Getting Control – A Habit Worth Forming Is The Weekly Review

Weekly review = Control

So what’s this all about?

In my time management courses, there is always a common denominator, managers are overwhelmed with too much to do and too little time. 

Getting your Inbox down to zero is something to dream about whereas in reality, managers receive 200 or more emails a day.

We are all looking for ways to be more effective and less stressed. Getting Things Done or GTD is a methodology by David Allen that I highly recommend you looking into if you haven’t already. 

Within GTD is a five-stage workflow process that describes what we need to do to be more productive. The stages are Capture, Organize, Process, Review and Do. Review is the fourth stage and part of this is a Weekly Review.

Any Productivity trainer will recommend you performing a review. Performing a Weekly Review is a classic habit that contributes to a feeling of being on top of things and also results in reducing stress.

Here is how I do my weekly review

It is important to define a fixed time and schedule your weekly review into your calendar.

At the end of your week (or at the start of the new week) you may want to check how your week progressed? What meetings took place? What you worked on? What you did and didn’t do?

I always recommend for participants in my courses to create their own weekly review checklist based on their needs. My weekly review takes me about an hour and sometimes more. For newbies, it can take much longer.

• Review past weeks calendar

Look back over the past week (sometimes also two weeks), see which meetings got cancelled and reschedule them during the review. What are you pleased about and what would you change?

• Review task lists
• Get Inbox down to Zero
• Look forward one or two weeks into the calendar

This helps to be up to date on what is going to happen in the next two weeks. It also helps to decide what needs to get moved around or bumped up and to start important tasks early rather than leave them to the last minute.

• Reflect on Most important Goals

I use my weekly review as a reflection time to define what’s important for me and check I am on track. I can plan what I want to achieve in the next week, do I need help, am I meeting my goals I have set?

Are you motivated to make that Weekly Review appointment in your calendar? I like the Nike saying “Just Do It”. As a perfectionist, I know that I need to get going instead of drilling down into each detail. The system will work itself out. I like to continually tweak my way of working. The important point is to get started. Good Luck!