The Year End Sprint: Stop waiting for January 1st to Start Changing Your Life

Achieve massive personal growth in 13 weeks — October 1st to December 31st.

Next December 31st, you’ll likely consider writing your New Year’s resolutions. But what if I told you that you could achieve your goals by then? Sounds hard to believe right? I’ll show you how.

Two years ago, I accidentally discovered the Year End Sprint ritual (YES Ritual), while I was preparing for yet another attempt at New Year’s resolutions. Suddenly, an idea struck me: What if I did the opposite this time? and this new idea transformed my life in the best way possible. Here’s how it can change yours too.

The Power of Deadlines

The concept is simple yet incredibly effective: Instead of waiting for January 1st to START changing your life, use December 31st as your DEADLINE for making that change, and begin the new year already crushing it.

In my opinion, one of the reasons why New Year’s resolutions are ineffective is that they only have a starting line, not a deadline. I can’t overstate the importance of setting deadlines — the power of deadlines is real. We’ve all experienced how we get things done when there’s a due date looming.

Don’t take my word for it though, here’s what Dr. Andrew Huberman and Chris Williamson had to say about the importance of having a deadline:

How the Year End Sprint Works

When I first tried this new idea It was already early December 2022, I didn’t have much time to use December 31st as my deadline for achieving my goals. So I started small, focusing on health and fitness-related objectives to get the ball rolling. And it worked!

When I saw how powerful this new idea was, I kept refining it, thinking about how to leverage it to improve various aspects of my life, especially considering my circumstances at the time.

The goal of the Year End Sprint is to start the new year already feeling like the best version of yourself. This also creates the psychological momentum you need to achieve even more.

Recognizing that meaningful change requires more time, last year I extended the timeline to begin on October 1st, with December 31st as the deadline. Here’s how I approached it.

1. Choose Focus Areas

Start by defining 3–5 areas of your life that need improvement. Prioritize these based on which aspects require the most attention. For me, these areas were:

• Health

• Personal growth

• Business

• Financial

• Fun

At the time, I was struggling with severe burnout, so prioritizing fun and mental well-being was crucial.

The key is to be clear about which areas of your life need the most improvement. For example, you might be happy with your financial situation but struggling with your relationship. In that case, your relationship should be your top priority.

Other focus areas might include:

• Mental well-being

• Relationships

• Socializing

• Studying / Learning something

• Work / Career advancement

• Spirituality

• Parenting

• Investing

• Recovering from addiction

• Creating or building something

Spend at least 30 minutes analyzing your current situation before writing down any goals or focus areas. Think deeply about it, using pen and paper to help you stay objective, and do it outside or where you do your most creative work.

Consider reaching out to your partner, friends, family member, or someone who you trust their judgment for an outside perspective before finalizing your 3–5 areas for improvement.

2. Set the Right Goals

After identifying the areas you want to improve, it’s time to determine how you’ll actually make progress. For each area, set at least one goal that will drive improvement.

For example:

• To improve your health, you might aim to reach an ideal body weight or increase your physical activity.

• To enhance your financial situation, you could start looking for a better job or save a specific amount of money each month.

The truth is there’s no one-size-fits-all answer — you know your life best. To help you set the right goals, here’s my personal approach to goal setting:

1. Reflect deeply on your strengths and weaknesses, being brutally honest with yourself about what you can and can’t do.

2. Review your previous experiences trying to improve each area of your life. What worked? What didn’t? Why? What has changed since then, and what can you change now?

3. Write down three goals for each area. Think about them for a day, then revisit the list and try to narrow it down based on two factors: impact and sustainability.

This goal-setting process helps me establish reasonable objectives that I can achieve while ensuring they’ll have the maximum long-term impact on each area of my life.

3. Work with a Plan

After setting the right goals for your Year End Sprint, it’s time for the real work. To make sure that you set the right goals and to know what your next steps should be, you have to answer these three questions for each goal:

1. Why is this goal important to me? This helps you understand the significance of achieving this goal during this period of your life and creates a clear image of what success looks like.

2. How will I achieve this goal? Your answer should clearly follow the SMART criteria: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

And this year after my conversation with Akiki (more on that below) I decided to add a new question:

1. How will I track my progress? This question helps you stay mindful of your progress toward each goal. Without a clear tracking method, it’s easy to lose focus or forget about the goal entirely.

Remember, this is a 13-week journey, which is why tracking is crucial. I recommend evaluating your progress every 3 weeks and adjusting your efforts and goals as needed.

After answering these questions, visualize yourself achieving each goal. Imagine how your days will look, picture yourself putting in the work, and envision the end result. This mental exercise will give you the boost needed to get started.

I also like to imagine the consequences of not achieving my goals, allowing that fear to motivate me as I find that being scared of failure drives me more than being motivated by success.

Note that this might not work for you if you work best with positive reinforcement, for example. Just do what works best for you.

