This week isn't about estimating or bidding. It's about something more important: protecting the asset that runs your company or team. You.

The contractors I know who run the best companies aren't the ones working hardest - they're the ones working on the right things.

For twenty years, I made New Year's resolutions. Lose weight. Read more. Meditate. Work less.

They never stuck. By February, forgotten. By March, abandoned.

Then a few years ago, I discovered something that actually worked.

The Past Year Review

Tim Ferriss started doing "Past Year Reviews" after his mentor's daughter died of cancer on December 31st. Her passing reminded him that our days are too precious to waste on things that don't matter.

The concept is simple: Instead of guessing what might make your life better, look at what actually did.

Takes 30-60 minutes. Here's how:

1. Grab a notepad. Two columns: POSITIVE and NEGATIVE.

2. Open last year's calendar. Go through it week by week.

3. Write down people, activities, or commitments that triggered peak emotions - good or bad.

4. Ask: "What 20% of each column produced the most reliable peaks?"

5. Schedule more of the POSITIVE stuff. Right now. Get it on the calendar.

6. Create a NOT-TO-DO LIST with the NEGATIVE stuff. Put it where you'll see it daily.

That's it.

What I Learned

My last Past Year Review revealed three things:

I was getting anxious before product demos but love doing them. The anxiety is just noise. Once I realized this, I stopped dreading them.

That Norway trip I almost cancelled because "work was too busy"? Best week of the year. I needed to protect time for experiences like that.

I was spending time with people who drained me out of obligation and guilt. Once I saw the pattern, I stopped saying yes to things I knew would make me miserable.

These weren't random insights. They came from a simple system that turns your own experience into actionable data.

Why This Works

Resolutions are guesses. Past Year Reviews are data.

You already ran the experiment - you lived the whole year. Now you're just looking at the results and making informed decisions.

After doing PYRs for several years, I've gotten better at saying no. I stopped taking investor meetings that went nowhere. I stopped attending conferences that lacked substance. Our team got tighter. My energy improved. And we landed better opportunities because I had mental space to think strategically instead of reactively.

The Part Nobody Tells You

Removing negative things creates a void. If you don't fill it with positive things, bullshit will fill it instead.

So don't just stop doing bad stuff. Schedule the good stuff. Now. Before other commitments crowd it out.

For Construction Leaders

You've got people counting on you. You can't lead well if you're burned out or spending time on things that drain you.

The best construction leaders I know have figured out how to protect their energy so they can show up when it matters. They're not attending every association meeting or bidding every job. They're ruthlessly selective about where they spend their time.

Think about it: If you're spending 6 hours a week in meetings that produce nothing, that's over 300 hours a year - nearly 8 full work weeks. What could you do with two months back?

Your Turn

Give yourself an hour this week. Open your calendar. Go through 2025.

What made you come alive? What drained you?

Maybe it's a market you need to exit. Maybe it's a relationship that's not serving you. Maybe it's travel you keep putting off.

Then take action. Schedule more good stuff. Create boundaries around bad stuff.

One hour could change your entire year.

Thanks for reading this week. Grateful for each of you. Wishing you a restful holiday season. See you in 2026!

P.S. - Here's Tim Ferriss's original article:

https://tim.blog/2021/12/27/past-year-review/

In Case You Missed It:

The Meeting We’re Never Too Busy For (That Saves You Later)

Meet the Man Who Builds Billion Dollar Companies in Boring Industries

The Card Pete Kiewit Carried In His Wallet

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About the Author

Tristan Wilson is the CEO and Founder of Edgevanta. We make AI agents for civil estimating. He is a 4th Generation Contractor, construction enthusiast, ultra runner, and bidding nerd. He worked his way up the ladder at Allan Myers in the Mid-Atlantic and his family’s former business Barriere Construction before starting Edgevanta in Nashville, where the company is based. Reach out to him at [email protected]