Background
Each week, I conduct a 30-minute weekly planning session to reflect on my priorities and goals. It assures me that I have captured all the relevant material from this past week, and gives me clarity for the week to come. Tiago Forte, Founder of Forte Labs, has this to say:
"The Weekly Review is the ‘basic move’ of personal productivity. It is the foundational building block out of which all other workflows are built. It keeps the most important system of all – you – running smoothly."
Why should you do a weekly review?
The time where I discovered the value of clarity was in my grade 7 computer class. I was assigned a simple task: organize your documents in your drive and create new folders for this upcoming year. For someone who already had binders as organized as Amy Santiago from Brooklyn Nine-Nine, I was shocked by the amount of digital clutter I had. This is where I realized that my digital life would have to be as organized, if not more organized, than my physical life.
To determine whether the weekly review is for you, think about the desired outcome. For me, it is to ensure that I have enough awareness of my current situation to take action on the most valuable items ahead.
Before you jump in, remember that you do not have to always stick to the plan! Build in flexibility to allow for last-minute adjustments and additions. You'll also save time by not time-boxing every single moment of your week!
What are the elements of my weekly review?
There are 3 main elements to my weekly review: a reflection on the past, a review for the present, and planning for the upcoming week.
Retrospective
Don't do the tasks as you come across them. Identify the next actionable item.
Notes: place them in your note storage application for reference or archive them.
Calendar: note any follow-ups from last week.
Files and Folders: clear out your Downloads and Desktop folders. Organize them in your Documents folder.
Email: move emails to your calendar for appointments, task management app for to-do's, note storage application for reference, or your read later app for future consumption
Today
Review your life areas. Are you focusing on the right ones? What is taking up more time than it should? Do you have a side-hustle or passion project you want to work on?
Here are some areas that I review:
Physical and Mental Health
How am I doing with my personal well-being?
Am I exercising enough and eating well?
Finance
Do I have savings?
Am I aware of how I budget my money?
Relationships
Am I a good family member and friend?
What communities am I a part of?
Career & Work
Am I engaged with my co-workers and work?
Am I well-positioned in my industry?
Education & Skill Development
Am I spending time developing my skills?
How much have I read in the past year?
Adventure & Creativity
Am I experiencing what I want to experience in life?
What fun and creative things have I done lately?
For a deeper dive into areas and goals, I reflect in the following ways:
Write out your ideal day. What can you do to start working towards that?
Keep a gratitude list. Write out some recent wins, any learnings or unique experiences, and people that have influenced you.
Talk to someone. What's on your mind? PS: I reply to every email!
Weekly Planning
People overestimate the amount of progress they can make in a day but underestimate the amount of progress in a week. Here’s what I do each planning session to look ahead:
Review the calendar for upcoming appointments, events, and meetings. This week, there are a few Clubhouse talks that I want to listen to. There’s Solving Your Own Problems with Jason Fried, Co-Founder of Basecamp. PPS: Need an invite? Subscribe and send me a message!
Task review. Look at the list of your current projects and your someday list. What should be the main focus? For me, I’ll be focusing on the application launch for TOHacks 2021, a 24-hour hackathon in early May. You can learn more about why I started TOHacks here.
What’s Next?
Schedule a time to do your weekly review and make it happen every week. I do mine on Friday, but Sunday is a popular day to do this as well!
Let me know what tips, tools, or tricks you have for your weekly review!
Share this post with someone who will benefit from this.
Credits to: Ananya, Emily, and Shwetha for providing feedback and editing, and Grace for the graphic.
Great work man! Looking forward for more to come :)
Found this quite insightful! I plan to use some of the tips you provided :)