Weekly Review: A 3-Part Routine, 20 Questions and a Checklist

A weekly review is a 25-minute look back at the week that just ended: you clear loose ends, reflect on what worked and what did not, and decide what carries forward. It is the other half of weekly planning. The review looks back, the plan looks ahead, and doing them close together means next week’s plan starts from what actually happened instead of what you hoped would happen.

Below you will find the three-part structure, 20 weekly review questions to choose from, a filled-in example and a checklist you can copy.

Weekly Review vs Weekly Planning

	Weekly review	Weekly planning
Direction	Back at the week just ended	Ahead at the coming week
Output	Numbers, a lesson and a carry-forward list	Three outcomes, daily main tasks, time blocks
Time	About 25 minutes	About 30 minutes
Question it answers	What happened, and why?	What will happen, and when?

You can run both in one sitting with a short break between them, or on different days. Our guide on how to plan your week covers the planning session, so this page stays on the look back.

The Three-Part Weekly Review

Part 1: Clear (10 Minutes)

Before you can reflect, you need to see the whole week. Clearing means collecting everything loose so nothing is hiding.

• Walk through last week’s calendar day by day and note any follow-up you promised.
• Process your inboxes: email, messages, your notes app, the paper pile. You are not answering everything, only moving anything that needs action onto your task list.
• Tick off finished tasks and mark the rest as open.
• Gather receipts and papers into one folder or tray.

Part 2: Reflect (10 Minutes)

Now count, then think. Start with a few numbers: how many main tasks you finished, how many priorities, how your habits went. Then answer five questions from the list below. The numbers keep the reflection honest, and the questions explain the numbers.

Write short answers. One line per question is enough. A stack of one-line answers is easy to reread later, while long entries tend to stop after a few weeks.

Part 3: Carry Forward (5 Minutes)

Every open task gets one of four decisions:

1. Next week: it goes straight onto next week’s list.
2. Later date: it gets a specific week or month, not “someday”.
3. Hand off: someone else is better placed to do it, so send the message now.
4. Drop: it no longer matters. Cross it out without guilt.

Finish by writing one sentence: the lesson of the week. That sentence and the carry-forward list are what you take into your planning session.

20 Weekly Review Questions

You do not need all 20 every week. Pick one or two from each group, or rotate through the list so a month covers everything.

Wins and Progress

1. What did I finish this week that I am glad is done?
2. Which of my three outcomes did I reach, and which did I miss?
3. What moved forward on a bigger goal, even a little? (If you are unsure what that goal needs each week, see how to break down goals.)
4. What went better than I expected?
5. Who helped me this week, and have I thanked them?

Misses and Friction

6. What did I plan but not do, and why: not enough time, low energy, an unclear next step, or it stopped mattering?
7. Where did my time go that I did not plan for?
8. What did I say yes to that I should have declined?
9. Which task did I keep putting off, and what is its real first step?
10. What interrupted me most, and could I batch it or give it a set time?

Energy and Habits

11. When did I have the most energy, and what was I doing?
12. Which habits did I keep, and which slipped? (A tracker makes this a 10-second answer. See how to track habits.)
13. How did I sleep, eat and move compared with a good week?
14. What drained me that I can change next week?
15. What am I grateful for this week?

Next Week

16. What three outcomes would make next week a good one?
17. Which deadlines or events are coming that I have not prepared for?
18. What should I stop, start or keep doing?
19. What can I delegate, delay or drop?
20. What one thing would make Monday morning easier?

Example: A Weekly Review Filled In

Here is a review with example numbers, for a week where main tasks and priorities were set on the five workdays.

Measure	Planned	Done	Rate
Main tasks	5	4	80%
Daily priorities	15	11	73%
Tasks on the list	18	13	72%
Focus hours	12	9	75%
30-minute walks	4	3	75%

Five answers:

• Question 2: Two of three outcomes reached. The client proposal slipped to Monday.
• Question 7: Three focus hours went to an unplanned vendor problem on Thursday.
• Question 12: Walks held on three days. Thursday’s was skipped.
• Question 15: A colleague covered the Wednesday call at short notice.
• Question 18: Start blocking Thursday morning before opening email.

Carry forward. The five open tasks got these decisions: two moved to next week (the expense report and a reply to the landlord), one got a date in mid-October (booking passport photos), one was handed off (ordering team supplies) and one was dropped (reorganizing the shared drive).

Lesson of the week: Thursday is the most interrupted day, so Thursday’s main task should be small and its focus block should come first thing.

The rates are for comparing your own weeks, not for grading yourself. If priorities run at 73% one week and higher the next, you can see whether a change you made worked.

Weekly Review Template: A Checklist to Copy

Copy this into your notes app or planner and run it top to bottom.

1. Clear: walk through last week’s calendar and list any follow-ups.
2. Clear: process email, messages, notes and paper onto your task list.
3. Clear: tick finished tasks and mark the rest as open.
4. Clear: put receipts and papers in one place.
5. Reflect: count main tasks, priorities and tasks done.
6. Reflect: check your habits for the week.
7. Reflect: answer five questions, at least one from each group.
8. Reflect: write one line of gratitude.
9. Carry forward: give each open task a decision: next week, later date, hand off or drop.
10. Carry forward: send any hand-off messages now.
11. Carry forward: write the one-line lesson of the week.
12. Carry forward: put the carry-forward list and the lesson where your planning session starts.

In our weekly planner spreadsheet, you can filter the calendar tab to tasks that are not done, which gives you the step 3 list in one view, and each week has its own gratitude space for step 8.

Weekly Reflection: Making the Review Stick

• Book it. Put the review in your calendar as a recurring event, with the checklist in the event notes.
• Keep one running log. Add each week’s numbers and lesson to the top of the same document or page, so reading back takes a minute.
• Read back once a month. Four or five reviews side by side show patterns a single week hides, such as the same weekday always getting derailed. If you track money, pair this with a monthly budget review.
• Shorten it on a rough week. Do Part 1 and Part 3 and answer one question. A short review keeps the habit going.
• Act on repeats. If the same answer shows up three weeks running, such as priorities slipping every afternoon, change the plan itself. Our guide on how to prioritize your day shows how to size a day’s list to the hours you actually have.

A final tip: write question 6 at the top of your first review. The reasons you give for unfinished work are the fastest way to see what next week’s plan needs to change.