As 2024 draws to a close, the concept of year planning has gained significant attention. Inspired by resources like Jesse Itzler’s Big Ass Calendar and Sam Urpani’s War Map, we explored ways to implement a similar system for visualising and organising the upcoming year. This exercise has proven to be incredibly beneficial for gaining a clearer perspective on how to allocate time effectively.

Why Create a War Calendar?

A war calendar is more than just a planning tool—it’s a framework to help you:

1. Visualise the Year: It provides a bird’s-eye view of your time, making it easier to see how your plans align with your goals.

2. Prioritise Major Goals: As Jesse Itzler mentions in his video, if you set one major goal per year and live to age 85, that’s 60 major accomplishments—enough to create a fulfilling life.

3. Plan Mini-Adventures: By intentionally scheduling adventures and experiences, you’ll enrich your life with stories worth sharing.

The visual nature of a war calendar allows you to identify patterns, avoid overcommitment, and ensure you’re spending time on what truly matters.

Leveraging Google Sheets

To bring this concept to life, we used Google Sheets as our platform of choice, taking advantage of its flexibility and accessibility. This approach allows for a fully customisable and collaborative experience, making it easy to update and share plans across devices.

By leveraging Google Sheets, we’ve created a practical and effective tool to make 2025 a year of purpose and accomplishment. Whether it’s pursuing major goals or planning memorable adventures, this calendar helps ensure intentionality and focus throughout the year. You can access our implementation here.