Issue #6

Debugging Your New Year's Resolutions

Why your goals crash by February (and how to patch them for good)

Welcome to The Accidental Techie Newsletter - Issue #6

Hey there, fellow accidental techie! 👋

Reader, as 2025 wraps up, I wanted to take a moment before we dive in.

Thank you for being here.

Whether you've been reading since the beginning or just found your way to this little corner of the internet, I'm grateful you're part of this community. Every time you open one of these emails, share a framework with a colleague, or reply with your own hard-learned lessons, you remind me why this work matters.

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No pressure. Seriously. The best thing you can do is keep showing up, keep learning, and keep advocating for yourself and your teams.

Now, let's get into it.

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Reader, if you're already bracing yourself for the January goal-setting pressure, you're not alone.

The gym memberships. The certifications. The "this is finally my year" energy that somehow fizzles by Valentine's Day. We've all been there. And if you're like most accidental techies, you've probably blamed yourself, your willpower, or your "lack of discipline."

But here's what I've been digging into: What if the problem isn't you? What if it's the system you're using to set goals in the first place?

What You'll Find in This Issue

This week, we're exploring the science of goals that actually stick:

✅ The intention-behavior gap — Why research shows you have roughly a 50/50 chance of following through on any goal, no matter how motivated you feel

✅ Know your hardware — How neurotypical and neurodivergent brains (ADHD, autism, PDA) respond completely differently to standard goal-setting advice, and what to do instead

✅ The WOOP framework — A research-backed method for "debugging" positive thinking (yes, visualizing success can actually backfire)

✅ The Energy Audit — A practical tool for identifying what drained you in 2024 and what to protect in 2025

✅ Floors and Ceilings — How to build "anti-fragile" goals that survive real life instead of shattering at the first missed day

✅ Dopamine hits throughout — Quick wins, permission slips, and reframes to keep you going (and remind you that you've already done hard things)

This isn't about hustling harder. It's about building a system that actually fits YOUR brain.

Let's explore more about how you can "Debug" your 2026 resolutions

The Intention-Behavior Gap (a.k.a. Why "Wanting It" Isn't Enough)

Research reveals something that should honestly be printed on every motivational poster as a disclaimer: having a strong intention to do something only translates to actually doing it about 47-53% of the time.

Let that sink in. Flip a coin. That's roughly your odds of following through on a goal, no matter how badly you want it.

Psychologists call this the "intention-behavior gap." I call it the reason we all feel like failures every February.

The New Year does give us something real to work with, though. Researchers have identified what they call the "Fresh Start Effect." Temporal landmarks like January 1st create a psychological separation between your "past self" (who struggled) and your "current self" (who's ready to change). That burst of motivation you feel on New Year's Day? It's neurologically legitimate.

But here's the catch: motivation is just the spark. It's the dopamine hit that gets you excited. What you actually need is an operating system to keep the engine running once the initial excitement fades.

Think of it this way: Motivation is the "Will." Execution requires the "Way."

And that's where most goal-setting advice falls apart.

🧠 Try This Now (10 seconds): Which OS are you running? No judgment. Just notice: Do you generally respond to importance and deadlines? Or do you need novelty, urgency, or genuine interest to get moving? Knowing this changes everything about which strategies will actually work for you.

Know Your Hardware

Here's something nobody tells you about SMART goals and all those productivity frameworks you've been guilting yourself about: they were designed assuming everyone's brain works the same way.

Spoiler alert: it doesn't.

Before you can build a goal-setting system that works, you need to understand what hardware you're running on. Because the strategies that work brilliantly for a neurotypical brain can actually backfire spectacularly for a neurodivergent one.

If You're Running the Neurotypical OS

Your brain responds relatively well to importance and consequences. The challenge isn't usually initiating tasks; it's maintaining focus and consistency over time. Here's what works:

Focus on Process Goals, Not Outcome Goals

Instead of "lose 20 pounds" (outcome), try "walk for 20 minutes after lunch" (process). Instead of "get certified," try "complete one module every Tuesday evening."

Why does this work? Outcome goals are motivating at first but provide no immediate feedback. You can't "lose 20 pounds" today, so the brain struggles to connect today's actions to that distant reward. Process goals give you something you can check off right now, keeping the feedback loop tight.

Use Implementation Intentions (If/Then Coding)

This is the single most research-backed hack for closing the intention-behavior gap. Instead of vague goals, create specific if/then statements:

• "If I feel tired after work, then I will put on my running shoes immediately."
• "If I open my email in the morning, then I will spend the first 15 minutes on my certification course instead."
• "If someone asks me to take on a new project, then I will say 'Let me check my capacity and get back to you tomorrow.'"

