Schedule your weekly review in your calendar. Allow yourself at least an hour, preferably two. Finish all your work before the review starts. Get comfortable. You might want to go somewhere you don’t associate with work. Take 5-10 minutes of quiet time. Meditate, doodle, or just stare at the head – whatever it takes to put a “buffer” between you and your everyday stuff. Have something to write in/on. Make sure you won’t be disturbed. This is your time!

Collect all your loose papers and put them into your inbox for processing. Process your notes to glean any action items, appointments, new projects, etc. Review your previous calendar data to remind you of any ideas, tasks, etc. that you might not have captured at the time. Review your upcoming calendar to see if there are any new actions you need to add to your lists. Empty your head. Write down anything that’s currently on your mind or capturing your attention. Review your project lists to determine each project’s status and if there are any actions you need to take to move each of them forward. Review your next action lists. Bring them up to date by marking off any actions you’ve already completed. Use completed actions as triggers to remind you of any further steps you need to take not that an action is done. Review waiting for lists. Add appropriate follow-ups to your action lists. Check off anything that you’ve already received. Review any relevant checklists. Review your someday/maybe list and decide if there is anything you’re ready to move onto your active projects list. Review your project support files to make sure you haven’t missed any new actions you need to take. Be creative and courageous. This is the hardest and most poorly described part of the process in Allen’s books, which is too bad, since this is where the magic happens. Having cleared your mind of everything you need to do at the moment, take time to dream up new ideas — risky ones, creative ones, etc. Essentially a free-form brainstorming session around the topic of “what could I be doing?”

What do I have to work on the next few days? What deadlines do I have coming up? Are there any new projects I have time to start working on?

What did I get done this week versus what I planned to get done? What unexpectedly arose this week that blocked my productivity? Why was I so efficient this week as compared to the last one?

Collect loose papers and materials — Capture and sort items like receipts and business cards you’ve collected over the week. Get “in” to empty — Process all your notes, emails, texts, and any other “incoming” items. Empty your head — Write down anything that’s taken up mind space recently but hasn’t been captured in your system.

Review “Next Actions” lists — Take inventory of the tasks and reminders you have coming up. Review previous calendar data — Flip through the last 2-3 weeks of calendar items to look for any outstanding items of things that may require follow-up. Review upcoming calendar — Zoom in on the future by looking ahead at your calendar items. Ensure that anything you need to prepare for is captured on your task list. Review “Waiting For” list — Reflect on outstanding items you need from others and make a note of what requires follow-up or impacts your own work. Review “Projects” (and “Larger Outcome”) Lists — Look through any and all project lists to assess their progress and make additional action items to drive initiatives forward.