Weekly Planning and Review Systems

The Week That Ran You

Monday: unexpected crisis. Tuesday: back-to-back meetings. Wednesday: catching up on Monday’s crisis. Thursday: email avalanche. Friday: wondering where the week went. The important project? Untouched. Again.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll have a weekly planning and review system that prevents reactive weeks and keeps your priorities on track.

🔄 Quick Recall: In the previous lesson, we applied the 3D framework (Delete, Delegate, Digitize) to reclaim time. Remember the delegation formula? The weekly review is where you check whether those delegated tasks are on track and whether your time reclamation is actually working.

The Weekly Planning Session

The weekly planning session is the keystone habit of time management. It takes 20-30 minutes and determines whether your week will be intentional or reactive.

When to Do It

Best options:

• Friday 3:00-3:30 PM (close the week, plan the next)
• Sunday 7:00-7:30 PM (calm review before the week starts)

The rule: Same time, every week, non-negotiable. Treat it like a meeting with your most important stakeholder—yourself.

The Weekly Review Template

Help me run my weekly review and planning session.

PART 1: REVIEW LAST WEEK
- What were my 3 MITs this week?
  [list them with status: done/partial/not started]
- What went well? (celebrate wins)
- What didn't go as planned? (no judgment—just facts)
- What took longer than expected?
- What should I have said no to?

PART 2: LOOK AHEAD
- What are my top 3 goals for next week?
- What meetings are already scheduled?
- What deadlines are approaching?
- What do I need to prepare for?

PART 3: PLAN NEXT WEEK
- What are my 3 MITs for the week?
- When will I do deep work? (block the time now)
- What tasks can I 3D (Delete, Delegate, Digitize)?
- What's my energy plan? (when am I freshest?)

Generate a day-by-day schedule overview for
next week with time blocks assigned.

✅ Quick Check: You complete your weekly review and realize you accomplished zero out of three MITs last week. What does this signal? What should you change?

The Five-Part Weekly Review

Part 1: Collect (5 minutes)

Gather everything that’s accumulated during the week: loose tasks, notes, commitments you made, ideas you jotted down. Put everything in one inbox—physical or digital.

This is the GTD (Getting Things Done) “capture” step. Nothing lives in your head. Everything lives in a trusted system.

Part 2: Process (5 minutes)

For each item in your inbox:

• Is it actionable? If no, delete, file, or add to a “someday” list
• Does it take under 2 minutes? Do it now
• Is it for this week? Add to your task list
• Is it for later? Schedule it in the appropriate future week

Part 3: Review Goals (5 minutes)

Check your quarterly and monthly goals. Are your weekly plans actually moving toward them? This is the alignment check that prevents productive-but-pointless weeks.

The alignment test: For each MIT, ask: “Which of my quarterly goals does this advance?” If the answer is “none,” it shouldn’t be an MIT.

Part 4: Plan the Week (10 minutes)

With your goals reviewed and tasks processed, build the week:

1. Set 3 weekly MITs (these must happen regardless of interruptions)
2. Block deep work sessions on your calendar
3. Batch meetings where possible
4. Assign buffer time for unexpected work
5. Plan your energy: hardest work in your peak hours

Part 5: Prepare (5 minutes)

For each MIT:

• Do you have everything you need to start?
• Is anything blocking progress?
• What’s the first concrete action?

Having the first action defined eliminates the “what do I do first?” paralysis on Monday morning.

✅ Quick Check: Why is checking quarterly goals part of the weekly review? What problem does this prevent?

The Daily Startup and Shutdown

The weekly review sets the trajectory. Daily rituals keep you on it.

Morning Startup (5 minutes)

1. Review today’s calendar and time blocks
2. Confirm your 3 daily MITs (subset of weekly MITs)
3. Set up your environment for the first deep work block
4. Quick email scan for genuine emergencies only (don’t process yet)

Evening Shutdown (5 minutes)

1. Review what you accomplished
2. Move unfinished tasks to tomorrow or later in the week
3. Set tomorrow’s 3 MITs
4. Close all work apps completely (this is important for mental recovery)
5. Write one sentence: “Today’s biggest win was…”

The shutdown ritual is critical for two reasons: it prevents open loops from haunting your evening, and it gives your brain permission to disengage from work.

Building the Habit

The weekly review only works if it happens every week. Here’s how to make it stick:

Week 1-2: Set a calendar reminder. Keep it to 15 minutes. Don’t aim for perfection—aim for consistency.

Week 3-4: Expand to the full 20-30 minutes. Start using the template systematically.

Month 2+: The review becomes automatic. You’ll feel uncomfortable if you skip it—that’s the habit working.

If you miss a week: Don’t beat yourself up. Just do it the next week. One missed review doesn’t break the system. Quitting does.

Try It Yourself

Run your first weekly review right now using the template above. Even if it’s mid-week, the exercise is valuable:

1. Collect all loose tasks and commitments
2. Process each one (2-min rule, schedule, or delete)
3. Check alignment with your bigger goals
4. Plan the rest of this week with MITs and time blocks
5. Prepare: define the first action for each MIT

Schedule next week’s review session on your calendar right now—before you forget.

Key Takeaways

• The weekly review is the keystone habit of effective time management—20-30 minutes that determine your entire week
• Same time, every week, non-negotiable—Friday afternoon or Sunday evening works best
• The five parts: Collect, Process, Review Goals, Plan the Week, Prepare
• The alignment test ensures your daily tasks actually advance your bigger goals
• Daily startup (5 min) and shutdown (5 min) rituals maintain momentum between weekly reviews
• Consistency matters more than perfection—a basic weekly review beats a skipped elaborate one

Up Next

In Lesson 8: Capstone: Design Your Ideal Week, you’ll combine every technique from this course into a complete, personalized time management system.