The One Process That Will Change Your Year — Start in February

This is the transcript of The Refreshing Leadership Podcast episode: The One Process That Will Change Your Year - Start in February, published on 2nd February 2026.

By this point in the new year, you have probably embarked on some new goals or new processes. Some things will be working, some things won't. And this is a really important inflection point.

This is the moment when some stuff will have gone to plan and some stuff won't, and you get to decide whether you compound what you've done by iterating and refocusing - or whether you slowly start to slip away from the goal, telling yourself it's not working or you are not working.

So in today's episode, I'm going to talk about why February is a fabulous month to focus on one small process. I'm going to break down the difference between outcome goals and process goals - that's based on a listener question I had. And then I'm going to give you some very specific examples of easy processes you can cultivate for the next 28 days. Stick around to the end for that part.

I'm Maya Gudka, economist turned executive coach, and for the last 15 years I have helped thousands of brilliant leaders reduce the amount of overwork and get clear on what really lights them up.

Outcome goals versus process goals

I had a listener question: should I be focusing right now on outcome goals or process goals? I love this question because it gets to the heart of why goal setting can sometimes feel heavy.

We often have an outcome in mind, and there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, that's part of the goal-setting process. It might be a promotion, a specific number, a shift we want to see in our work, health, confidence, or relationships. That's the vision bit. That's the North Star.

You get to that outcome by choosing the right process and staying with it.

I do react to the "trust the process" type language. Yes, I will trust the process - but first I need to check that it is the right process, and that it's the right process for me. My personality type, my strengths, my way of working. And I need to test that. January can be a great month for testing.

Let's say you've had some things go really well and others that haven't. This is gold dust. It will help you learn how to tweak your processes for your specific life and your specific way of being.

Why February is perfect for this

I love February for this because it's short. It's contained. It's the perfect month to pick one process and commit to it for 28 days, and then see where you get to.

I really encourage you not to pick ten habits, not to try and overhaul everything. From your goals or intentions, look at one area. Maybe a couple across different domains if it's hard to narrow down to just one - fair enough. Then do it consistently enough to create that compounding effect. Look at the end of February and see how far you've got.

The problem with outcome goals

Outcome goals are things like a promotion, a financial milestone, a body composition goal, a creative or professional result. They absolutely matter, but we don't have full control of the outcome - and the degree of control we have will vary.

I see high achievers, because they are so accountable - in organisations they're seen as the people who will deliver the result - take a very high level of accountability. They have the opposite of a phrase I learned from a client this week: slopey shoulders. Apparently slopey shoulders means not taking accountability for things. My high achievers have the opposite problem. They're hyper-accountable.

Because of that, they sometimes mistakenly think they have more control over the outcome than they actually do. This is where it can derail you. It means you might try to manage it like a process, over-specify timelines, and then tighten the grip when the outcome doesn't materialise in those timeframes. You feel defeated. You might step back from the goal, or take it as a personal failing.

All of those things are actually counter to what we really want to achieve.

Does it matter if we're a bit more loose on the timings? In the grand scheme of things, no. But the problem is when we start wanting to give up, question ourselves, and wonder whether we should even be pursuing the goal at all.

So we keep outcomes lightly in view. They are important - I have a whole vision pillar in my work that is really about thinking through those outcomes. But I make them far enough in advance that we don't get hung up on when they show up. We then put our energy into processes that are fully within our control.

What good processes look like

I want to give you some tangible examples. These should look almost too small. When you do them once or twice, they don't really seem like they're doing much. And it is that slow compounding we're looking for - that 1% difference every day that snowballs when you look back at the end of a year.

A tiny example for me is doing a bit more food prep than I used to. In my case - clearly behind the curve here - it's soaking my oats and chia seeds the night before so I can make a really good breakfast the next day.

Another example is the daily photo habit I talked about last week: taking five minutes a day to delete media off my phone, free up storage, and make my photo memories more accessible and less overwhelming.

