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4 Mindsets Shifts That Made My Annual Review Work

Published 20 days ago • 3 min read

Yesterday, I did my first livestream about Life in Perspective on TalkShopLive.

It was the first time I've talked about the book publicly in real time, less than four weeks before it comes out on Nov. 3.

Here's some of what I covered:

  • The one sentence from my wife that changed how I see my overwork: "Your work gets the best of you, and we're left with what's left over."
  • The 8-hour threshold where an annual life review becomes transformative, and how to split it up
  • Why the biggest changes start with a new point of view, not a new plan (and why New Year's resolutions rarely stick)
  • What a hard year has to teach you, including the year my business lost money
  • How to read the book before your own review, so you're ready when you sit down

​Pre-order your copy of ​Life in Perspective​ now and claim your bonuses: chapters 1 & 2 right away, the Annual Review Summit recording, and more.

Order 2+ copies and you also get seats in The Annual Review 2027 program.

How to Review Yourself (Without Destroying Yourself)

In 2013, I opened my annual review with this line: "Diet is down the toilet." Every sentence after it was a verdict against myself, and I dreaded the whole process.

In this video, I share the four mindsets that turned my review from something I braced for into something I look forward to.

None of them involve new prompts or extra hours. They change the state you're in before you make any decisions about your year ahead.

Fair warning: at least one will probably feel wrong at first. It did for me.

Double Down on What Already Works

In the discussion of Cohort 2 of The AI Second Brain, Kate started one of the most active threads by describing a feeling many of us know:

Everyone seems to be adopting a new tool, and you're always behind.

Her answer is a simple filter: anything new has to earn its place.

For Kate, that meant keeping what already works: a yellow legal pad for meetings and an A3 pad for mind maps, because paper suits how her mind works.

AI takes over only the part that was never fun: typing everything up. Her energy goes into getting good at one tool instead of spreading thin across many.

The time savings are modest, by her own account. The payoff is a setup that fits, with no extra subscriptions to manage.

Before you try the next shiny tool, ask what's already working for you, and which small piece of it you'd happily hand off.

What are you keeping? Hit reply and tell me.

Book Recommendation: The Quantified Self –Learning to Observe by Gary Wolf

When I lived in San Francisco, I was part of the Quantified Self community, and I owe it a great deal. A lot of what would become the Second Brain ecosystem was modeled directly after it as a predecessor.

What stuck with me was the habit of paying close attention. In my twenties, I dealt with chronic health issues. By observing closely and running small experiments, I could eventually ease my symptoms.

Gary Wolf co-founded the movement, and his new book distills nearly two decades of the community's work into a practical guide. It teaches a four-step method (Question, Observe, Reason, Discover) and includes dozens of first-person case studies.

If you want to understand your own body and mood better, start here.

Upcoming Events

  • Designing with AI: Life in Perspective Case Study + Live Demo · Thu, Oct 8, 1:00 PM ET (Membership) · RSVP​
  • AISB Local Meetup, Quito, Ecuador · Fri, Oct 9, 4:00 PM local (Free, in person) · RSVP​
  • AISB Local Meetup, Mumbai, India · Sat, Oct 10, 11:00 AM local (Free, in person) · RSVP​
  • AI Second Brain Meetup, Bhopal, India · Sat, Oct 10, 4:00 PM local (Free, in person) · RSVP​
  • AISB Local Meetup, Chicago, USA · Sat, Oct 10, 11:00 AM local (Free, in person) · RSVP​
  • AISB Local Meetup, Bangkok, Thailand · Sun, Oct 11, 2:00 PM local (Free, in person) · RSVP​
  • Build Your Personal Brand Guide with Claude · Tue, Oct 13, 11:00 AM ET (Membership) · RSVP​
  • AISB Local Meetup, Rennes, France · Tue, Oct 13, 6:30 PM local (Free, in person) · RSVP​
  • AI Second Brain Meetup, San Francisco, USA · Tue, Oct 13, 6:30 PM local (Free, in person) · RSVP​
  • AISB Local Meetup, Montréal, Canada · Wed, Oct 14, 6:00 PM local (Free, in person) · RSVP​
  • AI Second Brain Meetup, Boston, USA · Wed, Oct 14, 6:00 PM local (Free, in person) · RSVP​

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Tiago Forte

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Forte Labs Newsletter

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