How can I reflect on my current life satisfaction?

You can use the 'Wheel of Life' exercise, rating satisfaction from 0-10 across categories like work, health, and relationships. Alternatively, a journaling prompt involves splitting a page into 'what's working' and 'what's not working' for work and life, ensuring twice as many positive points.

What is the '3-Year Sketch' for future planning?

The 3-Year Sketch is a visualization exercise where you imagine your life exactly three years from now, detailing where you live, who you're with, your health, career fulfillment, and free time. This paints a compelling picture to motivate action.

What are 'Quarterly Quests' and how should I set them?

Quarterly Quests are goals for the next 90 days, framed as playful adventures. Set only one main quest for work and one for life to ensure focused progress. Phrase them with objective, verifiable criteria and ensure they evoke excitement.

How should I structure my 'Work Main Quest'?

Your Work Main Quest should be the single most important goal for the next 90 days. Phrase it clearly, state why it's important, list objective criteria for completion, explain why it feels exciting, and define specific actions you will take to ensure completion.

What makes a good 'Life Main Quest'?

Your Life Main Quest targets personal fulfillment, joy, peace, or happiness. It can be a change positively impacting other areas or something transformative you've been avoiding. Like the work quest, define it clearly with objective criteria and motivational reasons.

What's the difference between main quests and side quests?

Main quests are the single most important goals for work and life that must be accomplished. Side quests are additional tasks or goals that are 'nice-to-haves.' You can aim for 2-3 side quests, but focus your primary effort on the main quests.

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You're Not Behind: How to Change Your Life in 90 Days

Ali Abdaal

Education4 min read22 min video

Jan 21, 2025|564,142 views|17,855|442

Ali Abdaal Ali abdal

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TL;DR

Transform your life in 90 days with a 3-step method: Reflect, Align with your future vision, and Plan your main quests.

Key Insights

The "Wheel of Life" exercise helps visualize satisfaction across nine life categories (work, health, relationships) and a tenth for joy.

A "What's Working/What's Not Working" journal prompt encourages gratitude by requiring more positive entries than negative ones.

Developing a compelling future vision, like a 3-year sketch or vision board, is crucial for motivation and direction.

The 'Quarterly Quests' strategy focuses on setting one primary quest for work and one for life every 90 days to ensure progress.

Framing goals as "quests" and using a structured format (quest, reason, commitments, emotional drivers) enhances motivation and clarity.

Prioritizing main quests while accepting 'side quests' as optional helps maintain focus and avoid overwhelm.

STEP 1: REFLECTING ON YOUR CURRENT REALITY

The first crucial step is to conduct a personal life audit to understand your current situation. Two effective methods are suggested: "The Wheel of Life" and a simple journaling exercise. The Wheel of Life involves rating your satisfaction (0-10) across nine categories: money, career growth, body, mind, heart, romantic relationships, family, and friends. An additional category for "joy" is recommended to ensure present-moment enjoyment isn't overlooked amidst self-improvement efforts. This visual tool helps identify areas of strength and those needing improvement.

JOURNALING FOR GRATITUDE AND INSIGHT

Another reflection technique is a four-part journal split into "Work" and "Life" columns, with "What's Working" and "What's Not Working" rows. Set a timer and jot down points without overthinking. A key rule is to have at least twice as many "What's Working" items as "What's Not Working" entries. This practice, framed as seeking gratitude, counteracts the tendency to focus solely on shortcomings, promoting a mindset of "strive satisfied"—pursuing growth from a place of contentment.

STEP 2: ALIGNING WITH A COMPELLING FUTURE VISION

To drive change, it's essential to have a clear and motivating vision of the future. This doesn't require precise details but a definite direction. The "Three-Year Sketch" exercise involves imagining your life three years from now and describing what it looks like regarding location, relationships, health, career fulfillment, and leisure time. This visualization exercise should evoke excitement, as this feeling is the primary motivator for making changes in the next 90 days.

VISION BOARDS AS A MOTIVATIONAL TOOL

A tangible way to solidify your future vision is through a vision board, which can be created manually or digitally. This involves gathering images and phrases that represent your aspirations. While the author previously used written sketches, he found creating a vision board to be a powerful and engaging experience. Seeing representations of desired outcomes, whether related to physical fitness, home environment, career ventures, or personal skills, reinforces the compelling future one is working towards.

