The quiet panic of early January

The first days of the year always feel strange. There’s an unspoken expectation — from clients, teams, and sometimes from myself — that momentum from October or November should somehow continue uninterrupted into January.

In reality, Christmas breaks that rhythm completely. People go offline, take real time off, and return with either new ideas or renewed energy. More often, though, they come back in a subtle panic. It’s January 6th, targets are still high, and suddenly the first week already feels “lost.”

I’ve noticed this pattern across several clients. Emails start coming in from people who were out for two weeks and are now worried about not hitting January targets. The pressure ramps up fast, even though very little has actually changed.

Personally, I feel this less than before. Over time, I’ve learned to accept that there are phases where feedback from the market, peers, or teams simply slows down. That’s not failure — it’s part of the cycle.

What matters more to me is whether systems are in place so things don’t quietly break during these periods. Making sure performance accounts don’t go offline because of unpaid invoices. Ensuring customer service has fallback coverage. Creating shared responsibility so critical operations don’t depend on one person being available.

When those systems aren’t in place, the panic feels inevitable. People scramble to restart things that were already working a few weeks earlier. There’s also a strange reset effect at the start of the year — teams forget how they operated before, as if January wipes the slate clean.

Despite the pressure, I do like this phase. The good and the bad surface at the same time. There’s financial stress — closing last year’s books, paying annual costs, front-loading expenses — but also clarity.

The toughest months aren’t November or December. They’re usually the first months of the year: earning a lot, burning a lot, and rebuilding rhythm.

We ended last year on a strong note across most projects. That gives me confidence. This year really is a fresh start — in the most literal sense of the word.