What is Year Progress, and Why You Should Track It

Updated October 20, 2026 · 6 min read

Year progress is how much of the current year has already passed, usually shown as a percentage. On 1 January it reads 0%. By 31 December it is close to 100%. In between, it gives you a plain answer to a question most of us avoid: how much of this year is actually left?

How year progress is calculated

The formula is simple: year progress (%) = days passed ÷ days in the year × 100.

A normal year has 365 days. A leap year has 366, because February gets a 29th day. Leap years are divisible by 4, except century years not divisible by 400, so 2028 is a leap year and 2100 will not be.

Worked examples

• 15 May 2026 is day 135 of a 365-day year. 135 ÷ 365 = 37.0% passed, with 230 days left.
• 1 July 2026 is day 182. 182 ÷ 365 = 49.9% passed, with 183 days left.
• 19 October 2026 is day 292. 292 ÷ 365 = 80.0% passed, with 73 days left.
• In the leap year 2028, 1 July is day 183. 183 ÷ 366 = exactly 50%.

How days left relates to the percentage

Days left is the other side of the same number: days in the year minus the day you are on. Percent left is simply 100% minus progress. Left counts the current day as used, so on 1 July 2026 its Year widget reads 183 days left, or 50% left.

Calculators that measure to the second, like the percentage of the year calculator, count only the hours already gone today. Their figure sits slightly below the whole-day count in the morning and catches up by midnight.

To check any date, use the time passed in the year calculator or the time left in the year calculator.

Markers worth knowing

In a 365-day year, the end of March is day 90 (24.7%), the end of June is day 181 (49.6%) and the end of September is day 273 (74.8%). The exact halfway point is midday on 2 July.

Why seeing it changes how you plan

A year feels long in January and short in November. The middle is where it slips away, because nothing marks it. "There's still time" is true for most of the year, right up until it isn't.

A visible number helps in a few practical ways:

• It turns the year into quarters. At 25% you can see whether the plan you made in January has started.
• It removes the vague deadline. "This year" sounds open-ended. "80% gone, 73 days left" does not.
• It makes trade-offs concrete. 73 days from 19 October is about ten weekends. That is a number you can actually plan against.

Ways to display year progress

The format changes how the same number feels:

• Percentage. The most compact. A line like "80%" fits even above the clock on your Lock Screen.
• Progress bar or ring. Easy to read at a glance, but harder to judge precisely.
• A grid of 365 days. One symbol per day, with the past dimmed and the remaining days solid. The year becomes a set of days rather than a fraction.
• Weeks or months. 52 weeks or 12 months is coarser and calmer, and works well on small widgets. To see the week number and the days left on your Lock Screen, read how to show weeks and days on your iPhone screen.
• Days left. A countdown instead of a percentage.

How to set up year progress in Left

Left's Time Left feature shows your year as a grid of symbols, alongside your life, month, week and day. The Year widget brings that grid to your Home Screen, Lock Screen and StandBy. Time Left and the widgets are free.

Add the Year widget to your Home Screen

1. Install Left and open it once.
2. Touch and hold an empty area of your Home Screen until the apps jiggle, tap Edit, then Add Widget.
3. Search for Left, swipe to the Year widget, choose Small, Medium or Large, and tap Add Widget. Tap Done.
4. Touch and hold the widget and tap Edit Widget. The key options:

• Show time as: Days, Weeks, Months, Hours or Minutes. Days gives you the 365-symbol grid.
• Time left: Show as time (for example "73 days left"), Show as percentage ("20% left"), or Hidden.
• Symbol: 14 shapes, including dots, squares, stars, hearts, leaves and hexagons.
• Background and Theme: match the widget to your wallpaper.

More detail is in how to add a Left widget to your Home Screen.

Put it on your Lock Screen

The Year widget comes in all three Lock Screen shapes: inline (one line of text above the time), circular and rectangular.

1. Touch and hold the Lock Screen, tap Customize, then choose Lock Screen.
2. Tap the date above the time for an inline widget, or the widget area below the time for circular and rectangular widgets.
3. Choose Left, then the Year widget, and tap Done.

Lock Screen widgets are drawn in a single tint that matches your clock. See the Lock Screen guide for more.

See day, week, month and year together

The Everything widget (Medium size) shows day, week, month and year progress in one place.

Make it your wallpaper

Left Wallpaper has a Year mode that draws the year in days, weeks or months, with an optional legend such as "73 days left". A Shortcuts automation updates it every morning, so the grid is always current. Set it up with the wallpaper shortcut guide, or read more about the days left wallpaper.

Get the year progress widget

What to pair it with

Year progress on its own is a reminder. Paired with a few specifics, it becomes a planning surface on one Home Screen page:

• A countdown for the thing you are working toward, using an Ahead date and the countdown widget.
• A habit or two in Since, so the time passing has concrete actions next to it. See the habit tracker.
• The Month or Week widget, for a shorter horizon when the year feels too abstract.

See every style on the year progress widget page.

Questions

How do you calculate the percentage of the year that has passed?

Divide the number of days that have passed by the number of days in the year, then multiply by 100. For example, 19 October 2026 is day 292, and 292 ÷ 365 × 100 = 80%.

Does a leap year change year progress?

Yes, slightly. A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, so each day is a slightly smaller share of the year. On 1 July in a leap year you are exactly halfway; in a normal year you reach halfway at midday on 2 July.

How many days are left in the year on 1 July?

In a normal year, 1 July is day 182, which leaves 183 days if you count 1 July as used. In a leap year, 1 July is day 183, which also leaves 183 days.

Is the Year widget in Left free?

Yes. Time Left, the Year widget and the other time widgets, and Left Wallpaper are all free. Left Premium adds things like unlimited countdowns and habits, Planner and friends.