STEP 3: PLANNING YOUR TWO MAIN QUESTS

The final step involves planning your actions through "Quarterly Quests"—goals to be achieved within the next 90 days. The term 'quest' is used to infuse a sense of play and adventure into work, rather than seriousness, which enhances productivity and energy. The core principle is to set only one main quest for "Work" and one main quest for "Life" to maintain focus and ensure significant progress, avoiding the common pitfall of setting too many overlapping goals.

STRUCTURING YOUR MAIN QUESTS FOR SUCCESS

Each main quest should be phrased using a specific template: State the quest, explain why it's important (the compelling reason), list objective and verifiable commitments for completion, articulate why it feels exciting, and specify accountability measures. For example, a work quest might be to launch a course, with commitments like "launching cohort three" and "creating a field manual." This structured approach, including emotional drivers and accountability, significantly increases the likelihood of achievement.

DEFINING LIFE QUESTS AND SIDE ACTIVITIES

Similarly, a "Life Main Quest" should be defined using prompts like "what brings the most joy?" or "what positively impacts other areas?" The phrasing template applies here as well, focusing on objective criteria and emotional connection. For a life quest like building a martial arts habit, commitments might include "attending 12 classes in 90 days." Other aspirations not designated as main quests can be treated as "side quests," optional activities that won't cause significant self-reproach if not completed.

ENSURING ACTION AND CONTINUED PROGRESS

The effectiveness of this three-step method hinges on consistent action. After setting the goals, the focus shifts to execution. The author suggests that by following these steps—reflecting, aligning with a vision, and planning specific quests—individuals can significantly increase their chances of transforming their lives within 90 days and recommends a follow-up video on evidence-based strategies for goal achievement.

Mentioned in This Episode

●Products

●Software & Apps

●Tools

●Companies

●Concepts

●People Referenced

90-Day Life Transformation: Your 3-Step Plan

Practical takeaways from this episode

Do This

Reflect honestly on your current life satisfaction using tools like the Wheel of Life or journaling.

Develop a compelling 3-year vision of your ideal future; let excitement be your guide.

Set ONE main 'quest' (goal) for both work and life for the next 90 days.

Phrase your quests with clear, objective, and verifiable criteria.

Focus on the emotions and excitement your quests evoke to fuel motivation.

Commit to specific actions for completing your quests.

Treat your goals as playful 'quests' rather than serious tasks.

Allow for 2-3 'side quests' but prioritize your main quests.

Avoid This

Don't get stuck on dissatisfaction; strive to be satisfied from a place of gratitude.

Don't let limiting beliefs ('it's not realistic') block your vision.

Don't set too many goals; focus on one main quest in work and one in life.

Don't use vague goals like 'stop procrastinating'; define objective criteria.

Don't take the process too seriously; it can lead to burnout.

Don't beat yourself up if side quests aren't completed; focus remains on main quests.

Common Questions

The method involves three steps: 1. Reflect on your current life situation using tools like the Wheel of Life or journaling. 2. Align yourself with a compelling future vision, often visualized through a 3-year sketch. 3. Plan your main 'quests' or goals for both work and life for the next 90 days.

Topics

Life Transformation 90-day Plan Vision Boarding Quarterly Goals Life Audit

Mentioned in this video

conceptCore Surgical Training Residency Program

An example of a work main quest from when the speaker was a doctor, involving applying for a residency program.

conceptMartial Arts

The speaker's chosen life main quest for the next 90 days, aiming to build a consistent habit.

productHarry Potter Moleskine Journal

A specific type of journal mentioned as being used for the journaling prompt exercise in step one.

softwareFinal Cut Pro

Software for video editing, mentioned as a class available on Skillshare.

softwareProgress Pal

A productivity software under development by the speaker's team.

personBrenon Bashard

Mentioned as a mentor who coined the phrase 'strive satisfied'.

conceptQuarterly Quests

A productivity strategy of setting goals to be accomplished within a 12-week (90-day) period, framed as playful adventures.

toolThe Wheel of Life

An exercise for self-reflection where life is divided into categories like work, health, and relationships, rated on a scale of 0-10 for satisfaction.

toolThe 3-Year Sketch

A method for creating a compelling future vision by imagining one's life three years from the present date.

conceptBook Proposal

An example of a work main quest, illustrating a goal focused on completing a book proposal.

softwareYouTube Channel

An example of a work main quest, focusing on starting a YouTube channel as a side hustle.

productSuper Focus

conceptLife OS