The magic here is that you're essentially pre-programming your response. When the situation arises, your brain doesn't have to expend precious executive function deciding what to do. The decision is already made. Meta-analyses show implementation intentions have a medium-to-large effect on goal attainment, significantly outperforming "I'll try harder" approaches.

If You're Running the Neurodivergent OS (ADHD/Autism)

Standard goal-setting advice assumes your brain is motivated by "importance" and supported by reliable executive function. For ADHD and Autistic brains, neither of those assumptions holds.

The Interest-Based Nervous System

​The ADHD brain doesn't run on importance. It runs on an interest-based nervous system driven by:

• Novelty: Is it new?
• Challenge: Is it difficult (in an engaging way)?
• Urgency: Is it due now?
• Interest: Is it genuinely fascinating?

This isn't a character flaw. It's neurochemistry. The ADHD brain has different dopamine regulation, which means tasks that are "boring" (even important ones) struggle to generate enough activation to get started.

Strategies That Actually Work:

​The Dopamine Menu: Create a list of quick, stimulating activities you can use as "primers" before starting a difficult task. Listen to upbeat music. Do 10 jumping jacks. Eat something sour. These raise your dopamine levels just enough to cross the initiation threshold.

Gamification: Turn goals into games. Use apps that award points. Create artificial challenges ("Can I finish this documentation in 15 minutes?"). Add competition, even if it's just competing against your past self.

Body Doubling: Working alongside another person (even virtually) provides external executive function. The presence of another person helps anchor your attention and override the impulse to drift away. This is why many accidental techies find they're more productive when someone else is around, even if that person isn't helping with the task.

Visualizing Time: "Time blindness" is real. Analog visual timers (like Time Timers) make the passage of time concrete and visible, helping you understand how long tasks actually take.

A Note on Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)​

For some folks, especially those on the autism spectrum, goals themselves can trigger anxiety. The "must" of a goal feels like a loss of autonomy, and the brain's threat response kicks in.

If this sounds familiar, try reframing demands into declarative language. Instead of "I need to update the CRM," try "The CRM has some outdated records." Instead of "I must respond to that email," try "I wonder what would happen if I responded to that email."

This might sound silly, but it preserves your sense of autonomy and can be the difference between getting stuck and moving forward.

🎯 Permission Slip: You're allowed to quit things. Seriously. That committee that drains you? The professional development path that looked good on paper but makes you miserable? Letting go of "Red" isn't failure. It's resource management. Your energy is finite. Spend it where it compounds.

The Software Patch (Tools for Adherence)

Now that you understand your hardware, let's install some better software.

The WOOP Framework: Debugging Positive Fantasies

Here's something counterintuitive: positive thinking can actually sabotage your goals.

​Researcher Gabriele Oettingen discovered that when we vividly imagine achieving a goal, our brain releases opioids and reduces blood pressure. We literally experience a state of relaxation that mimics actual goal attainment. We've "mentally arrived," which saps the energy we need for actual pursuit.

Her solution? The WOOP method, which "debugs" positive fantasies by forcing you to confront reality:

W - Wish: What do you want to achieve? Be specific. ("I want to complete my project management certification by March.")

O - Outcome: What's the best possible result? Really feel it. ("I'll feel more confident in leadership conversations. I'll have concrete credentials to point to. I might finally get considered for that director role.")

O - Obstacle: Here's the key step. What is the internal barrier standing in your way? Not external circumstances, but something within you: a habit, a fear, an assumption. ("I get overwhelmed by the coursework and then avoid it entirely. When I feel behind, I convince myself there's no point in trying.")

P - Plan: Create an if/then implementation intention specifically targeting your obstacle. ("If I feel overwhelmed looking at the full course outline, then I will open only Module 1 and commit to just 15 minutes.")

This process, sometimes called "mental contrasting," is what transforms wishful thinking into actionable planning.

💡 Surprising Fact: Studies found that students who used the WOOP method completed significantly more practice questions than those who just set goals. It's been tested on everyone from medical residents to elementary schoolers. The method works because it treats obstacles as data rather than evidence of personal failure.

The System Audit (Introspection & Review)

Goals aren't set-and-forget. They require monitoring, and research proves it: a meta-analysis covering 138 studies found that people who regularly monitor their progress are significantly more likely to achieve their goals.

The key is making this monitoring systematic rather than random.

