Happy (almost) Halloween!

As someone who collects costume ideas all year, Halloween is by FAR my favorite holiday. It’s the only chance I get to put my “fashion school dropout” skills to good use. I’ve been everything from Marie Antoinette to Ms. Frizzle - and spend weeks every year creating the perfect costume.

Now that I’ve primed you for a big costume reveal…

This year looks a little different, as my long-distance partner just made the move from Austin to Minneapolis two (yes, two) days ago and we’re still getting settled. Things have been a little too busy for my usual costume creation.

Even so, you better believe we’re gearing up to hand out candy and gush over all the creative costumes worn by trick-or-treaters before curling up with a Halloween movie tomorrow night.

My only non-negotiable? Absolutely NO horror movies. I’m big ol’ scaredy-cat who likes my Halloween movies filled with childhood nostalgia (I’m looking at you, Halloweentown…).

Given my absolute insistence that Halloween be happy, not horror-filled, it makes perfect sense that we’d dedicate this issue to removing the fear from your Q4.

As I’m guessing you well know, November and December are typically filled with absolute chaos trying to cram in everything we neglected to do from January till now.

But I’m a firm believer that it doesn’t have to be this way! The goal of this week’s issue is to help you take a beat and make a plan. With a little bit of intention and a boost from some of our favorite resources, you can use the next few months to prepare for a great 2026.

We’ve compiled a handful of timely resources to carry you through the end of 2025. Whether you’re looking for better time management, PTO prep, or EOY planning, we’ve got you.

Yours in taking the scary out of Q4,

Jill

💙 6 Resources to Use Before 2026

We’re super proud of our Resources Hub - it’s packed to the gills and all free (no gated content here)! We fill it with practical guides and templates to make your life as a People Person easier.

These six resources are perfect for that EOY squeeze. Take what resonates from this list, and use it to make your next week (or month, or year) easier.

If you need…

⌛ Better time management:

🌴 Better plans for holiday PTO:

📆 Better preparation for next year:

Things We’re Loving Right Now

Making engagement surveys stick - We’re having fun poking around Natalie’s cool Canva template for following up after engagement surveys to make sure they turn into action. This is a tool to guide conversations post-survey to make sure the data doesn’t just sit in a folder collecting dust.

KPop Demon Hunters + HR - Thrillingly, we found a walkthrough of how each song from “KPop Demon Hunters” relates to an HR professional’s journey. I’ll listen to “Golden” in a whole new light after reading Kelly’s reflections. Turns out you can’t spell HUNTR/X without HR!

Doing away with the 1-5 review system - A simple swap has blown my mind - instead of using a 1-5 rating for a performance review, Kim Minnick suggests a “Sentiments” approach, where you use human-centered language “while maintaining all the delightful functionality needed for reporting and decision making.” Instead of a 3, your direct report is “Nailing It.” Instead of a 4, they’re “Outgrowing Role” and you get to have a conversation about their next career moves. It’s getting buzz on LinkedIn, and for good reason! We can’t wait to hear more when she writes about her performance management philosophy for WTWT next month.