The Annual Review: A Once-a-Year Alternative to Weekly Reviews

Quick answer

An annual review is a once-a-year look back at the past twelve months, built around three questions: what went well, what didn't, and what you're working toward. It won't replace a weekly review for day-to-day follow-through. But it's a lighter habit, easy to keep if weekly reviews keep slipping, and a useful complement if they don't.

What an annual review is (and what it isn't)

James Clear describes his as a way to look back over the past year, celebrate wins, assess failures, and stay accountable in public. That's the whole job. Step back once, see the year as a whole, decide what comes next.

It is not a bigger weekly review. In a GTD forum thread on yearly reviews, one longtime user put it plainly: the yearly review "isn't a super-weekly review." It focuses on areas of focus and other higher-level things, not on clearing inboxes and next actions. The difference matters: you don't need a perfectly tidy task list to do one.

James Clear's three-question annual review

Clear's annual review page lists a review for every year from 2013 to 2019, each built on the same three questions:

1. What went well this year?
2. What didn't go so well this year?
3. What am I working toward?

The structure is the useful part. The first two questions look backward and keep the wins apart from the misses, so one bad quarter doesn't color the whole year. The third turns reflection into direction.

His 2016 review shows how it works in practice. The first two sections mix hard data with stories: traffic and subscriber numbers, a month-by-month workout count, personal records. The last section is more reflective. It calls 2016 an "all-or-nothing year" and ends with two priorities for the next one: becoming a finisher and moving toward deep work. A footnote credits Chris Guillebeau for inspiring the yearly habit.

You don't have to publish yours. Clear shares his for accountability, but a private document works with the same three questions.

Gather the numbers first

Clear's review leans on data before opinion, and yours should too. Before answering anything, pull together what you actually recorded:

• Hours worked per project or client
• Income and invoices sent
• Projects finished, and projects dropped
• Days off actually taken

If you tracked time during the year, this takes minutes. If you didn't, you'll be rebuilding it from calendars and invoices, which is slower and less accurate. Your utilization rate is a good single number to bring, since it shows how much of your working time was billable.

Facts first keeps the three questions honest. "It was a slow year" is a feeling. "I billed 31 hours a week in spring and 18 in autumn" is something you can act on.

Annual review vs weekly review

The two reviews answer different questions on different clocks.

Weekly reviews keep current work on track. Annual reviews steer. If you're comparing the weekly options, our look at weekly review formats covers Notion, paper, and a time tracker.

One caveat: we found no study that directly compares annual and weekly reviews, so the advice here rests on practitioner experience, not evidence. Treat it as a reasonable habit, not a proven one. The practical rule is simple: do the weekly review if you can keep it up. If you can't, a yearly review beats none.

Optional add-on: the Integrity Report

Clear also writes a separate yearly Integrity Report. Where the annual review asks what happened, this one asks whether your actions matched your values. It has three questions:

1. What core values drive my life and work?
2. How am I living and working with integrity right now?
3. How can I set a higher standard in the future?

His 2016 list had four values: Growth, Self-Respect, Grit, and Contribution. They stay mostly stable from year to year, with small tweaks. If your year felt busy but pointless, this is the add-on to try.

Turn the review into a few priorities

End with one or two priorities, not a list of twenty. Clear's 2016 review ends with two, and that restraint is why they survive until February.

Then check that they fit your calendar. A priority with no hours behind it is a wish, so compare it against a realistic weekly hour budget. Save the notes where you'll find them, too. The GTD thread's advice is to keep your annual review notes so you can compare plans with outcomes later.

How Pomlo fits in

An annual review is only as good as the numbers behind it, and most people have none. Pomlo is a time tracker for iOS, Android, and the web, built for freelancers, indie hackers, and small teams.

• Time tracking: one-tap start and stop means your hours are logged as you work, not reconstructed in December.
• Projects and clients: hours are organized by who you're billing, so "what went well" has a project name attached.
• Reports: see where your time actually went, so the review starts from facts.

Your data isn't sold or used to train models. Download Pomlo from the App Store or Google Play, or open it on the web, and start building next year's review data today.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is an annual review different from a weekly review?

A weekly review keeps current work on track: open loops, next actions, this week's calendar. An annual review looks at the year as a whole: what worked, what didn't, and what you want to work toward. GTD practitioners describe it as a higher-level exercise focused on areas of focus, not a bigger weekly review.

When should I do an annual review?

James Clear writes his at the end of the year, but any fixed date works: the end of a fiscal year, your birthday, or a quiet week in January. What matters is that it happens on the same date every year.

How long does an annual review take?

The sources we found don't give a time. A reasonable starting point is one to two hours for the numbers and the three questions, plus a short follow-up session to pick next year's priorities. Treat that as a guess to adjust, not a rule.

Do I need to publish my annual review like James Clear does?

No. Clear shares his publicly for accountability, but a private document works as long as you save it and reread it next year.