Working Smart: The Importance of the Weekly Review

This is a list of items I have delegated to others and are important enough to track. If something is overdue, or if I need a progress report, I send an e-mail and nudge the person responsible.

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Gather all loose papers and process. I empty everything out of my briefcase, my inbox, and my wallet. I then go through each piece of paper and make a decision what to do with it. Following David’s model, I first decide if I it is something that requires me to take action. If not, I have three options. I can: Trash it; Add it to my Someday/Maybe list; or File it for future reference. If the item requires me to take action, I can: Do it if it takes less than two minutes or add it to my Outlook task list to do later; Defer it by actually scheduling a time on my calendar to deal with it; or Delegate it to someone else for action and enter it into my Outlook task list using the “@WaitingFor” category. Launch GoBinder and process my notes. GoBinder is the software I am currently using on my TabletPC to take notes in meetings. I quickly read back through my notes. I either look for action items that I agreed to do (I mark these in the meeting with a star) or actions items I want to do based on my review. Review previous calendar data. I look over the previous week’s meetings in Outlook (using the Weekly view) and see if there is anything I missed. For example, I don't usually take notes in lunch meetings, but I may want to follow-up with a thank you note or a gift. Review upcoming calendar. This is one of the most important parts of the Weekly Review. I note any upcoming meetings with an eye to the preparation I need to do. This keeps me ahead of the curve and my assignments on track. (I am amazed at how many business people show up at a meeting without reviewing their previous assignments. This makes them look sloppy and incompetent. Reality is that they don’t have a process in place for systematic review of previous meetings and assignments.) Review my action lists. I also try to do this daily, but during the Weekly Review I ask myself the question, “What do I really need to accomplish this week?” If it’s a really important task,

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