2025 is officially coming to a close.

At the end of every year, I do two things:

1. Conduct a reflection on the current year
2. Create a plan for the coming year

I provided my reflection process in my ​​​Personal Annual Review​​​ last week.

Note: To go deeper on that process, you can download a free template ​here​​.

Today, I'll share my ​Annual Planning Guide​, which will arm you with the structure and tools you need to make 2026 your best year yet.

This guide covers the three components of my process:

1. Goal-Setting Framework
2. Three System Building Mental Models
3. Strategy for Tracking & Adjusting

I think of this process as my compass calibration:

Setting my overall direction for the year ahead—with an understanding that my ability to adapt along the way will be just as important (if not more so!).

I hope this guide will spark you to conduct your own annual planning process for 2026, as I know you’ll get incredible value from the exercise.

Note: Everyone should download my free ​Annual Planning Guide PDF​ to walk through the full process.

The Goal-Setting Framework

There are two primary categories to consider as you plan for 2026:

• Professional
• Personal

Note: I personally like the simplicity of two categories here, but some may prefer to split the Personal category into Health, Relationships, etc.

For each primary category, my goal-setting framework has four connected components:

1. Big Goals
2. Checkpoint Goals
3. Daily Systems
4. Anti-Goals

Here's how it works...

1. Big Goals

These are your big, year-long goals. They should be large and ambitious.

If these big goals don't scare you a little bit, I'd encourage you to think bigger.

The Big Goals are the summit of the mountain. They’re motivating on a macro scale, but too far off and intimidating to be motivating on a micro daily basis.

2. Checkpoint Goals

Work backwards from your Big Goals to formulate a set of Checkpoint Goals.

If the Big Goals are the summit of the mountain, the Checkpoint Goals are the mid-climb campsites. You can't reach the summit without reaching these points, as all paths lead directly through them.

3. Daily Systems

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” - James Clear, Atomic Habits

These are the 2-3 daily actions that you need to take to create tangible, compounding forward progress. The simplest daily actions to generate progress in a given arena.

If the Big Goals and Checkpoint Goals are your compass, establishing your direction, the Daily Systems are your feet, moving you forward on your climb.

4. Anti-Goals

“All I want to know is where I’m going to die, so I’ll never go there.” - Charlie Munger

Anti-Goals are the things we don't want to happen on our journey to achieve our Big Goals.

If the Big Goals are your summit, Anti-Goals are the things you don't want to sacrifice while executing the climb—like your life, your toes, or your sanity. You want to reach the summit, but not at the expense of these things.

For example, your Big Goal is to become CEO, but your Anti-Goals may be (1) never spending over 200 nights away from your family and (2) never allowing your health to fall apart from constant travel and stress. You want to achieve the Big Goal, but not if it means having those Anti-Goals become real.

Anti-Goals are guardrails: They allow you to win the battle and the war.

Putting It Into Action

To put the goal-setting framework into action:

1. Big Goals: Select 1-3 specific, measurable Big Goals within each primary category (Professional and Personal). Write them down.
2. Checkpoint Goals: Select 1-2 specific, measurable Checkpoint Goals for each Big Goal. Write them down below the associated Big Goal.
3. Daily Systems: Consider the simplest daily actions that would create forward progress toward your Big and Checkpoint Goals. Select 1-3 specific Daily Systems for each Checkpoint Goal. Write them down below the associated Checkpoint Goal.
4. Anti-Goals: To define your Anti-Goals, invert the problem: What are the worst outcomes that could occur from your pursuit of these Big Goals? What could lead to that worst outcome? Using your answers, select 1-2 Anti-Goals for each Big Goal. Write them down below the associated Big Goal.

To bring this to life, here's an illustrative example with my main professional goal for 2026:

Big Goal: Submit the full manuscript of my second book to my publishers.

Checkpoint Goals: Complete a thoughtful, well-constructed outline by January 2026. Submit rough draft for initial review to my editor by June 2026. Complete a penultimate draft by September 2026.

