Weekly Review
For most people the world of work is fast paced. Between meetings, deadlines, email, interruptions and more meetings, it seems like everything and everyone is vying for our attention. It is like a roller coaster that never stops – leaving its riders dizzy and sick to their stomachs. Thankfully, there is an antidote to this fast pace; one that is within anybody’s grasp. It is called the Weekly Review.
In GTD, the Weekly Review a fundamental practice. It is dedicated time to gain perspective. In order for a knowledge worker to take advantage of the review, they must shut out the world for a few hours. For many of us, this may seem like a tall order. However, there are natural ebbs and flows to the week. Typically, Friday afternoon is when most workplaces slow down and presents an opportunity to claim quiet time.
If you don’t think the Weekly Review is important, here is what David Allen himself says about the practice: “Honestly, this is what I do to keep myself sane and in control. … It is the one factor upon which your success with Mind Like Water technology hinges.”
For the complete steps to the Weekly Review simply download this handy guide.
“Why should I go to all the trouble to empty my email inbox?”
“I understand the resistance to to-do lists, and the complaints about keeping them. I’ve noticed a couple of reasons for this. The main one is that most to-do lists are incomplete lists of still un-clarified “stuff.” Looking at them creates as much stress as they might have relieved in the first place. Typically, what people have on their lists (if they have them at all) are things like “Mom,” and “bank,” and “marketing VP.” It’s great that they have captured something that has their attention, but there are still critical decisions to make with some critical thinking about that content.”
For most people cleaning and tidying mean the same thing. Both are about bringing order to a space. However, there is a subtle but important difference between the words that can be transformational. In fact, it is not possible to clean successfully without tidying first!
Living in Florida means that I occasionally visit Disney World. If you have been to a Disney park, there is something that you might not have noticed, mostly because it is not there – TRASH! Disney parks are kept to a very high cleanliness standard. Walt Disney himself observed that if trash is left accumulate, it will quickly sour the experience. He figured out that by 
“You spend a quarter of your life at work, so shouldn’t you enjoy it? Organizational psychologist Adam Grant takes you inside some of the world’s most unusual workplaces to discover the keys to better work. Whether you’re learning how to love criticism or trust a co-worker you can’t stand, one thing’s for sure: You’ll never see your job the same way again.”
“Imagine for a moment the perfect organizational system. One that supported and enhanced the work you do, telling you exactly where to put a piece of information, and exactly where to find it when you needed it. … I believe I’ve developed a system for organizing digital information that meets all these requirements. After several years of introducing it to a wide variety of people, I’m confident that it works. In this post I will attempt to show you how.”
Charles Duhigg is a best selling author of two great books on productivity and efficiency: 
“Physical organization has a huge impact on how we work. For example, I have a habit of taking the pile of paper on my desk and cleaning it out before I work. When my physical surrounding is organized, I feel like my thinking is organized as well. Some people say they find that when they are doing creative work, some clutter on the desk can make them feel more productive. There is no one set way to be productive at work – the physical space primarily works as a cue to a habit, like getting to work in a productive mindset.”
Physical actions are visible to other people such as calling someone on the phone, typing an email, drafting a memo, or talking to a colleague. A common trap is to believe that “thinking” about an item is a next action. Thinking could be part of a next action if that process is accompanied by a physical movement to capture the ideas, such as drawing a mind map.
Efficient Librarian 