How to do a weekly review in 20 minutes
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The weekly review is the habit that keeps every other planning system working. Twenty minutes once a week replaces dozens of small moments of “wait, what was I supposed to do?”
Open the guided weekly reviewOpen the weekly work review templateOpens in your browser — no install or sign-up needed.
What the review is for
During the week you capture and do; you rarely step back. Lists drift: tasks lose their dates, overdue items pile up, and next week's deadlines hide behind this week's noise. The weekly review is a short, fixed appointment with yourself to get the list clean, current and realistic again.
It is not a diary and not a performance appraisal. You are not grading the week; you are preparing the next one.
Step by step
- Empty the inbox. Give every captured item a home: a list, a date, or the bin. Aim for an empty inbox, not a perfect one.
- Deal with overdue tasks. For each overdue item: do it now if it takes two minutes, reschedule it to a realistic day, or drop it. Moving everything to Monday is not a decision.
- Preview the next seven days. Is any day overloaded? Move work now rather than on Thursday night. Note deadlines that need preparation this week.
- Look at the numbers. Tasks completed, focus minutes and habit streaks show trends without judgement. Compare with last week only to spot patterns.
- Reflect in three lines. What went well, what could be better, and the one focus for next week. Three lines are enough.
- Put the next review on the calendar. End by checking that next week's review is scheduled. The review only works if it keeps happening.
Type these lines into Pladay
Each line below was read by the same parser the app uses. The task, date and repeat rule are what you get when you type it.
| You type | Task | Due | Repeats | Try this |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Weekly review every friday at 4pm | Weekly review | Fri, Oct 9 → Fri, Oct 16 → Fri, Oct 23 · 4:00 PM | Every week · Friday | Try this |
Weekly planning every sunday at 7pm | Weekly planning | Sun, Oct 11 → Sun, Oct 18 → Sun, Oct 25 · 7:00 PM | Every week · Sunday | Try this |
Send status update every friday at 11am #work | Send status update | Fri, Oct 9 → Fri, Oct 16 → Fri, Oct 23 · 11:00 AM | Every week · Friday | Try this |
Monthly review on the last day of every month | Monthly review | Sat, Oct 31 → Mon, Nov 30 → Thu, Dec 31 | Every month · last day | Try this |
When to do it
Friday afternoon works well for work weeks: the week is fresh in your mind and Monday starts clear. Sunday evening suits people who plan family life too. The best time is the one you can protect every week, so put it on your calendar as a repeating task with a time.
When you only have five minutes
- Skip the numbers and the reflection.
- Empty the inbox and reschedule overdue tasks — those two steps prevent most chaos.
- Glance at the next three days instead of seven.
Setting it up in Pladay
- The guided weekly review walks through the five steps on one screen each: inbox, overdue, next seven days, your week in numbers (tasks done, focus minutes, habit streaks), and three reflection questions saved on your device.
- Schedule the review itself with a line like “Weekly review every friday at 4pm”.
- The weekly work review template adds a fuller checklist for work: update stakeholders, check deadlines, plan the three outcomes for next week.
- Pair it with time blocking on Monday morning to turn the plan into a calendar.
Templates for this
FAQ
How long should a weekly review take?
Usually 15 to 30 minutes. If it takes longer, the inbox is probably too full — capture less detail during the week, or review twice a week for a while.
Is the weekly review part of GTD?
Yes, it is one of the core habits of Getting Things Done, but it works with any system. See getting started with GTD.