This is part three of a three-part series on the productivity method called Getting Things Done developed by David Allen. I explained GTD in the first post. In the second post I shared my personal GTD tools and workflow. In this final post will explain the critical GTD component called the weekly review
I’m bad at taking time to reflect. I enjoy the process, and I know it’s good for me, but blocking out large chunks of time to look around instead of moving forward is tough.
But David Allen insists that those who use GTD to its full potential are faithful weekly reviewers.
The weekly review is the time for you to get caught up, process everything, and prepare for the week ahead. Go into your office, shut the door, turn off your phone and close off communication to the rest of the world. Make sure you’re on the right path and that you’re not just grinding things out without knowing why you’re doing your work.
Some people do it Friday afternoon. I walk through my weekly review on Sunday evening. The time isn’t important–making it a regular appointment with yourself is the key.
During the weekly review you:
- Gather and process all your stuff
- Review your projects
- Update your lists
- Get clean, clear, current and complete
Below is my template for my weekly review. Here’s the Evernote note I use each week. I copy the text from this template into a new note and systematically work my way through everything, and writing down notes from the last week, answering a few questions and looking at the week ahead.
1. Review all of my open loops.
This is just a quick look at all the things I have on my plate, straight from David Allen’s recommendations. These things are all listed in Omnifocus for me.
- Active projects – projects that are still in process and unfinished
- Next actions – what I still need to do in each project
- Waiting for – things I need from other people
- Someday / Maybe – things I hope to get to at some point
2. Process all open loops.
An open loop is a place where data needs to be processed, actions need to be finished or projects need to be start. Below are all the places I have stuff I need to deal with. I work my way through bit by bit until I finish everything, which means turning things into actions or dumping them into Evernote as reference material.
- Process Physical Inbox
- Process Email Inbox
- Process Drafts on iPhone
- Process photos / screenshots on iPhone
- Process Evernote Clipper on Mac (that’s the little Elephant in the tool bar where I keep notes on things)
- Process Drafts on iPad
- Facebook Messages
- Evernote Inbox
- Review upcoming calendar
- Review previous calendar
- What do I need to follow up on this week
- What is in process that I’m still waiting on
- Review all projects and lists
3. Answer a few questions.
There are more I could (and should) ask, but these three clarify how I’m doing and what I should be doing.
- What did you do last week that was exceptional??
- What can you do next week that no one expects of you??
- What are my two top priorities for this week?
The biggest key to a successful weekly review is doing it. Block out two hours to get current, get focused, and plan your week ahead. I always let Niki know when I’m doing this, and she generously lets me hole up in my office and have a couple hours to myself.
Under the open loops heading I need to work through my downloads folder. That is a catch all for me. I also need to clear out my safari tabs since I often leave posts up to read at some point.
Those are good open loops to consider, Seth! I’ll have to add them to my personal list.