The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months

by Brian P. Moran

Life balance is achieved when you are purposeful about how and where you spend your time, energy, and effort. At different times in your life you will choose to focus on one area over another, and that’s perfectly fine, provided it’s intentional. Life has different seasons, each with its own set of challenges and blessings.

The ultimate aim of accountability is to continually ask one’s self, “What more can I do to get the result?”

If you are not in control of your time, then you are not in control of your results.

If you don’t have a clear, compelling vision, then the other disciplines really don’t matter because you are not living a life by design but by chance.

When applied in this way, the 12 Week Year becomes a self-correcting system that creates a breadcrumb trail that allows you to pinpoint any breakdowns and take corrective action on a timely basis.

Without a system for execution, we tend to hang onto our existing systems because that is what is familiar and predictable—especially when we are faced with change.

The most powerful visions address and align your personal aspirations with your professional dreams.

For your vision to help you to push through the discomfort of change, you must be clear on what it is you want to create in life.

vision has the power to enable one to confront and conquer fears, take bold consistent action, and live a life of significance.

A small vision doesn’t call on our best efforts. We don’t have to reach and we don’t sacrifice our comfort. A small vision might be achievable, but we leave our best undelivered.

Before you create a 12 week plan, you must define and commit to your vision.

Planning enables you to allocate your time and resources to your highest-value opportunities, it increases your odds of successfully hitting your goals, it helps you to coordinate your team, and it creates a competitive advantage.

While an action bias can be a good thing, it can also get in the way of effective execution.

One of the benefits that comes from applying the 12 Week Year is learning to act in the moment because that’s where the future that you will experience is being created.

With an action-based plan, you don’t have to rely on input triggers to initiate your actions; instead, your plan triggers your actions.

Giving away your power will never create the success you long for.

You don’t control the outcomes, so focus on the process.

Thomas Edison said that if we only did what we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves. You are capable of great things! You have everything you need to be great right now.