From mid-October on, I hear it again, that one sentence: “I’ll tackle that in the new year.”

The price increase. The new offer. Finally taking Fridays off. It all goes on a list that’s meant to be worked through in January. And in February, the list is still there. Just longer.

Let’s be honest: that’s not a plan. That’s postponing with a nice date attached.

January 1st changes nothing

We act as if a date could change something. As if you’d wake up on January 1st with a different business. New energy, fresh page, everything back to zero.

That doesn’t happen. On January 1st you have the same clients, the same prices, the same calendar and the same open decisions you had on December 31st. Nothing is fresh. You take all of it with you.

Momentum doesn’t come from a date. It comes from looking back again and again at what worked and what didn’t, and then moving a little further in the direction you want to go. That’s not a New Year’s Eve ritual. It happens continuously, week after week.

So January only inherits what you set up in October, November and December. That’s exactly why the coming weeks are worth so much. They decide what your next year starts with.

In consulting, I saw this every single year. The companies that started the new year well had made their decisions in the autumn. In January, all they did was execute.

A plan is not a decision

An annual plan feels productive. You sit down with a notebook and a coffee, maybe a beautiful template, and write down everything that’s going to be different. Afterwards, you feel better.

But nothing in your calendar has changed. On Monday, your week looks exactly like last week.

You can recognise a decision by the fact that it costs something. It cuts something. It says no to someone. It blocks an hour in your calendar. A plan can push all of that to later. A decision can’t.

Three decisions for the next eleven weeks

There are eleven weeks left until New Year’s Eve. That’s enough to decide three things:

1. What are you stopping? One thing you don’t want to do anymore next year. The offer that no longer feels right. The client who no longer fits. The channel that costs you more time than it brings. Stop now. It won’t be easier in January.

2. Which routine are you starting this week? Just one. My recommendation is a fixed CEO hour every week: one hour where you work on your business instead of in it. Same day, same time, in your calendar like a client appointment. If you’ve done it ten times by December, it’s no longer a resolution in January. It’s a habit.

3. Which decision has been sitting on your desk the longest? You know the one I mean. The one you want to push into the new year because it’ll “fit better then”. It won’t fit better in January. It’ll just be three months older. Make it with 80/80: 80% clarity on 80% of the information is enough, as long as the decision can be reversed.

This isn’t hustle

Let’s be clear: I’m not saying you should shift up a gear this autumn. If anything, the opposite.

If you decide now, you don’t have to start January at full throttle. The direction is set, the routine is running, the old decision is done. You go into the new year calmer. Not more rushed.

For this week

Take 30 minutes. Write down your three answers, on paper, not just in your head. And put your first CEO hour in your calendar straight afterwards.

If you’re not sure which decision comes first: in the workbook “The 7 Decisions Your Business Is Waiting On” you’ll find the seven that are waiting for most business owners right now.

Your next year doesn’t start on January 1st. It starts the moment you decide.

— Iva