Your plan should structure your day around achieving your goals. By having a well-organized daily routine that addresses all your goals and focus areas, it’s much easier to turn your plan into a habit — a habit that will soon change who you are.

Now let’s see a real-life example of how all this looks like from my past year’s attempt.

Year End Sprint in Action

Last year one of my most important goals was to reach my ideal weight (again), here’s how I applied the EOY Deadline to achieve this goal.

[ ] Health: Reach my ideal body weight of 59kg

Why is it important to me? 
Because maintaining a good physical state improves focus, energy, and overall mental state, which is essential to being more productive and GSD, plus being in good shape is a great way to boost confidence.

How will I achieve it? 
By working out for 30 minutes at 6 pm for 5 days a week using the Runtastic Six Pack App for 3 months.

Last year I didn’t add the question “How will I track my progress?” And that’s what was missing!

This chart illustrates why tracking matters.

The weight data shown is from November 1, 2023. I didn’t weigh myself again until November 10, 2023, and then not until February 27, 2024!

Even though I started this ritual in December and I remember I did well that month, I didn’t track my progress for three months, which partly explains the subsequent weight gain.

Oh, and if you’re wondering about that weight spike — I broke my leg and had surgery in May so I couldn’t do much physical activity. Three months of Netflix and chill (minus the chill) will do that to you.

Final note on why tracking matters is one amazing thing Akiki told me:

Remember: Whatever you don’t track, you don’t progress.

That’s why I’ve updated my ritual this year with a rigorous weekly tracking system for all my goals. This keeps me focused on each goal and prevents me from forgetting about them or, worse, expending effort on the wrong things that will yield no result and will only make me more disappointed.

Lear from my mistakes and don’t forget to track your progress weekly. you might be asking how to do that, well don’t worry I got you covered.

Year End Sprint Notion Template

The good news is that I’m back on track now and taking the Year End Sprint ritual more seriously than ever.

I started early this year and even created a Notion system to help me choose areas, set goals, and track progress easily in one place. Plus, some fancy charts to visualize how I’m doing.

The system is so simple and easy to use yet very functional and drives action.

Here’s how to use the Year End Sprint Notion Template

1. Start by defining your focus areas in the Areas database.

2. Then add goals and assign them to the appropriate areas in the Goals database.

3. Finally log your progress for each goal in the Weekly Progress database. (you’ll get an automated reminder)

It’s really that simple, and to streamline the system even more, I created a goal page template that automatically adds the three key questions when you create a new goal, so you’ll only focus on what you need to do.

I’ve also included charts (Notion’s latest awesome feature that I can’t stop playing with) to help you visualize your weekly progress, overall goal completion percentage, and area improvement percentage.

The template comes pre-filled with my personal Year End Sprint goals for this year as examples. Simply clear the database and rename the properties in the Weekly Progress database to reflect your goals, and you'll be ready to go.

Remember, the aim is to get at least 7% closer to your goals every week.

Want to give it a spin?

Before you dive in, I’d like to leave you with three tips to help you achieve your Year End Sprint Goals.

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3 Tips to Help You Achieve Your Year End Sprint Goals

1. Don’t Do It Alone

One of the most effective factors -yet underrated- in achieving your goals is accountability, it simply adds more pressure to keep you rushing towards your goals.

I literally used accountability + deadline pressure while first launching Startup OS by selling 100 pre-orders with the promise that I’ll ship it in 30 days, and I believe it’s the №1 reason why I managed to pull it off.

The pressure generated from having a deadline and being held accountable will either break you or unlock a potential you weren’t aware of. With discipline, the result will more likely be the latter.

So here’s what you need to do, share your Year End Sprint goals with at least one person and ask them to hold you accountable if you fall short on any of your goals. Better yet, invite them to join you on this journey and hold each other accountable.

It’s also beneficial to have someone in your life who inspires you to achieve your goals. This year, I noticed that @rachidakiki was crushing it, doing 1,500 push-ups, sit-ups, and squats daily for 292 days (at the time of writing) using FoxyFitness Apps (Not an affiliate — I’m just a huge fan of Florian’s work).

I reached out to ask him how he manages such an impressive record. His answer was all the motivation I needed:

I do the push-ups, sit-ups, and squats every morning as soon as I wake up. I drink a cup of water with salt, meditate, and then start my day.

This is non-negotiable.

Before lunch I do weight lifting or cardio for 45 minutes and then afternoon before dinner another 45 minutes.

It feels great. It’s not about the numbers; it’s about being consistent. I’ve been doing this for 292 days. It’s a compounding effect. Every month, I push a little further to keep it challenging.

While Akiki’s daily routine might be not for everyone, how he manages to be this consistent is truly inspiring.

If you know someone who has achieved goals similar to yours, look up to them. Better yet, reach out and ask how they did it. They’ll likely be happy to share their secrets, and their insights could be life-changing.

