Designing a decade isn’t about predicting the future—it’s about choosing your direction, building the assets that make options open up, and installing the habits that make progress automatic. Use these seven questions as a practical blueprint. Each section gives you the why, how, and a quick exercise so you leave with decisions, not just ideas.
1) Who is your future self—and what do they do on an ordinary Tuesday?
Why it matters: Identity precedes behavior. When you decide who you’re becoming, daily choices get simpler.
How to think about it
- Write a vivid snapshot of an ordinary day 10 years ahead: when you wake, what you’re working on, who you help, how your body feels, where money comes from.
- Translate that picture into 3–5 identity statements: “I am a builder of X,” “I lead Y,” “I am the kind of person who…”
- Let identity set boundaries (what you no longer do) and priorities (what you do first).
Quick exercise (10 minutes)
Write 10 bullet sentences starting with “In 2035, I’m the kind of person who…” Then highlight the top three. These become filters for opportunities and habits.
2) What problem or possibility are you willing to be obsessed with?
Why it matters: A decade is too long to chase generic goals. Aim at a problem you care enough about to learn through setbacks.
How to think about it
- Define a painfully specific who and what: “First-gen college students who need funding clarity,” “SMEs that waste ad spend,” “patients waiting for accurate, fast diagnosis.”
- Choose a lens: science, product, policy, education, media, capital, or community.
- Write your change thesis: “If we do X for Y, the world is better because Z.”
Quick exercise (15 minutes)
Complete: “For the next 10 years I will study, build and advocate for ________, because ________.” Add one sentence on why this won’t get boring.
3) Which assets will make future-you unavoidable? (skills, reputation, capital, systems)
Why it matters: Outcomes compound when you accumulate the right assets—not just hours worked.
Asset menu
- Rare skills: domain depth + a complementary “power skill” (writing, data, storytelling, sales, AI tooling, negotiation).
- Reputation: proof-of-work (portfolio, case studies, shipped products, publications).
- Relationships: mentors, peers, collaborators, early customers, talent bench.
- Capital: financial runway, health/energy, attention (focus time), distribution (audience, channels).
- Systems: repeatable processes for learning, building, selling, and recovering.
Quick exercise (20 minutes)
Create a 2×2:
- Rows: Current strength vs Needs work
- Columns: High-leverage vs Low-leverage
Circle two assets in Needs work × High-leverage—these are your next 12-month sprints.
4) Who will you build with—and how will you become valuable to them?
Why it matters: Careers accelerate at the speed of trust. Your next decade will be shaped by five to ten key people.
How to think about it
- Map your relationship portfolio: mentors (wisdom), peers (momentum), protégés (legacy), and customers (feedback).
- Create value loops: share playbooks, connect people, publish mini-studies, host small roundtables, volunteer on hard problems.
- Track touchpoints deliberately (quarterly check-ins, thank-yous, wins shared).
Quick exercise (15 minutes)
List the Top 10 people who could change the arc of your decade. For each, write one sentence: “I can create value by ______ next month.” Put two actions on your calendar.
5) What game are you playing—and how will you keep score without losing your soul?
Why it matters: If you don’t set the rules, someone else’s scoreboard will set them for you.
Choose your game
- Craft game: mastery, originality, contribution.
- Impact game: outcomes for users, patients, students, clients.
- Wealth game: runway, optionality, ownership, cash flow.
- Freedom game: time control, location, autonomy.
- Reputation game: trust, reliability, kindness under pressure.
Pick two primary games; make others supporting.
Scoreboard template (review monthly)
- Leading indicators: hours of deep work, prototypes shipped, outreach done, health metrics, learning reps.
- Lagging indicators: revenue/profit, publications, launches, user outcomes, promotions.
Quick exercise (10 minutes)
Write five metrics you’ll review monthly. Add target ranges (guardrails) so ambition doesn’t break health or relationships.
6) What risks, constraints, and anti-goals will you design around?
Why it matters: Strategy is choosing what to ignore and what to never sacrifice.
Design with reality
- Audit constraints: finances, family duties, geography, health, visa, market cycles.
- Name risks: single-source income, platform dependence, burnout, legal/regulatory shifts.
- Define anti-goals (things you refuse to trade): chronic 70-hour weeks, zero savings, work you wouldn’t be proud to show your kids, unethical clients.
