January hits and suddenly everyone wants to change everything about how their household runs. New schedules, new routines, new expectations for household staff, new systems for managing the chaos. Fresh start energy is real.
Then by mid-February, most of those ambitious changes have collapsed back into whatever you were doing before. The new routine you explained carefully to your nanny? Abandoned. The household management system you set up? Nobody’s using it. The communication improvements you committed to? Back to the same old patterns.
This happens every single year. Families use January as a reset opportunity for household operations, which makes sense. New year feels like natural timing for changes. But wanting to make changes and actually making them stick are completely different things.
After twenty years working with families throughout San Diego and beyond, I’ve seen which January household changes actually work long-term versus which ones fail by Valentine’s Day. Let me walk you through how to approach changes in ways that might actually succeed instead of just being good intentions that fade fast.
Why January feels different
There’s something about starting a new year that makes people feel capable of changing things that felt impossible in November. Same household, same staff, same logistics – but suddenly in January you’re convinced you can implement new routines that will transform everything.
That optimism isn’t bad. It’s just not realistic if you’re trying to change too much at once or if you’re not thinking about what actually makes changes sustainable.
The families who successfully implement household changes in January are usually the ones who pick one or two specific things to adjust rather than trying to overhaul everything simultaneously. They’re also the ones who involve their household staff in planning changes rather than just announcing new expectations.
Get staff input before deciding changes
The biggest mistake families make with January household changes is deciding everything themselves and then informing staff about new routines and expectations.
Your nanny who’s actually managing your kids’ daily schedule has insights about what would realistically work better versus what sounds good theoretically. Your housekeeper knows which cleaning routines are sustainable versus which ones require more time than you’re allocating.
Before finalizing any changes to household operations or staff responsibilities, have actual conversations with the people doing the work. Ask what’s not working well in current routines. Ask what changes they think would improve things. Ask whether proposed changes seem realistic to them.
Staff who feel consulted about changes are way more likely to support implementing them. Staff who just get told about new expectations they had no input on often resist passively by just not really following through.
One family in La Jolla decided in January they wanted completely new morning routines – different wake times, new breakfast approach, different schedule for getting kids to school. They announced it all to their nanny without asking for input.
Two weeks later they were frustrated that the new routine wasn’t happening consistently. Their nanny had concerns about timing and logistics but hadn’t felt comfortable raising them when changes were presented as decisions rather than discussions. Eventually they had to adjust everything anyway after realizing the original plan wasn’t working.
Could’ve avoided all that by involving the nanny in planning from the start.
Pick one or two changes, not everything
Trying to change your household schedule, your communication systems, your morning routines, your meal planning, your cleaning approach, and your nanny’s responsibilities all at once is setting everyone up to fail.
Pick the one or two things that would make the biggest difference and focus on those. Let everything else stay the same for now. Once the priority changes are actually working, maybe tackle something else later.
Changes require attention and adjustment. Multiple simultaneous changes mean nothing gets the focus needed to actually succeed. You end up halfheartedly attempting everything and succeeding at nothing.
Be ruthlessly honest about what’s most important to change. If morning chaos is your biggest pain point, focus entirely on fixing mornings. Don’t also try to restructure afternoon routines and implement new dinner systems and change weekend schedules. Just fix mornings first.
Build in adjustment time
New routines don’t work perfectly immediately. There’s always a breaking-in period where you’re figuring out what actually works versus what looked good on paper.
Give yourself and your staff at least two to three weeks to adjust to changes before deciding if they’re working. Don’t abandon new approaches after three days because they feel awkward or unfamiliar.
But also be willing to adjust if something genuinely isn’t working after giving it fair trial. Don’t stubbornly stick with routines that are obviously failing just because you committed to them in January.
The sweet spot is giving changes enough time to become habit while staying flexible about tweaking things that need adjustment.
Document the changes clearly
Don’t just discuss new routines verbally and hope everyone remembers everything. Write stuff down so there’s clear reference.
If you’re changing your nanny’s schedule, put the new schedule in writing. If you’re implementing new morning routines, document the steps. If you’re adjusting communication expectations, spell out what you want.
This doesn’t need to be formal corporate documentation. Just clear written reference everyone can look at when uncertain about new expectations.
San Diego families who successfully implement household changes almost always document them somehow – shared calendars, written schedules, note systems, whatever works. Families who skip documentation and rely on memory usually end up with confusion about what was actually agreed to.
The morning routine changes families always want
Mornings are consistently what families most want to fix in January. Getting kids ready and out the door is chaotic most of the year, so January brings determination to improve it.
