Moving every unfinished task to Monday makes the list look tidy, but the overloaded plan hasn’t changed. A useful weekly review changes at least one decision: what to stop, what to shrink, or what needs more time.

Look at the week that actually happened

Open your calendar and your completed tasks. A quick look is enough; you don’t need a full time log. Ask three questions:

  • What took longer than expected?
  • What useful work never made it onto the list?
  • Which task has slipped for several weeks in a row?

If a report you thought would be quick took two afternoons, let that inform your next estimate.

Settle a task that keeps slipping

Pick one task that keeps moving to next week and ask whether the remaining work is still worth it. Time already spent isn’t a reason to spend more. The answer is usually one of four:

  • Continue, with a defined first step and a time slot.
  • Shrink it to the most useful part.
  • Clarify what is actually needed with whoever asked for it.
  • Drop it and delete it from the list.

If someone is waiting on the result, talk to them before you delete it from your own list.

Calendar first, tasks second

Mark next week’s meetings, travel and deadlines first, then fit tasks into the gaps and leave room for interruptions. “Draft the introduction on Tuesday morning” is easier to start than “work on the project every day”.

For goals with no deadline, set a check-in date when you will decide whether the plan still makes sense. Finish by choosing the first thing you will do on Monday morning. There is no need to rebuild your whole system.

Try one round with the timer

Twenty minutes in three parts:

  • 5 minutes look back: calendar and completed tasks; spot overruns and slipping tasks.
  • 10 minutes decide: continue, shrink, clarify or drop each slipping task.
  • 5 minutes plan: fit a few real priorities between next week’s fixed commitments.

The goal is a workable week, not an empty inbox.

Next

The weekly review checklist turns these steps into tasks you can copy each week, and the 20-minute weekly review timer shows the three stages full screen. If the review turns up a task you keep avoiding, use the five-minute first step to make it smaller.

Sources

Partly adapted from HowToLiveBetter by eternity4719 and contributors (14 October 2026 snapshot), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Todo & Timer rewrote the steps and examples.

Book entries used: chapter 4, “Don’t waste time”: 4.2 · 4.3 · 4.4 · 4.7 · 4.8.