As the year draws to a close, work, school and holiday responsibilities can leave little room to consider how time has been spent. Productivity expert and author Tiago Forte says an annual life review can provide a structured opportunity to step back and think about the direction of one’s life.
Forte has spent 13 years as a content creator, coach, teacher and author focused on productivity and technology. He says he wrote Life in Perspective: The Art and Power of the Annual Life Review after concluding that productivity alone is not useful without clarity about what a person wants and why. He has practiced an annual review for 17 years and developed the book to share that approach with others seeking greater clarity and balance.
The practice, Forte explains, shifts attention away from the constant stream of online content and outside advice and toward a person’s own voice, intuition, desires and ambitions. He says that looking inward can help people identify what feels right for their particular circumstances and bring a sense of calm and confidence about the direction of their lives and careers.
The book presents Forte’s Annual Review Course, a process he developed through his own practice and later used with students. It moves from examining the past to considering the present, then uses those reflections to shape plans for the future. Forte says the framework is intended to bring familiar activities—including reading, journaling, meditation, spending time in nature, visualization and goal-setting—together into a connected process.
Forte hopes the annual review will give readers a recurring space to find balance and clarity amid the uncertainty and distraction of modern life. He also hopes the book will connect them with a broader community of people who practice year-end reviews.
Sources: Psychology Today.