Q1 - Annual Planning Season

New year. New roadmap. New 47-slide deck.

Explaining why last year's 47-slide deck was wrong. Same story. Different font.

The Q1 Planning Calendar

Jan 2-5

Annual Kickoff Prep

"We need a deck summarizing our 2024 accomplishments and 2025 vision"

Deck 1 of 7
Jan 8-12

OKR Planning Sessions

"Each team needs to present their OKRs with supporting rationale"

Deck 2 of 7
Jan 15-19

Budget Review

"We need a deck on headcount justification and resource allocation"

Deck 3 of 7
Jan 22-26

Roadmap Finalization

"Can you put together a visual timeline for the executive team?"

Deck 4-5 of 7
Jan 29-31

All-Hands Presentation

"Now summarize everything into a company-wide presentation"

Deck 6-7 of 7
January by the Numbers
7
Major decks created
280+
Total slides
60
Hours on decks
0
Actual work shipped

The Annual Planning Deja Vu

Last Year's Planning Deck Said

Focus on customer retention
Streamline internal processes
Improve cross-team collaboration
Invest in automation

This Year's Planning Deck Says

Focus on customer retention
Streamline internal processes
Improve cross-team collaboration
Invest in automation

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Q1 planning consumes January (and how to get it back)

QWhy does Q1 planning consume the entire month of January?

Because every stakeholder needs their own planning deck: kickoff deck, OKR deck, budget deck, roadmap deck, all-hands deck. That's 7+ major presentations before February. SlideStrike generates all of them in minutes, so January can be about execution, not deck creation.

QHow many hours do I lose to Q1 planning decks?

Most project managers spend 60+ hours in January creating planning decks. That's an entire work week consumed by slides before you've shipped anything. SlideStrike cuts that to minutes, giving you your January back.

QWhy are this year's planning priorities the same as last year's?

Because you copied last year's deck and updated the dates. SlideStrike generates fresh decks from current data, so your 2025 plans reflect 2025 reality, not recycled 2024 slides with new headers.

QCan I really start Q1 actually working instead of presenting?

Yes. When planning decks take 30 seconds instead of weeks, January becomes about execution. You present the plans and immediately start delivering them, instead of spending weeks documenting what you'll do.

QDoes this pattern repeat every single January?

For most organizations, yes. January is "planning month" which means "deck month." SlideStrike breaks this cycle by removing the deck work, so planning month can actually be about planning (and starting execution).

Start Q1 Actually Working

Planning Decks in Minutes, Not Weeks

SlideStrike generates your planning decks instantly. January becomes about execution, not presentation.

All 7 planning decks in under an hour
Fresh data, not recycled slides
Start shipping in Week 1, not Week 5
Reclaim 60+ hours every January
Fix Q1 Forever
Planning season shouldn't consume the quarter. Plans are for doing, not presenting.