The 12 Week Year

Happy New Year! 🥳 

For 2025, we're changing things up a bit. We will still continue to bring you our key takeaways and insights from the top non-fiction books however this will be delivered to your inbox every FORTNIGHT rather than every week. This means that over the course of 2025 we will be unpacking a total of 26 books that will help you make positive changes in your life, covering everything from goal setting, to wealth and finances, to relationships. Once again, we’d like to thank you for being part of our community and we can’t wait to grow with you throughout 2025. 🙌 

Now, without further a do, let’s dive into book number one, The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington.

If you’re anything like us, this time of year has you excitedly planning goals and resolutions for the year ahead…but what if you could achieve your annual goals in just 12 weeks? 🤔 

That’s the essence of The 12 Week Year. Moran and Lennington put forward the idea that by harnessing the urgency and commitment that usually occurs around the year end deadline and instead using this energy throughout the year, you can achieve more in 12 weeks than others do in 12 months. They believe that by condensing your annual goals into a 12-week time frame, you focus more intensely, execute with purpose and achieve results faster - there’s nothing like a deadline to get you motivated!

Here are our 5 key takeaways and actionable tips from The 12 Week Year that might just change how you approach your goal setting for 2025.

✏️ 1. Define your long-term vision

A clear vision is the cornerstone of success. Your long-term aspirations provide direction and motivation, serving as the “why” behind your goals. Without a well-defined vision, it’s easy to feel aimless or overwhelmed by the sheer number of tasks demanding your attention. By identifying what truly matters to you – whether in your career, personal relationships, health, or personal growth – you create a framework for setting meaningful short-term objectives that contribute to the bigger picture.

Vision isn’t just about ambition; it’s about clarity. Knowing where you want to go helps you prioritise your actions and filter out distractions that don’t align with your ultimate goals. Each 12-week plan should be designed with your vision in mind, creating a steady path towards long-term success.

💪🏻 Actionable Tip: Write down exactly how you want your life to be in the next 3-5years. Where will you live? How will you be earning money? How will you spend your time? By answering questions like these and being clear about what you want you will be able to create a compelling vision of the future. This vision will provide the foundation for setting your 12-week goals and also be your guiding light for when things inevitably get tough.

✏️ 2. Say goodbye to annual goals

The traditional approach to annual goal-setting often fails because of its lack of urgency. When you have a full year to achieve a goal, you get lured into the false sense of security that action can be delayed, thinking you’ll make up for lost time later. The result? Most people scramble to accomplish their goals in the final months – or abandon them entirely. The 12 Week Year solves this by shifting the focus to shorter, more manageable 12-week cycles.

Treating each 12 week block as a standalone year forces you to act with focus and urgency. With less time to procrastinate, you’ll naturally prioritise the actions that matter most. Additionally, shorter cycles provide more frequent opportunities to evaluate progress and recalibrate if needed, unlike annual plans that only get reviewed once or twice a year.

💪🏻 Actionable Tip: Embrace the 12-week year. Replace your annual goals with targeted, time-bound objectives for each 12-week cycle. Break them down into weekly and daily tasks that align with your vision. For example, instead of saying, “I want to get fit this year,” set a specific 12-week goal like “lose 5 kilograms” or “complete a 5km run.” This creates focus, clarity, and urgency.

✏️ 3. Never start your week without a plan

Weekly planning is a non-negotiable habit in The 12 Week Year. Without a plan, it’s easy to get sidetracked by distractions or low-priority tasks. A well-thought-out weekly plan ensures you’re consistently working on what matters most, rather than reacting to whatever comes your way. Each week is a building block in the 12-week cycle, and consistent execution is key to staying on track.

Planning also helps you manage your time more effectively. By identifying your top priorities and scheduling time for them, you minimise the risk of procrastination or overcommitting to tasks that don’t align with your goals. This simple habit can dramatically improve your productivity and focus.

💪🏻 Actionable Tip: At the end of your week, take 15-30mins out of your day to plan your next week. Identify 3-5 priorities that support your 12-week goal and schedule them into your week.

✏️ 4. Accountability is key to success

True accountability lies in taking complete ownership of your decisions and understanding that your daily choices and actions - both positive and negative - create your future.

Accountability is a powerful motivator but it also provides an opportunity for feedback, encouragement and support. It allows you to be honest about your progress, good or bad, and drives you to take corrective measures when needed.

💪🏻 Actionable Tip: Find a way to keep yourself accountable. Whether it’s posting content online for others to see, a weekly call with a friend, or simply dropping us a DM, find something or someone to help keep you accountable and following through on the things you said you were going to do. Remember, your future success depends on the actions you take NOW.

✏️ 5. Measure progress, not just outcomes

Moran and Lennington advocate the importance of measuring progress not just outcomes, believing that success isn’t created in the achievement of the goal but in the completion of all the small tasks along the way.

By measuring progress and tracking our execution rate, we can stay motivated and on track, maintain momentum, identify weak areas and adjust our approach as needed.

Focus on the process and trust that your consistent efforts will reap the reward.

💪🏻 Actionable Tip: At the end of each week, take time out to reflect on and measure the previous week. Calculate your execution rate by dividing the number of completed tasks by the number of planned tasks. To achieve your goals, your execution rate should be at least 85% - we’re aiming for maximum progress, not perfection.

Want to learn more? If you would like to buy a copy of The 12 Week Year and support us at the same time, you can shop at our affiliate link here. When you buy through this link, we will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. We’re excited to share our takeaways and insights from the top non-fiction books with you and truly enjoy writing this newsletter. Thank you for your support and for being part of our growing community. 📚️ 

The 12 Week Year challenges the traditional approach of annual goal setting and instead introduces a 12 week system to create the urgency and focus required to maximise your productivity and achieve your goals. The 12-week system is not about working harder or longer but about ensuring that you know exactly what steps you need to take and prioritising your time accordingly to ensure these are completed.

I hope this summary has opened your eyes to a different way of planning your year. We love to hear from you so feel free to drop us a dm on Instagram with your insights and let us know what your goals are for 2025. 💪 

Until next time, stay thriving!

Beck
Team Thrive in Five