How to use it: Read it right here and jot your answers on paper, or work straight from a doc of your own. Click here to make your own copy — free, no sign-up, no email. Save it, print it, run it every month.

In this article, jump to: Common Questions | The Review Process | The Whole-Life Score

🎉 Celebrate the Month

Before you jump in — look back at the big rocks you set for yourself last month. Which ones actually happened? Give yourself credit for that first. It counts.

What did you celebrate?

What were your big wins?

What were the highlights?

Gratitude

What are you grateful for this past month?

What moments stick out?

Name three good things you made happen this past month.

Relationships

What did you learn about yourself this past month?

Who did you really connect with this past month?

What’s the memory? Describe it.

What did you learn about the people around you this month your:

• partner

• family

• friends

• team

• customers

Where did you feel disconnected from someone this month?

What’s one small way to close that gap?

Energy

Think about your energy this month. What charged you up? What drained you?

🔋 What charged you up this past month? Who and what gave you energy?

🪫 What drained you this past month? Who and what took energy away?

Was there a moment that stressed you out or tripped you up — and how did you handle it?

Attitude & Attention

What was the main thing you struggled with this past month?

If a friend came to you with that same struggle, what would you tell them?

Where did you get distracted or pulled off course this month?

What would help you stay focused next time?

If your older, wiser self was watching your life right now — what would they want you to remember?

Time

Where did you waste time this month?

Where did you spend time — the stuff that just happens?

Where did you invest time — the stuff that actually paid off?

What did you keep delaying this month?

What’s one thing you’d stop putting off?

Summary

What did you like best about this month?

Month Ahead: The Big Rocks

Now flip forward. Same questions, pointed at what’s next.

🔋 What will charge you up next month? Where can you add more of what gives you energy?

🪫 What might drain you next month? What can you prevent, hand off, or cut down on?

What are the big things on your plate next month? Projects, deadlines, events — and the steps you need to take to be ready for them.

Big deadlines:

What has to happen, no matter what:

Major projects — personal or work:

Major events:

What’s the best way to show up ready and win the month?

What would make you feel like you’re living your best life this month?

Here’s the question I keep coming back to, every single month: what’s needed now?

Not everything. Not someday. Just — what’s actually needed right now to move the month forward?

The Whole-Life Check-In

This isn’t a test. There’s no perfect score. It’s just a quick, honest look at where things stand across the parts of your life that matter — so you know where to put your attention this month.

Health & Wellness I eat well, move my body, and get enough sleep — so I have real energy for the day, not just caffeine and willpower.

Score: ___ (-4 to +4)

Mental & Emotional Wellbeing I stay steady more than I don’t. I make room for joy, not just the next task on the list.

Score: ___ (-4 to +4)

Mission My work feels like mine. Not just a job — something I actually care about getting right.

Score: ___ (-4 to +4)

Finances I know where my money goes. I’m saving for what’s next, and I still let myself enjoy what I’ve built.

Score: ___ (-4 to +4)

Partner / Love I show up for my partner — patient, present, and honest. (If you’re single: I lead with care in how I treat people.)

Score: ___ (-4 to +4)

Family I show up for my family, even when it’s messy. I make time for them.

Score: ___ (-4 to +4)

Friends My friends give me energy back. I make time for them, not just when it’s convenient.

Score: ___ (-4 to +4)

Experiences & Hobbies I make room for the stuff I love — trips, hobbies, downtime — not just work.

Score: ___ (-4 to +4)

Spirit My daily choices match what I actually believe. I feel connected to something bigger than my to-do list.

Score: ___ (-4 to +4)

Learning I stay curious. I’m building the skills I’ll need for what’s next, not just coasting.

Score: ___ (-4 to +4)

Notes:

What’s working? What do you like best?

Where do you need to focus? What needs your attention?

Real progress doesn’t come from doing more. It comes from noticing what’s needed now, and doing that — on repeat, month after month.

If this was useful, come back next month and run it again. That’s the whole game. Bookmark this page in your browser or in the substack app, your call.

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Common Questions

How long does the monthly review actually take? Usually 30 to 60 minutes. It gets faster the more you practice daily and weekly reflection — this one just goes deeper.

Do I need to sign up or give my email to use this? No. It’s free, no email required. Read it, fill it in, print it out — whatever works for you.

What if I miss a month? Just pick it back up next month. The Celebrate section starts by looking back at last month’s Big Rocks, so nothing gets lost.

Do I need to score every category in the Whole-Life Check-In? No. Skip whatever doesn’t apply. This is a feel, not a formula.

Is this the same review clients go through? Yes — this is the actual monthly review process used in one-on-one work, adapted so anyone can run it on their own.

