If you never have time to plan your week, if you worry about everything you need to do in the future instead of concentrating on your current work, if other people’s priorities easily become your own, this simple tool is for you.

1. Weekly Review
Spending more time fighting fires than on the work you planned to do? Did you plan it
that way? Did you plan it at all? Take control and get a clear perspective of your work:
make a plan that works with a weekly review.
Who this tool is for
If you never have time to plan
your week, if you worry about
everything you need to do in the
future instead of concentrating
on your current work, if other
people’s priorities easily become
your own, this simple tool is
for you.
What you will get out of it
A clear plan of action and a clear
head.
What you’ll need
• 30-60 minutes free of
interruptions weekly
• A pen
• Access to your calendar, task
lists and email
• For best results use with Better
Lists and Managing Your Calendar.
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Tools created by
www.peoplewhodo.co.uk
CLICK HERE TO LEARN
HOW TO WORK SMARTER.

2. The tool
Planning your review
Do this at a time that suits you.
Some people like to do their
weekly review on Fridays and
go home with a clear head for
the weekend. Others prefer to
carry out their weekly review
first thing on Monday morning.
Do what works for you. If you’re
scrambling to get things finished
on a Friday afternoon, don’t
schedule a review then. It will be
too hard to stick to.
Whatever you decide, schedule
the time for your weekly review
now and honour it. To help you
plan your week, we have come up
with this step-by-step process.
1. Gather your actionable items
Our actions don’t always sit
neatly on our to-do list. Over
the week, things gather on
pieces of paper, Post-its,
notebooks, voicemail, bags …
they can contain reminders
of things we need to do, so it’s
important to check.
Inspect all the places these
things gather and see if they
contain anything that needs your
attention. Put them in a pile in
front of you with any other lists
and notebooks.
2. Process your items
Now go through your notes and
pile and decide what you want
to do with each thing: does it
need to be filed away, actioned or
binned? If there are items that can
be dealt with at the same time,
like a batch of receipts,
keep them together so that you
can process them as one task.
3. Schedule actions
If you’ve created some actions
from step two, put them on your
to-do list. If they’re urgent or
time-sensitive, schedule them in
your calendar. Make sure you give
yourself a clear instruction, with
a verb. If the task could take some
time try to break it down to a step
you could complete in 90 minutes.
See the Managing Your Calendar
tool for more on this.
WEEKLY REVIEW10 AM
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TO DO

3. 8. Review your email waiting list
If you have a ‘waiting for’ email
folder, have a look through it now.
This is where you store those
emails still waiting for a reply.
Do you need to chase anyone up?
(For more information on how to
set up this list, see our Managing
Your Email tool.)
9. Look into the future
Now think a little bit further
ahead. Are there any future plans
you need to start thinking about?
Any projects you want to kick off
or move forwards? Are there any
steps you can take to do this?
Schedule them in.
(For more help on this, check out
the Project Focus tool.)
Doing this every week will help
you stay focused on the work at
hand and enable you to make
informed choices on where
you spend your time. You’ll feel
more in control and aware of
your capacity. It’s an important
appointment you need to make
and keep with yourself.
Monitor yourself for the
next four weeks. Feel the
difference? Tell us on
Twitter @NokiaAtWork
#smartereveryday
4. Clear your inbox
If you have emails pending which
are really to-do items, put the
actions on your to-do list or in
your calendar and delete or file
the message. Otherwise, process
your emails until your inbox is
empty.
(If you’re not used to doing this,
have a look at our Managing Your
Email tool.)
5. Review your to do list
Go through your current task
list. Cross off anything that’s
completed or is no longer relevant
and add anything else that needs
to be done. If you spot something
that’s time-sensitive, move it to
your calendar. Don’t keep to-do
lists in your head, they take up
valuable thinking space. (For best
calendar practice, have a look at
our Managing Your Calendar tool.)
6. Look back
Review the last couple of weeks
in your calendar and see whether
there are any follow-up actions
or things you didn’t get round
to. Put them in your calendar or
to-do list.
7. Look ahead
Have a look at the next couple
of weeks in your calendar. Are
there any meetings or events you
need to prepare for? Anything
you need to sort out or delegate
beforehand? Schedule them in
your calendar.