Categories: Career Development
January is here, and with it the pressure to plan the year and Do All The Things. In my view, January work doesn’t need a radical reinvention. Sometimes it’s about returning to what already works, and I’m sure there are some habits you know you should be doing but have stopped being so proactive about. This is your reminder that maybe this time of year it’s all about doing what works instead of trying to do something big.
Here are 7 things you probably used to do and maybe don’t focus on so much anymore because the pressure of Q4 got in the way.
I know several project managers who pride themselves on having the information in their heads – and a project sponsor too. Unfortunately, when you are off sick, no one else can pick up the workload. And there are a lot of bugs around at this time of year.
Write it all down. Add tasks to an action log. Update risks, issues and tick off milestones as complete. Document the changes that Steering approved somewhere other than just the minutes.
You know what you are doing, but does everyone? Don’t assume that they’ve all been around the work as long as you and know what it all means.
Good meeting practices mean having an agenda, running a tight meeting and doing the notes, but I know I got a little bit lazy towards the end of the year. Team meetings turned into holiday chat instead of focused discussions, and the ‘what do we do with this information’ part of the meeting that led clearly into action steps and expectations for what happens next kind of fell away.
No more – I’m bringing that back for 2026.
Documenting decisions in your project management software is the best thing – it covers all the angles and provides auditability. Just make sure that you’re writing them where everyone can see them.
I did a big sweep of my plans at the end of the year, and honestly, I was surprised at how much had happened even in 2 weeks. This year, I’ll be focusing more on little and often.
You can have your project management software open during a team meeting and make the change live.
The end of the year is always a massive squash to get everything done. If you know you can’t do it, or don’t want to do it because it’s bad for the project – let’s just normalise saying no as soon as it makes sense instead of pretending we are going to investigate and think about things.
When everything feels rushed and stressful, it’s too easy to react without thinking. This is your reminder that it’s better for everyone if we all take a pause before reacting to a new situation. Whether that’s a big conflict at work, a new boss changing the parameters of your project or the introduction of (yet another) project management process tweak or tool.
Which one habit would make the biggest difference if you restarted it? It doesn’t have to be something on my list. Let us know in the comments what you are committing to this year!
Here are 7 things you probably used to do and maybe don’t focus on so much anymore because the pressure of Q4 got in the way.
Writing things down properly (not just holding them in your head)
I know several project managers who pride themselves on having the information in their heads – and a project sponsor too. Unfortunately, when you are off sick, no one else can pick up the workload. And there are a lot of bugs around at this time of year.
Write it all down. Add tasks to an action log. Update risks, issues and tick off milestones as complete. Document the changes that Steering approved somewhere other than just the minutes.
Clarifying expectations early
You know what you are doing, but does everyone? Don’t assume that they’ve all been around the work as long as you and know what it all means.
Ending meetings with a clear “what happens next”
Good meeting practices mean having an agenda, running a tight meeting and doing the notes, but I know I got a little bit lazy towards the end of the year. Team meetings turned into holiday chat instead of focused discussions, and the ‘what do we do with this information’ part of the meeting that led clearly into action steps and expectations for what happens next kind of fell away.
No more – I’m bringing that back for 2026.
Keeping decisions visible
Documenting decisions in your project management software is the best thing – it covers all the angles and provides auditability. Just make sure that you’re writing them where everyone can see them.
Updating plans little and often
I did a big sweep of my plans at the end of the year, and honestly, I was surprised at how much had happened even in 2 weeks. This year, I’ll be focusing more on little and often.
You can have your project management software open during a team meeting and make the change live.
Saying no (or “not yet”) earlier
The end of the year is always a massive squash to get everything done. If you know you can’t do it, or don’t want to do it because it’s bad for the project – let’s just normalise saying no as soon as it makes sense instead of pretending we are going to investigate and think about things.
Taking five minutes to think before reacting
When everything feels rushed and stressful, it’s too easy to react without thinking. This is your reminder that it’s better for everyone if we all take a pause before reacting to a new situation. Whether that’s a big conflict at work, a new boss changing the parameters of your project or the introduction of (yet another) project management process tweak or tool.
Which one habit would make the biggest difference if you restarted it? It doesn’t have to be something on my list. Let us know in the comments what you are committing to this year!
Posted on: January 05, 2026 12:00 AM |
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