What Is The Weekly Review
The weekly review is part of David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) productivity system. The weekly review lets you know and understand what happened in the previous week, how things went, what went well, what didn’t, and what needs improvement.
As opposed to not completing weekly reviews, the weekly review will keep your GTD system working well and increase the benefit you get from it. It’s a key component of David Allen’s GTD System. In this blog article, I’ll explain how I go about conducting my weekly review.
What Is the Purpose of The Weekly Review?
- Weekly reviews should be done in order to keep your system current and up to date. That is to say, you can put your faith in your system. You won’t use your system if you don’t trust it, and it won’t be effective if you don’t trust it.
- Check in to see how your week went so you can see how you did, what improvements you made, and so on.
- Recognize and grasp how you spent your time.
- Determine what else you need to do to better your life and get closer to your objectives.
- Increase your productivity and success.
My Weekly Review in 5 Easy Steps
As you may be aware, I’m using Getting Things Done (GTD) as my personal productivity system.
A couple of years ago when I was just starting with GTD, I only focused on the four steps (Capture, Clarify, Organize, and Take Action), but I didn’t pay much attention to the weekly review.
At first, I mistook GTD for a more advanced or superior form of a to-do list. What I didn’t realize is that GTD encompasses far more than that. I just assumed GTD was something you did during the week, particularly during working hours. I was completely mistaken. Everything seemed to be fine when I initially started using GTD. I was ecstatic that I hadn’t forgotten anything. I diligently recorded everything in my inbox, jotted down project action tasks, and so on.
However, as I continued to adopt GTD, I had the feeling that something was still missing. Even though my Trello board was organized and in some ways functional, the number of tasks that needed to be completed continued to grow. So, after a period of using GTD, it or I felt overwhelmed once more.
I re-read the entire book, still believing in GTD, and finally chose to apply the weekly review. With that, let me walk you through my weekly review in five simple steps.
Step 1: Clear My Mind
As David Allen says, “Your mind is for coming up with ideas, not keeping them in there.” My goal here is to make sure I don’t have any open loops in my mind.
I sometimes don’t do this step because I write down any ideas I have right away in my Trello. But, of course, there will still be times when I think of open loops. I might not do this step, but it’s part of my routine, so I won’t forget it.
Step 2: Review and Clean Up My Trello Setup
As shared in my blog article about my GTD Trello setup, I have columns Inbox, Action Items, Projects, and Waiting For. This step will consist of reviewing, clarifying, and processing each column. The goal is to make sure that all of the things in my Trello are clarified, processed, current, and in the correct columns.
The items in my inbox, for example, are transferred to their right area (action items, projects, etc). Some action items/projects may be completed already therefore I mark them as done.
Another thing I’d do is go over my Someday Maybe list to see if working on something from there would make sense, and then I’d add it to my inbox, clarifying and organizing it as well.
Step 3: Review My Calendar
For this step you need to have your own personal calendar system.
I typically start by looking at the calendar from the previous week. This ensures that I haven’t left any unfinished business from the previous week. If there are any outstanding items, I will re-add them to my Trello inbox. Another reason I evaluate is to get a quick refresher on what I’ve done in the previous week so I can see whether I’ve made any progress toward my desired future.
After reviewing my previous week’s calendar, I’d go on to reviewing my future calendar. This, too, I believe, is a critical task/action for me in maintaining a well-balanced and orderly existence. In this phase, I will consult my calendar to figure out what I need to prepare for, what I need to do, and what action items and projects I need to add to my Trello. This step makes me proactive, and it gives me a sense of control over my life because I can get a head start on planning and knowing what I need do in the following week. And if you haven’t already, I strongly advise you to set up your calendar system.
Step 4: Reflect On the Previous Week
Despite the fact that the format I use is either unique to me or not part of the GTD process, this is a component of the process that I enjoy. In this step, I write with a pen and a notebook. For some reason, I’m a bit old school in this approach. Perhaps in the future, I’ll find a way to use an app to help me find and track down information, or to replace my pen and notebook system.
With a pen and paper in hand, I usually go over my schedule again, as well as my completed tasks for the week from my Trello column board. Looking back, I identify some major accomplishments or things I am particularly proud of from the previous week. This is for me to feel good about the things I’m completing, as well as to see if I’m making progress toward my long-term goals. Right now, what’s important to me is to make sure that I’m reaching or moving toward my goal little by little, step by step, rather than making sure that I’m going fast or in the fast lane.
However, I believe there is still an area in which I can develop. One lingering question for me is how can I accelerate my one-year goal such that I may reach it in around 6 months or less?
Another thing I do while analyzing and reflecting is look over and see how I fared on my personal productivity goals, targets, and tasks for the previous week. It’s quite straightforward. Every week, I make a list of things I want to track and then evaluate how well I did. Although this isn’t technically part of the GTD process, it is something I may discuss in future blog entries.
Step 5: Make A List Of Things To Improve
After reviewing everything, I brainstorm with myself to identify specific things I might want to improve with my current process / productivity system. After reviewing everything, there may be some changes that I want to make. In some ways, this step is similar to Step 1, but for this section, I primarily focus on improving or planning for things related to my current productivity system.
Additional Tips for Implementing the Weekly Review
Now that we’ve gone over my typical approach to conduct weekly reviews, there are a few more things I’d like to share with you.
You can make sure your weekly review goes well if you set a date for it and stick to it. One hour on Friday night is enough time for some people. Some do it on Sunday morning or evening. It would all depend on how you think it would work best for you.
When it comes to my case, I would usually do it every Sunday in the morning, when it’s still quiet and peaceful. This way, I can focus on what I need to do.
The point is that you would decide when to do it. Pick a schedule and make sure that you will follow it.
Remember that this is for you, not anyone else.
You should also choose a place that makes you want to make the most of your time.
Finally, and most importantly, keep the schedule and location the same as much as possible. When you make this a habit, you will be more likely to do it even if you don’t want to. Consistency will help you even if you don’t want to.