You start the new year with energy, verve, and a resolve to Get Things Done! But how do you make sure those things keep moving forward week after week?
Here's the most critical habit to make sure you don't drop the ball: review your commitments regularly. Ideally, this would be done every week.
There are certain steps you can follow for a successful Weekly Review. These will help you empty all your sources of input, review your existing material to make sure it's current, and get inspiration from your goals and ideas.
David Allen's ideal steps for a successful Weekly Review are listed below:
These will work with any system you're using (even pen and paper), but I've also specially built them into eProductivity's Weekly Review Coach.
A few definitions
If you haven't been introduced to the Getting Things Done method, a few quick definitions may be in order:
Capture Tools: Any place where stuff collects, such as your inbox, email, and voicemail.
Tickler: Files for stuff you want to be reminded of at a later date. For example, you could have a tickler item labeled "Decide whether to attend the 2016 Olympics," with a due date of four months before the event.
Waiting-for: Just what it sounds like -- anything that you're waiting for from someone else.
Someday/Maybe: A list of things you want to do and could do, but can't, shouldn't, or won't do now.
Why the Weekly Review is so powerful
Following the checklist above will help you
- Empty all the stuff that you've collected
- Decide what you need to do about all that stuff (if anything)
- Review everything in your world at least briefly so nothing falls through the cracks
- Get inspired by your creative ideas
Personally, my favorite part of the Weekly Review is going through stuff I haven't thought about in a while, and it hits me -- "I could do this fun, exciting, creative thing!" I can't always do that thing right away -- often, it has to go on my someday/maybe list -- but it's energizing just to have those ideas!
David Allen on the Weekly Review Coach
To use the Weekly Review Coach
If you're using eProductivity, open the eProductivity menu and select "Weekly Review Coach" to get started!
If you're not using eProductivity (and you have Lotus Notes) click here to learn more and start a 21-day trial.
More info
Read more about Someday/Maybe
See here for a good two-sentence definition of Waiting-for
Read more about the Tickler File
Read more about the Weekly Review Coach
Here's to your success!
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