About My Review Process

Once a month, I sit down and ask myself the same set of questions. Nothing fancy. No app. Just a notebook and 30 to 60 minutes.

That’s not a typo. This one takes longer than a quick check-in, and that’s the point. The goal here isn’t speed — it’s real reflection. The daily and weekly stuff is where you plan your day, work your plan, and review it. That’s Win Today. Do that enough, and it compounds — this monthly review gets simpler and faster on its own, because you’re not catching up on a whole month at once.

A life worth living is worth reviewing every day — that’s your Everyday Edge — and deeper every month.

It’s how I catch what’s working, what’s not, and what’s needed now — before another month slides by on autopilot.

Grab a coffee. Grab a notebook. Answer what’s true for you. Skip what’s not.

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Win Today | That’s your Everyday Edge
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Phone. Email. Slack. The news. Someone else’s priorities.

By 9am, the day is already running them.

Here’s the question that changes that:

What will make today great?
Or How will I make today great?

And my personal favorite: How will I be great today?

Not perfect. Not productive. Not busy. Great.

And at the end of the day, one more: How was I great today?

Simple questions. Big difference.

What is the GREAT method? GREAT is a daily planning and practice built around five areas: Growth, Relationships, Essential Energy, Aspire, and Time. Each morning, one question opens the practice: What will make today great? Each evening, one question closes it: How was I great today? Great days stack. That is how a great life gets built.

Why great?

A great life does not happen all at once.

It stacks.

Great days stack into great weeks. Great weeks stack into great months. Great months stack into great years. Great years build a great life.

That means the only thing that actually matters today is winning today.

Not the quarter. Not the year. Not the big goal on the whiteboard.

Today.

Win today. Stack the wins. Build the life.

That is the whole game.

How do you build a great life? A great life is built one great day at a time. Great days stack into great weeks. Great weeks stack into great months. Do that long enough and you have a great year. Do it consistently and you have a great life. The practice is simple: win today. Reflect tonight. Repeat.

the great method

GREAT is not a motivational word.

It is an organizing principle, a method, and practice for growth, relationships, energy, aim, and time. Five areas. Every one of them matters. When one is off, you feel it everywhere.

Growth

Where are you growing? Where are you stuck? What goal is pulling you forward right now?

Growth is not always big. Sometimes it is one conversation, one decision, one rep.

Grit lives here too. The hard stuff you keep showing up for anyway. So does gratitude. What is already working? What is worth acknowledging?

Daily questions:

• What are my goals?

• What do I want to grow?

• Where might grit show up?

• What gifts has the hard stuff produced?

• What am I grateful for?

Relationships

Start with yourself.

What roles are you playing — at work, at home, in your own head? How are you showing up in those roles?

Then move out. Who needs you at your best? Who do you need to check in with? Who are you waiting on — and who is waiting on you?

One relationship taking up more space than it should will drain everything else.

Daily questions:

• Who needs me at my best?

• Who do I need to check in with?

• Who am I waiting on?

• Who is waiting on me?

• How will I show up for myself?

Consider this:

The quality of your relationships shapes the quality of your life and results. And every relationship either adds energy or takes it away.

Energy

Energy is the capacity for change. For growth. For relationships. Without it, nothing else works.

What will charge you up today? What might drain you — and how will you prevent it? What emotion might come up, and are you ready for it?

Equanimity lives here. The ability to stay steady when things get hard. Empathy lives here too. For others. And for yourself.

Daily questions:

• What will charge me up?

• What might drain me?

• How will I prevent the drain?

• How will I recharge?

• How will I stay calm?

• What emotion might come up?

How do you manage energy during the day? Managing energy starts with awareness. Know what charges you and what drains you before the day begins. Build in recharge moments — not as a reward, but as a strategy. Watch your emotions; they are energy signals. Stay calm when things get hard. Equanimity is a skill, not a personality trait. Protect your energy like you protect your time.

AIM

What do you actually want? Not what you are supposed to want. Not what looks good on paper. What do you actually want?

This is the AIM check.

Aspiration — what are you moving toward?
Inspiration — what is fueling you?
Motivation — why does it matter?

Aspire also connects to attitude. How you show up shapes what you get. And to aligned action. Are you moving toward what matters, or just moving?

Daily questions:

• What am I aiming at?

• What is my intention?

• What attitude am I bringing?

• What is inspiring me?

• What is my motivation?

• Am I accelerating or stalling?

Time

Time is the only resource you cannot get back. You can’t create more time either. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

How are you investing it?

Not spending. Investing.

Every hour goes somewhere. The question is whether it goes toward what matters.

This is also where trust lives. Do you trust yourself to follow through? And where transformation happens. Not in a moment. In how you use the moments.

