Starting the year right entails a lot of planning, communicating, and striving to get things right the first time. It's a busy period for managers, but often an uncertain time for developers.

Remember to put yourself in their shoes: planning and reviews are happening. Uncertain feelings about their evaluation and where the team is going can be stressful, even if there's no cause for concern. So, before you go too far down the road, reinforcing team connections can help them feel more secure at work.

There are many ways to do this! Zoom magicians, coffee breaks, remote cooking contests, online Pictionary showdowns, show and tell using weird stuff in your home, Among Us betrayals, team trivia, mailing stuff around the country - the internet is teeming with suggestions.

Initially, I struggled with the thought of having to make the activities "fun," which can feel overwhelming. Ignore that feeling. If you initiate the event, the participants should take care of the rest. Teams naturally drift towards becoming a collection of individuals, and distributed teams drift even faster. If you want the perf review to be effective, the roadmap to get moving, or the tech debt to be refactored, the team needs to feel like a bona fide team.

Fostering that team spirit can pave the way for all the great things you want to accomplish throughout the year. Don't delay!