Email content
Hey Mark,
In my book To-Do List Formula, I explain why it’s important to review your progress from the previous week.
It’s not enough to create the perfect to-do list system. Even the bestsystem can fail to the point that crucial tasks begin to fall off the radar.
A weekly review keeps you on track. It ensures that you get the important stuff done.
And if you have more than you can handle on your plate, it’ll show you where to spend your limited time.
So let’s go through a simple weekly review process below.
Two quick notes:
First, the following process is just to get you started. Experiment with it so that it yields the benefits you want to see.
Second, don’t worry about being perfect. Instead, focus on getting into the habit of conducting a weekly review.
Enough specious claptrap. Let’s get to the steps (there are only three).
Step 1: Do a brain dump.
Before you dig into the previous week, get all of the stuff that’s on your mind onto paper (or online if you’re using Todoist or a similar app).
You need a clear head, unencumbered by thoughts that’ll distract you.
So whatever you’re thinking about, dump it to a list.
Step 2: Reflect on the progress you made last week.
Think about the tasks you completed last week. Think about the projects you moved forward.
And if you failed to complete important tasks, or you were unable to move important projects forward, try to figure out the reason.
Did you lack sufficient support and resources? Did you waste valuable time on nonessential pursuits? Did you bite off more than you could chew, setting yourself up for failure?
You’re bound to uncover insight you can use to your advantage in the future.
Step 3: Determine whether your to-do lists still reflect your priorities.
Time has a way of making some tasks and projects irrelevant, or at least unimportant.
Purge these items from your lists. If something no longer aligns with your short-term, medium-term, or long-term goals, get rid of it.
Here’s an example from my life…
I own a guitar that I haven’t played for nearly 20 years. Selling it has been an item on my master to-do list for a long time.
Recently, I bought a Udemy course teaching advanced guitar techniques because I want to start playing again.
So during my weekly review, when I saw the to-do item “sell guitar,” I purged it. That item was no longer relevant to me.
In the same way, look for opportunities to prune your to-do lists.
Again, the above steps are just to get you started. They’re intended to help you build the habit of doing a weekly review.
As with any new habit, I’m a big believer in starting small and building up slowly. So feel free to add to the process as you see fit over time.
That’s it for now.
Until next time,
Damon