A weekly review you'll actually keep: template and questions

Why a weekly review works

Days are too short to see patterns and months are too long to correct course. A week is the right size: long enough to notice that you skipped the gym every Thursday, short enough to fix it before it becomes a story about yourself.

The idea was popularized by David Allen's Getting Things Done method, where the weekly review is the habit that keeps the whole system trustworthy. You don't need the full method to get the benefit. You need a regular time, a few questions, and somewhere to write the answers.

The 15-minute weekly review, step by step

1. Look back (5 minutes). Scroll through last week's calendar and finished tasks. Write down three things that went well, however small.
2. Empty your head (3 minutes). List every open loop you can think of: errands, worries, ideas, replies you owe. Don't organize yet.
3. Check your goals (3 minutes). For each goal, ask: did it move? What's the very next step?
4. Plan next week (4 minutes). Pick one to three priorities. Put the fixed appointments in first, then give each priority a day. Leave the rest of the list as options, not obligations.

If 15 minutes feels like too much, do only steps 1 and 4. A short review you do every week beats a perfect one you skip.

Weekly review template (copy and use)

WEEKLY REVIEW · Week of ________

LOOKING BACK
Three things that went well:
1.
2.
3.
What drained me:
What I learned:

OPEN LOOPS (everything on my mind)
-

GOALS
Goal: ________  Moved this week? Y / N  Next step: ________
Goal: ________  Moved this week? Y / N  Next step: ________

NEXT WEEK
Top 1–3 priorities:
1.
2.
3.
Fixed commitments:
One thing I'll do for myself:

12 weekly review questions to choose from

Pick three or four and keep them for a month before swapping. Answering the same questions each week is what makes the answers comparable.

• What am I proud of this week?
• What did I avoid, and why?
• When did I have the most energy? The least?
• What took longer than I expected?
• Which habit was easiest to keep, and what made it easy?
• What would I do differently if I could replay the week?
• Who helped me, and have I thanked them?
• What's one thing I can stop doing?
• What's the most important thing next week, if I only finish one?
• Is anything on my list there out of guilt rather than intention?
• What do I want to feel by next Sunday?
• What small thing would make next week 10% easier?

Make it a habit

• Same time, same place. Sunday evening and Friday afternoon are the most common choices. Tie it to something you already do, like the first coffee of a Sunday.
• Set one reminder. A single calendar alert is enough; the goal is to remove the decision of when.
• Keep the bar low on hard weeks. Writing “Rough week. Priority next week: sleep.” still counts.
• Look at last week's answers first. That's where patterns show up.

Doing your weekly review in Louryx

Louryx's weekly review brings the look-back together for you: what you finished, how each habit went against its own schedule, and how your goals moved. It then asks what worked and what to change, and you can turn on a gentle reminder for Sunday evening. Planning next week happens on the week planner, where every day is on one screen.

Questions