Have you ever noticed that you tend to be more productive over certain months than others?  This, I have found, is the case with me.  For the past several years I’ve kept records of different things that I accomplish over the year toward different goals that I set myself.  In nearly every case, every year, I’ve noticed the same patterns in my productivity month per month.  January never fails to be my most productive month.  I call it, “the January Surge”.

Take, for example, my yearly reading goals.  For over eight years, I’ve kept track of which books I read month to month, purely for interest’s sake.  More recently, I’ve participated in book reading goals with friends and have decided on numbers that I want to reach within the year, which makes my little notebook of books doubly useful.  Every year, though, I’ve noticed that these numbers always peak in January, with an average of 11 books read in that month.  By contrast, the May-June and November-December months tend to be particularly slow reading-wise, with only an average of 5 books read in each of these months.  The same trends can be seen in my crafting; I tend to complete more sewing and craft projects in January and into February than I do during any other time of year.  Again, this applies to schoolwork; entering the spring semester, I always tend to be more productive in January.

Why is this?  What makes January such a special month that I get so much done in those 31 days (and, secondarily, why are May-June and November-December so unproductive)?  I think I have a solution.  To begin with, I should clarify that I don’t tend to make New Year’s resolutions to a great extent.  I do generally map out what I’d like to accomplish in the year, but that’s about it.  Still, I’m sure that my January Surge is linked to my coming off Christmas holidays, fresh and motivated.  It’s a clean slate, and I’m eager to fill it.  By late spring, I’ve obviously ended that swing, am disillusioned with what I’m getting done, and am less motivated.  And, of course, by the end of the year, I’m busy getting ready for Christmas and wrapping up other loose ends, including exams, and the last thing on my mind are my other goals.

So what is special about January?  Well, as I think I’ve discovered, it’s that I’m motivated by a fresh new year in which, I optimistically tell myself, I’m going to get so much done.  Why do I peter out?  Because I pessimistically tell myself I’m not going to get much done.  I’m essentially jinxing myself into not getting anything accomplished by telling myself that I won’t.  This is not acceptable, and I’d like to change it—who wouldn’t like to be more productive?

With that in mind, it’s going to be my goal in 2025 to keep the motivation of January going all year.  I’m going to have to continually remind myself that I can make each day a clean slate, and that even if I wasn’t as productive as I’d have like to have been the day before, things can be different today.  I’ll need to tell myself, “It’s a brand-new month!”  (Or even, week or day!)  “It’s time to get going on all the goals I’ve set myself!”  Hopefully, by not telling myself that I’m failing at my goals or being less productive than I’d planned, I’ll stay motivated and accomplish more.  Hopefully this year, my January Surge will become the 2025 Surge.  And look at that?  I just made myself a New Year’s resolution after all.