Many of us think about making a big push at the end of the year to try to finish up important tasks or be further along on our goals. It's a bit like a "hail mary" pass in football, where the clock is ticking down, your team is behind, and you have nothing to lose. So you try to throw the ball as hard and as far as you can hoping someone will catch it.

Instead of trying to finish strong, why don't we change things up this year and try to START STRONG? Instead of inching up to the starting line, why don't we rev up our engines and break free from the inertia that holds us in place?

Here are 5 things you can do right now to start gaining networking momentum that can pull you through the rest of the year:

1) Break your bad habits.

When I spoke at the Massachusetts Conference for Women last month, one of my fellow panelists asked the audience what they normally do with the business cards they get from others. A couple of people in the front row said that they usually throw them away! It's difficult to break out of bad habits completely, but making even one small step, like following up with just one person you meet, can make an enormous difference.

2) Push yourself to get out there.

Attend some new networking events this month, or go to a few more than you normally would. For example, my friend Bill Sobel runs the New York Media Information Exchange Group and has been inviting me to his monthly events since August. I've always been out of town or had some other excuse not to go, but I'm committed to attending his next event on January 17 to rub elbows with innovators in the wireless and mobile space. Not normally my target audience, but you never know what may happen when you put yourself in a new environment.

3) Fix your weaknesses.

Whatever has been holding you back from getting stellar results from your networking, now is the time to address them. Maybe you're still stumbling through your elevator pitch, or haven't yet found a way to start conversations comfortably (or exit them gracefully). None of this is rocket science. You just need to sit down with the right information and just get it done once and for all.

4) Play up your strengths.

If you go to networking events and hang out with the same group of friends every time, turn the strong connections you have with each other into something that will benefit more people. At the next event, make a plan for each of you to bring along one or two guests, whom no one else knows, to meet your friends and each other. All of you will easily walk away that night with double or triple the number of new contacts you normally make.

5) Get creative.

What can you do to stand out from the crowd and give your business a little push? My friend Pam launched a direct mail campaign for her business aimed not at new prospects, but to former referrers and lapsed alliance partners. Sometimes colleagues need a tiny nudge to remember that you're out there, and a little creativity on your part can go a long way.

These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg of what you can do to get momentum flowing in your direction starting now. Take some risks and make this a breakthrough year.