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.”
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 
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.
Sometimes when we think about the effort it will take to get organized a negative reaction will arise. Is it really worth all the time and energy necessary to put things in their right spot? How about the constant practice of getting things out of your head – sounds like a pain! Can’t we just relax and have fun?
“Imagine if we had a learning curriculum for modern knowledge work.
“A typical question I get is, “What’s the one thing that we do that gets in the way of us being productive?” It’s not one thing, but five, all wrapped together: People keep stuff in their head. They don’t decide what they need to do about stuff they know they need to do something about. They don’t organize action reminders and support materials in functional categories. They don’t maintain and review a complete and objective inventory of their commitments. Then they waste energy and burn out, allowing their busy-ness to be driven by what’s latest and loudest, hoping it’s the right thing to do but never feeling the relief that it is.”
Do you know someone who has piles of papers stacked on their desk? Over time, these piles can spill out to neighboring chairs, tables, and even onto the floor. In such cases, it is safe to assume that this person’s filing system has stopped functioning.
