How I Kept a Weekly Review Alive for More Than a Decade

Last updated: 2026-08-28

I’ve been doing a weekly review for more than a decade. That’s a long time to keep a habit alive, especially one that’s easy to skip the moment the week gets messy.

The reason it survived is that I don’t rely on memory. I use a checklist. I won’t bore you with a complicated system. I answer the prompts, clear the inboxes, extract the lessons, and move on. A template makes the review a repeatable process. It also cuts decision fatigue, which is what makes it possible to restart after a missed week or two. You just open the checklist and begin.

Brooks has a strong take on where AI belongs in this. The future should not be AI silently generating a report while you stay passive. The best version keeps you actively reflecting, while AI helps you notice patterns, connect dots, and summarize next steps.

That’s how I use it.

Let AI ask the questions

Here’s the prompt I use:

“Act like my productivity coach. Ask me weekly review questions one at a time. After we finish, summarize everything in a bulleted list.”

I answer verbally while looking at my calendar. Then I use the summary to identify next actions and plan the week. The AI interviews me, pulls the pieces together, and helps me prioritize. I still have to think.

Copy that prompt into ChatGPT or your preferred AI assistant. Sit with your calendar and answer. Then take the bulleted summary and turn it into next actions.

Have you been waiting for a free 60- or 90-minute block before you’ll do a review again? Brooks recommends setting a hard stop before you begin. Even 10 focused minutes is better than skipping it entirely. Constraints create focus. They also make the habit easier to restart, which is the whole point if you’ve fallen off.

Try a 10-minute weekly review this Friday. Set the hard stop first.

Go past “what did I do?”

A recap is comfortable. It also doesn’t change next week.

A strong weekly review asks better retrospective questions, then uses last week’s lessons to shape the next one. I treat this like an agile retrospective. Look back on purpose. Then adjust.

What went well?

Name it. If something worked, you want a chance to repeat it.

What could I improve next week?

One improvement. Make it specific enough to try.

What did I learn?

Capture the lesson while it’s still in reach.

What recurring frustration or annoyance showed up again?

This is the question that catches the stuff you keep stepping over.

Recurring annoyances are productivity signals. If the same friction shows up two or three weekly reviews in a row (poor sleep, a messy inbox, delayed admin work), it is no longer a one-off. It is a system problem asking for a small fix.

Identify one recurring annoyance from the last month. Design one tweak to reduce it.

Give the 20% a home first

Weekly planning works better when you identify the 20% of tasks likely to create 80% of the impact, then protect those first. Brooks emphasized that the 80/20 filter is about intentionality. You still handle the rest of the work. You just give the high-impact tasks calendar priority before the small stuff fills the week.

Choose your top 20% tasks before opening email on Monday.

The Rule of Three keeps that realistic. Choose up to three major outcomes for the week, put them on the calendar first, and treat everything else as secondary. Some weeks may only have one or two big rocks, and that is still a win. Brooks and I both clarified the same point: protect the most important outcomes. Plenty of other tasks still get done.

What are your three big rocks this week? Calendar those first.

Batch the maintenance

Does your week get eaten by little digital tasks that never quite finish? Batching small tasks prevents that clutter from taking over.

Instead of reacting to email, texts, admin, and inbox cleanup one at a time, schedule buffer blocks where similar maintenance tasks are processed together. You get speed and focus from doing them in one sitting.

Brooks shared a story about delayed expense claims. They became a bigger problem because they were never batched.

Add one 30-minute buffer block to next week’s calendar. Pick one category and only do that.

Build a maybe list

You know those tasks you keep dragging from week to week? They create guilt, and they compete with real priorities even when they have no shot at getting done.

The maybe list is a pressure-release valve. Move those tasks to a someday/maybe list so they stay captured and stop clogging the week. Brooks used an optional course as an example: something you keep meaning to take, keep postponing, and keep carrying forward. I frame the list as a safety blanket. The idea stays. The week stays clean.

During this week’s review, move any task you’ve postponed three times to a Maybe list.

Do this Friday

Set a 10-minute hard stop. If you’ve fallen off, this is the restart: don’t wait for the perfect hour. Paste the prompt into your AI assistant. Answer the four questions while you look at your calendar. When you’re done, put next week’s 20% on the calendar before Monday’s email fills the week for you.

Ten minutes. A checklist. You doing the thinking.