Prepare yourself for a shock.

When you subtract weekends, holidays and (hopefully) some vacation time, you’re left with a handful of days to meet your year-end goals before 2024 arrives. Can you get all your projects done well — or done at all — by then?

Please stop laughing.

The holidays should be a time to relax with family and friends, but instead, some of us are trying not to panic as the new year looms. Pioneer’s team of utility storytellers brainstormed five ways to help Utility Pioneers enter 2024 less stressed and prepared for success.

1. Use Leftover Funds to Feed 2024 Ideas 

We’ve all heard the phrase “use it or lose it.” Have funds left in this year’s budget and know you’ll need communications support? A prepaid agreement lets you pay now for help next year. Use leftover funds to pave the way for:

• Milestone celebrations
• Social media support
• Podcast production
• Focus groups
• Consumer survey

… and any other storytelling ideas we can help you realize in 2024. Ask your account manager or editor how you can use leftover funds to feed future ideas.

2. Hit the [Storytelling] Ground Running in 2024

Has your budget for a communication project been approved but you can’t access funds until 2024? Let us know. We can craft an agreement you can sign now, schedule your onboarding for 2023 and hold off billings until next year.

3. Download Planning Tools

We all need great content, and you can download a digital version of our content planner today. We’ve packed our 2024 guide with important industry dates — both broadband and electric topics — and handy tips for finding and sharing your story next year.

Want a hard copy? You’re in luck! We’re mailing calendars later this month. To make sure you’re on our list, email hello@pioneer.coop.

4. Phone a Friend

A calendar content planner is handy, but it’s not a brainstorming partner. Luckily our member solutions, editorial and account manager teams love discussing communications strategies and goals.

Feeling overwhelmed? Schedule time to brainstorm solutions with our team of utility storytellers. We partner with more than 250 community-owned utilities across the nation, and we’ve seen a lot of great storytelling. Schedule time to talk with us about your goals, ideas for 2024 and story prompts to strengthen your community. We love collaborating on ideas to help your story shine!

5. Tune in to Peer Inspiration

Sometimes it’s nice to know you’re not alone. That’s why we launched the award-winning “The StoryConnect Podcast.” It’s a place to listen to people facing similar challenges, a community of storytelling ideas shared by your peers. And with more than 275 episodes, there are a LOT of ideas to choose from.

If you have downtime at the office, download a few episodes for inspiration. We promise the stories shared by industry experts and colleagues will help you do more with less stress.

Ready for 2024?

Sure, there are thirty or fewer days left to work your storytelling magic in 2023. But instead of counting down the days, you can partner with Pioneer to count up the ways we can work together more effectively in 2024.