Appendix: The Annual Long-Game Audit
The one instrument that runs the whole book. Ten minutes, once a year, for the rest of your runway. Copy it into a notebook so you can rerun it.
The protocol.
- Pick a date you’ll remember (the first week of fall term works). Once a year, score your 4 moves 1 to 5, honestly, before you look at last year’s numbers. (1 = not started or in trouble. 5 = strong and on track.)
- Circle your lowest move. That’s your highest-value project for the year.
- Write one concrete action you’ll take this term toward it.
- Date it, and put it where you’ll find it next year.
The 4 moves, with the questions to score honestly.
- The Number (GPA): Is it where it needs to be for your target schools? Is the trend up? Do you have runway left?
- The Mind (reasoning): Are you taking classes that make you read hard and argue? Do you read for the argument, not just the gist?
- The Record (experience): Is there one real thing you’ve stuck with? A professor who knows your work? Something that could become a story or a letter?
- The Read (money and market): Do you know what lawyers earn and what school costs? Have you looked honestly at whether this fits you?
Filled example (invented sophomore):
The Number: 3. The Mind: 3. The Record: 2. The Read: 4. Lowest: The Record. This year’s move: find one research or work spot and stick with it. This term’s action: email 3 professors whose classes I liked and ask how to help with their work. Date: September, sophomore year.
Your copy (rerun every year):
The Number: __ The Mind: __ The Record: __ The Read: __ Lowest move: _ This year’s move: _ This term’s action: _ Date: _
The point isn’t the score. It’s the gap between this year’s numbers and next year’s, the proof you moved your own position on purpose.
