By Brent Szalay, Founder and Strategic Advisor
We’ve all thought it at one time or another: this year will be different.
“New year, new me” gets mocked, but there’s a real reason it resonates — it’s one of the few times we deliberately step back and assess our own thinking. Neuroscientist Nicholas Wright describes New Year’s resolutions as a cultural trigger for “thinking about our thinking” — not blind optimism, but a planned pause to ask: am I pursuing the right goals, and am I pursuing them in the right way?
(You can read more about this concept here.)
That’s the part most people miss.
The point isn’t motivation. The point is reflection plus a decision.
And the most important decision isn’t what you’ll do this year — it’s why you’re doing it in the first place.
For accountants (especially those trying to build advisory alongside compliance), that pause matters. Because if you don’t consciously decide what you want out of your business in January, the pace and demands of the coming months will end up deciding for you.
Why intentions fizzle out…
When the noise drops in January, business owners have time to think clearly.
With that clarity comes optimism — the sense that this might be the year we think more strategically about the business and get clear on what we want.
Then staff and clients return from holidays.
The clarity fades.
Urgent demands creep back in.
And before long, the opportunity to think strategically — let alone act — disappears.
After two decades working with business owners, I’ve seen the same pattern (and I’ve lived it too): the intention of “New Year, New Me” is genuine, but it fades.
In my opinion, it’s rarely a capability problem. It’s a strategy and structure problem.
Good intentions don’t hold up when:
- Jobs start rolling in
- Deadlines pile up
- Clients want answers
- Staff need support
If the new goal doesn’t have structure behind it, the business defaults back to the old operating system.
And more often than not, that structure is missing because the goal was never anchored to a clear why in the first place — it stayed as a concept, rather than something truly believed, planned for, and acted on.
Harnessing the January lull
January gives many firms a rare gap. Clients are still away, some staff are still off, and the urgency drops just enough to think about what you want — not just what has to get done.
That gap isn’t just for ticking off tasks or clearing old to-do lists.
It’s for stepping back and getting clear on what you’re building in your business — and why.
The challenge is converting that temporary lull into something that survives March.
Because let’s be honest: this clarity is temporary. If you don’t use it wisely, December 2026 will arrive and you’ll have spent another year working hard and doing a good job — but not really nailing the goals you cared about back in January.
January starts with purpose…
Truly understand what you want out of your business — and create purpose
Most accountants tell me they want advisory to be an integral part of their firm — but they “don’t have time”.
January is the moment to get honest: is that really what you want — and why?
Because “more revenue” isn’t enough to carry you through the friction. Advisory becomes sustainable when it connects to something deeper:
- the type of leader you want to be
- the work you want to spend your week doing
- the impact you want to have with clients
- the kind of firm you want to build
If advisory isn’t your thing, that’s fine — but you still need to define what is.
Less time on the tools?
More time leading?
Staff development?
Building capability in your team?
Until that’s clear, it’s hard to create a strategy that actually sticks — because strategy without purpose has nothing solid to anchor to when things get busy.
A simple exercise to uncover your “why” (15 minutes)
You don’t need a full planning session to start uncovering your purpose. This is simply a starting point — a way to begin thinking more clearly about what you want and why.
Write this at the top of a page:
“In 2026, I want more time for _______.”
Then ask “why?” five times — don’t overthink it, just answer honestly.
I want more time for _______. Why?
Because _______. (Why does that matter?)
Because _______. (Why does that matter?)
Because _______. (Why does that matter?)
Because _______. (Why does that matter?)
By the end, you’ll usually hit the real driver of your why / purpose — freedom, pride, contribution, wellbeing, mastery, presence, or building something you’re genuinely proud of.
That becomes your anchor.
And when things get hectic — which they will — you’ll make better decisions because you’ll know exactly what you’re protecting.
Sounds too simple?
It is simple — but that doesn’t make it easy.
Knowing what your anchor — your purpose — is, what makes you want to get out of bed in the morning, what makes the hard work bearable, and what realigns you when urgency starts pulling you in every direction, is what gives your decisions weight.
Understanding what you want out of your business, and why, is the first step in creating a meaningful strategy for 2026. Without taking the time to consider, challenge, and document this, your goals risk being anchored to the wrong things.
Keen to clearly articulate your why — before the year gets busy again?
Pop your details in the link below and we’ll send our simple purpose statement exercise straight to your inbox.
