January 12, 2026
Millions of people are doing Dry January right now. They're cutting something they know isn't good for them so they can feel better, work better, and stop pretending "I'll start Monday" is a plan.
Your business has its own Dry January list.
It's just made of tech habits instead of cocktails.
You already know these habits are risky or inefficient. Your team knows it too. But everyone keeps doing them because "it's fine" and "we're busy."
Until it's not fine.
Here are six tech habits to quit cold turkey this month, and what to replace them with.
Habit #1: Clicking "Remind Me Later" on Updates
That button has caused more damage to small businesses than most hackers ever will.
Updates aren't just new features. They patch security holes criminals are actively exploiting. When "later" turns into weeks or months, you're running software attackers already know how to break into.
The WannaCry ransomware attack shut down businesses in over 150 countries by exploiting a vulnerability that had already been patched two months earlier. Every victim skipped the update.
Quit it: Schedule updates after hours or let your IT provider push them quietly in the background. No surprises. No open doors.
Habit #2: One Password for Everything
You have a favorite password. It meets requirements. It's easy to remember. And you use it everywhere.
The problem? Data breaches happen constantly. When one site gets breached, attackers try those same credentials everywhere else. That's called credential stuffing, and it works far too often.
Your password isn't strong. It's reused.
Quit it: Use a password manager. Pick one. Remember one master password and let the tool handle the rest.
Habit #3: Sharing Passwords Over Email or Text
It feels fast. It feels helpful. It's also permanent.
That message lives forever in inboxes, backups, and search histories. If one account is compromised, attackers can harvest years of shared credentials in minutes.
Quit it: Use secure sharing inside a password manager. Access can be granted and revoked without ever exposing the password itself.
Habit #4: Making Everyone an Admin Because It's Easier
Admin access means full control. Install software. Disable security. Delete data.
When too many people have admin rights, one phished login can turn into a full-blown disaster.
Quit it: Follow the principle of least privilege. Give people only the access they need. Yes, it takes a little longer. It's still faster than recovering from ransomware.
Habit #5: "Temporary" Fixes That Became Permanent
Something broke. You patched it. You meant to fix it properly later.
Later never came.
Workarounds waste time and create fragile systems that only work as long as nothing changes. Something always changes.
Quit it: List your workarounds. Then fix them once, properly, so your team stops burning hours every week.
Habit #6: The Spreadsheet That Runs Everything
One spreadsheet. Too many tabs. Formulas nobody fully understands. One person who knows how it works.
That file is a single point of failure.
Spreadsheets are great tools. They are terrible platforms.
Quit it: Identify what the spreadsheet is actually doing and move those processes into proper systems with backups, permissions, and audit trails.
Why These Habits Stick Around
You're not careless. You're busy.
Bad tech habits survive because the consequences are invisible until they're catastrophic, the right way feels slower in the moment, and everyone else is doing it too.
That's why Dry January works. It breaks autopilot and forces awareness.
How to Quit Without Relying on Willpower
Willpower doesn't fix habits. Systems do.
When updates are automatic, passwords are managed, permissions are controlled, and workarounds are eliminated, the right behavior becomes the easy behavior.
That's what good IT support actually does. It changes the environment so bad habits disappear.
Ready to Quit the Habits Hurting Your Business?
Book a Bad Habit Audit.
In 15 minutes, we'll identify the habits costing you time, money, and sleep, and give you a clear plan to fix them.
No judgment. No jargon. Just a cleaner, safer, more productive year.
Schedule your 15-minute discovery call here.
Because some habits are worth quitting cold turkey. January is a good time to start.
