How about instead of striving for perfection this year you strive to enhance your natural strengths and seek interesting twists and turns? Jess Stuart has some tips on getting the most out of the next work year.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll be starting the year with a list of 20 things you’re going to do differently at work then by February you’ll have forgotten where you even put that list.
Answer emails faster. Say yes less often. Leave the office on time. Take lunch breaks like you mean it. Read more leadership books. Finish that online course HR recommended. You know, the stuff that felt totally possible while you were lying on a beach convincing yourself that this year you were going to be a whole new professional version of yourself. And then… work starts again.
There’s always pressure in January to arrive back at the office as an upgraded human; more focused, more productive, more organised, more everything. And yet, it only takes a few weeks of meetings, deadlines, and overflowing inboxes for that pressure to feel exhausting. And is it even necessary?
Sure, after the chaos of Christmas and the end-of-year sprint, we could all use a bit of recalibration. But as we gear up for another year, we risk storming in, guns blazing, planning to reinvent ourselves professionally… only to be burnt out by April.
The summer reset does give us clarity, but no matter how motivated we feel fresh from a break, that energy still has to last the rest of the year. So how might we use our summer breaks to approach the New Year differently?
The 'I'm not good enough yet' narrative
The psychology of workplace culture, and marketing, often works by making us believe we’re not quite enough. We’re told there’s always a new “hack” or habit to adopt, a skill we must acquire, a system we should be using, or a colleague we should be keeping up with. The “I’m not good enough yet” narrative drives both consumption and comparison, especially when we scroll past endless posts from people who seem to be smashing goals (even if the reality is less polished).
Despite working in the personal development space, I’m not a fan of the New Year, New You narrative in the workplace. It heaps pressure on already stretched professionals and fuels perfectionism, something most of us don’t need help leaning into.
Whether we’re aiming for career progression, leadership development, workplace wellbeing, or simply surviving another year, the message is the same: that we’re not enough as we are, and we must somehow become someone else to succeed.
But here’s what I believe: growth at work is more about becoming the best version of you, not a whole new person.
So this year, I’m inviting you to flip the script.
• What if you returned to work without a long list of professional reinventions?
• What if you resisted the pressure to optimise every moment of your day?
• What if you treated the new year as simply a turning of the page, not a rewrite of the entire story?
What does this chapter of your career hold?
As an author, I love the analogy of our career as a book. Each year is a chapter. What do you want to write in Chapter 2026? What do you hope you’ll read back at the end of the year? Is this a fresh page, a new chapter, or a whole new book? And what from last year’s story deserves to come with you?
Instead of focusing on what we think we “should” be doing at work, what if we acknowledged how far we’ve already come? What if we took the insights from our break; the clarity, the calm, the realisation of what actually matters, and used that as our compass?
What if we chose one area of professional focus rather than ten, giving ourselves a real chance at success?
What if we stepped away from comparison, the colleagues who seem more productive, the leaders who appear effortlessly on top of things, and focused on our own path?
This isn’t about a lack of ambition. It’s about balance. It’s about setting goals in ways that are motivating rather than self-sabotaging. This is what sets us up for sustainable success, not a sprint that ends in disappointment.
The real question for this year is: How will you define success at work, not how social media or corporate culture tells you to?
The grass isn’t greener in someone else’s role, company, or LinkedIn post; it’s greener where you water it. So to help you do that, here’s a few grounded workplace-focused reminders for the year ahead:
1. Be realistic with workplace goals
Swap vague resolutions for one or two practical professional commitments. Break big projects into manageable steps.
2. Prioritise wellbeing
Your effectiveness at work is directly tied to your wellbeing. Rested people do better work, it’s not revolutionary, just often forgotten.
3. Practice self-compassion
Your workload will get busy, plans will go sideways. Don’t beat yourself up, rather acknowledge what you are achieving.
4. Find daily wins
Not every workday will be extraordinary, but there’s joy in small moments; a good conversation, a solved problem, lunch in the sun.
5. Let go of what doesn’t serve your work
Whether it’s unhelpful habits, unrealistic expectations, or comparison, release what drains you.
6. Remember you can start fresh anytime
A new year is just a date. You can reset professionally any Monday, any morning, any moment you choose.
With a background in HR, Jess Stuart is now a Waiheke-based career coach and the author of several books including: Burnout to Brilliance and I Love Mondays.
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