How to Do a Weekly Review: A Simple Version

A simple weekly review is one regular sitting where you look at your tasks, your calendar, your goals and how the week actually went, and then update your plans for the next one. Mine is one hour every Friday. I clear my inbox, update my plans, and get honest about what's working and what's not.

If you want the shortest possible version: get everything out of your head onto paper, put anything with a date on the calendar and the rest on a list, park whatever you're waiting on, and ask what made this week hard. Then clear the inbox and update your plans.

Why the weekly review is the habit I'd keep

Habits aren't magic. They're built, broken, and rebuilt a hundred times. Of all the ones I've built, I wrote in After the Crash that "The most powerful habit I’ve built is a weekly review". When I list the habits that matter most to me, it's the first line. Further down the same list is one that lives on the same day: "No unread email by Friday afternoon".

What it does for me is simple. It keeps me from drifting. It helps me spot habits that need a reset.

It also deals with open loops. Ever notice how unfinished tasks haunt you until they're done? That's called the Zeigarnik effect.  Your brain keeps poking you about incomplete stuff, even in your sleep. That's why I use a system, digital or analog, to capture every open loop. Once it's written down, my mind can finally let it go and focus on the next thing.

I'm also a big fan of David Allen's Getting Things Done approach, and his idea of "mind like water": relaxed but ready. In GTD, and in Tai Chi, which I love, the goal is to come back to a calm baseline after every disruption, and to respond to things in proportion instead of overreacting to every little one. For me, that means having systems I trust, so a new email or problem doesn't become a mental tsunami. "If I’m clear on what matters, what’s urgent, and what can wait, I can handle surprises without losing my head."

Or as I summed it up in Chapter 4: unfinished open loops will haunt you. Capture them in a trusted system.

How to do a weekly review in four steps

The first three steps are how I handle my weekly brain dump in Chapter 3 of After the Crash. The fourth is the review itself from Chapter 10.

1. Empty your head

Some days I wake up and my brain feels like a browser with 100 tabs open. So start with a brain dump. I do a massive one every week, or whenever my head starts to feel overloaded. This isn't some fancy ritual. For me it's usually pacing around muttering into my phone, or scribbling on a notepad, listing everything that's bouncing around my head.

It might sound simple, but seriously, try it. Write down everything: big, small, personal, business, half-formed ideas, worries, chores. The point isn't to make it pretty. It's to get it out of your mental RAM so your brain can breathe again.

There's something magic about getting it out of your head and onto a page. Suddenly, the mess is visible, and that means it's manageable.

Once it's on paper (or in Notion, or in a voice note), patterns show up. Some things are quick, like booking a passport appointment or sending something to my accountant. Some are huge projects, like planning a workshop series, optimizing three websites or finishing my coaching degree. And some are just noise.

2. Sort it: calendar or task list

Then each item goes to one of two places.

Calendar: the big blocks. Appointments, meetings, deadlines, workouts, rest, vacations, deep work sessions.
Task list: all the smaller stuff. Emails, admin, errands, the sub-tasks of projects. (Mine lives in Notion.)

The rule is short. If something has a date or time, it goes on the calendar. Everything else goes on the list. If it's a two-minute task, just do it.

3. Group it, and park what you're waiting on

Next, I group what's on the list. All the website tasks go into one project. Admin goes in another. Content creation gets its own batch. Errands and health stuff, like ordering groceries, go in their own corner.

Then the waiting list. If a task is waiting for someone else, a designer or a software update for example, it goes on a separate waiting list. That way I'm not staring at it and feeling guilty every day.

And if a task can be done by someone else (design, keyword research, admin), I outsource it. You don't have to do it all yourself. This frees my mind to focus on what actually requires me.

4. Get honest about the week

Last, look back. What worked? What didn't? Which habit slipped?

Something will have slipped. It does for everyone. The trick isn't to be perfect. It's to get back up, remember why you're doing this, and start again. Ask yourself:

What made it hard?
Do I need to adjust my environment, my trigger, or my reward?
Do I need to ask for help?

Then I clear my inbox and update my plans. That's the review as I describe it in Chapter 10: one hour every Friday to check my tasks, calendar, goals and progress.

