As another (Gregorian) year edges ever closer, it’s a period that offers a natural reflection time on what happened in the past year and the forging, often weakly, of “New Years Resolutions”.

One interesting question to ask for your work (or personal) life is: “what would easy be like?”.

For example, looking back to the past year where was the pain, sadness, frustration, long hours, constant overtime, feelings of falling behind in new technologies, failed deployments, the same bugs re-occurring over and over again, unsupportive management, mean co-workers, feelings of inadequacy, disappointed customers, etc.

you should feel like you’re doing your best work

Take some time. Make a list. Write them all down.

Now imagine what it would feel like if all of the things on the list did not exist in the upcoming year – what would easy be like?

Fixing some of the things may mean radical decisions such as quitting your job and moving employer.

Some things may not be quite as radical: better automated testing to catch bugs earlier.

You probably won’t be able to fix everything on your list. Starting from the point of view that things should be easy, that you should feel like you’re doing your best work, can be a powerful way to frame where you’re currently at and where you want to be by this time next year.

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