Book review: The 12 Week Year

Full title: "The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months" by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington, published in 2013.

I kept seeing people online who shared that they successfully implemented the 12 Week Year as their primary time and goal management system, and was excited to read this book.

I now understand that I maybe had my expectations too high: I read plenty of personal development books already, and I was looking for some new insights. But the book describes a quite simple concept just as it says in the title: get more done in 12 weeks than others do in 12 months.

The authors try to sell the groundbreaking innovative approach and try to convince you that this is not the same thing as the quarterly planning, but I am still left sceptical.

The main reason I found this book unrealistic is that life happens. The authors put all the responsibility on the reader and if you did not meet your goals, it means you did not implement their system well enough. It is so convenient, because any criticism would sound as an excuse to not live up to your full potential and choose comfort. I think in reality not a lot of people can maintain a lifestyle of working with high bursts of energy every quarter with a week-long vacation afterwards to reset and avoid burnout.

The book is repetitive and reads as a sales pitch. I wish it had more personal and less corporate examples.

I still think the 12 Week Year system is not bad per se. It might be useful to quickly reach goals existing in a vacuum, which mostly depend on your actions. For example, I would use this system for a weight loss goal (an example which authors repeat from chapter to chapter) or passing a foreign language exam.

For instance, I set a goal of getting at least 7 out of 10 points on my French exam. I have slightly less than 12 weeks until the exam date, but I still can illustrate the approach.

Five disciplines (or five steps)

1. Vision: you must imagine and describe a detailed vision that you would value more than your current comfort, with high emotional stake in the outcome, e.g. Passing the exam will open doors for better job offers, studying in my dream university, marrying a Parisian Michelin star chef, better service in French restaurants, etc. - select all that applies.
2. Planning: select a few high-impact high-return actions called tactics, do not list too many objectives to not overwhelm yourself, write down the frequency of actions required:
   1. Reading a book in French - every day;
   2. Doing mock listening tests - twice a week;
   3. Writing down and learning new words - every day;
   4. Write an essay - once a week;
   5. Speaking sessions with a teacher - twice a week.
3. Process control: look for peer support and track your progress every week, make sure your time is spent on high-value activities, e.g. using a habit tracker, having a weekly session with my teacher to assess the progress made this week.
4. Measurement: what gets measured gets managed, be honest if you are under-performing, hitting at least 80% of planned tactics will lead to success with high probability.
5. Intentional time use: if you control your time, you control your results.

Three principles

1. Accountability: treat accountability not as negative consequences of inaction but ownership of your actions and goals.
2. Commitment: keep promises given to yourself and others.
3. Greatness in the moment: work using 100% of your capacity every day.

If you are not already familiar with productivity systems, I highly recommend reading David Allen's "Getting Things Done" instead, which I found much more feasible, and written in a friendlier tone.