Tim Ferriss’s Past Year Review (PYR)

"I have found 'past year reviews' more informed, valuable, and actionable than half-blindly looking forward with broad resolutions." — Tim Ferriss

Summary: What is this?

The Past Year Review (PYR) is a focused, 30-60 minute alternative to New Year's resolutions. Instead of guessing what you should do, you audit your calendar to find the specific people and activities that produced your peak positive and negative emotions. You then schedule more of the positive and create a "Not-To-Do" list for the negative.

Why do this?

Tim Ferriss started this practice after a sobering realization about the preciousness of time. The goal is simple: Fill your days with the people and activities that nourish you most, and ruthlessly eliminate what makes you miserable.

Step 1: The Setup

Create two columns: POSITIVE and NEGATIVE.

You can use a physical notepad (recommended) or the simple table below.

POSITIVE (Peak Positive Emotions) NEGATIVE (Peak Negative Emotions)
:--- :---

Step 2: The Calendar Review

  1. Open your calendar from the last year.
  2. Go through every single week.
  3. For each week, jot down any people, activities, or commitments that triggered peak positive or negative emotions for that month.
  4. Add them to the respective columns above.

Step 3: The 80/20 Analysis

Look at your list and ask:

"What 20% of each column produced the most reliable or powerful peaks?"

🟢 The Positive Leaders (Top 20%)