The Energy Audit

This approach, popularized by Sahil Bloom, is perfect for a year-end review. Here's how it works:

Step 1: Look Back

Pull up your calendar from the past 3-12 months. Review what you actually spent your time doing.

Step 2: Color Code

Mark each major activity or commitment as:

• Green: Created energy. You felt engaged, alive, effective.
• Red: Drained energy. You felt depleted, resentful, stuck.

Be honest. Some things that should be green (like that volunteer committee you joined) might actually be red. That's important data.

Step 3: Identify Your Anchors

What are the "boat anchors" dragging you down? These might be commitments, habits, or even relationships that consistently appear in red.

Step 4: Plan the Next Quarter/Year

• Schedule more Green.
• Delegate or delete Red.
• Ask yourself: "What is my one most important thing right now?"

Future Self-Continuity

Here's a strange finding from neuroscience: when many people think about their future selves, their brains activate the same regions used when thinking about strangers.

If your future self feels like a stranger, why would you sacrifice for them? Why would you save money, protect your health, or invest in skills you won't use until later?

You can bridge this gap. Try writing a letter from your future self to your current self. Be specific: Where are you? What's different? What are you grateful that your past self did? This exercise increases what researchers call "future self-continuity" and makes you more willing to delay gratification for long-term goals.

🎯 Permission Slip: You're allowed to quit things. Seriously. That committee that drains you? The professional development path that looked good on paper but makes you miserable? Letting go of "Red" isn't failure. It's resource management. Your energy is finite. Spend it where it compounds.

Anti-Fragile Goals (Mindset)

The final piece isn't about techniques. It's about building goals that can survive reality.

Values Over Goals

Goals are landmarks. You reach them, and then you stop. ("Run a marathon." Done. Now what?)

Values are directions. You never "arrive" at a value like "health" or "learning" or "service." You simply keep walking that direction.

This distinction, from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), is powerful because it disconnects your self-worth from any single outcome. If you fail to run the marathon but you trained consistently for months, you still succeeded at living your value of "health."

For accidental techies navigating the chaos of nonprofit tech, this reframe is essential. You might not "complete the database migration by Q2." But if you consistently showed up, made progress, communicated obstacles, and learned along the way? You lived your values. That's not failure dressed up as success. That's actually how sustainable achievement works.

Floors and Ceilings

Finally, build flexibility into your goals with "Floors" and "Ceilings."

• Floor: The minimum viable version of the habit. So small you can do it on your worst day. (Two minutes of learning. One paragraph of documentation. A single support ticket.)
• Ceiling: The ideal version when everything aligns. (An hour of focused study. Complete documentation for the whole feature. Clear the entire queue.)

On bad days, hit the floor. Keep the chain alive. On good days, reach for the ceiling. This prevents the all-or-nothing thinking that kills most goals: "I couldn't do the full hour, so I did nothing."

🔥 The Accidental Techie Reframe: You've already proven you can learn complex things under pressure, adapt to systems nobody trained you on, and solve problems that "should be simple, right?" Those are exactly the skills that make goal-achievement possible. You're not starting from zero. You're applying familiar muscles to a new challenge.

Your Action Item

This year, don't just set a goal. Architect a system that fits your specific brain.

Here's your homework (choose one):

Option A - The Energy Audit: Open your calendar right now. Look at the past month. Identify one "Red" commitment you can delegate, reduce, or delete in January.

Option B - The If/Then Plan: Pick your biggest January goal. Write one implementation intention: "If [specific situation], then I will [specific action]."

That's it. One small system update.

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Until Next Time

This year asked a lot of you.

The urgent requests. The systems that broke at the worst possible moment. The "this should be simple, right?" conversations that were anything but.

You showed up anyway. You figured it out. You carried more than most people will ever understand.

So as you head into the new year, I hope you'll try something different. Not more willpower. Not another resolution you'll abandon by Valentine's Day.

A system. Built for your brain. On your terms.

You've already done the hard thing. This is just the next one.

Here's to a 2026 where your goals actually stick.

P.S. — Want to go deeper? In January, I'm running a 30-day challenge called "From Accidental to Intentional" to help you build a goal system that actually fits your brain.

​Get on the waitlist to be first in line.

The Accidental Techie Newsletter is published twice a month for nonprofit operations professionals who never planned to become the tech person but somehow ended up troubleshooting systems at 11 PM. You're receiving this because you signed up at the waitlist link or someone forwarded it to you (thank them!).

P.S. - Found this helpful? Forward it to that colleague who's always getting "simple" requests. They'll thank you.

Questions about making the transition from accidental techie to intentional leader? Hit reply and I can help.