The New Year Reset: How to Build a Better January Before it Starts

With the New Year nearly upon us, Joel Garfinkle outlines ways you can make your intentions for 2026 stick by starting next year's work now.

Most professionals approach the New Year in the same way every year: they make ambitious resolutions on January 1st, ride the motivation wave for two weeks, and then watch their momentum collapse by February. After coaching hundreds of executives through year-end transitions, I’ve discovered that the leaders who thrive in January do something fundamentally different: they treat the final weeks of December as their strategic advantage.

The December advantage

Lisa, a vice president whom I coached last year, was dreading January. She knew she’d return to a flood of emails, competing priorities and the pressure to “hit the ground running.” 

Instead of the typical year-end scramble, we used a different approach: treating December as her strategic setup month. The impact was immediate. She started January with two major projects already mapped out. That month alone, she outproduced her combined output from the previous two months. No scrambling, no false starts, no wasted motion, just focused execution from day one. Here’s the framework that made it possible.

The 3 decisions that determine your January

Decision 1: What actually worked? (the strategic audit)

Most year-end reflections ask, “What did I accomplish?” That’s backward-looking. The more valuable question is “What created real results?” This shift changes everything. You’re not just reviewing the past, you’re extracting the patterns that will shape your future.

Ask yourself the questions that matter:

• Which projects or tasks delivered the biggest results for the time invested?
• What consistently drained energy without moving the needle?
• When did saying “yes” actually mean saying “no” to something more important?
• Which professional relationships accelerated your work versus those that stalled it?

Document these patterns. They become your decision filter for the new year.

The 10-minute exercise: 

Scan your calendar from the past three months. On a piece of paper, list your high-impact activities in one column and your time-wasters in another. The contrast will show you exactly where to focus, doing more of what works and less of what doesn’t.

Decision 2: How will you use the quiet week?

The period between Christmas and New Year’s is organizational dead space; most people are checked out or on vacation. Smart professionals use this differently: it’s your chance to do deep work without interruptions.

What to do during the quiet week:

Build your operating system for the year. This isn’t about tasks, it’s about creating the structures that make execution easier:

• Design your ideal week template. Block time for strategic thinking, deep work, meetings and administrative tasks. You won’t follow it perfectly, but it becomes your baseline.
• Set up your tracking mechanisms. Whether it’s a wins folder in your email, a quarterly review calendar alert or a simple spreadsheet, create the system now.
• Pre-write three challenging emails or conversations you’ve been avoiding. Get them out the door in the first week of January, while everyone else is still finding their footing.

Decision 3: What will you stop doing?

Everyone makes resolutions about what they’ll start doing. The most effective leaders also decide what they’ll stop doing.

Create your “Not Doing” list:

• Which meetings can you skip or delegate?
• What projects should you wind down or hand off?
• Which professional obligations have run their course?
• What technologies or platforms are you using out of habit, not value?

Saying no strategically is what creates space for your yes. Paul, a senior leader I coached, realized he was serving on three industry committees that produced little return. Stepping back from two of them freed up time to pursue high-value client opportunities. By March, he had closed two major client deals because he had finally gained the necessary bandwidth.

Making it stick this time

The gap between a fresh start and real change is follow-through. Build your accountability system now, before motivation fades:

• Monthly check-ins with yourself. Block 30 minutes on your calendar at the end of each month. Treat it like a meeting with your most important stakeholder, you.
• Find an accountability partner. Share your quarterly goals with a colleague, mentor or friend. Check in monthly. Knowing someone will ask about your progress can change your behavior.
• Design for success, not willpower. Want to stop checking email first thing? Delete the app from your phone. Want to focus on strategic work? Block out time on the calendar for it now, for the entire quarter. Make the right choices easier and the wrong ones harder.

The real work starts now

January’s success isn’t built in January. It’s built into the choices you make right now, while others treat December as downtime.

The leaders I work with who have breakthrough years don’t have more talent or easier circumstances. They have better systems, clearer priorities and the discipline to set themselves up before everyone else starts running.

You have a window before the new year arrives. Use it. While your peers are coasting into the holidays, you’re building the foundation for your best quarter in years. Your exceptional January begins with what you decide this week.

Written by:  Joel Garfinkle, an executive coach, for SmartBrief.