Merlin’s weekly podcast with Dan Benjamin. We talk about creativity, independence, and making things you love.
How to keep a consistent weekly review
Chris Bowler | Feb 7 2008
Greetings ninjas I have spent the last year trying the various ideas\themes that Mr. Allen listed in his book. And with the help of great resources like 43Folders, a lot of those ideas have helped me stay organized, accomplish goals and have reduced my overall stress. But there is one GTD concept I have struggled with consistently. And that is keeping a regular weekly review. And no matter what kind of system (paper or electronic etc), no matter how efficient that system, without a regular weekly review, the system quickly loses it usefulness. Then I stop trusting the system, my stress rises, and I start figuring out how to make a better system (another problem all of it's own). It seems pretty obvious to me when I remove myself from the flurry of incoming tasks and information - if I could consistently keep a weekly review, my system would enable me to reach ninja levels of productivity. Does anyone else struggle with the review? And does anyone have some tips and tricks to help a person stick to doing a weekly review? 6 Comments
POSTED IN:
 Checklist is keySubmitted by unpeufou2 on February 8, 2008 - 9:02am.
One of the most often overlooked components of GTD is checklists. Checklists are really just a subset of lists, only they're lists that get recycled. I've followed GTD for four years now, and I can tell you that the weekly review is the key to the whole system. If you don't check up on where you stand in relation to your work and responsibilities at least once a week, things will start slipping through the cracks. Once things start slipping through the cracks, you lose faith in your system. When you don't trust your system, you revert to keeping everything in your head... and that defeats the whole purpose of GTD. The key for me is a checklist for the weekly review. I create it as an electronic document that I can revise easily. I usually print 5-10 at a time, so that I'm not wasting paper if I decide to add or remove an item from the list. I have found, however, that I rarely have to revise the list. Once you figure out a good weekly review checklist, it pretty much works. My weekly review checklist roughly follows the order of initiating a GTD system in the first place: I start by collecting, then I check in on my "must-do-at-this-particular-time-or-die" list (aka, my calendar), then I check my buckets (lists, folders, trays, and e-mail folders), then I empty my head, then I get everything (especially inboxes) to zero. It's also important to have a set day that you do the weekly review. David Allen recommends Fridays, so that your mind is clear to enjoy the weekend. I like Monday mornings, because it allows me to plan out my week effectively, and I don't have the problem of work bleeding into weekends, generally. » POSTED IN:
|
|
| EXPLORE 43Folders | THE GOOD STUFF |
