Weekly reviews and personal retrospectives are structured reflection practices that transform scattered progress into clarity and momentum. They help you close the loop on what happened, learn from experience, and plan intentionally—turning busyness into meaningful progress. Whether adapted from GTD's proven Weekly Review or Agile sprint retrospectives, these techniques create a rhythm for capturing wins, clearing the noise, and setting direction—making weekly planning not just a habit, but a reliable system for staying aligned with what matters.
What This Cheat Sheet Covers
This topic spans 13 focused tables and 145 indexed concepts, 106 flashcards. Below is a complete table-by-table outline of this topic, spanning foundational concepts through advanced details.
A jump-to index of every table row in this cheat sheet.
An interactive map of every table and concept in this topic.
Table 1: Core Weekly Review Frameworks
The frameworks here range from the exhaustive (GTD's full system) to the lightweight (a 10-minute Sunday reset), covering both solo and structured approaches. Choose one that fits your context, then layer in elements from others as your practice matures.
| Framework | Example | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
Get Clear → Get Current → Get Creative | David Allen's three-phase system: process inboxes to zero, update projects and actions, review someday/maybe items and capture new ideas | ||
12-week goal → weekly plan → 85% execution target | Treats each 12 weeks as a "year" with weekly scoring to create urgency and shorten feedback loops | ||
What to start? Stop? Continue? | Simple 3-column retrospective template asking what behaviors to adopt, abandon, and maintain going forward | ||
Wins → Reflection → Actions → Planning | Review last week's wins, reflect on lessons, identify actions, plan the coming week with clarity | ||
GAP (review) → WRAP (preview) | • Two-part method: Gratitude, Achievements, Progress review • then Wins, Reflection, Actions, Planning for next week | ||
What went well (+) / What to change (Δ) | • Two-column format separating positives from areas for improvement • ideal for beginners or quick reviews | ||
Tidy space → Review week → Preview week → Self-care | Weekly ritual combining physical cleanup, calendar review, and planning to start Monday with a clean slate | ||
Projects → Areas → Resources → Archive → Create | Tiago Forte's Second Brain review: scan each PARA folder for actionable items, update project statuses, and identify what to distill or create from accumulated notes | ||
Weekly log → Tasks → Habit tracker → Notes | Analog spread combining tasks, events, habits, and reflection space in a single visual layout | ||
Review actual vs planned blocks → identify patterns → adjust | Analyze which time blocks ran over, which tasks moved repeatedly, and what this reveals about planning accuracy | ||
Reflect (energy calendar) → Reset (most important thing) → Adjust (eliminate drag) | • Sahil Bloom's 3-step quarterly cadence sitting above weekly reviews • Reflect on energy creators/drainers, Reset priorities and systems, Adjust to realign | ||
Track 3-5 key metrics weekly → score execution → adjust | Measure leading indicators (activities you control) weekly to stay aligned with bigger goals |