I've used this annual planning/reflection doc every year and have found it a refreshing way to put my life into perspective and reset for a new year. Hoping you find this useful too.

Alternate download link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2PaeRjVqAN7MngxTXFPQkpLVj...

Spreadsheet for filling in: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1f5y9YjbOB5ixeQHFyUEp...

Plain Text: https://pastebin.com/raw/V7FaFS0Q

Past Submission: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13249796

Are there links that do not require a login?

I've used this the past few years.

Writing things down is very helpful, but the real benefit is introspecting at the end of the year. You have a record of what you hoped to do, and know what you did, and can think about what worked and what didn't.

In my case, the contrast between what I thought I could do and what I actually could couldn't have been starker.

I would challenge the author of this document to try and get this down to 10 pages or preferably less. I’ve had a skim through and I’m not convinced this needs to be a 22 page document. The longer and more involved these planning systems are, the more I think they verge into procrastination territory.

Or even a different presentation method. A quick checklist of the actual process that is two pages long at most at the start of the document, and then a reasoning and details section if people want the deep dive.

I’d argue a vast majority of the “productivity industry” is ironically just procrastination.

I disagree. If you actually go through the document, everything of value is well laid out and lets you skim. It would have been much harder to skim and many procrastinators would just skip even reading the 2 pages.

On the other hand, a 2 page thing in addition would be a good summary which anyone can make rather than challenging the author.

I agree. I also think the list can be pared down from what I see so far, such as in "Values and purpose" it lists: "What are my fundamental values?" and "What do I truly value?"

These are pretty much the same question. I think three per section would be a good max, 12 is already a lot of categories.

Overall this seems pretty cool though, I'm going to skim through it.

Sometimes, it's hard to see all the ways we can improve on our own. That's why it can be helpful to ask someone we trust, like a friend, a teacher, a partner or a mentor for their opinion. They might see things that we don't.

Knowing what we should work on isn't enough. We have to actually try to get better. This can mean making new habits, asking for help from others, and trying new things that are challenging but rewarding.

My main advice is feel free to skip questions or entire sections, it's okay to let some things be "status quo".

Also I don't like YOLO questions ("what if you had a year to live") they're usually orthogonal to your actual plans and values.

It is important to note how much time you think you have left with your loved ones, your career, your schooling, etc. and take that into account when deciding how to spend your precious tie.

EDIT: I will add, just typing out that I will be 98 in 2080 is a cheap thrill all by itself.

Not my cup of tea, but I appreciate the effort and feel it'll help a lot of people immensely.

On the side note, I've noticed that the best and most actionable productivity articles made their way here in January every year.

Makes me that much more excited about January.

What is your cup of tea in this area?

Make no plans. Enjoy life for what it is.

Mine is: for most things if status quo is fine, then let things play out. Figure out one or two areas where you need to course correct and invest energy in that.

Find as much time as possible for leisure, and don’t feel guilty about it.

What works for me is this system - https://www.heroic.us/

I know nothing about Brian Johnson but I am already questioning his judgement if he signed off on this landing page.

I'd like to take this opportunity to note that January 1 is a myth.

It's actually NoMoNoMoVember.

(December 1 is also correspondingly a myth, of course, and is in fact NoMoVember.)

By not reading things like "how to get the most out of...".

Why not, it can be a helpful starting point for self reflection.

Do most people even truly reflect on themselves, or do they lead lives of quiet desperation, the stereotyped unconscious despair?

Any thing that encourages introspection is good in my book.

Bold of you to assume self-reflection is some sort of antidote to desperation and despair.

If not an accelerant!

I prefer to think of it as 86,400 seconds.

You mean 756,864,000 seconds.

He prefers to think like that, doesn’t mean it makes sense.

Thank you for the correction!

That's just shy 24 years.

That's 1 day.

We're talking a year.

For completeness:

1 year

12 months

52.18 weeks

365.24 days

8,765.81 hours

525,948.77 minutes

3,1556,926 seconds

250 working days

2,000 working hours

Thank you for the correction.

take the lessons you learned, appy them