Do you often get lost in what happens during the week and it went by so fast? Do you feel like you still have a lot of things to do and you are already on Friday?
In this blog post, I’m going to share a habit that I developed, which helped me, become more focused and productive and did wonders for my feeling of pressure and being in a constant hamster wheel.
When I became a mom, it was really hard for me to go through my days, I was really feeling I didn’t do anything and I’m not progressing in my goals. That is when I reached out to my mentor, who is a mom too, and asked her about her tips to be in control of her week. She told me that her secret is having a weekly review session.
So I started doing it every Sunday afternoon to get ready for the week and be motivated. However, some people like doing it on Fridays afternoon or Monday morning, which all work. The important thing is doing it at the beginning or before the week start 🙂
So what is a weekly review?
A weekly review is the opportunity to first look back, evaluate, and then move forward. It has many benefits, some of them, that I personally experienced, are:
- It reduces the mental load allowing you to clear your mind, and avoid being overloaded with every task that comes to mind, week after week, day after day, until you miss/forget about something important.
- Catch up on tasks that are on the pile for a while because those incomplete tasks take space in your mind and prevent you from making space for something new.
- Connect with the long-term vision because that vision and the long-term goals are what keeps us moving forward and not losing sight of it.
- See the progress. It’s easy to get caught in what is not yet done, what you still have to complete, and forget that results are not ONE instant moment, but rather the collection of the progress you’ve been making. Progress is the secret and getting to watch and see the progress builds self-confidence and satisfaction.
- Stay flexible and focus on the important things. Mom’s life is very unpredictable at times, and a weekly review is a proof that we can be flexible AND productive.
How to do a Weekly Review?
A weekly review has three (3) main three main components.
Brain Dump
The goal of the brain dump is to empty that space in your mind so that you can take on new tasks.Â
Take about 10 minutes (you can use a timer) and write down every small or big thing that comes to your mind. So, whether related to work, projects, studies, house chores, kids, relationships, errands, health, hobbies, basically anything you have on mind. Don’t think much about what pops into your mind. Just write it down, even if you think it’s small or not important, or you can’t do it, try not to judge and just get it out of your mind.
Reflection
Now that the brain dump is completed, time to reflect.
Reflection is where you get to evaluate and re-connect with your goals and life vision.
In this step, I like to ask myself questions like: What did work well this week? What didn’t work well? How can I improve next week a little bit? What do I need to stop doing? What do I need to start doing? This allows me to identify the problems or distractions that I came across while doing a certain task.
Slowly, by asking myself these questions, again and again, it brings clarity to my mind and opens my eyes to some of the things that may seem minor and not really contributing to what’s happening, but they do. Reflection on the week creates awareness and incites being more intentional and I love that in it.
Again, write down everything, just like in the brain dump.
Planning
Finally, it’s time to plan because a week review without a week plan is like a half-eaten apple.
In order to do that, first, I like to start by taking a look at my Google Calendar to see if there are any important dates for the coming week.Â
The goal here is not to plan your everyday but rather, to identify the top priorities of the week. It will serve as a guide for your entire week.
As a mom, I know how hard is it to stick to a schedule. I have to be honest and say that I never was able to stick even to 80% of my schedule since I became a mom. However, that doesn’t mean that we cannot achieve what we want to achieve. It just takes shifting the focus to only on the most important things to get done in the week. Getting to have an idea of the bigger picture takes off an incredible amount of pressure a busy Mom can have.
As for me, I do specify three top priorities for the week that I will focus on getting done. Of course, some unexpected things can happen and tasks may come during the week, but since I have set my top priorities, I am more adaptable and can make sure to get my most important things done.
This planning step is critical to be able to see the progress and align it with your long-term goals.
That’s it 🙂 a weekly review session is not that complicated and it makes such a difference in my life. What about you, do you have any weekly habit that helps you be ready for the week ahead? What is it? Share with us in the comments.
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