TASKERStep 4 of 5 · 3 min read
The weekly review in 30 minutes
Dmytro Sokolnikov, maker of Tasker ·
Why review if everything is written down
A week changes things: something got done, something lost its point, new promises appeared. If the lists aren’t updated, they start lying — and you stop believing them.
The review is the moment you see the whole picture again. It is what turns GTD into a system rather than a pile of notes.
A 30-minute plan
- Clarify what you captured (10 minutes): inbox, loose papers, notes on your phone — down to zero.
- Look at the calendar (5 minutes): anything left over from last week, and what to prepare for the next one.
- Go through projects (10 minutes): each needs a next action; close finished ones, honestly set aside stuck ones.
- Check what you are waiting for (3 minutes): who needs a nudge.
- Glance at “someday / maybe” (2 minutes): maybe it is time to start something, and delete something else.
When to review
Pick a regular time that is rarely taken: Friday afternoon to close the work week, or Sunday evening to start the new one calmly.
Schedule the review like any other task — on its own day, with a reminder. What isn’t scheduled is easy to skip.
If you missed one
No big deal. No need to catch up on everything at once — just do the next review on time. Short on time? Do at least the first step: clarify what you captured and look at the calendar a week ahead.
How to make the review shorter
- clarify what you capture every day — then little is left for the review;
- mark things done right away, not on Friday;
- keep few lists: every extra one adds a few minutes;
- delete boldly: a task you have been putting off for a month is probably not needed.
The review is a meeting with yourself. Don’t cancel it!
How it works in Tasker
To keep the review from slipping, make it a recurring task. Create a “Weekly review” task, pick the coming Friday or Sunday in the date window, and in the row under the time choose “Weekly” instead of “Don’t repeat”.
When you mark the review “Done”, Tasker schedules the next one by itself. Didn’t get to it? Once the day is over, Tasker closes this time on its own and schedules the next — the review never hangs there in red.
Write your review plan in the task’s note — the note carries over to every next time. And an “Automatic reminder” on the task page reminds you of the review in Telegram.
Tasker’s sections help during the review: Inbox — what to clarify, Calendar — last week and next, Areas — all projects as a tree, “Keep track of” — what you are waiting for. A project with no open task inside is easy to spot: its icon is pale.
Recurring tasks are in both modes; the Inbox, Areas and the “Keep track of” list are part of advanced mode.
All Tasker features →