A lot of people are doing Dry January right now.
They’re cutting out something they know isn’t helping them — not forever, just long enough to feel better, think clearer, and stop telling themselves “I’ll start Monday.”
Your business has its own version of Dry January.
It’s just not about alcohol.
It’s about tech habits.
The little shortcuts everyone knows aren’t great… but keeps doing anyway because things are busy and “it’s fine.”
Until it isn’t.
Here are six tech habits worth quitting cold turkey this month — and what to do instead.
Habit #1: Clicking “Remind Me Later” on Updates
That button has caused more damage to small businesses than most people realize.
We get it. Nobody wants their computer restarting in the middle of the day. But those updates aren’t just adding new features — they’re often fixing security holes that attackers already know how to exploit.
“Later” turns into weeks. Weeks turn into months. And suddenly you’re running software with known vulnerabilities, just hoping no one notices.
Big attacks like WannaCry didn’t succeed because hackers were brilliant. They worked because businesses skipped updates that had already been patched.
Quit it: Updates should happen automatically, after hours, or quietly in the background. If updates depend on someone remembering to click the right button, they won’t happen consistently. This is one of those things that should be boring and automatic.
Habit #2: Using the Same Password Everywhere
You probably have a favorite password.
It meets requirements. It feels strong. You can remember it. And you use it everywhere — email, banking, Amazon, accounting software, that random vendor portal you signed up for three years ago.
Here’s the problem: breaches happen constantly. And when one site gets compromised, your email and password combo ends up for sale online.
Hackers don’t guess passwords anymore. They reuse them.
They try the same login everywhere and see what opens. This is called credential stuffing, and it works far more often than anyone wants to admit.
Quit it: Use a password manager. One master password. Everything else gets a long, unique password you never have to remember. Setup takes minutes. The stress reduction lasts indefinitely.
Habit #3: Sharing Passwords Over Email or Text
“Can you send me the login?”
“Sure — it’s admin@company.com, password is Summer2024!”
Quick fix. Problem solved.
Except now that password lives forever.
In inboxes. In sent folders. In cloud backups. Searchable. Forwardable. If anyone’s email is ever compromised, attackers can literally search for the word “password” and collect credentials like candy.
It’s not malicious — it’s just risky.
Quit it: Password managers let you share access without exposing the password itself, and revoke it instantly if needed. If you absolutely must share credentials manually, split them across channels and change the password right after. But really — secure sharing exists for a reason.
Habit #4: Making Everyone an Admin Because It’s Easier
Someone needed to install something once. Or change a setting. Instead of figuring out the exact permission, they were made an admin “temporarily.”
Temporary never is.
Now half the team has full admin access because it was faster at the time.
Admin rights mean the ability to install software, disable security tools, change system settings, and delete critical files. And if those credentials get phished, attackers inherit all that power instantly.
Quit it: Give people exactly the access they need — nothing more. Yes, it takes a little more setup. But that’s a tiny cost compared to cleaning up a ransomware incident or an accidental deletion that didn’t need to happen.
Habit #5: “Temporary” Fixes That Became Permanent
Something broke. Someone found a workaround. “We’ll fix it properly later.”
That was years ago.
Now it’s just how things are done.
Sure, it takes extra steps. Sure, everyone knows the trick. But it works… mostly.
Until something changes — a software update, a new employee, a system migration — and the whole fragile process collapses. And no one remembers how it was supposed to work in the first place.
Quit it: Start by listing the workarounds your team relies on. Don’t try to fix them yourself — if that were easy, it would already be done. The goal is visibility first. Then replace duct tape with solutions that don’t depend on tribal knowledge.
Habit #6: The Spreadsheet That Runs the Business
You know exactly which one this is.
One spreadsheet. Endless tabs. Complex formulas. A few people understand it. One of them built it and no longer works here.
If that file corrupts, what happens?
If the “spreadsheet person” leaves, who owns it?
That file is a single point of failure pretending to be a system.
Spreadsheets don’t scale well. They don’t have real audit trails. They’re rarely backed up properly. And they quietly become mission-critical without anyone realizing the risk.
Quit it: Document what the spreadsheet actually does — the process it supports. Then look for tools designed for that job. CRMs, scheduling platforms, inventory systems exist for a reason. Spreadsheets are great tools. They’re terrible foundations.
Why These Habits Stick Around
None of this is news.
These habits stick because:
- The consequences stay invisible… until they’re catastrophic
- The “right way” feels slower in the moment
- Everyone else is doing it, so it feels normal
This is why Dry January works for some people. It breaks autopilot. It forces awareness.
The same principle applies to business tech.
How to Quit Without Relying on Willpower
Willpower doesn’t fix habits. Environment does.
The businesses that actually break these patterns don’t rely on discipline. They change the setup so the right behavior becomes the easy behavior.
Updates happen automatically.
Passwords are managed centrally.
Permissions are controlled by policy, not convenience.
Workarounds get replaced.
Critical systems stop living in spreadsheets.
That’s what a good IT partner does. Not shame you for shortcuts — but quietly remove the need for them.
Ready to Quit the Tech Habits That Are Making Work Harder Than It Needs to Be?
In 15 minutes, we’ll talk through what’s really slowing you down and outline a clear path to fix it — without judgment or jargon.
Because some habits are worth quitting cold turkey.
And January’s a pretty good time to start.