Risk playbook
- Diversify income streams early (salary + side product + advisory + royalties).
- Build portable proof (public portfolio, newsletter, OS repos).
- Keep a 6–12 month runway.
- Install buffers (SOPs, backups, automation, insurance, contractual clauses).
Quick exercise (15 minutes)
Write your Top 5 anti-goals and Top 5 risks. For each risk, write one pre-commitment (policy, contract line, account rule, or habit) that reduces exposure.
7) What systems will make your plan nearly inevitable?
Why it matters: Goals set direction; systems create momentum you don’t need willpower to maintain.
Installable systems
- Rhythms: 90-minute deep-work blocks, weekly review, monthly demo day, quarterly retreat.
- Learning: one flagship course/book per quarter with a project to prove mastery.
- Creation: ship something public every week (thread, mini-case, demo, video).
- Health: sleep minimum, resistance + cardio schedule, no-phone hours.
- Decision-making: write 1-page memos for big choices; maintain a “not now” list.
- Environment design: default apps, workspace setup, notification rules, calendar templates.
Quick exercise (20 minutes)
Choose three keystone habits (one work, one learning, one health). Tie each to a trigger and design a 5-minute “minimum viable version” you can do even on bad days.
The 10-3-1-90 Roadmap (put your answers to work)
10 years: Write a one-page Future Tuesday and your identity statements.
3 years: Set two or three big capabilities to acquire, plus one reputation milestone (e.g., “publish a book,” “lead a team that ships X,” “profitably serve 1,000 customers”).
1 year: Pick two high-leverage assets to build, one major project to ship, and one relationship initiative to lead.
Next 90 days: Convert into a Quarterly Mission with weekly deliverables and a visible scoreboard.
Quarterly Mission template
- Theme: “Acquire X capability by building Y for Z audience.”
- Outputs: 12 weekly deliverables + one public launch.
- Inputs: time blocks, budget, collaborators, learning plan.
- Review: every Friday—what shipped, what changed, what’s next.
Example (filled briefly)
- Future self: Product-led educator-operator running a scholarship tech lab; calm mornings; strength-trained and energetic; revenue mix from products, B2B partnerships, and courses.
- Problem: Access gap in education funding clarity.
- Assets: Data storytelling + growth systems; public library of case studies; 10K-person newsletter; 12-month financial runway.
- Relationships: Monthly salon for program managers; two mentors in policy and analytics; two protégés.
- Scoreboard: 12 deep-work hrs/week; 1 public artifact/week; 2 partnerships/quarter; resting HRV trend up; MRR target range.
- Anti-goals: No projects without measurable learner outcomes; no >45-hr weeks; no single client >30% revenue.
- Systems: M/W/F 90-min build block; Thu review + newsletter; Sat long run + reading block.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Vague goals, no assets: “Be successful” isn’t a plan. Tie every ambition to assets you’re collecting.
- Overplanning the decade, underplanning the week: Keep the 10-year direction light; make the next 90 days precise.
- Borrowed scoreboards: If your metrics make you anxious even when you’re doing the right work, rewrite them.
- Zero buffers: Ambition dies without runway, recovery, and boring protection (backups, contracts, insurance).
One-page worksheet (copy & fill)
Future Tuesday (2035):
• Identity statements (3–5):
1. ___ 2) ___ 3) ___ 4) ___ 5) ___Decade problem/possibility:
I will focus on ___ because ___.
Asset sprints (next 12 months):
1. ___ 2) ___Relationship portfolio (Top 10 + value):
Name → Value I’ll create next month: ___
Scoreboard (5 metrics):
1. ___ 2) ___ 3) ___ 4) ___ 5) ___Anti-goals (5) & risk pre-commitments:
1. ___ → Policy: ___ (repeat x5)Systems (3 keystone habits):
Work ___ / Learning ___ / Health ___
90-day mission:
Theme ___ | Weekly outputs ___ | Review ritual ___
FAQs
How often should I revisit this?
Do a quick weekly review, a deeper monthly checkpoint, and a quarterly reset tied to a visible launch or milestone.
What if my interests change?
Great—update the problem and assets while keeping the meta-systems (deep work, learning, health, review) constant.
How do I keep momentum when life gets messy?
Shrink the habit to its 5-minute version, protect sleep, and keep a “minimum viable week” checklist you can complete even at 50% capacity.