For career visibility, you could do one reach-out every day to somebody internally who is important for your career progress and the success of your team. Or an external reach-out - a LinkedIn message or an email to someone you know in your sector, or someone you'd love to connect with. This might only take five minutes, but it will compound over time.

Another variation of that is one slightly more speculative reach-out every day. I've actually been doing a small version of this without realising it, so it's one I'd consider for February.

From a fitness perspective, it could be something really small - like doing three relevant Pilates exercises before you get out of the door on your walk or run. That's another one I've been toying with and might build in this month.

The three good things habit

Another one I do a lot with clients is some form of end-of-day three good things. This can take many forms - it can be gratitude, or something you're proud of in your work. Especially for clients who feel they're a little hard on themselves, this works wonders. It's probably one of the only exercises I very regularly specify with clients, and they come back to me saying it has made a surprising amount of difference.

I do mine as "what made today special." I like that one because it helps me remember special memories with my family. But typically once I've written a couple of things, I end up highlighting other things from that day that I'm really proud of. It creates a bit of momentum around it.

I don't have a special journal for this right now. I just do it at the top of my daily page. So when I look back on these notebooks, all I'll really need to do is read the top lines, and that's going to give me a lovely memory of that particular day.

Applying this to relationships too

You could apply this to relationships as well. You could reach out to one friend every day - a short message or note. Or you could create an intentional moment with your partner. Something as simple as taking the time to really make eye contact and acknowledge them at the end of a busy day.

These are tiny things. Hopefully under five minutes. But they will compound over time and change how connected your life feels.

Micro planning

Another one I love is micro planning. Taking just one minute a day - often the day before - to think about one area of your life that needs more attention.

Let's say a goal you've had but never quite got to the other side of is decluttering. The micro plan the day before is simply specifying what actions you can realistically take the next day. It's very short term. You roughly know what's going on tomorrow, and you're not asking too much of yourself in terms of planning.

It could be a nutrition thing. As I mentioned, I've been noting before I go to sleep what I need to do to make tomorrow easier - for me, that's literally just soaking the oats. Or it could be preparing for a tricky meeting or conversation the next day.

These little things can create momentum and reduce mental load.

Choosing the right process

What I hope you've seen in all of these examples is that they involve choosing a process that is within your control, small enough to repeat, but meaningful enough to compound.

You do not need to choose the hardest one. We are not here to win gold medals in how difficult we make things for ourselves. I really encourage you to pick the easy ones and see where it goes.

That's why I love the photo habit - because we're all prone to picking up our phones mindlessly. Now I've got an actual job to do on mine, and it's one that helps me reflect on past memories, is often really funny because it contains funny videos, the kids love it, and it's making the tiniest progress.

One thing I like about it is that it's forcing me to go slower than is almost comfortable. I take that from Laura Vanderkam, who talks about the 20 Mile March. She looked into the logs of an expedition where the aim was to do 20 miles a day - not over and not under. There's actually a lot of wisdom in that, because sometimes when we start these things we almost want to go too fast. We overshoot and then we burn out.

In my case, if I do the photo exercise for too long, my eyes go cross-eyed and it's horrible. So I have to limit myself. But I know that if I do that small amount every day, it adds up and makes my life easier in the future.

So if you are choosing between a couple of options, pick the easier one. I'm here to give you permission to do the easy stuff.

To wrap up

We've had January. We've probably seen what worked and what didn't. Now we get to refine that and channel it into a short month where we can really zoom in on one process.

If you choose a February process, I would love to know what it is. Drop me a note at info@mayagudka.com, and I'm wishing you a quietly powerful February - full of small, repeatable actions that compound over time.

I look forward to connecting with you next time. Bye-bye.

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About Maya

Maya Gudka is an executive coach specialising in C-suite career progression and leadership development. She works with senior leaders in major organisations on strategic career planning, executive presence, and building sustainable influence. Maya hosts The Refreshing Leadership Podcast, which ranks in the top 2% of podcasts globally and has nearly 300 episodes exploring the challenges faced by ambitious professionals.