The Magic of Quarterly Planning

Why a 12 week year (or working in quarters) could be the secret to finally reaching your goals

Most of us are used to setting goals once a year. January rolls around, we get out the new planner, scribble down a few resolutions and start the year with the best of intentions.

But then life gets in the way.

By February, the excitement has worn off. By June, we still haven’t made much progress. And by September, we’re either frantically trying to “catch up” or quietly shelving our plans until the magical fresh start of next January.

Sound familiar?

This is annualised thinking. We give ourselves 12 whole months to achieve something, which sounds generous – but in reality, it can be the very thing that stops us from getting things done.

That’s why I want to introduce you to a different way of working: quarterly planning

What is quarterly planning?

Instead of setting one set of goals in January for the next 12months, you divide the year into 4, each with its own set of goals. This gives you 3 months to work on each set (which can include goals carried over) and 4 mini ‘fresh starts’. You may have heard the term the “12 Week Year” which is a system that treats each 12 week block as a full year. (Check out the book by Moran & Lennington, 2013 for more detail).

Instead of thinking “I’ve got all of 2026 to get this done,” you give yourself just 3 months. That’s your “year.” You set your goals, create a plan and take action within that shorter block. At the end of it, you review, reflect, celebrate what went well and then start again with the next quarter.

It’s simple, but powerful.

And before you panic – this doesn’t mean you’re trying to cram an entire year’s worth of work into three months. The point is to give yourself a realistic time frame that’s long enough to make progress, but short enough to stay motivated.

Why annual goals don’t often work

On paper, a year feels like plenty of time. In real life… not so much. Here’s why annual goals often slide off track:

• Too much time = delay. When you believe you’ve got ages, it’s easy to put things off. Then suddenly it’s October and that “I’ll get to it later” window has closed.

• The mid-year slump. A whole year is a long time to stay energised. Once the new-year buzz fades, motivation can dip.

• The all-or-nothing wobble. Miss a couple of weeks and it can feel like you’ve blown the whole thing, which makes it tempting to give up entirely.

• Very slow feedback. If you only review progress once a year, you miss out on the chance to tweak, adjust, or pivot sooner.

Why quarterly planning works so well

This style of planning is popular for a reason — it matches how we actually think, work, and stay motivated.

• It creates natural urgency. With just 12 weeks, you don’t have the space to drift. It encourages you to take action now rather than waiting for “one day”.

• You get more fresh starts. Instead of one big reset in January, you get four across the year. If things go off-track, the next starting point is never far away.

• Your focus sharpens. In a 12-week window, you can’t take on ten goals at once. And that’s the beauty of it. Choosing 1–3 priorities keeps things clear and achievable.

• There’s built-in reflection. At the end of each cycle, you review, celebrate the wins, learn from the slip-ups and reset. You’re constantly improving, rather than waiting a full year to adjust.

• It feels less overwhelming. Three months is manageable. The smaller timeframe naturally creates momentum without that heavy “where do I even start?” feeling.

The psychology behind It: why quarterly planning works

If a ‘12-week year’ or working in quarters feels easier, that’s not a coincidence, it lines up with how our brains operate.

1. It fits our natural planning limits.
   We’re notoriously optimistic about what we can do in a year. Psychologists Kahneman & Tversky call this the planning fallacy, underestimating how long things take and overestimating what we can handle. Plus, a 3-month stretch is short enough to be realistic and long enough to see real progress.

2. Deadlines actually help us.
   Research by Steel & König (2006) shows that motivation increases when a deadline feels close enough to matter. 12 weeks hits that sweet spot: enough pressure to focus, but not so much that you panic or shut down.

3. Quarterly check-ins keep things flexible.
   Instead of waiting 12 months to realise something no longer fits your life, you get 4 natural points to reassess. This means your goals grow and shift with you, which is exactly what keeps you moving.

Shifting away from annualised thinking

Planning in quarters, changes the way you look at time.

Instead of “I’ve got ages to get this done,” you start asking, “What matters most in the next 12 weeks?”

Instead of waiting until September to make up for a slow start, you’ve already had two or three fresh starts by then.

Instead of holding your breath until December to see if it all worked out, you’re checking in every three months, learning as you go, and making small but steady progress.

It’s not about cramming. It’s about working with urgency, clarity, and rhythm.

How to get started with your own quarterly planning

You don’t need fancy planners or apps to give this a try. Here’s how you can start:

1.     Choose your goals
Pick one to three things you’d love to achieve in the next 12 weeks. Keep it simple and realistic. These should be things that matter to you, not what you think you “should” do.

2.     Break them into actions
For each goal, work out what small weekly steps would move you forward. For example, if your goal is to write a short story, one step might be “write 500 words twice a week.”

3.     Plan your weeks
Give yourself a weekly check-in to see what worked, what didn’t, and what’s next. This helps you stay accountable and on track.

4.     Celebrate at the end
When you finish your 12 weeks, take stock. What did you achieve? What progress did you make? What will you carry into the next 12 weeks?

5.     Start again
Treat the next block as a fresh “new year.” You’re not stuck waiting until January – your reset button is always close at hand.

A gentle reminder

The 12 week year isn’t about pushing yourself to the limit. It’s about making progress in a way that feels focused and encouraging. Life happens – family, work, health, responsibilities. That’s why this system is flexible: you always get another chance to reset.

And here’s the real beauty: even if you only make half the progress you wanted in one cycle, you’re still miles ahead of where you’d be if you waited until the end of the year to get started.

Imagine This

Imagine where you could be three months from now if you started today. Not with a grand “this time next year” dream, but with a few focused goals and consistent steps over the next 12 weeks.

What would you love to look back on by then and say, “Yes, I did that”?

✨ That’s the heart of quarterly planning: more starts, more progress and more chances to celebrate yourself.