January Pile-Up

We tell ourselves we'll "circle back in January."

That the big project can wait until things calm down. That we'll finally organize everything once the holidays pass.

But January arrives, and the resistance remains. The work is still there.

The holidays don't create our avoidance—they reveal it.

We won't push now because we're "too busy." So we defer everything to January first, when we'll somehow be less exhausted and more clear-headed.

Except we won't be. We'll be drained from the holidays and facing a mountain of postponed decisions, all demanding attention at once.

Now it’s urgent, and urgent decisions rarely get made well.

The artificial urgency we create in January is worse than the small effort required now.

The work that matters doesn't need perfect conditions. It needs a decision.

Ten minutes now beats a forced choice later.

The calendar doesn't solve problems. You do.