Weekly Reset

What this is

Ten tasks for closing out a week and setting up the next — reviewing what happened, clearing what's accumulated, and deciding what next week is actually for. Friday afternoon or Sunday evening both work; consistency matters more than which.

Review before you plan

The temptation is to skip straight to next week's list. Don't — the review is where the useful information is. What didn't get done, and why? A task that has rolled over three weeks running isn't a scheduling problem, it's a signal: it's too big, it's not actually important, or it needs someone else.

Delete things. A list carrying twenty items you've silently decided not to do is worse than no list, because you stop trusting it.

Clear the accumulations

Inbox, notes, downloads, the pile of open browser tabs, the things half-captured in three places. This is the tidying that never has a deadline and therefore never happens, and the reason a task system degrades until people abandon it.

Pick three things, not thirteen

The planning task should produce a short list of what would make next week good. Three is about right. A week planned to capacity has no room for the unexpected, and the unexpected is not optional.

Look at the calendar before committing

Next week's meetings determine how much time actually exists. Planning ambitiously against a week that's already 60% booked is how the same tasks roll over again.

Timing

Plain checklist, run weekly. Twenty to thirty minutes. Save it and copy it each week so you keep the history of what rolled over.