The Life in Seasons template has been in the shop for two years and it’s the one I get the most email about. It’s also the one I’ve quietly wanted to rebuild since last spring. This month I finally did. Here’s what changed and why.
## The problem with the original
The first version was built during a period when I was trying to prove something. It had eleven top-level pages, four linked databases, a habit tracker with fourteen properties, and a finance section that I used exactly twice. People loved how it looked and then told me, gently, that they felt behind every time they opened it.
That feedback sat with me for a long time. A template that makes you feel behind is not a template — it’s a bill you didn’t agree to.
## Removing before adding
The redesign started with deletion. Eleven top-level pages became six. The habit tracker is gone entirely; habits live inside the weekly review now, as a short list you rewrite each week instead of a grid you fail to fill. The finance section moved out into its own optional template for people who actually want it. The fourteen-property system shrank to five.
The result is a dashboard that loads faster, reads in one glance, and doesn’t have a single red badge anywhere. That last part was non-negotiable.
## A new seasonal structure
The biggest change is the year view. Instead of twelve identical monthly pages, the template now organizes the year into four seasons, each with its own cover, its own intention, and its own small set of pages. Winter is quieter. Spring has more room for starting things. Summer holds travel and lighter tracking. Autumn is for finishing and gathering.
This isn’t just aesthetic. Grouping months into seasons matches how people actually experience time. Nobody feels like a new person on the first of March. But most of us feel something shift when the light changes.
## What I kept, and why
The monthly spread stayed nearly identical because it works. One page, four sections — a photo, three highlights, one lesson, and a short list of what’s next. Customers have been screenshotting that layout for two years and I wasn’t going to touch it.
The weekly review also stayed, though it’s now shorter by half. Three prompts instead of seven. The old version asked you to rate your energy, your focus, your mood, your relationships, your sleep, your spending, and your progress. That’s a therapy intake form, not a Sunday ritual.
## The setup guide got a rewrite too
The old guide was a wall of text. The new one is a short walkthrough with three steps and a troubleshooting page for the most common questions — how to move the template into an existing workspace, how to change the cover images, how to hide sections you don’t use. It’s written the way I’d explain it to a friend over tea, not the way a software company writes documentation.
## What’s next
I’m working on a small add-on for the template that adds a reading log and a seasonal playlist page. It’ll be free for anyone who already owns Life in Seasons, delivered as an update link. I’m also testing a lighter version for people who want the seasonal structure without the full dashboard — that one is still a few weeks out.
If you own the original, check your email. The updated duplicate link went out this week, and your purchase includes it at no cost. If you’re new, the template is in the shop now, and it’s the version I wish I’d made two years ago.