A Weekly Review on Paper: The 7-Move System That Works

Six of the seven things on my weekly page are the easy ones. The one that does the work is the line I cross out.

The review's home

One of the things I struggled with the most was not being able to move things around on other planners.

I wanted a solution where I could move things around, and right now I'm finding that a system where I'm able to switch things around is serving me a lot better than a notebook I need to be stuck with for a full year.

The review lives in the back of a MeePlus SlimPad, personal size. It's a tri-fold, so it gives me maximum space and gives me a kind of bird's-eye view of what's going on in the week.

One of my favorite things about having this planner on paper is that there's a really truthful constraint in the weekly. The page does not get bigger because I had a busy week.

The seven moves

The first two are a record. Move 1 is the first box on the sheet, and it just says moved. I put anything that generally advances the projects and everything that is going on in my life, because that's where the week actually lives.

Then at the end of the week, on Saturday or Sunday, I sit down and use that as a reference when I'm filling out the tasks that happened.

Move 2 is the box underneath it, things that didn't move, and that has really no judgment attached to it. Some of the things just did not happen that week. The point is to not let that get stuck in the process, but to make sure I'm actually taking action on it.

Move 4 is protected. How am I protecting my time for my family and my time at work so I can deliver the best work possible?

It's not because that's a nice thing to say on the internet, but because those are the ones that quietly disappear if they're not written down before everything else claims the space.

Move 5 is deep work. I try to have one deep work block per day, and that just allows me to get some of this stuff done in a timely manner and be able to protect the time for my family.

Move 3: risk, not status

Move 3 for me is any risk. Here is what that looks like on a real project: the risk will be that if those drawings land on Friday, the fabrication slot moves and I lose two weeks of work.

I design bridges, so the timeline of these things matters a lot, and keeping track of that stuff is super important.

A status describes where something is. A risk describes what it costs you.

Nothing really changes if you don't keep track of those things. One of them is a record of what happened. The other one is a decision waiting to happen.

Those are two different sentences, and only the second one makes me pick up a phone and make that call to make sure we are on track.

Move 6: killed or postponed

What are some of the things I'm going to remove from my life that I know I shouldn't be getting to? What are some of the things that I'm removing, that I'm just telling myself are not going to happen?

This one is the hardest line to write, because it carries something forward. But believe me, when you remove something from the system, from your life, that you know deep down is not going to change anything meaningfully, it is such a relief.

The test I use is just the one question. If this is still on the page in three weeks, will I be glad I kept it, or will I be annoyed looking at it 20 times? If it's the second one, it goes.

Postponing counts, but only with a real date. This is a narrow date column running down the side, where I'm going to put it down and postpone it to that date and actually get to it.

Crossing something out because it's never happening feels like losing, but it's really the one that keeps the page honest and keeps you honest in what you are doing.

Move 7 is any decisions logged.

Back during one of my weekly reviews, I made a note to myself about a project that was having some complications in the design process and a lot of communication back and forth. It looked like we had missed something, and something was done incorrectly because of a communication error.

That one line made me go back on Monday morning and make a call that changed the design process.

Why it holds up

David Allen's whole argument is that anything on your mind with no trusted home outside your head just keeps burning energy whether it matters or not. That's the Zeigarnik effect. Unresolved commitments stay active in working memory until they are either finished, captured, or placed somewhere you trust.

So we're not carrying anything forward by inertia. We're actually thinking about the things that actually need to happen.

What paper can't do

Here's where paper genuinely loses. Paper is just bad at reminding you when something is up, or reminding you on Tuesday if you wrote something down on Sunday.

So that is exactly why I still keep some things on my digital calendar. Those things can live in the digital. Paper is for thinking and digital is for storage.

So it is not really a replacement for the digital system. It is just a complement, where I start writing everything on paper and then move it to digital if it's worth keeping. Thinking on paper has really allowed me to process information, both in my personal life and my work life.

The gear worth a look

• MeePlus SlimPad: the ring planner the review lives in.

MeePlus sent me the SlimPad to test. The link above is a referral link. It saves you a little money and it helps the channel.

Watch the full walkthrough

MeePlus Ring Planner Setup: The 7 Moves That Run My Week walks all seven moves in order, on the printed sheet.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do you do the weekly review?

It happens at the end of the week, on Saturday or Sunday. I sit down and use the week's notes as a reference when I'm filling out the tasks that happened.

What's the difference between a status and a risk?

A status describes where something is. A risk describes what it costs you. Only the second one makes me pick up a phone and make that call.

What if I can't bring myself to cross something out?

Use the one question. If this is still on the page in three weeks, will I be glad I kept it, or will I be annoyed looking at it 20 times? If it's the second one, it goes.