Hello,

fellow decision maker! 😉

An annual review has one major benefit: reflection.

We need to make time for taking stock of how we're doing, once in a while. For some, the annual review is the only chance.

With some distance, it's easier to understand what went well and what went wrong, what we need to invest on in the future and what we need to avoid.

But not all approaches to annual reviews are equally effective. Some of them don't give enough clarity. They also make you waste time.

Here is what's wrong with many annual reviews and how to make them more informed and actionable. Saving time in the process.

Before diving in: this email does not follow the "3 key ideas" format we used in the past. I am experimenting to see what's more useful to you. Please hit reply and let me know if you like this format and which one you prefer.

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Why many annual reviews fail

Some annual review methods have a loose structure that leads to an incomplete analysis. They rely on generic questions that make you overlook important details.

But, most of all, too much time is often wasted in the planning phase on yearly goals and resolutions.

Annual plans are useless. Reality is changing fast. The speed of change is also increasing.

A small business needs to be nimble. So do your personal development efforts. Every project gives you feedback daily that you can use to improve your strategies.

A whole year is too distant in the future. You will end up ditching the plans you carefully designed in January.

New year's resolutions are another inevitable part of many annual review methods. But by now you should be convinced they can't work. This blog post summarizes many reasons why.

These are the most important:

• resolutions cause a "false hope syndrome". You are convinced that just setting them will make them materialize. You don't commit to implementing the necessary systems.
• Willpower is not enough. Again, just stating that you will do (or stop doing) something doesn't help. You need systems.
• Resolutions behave like goals (for the downsides of goals, read this previous issue). You are extremely focused on fulfilling them. Anything goes, even cheating. Meanwhile, you miss the learning process.
• Resolutions don't provide immediate feedback. Growth requires quick, frequent, and measurable feedback. Resolutions are abstract goals, far in the future: it's hard to measure progress. You get feedback only if the resolution has a final result. But it's too distant in the future.

So, how do you perform a thorough annual review that actually creates clarity for the upcoming year?

The Tim Ferriss past-year review (with some help from Pareto)

This is the process followed by Tim Ferriss:

1. divide a sheet of a paper into two columns, named Positive and Negative,
2. look at past year's calendar, week by week,
3. consider every person, task or commitment that generated peak positive or negative emotion,
4. add it to the appropriate column,
5. after reviewing the whole year, identify the 20% of each column that brought the most powerful emotions,
6. schedule more of the "positive leaders" for the next year,
7. place the "negative leaders" in your not-to-do list.

I like this approach because it's systematic (Tim Ferriss-style 😉). You don't rely on your memory (which is tragically imprecise), you look at what you did, week by week. You will inevitably find something you forgot.

Your calendar may miss some things. Then use your journal, todo list app, email threads: anything that can reliably report how you spent your time.

I also like that this kind of review is based on data (what you actually did last year), not on hopes and dreams.

Scheduling the positive leaders for the entire year (step 6) could be difficult, though. Sometimes you don't have enough information. Sometimes they are sustained behaviors more than events.

Then use them as guidelines for your decision making:

• find the main features of your positive leaders, the main causes of the positive emotions,
• when you are considering a commitment, ask yourself if it embeds enough of those features,
• avoid commitments that do not follow the guidelines.

Next year you'll use the same process. You'll find your preferences have changed and course-correct accordingly.

So, do you like this process, too? Will you use it? Hit reply and let me know!

A book I loved

The ride of a lifetime, by Robert Iger

This is the memoir of the CEO that resurrected Disney and managed the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, the Star Wars franchise, 20th century Fox.

It's a page turner, full of lessons about decision making, dealing with emergencies, building great relationships. The perfect compromise between entertainment and learning.

Friend me on Goodreads to see the books I read and I'm currently reading.

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Happy holidays!

See you in two weeks.

Alberto

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