Avoid the January Burnout: Start Your 2026 Plan Before the New Year

January doesn’t fail you—your timing does. When most entrepreneurs try to plan and execute at the same time, the daily grind eats their goals by week two. We take a different path: build a 90-day plan before the year turns so you start with clarity, momentum, and a short list of actions that actually move numbers.

We walk through a focused framework: reflect on last year’s metrics, choose just two goals for the first quarter, and translate each into precise projects and tasks you can schedule and measure. Using a real example—adding 1,000 qualified email subscribers—we map the projects (podcast guesting, list swaps, and creating a relevant opt-in) and outline the task lists that make them work: researching aligned shows, crafting targeted pitches, aligning the opt-in to episode topics, setting dates, and tracking conversions with simple attribution. You’ll hear how weekly check-ins on leading and lagging indicators help you pivot fast, protect your energy, and compound wins.

We also share two client stories that underscore the payoff of early planning. One entered Q1 with tasks queued and saw a 25% revenue lift in the first 90 days. The other waited until January to plan, spent two weeks catching up, and never found traction. The takeaway is clear: planning is a multiplier when done before the calendar flips. If you want a calmer January and a stronger February, build your quarter now—set two goals, define your projects, break them into tasks, and measure what matters.

Want the template and prompts we use? Grab the Strategic Growth Plan Guide in the description and get the 90-Day Plan program while it’s discounted. Subscribe, share this with a founder who’s stuck in resolution mode, and tell us: what are your two Q1 goals?

Read more HERE.

Chapters

• 0:36 Why January Goals Fail
• 1:16 The Case for a 90-Day Plan
• 2:21 Plan Before New Year for Momentum
• 3:31 Why Ninety Days Works
• 4:24 Define Goals, Projects, Tasks
• 5:24 Example: Grow 1,000 Email Subscribers
• 6:49 Create Opt-ins and Content Fit
• 6:51 Map the First 90 Days
• 7:15 Early Planning Prevents Burnout
• 8:16 Two Clients, Two Outcomes
• 9:41 Get the 90-Day Plan Program

