The biggest mistake that kills projects in January

In the first episode of 2026, Ricardo warns about the biggest mistake that ruins projects early in the year: saying yes to everything. January brings optimism, pressure for fast results, and a belief that everything is possible, leading to overloaded portfolios and teams working far beyond capacity. Projects are planned under unrealistic assumptions, confusing hope with real capacity. Failures don’t happen at the end of the year, but at the beginning, when wrong choices are made. Strong projects start with focus, tough decisions, and renunciation. The key question is not what to start, but what not to do. Saying no early is less painful than canceling projects later. Projects fail not due to a lack of ideas, but an excess of promises.

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Episode transcript

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Hi everyone, here is Ricardo Vargas, and this is the 5 Minutes Podcast. And this is the first episode of 2026. And usually at this time, everyone is talking about planning goals, strategies, and fresh starts. But today I want to talk about the number one mistake that destroys projects right at the beginning of the year. And no, it's not a lack of planning. It's not a lack of methodology. It's not a lack of tools. The number one mistake is starting the year by saying yes to everything. January is a super dangerous month. There is a mix of optimism, pressure for quick results, and the feeling that this year will be different. So new projects appear, new initiatives, new must-do ideas, and almost no one wants to be the person who says, Look, it doesn't fit on the timeline. It's not our priority. This cannot happen now. And do you know the results? Projects are born as overloaded, bloated portfolios. Teams allocated at 120% 130% capacity. People are split across five, six, and seven initiatives at the same time. And everything looks possible in January until February arrives. And the real problem is not ambition. The real problem is confusing hope with capacity. We plan as we people never get sick. Nothing unexpected will happen. Complexity is lower than it really is. We always plan in perfect conditions. Projects do not collapse at the end of the year. They collapse at the beginning when the wrong choices are made. And there is one question almost no one asks in January. Instead of asking What are we doing to start this year? The right question is, what are we consciously not going to do this year? Strong projects start with renunciation. They start with tough choices. They start with focus. Saying no early hurts much less than canceling projects later. Prioritizing in January is far cheaper than managing a crisis in September. So as you start this year, here is my invitation. Review commitments you accepted automatically. Challenge priorities that no one dared to change. Replace volume with clarity. Replace long lists with real decisions. Because projects rarely fail due to a lack of good ideas, they fail because of too many promises. Think about that. I hope you enjoyed this episode, and see you next week with another 5 Minutes Podcast.

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