The third working week of the year starts tomorrow, and, as Danny the Drug Dealer says in "Withnail and I", there are going to be a lot of refugees. The years take on familiar shapes when it comes to corporate whim. We have our budget-setting periods, our summer holidays, and perhaps even our closed or quiet periods around Christmas. Predictability, as comforting as it is, can be equally disquieting. Are we here again?

As marketing guru Seth Godin says, your comfort zone is not the place to dwell, its the place your career and your ambitions perish if you're not watchful.

So, how can you take full advantage of any quiet time you might be experiencing at the beginning of the year?

What about trying some of the following:

1. Learning new things is fun and never a bad idea. Try to learn with purpose; otherwise, it's like learning a new language when you have no intention of going to that country. Learn something new because you intend to use it soon or find something you need to do which requires you to learn a new skill.
2. Polishing up your CV: I have a friend to always applies to at least one job a year whether he needs to or not. Keep your hand in the game and keep your CV up to date. If you can't face applying for a job, at least browse and see if anything else tickles your fancy.
3. Practicing self-care. Make sure you take the time to get back into your work at the right pace. Don't do what I did and almost burn yourself out in the first two weeks... perhaps this is the time to rethink your daily routine, add a walk to it, and add some "me" time to your afternoons.
4. Be thankful for what you have. Even if you don't want to find a new job and you're already happy where you are, perhaps you could just take some time to enjoy your current colleagues and your current situation.
5. Learning resilience ahead of time: your year will undoubtedly get bumpier. Think about how you can be more resilient to shocks than in previous years. Get to know yourself a little better - what are your triggers? What makes you unhappy at work? What can you do to avoid getting into those situations again? How can you work with people this year that will improve your experience.

We're just getting going in 2025. Good luck with it, take your time, enjoy yourself.

N.B. You might noticed that I've renamed this newsletter from "The Human DevOps" to "The Human Software" and started numbering them. Since I started it in 2022 there have now been 267 editions. In 2025, I will bring you more 'human' thoughts than I do 'software' thoughts, so I hope this intrigues you and that you stick with me.

Thanks! I look forward to seeing you next time.

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​Will You Survive or Thrive in Twenty Twenty Five?​

Published on January 6, 2025

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