Transcript

The Case for a 90-Day Plan

Plan Before New Year for Momentum

Why Ninety Days Works

Define Goals, Projects, Tasks

Example: Grow 1,000 Email Subscribers

Create Opt-ins and Content Fit

Map the First 90 Days

Early Planning Prevents Burnout

Two Clients, Two Outcomes

Get the 90-Day Plan Program

SPEAKER_01 0:36

Every January, entrepreneurs hit the ground running only to crash comes February. Let's make you not one of those. There's a reason that a lot of entrepreneurs will start off with January hitting the ground, ready to go, only to find that the resolutions, the planning that they're attempting to do falls short because they're trying to do everything with the start of the new year. And when you set these resolutions, you're setting yourself up for failure, checking boxes. But instead, when you actually create a 90-day plan for yourself, it's much more manageable because it's in line with the goals that you are attempting to hit. Now, we're gonna break all of this down for you so that you can see exactly how you can set up a 90-day plan for yourself before the new year hits so that you can actually hit the ground running this time. Now, if you haven't already grabbed your strategic growth plan guide, I want you to make sure that you grab that. It is in the description, and it is a workbook that is going to guide you through really understanding how you can make sure that your business is set up for success. For some reason, entrepreneurs often think that January is the perfect time to set up their goals. They think that as soon as January first hits, it's this clean slate, and now it's time to set the goals. The problem is that the actual day-to-day tasks within your business end up pushing your goal setting to the back. You don't end up actually getting those goals set, and therefore you don't end up making those strides forward that you had hoped for. Now, what we want to do is actually set up that 90-day plan prior to the new year because this way you can go in knowing exactly what your goals are that you're trying to hit in the first 90 days, as well as the projects and tasks that need to get done. So that the daily, day-to-day tasks that you think you need to be completing don't take over and actually allow you to hit those goals that you're attempting to hit. By actually setting up these 90-day goals prior to January, it allows you not only to hit the ground running because now you know the projects and tasks that you need to complete, but it sets up the momentum for you to hit those goals. You don't end up wasting time trying to goal plan and taking time away from the business in order to do that. Instead, by doing it ahead of time, you are allowing yourself to do all of the planning and then know exactly what tasks you are going to be attempting to complete in order for those projects to get done that you need in order to hit your 90-day goals. Now we talk about 90 days as being the perfect amount of time because it allows you to have growth, but also for you to put in those tasks and be able to measure whether or not those tasks are actually impacting where you're trying to go with your business. Are they hitting the goals that you're attempting to hit? By being able to look over a 90-day period, you can check to make sure that the projects and tasks that you have set up to hit those goals are in line with the metrics that you are actually seeing once you start putting those projects and tasks into action. A 90-day plan is going to allow you to build confidence. It's going to provide you with the momentum that is going to snowball into you hitting those goals much quicker than you would have anticipated. Now, the first thing that you need to do in order to set up your 90-day goals for 2026 is you need to reflect on 2025. Look at your metrics. Look and see if you are where you had hoped to be as far as revenue, as far as growth over time. And then you want to identify two goals that you are hoping to accomplish in the first 90 days of 2026. Now, once you have those two goals, you need to determine what the projects are that are going to help you hit those. So if we are talking about growing our email list by a thousand subscribers in the first 90 days of 2026, then we need to look at what projects are we going to be doing in order for that to happen. So one of the projects might be to make sure that you are getting on to 10 different podcasts and in doing so are allowed to be able to share your opt-in that is going to grow your email list. Now, once you know that that is the project, getting on 10 to 15 different podcasts, then you need to figure out exactly what the tasks are in order for that to happen. So you need to determine what podcast, you need to pitch the podcast, you need to make sure that it is the perfect fit for your opt-in. Because as we talked about, the goal here is not to increase visibility on your podcast or visibility of you. The goal is to increase your subscribers by a thousand. Now, a second project for this might be doing the list swap with other business owners that have a similar audience to you. So again, that's the project. So we then need to look at what are the tasks that are going to go along with that. Well, we need to determine who has the right audience, who would actually be a good fit for your opt-in. And then you're going to need to pitch them, follow up with them, assign dates for when you're going to do the list swaps, and make sure that you are following those metrics to see that it is actually benefiting your bottom line. Now, those are just some of the examples of that one goal if you wanted to increase your subscribers by a thousand. There are other projects, of course, that could go into that as well. If you don't have an opt-in, you would need to create one. So then you would have the tasks that would go into creating that opt-in, making sure that you're putting it into content that is actually going to be seen that is relevant to the opt-in that you are promoting. Now, once you have these projects and tasks designed, you are ready to map out your first 90 days of 2026 and how you're going to be able to hit those goals that you set. This is where the momentum comes. This is where by doing it before the new year, you have more of an opportunity to actually hit those goals. By doing your planning early, it allows you to have a better payoff in the end because not only are you able to hit the ground running by making sure that you are initially putting out those tasks that go along with the projects that are going to be in line with your goals, but you're going to be able to continue that momentum and actually track the metrics right out of the gate. Instead of waiting till the new year, then just doing the planning and figuring out exactly what you're going to be doing and then attempting to put those projects and tasks into action where burnout is more likely to happen because you are getting to a point where you're behind the eight ball already. So by planning ahead of time before the new year, it is going to give you the opportunity to really make sure that you have momentum behind you, that you have the opportunity to see that the metrics are actually hitting, which is going to build your confidence and make sure that you really are in line with where you are trying to go with your goals. I have had two very different clients in the last year. I had one that attended the insider's retreat last November in 2024. During that retreat, she set up her 90-day goals for 2025. She was able to not only walk into 2025 with a clear set of tasks and projects that she wanted to do, but her momentum was insane because it not only built up her confidence, but it built up her revenue. She saw a year in revenue that she hasn't seen ever before. She was up by 25% within her first 90 days. And again, it's because she walked into with a plan. Now I had another client who waited to actually start her planning until the new year. And unfortunately, she found that it took her two weeks to do her planning because she was still running her day-to-day operations of her business. And therefore, it was much more difficult for her to start putting those tasks and projects into actual fruition. And therefore, she ended up getting frustrated and giving up on her 90-day goals. You have to make sure that you are clear on what you are attempting to accomplish in those 90 days. Now, if you are ready to take the next steps and you want to be able to plan out your 90 days with be prior to the new year, then you want to grab my 90 day plan program, which is going to set you up to have that complete plan with projects and tasks that need to be in place in order to hit your goals. You can head right down into the description, grab your 90 day plan, and for a limited time prior to the new year, it is on a discount just for you.