A book can deliver a method. But it can't prove the method works. That takes research, testing, and a willingness to challenge your own assumptions. For my new book, Life in Perspective, I followed a 7-stage R&D process. It drew on 17 years of my own annual life reviews, feedback from 500+ beta readers, and 4,500 years of year-end rituals. I also waited until the final stage to bring in AI. In this post, I explain why, how each stage shaped the book, and why I believe a book is still the best medium for delivering a method designed to change how you live.

I sorted 328 things I was grateful for.

Here's a journaling prompt you can answer in two minutes Who is [your name]? Write it in the third person Lauren's starts with "Lauren is scared, but takes action anyway" Don't overthink it

I found my annual review from 2013. I was working hard, but still felt like a failure. While writing my new book, Life in Perspective, I pulled a box of old journals out of our attic, one labeled “Annual Review 2013.” That was the year I struck out on my own as a freelancer. I pieced together odd jobs and managed to pay the bills for six months. I should have been proud. Instead, I wrote this: “I have not maintained my body at the level I need it to be at. I exercise infrequently, diet is down the toilet, supplements are sporadic, meditation is on rocky ground, personal upkeep is almost non-existent.” And this: “I wish I had accomplished more, worked harder, had more success.” I thought being hard on myself would make me better. It made me smaller. Every year, I'd set impossible standards, fall short, punish myself, and arrive at the next review already defeated. What changed wasn't my desire to improve. It was how I saw myself. I started looking at that struggling 28-year-old with compassion instead of contempt. I could still hold myself accountable. I just didn't have to treat every shortcoming as proof that I wasn't good enough. That made me feel safe enough to be honest about where I was and what needed to change. That's the kind of annual life review I teach in my new book, Life in Perspective.

Writing about yourself is hard You judge, you overthink, you lose perspective Lauren's fix: write your annual review in the third person "Lauren struggled with that" is easier to write than "I struggled with that"

Why are you exhausted every Friday?

An annual review in 90 minutes, not 90 days Lauren's review takes a pen, some paper, and one afternoon She writes the year like a screenplay, in three acts: the past, the present, the future And she writes about herself in the third person, so it's easier to be honest

Most book tours are a reading and a signing. At mine, we'll do a guided reflection together. "Life in Perspective" comes out on Nov 3. I'm spending that week on the road, and I'd love to meet you in person. Here's where I'll be: - Los Angeles, Nov 3: The Last Bookstore - San Francisco, Nov 6: The Best Bookstore - New York, Nov 9: Powerhouse at Columbus Circle Each night has a guided reflection, time for your questions, and a book signing. In New York, I'll also be in conversation with @rydercarroll, the creator of the Bullet Journal Method. Bring the year you've lived. You'll leave seeing it a little more clearly.

A resolution tells you what to do. A review shows you what's getting in the way. At the start of 2025, I knew my health needed attention. We'd moved to a small mountain town in Mexico, where the group cross-training classes I relied on in Southern California didn't exist. Months went by. I was getting out of shape. My first instinct could have been to set a simple goal: exercise more. Instead, I sat down and listed what wasn't working. Tight muscles. Worse sleep. Reaching for junk food when stressed. Feeling tense and less present with my family. Then I looked for the pattern. I was stubbornly trying to recreate the exact workout routine I'd had in the US, even though my circumstances had changed. That was the problem I needed to solve. So I started experimenting. I tried the hillside trails near our house. Too many stray dogs. I found a local CrossFit-style gym. The class times didn't work. Eventually, I found a gym across town with an app that gave me the structure I wanted. It was also right across the street from the grocery store. Since then, I've exercised more consistently than I had in years. The lesson: Before setting another goal, look at what's not working. Sometimes the problem isn't a lack of discipline. It's an approach that no longer fits your life. I used a technique called dissatisfaction journaling to figure that out. It's one of the tools in my new book, Life in Perspective, which helps you examine what's not working in your life and understand why. Because a better resolution starts with a better understanding of the problem.

One question from my annual life review became my next book. For a decade, I helped people build systems for notes, files, and creative work. But I kept seeing the same thing. When someone wasn't clear on who they were or what they wanted, more tech and more information made it worse. Tech amplifies whatever you bring to it. Including your confusion. So I asked myself how I avoid that trap. The answer was a ritual I'd done for so many years I barely thought about it: my annual life review. It felt like a secret weapon I pulled out every December. On Jan. 4, 2024, near the end of that year's review, I hit this prompt: "What is the unique contribution that only I can make?" The answer was a book on how to do an annual life review. I emailed my agent that same day. The subject line read "Book idea: The Annual Review." Nearly 3 years later, it's called "Life in Perspective," and it comes out Nov. 3. Try that question for yourself this week. Write your answer down and keep it somewhere you'll see it in December.