Back when he was CEO of Microsoft, Bill Gates used to do what he called “Think Weeks.” He’d go to a cabin in the woods for a week or two, and the secluded location allowed him to get away from the busyness of the day-to-day and just think about the future of the business.
Some of his best ideas and most important innovations came from these Think Weeks (this is actually where the idea for Internet Explorer came from).
I’ve adapted that concept and created a framework I call a Personal Retreat. Every 90 days, I get away to reflect on the last quarter and think about the direction my life (and our family) is headed.
Every single time, I come back with clarity on what’s truly important and a heightened sense of motivation.
The reason it works so well is that it leverages the concept of thinking time introduced by Keith Cunningham in his book, The Road Less Stupid:
“I don’t need to do more smart things. I just need to do fewer dumb things. I need to avoid making emotional decisions and swinging at bad pitches. I need to think!” - Keith Cunningham
It may seem a little meta, but getting away to think before diving into work is easily the most productive use of your time.
It’s not an insignificant investment, but the motivation and clarity that come as a result far outweigh the costs.
Planning Your Personal Retreat
When planning for your Personal Retreat, I recommend that you set aside an entire day. If you can get away to a place you don’t normally go, that’s even better. Your environment plays a big part in your ability to think & reflect, so going somewhere unfamiliar allows your brain to enter this mode more naturally.
I usually go to Postcard Cabins, which are these tiny houses parked on remote campsites. They’re fully furnished, have heat & AC, a full bathroom, and great nature views.
It’s a great setting for thinking and reflecting, and the perfect place for a Personal Retreat.
Typically, I get to the site around 4 pm and do the first part of the Personal Retreat when I get there. I usually go to bed pretty early and then wake up rested so I can do the second part the following morning.
When you go on your Personal Retreat, I recommend you eliminate as many distractions as you can. Do NOT bring any work projects or reading material! If you follow the full Personal Retreat process, you will be tired by the end — but you’ll have the motivation you need to consistently take action on what’s really important and the clarity to cut the things that aren’t.
The Personal Retreat Process
Here’s a full breakdown of the entire Personal Retreat process:
- Review your vision and values (30 minutes). I have a one-sentence personal mission statement that I call my LifeTheme and a list of personal core values that I review every time I do a Personal Retreat. This helps you make sure that you’re living a life in alignment with what’s most important to you.
- Review your journal entries (60 minutes). This helps you recall some of the significant things that have happened in the last 90 days and helps you see the general trends in your thinking.
- Review your Ideal Future (30 minutes). This is a detailed description of what a day in the life of future you looks like. It helps you maintain motivation as you move towards the life you want to live, but also creates excitement as you discover ways to live part of your ideal life in the here and now.
- Wheel of Life (60 minutes). This is where you rate your current happiness in the important areas of your life. It shows you where you need to focus attention over the next 90 days, and I always pick the lowest area to address when setting my intentions.
- Retrospective, Part 1 (60 minutes). This first part of the retrospective is where you jot down whatever comes to mind as you consider three specific prompts: what went well, what I accomplished, and what could have gone better.
- Take a break! You’ve done a lot of thinking up until this point, so it’s important to give your brain a break and come back refreshed.
- Retrospective, Part 2 (120 minutes). This is where you make 3 lists for what you should potentially start, stop, and keep doing. Jot down everything that comes to mind, and don’t cut this short! 2 hours may feel like a long time, but if you force your brain to stay focused on these three simple questions, it will get to a different level about 90 minutes in.
- Set Your Intentions (60 minutes). Using both the information from your retrospective and the ratings from the Wheel of Life, identify a goal (or goals) that will move the needle and bolster the lowest area. Just don’t set too many! Keep your focus on the area that needs it, then pick a different intention/goal next quarter.
- Review/Revise Your Perfect Week (60 minutes). Create a rough template for how you want to spend the hours in your week and identify when you’re going to take action on the intentions that you set. Don’t block time for individual tasks, but make sure to create space for the things that are important.
As you can see, the whole process takes about 8 hours. It is possible to do an abbreviated Personal Retreat, but I recommend you do as much of this as you possibly can. It’s a significant time investment, but the productivity benefits provided by the clarity it gives you will yield exponential returns IF you don’t rush it. And while you can muscle through the whole thing in one day if you want, I prefer to split it up and go overnight when I can.
For a long time, I’ve done my Personal Retreat on my laptop using an Obsidian template. Since I didn't have wifi, it was pretty easy to stay focused on the Personal Retreat and avoid doing actual work.
But there’s a lot to be said about using analog tools instead.
