What the Start of the Year Reveals About How We Work

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There is something unique about the beginning of January that encourages reflection. The New Year brings with it a deep feeling of reset - a clean slate. It’s why New Year’s resolutions feel easier to commit to than changes made at any other time of year. We’ve learned from the past twelve months, we’ve identified what didn’t work, and we feel a renewed sense of momentum for what’s ahead.

At work, this moment offers a rare opportunity. Early in the year, teams are often more open to change, more curious about alternatives, and more optimistic about improvement. As organizations start to think not just about the year ahead but about how they want to be working by the end of 2026, this sense of reset can be used to drive meaningful, lasting change.

Taking an Honest Look at How Work Gets Done

End-of-year reviews combined with New Year momentum make January an ideal time to step back and assess how work actually gets done day to day. This is the moment to examine workflows, collaboration, and systems that may once have worked well, but no longer quite fit.

Listening to teams is especially important. Friction often appears in small, familiar ways: manual processes that take longer than they should, duplicated effort, or workarounds that have quietly become the norm. Sometimes the friction sits within the work itself; other times it shows up between teams, where expectations and outputs are misaligned.

For law libraries and information teams, this reflection often leads to a key question: is our current awareness strategy still working for the organization? Are the right people receiving the right information, at the right time, in a format that genuinely supports decision-making?

Legal technology has evolved rapidly in recent years as the profession responds to growing volumes of information and increasing demands on time. While AI often dominates headlines, it is frequently simpler advances - automation, better filtering, more flexible workflows - that deliver the most immediate efficiency gains. For teams that haven’t reviewed their current awareness processes recently, these improvements can have a significant impact.

Are Your Tools Keeping Up With Your Ambitions?

Teams and expectations tend to evolve faster than the systems supporting them. Large organizations can find it difficult to change established ways of working, while smaller teams may remain agile until their tools can no longer cope with demand.

Current awareness technology has changed substantially in recent years to address the scale and complexity of modern information management. Improvements in automation and summarization now make it possible to reduce manual effort while improving consistency and coverage. As a result, many teams find there is a growing gap between what they need from a current awareness platform and what legacy tools can realistically deliver.

This is a useful moment to assess whether your tools are enabling progress or quietly holding it back. Are they helping your team respond quickly, demonstrate value, and adapt to new priorities? Or are they absorbing time that could be better spent on higher-value work?

For law librarians in particular, technology works best when it supports professional expertise rather than replacing it - freeing up time for analysis, insight, and collaboration as organizations prepare for the demands of the next few years.

Planning Before Permission

Identifying the need for improvement is one thing; putting change into practice is another. When it comes to systems and platforms, preparation and timing matter.

Early in the year is the ideal time to understand budget cycles, contract end dates, and renewal terms. These details are often overlooked until decisions become urgent, limiting options. Clarity now creates flexibility later and leads to better outcomes.

It’s also worth starting planning before formal permission is granted. Conversations about new tools are more productive when supported by clear data on costs, return on investment, and implementation timelines. Being prepared demonstrates that any proposed change is strategic, realistic, and aligned with wider organizational goals - particularly important as teams look ahead to longer-term planning horizons like 2026.

Channeling Early-Year Momentum

January brings a psychological shift. People tend to feel more open to new ideas, more willing to reassess existing approaches, and more optimistic about improvement. This creates a valuable window where reflection can turn into action.

The key is to channel that energy into a shared direction. Open discussions about priorities, pain points, and future goals help teams move forward together. Small steps taken early in the year - reviewing current awareness tools, refining workflows, or exploring new approaches - often have a disproportionate impact over time.

As organizations prepare for what’s next, readiness isn’t about chasing trends. It’s about building strong foundations: systems that scale, processes that support people, and tools that enable teams to work more effectively.

The start of the year doesn’t just reveal how we work - it gives us the opportunity to work better.