This page explains the thinking behind each part of the system. Read it once. Then use the working pages.
For the full framework with worksheets, download the PDF here.
You need a vision statement with a date on it.
A specific picture of what your life looks like when it's working, tied to a deadline you'll actually feel.
The vision does one job. When something shows up, a reorg opportunity, a board request, a side project pitch from a friend, you hold it against the vision. Does it move you closer? Keep it. Does it pull you sideways? Drop it. Or does it matter enough that you need to renegotiate your vision, with yourself or with someone else, to make room for it?
Write yours down. Put a date on it.
An Epic is a major life or work thread that deserves sustained attention over the next 6 to 12 months.
A theme that groups related work together. "Ship the platform migration." "Close the Series C." "Get the EU residency sorted." "Rebuild my marriage after 2 years of 80-hour weeks." "Hire and ramp 4 senior engineers before Q3."
3 to 7 is the right range. Fewer than 3 probably means you're hiding complexity from yourself. More than 7 means you're spread too thin and none of them will move. Most people land at 5 or 6.
Each Epic gets a name and one sentence describing what done looks like.
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Pareto Principle. 1 or 2 of these Epics will drive 80% of the progress that matters to you. Look at your list. Which ones are they? Those get your best hours.
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Some of your Epics you control completely. Others depend on other people, institutions, or timelines you can't influence.
This distinction changes how you spend your energy.
Fully controlled Epics get your best hours. "Ship the platform migration" is yours. You own the architecture decisions, the team allocation, the timeline. That gets your Monday morning brain.
Dependent Epics get managed differently. "Get the EU residency sorted" depends on lawyers, government offices, processing times. You set it up, hand it to a trusted person, and check in on a schedule. You don't spend Tuesday afternoon refreshing your immigration portal. You spend it on the work only you can do.