The week between Christmas and New Year’s is not the time to redo your business plan. You’re tired. The center is quiet. Your brain is running on holiday fumes. Big strategy retreats this week will produce big lists that nobody touches in January.
Instead, do a small, doable reset. One quiet hour. A notebook. A cup of coffee. Three honest questions.
Question one: what worked this year that I want to keep doing? Not what ‘should have’ worked. What actually did. The morning meeting structure. The Tuesday parent newsletter. The way you handled licensing renewals. The hire you made in May. Write them down. These are your foundations for next year. Keep them.
What Providers Are Really Managing
Question two: what cost me the most peace this year? Not the most money — the most peace. The parent who didn’t pay on time for four months. The Sunday-night subsidy paperwork. The room with the constantly leaking ratio. The vendor who never returned calls. List them, plainly. These are the targets for next year.
Question three: what one change, if I could make it, would make the biggest difference in 2024? Not three. Not five. One. It might be ‘I hire an assistant.’ It might be ‘I raise rates by 7% on new enrollments.’ It might be ‘I move my subsidy paperwork to Tuesday mornings.’ It might be ‘I take Sundays off.’ Whatever it is, write it down. Make it specific. Tape it to the inside of a cabinet.
Then close the notebook. Don’t make a 14-page strategic plan. Don’t redesign the curriculum. Don’t redo the website. The energy you have in late December is not the energy you need for those things.
What Helps the Day Run Better
What you can do, gently, this week: confirm the January closure dates with your team and families. Look at the first week of January and put your own self-care appointments on the calendar before someone else’s appointment takes the slot. Make a short list of the renewals and licensing dates due in Q1. Put them on the calendar with a 30-day-before reminder.
Then rest.
January is for execution. December is for clearing space. The most useful reset isn’t a strategy retreat. It’s an honest hour at the kitchen table.
Close out the year with one held question, one named pain point, one specific change. Let next year find you ready, not exhausted.
Why This Matters
The strongest programs usually come back to the same foundation: clear systems, safe routines, and strong relationships. California Child Care Licensing provides the oversight framework for licensed care, while NAEYC’s family engagement principles reinforce the value of consistent relationships with families.
Final Thoughts
When the system is clear, the work becomes lighter, the team feels steadier, and families feel the difference.