September is the New January
January arrives and we set career resolutions. Then slowly, almost imperceptibly, the year's sheer length starts working against us. Twelve months feels like an eternity when you're standing at the start of it -- which is exactly the problem.
Many are ditching annual planning for quarterly goals or 12-week sprints common in project management and business circles. The book The 12 Week Year captures the psychological trap of thinking in years:
"We mistakenly believe that there is a lot of time left in the year, and we act accordingly. We lack a sense of urgency, not realizing that every week is important, every day is important, every moment is important. Ultimately, effective execution happens daily and weekly!"
This sense of false abundance is why so many "this is the year I will get promoted" or "this is the year I switch industries" plans quietly fade by February 28. Yes, research has shown this is the date when most people abandon their new year’s resolutions!
The 12-week timeframe is a sweet spot: long enough to make real, visible progress but short enough that you keep focused.
Gretchen Rubin, who has spent years studying how people change their habits, calls September "the other January." Her habit change strategy is called the “Strategy of the Clean Slate”. Her research found that when we go through a big transition, old habits get wiped away and new habits form more easily. It doesn't have to be a major life event either - a milestone in time can act as a clean slate just as well, whether that's a significant birthday, the new year, or September. In fact, Rubin has written specifically about back-to-school season and why it is often a terrific time for a fresh beginning.
If you're someone who feels a low hum of guilt about your stalled career goals whether it is the certification you never finished or the network you meant to build, try combining the clean slate effect of September with a 12-week cycle. Try to set one big, challenging goal for yourself and one lower, light-stakes goal. Then develop an action plan and corresponding steps (which will hopefully become habits) that will help you make progress on these goals.
Most academics are already wired to think of September as a fresh start. Rubin's research and the 12-week framework both point to the same conclusion: you don't need to wait for January to make progress on your goals now!
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