There may be affiliate links in this post which means I may receive “thank you money” at no additional cost to you. Please know that I only recommend products that I use and love. Thank you for your support!

I was inspired to write this post after reading Jon Acuff's list of 10 things he would accomplish before the end of the year.  Plus I love this idea of taking advantage of the time we have left in the year to get some things done instead of waiting til the New Year.

I want to try and add in some fun things that I’ve wanted to do for a while. Working as a career coach by day, I find myself giving so much of myself that I need to focus on ways to fill up my cup.

So what am I doing in my “5 til '19” list?

1. For my side hustle, I’m taking off the last two weeks of the year.

This means I won’t be doing my #jesspicks newsletter for two Saturdays on 12/22 and 12/29. I think it’ll be good to take a pause and get ready for the New Year. You on the list?

2. I’m planning to read at least four books.

My goal for the year is to read 25 books and I’m currently at 21.  I want to read four more books to finish my goal.  A few that are on my to-read list:

• Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
• Art of the Job Search: A Step-By-Step Guide to Finding a Job You Love by Heather Hund

Any others you think I should read? I’ve been on a thriller kick lately!

3. I’m going to take a bouldering/wall climbing class finally.

This has been on my bucket list since before I turned 30 and I planned to go a couple years ago but then I had crazy neck pain and had to visit a chiropractor for 6 months.  Would love to give this a try to see if I can do it and if I can add it as an option to my yet to be determined “get moving” routine.

4. I’m doing the zoo at night with my bestie.

I’ve never been to any of those “after dark” fun museum outings so I’m looking forward to going to BrewLights at Lincoln Park Zoo in December. And getting to sample some great beer.

5. I will write more.

Yeah that’s sooo specific right?  I’m still trying to figure out what that means, but ultimately I want to spend some more time writing.  The universe has been sending me little nudges to do so.  Not sure if that means doing it daily or trying to do something once a week. But I think having the “write more” mantra in mind is a good plan for now.  And this post is a great start!

These are some things I feel good about and it feels good to focus on me a little bit more for the rest of the year.

How about you?  What can you accomplish before the new year?