· Documentation · 4 min read
Weekly Planning
Weekly Planning & Review; A Simple Playbook for Real Life
Weekly Planning & Review: A Simple Playbook for Real Life
You don’t need a perfect plan, you need a repeatable week. The trick is to set up a small set of rituals that keep you pointed at what matters, even when meetings multiply and life gets loud. Below is a tested, clutter free system you can run in under an hour each week.
The 15-Minute Weekly Review (checklist)
When: Sunday evening or Monday morning
Goal: Pick a direction, protect a few key blocks, and clear mental clutter.
0–2 min: Quick capture sweep
- Dump open loops from your head, notes, Slack, email into one list.
- Star the items that truly must happen this week.
3–5 min: Calendar reality check
- Scan fixed events (work, family, appointments).
- Spot conflicts early; cancel or move one thing now.
6–8 min: Last week in 3 bullets
- 1 win, 1 lesson, 1 thing to drop.
- Glance at your time data if you track it (e.g. focus blocks vs. meetings).
9–12 min: Set the weekly outcome + big rocks
- Pick one outcome that would make the week a win.
- Choose up to three big rocks that drive that outcome.
13–15 min: Block the week
- Place 2–4 deep-work blocks (60–90 min) for your big rocks.
- Add anchors: weekly review, workout, weekly planning, Friday reset.
Pro tip: Plan capacity first, not tasks first. If you use a tracker like Upweek, glance at last week’s categories and context switches to size your week realistically.
Time Budgeting: Allocate Hours Before the Week Starts
Before you fill your week, know how many hours you actually have.
Step 1 — Capacity math
- Total weekly work hours (e.g., 40)
- Minus fixed events (e.g., 12 in meetings)
- Minus admin/ops (e.g., 5 email + chores)
- Leave 20–30% buffer for surprises
Example
| Bucket | Hours |
|---|---|
| Total work hours | 40 |
| Meetings (fixed) | −12 |
| Admin/ops | −5 |
| Buffer (25%) | −6 |
| Planable focus time | 17 |
Now allocate those 17 hours by priority:
| Priority Area | Target hrs | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Project A | 8 | Two 2-hr + two 2-hr blocks |
| Project B | 5 | One 2-hr + one 3-hr block |
| Learning / R&D | 2 | Two 1-hr sessions |
| Misc maker work | 2 | Fill with small tasks |
Aim to place blocks on your best-energy hours. If mornings are gold, guard them.
What to Do When Your Plan Blows Up by Tuesday
It will. Here’s the mid-week triage:
1) Re-plan in 5 minutes
- List everything that changed.
- Circle the one weekly outcome. Keep it. Everything else negotiable.
2) Apply C-P-D-C
- Cancel non-essentials.
- Postpone what won’t move the weekly outcome.
- Delegate or ask for help on low-leverage tasks.
- Compress scope (ship a draft, not the final).
3) Swap to micro-blocks
- Use 25–40 min sprints for the next 24–48 hours.
- Define “good enough” before you start each sprint.
4) Rewrite your if-then rules
- “If I lose a morning block, then I add a 40-min evening sprint.”
- “If a meeting appears on a focus block, then I move that block within 24 hours.”
5) Update the time budget
- Don’t pretend you still have 17 focus hours. Recount and reallocate honestly.
Friday Reset: Close Loops, Reduce Stress, Protect Next Week
When: Friday last 20 minutes
Why: End clean. Start lighter on Monday.
Checklist
- Close loops: Send quick replies, file docs, archive done tasks.
- Move/rename: Turn “Landing page?” into “Write hero copy v1 (45m).”
- Metrics glance (optional but powerful):
- Deep-work blocks completed
- Meeting hours vs. plan
- Context switches (were you scattered?)
- Protect next week:
- Place 2–4 deep work blocks for your #1 outcome.
- Add a 15 minute weekly review slot.
- Micro-retrospective:
- What worked?
- What hurt?
- One tweak for next week.
Treat Friday like emotional housekeeping.
Monthly Retrospective: From Random Busy to Focused Busy
When: Last workday of the month (30–45 minutes)
Goal: Adjust the system, not just the tasks.
1) Look at the big picture
- Time by category: creation, collaboration, admin, learning.
- Identify one category to dial up and one to dial down next month.
2) Review outcomes vs. systems
- Which wins came from consistent blocks?
- Where did you rely on last-minute heroics? (Design a block for it.)
3) Stop / Less / More / Start
- Stop: an activity that yielded little.
- Less: reduce frequency/duration.
- More: expand what produced outsized results.
- Start: one experiment to try (e.g., “No meeting Wednesday AM”).
4) Choose one monthly theme
- Example: “Fewer context switches.”
- Tactics: batch Slack twice/day, consolidate meetings after lunch, one-tab rule in focus blocks.
5) Make it visible
- Write the theme and two tactics where you’ll see them daily (calendar description, desk sticky, app note).
Copy-Paste Checklists
Weekly Review (15 min)
- Capture open loops
- Scan calendar & fix conflicts
- 1 win / 1 lesson / 1 drop
- Set 1 weekly outcome + up to 3 rocks
- Block 2–4 deep-work sessions
Mid-Week Triage (when chaos hits)
- Re-plan outcome & rocks
- Cancel / Postpone / Delegate / Compress
- Switch to micro-blocks (25–40 min)
- Apply if-then rules
- Update time budget
Friday Reset (20 min)
- Close loops
- Rename/move tasks with verbs
- Check deep-work, meetings, switches
- Block next week’s anchors
- Note one tweak
Monthly Retro (30–45 min)
- Review time by category
- Stop / Less / More / Start
- Pick 1 monthly theme + 2 tactics
- Make it visible
Final Thought
You don’t need more willpower, you need lighter defaults. A 15 minute weekly review, a realistic time budget, a Friday reset, and a short monthly retro will keep you moving even when the week doesn’t cooperate. Plans change. Systems adapt.
