Most productivity systems include a weekly review: a regular session where you look back at the past week, tidy up your task list and plan the next one. It’s also the part people most often stop doing after a few weeks.
That’s a problem, because the review is what keeps the rest of the system working. Without it, task lists go out of date, priorities drift, and each Monday starts without a plan.
The usual reason people give up is that the review takes too long. A ninety-minute review with a dozen steps is hard to fit into a Friday afternoon. The version below has four parts and takes about thirty minutes.
When and where
Pick a fixed time and put it in your calendar. Friday afternoon works well for many people because the week is still fresh. Others prefer Sunday evening as a way to prepare for Monday.
It helps if the session is pleasant: a good coffee, a comfortable place, music you like.
Part 1: Collect (10 minutes)
Get everything that needs doing into one list.
- Copy items from notes and scraps of paper from the week into your task list.
- Skim email and messages for anything you said you would do.
- Write down anything you’re keeping in your head.
Don’t sort or plan yet. The goal is to have everything in one place so you don’t have to remember it.
Part 2: Look back (5 minutes)
Look at last week’s calendar and notes, and answer three questions in a sentence or two each:
- What went well?
- What was harder than it needed to be?
- What did I learn?
Keep the answers short and honest. After a few months these notes become a useful record of what works for you and what doesn’t.
Part 3: Look ahead (10 minutes)
Open next week’s calendar.
- Note fixed commitments such as meetings, deadlines and travel.
- Choose one to three outcomes that would make the week a success. Write them as results, for example “proposal sent to client” rather than “work on proposal”.
- Book focus time for those outcomes before other things fill the week. Blocks of 60 to 120 minutes work well for most people.
If the week already looks overloaded, now is the time to move something, decline something or ask for help.
Part 4: Tidy up (5 minutes)
- Delete or reschedule tasks that no longer matter. A short list you trust is more useful than a long one you avoid.
- Write down the first task for Monday morning.
- Close everything and stop thinking about work until then.
Keep it short
If you miss a week, don’t try to catch up with a double-length review. Just do the next one. If thirty minutes is too much, do only Parts 1 and 3. A short review every week is worth more than a thorough one now and then.
A one-week test
Add a recurring thirty-minute event called “Weekly review” to your calendar. This week, go through the four parts and save your answers to the three questions somewhere you can find them again. Read them back after a month.