Complete firstGetting Things Done
A GTD-compatible task and project list or comparable capture system exists and is maintained at least roughly during the week.
Without: Without capture system, Weekly Review has no consolidated list to go through.
RunsheetOperations
Weekly Review
ComplexityLow
Time30-60 min
Participants1
FormatAsync
MaturityEstablished
01
Prerequisite
What needs to be finished first
02
Preparation
What needs to be ready before start
Materials
Task tool (Things, OmniFocus, Todoist, Linear, Notion); calendar; inbox (email, Slack, notes); project list; weekly-review checklist; quiet workspace; 90 min uninterrupted time.
People / roles
One person conducting their own review; for teams optional team variant with lead moderating; coach optional during introduction.
Pre-read
Weekly review is a personal routine, not a team meeting unless explicitly run as team variant. Reserve fixed weekday and time.
Time needed
60-90 min weekly
Setup
Open calendar and task tool, bring inbox to zero beforehand or as first review step. Make checklist visible (Get Clear, Get Current, Get Creative). Turn off notifications.
03
Core question
The one question this method answers
What happened since last week, what is coming next week, and what was overlooked, forgotten, or postponed that now needs a decision?
04
Flow
Marker: Sektion
| Step | Duration | Action | Hint |
|---|---|---|---|
1Section 1: Get Clear | 15-25 min | Collect inbox: email, notes, loose paper, saved Slack items, browser tabs. Process each item into trash, defer, delegate, do, or project. | If inbox processing takes longer than 25 min, inbox was not maintained during the week. |
2Section 2: Get Current (past week) | 15-20 min | Review last week's calendar: open follow-ups, forgotten commitments, meeting notes converted into tasks. Check completed and hanging tasks. | Looking back reveals many forgotten items. Calendar is a goldmine for commitments. |
3Section 3: Get Current (projects) | 15-20 min | Review project list: does every active project have a current next action? Which project is dead and should be archived? What is complete? | Projects without next action are stalled. Archive dead projects explicitly. |
4Section 4: Get Current (preview) | 10-15 min | Check calendar for next 1-2 weeks: preparations, travel, conflicts. Create appointment-induced tasks. Plan week realistically. | If the week is overloaded, negotiate now, not Monday. |
5Section 5: Get Creative | 10-15 min | Review Someday/Maybe: what moves into active projects, what stays. Reflect: what works, what not, which hypothesis next week. Capture one to three weekly goals. | Get Creative is often skipped when time is tight. Even 5 min reflection is better than none. |
05
Artifact
What comes out at the end
Form
Updated task and project list, emptied inboxes, weekly review note with insights, one to three weekly goals for next week, and reflection note.
Versioning / ownership
Own review note per week with date. Reflections become source for quarterly reviews.
Tool alternatives
- Things 3, OmniFocus, or Todoist with review mode
- Notion database with weekly-review template
- Obsidian daily note with review template
- Paper bullet journal with migrate routine
weekly-review-working-template.md
Compact working template for Weekly Review with context, input, output artifacts, and next step.
Weekly Review Working Template
Goal
Regular weekly reflection to update tasks, projects, calendar, and next steps.
Context
When and for what do we use this method?
Input
Which data, observations, decisions, or materials are available?
Execution
Short notes along the runsheet.
Output artifacts
- Updated Task System:
- Weekly Focus:
- Next Actions:
Assumptions and open questions
- ...
Decision / Next step
Owner, date, and success signal.
06
Example output
Concrete filled scenario, fictional example
weekly-review-beispiel.md
Concrete filled scenario, fictional example
Weekly Review CW 20 - 2026-05-17 (Sabine)
Get Clear
Inbox emptied (32 emails, 8 Slack saved, 11 notes). 4 into tasks, 2 delegated, 1 added as project.
Past week
- Customer interview with Marlene: follow-up mail open, planned for Monday.
- Architecture decision with Ben: ADR draft has no next action, now draft by Wednesday.
Projects
- 12 active, 2 archived. Three projects without next action now defined.
Preview CW 21
Monday-Wednesday crowded, Thursday open for deep work. Friday workshop preparation.
Weekly goals
- Publish ADR draft.
- Start onboarding-doc refresh.
- 2 h deep work Thursday for strategy paper.
07
Pitfalls
Recognize symptoms and steer against them
Trap
Review postponed or skipped
Symptom
After 3-4 weeks without review, inbox and project list grow.
What to do
Fixed calendar slot. Use 45-min fallback when full review is impossible.
Trap
Review becomes administration
Symptom
Person moves tasks for 90 min, no weekly goal, no reflection.
What to do
Make Get Creative mandatory, even if only 5-10 min.
Trap
Inbox as task list
Symptom
Inbox has 200+ items and review becomes triage.
What to do
Daily inbox-zero routine. Review is consolidation, not first processing.
Trap
Projects without definition
Symptom
List contains terms like Marketing or Team instead of outcomes.
What to do
Project means concrete outcome with end point. Areas live separately.
Trap
Weekly goals forgotten on Monday
Symptom
Defined Friday, never seen again until next Friday.
What to do
Put weekly goals in the most visible place and read them Monday morning.
08
Stop criteria
Done signals checkable in under a minute
No task or capture system available.
Time window under 45 min, core sections would fall out.
Person is in acute crisis mode; reduce load before resuming review.
Inbox growth exceeds normal rate by 3x, inbox strategy must change.
Practice has been only administration for 6+ weeks, recalibrate.
Team variant becomes status show, return to personal variant.
Finished the runsheet?
Go to the profile for purpose, similar methods, and sources or continue to the next method in the catalog.