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The 12 Week Year

Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington

For people who set yearly goals and only get serious about them in November, and for anyone who plans well but loses track by week three. Not for people who want a full task-management system.

A week with this book

A short summary today, then one small action a day for six days. Free for your first book.

The 12 Week Year Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington

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Day 1

The ideas the week uses

Brian Moran and Michael Lennington argue that the yearly plan is the problem: with twelve months to go, nothing feels urgent until the end. Treat twelve weeks as your whole year and every week starts to matter.

  1. Annualized thinking wastes most of the year. Moran and Lennington call it annualized thinking: the belief that there's plenty of time left. Most people only push hard near a deadline. A 12-week year puts the deadline close enough to feel all the time.
  2. Start with a vision, then one to three goals. The authors begin with a picture of the life you want, including a three-year view, because on bad days a plan alone won't move you. From it, pick no more than three goals for the next twelve weeks.
  3. Turn goals into weekly tactics. Each goal is broken into tactics: specific actions with a week they're due. Every week you write a short plan pulled from those tactics, so you always know what this week asks of you.
  4. Score execution, not just results. Results lag. What you control is whether you did what you planned. Each week, score the share of planned tactics you finished. The authors say that hitting about 85 percent usually means you'll reach the goal.
  5. Block time for what matters. The authors suggest a weekly three-hour strategic block with no calls or email, short buffer blocks for admin and interruptions, and breakout blocks away from work. A weekly meeting with peers keeps you accountable.

Where it overreachesThe book was written for salespeople and financial advisors, and its examples lean that way. The 85 percent figure comes from the authors' coaching work, not an independent study, and back-to-back 12-week pushes can wear you down if you skip the review week they build in.

Days 2 to 7

How to apply The 12 Week Year

10 to 20 minutes each, with a two-minute version for a bad day.

Printable week card (one page)

  1. 2Review your last twelve weeksLook back over the last twelve weeks and write down what you finished that you're glad about, and what you meant to do but didn't.
  2. 3Write your one 12-week goalWrite three sentences about where you want to be in three years, then one goal you can reach in the next twelve weeks that moves you toward it.
  3. 4Book a three-hour strategic blockPut one three-hour block on your calendar this week for work on your 12-week goal, with no meetings, calls, or email.
  4. 5Write this week's planBreak your 12-week goal into tactics and write a plan for the next seven days with three to five of them.
  5. 6Set up a weekly accountability meetingAsk one or two people to meet with you for about fifteen minutes each week to report on your plans and scores.
  6. 7Score your weekScore the tactics from your weekly plan that were due by today, as a percentage.

Sample

Day 3, in full

This is what lands in your inbox that morning.

AfterpageDay 3 of 7 · Action

Write your one 12-week goal

Today’s action · 10 to 20 minutes

Write three sentences about where you want to be in three years, then one goal you can reach in the next twelve weeks that moves you toward it.

How

Keep the vision honest and specific: work, health, money, relationships, whatever matters most now. Then write one goal for the next twelve weeks with a number and a date in it, like “Send 40 pitches by January 10.” One goal is enough for this week. Done when it fits on one line.

Why this one

The authors start with vision because a plan with no reason behind it stalls on hard days. They also say to keep it to three goals or fewer.

If today is a bad day

Write one 12-week goal on a sticky note, with a number and a date in it.

In short

Questions about this book

Who is The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington for?

For people who set yearly goals and only get serious about them in November, and for anyone who plans well but loses track by week three. Not for people who want a full task-management system.

What are the main ideas in The 12 Week Year?

Brian Moran and Michael Lennington argue that the yearly plan is the problem: with twelve months to go, nothing feels urgent until the end. Treat twelve weeks as your whole year and every week starts to matter. Annualized thinking wastes most of the year; Start with a vision, then one to three goals; Turn goals into weekly tactics; Score execution, not just results; Block time for what matters.

What do you do in the Afterpage week for The 12 Week Year?

Day 1 is a short summary. Then one action a day, each 10 to 20 minutes: Review your last twelve weeks; Write your one 12-week goal; Book a three-hour strategic block; Write this week's plan; Set up a weekly accountability meeting; Score your week. Day 7 also has a recap.

Where does The 12 Week Year overreach?

The book was written for salespeople and financial advisors, and its examples lean that way. The 85 percent figure comes from the authors' coaching work, not an independent study, and back-to-back 12-week pushes can wear you down if you skip the review week they build in.

What is the first action in the The 12 Week Year week?

Review your last twelve weeks. Look back over the last twelve weeks and write down what you finished that you're glad about, and what you meant to do but didn't. If you only have two minutes: Write down one thing you meant to finish in the last three months and one word for why it didn't happen.

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