Life in weeks calendar: your whole life on one page

What is the life in weeks calendar?

It is a chart of a whole life, counted in weeks. Each row is a year, each box is a week, and a 90 year life fills 90 rows.

The idea comes from Tim Urban, who drew it for his blog Wait But Why in 2014. His chart shows 90 years, which comes to 4,680 weeks. In his words, "The boxes can also be a reminder that life is forgiving." Each week, you get a fresh box to work with.

That is the useful part. A week is small enough to count, and big enough to get something done. It is the same unit a challenge is built from.

How to read your chart

Every dot is one week of your life. Here is what each kind means.

• Filled dots are the weeks you have lived.
• The dot with a ring is this week.
• Empty dots are the weeks to come.
• Each row starts on your birthday. The numbers on the left are your age on that row.
• A year is 52 weeks and one or two days, so the last dot of each row holds those extra days.

How to use it: pick what the next 52 weeks are for

Look at the next row, not the whole page. One row is one year, and 52 weeks is enough for something real.

Pick one or two things for that row. For ideas, start with these personal goals, or things to do before 30 if that row is in your twenties.

Then give each week a small part of it. A 365 day challenge is one way to do that, and a weekly review at the end of each week keeps it on track.

How to make your life in weeks poster

Four steps, and your birth date stays on your device the whole time.

1. 1

   Type your birth date

   The weeks you have lived fill in at once. The date stays in your browser and is never sent or saved.

2. 2

   Choose how many years to show

   90 is the classic chart. Pick any number from 50 to 110.

3. 3

   Pick a title and colors

   Name it, choose a color, and pick a dark or light background.

4. 4

   Print it or save it

   The poster fits one page of A4 or Letter. Save the image to share it or keep it on your phone.

Frequently asked questions

Is my birth date saved or sent anywhere?

No. The chart is drawn in your browser. Your birth date is not sent to any server and is not saved, so it is gone when you close the page.

Why does the chart show 90 years?

Tim Urban's first chart used 90 years, so it is the default. It is not a guess about your life. Pick any number from 50 to 110.

How many weeks are in 90 years?

The chart has 4,680 boxes: 90 rows of 52. Real years are a day or two longer than 52 weeks, so 90 years hold about 4,696 weeks. The weeks lived number counts real weeks.

Can I print it?

Yes. Press Print the poster. It fits one page of A4 or Letter and prints without the dark background. Pick Save as PDF to keep a file.

Is it free?

Yes. It needs no account and no email.