2. Consistency is Key

In his answer to my question, Akiki mentioned “It’s a compounding effect” and I instantly remembered the book The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, the idea is simple:

Small choices + consistency + time = significant results.

The compound effect is the strategy of reaping huge rewards from small, seemingly insignificant actions. Think about what do you feel after brushing your teeth every morning? you feel nothing! yet it’s the number one reason why your teeth are healthy.

When setting your goals, don’t underestimate the power of the Compound Effect. Focus on goals that are easier to maintain long-term rather than those that seem exciting to start but are harder to sustain.

Earlier I mentioned that after writing my goals I normally revisit the list and try to narrow it down based on two factors: impact and sustainability. here’s why that’s important.

A goal like doing 25 push-ups daily, which takes about 5 minutes, might seem trivial compared to going to the gym 5 times a week. Going to the gym in that context might feels like a more exciting goal, well not really.

Here’s a comparison of short-term and long-term impact and sustainability for these two goals:

Doing 25 push-ups daily (35 minutes/week)

Goal Sustainability: Easy to sustain
Short-term Impact: Minimal 
Long-term Impact: Significant physical and mental improvements

Going to the gym 5 times weekly (10 hours/week)

Goal Sustainability: Hard to sustain
Short-term Impact: Large dopamine hit 
Long-term Impact: Massive if sustained, but likely unsustainable

If one or more areas of your life require setting an ambitious goal, the best way to achieve it is to break it down into smaller tasks that you can turn into habits and seamlessly integrate into your daily routine.

Remembering Akiki’s 292+ day streak of thousands of push-ups, pull-ups, and squats daily, I asked him what keeps him motivated to be so consistent and if this discipline has made him mentally stronger. He said:

Look, you have to make a win as soon as you wake up. It has to be worth it. Challenging. No matter what you have going on in your life. In sickness and in health, in sadness and in happiness, you have to feel like a winner.

It makes your mind sharper, removes negative self-talk, increases your frequency, and eliminates bad energy.

When we operate from a low frequency, we see ONLY PROBLEMS and side with the most negative outcomes.

Stay sharp and consistent, and anytime you’re about to skip this morning routine, think about your self-worth, your frequency, and the amount of problems and negative self-talk you can avoid!

I’ve etched his words into my mind and remind myself of his answer daily.

I promised Akiki to achieve a 30-day streak as a start and asked him to hold me accountable. Now, I promise you that I’ll to extend it to 90 days to align with my Year End Sprint ritual.

3. Start Small and Grow Big

The law of compound effect is real: 25 push-ups a day amounts to 9,125 push-ups a year. To stay consistent, set small, sustainable goals, even if they seem insignificant at first.

I’ve also noticed this compound effect in my experience with meditation. After logging over 1,000 minutes, whenever I recommend meditation to someone, I advise them to wait at least 20 days before deciding to quit.

The first 15 days of meditation might feel like a waste of time. You probably won’t notice any benefits in the first couple of weeks. But after about 20 days, you’ll start to see changes, and the impact will be well worth those 5 minutes a day.

Understand that small efforts won’t yield immediate results, and that’s the toughest part. Many people quit because of this.

Remember, you don’t fail at something, you simply quit — winning is inevitable if you persist.

Eliminate the idea of quitting from your mind. Stick to your daily actions even when you don’t see results. Be patient and mindful, and you’ll notice the changes over time.

One thing I personally do during the toughest part of a workout is repeatedly say aloud, “I’m not a quitter.” This simple self-reminder provides the motivation I need to push through and finish strong.

Look, I’m not against going to the gym or studying a topic for two hours daily — if that’s sustainable for you, that’s great.

I’m simply trying to make you aware that when trying to make life changes, you might feel overwhelmed and filled with motivation. In that state, everything seems doable. But in reality, this feeling won’t help you set the right goals, and it won’t last long either.

If you rely solely on this initial burst of motivation, it won’t be any different from setting a New Year’s Resolution! We all know how that typically goes: lots of excitement at first that quickly fades, with nothing achieved. And you don’t want that, do you?

The essence of the Year End Sprint ritual is setting deadline-based goals. Deadlines build discipline, and it’s easier to strengthen your discipline when you’re pursuing something sustainable.

We’re now almost 3 days away from October 1st, now is the best time to start doing the hard work you’ve been putting off for the past 9 months, It’s never too late, you’re 3 months away from achieving your goals.

You literally have no excuses not to start today, even if you’re reading this in December, remember that when I first got this idea it was already the beginning of December, and what did I do? I added one goal only, and I nailed it. Now is your turn, START NOW.

To help you get started here’s my free Notion Year End Sprint system to eliminate the friction of setting it out yourself.

I’m excited to hear how you plan to implement the Year End Sprint ritual. What’s your top priority goal for this year? Share it with me, and let’s inspire each other to reach our objectives. Remember, if you need support along the way email or DM me anytime — I’m happy to help!