The earth has completed yet another revolution around the sun. And it has started on yet another one (how could I not use a pun on this one!).

It’s time to put up that brand new 2024 calendar. Every year, a new calendar would come home. It would end up on the side of the fridge or one of the wardrobes in the bedroom. Like the newspaper, this has been replaced by digital calendars now which are available at our fingertips. At best, we have some desk calendars now which actually have the primary purpose of being a photo album!

The unique thing about this calendar was that it also had the Malayalam calendar and important dates marked along-side the Gregorian one. Strangely enough, the Malayalam year starts on the first day of the Chingam month, which comes around August 15th. But wait a minute, isn’t Vishu the Malayalam new year? Vishu, the first day of the Medam month which falls around April 14th, used to be the traditional start of the new year before the current Malayalam calendar (the one with Aug 15th as the new year) was started in the year 825 CE.

Different cultures had developed their own ways of tracking the seasons and revolutions around the sun. The most interesting one we’ve seen on our travels has been the one in Egypt – a calendar that was designed around the Nile river’s water levels.

Wherever you are in the world and whichever calendar you follow, there are some things which are common. The start of a calendar year is seen as an opportunity to start afresh and set goals for the new year. It is a time for new year resolutions and manifesting what you have always wanted. Some people are successful in meeting their own expectations, a majority fall short as life gets in the way.

I’ve never really been big on resolutions. I’ve tried them in the past but never really made it past February or March. So, I changed the approach about 4 years back. In the new mental model, the end of the year acts as a milestone for introspection. This presents an excellent opportunity to take a pause and look at various aspects of life in detail. 

Being a big-time productivity nerd, I’ve tried out different models to create the perfect “Annual Review” format. In this blog, I’ll cover some of the TOOLS that have really helped me over the years.

Continue reading The Beginning of Another Revolution →