Methods for reviewing one's year, quarter, week, and day.
Contents
Year Review
At the end of every year, I reflect on how it went. Given that I am a big fan of reviews and journaling, this is no surprise.
This review helps in a few ways:
Tracks progress on various things over the course of many years.
Allows me to look back on where I was and what I did in Year 20XX.
Below is everything that I go over in my year review, with full descriptions further down. Keep in mind these are just suggestions and are individual to me. I add extra notes, links, and media to each entry. Please contact me if you have other suggestions on questions or sections.
My life philosophies tend to be volatile. One year I think this, the next I think that, the next the complete opposite, and so on. Documenting these helps me see how my reasoning and thinking has changed over the years.
A few examples of past life philosophies and questions I've noted down:
What is the best work-life balance for me?
What are the most important things in life?
Should I maintain friendships that are primarily one-sided (I am the only one reaching out)?
Do I want a wife? If so, do I want children?
Favorites
What are my favorite articles/essays/videos/movies/shows/bands/songs/pictures from the past year?
How do these favorites compare to last year's favorites? Have my tastes changed? Have I discovered something completely new or like something I never thought I would?
This section provides a sense of nostalgia. I review all of these in their entirety.
Goals
Goals should be as SMART as possible. SMART goals provide a sense of progress (which can serve as both a motivator and demotivator, depending on the progress made) and an objective measure of when they have been achieved.
Two types of goals are listed: annual (to be completed by 31 December) and time-periodic (e.g., X by 01 June).
Example categories include the following, where the letters can be numbers or specific items related to the noun that follows, e.g., learn 5 skills or learn how to shuffle cards and suture a wound. Be aware of Strathern's version of Goodhart's law, which states that:
When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.
Doing things just to hit a target (e.g., "have C date nights") can ruin the purpose of the goal. I use metrics like these as a reminder to do things and keep myself accountable.
Training (exercise): Lift A weight, run/row/ride B time, complete C reps, complete D race, lose E lb/kg
Professional: Get A raise/promotion, complete B project(s), achieve C revenue, submit D pull requests
Personal: Volunteer B hours, write C blog posts, travel D places
Financial: Save $A, contribute $B to retirement accounts, follow $C budget, eliminate $D debt, establish $E emergency fund
Relationships: Maintain A friendships, meet B new people, have C date nights
Education: Complete A classes (online, in-person), read B books, learn C skills
In regards to time periods, I set 1-, 5-, and 10-year goals.
Statistics
I use RescueTime to track my computer usage and Apple's Screen Time for tracking my phone usage.
When did I get outside my comfort zone? How was it?
Did I say "yes" or "no" more when invited to things?
Relationships
Three friendship questions:
Who am I currently great or good friends with?
Who am I no longer friends with?
Who do I want to become better or worse friends with?
Depending on relationship status (dating, exclusively dating, married), other info on that relationship can go here.
Improvements
What did I add to my life that made it better or worse?
What can I add to my life to make it better?
What did I remove from my life that made it better or worse?
What can I remove from my life to make it better?
What did I keep in my life that made it better or worse?
What behaviors can I add/remove/improve on?
These questions identify things in my life that are boosts or drains on my well-being/health/productivity. I can then focus on increasing or decreasing as needed.
Quarter Review
Review yearly goals + update metrics
Review pressing issues from daily review and outline plan to resolve issue.
Review current status of all short-term goals, the more important long-term goals, and methods of achieving both. Can the methods be improved?
Past week: What did I do this past week? What did I improve on from the past week? How was I feeling throughout the week? Did any notable events happen?
Improvements: What can I improve on for the next week? These go on my daily to-do list as a reminder. (Sometimes these carry over from the previous week's improvements.)
Next week: What will I be doing next week?
Day Review
My daily review goes over my to-do list, followed by:
What did I do today? Did anything notable happen to me?
Gratitude thinking (or journaling). I don't physically write anything down anymore, but instead just think of a few ways in which I'm fortunate.
Any thoughts I have from the day.
See Also
Life Improvements: Items and practices that have greatly improved my quality of life.