"Every January, leaders are told to do the same thing: set ambitious goals, map out the year, and commit to executing harder than before. We frame this as discipline or vision, but more often than not, it is a ritual of pressure. The assumption is that success comes from wanting more and pushing faster."
"Most people are not failing because their goals are unclear. They are failing because their capacity is already exhausted before the year even begins."
"Leaders today are operating in a constant state of interruption. Meetings stack on top of each other. Slack never sleeps. Decision fatigue builds quietly. Add in personal responsibilities, emotional labor, and the cognitive load of navigating rapid technological change, and it becomes clear why so many January plans collapse by March."
Many failures stem from exhausted capacity rather than unclear goals. Traditional goal-first planning assumes stable time, energy, and attention, which modern work does not provide. Constant interruptions, stacked meetings, persistent messaging, and decision fatigue erode available bandwidth. Personal responsibilities, emotional labor, and rapid technological change further reduce capacity. Designing how to work starts with assessing real capacity — energy, focus, and decision bandwidth — and building systems that support goals. Prioritizing sustainable rhythms, protecting deep work, and limiting unnecessary interruptions enable consistent progress and reduce burnout disguised as motivation.
Read at Fast Company
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