Your Q4 Survival Kit - at work and in life - just landed
October 6th, 2026
I went into a store over the weekend, and noticed the Halloween candy already getting shoved in next to the holiday decor.
My mission was to get a pumpkin carving kit, but the Christmas trees activated an alarm in my brain. Needless to say, I left with my head spinning with of all the things I needed to do through December 31st.
The end of the year has a way of compressing everything. Year-end targets, budget decisions, performance reviews, holiday logistics. Gift season is heading straight for us, and you might still have Thanksgiving flights to book.
If you're like me, you're probably not ready to close out 2026 because there's still so much left to do, and yet you may already be building the vision for 2027 and beyond.
So for this edition, I wanted to share some new resources I've been working on to help support you through the season. None of these will magically make it less busy. But these interactive guides and references are designed to slow the panic and be a soft landing place to plan all the things while making sure you're keeping YOU on the list.
In this with you,
Alison
Featured Q4 Survival Guides
For Anyone Trying to Stay Sane
An Interactive Q4 Checklist: For the person doing their job and the holidays at the same time. It has a two-minute check-in for the end of each day, and then a rolling, interactive checklist for getting through Q4 in one piece. Prompts to plan and others to reflect. Your progress saves as you go.
NEW: For People Leaders Wrapping up the Year
The People Leader Checklist: For anyone managing people through Q4. Three short lists: your team, your planning, and you. It helps you see who's overloaded, decide what to push to January, and remember you're on the list too. This interactive guide saves as you go, bookmark this to come back to through the end of the year.
Leader-led practice
One of the things I get asked all the time: how do I approach conversations with my team, collectively and individually, to check in on how it's actually going? Not necessarily the work itself, but the energy around the work.
I usually start by asking, "well, are you asking the questions"?
For many, this is very intuitive, but when sitting face to face (or screen to screen) it can also often be the first thing to go. Not maliciously, but you know, in the name of efficiency.
This is true for workplaces, or if you notice someone in your life (a partner, a friend in your community) who may look overwhelmed but it feels like asking may be the thing that piles on instead of helps.
So my advice always is: have the conversation. Make time. Ask the questions.
Here's a few simple ice breakers to start the conversation:
What's been taking more out of you than you feel like it should?
Where are you spending energy on something that may not actually matter right now?
Has anything felt unclear in the past couple of weeks?
If you want a resource you can bookmark and return to, check out my free Mindful Manager checklist including 1:1 prompts and your own energy tracker.
Team Capacity Score Diagnostic
Our new Capacity Quiz measures what may still be remaining largely invisible: whether your team has capacity for innovation and sustained performance.
In 12 questions you'll get an instant read on four dimensions where hidden capacity leaks most commonly show up:
Burnout Risk
Operating Capacity
Cognitive Bandwidth
Support and Trust