Daily questions:

• Where is my time going?

• Where should it go?

• What is the highest value use of my time?

• What will I say no to?

• What will I protect?

• What would make this time well spent?

The Daily Rhythm

Morning. Ask the opening question.

How will I be great today?
What will I do to make today great?

Run through each area. Spend two minutes. Write it down or say it out loud.

That is your plan.

Evening. Ask the closing question.

How was I great today?

Not what did you accomplish. Not what did you check off.

How were you great?

That reflection is what makes the next day better.

What should I ask myself every morning?
Start with one question: What will make today great?
Then run through five areas — Growth, Relationships, Energy, Aim, and Time.
Two minutes. Written or out loud. It creates intention before the day creates chaos.
End the day with one more: How was I great today?
That reflection is what compounds over time.

The MVP Day

Not every day is a full-send day.

Some days the tank is low. Something happened. Life got loud.

That is where the MVP comes in. Minimum Viable Plan (MVP).

The question shifts slightly:
What is the minimum I need to do to still call it a great day?

One thing per area. Maybe just one thing total.

That is enough. Sometimes that is everything.

The MVP day is not giving up. It is staying in the game on a hard day.

Low battery days are normal. A box of 64 white crayons is not.

What do you do on a low energy day?
Use the MVP — minimum viable plan.
Ask one question: What is the minimum I need to do to still call this a great day?
Pick one thing. Do it. That is a win. Low battery days are normal. What matters is staying in the game. The MVP day is not failure — it is self-command.

Three Bars, Not One

When you plan your day, week, or month — set three bars.

Low bar: If everything goes sideways, I do this. MVP. Still a win.
Mid bar: A solid day. Progress on what matters.
High bar: A great day. Everything fires. This is the GREAT bar.

Most days land somewhere in the middle. That is fine.

The low bar keeps you in the game on hard days. The high bar shows you what is possible.

The goal is not perfection. The goal is showing up.

Weekly and Monthly

The same questions work at every level.

Weekly: What will make this week great? How was I great this week?

Monthly: What will make this month great? What did I build this month?

The lens shifts slightly at each level.

Daily is about energy, focus, and small wins. Weekly is about rhythm, relationships, and follow-through. Monthly is about progress, patterns, and what needs to change.

Same five areas. Different zoom level. Different perspective.

This Is the Foundation

Great is not a hack. It is a practice.

It is how people who get great results actually think — whether they call it that or not.

They know what they are growing toward. They protect their key relationships. They manage their energy on purpose. They know what they are aiming at. They invest their time, not just spend it.

And they ask the question every day.

What will make today great?

Then they go make it great.

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The daily, weekly, and monthly log — all on one page. Simple. Printable. No fluff.

Click to download or message me and I will send it directly.

And if you want to go deeper — if one area of GREAT is clearly off and you are ready to fix it — message me “GREAT” and we will figure out where to start.

A great life is built one great day at a time.

Win Today

Frequently Asked Questions

What does great stand for? Great stands for Growth, Relationships, Energy, Aim, and Time. It is a daily planning and diagnostic framework that helps ambitious people get clarity on what matters, manage their energy, and take aligned action — every single day.

How long does the great practice take? Two minutes in the morning. Two minutes at night. That is the baseline. You can go deeper on any area when needed, but the daily practice does not require more than a few focused minutes. Simple is the point.

Is great just for work? No. Great is a whole-life method. Relationships covers home and work. Energy includes physical, emotional, and mental. Aim is about what you actually want — not just your career goals. Time includes personal investment, not just professional output. Ambitious people do not leave their life at the office door.

What if I miss a day? Start again. The practice is not about a streak. It is about a standard. Missing a day does not erase the work. It is just a day. Win the next one.

What is an MVP day? An MVP day is a minimum viable plan. On low energy days — when life gets loud or the tank runs dry — you set the lowest bar that still counts as a win. One thing. Done. That is enough. The MVP day keeps you in the game without burning out on hard days.

How is great different from other planning systems? Most planning systems focus on tasks. Great focuses on the whole person — growth, relationships, energy, aim, and time. It is not a to-do list. It is a daily diagnostic that helps you see what is off, what matters most, and what the next best step is. Being great becomes your everyday edge for improved performance, relationships, and wellbeing.

Who is great built for? Founders, leaders, sellers, high-achievers, and parents — anyone who is ambitious, feels capable of more, and wants a simple daily practice that actually works. If you are tired of reacting and ready to lead your day, great is the starting point.

Can I use great weekly and monthly too? Yes. The same five areas and three bars scale to any time horizon. Daily is about energy and small wins. Weekly is about rhythm and follow-through. Monthly is about patterns and progress. Same framework. Different zoom level. Different perspective.