The weekly review: a 30-minute habit for calmer, focused work

The single habit that most improves how people feel about their work is a regular weekly review. It takes 30 minutes and pays back hours.

When to do it

Friday afternoon works well for most people: the week is fresh in your mind and you'll start Monday with a plan. Block it in your calendar as a recurring meeting with yourself.

The 5-step review

1. Clear (5 min): empty your inbox to zero-ish, collect loose notes and notes-to-self in one place.
2. Look back (5 min): scan last week's calendar. Any follow-ups you promised?
3. Look ahead (5 min): scan the next two weeks. What needs preparing?
4. Update your list (10 min): tick off finished tasks, delete stale ones, choose your top 3 outcomes for next week.
5. Reflect (5 min): one thing that went well, one thing to improve.

The power of "top 3"

Choosing three outcomes, not thirty tasks, gives every day a direction. When something new lands, ask: does this beat one of my top 3?

Let AI help

"Here are my notes from this week. Group them into: completed, waiting on others, and next actions. Then suggest my top 3 priorities for next week."