First Weekly Review

The Weekly Review is the time to

• Gather and process all your "stuff."
• Review your system.
• Update your lists.
• Get clean, clear, current, and complete.

[....]

Very simply, the Weekly Review is whatever you need to do to get your head empty again. It's going through the five phases of workflow management—collecting, processing, organizing, and reviewing all your outstanding involvements—until you can honestly say, "I absolutely know right now everything I'm not doing but could be doing if I decided to."

From a nitty-gritty, practical standpoint, here is the drill that can get you there:

Loose Papers Pull out all miscellaneous scraps of paper, business cards, receipts, and so on that have crept into the crevices of your desk, clothing, and accessories. Put it all into your in-basket for processing.

Process Your Notes Review any journal entries, meeting notes, or miscellaneous notes scribbled on notebook paper. List action items, projects, waiting-fors, calendar events, and someday/maybes, as appropriate. File any reference notes and materials. Stage your "Read/Review" material. Be ruthless with yourself, processing all notes and thoughts relative to interactions, projects, new initatives, and input that have come your way since your last download, and purging those not needed.

Previous Calendar Data Review past calendar dates in detail for remaining action items, reference information, and so on, and transfer that data into the active system. Be able to archive your last week's calendar with nothing left uncaptured.

Upcoming Calendar Look at future calendar events (long- and short-term). Capture actions about arrangements and preparations for any upcoming events.

Empty Your Head Put in writing (in appropriate categories) any new projects, action items, waiting-fors, someday/maybes, and so forth that you haven't yet captured.

Review "Projects" (and Larger Outcome) Lists Evaluate the status of projects, goals, and outcomes one by one, ensuring that at least one current kick-start action for each is in your system.

Review "Next Actions" Lists Mark off completed actions. Review for reminders of further action steps to capture.

Review "Waiting For" List Record appropriate actions for any needed follow-up. Check off received items.

Review Any Relevant Checklists Is there anything you haven't done that you need to do?

Review "Someday/Maybe" List Check fo 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-fors.

Be Creative and Courageous Are there any new, wonderful, hare-brained, creative, thought-provoking, risk-taking ideas you ccan add to your system.

[....]

"Incompletion Triggers" List

Professional

• Projects started, not completed
• Projects that need to be started
• Commitments/promises to others
  • Boss/partners
  • Collegues
  • Subordinates
  • Other people in organization
  • "Outside" people
    • Customers
    • Other organizations
    • Professionals
• Communications to make/get
  • Internal/External
    • Initiate or respond to:
      • Phone calls
      • Voice-mail
      • E-mail
      • Pages
      • Faxes
      • Letters
      • Memos
• Other writing to finish/submit
  • Reports
  • Evaluations/reviews
  • Proposals
  • Articles
  • Promotional materials
  • Manuals/instructions
  • Rewrites and edits
• Meetings that need to be set/requested
• Who needs to know about what decisions?
• Significant read/review
• Financial
  • Cash flow
  • Statistics
  • Budgets
  • Forecasts/projections
  • P&Ls
  • Balance sheet
  • Credit line
• Planning/organizing
  • Formal planning (goals, targets, objectives)
  • Current projects (next stages)
  • Upcoming projects
  • Business/marketing plans
  • Organizational initiatives
  • Upcoming events
  • Meetings
  • Presentations
  • Organizational structuring
  • Changes in facilities
  • Installation of new systems/equipment
  • Travel
• Banks
  • Receivables
  • Payables
  • Petty cash
• Adminstration
  • Legal issues
  • Insurance
  • Personnel
  • Policies/procedures
• Customers
  • Internal
  • External
• Marketing
• Promotion
• Sales
  • Customer service
• Systems
  • Phones
  • Computers
  • Office equipment
  • Other equipment
  • Utilities
  • Filing
  • Storage
    • Inventories
• Supplies
• Office/site
  • Office organization
  • Furniture
  • Decorations
• Waiting for...
  • Information
  • Delegated tasks/projects
  • Completions critical to projects
  • Replies to:
    • Letters
    • Memos
    • Calls
    • Proposals
    • Requisitions
    • Reimbursements
    • Petty cash
    • Insurance
    • Ordered items
    • Items being repaired
    • Tickets
    • Decisions of others
• Professional development
  • Training/seminars
  • Things to learn
  • Things to look up
  • Skill to practice/learn especially re:
    • computers
  • Tape/video training
  • Resumes
• Outside education
• Research—need to find out about...
• Professional wardrobe

Personal

• Projects started, not completed
• Projects that need to be started
• Commitments/promises to others
  • Spouse
  • Children
  • Family
  • Friends
  • Professionals
  • Borrowed items
• Projects: other organizations
  • Service
  • Civic
  • Volunteer
• Communications to make/get
  • Family
  • Friends
  • Professional
  • Initiate or respond to:
    • Phone calls
    • Letters
    • Cards
• Upcoming events
  • Special occasions
  • Birthdays
  • Anniversaries
  • Weddings
  • Graduations
  • Holidays
  • Travel
  • Weekend trips
  • Vacations
  • Social events
  • Cultural events
  • Sporting events
• R&D—things to do
  • Places to go
  • People to meet/invite
  • Local attractions
• Administration
  • Financial
    • Bills
    • Banks
    • Investments
    • Loans
    • Taxes
  • Insurance
  • Legal affairs
  • Filing
• Waiting for...
  • Mail order
  • Repair
  • Reimbursements
  • Loaned items
  • Medical data
  • RSVPs
• Home/household
  • Landlords
  • Property ownership
    • Legal
    • Real estate
    • Zoning
    • Taxes
    • Builders/contractors
  • Heating/air-conditioning
  • Plumbing
  • Electricity
  • Roofing
  • Landscape
  • Driveway
  • Walls/floors/ceiling
  • Decoration
  • Furniture
  • Utilities
  • Appliances
  • Lightbulbs/wiring
  • Kitchen things
  • Washer/dryer/vacuum
  • Areas to organize/clean
  • TV
  • [DVD]
  • Music/CDs/tapes[/mp3s]
  • Cameras/film[/video]
  • Phones
  • Answering machine
  • Sports equipment
  • Clesets/clothes
  • Garage/storage
  • Vehicle repair/mainteance
  • Tools
  • Luggage
  • Pets
• Computers
  • Software
  • Hardware
  • Connections
  • CD-ROM
  • [Flashdrives]
  • [SD cards]
  • Email/Internet
• Health care
  • Doctors
  • Dentists
  • Specialists
  • [Thearpists]
• Hobbies
  • Coding
  • Games
  • Game design
  • Drawing
  • Books/records/tapes/disks
• Errands
  • Hardware store
  • Drugstore
  • Market
  • Bank
  • Cleaner
  • Stationer
• Community
  • Neighborhood
  • Schools
  • Local government
• Civic issues