What to do when the whole week fell apart

Let's be real: there are weeks when even the best system falls apart. I fall off my meal plan. I miss a work block. My inbox explodes.

Instead of beating myself up, I do another brain dump, reset my plan, and start again. Progress, not perfection.

When I slip, I try to make the next step as easy as possible: just one push-up, just five minutes of planning, just a glass of water. Your plan isn't about being perfect. It's about having a structure that supports you, not strangles you.

Keep the tools boring

Use simple tools that fit your life. Don't chase app perfection. I use Notion for most digital planning: projects, tasks, content calendars, even grocery lists. Sometimes I'll use a paper notebook if I'm feeling overwhelmed by screens. For habits, I'll use a simple habit tracker or even sticky notes on my wall. I've even tracked habits with a pen and paper taped to my fridge. (Don't judge. It works.)

"What matters isn’t the tool. It’s the habit of coming back to your system."

My rule for planning is short: "Plan enough to get moving. Then move."

One thing to try today

Do this week's brain dump (10 minutes). It's step one of the review, and the part I do every week, or whenever my head starts to feel overloaded. Pace around muttering into your phone, or scribble on a notepad. List everything bouncing around your head: big, small, personal, business, half-formed ideas, worries, chores. Don't make it pretty. When you sit down for the full review (mine is one hour every Friday), start from that page.

Free: Chapter 3 of After the Crash covers brain dumps, batching and the calendar vs. task list split, and Chapter 10 covers the weekly review and what to do when you slip. The whole book is free here (coming soon)

Sources

[atc.c10.weekly-review] After the Crash, Ch 10: "The most powerful habit I’ve built is a weekly review—one hour every Friday to check my tasks, calendar, goals, and progress."
[atc.c10.habits-that-matter] After the Crash, Ch 10: "No unread email by Friday afternoon"
[atc.c04.zeigarnik] After the Crash, Ch 4: "Once it’s written down, my mind can finally let it go and focus on the next thing."
[atc.c04.mind-like-water] After the Crash, Ch 4: "If I’m clear on what matters, what’s urgent, and what can wait, I can handle surprises without losing my head."
[atc.c03.weekly-brain-dump] After the Crash, Ch 3: "it’s to get it out of your mental RAM so your brain can breathe again."
[atc.c03.calendar-vs-tasks] After the Crash, Ch 3: "If something has a date or time, it goes on the calendar."
[atc.c03.batching-and-waiting] After the Crash, Ch 3: "That way, I’m not staring at it and feeling guilty every day."
[atc.c10.slip-questions] After the Crash, Ch 10: "Ask yourself: what made it hard?"
[atc.c03.when-it-goes-wrong] After the Crash, Ch 3: "Instead of beating myself up, I do another brain dump, reset my plan, and start again."
[atc.c03.q-not-the-tool] After the Crash, Ch 3: "What matters isn’t the tool. It’s the habit of coming back to your system."
[atc.c03.fridge-tracker] After the Crash, Ch 3: "I’ve even tracked habits with a pen and paper taped to my fridge."
[atc.c03.q-plan-enough] After the Crash, Ch 3: "Plan enough to get moving. Then move."
[atc.c10.q-habits-rebuilt] After the Crash, Ch 10: "Habits aren’t magic—they’re built, broken, and rebuilt a hundred times."
[atc.c04.brain-dump-overload] After the Crash, Ch 4: "There’s something magic about getting it out of your head and onto a page."
[atc.c03.delegation] After the Crash, Ch 3: "This frees my mind to focus on what actually requires me."
[atc.c03.q-supports-not-strangles] After the Crash, Ch 3: "It’s about having a structure that supports you, not strangles you."
[atc.c03.what-works] After the Crash, Ch 3: "Use simple tools that fit your life—don’t chase app perfection."
[atc.c10.bullshit-voice] After the Crash, Ch 10: "just one push-up, just five minutes of planning, just a glass of water."
[atc.c04.what-works] After the Crash, Ch 4: "Unfinished “open loops” will haunt you. Capture them in a trusted system."
[atc.c03.hundred-tabs] After the Crash, Ch 3: "Some days I wake up and my brain feels like a browser with 100 tabs open."

How to Do a Weekly Review (the Simple Version)