Issue 6 - 90 Days to 2026. What Do You Actually Want

If You Could Start Over, What Would You Choose

October issue. There are roughly ninety days left in 2025. This is the month that decides whether you jog into January or hit the ground with intent. Set your direction now so the first quarter of 2026 is momentum, not warm up.

October is not a scramble. It is a narrowing.

Why October matters for 2026

January feels fresh because the calendar flips. October is powerful because real decisions are still being made. Budgets and headcount are discussed across October and November. If you want scope, resources or a new brief in the first quarter, you influence it now. Priorities for the first quarter tend to harden before the holidays. Leaders who arrive in January with a neat plan usually wrote it in October and socialised it in November.

The story that shapes performance and promotion is built on what you demonstrate in the last quarter. A focused ninety day win changes how decision makers view your capability and your trajectory. Hiring and vendor cycles slow from mid December. The relationships you seed now become your fast track in the new year.

Two short execution cycles before year end beat any new year warm up. Proof beats promise. Momentum beats intention.

Do not wait for January to get clear. Create proof now.

Why October matters

• Budgets and headcount are shaped now

• First quarter priorities lock before the holidays

• Last quarter wins influence promotion narratives

• Hiring slows from mid December

• Momentum beats warm up

October is not a panic month. It is a choice to trade busywork for a few high leverage moves that change your trajectory.

A simple look back without the spiral

Reflection does not need to be heavy. It needs to be honest. Think of this like a coach sliding a notebook across the table.

Where did you create unmistakable impact this year
Name one example that another person would verify. What made it work. Your preparation, your relationships, your timing.

Where did you spend a lot of time with very little return
Be specific. A project, a stakeholder, a routine or a habit. What will you stop, shrink or delegate in the last quarter.

When did you feel most alive at work
Note the conditions. The type of work, the pace, the people, the autonomy. This is a clue for your 2026 plan.

If a goal has not moved by now it needs a different approach or a clean cut.

Keep these three answers visible. They will anchor the rest of this read.

The psychology of late year planning

October works better than January because you have more data and fewer illusions. You know which meetings waste your time and which ones move the work. You know which stakeholders amplify your efforts and which ones drain them. You can see the cost of poor boundaries and the relief of a clean no. Your nervous system has learned something about pace, recovery and how much pressure you can carry without tipping into burnout.

Good plans respect human limits. They pick fewer moves and make them cleaner. They protect energy first and then add stretch. The myth that you must suffer to grow is how capable professionals burn out or stagnate. Sustainable career growth is not a motivational speech. It is a design problem. You design your week and your standards so your best work becomes the default, not a special event.

Make your best work the default, not a special event.

What do you actually want next year

Most people start with titles or companies. Start with the work. Your work fills your week and shapes your identity.

The work that pulls you forward

Describe the problems you want to spend hours on without resentment. List the skills you want to use every week, not just polish for a review. Identify the people or the sector that make the effort feel worthwhile. If you are stuck, scan the moments where you felt absorbed and effective this year and borrow those words. Do not chase a status you cannot sustain. Choose a craft that rewards your attention.

The work you are ready to retire

Every career carries legacy commitments that no longer fit. Write the meetings, tasks or roles that were useful once but now dilute your attention. Decide which ones you will exit this quarter and how. A clean handover, a tighter scope, or a stop. People respect clarity more than they enjoy your quiet resentment.

The work to double down on

Choose one activity that reliably creates visible impact. Make it bigger for the next ninety days. Bigger does not mean busier. It means clearer ownership, tighter standards and better support. If you present complex information with calm authority, do more of that. If you excel at first principles problem solving, take the next messy piece of work that needs it. Progress comes from concentration, not constant novelty.

Make busy smaller and proof bigger.

Draw the lines that protect your focus

Progress comes from the standards you defend when things get noisy.

Anti goals are patterns you refuse to repeat. Example. No back to back late nights across time zones without a recovery block the next day.
Non negotiables are standards you keep. Example. Two deep work blocks each day. No weekend emails unless urgent and agreed.

Write three anti goals and three non negotiables. Add one sentence on how you will protect each. Share them with one person who will hold you to them.

The Ideal Ordinary Week

• Two focus blocks daily

• Predictable visibility for stakeholders

• Clean delegation with decision rights

• Recovery and thinking time protected

Progress comes from standards you defend when things get noisy.

Your Ideal Ordinary Week for the last quarter

Not a holiday week. Not a crisis week. A normal, repeatable rhythm that you would be happy to live many times.

When are your focus blocks
Block two recurring sixty minute windows now. Name them clearly. Tuesday 9.00 Focus. Thursday 14.00 Strategy. Guard them like board meetings. If you miss one, reschedule the same day.

What is your visible time for the team and stakeholders
Decide when you are intentionally available. A calm leader is easy to find when they are predictable.

What gets delegated or parked
Move work to the right level. If you hand something off, keep the outcome clear, the decision rights explicit and the first checkpoint in the diary.

Where do you place recovery and thinking time
If you do not block it, meetings will block it for you. A fifteen minute reset is cheaper than an error that takes hours to fix.

Write this on a single page and keep it visible. Complexity is a hiding place. Simplicity invites action.

Build a ninety day map you can actually run

You do not need a big plan. You need a few clean moves that fit your life.

