Review
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:
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Tracks progress on various things over the course of many years.
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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.
Philosophies
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:
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What is the best work-life balance for me?
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What are the most important things in life?
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Should I maintain friendships that are primarily one-sided (I am the only one reaching out)?
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Do I want a wife? If so, do I want children?
Favorites
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What are my favorite articles/essays/videos/movies/shows/bands/songs/pictures from the past year?
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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.
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Training (exercise): Lift A weight, run/row/ride B time, complete C reps, complete D race, lose E lb/kg
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Professional: Get A raise/promotion, complete B project(s), achieve C revenue, submit D pull requests
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Personal: Volunteer B hours, write C blog posts, travel D places
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Financial: Save $A, contribute $B to retirement accounts, follow $C budget, eliminate $D debt, establish $E emergency fund
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Relationships: Maintain A friendships, meet B new people, have C date nights
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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.
Other statistics may include:
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Hours slept
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Bodyweight over time
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Time spent exercising
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Spotify's Wrapped
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Miles driven
Reflections
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How was this year in general?
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What lessons have I learned?
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How have I matured?
Accomplishments
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What year goals did I accomplish?
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What did I accomplish in my personal life?
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What did I accomplish in my professional life?
Experiences
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What was my favorite experience?
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What was my least favorite experience?
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When did I get outside my comfort zone? How was it?
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Did I say "yes" or "no" more when invited to things?
Relationships
Three friendship questions:
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Who am I currently great or good friends with?
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Who am I no longer friends with?
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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
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What did I add to my life that made it better or worse?
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What can I add to my life to make it better?
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What did I remove from my life that made it better or worse?
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What can I remove from my life to make it better?
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What did I keep in my life that made it better or worse?
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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
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Review yearly goals + update metrics
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Review pressing issues from daily review and outline plan to resolve issue.
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Review current status of all short-term goals, the more important long-term goals, and methods of achieving both. Can the methods be improved?
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Read favorite essays
Week Review
These take place on Saturdays directly before my one-on-one session.
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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?
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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.)
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Next week: What will I be doing next week?
Day Review
My daily review goes over my to-do list, followed by:
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What did I do today? Did anything notable happen to me?
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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.
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Any thoughts I have from the day.
See Also