---
title: Yearly Goal Tracking FAQ
date: 2026-01-08T12:35:37+08:00
categories:
  - how-i-do-things
---

![](https://files.s-anand.net/images/2026-01-08-yearly-goal-tracking-faq.webp)

I track my yearly goals by publishing and emailing them to my contacts:

- [My year in 2020](/blog/my-year-in-2020/)
- [My year in 2021](/blog/my-year-in-2021/)
- [My year in 2022](/blog/my-year-in-2022/)
- [My year in 2023](/blog/my-year-in-2023/)
- [My year in 2024](/blog/my-year-in-2024/)
- [My year in 2025](/blog/my-year-in-2025/)

Here are questions people have asked about my goal tracking.

> How do you know that you have achieved the [Better Husband](/blog/my-year-in-2025/) tag?

[In 2024](/blog/my-year-in-2024/), she said that I was "definitely worse in 2023 than 2024."

[In 2025](/blog/my-year-in-2025/), after a _long_ pause, she finally declared "Yes". 🙂

> Your "Better husband - PASS" made me smile. How do you track relationship/soft goals without making them feel transactional?

In this case, I don't track. But being serious about my goal makes me mindful. (E.g. during an argument, my mind-voice says, "Remember: Better husband. You're mailing the entire world!")

> Is [living with a stranger](/blog/my-year-in-2024/) something you have never done before? Roommates, staying at hostels, etc.? How are you defining this?

Good point. I had roommates only when I was at IBM in Bangalore. They are such good friends that I forgot they were once strangers!

If I invite myself to stay for 3 nights with someone I don't really know, I'll count it.

> What do you have planned for [Live with a Stranger](/blog/my-year-in-2025/) and what do you hope to get out of it?

1. [Changing environment helps](/blog/one-year-of-transforming-thoughts-by-changing-environments/). I hope to get a new perspective
2. Being uncomfortable is good. It pushes boundaries. I hope to get comfortable with discomfort.

> How do you track ["buy low"](/blog/my-year-in-2025/)?

By "Buy low" I mean make investmented when it roughly bottomed out. I check if I bought approximately at the bottom of a U curve.

It's not a systematic behavior, nor a precise metric, nor a sustainable approach. So I dropped it.

> What is your process to manage the discipline to stay on course?

- **Public commitment** helps. E.g. I'm afraid to email _everyone_ I know that I failed a goal. I pay upfront for courses. I get others to join me - harder to skip, then.
- **Environment & habits** help. Yoga as soon as I wake up, phone automatically tracks activity, hiding junk food, etc.
- **Daily tracking** helps. I know where I am and whether I'm progressing.

> When you "failed" the 80 heart points in 2024, how did you process that? Did you adjust mid-year or accept and move on to 2025?

I didn't have a choice. I felt very bad (and still feed a bit bad), so I didn't process it well, I guess. The good part is, whether we process things well or not, live moves on.

> How granular should tracking be? I'm building a Git repository with daily logs, XP points, Python scripts for reports... Am I over engineering this? (Probably yes, but tell me anyway!)

I track granularly. I prefer automatic tracking (e.g. GitHub for commits, Google Fit for heart points) over manual apps (e.g. weight on Google Fit, books on GoodReads) over notes (e.g. # of students).

- Regular tracking feels more important than granular tracking.
- Exception tracking seems powerful, e.g. track days when I **miss** Yoga. (That never happened, since I was conscious.)

> How do you balance "ambitious goals" with "life happens"? Is it okay to explicitly plan for lower standards during chaos (my Q2), or is that pre-planning failure?

I've always aimed low - for fear of failure. I tried ambition... but not minding failure so much is working better for me.

> What inspired you to start this yearly email tradition? How has it evolved over the years?

I started [emailing goals in Dec 2020](/blog/my-year-in-2020/). Inspired by Tim Ferriss, maybe? It was a way to commit myself, stay in touch, and brag a bit.

- My earliest goals list is from 1996. I reviewed those annually.
- From 1999 - 2006, I tracked "achievements" on a Rating x Weightage = Points scale without goals.
- From 2007 - 2019, I tried various logging mechanisms but don't remember tracking goals.
- From 2020 onwards, I use this email tradition.

> What is the year on year short term to long term thread that connects these decisions to your life purpose? [Horizons of Focus](https://gettingthingsdone.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/2016-Levels-of-Your-Work.pdf)

I don't know, so I [asked Claude](https://claude.ai/share/812ede21-3133-4cea-afe0-566d801184e8) - and agree with its synthesis: Learn, Teach, then Automate.