SecondPen.aiAnnual review (Past Year Review) template
Origin: Tim Ferriss's "Past Year Review" plus the classic keep/stop/start year-end reflection.
Start from this templateFree, no account needed. The blank is written with guidance in each section, ready to fill in.
Sections
- Highlights & lowlights
- Energy audit
- Lessons
- Themes for next year
- Goals
- Not-to-do list
How a tough reader scores it
When you score a draft against this format, the Critic evaluates this annual review. The weights add up to 100; the fixes for the weakest criteria arrive as cards in the editor.
| Criterion | Weight |
|---|---|
| Honest about lowlights, not just a highlight reel | 20 |
| Energy audit leads to concrete changes | 20 |
| Lessons are specific, not platitudes | 15 |
| Goals are few, balanced, and have first steps | 25 |
| Not-to-do list shows real trade-offs | 10 |
| Theme ties it together | 10 |
How it works in SecondPen.ai
Open the template and the editor writes the blank once, with a line of guidance under each heading that you delete as you fill it in. Write your abstract and the editor names the format it reads like. Ask for a document with a slash command and it offers to start from the matching format. When the draft is ready, the Critic scores it against the criteria above, the way this format's toughest reader would, and the three highest-leverage fixes become Editor cards.
More in Personal & casual
- GTD weekly reviewDavid Allen, Getting Things Done (2001)
- Decision journalRecommended by Daniel Kahneman and Annie Duke (Thinking in Bets, 2018); popularized by Farnam Street
- Personal mission statementStephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989), Habit 2: "Begin with the end in mind."
- Five Minute JournalIntelligent Change's Five Minute Journal, based on positive-psychology gratitude research
- Bullet Journal monthly & daily logRyder Carroll, the Bullet Journal method (2013)
- Ideal weekMichael Hyatt's "Ideal Week"; related to time-blocking (Cal Newport)
- Zero-based personal budgetZero-based budgeting, popularized for households by YNAB ("give every dollar a job") and Dave Ramsey
- Trip plan & itineraryTravel-planning practice; day-by-day itinerary plus logistics sheet