Of all the ways I’ve found to manage a busy full-time academic career, as well as two young children, David Allen’s ‘Getting Things Done’ (or GTD to devotees) is by far the best. I’ve come a bit off the GTD rails as of late, and I need a couple of days of not working on projects to get it back together. It looks like I’ll have a Eurostar return trip soon to do a bit of it, which is helpful. However, something I’ve never got in the habit of doing is the Weekly Review. I have little fantasies of sitting at my nice clean desk, calmly sipping a cup of tulsi tea, and doing my weekly review, and the only way that’s going to happen is if I actually just do it. So as a reminder, here is the ‘official’ Weekly Review.
Weekly Review
- Loose Papers
- business cards, receipts, etc. – put in in basket for processing
- Process Your Notes
- Previous Calendar Data
- review for remaining action items, reference information, etc.
- Upcoming Calendar
- Empty Your Head
- write down any new projects, action items, etc.
- Review “Projects” (and Larger Outcome) Lists
- ensure that at least one kick-start action is in your system for each
- Review “Next Actions” Lists
- Mark off completed actions & review for reminders of further action steps to capture
- Review “Waiting For” List
- Records appropriate actions for any needed follow-up & check off received items
- Review Any Relevant Checklists
- Review “Someday/Maybe” List
- Check for any projects that may have become active and transfer them to “Projects” & delete items no longer of interest
- Review “Pending” and Support Files
- Browse through all work-in-progress support material to trigger new actions, completions, and waiting-for
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