Successful morning routine changes usually involve:
- Earlier wake times (for both kids and nanny if applicable)
- More structured sequence of tasks
- Prep work done the night before
- Clearer division of responsibilities between parents and nanny
- Buffer time built in for inevitable delays
Failed morning routine changes usually involve:
- Unrealistic timing that doesn’t account for actual kid behavior
- Too many new things happening at once
- Assumptions that kids will suddenly cooperate better without any reason
- No adjustment period for everyone to adapt
If you’re changing morning routines, start with small adjustments rather than complete overhaul. Move wake time earlier by 15 minutes before trying 45 minutes. Add one new element before adding five.
Communication system changes
Lots of families want better communication with household staff starting in January. Less texting at random times, more organized information sharing, clearer updates about what’s happening.
This is genuinely worth improving but it requires both sides changing habits, not just expecting staff to communicate differently while you keep doing what you’ve always done.
If you want your nanny sending daily updates, commit to actually reading them. If you want weekly check-ins, actually schedule them and don’t cancel constantly. If you want shared calendar usage, make sure you’re updating your side too.
Communication improvements fail when one party makes changes but the other doesn’t adjust their approach. Everyone needs to commit to new systems for them to work.
Schedule and hour changes
If you’re adjusting your household staff’s hours or schedule in January, give decent notice and make sure compensation adjusts appropriately if you’re changing total hours significantly.
Moving your nanny’s start time earlier or later is fine with proper notice and agreement. Adding or reducing total weekly hours affects their pay and requires actual discussion, not just announcement.
Some families try to squeeze more hours out of staff in January without adjusting compensation, framing it as “helping us implement better routines.” That’s not okay. If you’re asking for meaningfully different hours, compensation needs to reflect that.
Technology and app adoption
January’s a common time for families to want household staff using new apps for communication, scheduling, tasks, or other coordination.
This works only if staff are actually comfortable with technology and if the apps you choose are genuinely useful rather than adding extra work for minimal benefit.
Don’t pick complicated systems that require significant learning curves. Don’t choose tools that create more steps for staff to communicate what they used to just text you about. Don’t implement technology for technology’s sake without considering whether it actually improves anything.
Simple shared calendars work better than elaborate household management software most families will abandon by March. Straightforward task apps work better than complex systems nobody maintains.
Cleaning and organization overhauls
Post-holiday houses feel cluttered and messy, so January brings motivation to reorganize everything and implement better systems.
If you have housekeepers, major organization projects need to be actual projects with time allocated, not just added to regular cleaning routines and expected to happen magically.
Decide whether you’re paying for additional hours to do deep organization, or whether you’re doing it yourself, or whether you’re bringing in professional organizers. Don’t just assume your housekeeper will handle major reorganization alongside regular cleaning without discussing scope and time required.
Small organizational improvements can be incorporated into regular routines. Complete household overhauls need dedicated time and possibly additional resources.
When changes are really about other problems
Sometimes “we need new routines” is actually code for “we’re unhappy with our household staff but we’re trying to fix it through routine changes instead of addressing the real issue.”
If your nanny’s not really working out, new morning routines won’t fix that. If your housekeeper’s doing mediocre work, new cleaning schedules won’t solve it. If your chef’s cooking food you don’t like, meal planning systems won’t help.
Be honest about whether you’re trying to implement routine changes because routines genuinely need improvement, or because you’re avoiding harder conversations about whether staffing is actually working.
Real problems with staff performance or fit require direct conversations, not just new routines that you hope will somehow make everything better.
Follow-up matters more than initial motivation
The families who sustain January household changes are the ones who check in regularly about how things are going and adjust as needed.
Two weeks in, talk with your staff about how new routines are working. What’s going well? What’s not working? What needs tweaking? Make adjustments based on actual experience rather than sticking rigidly to original plans.
Monthly check-ins through the first quarter help changes become permanent rather than temporary enthusiasm that fades. Ask staff if they’re still able to maintain new approaches. Ask yourself if improvements you wanted are actually happening.
Without follow-up, most changes gradually drift back to old patterns because nobody’s paying attention anymore. With regular check-ins, adjustments stick because you’re actively maintaining them.
Setting realistic expectations
The hardest truth about January household changes: most won’t stick perfectly and that’s okay.
Aim for 70-80% implementation rather than perfection. If your new morning routine works well most days, that’s success even if some mornings still go chaotic. If your new communication system is actually being used regularly even if not perfectly, that’s improvement worth celebrating.
Don’t abandon changes entirely just because they’re not working perfectly. Adjust what needs adjusting. Maintain what’s working. Accept that household life is messy and no routine works flawlessly always.
San Diego families who successfully use January as household reset time usually end up with modest improvements that stick rather than dramatic transformations that collapse. That’s honestly better than nothing changing at all.
If you’re thinking about household changes right now in early January, pick one or two priorities. Involve your staff in planning. Document what you’re changing. Give it real time to work. Check in regularly. Adjust as needed. Accept imperfect implementation.
That approach might not feel as exciting as completely overhauling everything, but it’s way more likely to actually improve your daily life instead of just creating temporary disruption before everything reverts to old patterns by February.
