12FocusA weekly review in three questions
A weekly review takes ten minutes when you answer three questions and stop: what got done against the plan, what got in the way, and what next week’s actions are. Give the first two three minutes each and the last one four.
Do it on the same day every week. Cut, move or drop each unfinished action, and after a bad week make the next one lighter, not the goal smaller.
Updated
What questions should a weekly review ask?
A review that takes an hour gets skipped in the first busy week, and the busy week is the one that needed it. Three questions fit into ten minutes even on a tired evening. Here they are for a real goal, a first half marathon, at the end of week 5.
- Minutes 0–3: what got done against the plan? Count actions, not hours.
- Minutes 3–6: what got in the way? Name the one thing that cost the most.
- Minutes 6–10: what are next week’s actions? Three at most, each with a day.
When should you do a weekly review?
On the same day every week: the weekday your 12-week cycle started. If week 1 began on a Thursday, every week ends on a Wednesday, so the review goes on Wednesday evening, before the new week’s first action.
A fixed day takes the decision out of it. Put a repeating ten-minute slot in your calendar. Missed it? Do it the next morning. A late review still sets up the week; a skipped one leaves it to chance.
What do you do with an unfinished action?
Don’t carry it forward as it is. An action that slides from week to week makes every week look failed and the next one heavier. Give it one of three moves:
- Cut it smaller if it never started. “Long run, 12 km” becomes “8 km”.
- Move it if the day broke but the action still fits. Give it a new day and a backup.
- Drop it if it no longer moves the goal. Crossing it out is a decision too.
An action that has moved twice gets cut or dropped, not moved a third time.
What should you do after a bad week?
A bad week is when the review feels pointless and when it matters most. Skipping it is how one lost week becomes a quiet restart a month later. Ask the same three questions, smaller:
- Write the real count, even if it is 0 of 3.
- Name the one thing that got in the way. One thing, not a verdict on yourself.
- Plan a lighter week: one or two actions small enough for your worst day.
Keep the goal and shrink the week. Twenty minutes a day still adds up to 28 hours over 12 weeks.
What goes in a weekly review template?
The three questions and room for the answers. Fill it in here, then copy it into your notes. What you type stays in your browser.
No weekly actions yet? Break the goal into weeks first, or let the free planner draft them.
Is there an app for a weekly review?
12Focus closes every week with a review that starts from the count: how many planned actions got done, and how far that was from a won week. Then it asks where the week was hardest and has you choose next week’s priorities.
It holds up to three goals for a 12-week cycle and turns each week into a few actions. How the 12Focus weekly review works.
What people ask about the weekly review
How long should a weekly review take?
Ten minutes is enough for most weeks: three to count what got done, three to name what got in the way, four to plan next week’s actions. If it runs much longer, you are replanning the whole goal, which is a separate job.
What questions should I ask in a weekly review?
What got done against the plan? What got in the way? What are next week’s actions? Count actions rather than hours, name one obstacle, and give each new action a day.
What day should I do my weekly review?
The same day every week. If you plan in 12-week cycles, use the weekday the cycle started: the review closes one week on the evening before the next one begins.
What if I miss my weekly review?
Do it the next day, in the same ten minutes. Answer the three questions for the week that ended and plan what is left of the week that has started. Waiting for next week turns one missed review into two.
What is the difference between a weekly review and weekly planning?
The review looks back so the plan is not a guess. They fit in one sitting: the review’s third question is next week’s plan.
Is there a free weekly review template?
Yes. Fill in the template on this page and copy it into your notes. What you type stays in your browser.
A bad week is not a reason to start over
12Focus holds up to three goals for a 12-week cycle, turns each week into a few actions, and closes it with a short review.