How to conduct a personal life review

Before I share my habits for 2022, I thought it could be helpful to share how I went about reviewing my prior year.

I used a framework from Tim Ferriss:

Forget New Year’s Resolutions and Conduct a ‘Past Year Review’ Instead (#559)

I’m often asked about how I approach New Year’s resolutions. The truth is that I no longer approach them at all, even though I did for decades. Why the change? I have found “past year reviews” (PYR…

The Blog of Author Tim FerrissTim Ferriss

It's incredible even during a lockdown year simply how much happens. So many catch ups, calls and events that simply pass by your memory.

I loaded up my Calendar and went through week by week. It also encouraged me for this year to add smaller events into the calendar to be able to review next year.

I won't go through my entire Positive / Negative list. I ended up filling up 2 pages. Happily I had more Positive than Negative, and managed to stay away from simply becoming a whinge about lockdowns and viruses! I chose to focus it purely on people and events.

Completing the exercise I was reminded from a mentor who shared this technique for a personal audit to put Fillers / Drainers on a page. And list out people and events that fill you, do more of them. Drainers do less of them. Then put that list in an easy reference point to keep coming back to.

Those headings were aligned to my 8020 summary then of the year.

2021 Fillers:

• Long weekends/mini-trips out of Melbourne to reset (Ocean Grove, Bright, Point Lonsdale, Phillip Island & Euroa in 2021)
• Cadre / Huddle (small groups for business & personal growth, consistent rhythm to meet even during lockdowns)
• Family friend hang outs. Common links a place for kids to play and good food.
• Friend phone calls & hangs when we can. Compounding value of long term friendship invaluable.
• Running
• Tennis
• Investing in my personal growth
• Investing in Intentional's growth
• 1:1 Hangs with my kids
• Big weekend cook ups
• Madame Sourdoughs Almond Croissants

2021 Drainers:

• Customising work systems/proposals/meeting schedules
• When I didn't say No to opportunities / requests when I knew I should say No
• Over-exertion on running
• Late nights that ruin the next day
• Coming up with plans last minute, then doing the same thing anyway. Especially with Date Nights and Family Hangs.
• Losing clients before we added maximum value
• Any Almond Crossiants not from Madame Sourdough