Weekly review
Once a week, look back for ten minutes, then pick three things for the week ahead.
None yet. Saved reviews appear here, newest week first.
Weekly review: what it is and how to use it
A weekly review is a short, regular look back at your week and ahead to the next one. This free tool gives you space for wins, what was hard, what you learned and what to drop, then three priorities and one thing to look forward to, and it brings back last week's priorities so you can tick them off. It runs in your browser and saves your reviews on your device.
Where the weekly review comes from
The term is used in David Allen's Getting Things Done, first published in 2001. The David Allen Company now names the method's steps capture, clarify, organize, reflect and engage. In the book, the reflect step becomes a Weekly Review in which you go through your lists and refresh them once a week, and Allen writes that it deserves a set time and place of its own.
One part of the book's reasoning has some support. In a 2011 set of studies, mostly with university students, an unfinished goal caused intrusive thoughts, and letting people make a specific plan for it removed them. Our Getting Things Done summary found no replication. Three priorities for the coming week are a looser version of that kind of plan.
The prompts on this page are ours, and the page makes no claim beyond that. It is a shorter, lighter review than Allen's full version.
How to use it
- Pick a regular time, such as Sunday evening. The page opens on the current week, Monday to Sunday.
- Write a few lines under wins, what was hard, what you learned and what to drop.
- Set three priorities for next week and one thing to look forward to, then press Save this review.
- A week later, tick off last week's priorities in the side panel. If you use the habit tracker, this week's habit ticks show there too.
- Use Previous and Next to move between weeks, and Download to keep a copy.
An example
Say this week's win was finishing a report early, the hard part was three late nights, and the lesson was to start long tasks on Monday. You drop one optional meeting, set three priorities, and write "Saturday hike" as the thing to look forward to.
Questions people ask
What is a weekly review?
It is a set time each week to look back at what happened and choose what matters next. In David Allen's Getting Things Done, it is the step where you go through your lists and refresh them once a week.
What questions should a weekly review ask?
This one asks for wins, what was hard, what you learned and what to drop, then three priorities and one thing to look forward to. The prompts are ours, so swap in others on paper if they suit you better.
How long does a weekly review take?
This one is meant to take about ten minutes. Allen's version also goes through every list you keep.
Does the review change my habit tracker?
No. It only reads the ticks the habit tracker saved in this browser and never changes them.
Read more
- Getting Things Done summary: the key ideas and what holds up
- Essentialism summary
- Habit tracker (free tool)
- Journal (free tool)
Sources
- The David Allen Company, What is GTD? (opens in a new tab)
- Penguin Random House, Getting Things Done by David Allen (opens in a new tab)
- Masicampo & Baumeister (2011), Consider it done! Plan making can eliminate the cognitive effects of unfulfilled goals, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (opens in a new tab)
Weeks run Monday to Sunday and are numbered the standard (ISO) way. Your reviews are kept in this browser only and are never sent to us. The habit panel only reads what the habit tracker saved in this browser; it never changes it. Clearing your browser data or using a private window removes your reviews, so download a copy now and then.
Related reading: Getting Things Done summary · Essentialism summary · How to stop procrastinating · Habit tracker · Journal · All free tools