A weekly review in fifteen minutes.
Short answer: five fixed steps, in order, with a timer. Empty the inbox, look at each project once, score the week, write one honest sentence, choose three priorities. Missed some weeks? Skip the old reviews and do this one.
Why weekly reviews get abandoned
Most weekly review templates ask for an hour of reflection. That works for three Sundays. Then a busy week comes, the review is skipped, the backlog grows, and the next review looks like a chore. The fix is a review short enough to never skip, with a fixed end.
The five steps
- Empty the inbox (5 min). For every captured item, decide: a task or project, a note in its home, or delete. The inbox goes to zero.
- Look at each project once (4 min). Did it move? What is the next step? Is it still worth doing? Archive anything that is finished or dead.
- Score the week (2 min). One number from 1 to 10 for each area of your life: health, relationships, work or studies, money, growth. No explanations.
- One honest sentence (2 min). What went well, and what would you do differently?
- Three priorities (2 min). Three things that would make next week a good one. Not ten.
Free template
Weekly review for ObsidianPlain Markdown, works with Obsidian's built-in Templates plugin. No community plugins needed.
After a bad month: the Return
If you miss a few weeks, do not fill in the reviews you missed. Open this week's review, empty the inbox, look at projects once, write three priorities. That is all. Catching up is what turns a missed habit into an abandoned one.
A review you finish in fifteen minutes beats a perfect one you skip.
Questions
How long should a weekly review take?
Fifteen minutes is enough for most weeks if the steps are fixed: empty the inbox, look at projects once, score the week, write one sentence, choose three priorities. A longer review once a month catches what the short one misses.
What if I miss my weekly review?
Do not fill in the reviews you missed. Do this week's review, empty the inbox, and carry on. Catching up on old reviews is the most common reason people abandon the habit.
When is the best time for a weekly review?
The same time every week, usually Sunday evening or Friday afternoon. Pick a moment you already have, such as after a regular meal, so the review attaches to an existing habit.
Is there a free weekly review template for Obsidian?
Yes. The weekly review template on this page is free, with no email: plain Markdown that works with Obsidian's core Templates plugin. It has the five steps (inbox, projects, scores, one sentence, three priorities) and takes about fifteen minutes.
How Sylvics does it
In Sylvics the weekly review fills its first parts from your notes: what you captured, what moved, your habits. You write the score, the sentence and the priorities, and the scores appear on each life area's page. See the review or try the weekly heartbeat.