I don't live near Boise, and I don't need to be part of the Weekly Review Anonymous that Dan talk this week (here) but I missed occasionally, I would say I have a 75% success rate.
I do my review Monday at lunch, and I treat myself to lunch, and work my weekly review process all the way. On the past I have try Thursday and Friday but since life change and evolve my review on Friday was not working any more, monday works great at least for now. But my idea here is to explain how I do my weekly review...
Let me begin:
My Next Actions are in Omnifocus, my checklist for my weekly review are in Notebook from Appigo and sync to Toodledo for backup purposes.
For my weekly review I use a set of checklists, that take me one step to the next one, the first one is this one:
00. WEEKLY REVIEW
GET CLEAR
1. Collect Loose papers & materials.
Gather all accumulated business cards, receipts and miscellaneous paper-based materials into your in-basket.
2. Get IN to zero.
Process Completely all outstanding paper materials, journals and meeting notes, voicemails, dictation and emails.
3. Empty your Head.
Put in writing and process any uncaptures new projects, action items, waiting fors, someday maybe's, etc.
GET CURRENT
4. Review Action Lists
Mark off completed actions review for reminders of further action step to record.
5. Review Previous Calendar Data
Review past calendar in detail for remaining action items, reference data, etc. and transfer into the active system.
6.- Review Upcomming Calendar
Review upcomming events, long and short term, capture actions triggered.
7.- Review Waiting-For list
Record appropiate actions for any needed follow-up. Check off received ones.
8.- Review Project (and Large outcome) lists
Evaluate Status of Projects, goals and outcomes, one by one, ensuring at least one current action item on each. Browse through project plans, support material & any other work-in-progress material to trigger new actions, completions, waiting-for's, etc.
9.- Review any relevant Check Lists
GET CREATIVE
10.- Review Someday/Maybe
Review for any projects which may now have become active, and transfer to projects "delete items you are not interested anymore"
11.- Be creative and courageous.
Add to your system any new, wonderful, harebrained, thought-provoking, risk-taking ideas that have occurred to you...
Notice how the list begin with 00, that way it is organized all the way. Since we Begin on 00 the first step is 01.
01. Collect Loose papers & materials.
As your common sense will tell you, the first list is a list that contain my Collection System.
This contain a list of Inboxes places, email inboxes, Voice mail, Note Pads, Camera on the iPhone.
Next step is to get to continue following the list.
02. Get IN to zero.
So now that everything is collected, I work hard into getting to Zero. After all my inboxes get to zero. Again I continue down in my list:
03. Empty your Head.
I love this part, I read the two checklists I have (the came from the Getting Things Done By David Allen, after that I spend 5-10 minutes in the table, close my eyes and imagine if I am missing anything else.
Steps 4, is one of those that I like, it's fast and if there is things to mark you feel great.
04. Review Action Lists
Then I jump to my calendar, to do Steps 5 and 6. I usually go two weeks back and 4 weeks forward
05. Review Previous Calendar Data
06.- Review Upcomming Calendar
After thats done, steps 7 and 8 happens on Omnifocus again. Usually, check my Waiting for is fast and easy, while work on my projects take more or less time depending on how much thinking is required. Sometimes, I don't have the time, so I write on my list review Project X.
07.- Review Waiting-For list
08.- Review Project (and Large outcome) lists
After thats done, I work on my checklists:
09.- Review any relevant Check Lists
This are some of the ones I have:
- Weekly around home Routines
- Weekly clients call list
- Monthly Routines
- Quarter Routines
- Family Roles
- Friend Lists
- Goals 2010
This are some of the basic ones, that I check weekly, but I have many more that get used less frequently.
After all this is done, I get coffee, since from here down, all it's fun.
10.- Review Someday/Maybe
11.- Be creative and courageous.
I have 30 lists of Someday maybe, from personal, to stuff to buy, to clothes, books, movies, work project, things to write, and many more.
Finally I work on Be Creative and Courageous.
Being Courageous, was how I rediscover my pleasure for writing, and how I have create plans to increase my reading and many more things...
Over the years, I have learn that the weekly review need to evolve, need to grow and change to adapt to the circumstances that are around your life. If you expect your weekly review to never change, to never evolve, you are in a route to failure, so be ready for your Weekly Review to Evolve and your success to come weekly.
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