The Benefits of A Weekly Review Process

published on January 27, 2018

Do you have a weekly review habit?

A weekly review is a tool for managing your life. A weekly review is a time set aside each week to go through your tasks and appointments for the week. It is more than just glancing at your calendar and planner. It involves going through all your paperwork and digital planner and inboxes to make sure that all your bases are covered. Another key component is reviewing how you are getting on with long-term goals and projects.

Every successful business owner, without exception, Will tell you that success comes through the process of developing successful habits. One successful habit every successful business owner I know implements is a Weekly goal setting or reviewing and action planning.

If you find it difficult to sit down every week and reflect on your progress, you’re not alone.

The Benefits of The Weekly Review

Before adding another standing appointment to your calendar, you may have some questions about the value of this practice. That’s understandable. I will share a few ways that this practice has helped me. I hope that my experience and results inspire you to try the Weekly Review.

• Weekly Reviews Keep You Organized: The weekly review is a chance to tie up loose ends, prepare for the week ahead, and reflect on short-term goals. You’ll be more organized, you’ll never wonder if there’s something you forgot to do or something you should be working on, and you’ll never be afraid you forgot about something important.

• Review The Past: How often do you look at your calendar from last week? This step of the Weekly Review prompts me to review recent meetings and activities. For example, I will sometimes be reminded to send a follow-up email or review meeting notes for action items.

It is also a decent time to audit your work-life balance. Take a look at your body and know your physical and emotional well-being. Keep in minder that great meal, great rest and exercise are crucial for you to run longer.

• Review Plans For The Future: Remember that appointment or meeting you agreed to attend weeks ago? Reviewing my upcoming week is a great way to prevent negative surprises. Often, reviewing the upcoming calendar reminds me to prepare documents. In addition, this step prompts me to through logistics (e.g. how long will it take to get from A to B on Thursday evening?).

You will likewise gain to enhance yourself, brainstorming skills, networks, and assistants that you need to plan or admire help your efficiency and way to deal with your key milestones.

• Good Mindset To Start the Week: I prefer to conduct my Weekly Review on Monday mornings (though I also see the merits of Fridays). I like Monday mornings because the week is not yet reached full speed. Regarding mindset, the practice also prompts me to “be proactive‘ as recommended.

Above and beyond the benefits explained above, there is much to be gained from implementing the Weekly Review. Once it becomes a habit, I look forward to it. It gives a sense of increased satisfaction and control. The Weekly Review also provides risk management benefits: the risk of missing deadlines or needed to follow up efforts will decline.

Making Weekly Review Process a Habit

So, how do you do that? Make it a habit. It is explained that habits are a result of three things a cue, a routine, and a reward. Once you set up these three things you will create a new habit and once you make your weekly review a habit, you are on the way to ongoing stress-free productivity.

How To Reflect On The Past Week With Our Weekly Layout

Capture what has our attention; Clarify what each item means, and what to do about it; Organize the results; Reflect on those results; and Engage with, or do, the things you’ve identified in the process.

1. Make Time Establish a Ritual

The days of diving into Monday morning totally unprepared are over. Reserve a minimum of an hour (maybe 1.5 or 2) each week for your planning process. Just be sure you do it before you start any of your weekly tasks, and especially before you check email. If this means spending an hour Sunday night, then so be it.

Make it something you look forward to. Put on your favorite relaxing music (mine is usually classical or something meditative). Pour a cup of your favorite tea or coffee. Shut off the Internet, or utilize software, for example, StayFocus to obstruct your internet, with the exception of your calendar application, digital notebook (emulate are Evernote and Trello board). Get away from noise, aggravating buzzs and your social networking. Work with a physical organizer is the most ideal approach to prevent loss of focus and keep up the Weekly Review ritual.

2. Connect and Visualize the Big Picture

Take a few deep breaths. Then take some time to look at your big lifetime goals and dreams. What do you want to be remembered for? Look back over your lifetime goals and Areas of Attention from the Goal Setting and Action Workbook process. Starting with the big picture allows us to keep our focus on what really matters (i.e. building a loving family vs. worrying about paying your cable bill).

3. Celebrate Last Week

This is the most important step of all I absolutely love it. Write down everything from the past week that you’re proud of. Anything and everything positive goes having a record sales Week, getting a rewarding thank you, having a hot date or sticking to your workout. Running a marathon or walking around the block it’s all sacred.

4. Write Down Major Lessons

We learn new things every day. But an education is worthless if you don’t make the lessons a part of your life. Write down any key learnings from the past week: major lessons, meaningful quotes and things that inspire you. I also keep a list of “dream connections”, which I’ll get to more in the Connect With Anyone course, but this is basically a list of people I’d love to connect with and my progress in making it happen. Discover important encounters to share to my network and potential audience.

5. Analyze What Didn’t Happen

Nothing ever goes exactly according to plan. Look back on the important things you wanted to accomplish last week. What didn’t happen? Be totally honest with yourself. List them out. Only list the things that actually mattered. For each one, write down why it didn’t happen. Was it for a good reason (i.e. other more important things happened), or was it for a bad reason (i.e. you got sucked into checking emails for 9 hours straight)? What could you have done to avoid this? How will you improve it going forward?

Conclusion

Most people consider the weekly review a difficult thing to start, but it doesn’t have to be. Hopefully, with our release mind tools, it’s a bit easier to get into the habit, and once you’re in it, you’ll find the benefits will pop up all over your life. You’ll be more organized, you’ll never wonder if there’s something you forgot to do or something you should be working on, and you’ll never be afraid you forgot about something important. You’ll be in control, and with that control comes the flexibility to accept changes as they happen. You’ll gain more freedom and step towards better work-life balance.