If you try to fit the important tasks and moments  into an already overcrowded calendar you will fail. Mark the important things down in ink; growth time, creative time, time to build your network and business, time for sales, time for production, time with significant people in your life.

If you are a writer, don’t spend all of your time on Facebook and then run out of time to write. If you are a mom, don’t spend all of your time cleaning and forget to play with your kids. And if you are a business owner, don’t spend all of your time reading email and neglect the activities that grow your business!

First, you have to know what those priorities are. If you haven’t yet determined your Core Concentrations, I suggest you start there.

Related articles

• Are You Afraid of Your Calendar? | Time Management Ninja (timemanagementninja.com)
• Are You Making This Type of Mistake? Little Known Secrets To Working Faster (intuitivegroup.wordpress.com)
• Paauwerfully Organized – Weekly Schedule Template (orgcoach.net)

Remember, slow and steady wins the race. You can always do more than the minimum and I hope you will, but even small amounts of advancement add up. Too often we get caught up in the mental trap of believing that if we can’t commit a substantial amount of time and energy then we might as well not bother to take action at all. That is a myth.

Take a look at what you have identified as your current critical areas of focus and determine what your absolute minimums are.

What is the least amount of time, effort or action you need to take to see progress?

Each person will have different answers and only you as an individual can reasonably define what they are. It is also helpful to note which focus area they address. To get you started, here is an example based on my current focus list, of the absolute minimums that I must do with consistency; both to achieve progress towards my goals and also to feel satisfied with my life and work:

• Exercise a minimum of 20 minutes daily – physical health
• Write one hour – career
• Email my husband daily summary & encouragement – family
• Work a minimum of 6 hours each day during the summer – career
• Social media (10 Twitter posts and 1 Facebook post daily, update LinkedIn status weekly) – career
• Connect with at least one child each day (one on one time, phone call or email/text communication) – family
• Take 30 minutes of alone time (crucial to my sanity) – mental health
• Check in with my Facebook community (especially group for spouses of deployed military members) – friends

Your list may be very different and it should be since your life situation is dissimilar to mine. This list will then become a structure for new habits you want to implement. The amount and complexity is up to you, but remember to keep it reasonable or you won’t be able to maintain your momentum.

When we talk about weekly review, we are really talking about series of steps that include reviewing and updating, clarification, prioritization and the thought process necessary to accomplish all of this. The lists of actions and reminders will be of little use if not reviewed regularly. It sounds very involved and time-consuming, the last thing we need, but it really does not have to be. My weekly review takes approximately 30-60 minutes once a week and it is well worth it. When I do not take this time, I find my productivity plummets and the leaks in my routine get more numerous.

Let’s talk through the process of review in practical terms. The first thing you do when you sit down for your allotted review time is to quickly look over all of your ongoing projects and unfinished tasks (actions.) Where are you on all of your projects? Check the status and make sure you have determined your next action for each project. Brainstorm any additional appointments, meetings and tasks that are not on your list? Look in your “tickler” file, your “waiting on response” file and your “someday” file. Is there anything that needs to be followed up on or moved to an actionable task?

The next part of the process, which might actually be done in tandem, as you are looking at your open items, is to clarify your objectives. Are all of your items and projects still really necessary or meaningful and productive? Don’t keep working on things that no longer serve you or your company just because they are on your list! This is a great time to check in with your internal goals, values and life or business plan.

The final phase to your weekly review involves setting priorities. Which actions are most critical or time sensitive? Are you holding up progress on a project with your inaction? Which tasks have a firm deadline? Considering the time, energy, and resources available at any given time, you must select the most important task to be done. If you are inclined to procrastinate, you tend to do the easiest or most comfortable tasks and never get to the unpleasant ones. To avoid this, you may want to prioritize your most difficult tasks first!

To optimize your GTD routine and clarify the method further I highly recommend listening to the GTD Best Practices of Review podcast from David Allen the creator of the GTD system.  David and members of his team discuss the critical step of review; their individual routines, tips, tools and methods.

Please share any tips or comments you might have on how you are using this system. Stay tuned for my upcoming posts on this topic….. in the meantime check out the related posts on the GTD System.