January always starts with good intent.

Clear goals. Fresh plans. A sense that “this year will be different”.

And then, somehow, everything starts to feel busy again.

Not because people aren’t trying.
But because work doesn’t get stuck where leaders expect it to.

Most teams don’t fail to finish because they lack effort or intent.
They fail because work gets trapped in the middle.

Something gets started, then waits.
Something gets built, then pauses.
Something looks “in progress” for weeks, quietly ageing.

From the outside it looks like momentum.
From the inside it feels exhausting.

This is why teams that look busy can be a red flag.

“In progress” isn’t a single state.
It hides very different realities:
• waiting
• blocked
• partially done
• or quietly deprioritised

When leaders can’t see those differences, the instinct is to push harder or start something new.

That’s how January fills up fast.

The teams that flow best don’t work harder.
They make the middle visible.

They talk less about starting and more about what’s preventing finishing.
They stop treating “in progress” as a destination.

If January is going to feel different, it won’t be because you planned better.
It’ll be because you saw where work was really getting stuck – and dealt with that first.