Weekly review

What It Means

A weekly review is a set time, usually once a week, to catch up with everything you're responsible for: empty your inboxes, update your lists and calendar, and look ahead. The term is most closely tied to David Allen's Getting Things DoneGetting Things DoneDavid Allen's productivity system, from his book Getting Things Done, for capturing everything on your mind and deciding the next action on each item. See more, where the GTD Weekly Review has three stages: get clear, get current and get creative. It's how GTD carries out its reflect step, so the lists stay current enough to trust.

How People Say It

• "Friday afternoon is my weekly review."
• "I skipped my review and now my lists are a mess."
• "Give me an hour on Sunday to reset the week."

The Breakdown

The three stages, from the official GTD Weekly Review checklist

1. Get clear. Collect loose papers and materials, such as receipts and business cards, into your in-tray. Process the in-tray, notes, voicemail and email down to zero. Then empty your head by writing down any new projects, actions or ideas you haven't captured yet.
2. Get current. Go through your action lists, marking off what's finished and noting any next steps. Look back over your past calendar for anything still left to do, and move it into your system. The official checklist has more review steps at this stage than are listed here.
3. Get creative. Read your Someday/Maybe list, move anything that's now active onto your projects, and delete what no longer interests you. Then add any new, bold or creative ideas worth keeping.

Short version to try today. Book one hour this week. Clear your in-tray and email, update your task listTo-do listA written list of the tasks you plan to do, checked or crossed off as each one is finished. See more, and write down what matters most next week.

Setting it up (Buhata's own suggestion)

• Pick the same slot each week, such as Friday afternoon, and put it on your calendar.
• Keep the checklist where you'll see it when the slot comes around.
• If you miss a week, do a shorter version rather than waiting for the next one.

Where It Comes From

The Weekly Review comes from David Allen's Getting Things Done system. His official GTD site offers the checklist as a free download and runs several podcast episodes guiding listeners through it.

Good to Know

David Allen recommends doing the review every 7 to 1010,000 stepsA popular daily step goal that began as the name of a 1960s Japanese pedometer; later studies find health benefits begin well below it. See more days, and he has called it the critical success factor in making GTD stick. It lines up with GTD's reflect step, the part of the five-step loop that keeps your lists current enough to trust when you pick what to do next.

Related Terms and Categories

• Getting Things Done

  David Allen's productivity system, from his book Getting Things Done, for capturing everything on your mind and deciding the next action on each item.

• Brain dump

  Writing down everything on your mind, tasks, worries and ideas, in one sitting so you can sort it afterward instead of holding it in your head.

Productivity methods and focus