Decide your one focus

Write one statement that captures the single outcome that would make this quarter a win.

Template
By 31 December I will achieve [clear outcome] because it moves me toward [2026 aim].

Good examples. Close the loop on a recurring incident by implementing a repeatable handover that reduces recovery time by twenty per cent. Shift from project lead to practice lead by shaping a cross functional forum that aligns priorities and cuts rework. Rebuild energy by defending two deep work blocks daily and reducing weekend work to genuine emergencies only.

Make the outcome visible and measurable. You do not need a perfect metric. You need a proof point that a reasonable person would accept.

Keep. Change. Try.

Run your current commitments through this filter.

• Keep if it delivers impact, builds a key strength and fits your Ideal Ordinary Week. These are the engine of your progress. Treat them well.

• Change if it drains energy or fights your non negotiables. Adjust scope, timing or ownership. Ask for help with a clear brief. People are willing to support you when you ask early and name the outcome.

• Try if it sparks interest and could become a small bet. Give it a clear outcome and a time box. Curiosity is renewable when it has boundaries.

Keep. Change. Try.

• Keep what compounds

• Change what drains

• Try what could become a small win

Choose one Keep, one Change and one Try for the next fortnight. Put the first checkpoints in your calendar before you close this tab.

Calendar entries are commitments. Wish lists are not.

Two tiny bets this week

Progress loves experiments. List two actions you can complete in under two hours. Ask for a scoping chat for a stretch project. Test a new briefing format with your team. Reach out to a person doing the work you want next and ask for a short call. Write a one page summary of your proposed first quarter focus and float it with a trusted leader. Book a day and time for both actions. If you cannot schedule them, they are not real.

Career development priorities for 2026

You want clarity, not a wish list. Anchor on five levers that compound.

Capability
Name one depth skill and one breadth skill to develop. Depth makes you indispensable. Breadth makes you promotable. Depth might be advanced data literacy, regulatory knowledge or negotiation. Breadth might be stakeholder mapping, strategic communication or cross functional leadership. Write why each matters and how you will practise it weekly.

Positioning
Decide how you will be known. Choose one sentence that others can repeat. Then align your projects, updates and case studies to that narrative. If you want to be known as the person who turns incident response into resilient process, show that pattern across three examples and make the learning visible.

Relationships
Map five relationships that will shape your 2026 opportunities. A sponsor inside your company. A peer in a partner team. A leader in a function you want to learn. A client or stakeholder who sees your work. Put a light cadence in your calendar now. Add value before you ask for anything. Share an insight, a useful resource or a connection.

Proof
Pick two outcomes you can point to by March. Early proof changes how decision makers see you and sets your promotion story. Keep them modest and obvious. A repeatable handover that removes a bottleneck. A stakeholder forum that reduces approval cycles. A dashboard that answers a recurring question without a meeting. Proof builds trust. Trust buys you scope.

Wellbeing systems
Sustainable success needs energy. Protect sleep, recovery and two deep work blocks a day. This is burnout prevention in practice. It is not soft. It is operational discipline. A tired brain makes expensive mistakes and reaches for busywork. A rested brain chooses focus and finishes the work that matters.

Confidence is not a speech. It is evidence you collect on purpose.

If you are facing quiet burnout or a sense of career drift, this framework still applies. You will progress by dropping low value commitments, resetting boundaries and stacking small wins that rebuild confidence. Evidence beats opinion. Collect it on purpose.

Common blockers and how to move through them

I do not have time
You have some time. It is currently spread across low value tasks. Stop one thing this week and use that time for one tiny bet.

My leader will not support a shift in focus
Leaders support clarity, proof and risk reduction. Frame your proposal as an experiment that solves a real problem and reduces future effort. Offer a checkpoint and an exit ramp.

I am tired and cannot think big
Do not think big. Think precise. Protect energy first. Then pick one proof point. Action rebuilds belief faster than rumination.

I worry about looking selfish
Boundaries are an act of care. You are protecting the conditions that let you do your best work.

Reduce goals. Increase standards.

Why I care about October

In my last corporate chapter I led across the Asia Pacific region with strong ties into the United Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East. The work spanned time zones, incident response and the kind of pressure where the clock is against you and the stakes are real. It was never just work. It was people. We backed each other through disruption and sometimes we made it through on sheer will.

Then COVID arrived. Lockdowns, remote work and isolation stretched every part of leadership. People needed reassurance and practical help while I was handling my own challenges at the same time. We adapted. We supported each other. We came through stronger. The lesson I carried into coaching is simple. The job does not get easier. You must get clearer and more disciplined about where your energy goes. The last quarter became my best teacher. It showed me what mattered, what was just motion and which standards kept me useful and human. That is why I encourage clients to treat October as a lever, not a waiting room.

You do not have to start over to start fresh.

Optional next step

If you want a sounding board I offer a thirty minute Clarity Audit Call. It is a diagnostic conversation, not a full solution. We clarify one pattern that keeps you stuck, highlight one leverage point to test and check whether a deeper coaching programme is a fit. You leave with insight and next step options. The full work lives inside a coaching partnership.

https://rkgrowcoaching.com.au/schedule. Places are limited each week.

Final word

You have ninety days to create momentum and enter 2026 with intent. Keep it simple. Keep it honest. Take the next small step today. The work you choose now will be the story you tell in January.