# The 12 Week Year

**Brian P. Moran & Michael Lennington** · 2013

_Topics: Goals, Execution, Planning_

**Who it's for:** Goal-setters whose annual plans fizzle out by February.

Moran and Lennington argue that annual goals breed complacency — a year is long enough to procrastinate for months. Their fix is to compress the year into 12 weeks, so every week carries the urgency of a final quarter.

The system pairs a clear vision with weekly execution and scorekeeping: define a few 12-week goals, break them into weekly actions, and measure execution (did you do the work?) rather than just outcomes.

## Key takeaways

- A 12-week horizon creates urgency an annual plan can't.
- Focus on a few goals, not a long wish list.
- Measure execution — the actions you control — every week.
- Consistent weekly effort beats heroic end-of-year sprints.

## Related reading

- https://structureyour.life/books/the-one-thing.md
- https://structureyour.life/books/eat-that-frog.md
- https://structureyour.life/books/getting-things-done.md

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