Daily Systems: 60 minutes of daily writing to make slow, steady, incremental progress. 30 minutes of daily reading and/or research to keep the idea engine fresh and flowing. 30 minutes of daily thinking to process and connect ideas in unique, non-obvious ways. Note that I’m not establishing insanely ambitious Daily Systems. I want it to build momentum and stay on track.

Anti-Goals: Never traveling for more than 10 nights out of the month (I don't want to miss this precious time with my wife and son). Never sacrificing my health and family non-negotiables to achieve the Big Goal.

System-Building Mental Models

Harsh Truth: Ideas are cheap, execution is expensive.

Even with your Big Goals to motivate you and your Daily Systems all planned out, you may fail to execute.

To guide your execution against your Daily Systems, here are three system-building mental models to support you in your journey:

ABC System (My Favorite!)

I like to establish three levels for every daily system:

• A: Most ambitious, perfect case
• B: Middle ground, base case
• C: Minimum viable level

On days when you feel great, you hit your A. On days when you feel ok, you hit your B. On days when you feel bad, just hit your C.

The ABC System removes any intimidation or guilt:

As long as you hit your C, you're making forward progress. Anything above zero compounds.

The system prevents optimal (A) from getting in the way of beneficial (C) and gives you the flexibility to make progress while allowing the inevitable chaos of life to enter.

Two-Day Rule

With whatever habit you're trying to build, never allow yourself to skip more than one day in a row.

Quoting a study in the European Journal of Social Psychology:

“Missing one opportunity to perform the behavior did not materially affect the habit formation process.”

Skipping one day won't hurt your habit building, as long as you don't skip the next one.

30-for-30 Approach

Do the thing you're trying to improve at for 30 minutes per day for 30 straight days.

30 days of effort is a real commitment. If you're half-in, you won’t want to take it on and commit to the 30 days.

30 minutes per day is short enough that you can mentally take it on. Pre-start self-intimidation is one of the biggest drivers of stagnation.

30 days of 30 minutes per day is 900 total minutes of accumulated effort. This will yield surprisingly significant results.

Strategy For Tracking & Adjusting

There's a concept in aviation called the 1-in-60 Rule:

A one degree error in heading will cause a plane to miss its target by one mile for every 60 miles flown.

In other words, tiny deviations from the optimal course are amplified by distance and time. A small miss now creates a very large miss later.

This highlights the importance of real-time course corrections and adjustments.

Conduct a three question monthly check-in on the last Friday of each month:

1. What really matters right now in my life and are my Big Goals still aligned with this? Assess the quality of your goals and ensure that they still feel appropriate.
2. Are my current Daily Systems aligned with my Big Goals? Assess the quality of your Daily Systems and whether they are creating the appropriate momentum.
3. Am I in danger of running afoul of my Anti-Goals? Assess the quality of your environment and decisions to evaluate any changes that need to be made.

Write the answers down.

The ritual takes ~30 minutes each month and creates a structure for adaptability. An opportunity for regular reflection and minor course corrections that are essential on your journey.

Your Annual Planning Guide

To summarize my ​​Annual Planning Guide​​:

1. Establish Big Goals for Professional and Personal spheres.
2. Establish Checkpoint Goals for each Big Goal.
3. Establish Daily Systems associated with each Checkpoint Goal.
4. Establish Anti-Goals for each Big Goal.
5. Execute against Daily Systems using the ABC System, Two-Day Rule, and 30-for-30 Approach.
6. Track and adjust using the three question monthly check-in.

This annual planning process is a life-changing exercise. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

To get even more out of it, consider conducting it in a small group format. Go through it individually, but then get together with a small group and walk through it. Pressure test, question assumptions, and provide feedback. This is a great way to prepare for 2026 to be the best year of your life.

Note: Everyone should download my free Annual Planning Guide PDF to walk through the full process. For those who want to go deeper and return to the exercise more regularly, I recommend ordering a copy of the ​​Life Planner​​.