The Annual Review by Questions
Use resilient questions, not brittle advice, to course-correct your life each year
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 85%
Clear runs an annual review built around questions rather than advice, because advice is brittle and context-dependent while questions are resilient and adapt to any situation. The review counters the natural drift that pulls everyone off course over time. He writes about a paragraph per question, treating them as journaling prompts, and feeds them with passive measurement already captured in his calendar (nights away from home, new cities) and a pen-and-paper workout log. Core questions include: what am I optimizing for; does this activity fill me with energy or drain me; does the attention I give this match its true importance; can my current habits carry me to my desired future; and how can I create an environment that naturally brings about my desired change. The same questions work weekly or anytime, not just once a year.
Origin
Clear's long-running personal annual review practice, some questions adapted from Derek Sivers, which he published publicly for years.
Core principles
- 01A habit of reflection lets you catch and correct natural drift
- 02Questions are resilient and adaptable; advice is brittle and context-dependent
- 03Passive measurement through your calendar and logs feeds the review
- 04Better questions produce better answers
How to run it
- 1
Gather passive data
Pull the measurements already captured in your calendar and logs, like nights away or workouts per month.
Pro tip Let your calendar and a paper log do the measuring so the data is ready at review time.
- 2
Ask what you optimize for
Clarify what you are actually optimizing for now, which changes over the years.
Pro tip A related phrasing is 'what game am I playing, and is it worth winning?'
Watch out Left unexamined, you drift into status signaling or others' expectations.
- 3
Audit energy and attention
Ask whether each activity fills or drains you, and whether your attention matches its true importance.
- 4
Test your trajectory
Ask whether your current habits can carry you to your desired future; if not, something must change.
- 5
Design the environment
Ask how to structure your physical, social, and strategic environment so the change happens naturally.
In the wild
Clear's calendar passively logs which nights he slept away from home, so at year-end he can total them and ask whether that travel load was more or less than he wants, feeding the energy and attention questions.
→ The passive data turns vague impressions into a concrete basis for course-correction.
Common mistakes
Relying on advice over questions
Advice is brittle and often does not fit your context, whereas questions adapt and keep working.
Reviewing without data
Without passive measurement from your calendar and logs, the review runs on faulty memory.
Is it for you?
Best for
Anyone wanting a durable, portable reflection practice rather than one-off resolutions.
Not ideal for
Those seeking prescriptive step-by-step advice rather than self-directed inquiry.
From the transcript
“questions are very adaptable... advice is actually kind of brittle and context-dependent”
“how can i create an environment that will naturally bring about my desired change?”
From the episode
#648: James Clear, Atomic Habits — Simple Strategies for Building (and Breaking) Habits, Questions for Personal Mastery and Growth, Tactics for Writing and Launching a Mega-Bestseller, Finding Leverage, and More