How To Do A Weekly Review: Step-by-Step - Become A Writer ...

The weekly review is a key GTD concept. It's also a way of checking in with yourself. Think of it as zooming out from your working week, daily tasks, and other ... Skiptocontent Whenwasthelasttimeyouheldaweeklyreview? Workingwithoutaweeklyreviewisarecipeforoverwhelm,procrastinationandfocusingonotherpeople'sprioritiesratherthanyourown.It'sakeypartofanygoodtimemanagementorproductivitysystem. Afterall,howcanyouknowwhereyou'regoingifyoudon'tstopandlookupfromtime-to-time? Theweeklyreviewisusefulforalltypesofprofessionals,includingentrepreneurs,creatives,andevenwriters. AuthorDavidAllenfirstproposedtheconceptofaweeklyreviewinhispopularproductivitybook:GettingThingsDone(akaGTD).Itbasicallyinvolvesreviewingwhatyoudid,howyourweekwent,andwhatyou'regoingtoworkonnext.Anditonlytakesabout30-minutestocomplete. Inthisarticle,I'llexplainwhatGTDis,howtoholdaweeklyreview,andifthispracticecanhelpyou. ContentsWhatIsGettingThingsDone?WhatIsaWeeklyReview?Step1.PrepareforYourWeeklyReviewStep2:ReviewYourInboxesandCommitmentsStep3:EvaluateYourProgressStep4:PlanfortheUpcomingWeekStep5:Ask3SimpleQuestionsGetCreativeWithYourWeeklyReviewTheFinalWordOnYourWeeklyReviewAuthor WhatIsGettingThingsDone? GettingThingsDoneisapopularproductivitysystembyDavidAllen.AtthecoreofGTDisonetenet: “Yourmindisforhavingideas,notholdingthem” GTDwasoriginallyaimedatbusinesspeople,butmorerecently,it’sgainedacultfollowingonlinebecauseitenablesanyonetobecomemorecreativeandproductive. IfyouwanttogetthingsdoneorGTD: Breakprojectsdownintosmallertasks Recordthesetasksinalistoratrustedsystem Actontasksinyourlistsdaily Reviewyourprogressandyourwiderareasoffocusweekly(whatwe'llcover) WhatIsaWeeklyReview? TheweeklyreviewisakeyGTDconcept.It'salsoawayofcheckinginwithyourself. Thinkofitaszoomingoutfromyourworkingweek,dailytasks,andotherprojectstolookatthebigpicture.It'sachancetoassessifyou'reworkingtowardsthoseideallargeroutcomes. Duringaweeklyreview,getcurrentonalltheopenitemsonyourto-dolists,calendar,notes,andotherareasofyourbusiness.Withthisinformationtohand,youcangaugehoweffectiveyouwereandsettargetsorgoalsfortheweekahead. GTD-ersalsousespecificterminologytodescribeotherareasoftheirpersonalorprofessionallivesthattheyreview.Forexample: “Waitingfor”referstoitemswherebyyou'rewaitingoninformationoradecisionfromsomeoneelse.Duringaweeklyreview,considerifyoushouldfollow-up. “Nextactions”or“Actionitems”referstotasksinyourto-dolist.Duringaweeklyreview,identifythenextstepandplanforwhatyou'llneedduringtheweekahead. “Workspaces”referstowhereyouworkonparticularprojects.Forexample,ifyou'rewritingareport,doyouneedtogatheranymaterialsforyourworkspaceinadvance? “Ticklerfile”referstowhereyoustoreloosepapers,resources,andotheropen-endedinformationthatyouwillreviewatsomepoint. “Agendas”referstoalistofitemstodiscusswithkeypeopleonyourteamorinyourbusinessthenexttimeyouseethem.Updatetheseregularly. Step1.PrepareforYourWeeklyReview Basically,onceaweek,spend30-minutesreviewingwhatyouworkedonandforhowlong.Toprepare,bookthisreviewtimeinyourcalendarasarecurringappointmentandcommittokeepingyourappointment. FridayafternoonorSundayeveningarebothidealasthesearequieterpartsoftheworkingweekforthosewhoworkMondaytoFriday. You'llneedtoworkorfocusinaquietplaceforatleast30-minuteswithoutinterruption.Finishwhateveryou'reworkingoninadvanceorcloseitofffortheweek. Ideally,you'llhaveyourgoals,notes,andotherdocumentstohand.Youshouldalsohaveaccesstoyourtaskmanager,calendar,andotherinboxesorbuckets. Ifithelps,turnondonotdisturbmodeanddisablenotificationsforemailandsocialmedia.Also,declineanymeetinginvitesthatoccurduringthisperiod.Youcancombineapersonalandbusinessweeklyreviewtoo. Step2:ReviewYourInboxesandCommitments Nowyou'rereadytoreviewyourweek.Gothrougheachofyourinboxesorbuckets.Exampleinclude: To-doortasklistsfromthepastweek Yourcalendardataandevents(bothpastandfuture) Loosepapers UnsortedoruntaggedwebclippingsintoolslikeEvernote Emailswithnewactions Meetingnotesandothernote-takinginboxes Actionitems Metricsrelatedtoyourgoals Otheragendaitems You'rebasicallylookingtocaptureandconsolidateasmanyopenloopsaspossibleandputthemintoyourtaskmanager.Duringyourreview,youmaywanttofileorsortthroughitemstheaboveaswell.In GettingThingsDone,DavidAllenexplains: “Mostpeoplefeelbestabouttheirworktheweekbeforetheirvacation,butit'snotbecauseofthevacationitself.Whatdoyoudothelastweekbeforeyouleaveonabigtrip?Youcleanup,closeup,clarify,andrenegotiateallyouragreementswithyourselfandothers.Ijustsuggestthatyoudothisweeklyinsteadofyearly.” Step3:EvaluateYourProgress Whilereviewingitemsfromyourworkorpersonallife,don'tactuallyworkonthem.Ifyoufindaweeklyreviewistakingmorethan30-minutes,it'sprobablybecauseyou'reworkingonataskorprojectratherthanreviewit. Forexample,sortingthroughhundredsofEvernotewebclippingsisaproject.Reviewingoneortwoaspartofanote-takingsystemisatask.Assessyourprogress,blockers,andwhatyouneedtodonext. Forexample,ifyou'reawriterorcreativeprofessional,thisreviewisnot thetimetowriteoredityourwork.Youwanttoevaluateaword-countorprogresswithaclient.Duringyourreview,behonestwithyourself.Askandanswerquestionslike: WhatdidIaccomplishorworkonthisweek? Whatwentwell/didn’tgowell? Whataremymostimportanttask(s)fornextweek? HowmanyhoursdidIspendworkingonmypriorities? HowdidImarketorpromotemywork? Whateventsareinmycalendarfortheprevious/nextsevendaysIneedtoacton? WhathaveIbeenputtingoff? WhatshouldIstopdoingorsaynoto? AmImovingtowardsorawayfrommylong-termgoals? Askandanswerthesequestionsinajournalifyoulike.Ifyouhaveadocumentthatyouusetokeeptrackofrelevantmetrics,updateit.Cleanoutyourto-dolist.Andre-assessyourcommitments. Whenyougetclearaboutwhattodonext,youcanswitchofffortheweekendwhilefeelingconfidentaboutstartingthefollowingweekfresh.Sometimes,you'vegottocheckintocheckout! Step4:PlanfortheUpcomingWeek Useyourweeklyreviewtoclarifyyourprioritiesandplanforthefollowingweek. Thismaymeanaddingmissingactivitiesorupcomingdeadlinestoyourupcomingcalendarordecidingifyouneedtorenegotiatecommitmentswithyoureditororclients. Ifyouuseato-dolistortaskmanager,thisisthetimetoupdateitwithnewitemsandremoveolditemsyouhavenointentionofcompleting.Similarly,ifyou'restartinganewproject,youcouldgatherwhatyouneednoworrecordanactionfornextweek. Ialsorecommendwritingdown1-3idealoutcomesfortheweekahead.Muchlikeawritinggoal,thesewillfocusonthemind. Duringtheweeklyreview,Ifilemyresearch,organizemynotes,andquicklyreadthroughtheideasIcameupwithduringtheweek.Thishelpsmeevaluateifthere’sanythingI’veoverlookedorifthere’sanideaIcanuseoverthecomingdaysinmywork. Ialsowritedownormarkminoraccomplishmentsduringtheweek,suchashittingatargetwordcountorcompletingabookchapter. Step5:Ask3SimpleQuestions Inhispopularbook,DavidAllensaysasuccessfulweeklyreviewresultsin3outcomes: Getclear,i.e.,Doyouknowwhatyouneedtodonextwithclearactions? Getcurrent,i.e.,Isyourtaskmanager,calendar,andprojectfilesuptodate? Getcomplete,i.e.,didyoureviewallofyourinboxes? Ifyoudidn'tquitegetallofthisright,don'tworry.Itcantakeafewroundsofholdingaweeklyreviewtoembracetheprocessfully. GetCreativeWithYourWeeklyReview Aweeklyreviewshouldadapttohowyouwork.TheweeklyreviewisakeypartofmyproductivitysystemforrunningBecomeaWriterToday.Asawriter,I’vefoundaweeklyreviewidealforbalancing writingandotherbusinessareas. ItgivesmeconfidencethatI’mwritingtherightthingsattherighttime,andithelpsmeshinealightonneglectedpartsofthecraft. Typically,IreviewmywritingandothergoalsonaFridayorSundayevening,andittakesjust30minutes.Ireadthroughmynotes,evaluatemyword-countfortheweek,andtotaluphowlongIspentwriting. IalsodecidewhatIwillspendtimewritinginthecomingweek. TheFinalWordOnYourWeeklyReview Aweeklyreviewonlytakesabouthalfanhour,butitshouldsaveyouhoursduringtheweekahead.Afterall,snipersspendmoretimefiguringoutwheretoaimthanactuallytakingashot. It'sapowerfulproductivitystrategy,which,ifusedcorrectly,willhelpyousucceedinyourbusiness,secureintheknowledgeyouhavetheresourcesandtimetofinishwhatyoustarted. Joinover15,000writerstoday GetaFREEbookofwritingpromptsandlearnhowtomakemoremoneyfromyourwriting. Success!Nowcheckyouremailtoclaimyourprompts. Therewasanerrorsubmittingyoursubscription.Pleasetryagain. EmailAddress I'dliketoreceivethefreeemailcourse. I'mIn PoweredbyConvertKit Author BryanCollins BryanCollinsrunsthingsaroundhere.He'salsoanon-fictionwriterandauthor. Viewallposts Postnavigation ←PreviousPostNextPost→ BecomeaWriterTodayisreader-supported.Whenyoubuythroughlinksonoursite,wemayearnanaffiliatecommission.AsanAmazonAssociate,wealsoearnfromqualifyingpurchases. ScrolltoTop