Annual review phase 1

When This Fires

• During your annual review (typically December/January)
• When you want to understand the year that actually happened, not the year you remember
• When planning the next year and needing accurate data about what worked and didn't
• Complements Audit the past 12 months of calendar data — rate each… (seasonal time audit) with the experiential dimension that time tracking alone misses

Common Failure Mode

Analysis-first annual review: "What were my biggest lessons this year?" This starts with interpretation, which activates memory biases. You remember the dramatic lessons (the project failure, the relationship breakthrough) while missing the subtle patterns (gradually increasing meeting load, slowly eroding creative time) that are only visible in the calendar data.

The Protocol

(1) Block 90 minutes of uninterrupted time. Open your calendar to January 1st. (2) Go through each week, month by month. For each significant event, person, or commitment, mark: + for peak positive experience (energizing, meaningful, fulfilling, productive) and - for peak negative experience (draining, frustrating, regrettable, costly). (3) Don't analyze while marking. Don't ask "What does this pattern mean?" Just observe and mark. The full picture emerges after the complete scan, not during it. (4) After completing the 12-month scan, review your + and - marks. Now analyze: What patterns emerge in the + marks? (People, activities, and contexts that consistently produce positive experiences.) What patterns emerge in the - marks? (People, activities, and contexts that consistently produce negative experiences.) (5) Use the patterns to inform next year's strategic design: do more of what earned +, restructure or eliminate what earned -, and pay attention to what received neither (potentially neglected areas — Rate each life area…).