When is a good time to make major changes in a company, service or even your own life?

In the podcast Deep Questions by author Cal Newport, Episode 263: Overhaul Your Life

Cal suggests that the start of the year is not always the best time to make big changes happen, even if it's in some way the default moment to do so.

In his own approach, Cal uses the school or academic rhythm that fits better the rhythm of a family man and teacher as he can use the calmer time of the summer to reflect and the month of September to re-start projects as this month is already a month of starting new things (new academic year for example).

This same idea of rethinking the default time for making big changes can also be applied to companies and services. And it reveals that what's important is to notice that there are moments in the company rythm that are more natural for making changes happen.

For many companies or departments within a company that work hard to prepare for the tax season, it might be smart to start new things once that hard time of work is over.

This financial rhythm, which is often thought in quarters, can also become a good rhythm to start new projects, and it naturally offers not just one big moment to start new projects, but several throughout the year.

For many NGOs the time around Christmas is one of the busiest times of the year, as it's the time when fundraising campaigns happen. In such cases, the worst idea would be to start new projects in January. As it would mean during November and December, a lot of preparation would have to happen, basically during the busiest time of the year.

Each organisation, company, service or department might have a different rhythm. Here are a few questions that can help reveal when is a good time to launch new things: