Data Spindle Blog

Millions of people are doing Dry January right now. They're cutting the one thing they know isn't good for them because they want to feel better, work better, and stop pretending "I'll start Monday" is a plan. Your business has a Dry January list too. It's just made of tech habits instead of cocktails. You know the ones. Everyone knows they're risky or inefficient. Everyone still does them because "it's fine" and "we're busy."

January is a magical month. For about three weeks, everyone believes they're a new person. Gyms are packed. Salads are eaten on purpose. Planners get opened. Then February shows up with a baseball bat. Business resolutions go the exact same way.

Every January, tech publications release breathless predictions about revolutionary trends that will “change everything.” By February, most business owners are drowning in buzzwords – AI this, blockchain that, metaverse something-or-other – with no idea what actually matters for a company with 15 employees trying to increase revenue by 20%.

You know that drawer in your office filled with old USB drives, tangled earbuds and tech gadgets from conferences you attended three years ago?

A business owner spent one hour in late December auditing every technology tool her 12-person company used. What she discovered was staggering. Her team used three different project management systems – none talking to each other. Two separate document storage solutions because half the team refused to switch. Employees manually entered the same client data into four different applications. Collaboration consisted of endless e-mail threads titled “RE: RE: RE: Final Version ACTUAL FINAL v7.”

You’re three hours into a five-hour drive to visit family for the holidays. Your daughter asks, “Can I play Roblox on your laptop?” Your work laptop. The one with client files, financial data and access to your entire business. You’re exhausted from packing, you’ve got three more hours to go and, honestly, keeping her entertained sounds pretty good right now. What’s the harm?