Ramon Landes · Zurich, Switzerland · Last updated May 2026
I built this for myself. Four annual cycles later, I sell it.
A short essay about why goalsandprogress.com exists, how the Life Goals Workbook came to be the shape it is, and what I deliberately do not write about.
I started building this for myself. The first version of the Life Goals Workbook was a stack of Word documents and a paper notebook, opened on the first Sunday of January, abandoned by the fourth Sunday of February. The next year I rebuilt it. The year after I rebuilt it again.
Around year three I noticed the templates had stopped changing. Only my inputs were changing. The architecture had stabilised. What I had was not a planner. It was a method.
Goals exist on paper. Reflection is what turns them into change.
The method is a cascade: values at the top, daily action at the bottom, each layer feeding the one below it. It runs on annual setup, quarterly reflection, weekly check-in, daily list. The templates inside are vehicles. The cascade is the system. Eleven templates. Six layers. One coordinated method.
Why a workbook, not an app.
I considered building an app first. Several times. Each time I returned to a fillable PDF for the same reason: the planner-as-aesthetic-object trap is real, and so is the SaaS-treadmill trap. A PDF is utilitarian. It does not push notifications, does not require an account, does not get worse when the company pivots, and does not need a maintenance schedule. It lives on your machine. It is yours.
An app extends the workbook for people who want one. It is in beta as of May 2026. The workbook on its own remains the spine.
What is in the method.
The frameworks I pull from are named, the techniques are sourced, and the page that uses them tells you which is which. The method integrates four named techniques: BHAG for the long-horizon target, WOOP to stress-test annual goals, cue-routine-reward for the habit layer, and the rule never miss twice for resilience when the year gets crowded. The goal pyramid and KPI / RAG status are the connective tissue between layers.
I focus on research and try to find the facts behind productivity and goal-setting myths. The workbook is what I wish had existed when I started looking for one place to keep a year, instead of a stack of apps that each did one thing.
What I write about, what I do not.
What I write about
- Annual goal-setting as a coordinated method, not a New Year ritual.
- Behaviour science applied to one-person planning systems.
- Reflection cadences: weekly check-ins, quarterly reflections.
- Tools that respect time: utilitarian, durable, low maintenance.
What I do not write about
- Hustle, grind, 5am routines. Not my method, not my voice.
- Personal finance advice. Outside my scope.
- Therapy or coaching. Workbook is a tool, not therapy.
- AI productivity hacks. Tools change weekly. The method does not.
What I am bad at, on purpose.
The workbook does not nudge you. It does not ping. It does not gamify your year. You open it on Sunday or you do not. The same architecture that holds the year together at month nine is what makes month one feel slow. The reward shows up later. If you want a thirty-day program, this is not it.
I am bad at fast outcomes. I am good at building things that compound. The workbook is for people who think in years.
One inbox. I read every email.
I run this from Zurich. I read every refund reply because that is how I learn what is not working in the method. I respond to every press inquiry. I do not offer 1:1 coaching. I will not sponsor the newsletter or add affiliate links.
If you have a question, the address is support@goalsandprogress.com. Subject lines welcome.
The method this site is in service of.
The Life Goals Workbook is the same coordinated method, shipped as 29 pages and 11 reusable templates. 14-day refund. Reply to your receipt.