We’ve officially reached the home stretch of 2017. Before you know it, the holidays will have come and gone, and we’ll be having to rewrite the day whenever we sign a document because we haven’t broken the habit of ending them with “17” yet.

For some people, 2018 couldn’t come quickly enough. For others, the reminder that we’re less than three months away from a new year is terrifying. There are still things you want to accomplish in 2017. There are still goals, personal or professional that you need to hit before the end of the year.

And while there are hundreds of tips, ideas, and strategies people use to achieve their goals, there isn’t a silver bullet. We all know achieving our goals is difficult. It’s why their called goals in the first place.

So how do we make the most of the time we have left and finish strong?

A few weeks ago, Jon Acuff released his latest book, Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done. Rather than sharing anecdotal concepts or vague platitudes that have been shared over the years, Jon took a different approach to identifying the principles that impact our ability to finish well and achieve our goals. He actually used his 30 days of Hustle course to research why people quit and why people succeed.

Today, I wanted to highlight a few of the principles that resonated most from Jon’s book if you need some motivation to finish well in 2017.

4 Unconventional Tips to Finish Strong in 2017

Here are a few principles highlighted in the book to help you finish strong in 2017:

1. Beware of day two. One of the most interesting findings from the research was that day two seemed to be the primary day people decided to quit. It wasn’t day 8 or 15. Whatever goal you’re trying to achieve before the end of the year, remember that Day 1 is the exciting part. Don’t commit to finishing based on your motivation or excitement level. That won’t last very long.

2. Don’t be a jerk to yourself. One of the biggest obstacles to achieving our goals is ourselves. I know this is certainly true for me. I beat myself up if I get behind or skip a day. Whatever you’re trying to achieve before the end of the year, it’s important to be generous and kind to yourself. Count your wins.

3. Focus on finishing one thing. One of the biggest reasons New Year’s Resolutions fail is because we try to change too much. We set seven different goals for the year and then feel defeated when we don’t seem to be making progress toward any of them. When it comes to finishing the year well, don’t take on too much. If you can just focus on one goal, one thing you want to achieve by the end of the year, you’ll position yourself for success a lot more than if you try to accomplish three or four things.

4. If you want it done, make it fun. Research showed that making a goal fun improves the finish rate. In fact, adding fun into the mix of working towards a goal increased the success rate by 43%. This means identifying ways to make the journey fun, not just identifying a reward at the end. The fun should be in the process and the outcome.

Finishing well is not about trying harder. It’s about creating the right mindset that will help you achieve your goals. If you’re tired of trying to achieve your goals by gritting your teeth and mustering enough willpower to make it through, don’t. That’s what the 92% of people who don’t achieve their goals do.