let’s be realistic. There will always be something on the list.
The goal is to stop letting the same important things roll from one year to the next simply because no one has had the capacity to address them.
Twenty Years Has Taught Us Something About Organizational To-Do Lists
As we celebrate 20 years of Exude Human Capital, we’ve seen a lot of organizational to-do lists.
And one thing has remained consistent:
There will always be more to do than there is time to do it.
The organizations that make progress aren’t necessarily the ones with the longest lists, the biggest teams or the most ambitious plans.
They’re the ones that know what deserves attention.
They understand where their internal teams are stretched too thin.
And they know when it’s time to bring in additional expertise or support rather than continuing to say, “We’ll get to it eventually.”
So, What’s Still on Your List?
September doesn’t have to be the beginning of the Great End of Year Panic.
It can be the moment you get honest about what’s left.
Take a look at the list.
Decide what actually matters.
Figure out what’s been getting in the way.
And stop assuming that the only two options are “do it internally” or “put it off until next year.”
Sometimes the right support can help you make meaningful progress now — and start the new year without staring at the exact same unfinished list.
The year isn’t over yet.
But it is a good time to decide what you’re actually going to do with what’s left of it.
Need help crossing something off your list?
Whether your organization needs additional HR capacity, support with a specific initiative, experienced guidance through a workplace challenge or help getting a long-delayed project moving, Exude Human Capital can meet you where you are.
Let’s Talk About What’s on Your List →