Whole-Life Vision Writing
Write next year's retrospective, share it, and recruit support to make it real
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 99%
Vision writing starts by mentally moving one year ahead and describing the year as though it has already happened. The retrospective framing makes the desired experiences and achievements concrete enough to discuss, rather than leaving them as abstract intentions. Nicola applies it across three domains: personal life, work, and community. She then shares the writing and involves the people who will participate, including family members who contribute their own wishes. The mechanism is alignment: writing clarifies what matters, while sharing gives others the context to help shape and support it. The practice does not guarantee an outcome, and Nicola's reference to research was not specified in the episode; its transcript-grounded value is as a recurring planning and coordination ritual.
Origin
Nicola Mendelsohn called this practice “vision writing” and explained it on The Diary of a CEO.
Core principles
- 01Plan personal life with the same intent as work
- 02Describe the desired future as if it has already happened
- 03Cover more than professional achievement
- 04Shared goals are easier for other people to support
How to run it
- 1
Move one year ahead
Choose a date one year from now and imagine looking back on the completed year.
Watch out Keep the horizon specific rather than writing a timeless wish list.
- 2
Write the retrospective
Describe what happened and what you achieved as though the year is already complete.
Pro tip Use concrete experiences that would make success observable.
- 3
Cover the whole life
Write separately about personal life, work, and community so professional goals do not crowd out everything else.
Watch out Do not assume career progress automatically equals a fulfilling year.
- 4
Invite contribution
Ask the people affected what they want from the year and incorporate their priorities where appropriate.
Pro tip Small wishes count if they matter to the person naming them.
- 5
Share and revisit
Share the vision with relevant people, then use it to guide choices and review progress.
Pro tip Schedule reviews before daily demands take over.
In the wild
A family writes from the perspective of next year, covering work commitments, time together, travel, community contribution, and one experience chosen by each person. They share the document, check feasibility together, and use quarterly reviews to protect the priorities they agreed.
→ Personal priorities become visible inputs to the year's decisions rather than afterthoughts.
Common mistakes
Writing only career goals
The practice loses its whole-life value when personal and community priorities disappear.
Keeping the vision private
People cannot coordinate around priorities they have never seen or helped shape.
Is it for you?
Best for
People who plan work rigorously but leave family, community, or personal priorities implicit.
Not ideal for
Anyone needing an immediate crisis plan rather than a one-year direction.
From the transcript
“you write as though it's a year from now and you set out looking back on the year you've just had”
“i do it around my personal life i do it around work and then i do it around community”
From the episode
VP Of Meta: Running A Trillion Dollar Business With An Incurable Illness: Nicola Mendelsohn