It’s the end of August, which means that we’re 2/3 of the way through the year.

It also means that children are returning to school, the summer holidays are coming to an end, and workloads are going to start increasing soon.

Here are 7 things you can do to stay on top of things and prepare for the end of the year:

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1. Work on Your Goals

If you’ve made any large goals, especially at the beginning of the year, you may have fallen behind when it comes to working on them.

This is especially the case when it comes to New Year’s resolutions. Many of us, myself included, forget about the New Year’s resolutions we make. Now is a great time to revisit those goals.

Of the 6 New Year’s resolutions I made, I’m only interested in completing 3 of them now. However I have fallen behind on them, so I’ve taken the time to plan out how I’m going to catch up on them.

One of the resolutions was to write 250,000 words during the year. While I’ve been keeping up with that throughout the year, I did fall behind recently. But now I know that I can use some time during the fall to catch up on that goal.

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2. Revisit Your Budget

Your spending during the summer probably looks a lot different than your spending during the fall and winter, especially if you have children.

There’ll be differences in your heating habits and in the kinds of foods you buy.

Since the weather is cooler my family tends to cook more meals, and make things like soups and roasts. This changes what we buy and how much we spend on food.

If you have children, then you know that summer means things like day care, vacations, and entertainment, all of which can be expensive. The end of summer means back to school shopping, which can take a toll if you don’t budget things out properly.

Now’s a great time to revisit your budget and make adjustments for these kinds of things. It’ll save you a hassle down the line.

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3. Keep Up Good Habits

Many people get more exercise, fresh air, and sunlight during the pleasant summer weather, but once the cold starts coming, we hole up in our homes.

It’s best to plan out how to keep up those good habits before that happens.

Consider taking up an exercise routine that you can do in your home with little equipment, like yoga. Or something fun and energetic like dancing.

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4. Start Planning for the Fall and Winter

You might be thinking it’s a bit too early to start planning for the fall and winter, but I find that if I don’t start planning now, things just fall apart later.

As a writer, an event that I look forward to every year is NaNoWriMo, which takes place during November. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to write a 50,000 word novel over the course of 30 days. As you can imagine, it takes a lot of planning to be able to do that.

Not just planning for the novel itself, but life planning as well. I have to do extra work to get things done ahead of time (like blogging), and figure out how I’m going to manage any burnout after November.

I also need to plan out things like when I’m making my Christmas gifts, and any major end of year goals or tasks.

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5. Create New Goals

We’re 2/3 of the way through the year, so now is a great time to create some new goals. Do you want to start eating healthier? Maybe pick up a new hobby? Now’s a great time to start.

For me, I want to improve my art, clean and organize the files on my computer, and work on my online presence.

What goals do you have?

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6. Invest in Yourself

Summer is usually a season for relaxation and renewal, so why not end it off with some investment in yourself?

Think about the things you’ve been wanting to learn, but haven’t yet, and plan out the ways you can learn about them. Visit your local library and check out some books, or go on YouTube and find videos about the subjects that interest you.

Lately I’ve been interested in movie and TV show reviews and analyses, since I find that they help me understand the aspects of creative writing. I’ve also started studying art to try to get to a professional level.

Investing in yourself doesn’t mean you have to invest a lot of money. There are lots of free resources online these days, from blog posts and articles to instructional videos.

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7. Do Something Creative

I would recommend that everyone have a creative outlet of some sort. Having a way to channel your emotions and energies through the process of creation is incredibly cathartic.

While I do a lot of art and writing, I also like to work on my bullet journal, do some knitting, and play around with interior design when I’m in a rut.

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We’re in the last stretch of the year, so you should take the time to do something to improve yourself or prepare for the change of season. Doing so can help you avoid a hassle in the future, and getting into the habit of planning things out will save you time in the long run.