A friend sent me "The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks Than Others Do in 12 Months" back in 2018.
(You can see it here: https://getmoneymakingideas.com/5376/the-12-week-year/)
A pile of yet unread books already crowded my Kindle, so I thanked her and forgot about the book.
Until last week where it suddenly caught my eye.
12 weeks, hm…?
Interesting.
And now I’m hooked.
Even though it’s a traditionally published books, which means a book with a lot more words than necessary, I’m plowing through it.
Even though it means stretching my attention span to its bursting point, I keep reading.
Admitted: the two authors, Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington, write well.
Captivating.
And I love their idea…
Think 12 weeks instead of 12 months
I remember reading that studies have found that if you give someone a deadline far out in the future, he will procrastinate for a long time and then struggle to meet that deadline… the last days.
The thought behind is: I have plenty of time. I’ll start tomorrow.
Ever done that?
I know that I have.
If you have goals or a budget to reach before the end of the year, in January, you have so much time ahead of you. Plenty of time.
In February? Yeah, well, one month is gone, but so what? You still have 11 left.
And so it goes until December and panic hit you at the same time.
HELP! How do I make $50,000 this month? I should have started in January. Next year, I start in January. I swear.
Until January next year…
So the theory (which seems to work in practice) is to have 12 week years instead of 12 month years.
You set your goals that must be reached within 12 weeks.
This doesn’t mean do as much in 1 week as in 1 month. It means procrastinating less and planning differently.
What’s so clever about this?
In one word: focus.
In a 12 month year, 1 day is just 1/365 or 0.0027.
In a 12 week year, 1 day is 1/84 or 0.0119. Now we’re talking. A day matters here.
In fact, every day counts with this system.
You’ll strangely obtain two things:
- You’ll get more done
- And relax more
How so relax more?
Yes, this system has built-in time dedicated to relaxation.
Did I tell you I needed this system badly?
Short about the method
I spent four months in an accountability group because I could earn credits to buy some courses for.
In that group, one person had "lose 20 pounds" on her to-do list for months.
It was a "one day I’ll start" thing.
Could she have gotten results by implementing the 12 week year? I think so.
Let’s see… Checking my spreadsheet…
Yes. It took me 10 weeks to get rid of 20.7 lbs.
So yes… She could have done the same within a 12 week "year."
This method would have helped her lose those pounds instead keeping them stuck to her body.
Here’s your action steps
This is a short summary of the action steps I found in the book:
- Set a goal for next 12 weeks
- Find tactics to reach that goal
- Divide it into weekly goals
- Spend 15-20 min beginning each week to review progress from past week and plan upcoming
- Spend first 5 minutes each day to review weekly plan and plan that day’s activities.
Important before you start
This starts with you setting 1-3 goals for the next 12 weeks.
You need each goal to be a SMART goal.
You probably know this acronym, but just in case…
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Timely
IMG
Planning your 12 weeks
- Pick most important goal (Goal 1)
- Find highest-priority daily action (MUST)
- Find highest-priority weekly action (MUST)
- Specify week due
- Ask yourself: what actions will I struggle with?
- How overcome this struggle?
- Repeat with goal 2 and 3 (optional)
Blocking out time
You’re going to schedule time in your calendar using 3 blocks:
- Strategic blocks: 3-4 hours uninterrupted each week (1 per week)
- Buffer blocks: 30 mins/day to 2 x 1-hour/day unplanned, low-value activities
- Breakout blocks: 3+ hours non-work
Week 13
What the…? Britt, you just said this was a 12-week year, and now you’re talking about wee 13?
Yes, there are 13 weeks each quarter of the "real" year. 4 x 13 = 52 weeks.
After each of your 12-week years, comes a week 13.
Use this 13th week to evaluate and set your next goal. Oh, and you should probably be able to find some relaxation time as well.
Your next step
If you want to use this system get the book. (Here’s the link again: https://getmoneymakingideas.com/5376/the-12-week-year/).
I don’t recommend that you use ChatGPT. I’ve yet to find a way to make it give correct information.
Inside the books, you’ll also get tips about what to do if you fail at something.
You’ll learn more about how to overcome struggle and roadblocks.
And how to score your progress. Use this to gamify your progress and it will make things fun.
As you can tell, I’m excited about this book and the possibilities it opens.