De-merging Weekly review and Altitude/Goal setting?

arunkw

arunkw

0
I have been carrying out my weekly review on every Monday of late I have observed that I am not able to do it completely. What I do in weekly review is clearing all my capturing tools, processing unprocessed items, updating diffrent sheets, checklists, measurements, dashboards and reports etc.

There are few things that I am not able to do after processing all the stuff at runway level, I hardly have energy and I seldom remain in correct frame of mind to meditate and think at the higher altitude levels hence I usually rush through on my higher altitude & goal setting exercise which is last in the weekly review ;

I think I should detach goal setting/thinking from higher altitude apart from my weekly review, thus setting aside a different time slot for it. Would you agree that It will help me, I would like to
 
try it

no one can decide for you whether it will help you or not...

But in general: if you feel like it might help you, then give it a try!

Myriam
 
Do you process stuff collected in your capturing tools once a week? If yes that might be a problem. I process my inboxes every day so during my weekly review I'm reviewing all my projects rather then processing stuff from inboxes.
 
I do my long term goal setting and reflecting separately. Once a week I go for a coffee and spend an hour or so writing in my journal, sometimes more. Its a period of reflection rather than planning and isnt covered by my "GTD system" as such. Its taking the time to think carefully about my life.

I have a checklist of 8 areas of my life that I use to trigger thoughts about them. So for example "people" is one, which is used to remind me to think about my relationships with friends, my wife, my family. Meditation, Body, Finance, Ambition, Character, Spirit and Enjoyment are the rest. I kind of whittle down these areas over time.

I go through each and over the years Iv learned to recognise what constitutes "healthy" in terms of my behaviour.

Its a great method for me because spending time reflecting keeps things in balance. In my case, just because I have long term goals or horizons called "be a good husband/friend" and "have a successful career" it doesnt mean that im moving towards them evenly.

(By the way I got this method from the excellent Investment In Excellence course by the Pacific Institute.)

The reason I do this separate from the weekly review is because i dont want to get bogged down in the specifics of whether its possible to do something. its more like having a brainstorming session.

Of course whats great about GTD is that if I decide I've spent too much time at work recently and need to connect more with friends and my wife then I can just dump a project or two into my system called "find quality time with wife" or "catch up with Bob and his wife". Then when the weekly review comes round I can turn that into Next Actions that actually move me towards that goal.
 
I agree with kiyakh above. I don't think you are making the distinction between processing/organising and weekly review. I'd go back to the book or, if you have only read Getting Things Done, consider reading Making It All Work too, which adds a deeper discussion.

I do a Yearly Review, when I choose a top focus for the year, as well as smaller goals for every AOF. During this time, I look at all the 6 Horizons together. This process takes me a few weeks to complete, but then keeps me focused all year. I'm wondering if the book 'Best Year Yet' may be a good match for this process.

Then I do a Monthly Review when I check my Areas of Focus are in good order. I do these weekly after the yearly review until they are in good shape, then monthly until the end of the year.
 
@pxt: but you ARE de-merging...

pxt;85614 said:
I agree with kiyakh above. I don't think you are making the distinction between processing/organising and weekly review. I'd go back to the book or, if you have only read Getting Things Done, consider reading Making It All Work too, which adds a deeper discussion.

I do a Yearly Review, when I choose a top focus for the year, as well as smaller goals for every AOF. During this time, I look at all the 6 Horizons together. This process takes me a few weeks to complete, but then keeps me focused all year. I'm wondering if the book 'Best Year Yet' may be a good match for this process.

Then I do a Monthly Review when I check my Areas of Focus are in good order. I do these weekly after the yearly review until they are in good shape, then monthly until the end of the year.
Click to expand...

@pxt
you say you agree with kiyakh that arunkw is probably not distincting very well between processing and the weekly review... and then you tell that you are in fact also de-merging the review from the thinking about AOF and goals etc... you don't do that either within the weekly review, you do a monthly and yearly review for that...

@arunkw
I can perfectly understand why at the end of a perfectly good weekly review you might not find the energy any more to do the broader thinking. That's why my suggestion was to try whatever you think might work for you. The fact that you do conduct a good weekly review will set your mind free to think about the higher issues even if you don't do it at that very precise moment.

Myriam
 
Myriam;85620 said:
@pxt
you say you agree with kiyakh that arunkw is probably not distincting very well between processing and the weekly review... and then you tell that you are in fact also de-merging the review from the thinking about AOF and goals etc... you don't do that either within the weekly review, you do a monthly and yearly review for that...

Myriam
Click to expand...

Your english is very good for a non-english speaker, but in this case I am afraid you have interpreted the exact opposite meaning from each of my sentences.

My point and, I believe, kiyakh's above, is that arunkw is processing collectors in the time reserved for weekly review. The MIAW book and GTD employees on this forum have said that one key to a good weekly review is to do quality processing/organising during the week. Then the weekly review's most important function is to ensure that each project has next actions - which is feasible in an hour's work. Monthly review is for reviewing the Areas of Focus, which would be a more natural time to look upward through the six horizons.

So there's a daily activity ( processing collectors and organising the results ), a weekly activity ( checking the various incubating lists and project quality ) and a monthly activity ( 6 horizons thinking ).
 
I am following weekly review as per GTD and MIAW

My Weekly review comprises of:
  1. Collect Loose Papers and Materials
  2. Get “IN” to zero
  3. Empty Your Head
  4. Review Action Lists
  5. Review Previous Calendar Data
  6. Review Upcoming Calendar
  7. Review Waiting- For List
  8. Review Project (and Larger Outcome) Lists
  9. Review Any Relevant Checklists
  10. Review Someday/Maybe List
  11. Review for any projects which may now have become active and transfer 
  12. Be Creative and Courageous
 
@pxt

pxt;85652 said:
Your english is very good for a non-english speaker, but in this case I am afraid you have interpreted the exact opposite meaning from each of my sentences.
Click to expand...

@pxt

thank you for the compliment, and I know I can sometimes understand wrongly, but in this case I did exactly understood you as you meant it. Then again, maybe it's me that didn't explain very well what I meant...

I interpreted the original question as "I don't have energy left at the end of my weekly review to be creative and courageous. Can't I think of higher altitudes some other moment"

And then some replies came immediately saying "oh, that's simply because you do to much processing during your weekly review, you're not doing enough of it during the week". Adding to that your reply that you do your thinking of higher altitudes at some other time (monthly and yearly), that seemed a little contradictory to me, that's why I reacted writing "but you ARE de-merging, so why saying HE can't do it during the weekly review because of to much processing".

So I guess, to summarize it, a good answer for arunkw could be:
- getting creative and courageous doesn't mean that you have to review your higher altitudes during the weekly review
- yes, absolutely, reviewing your higher altitudes can (and should) be done at some other moment
- and as a side remark: are you sure that you are not doing to much processing during the weekly review, thus making the review heavier than it should be?

greetings,
Myriam
 
Myriam;85676 said:
...

- yes, absolutely, reviewing your higher altitudes can (and should) be done at some other moment

...

Myriam
Click to expand...

Agreed.

I think there is something here about the styles of thinking that suit the different GTD activities and the amount of energy or creativity needed for each.

If weekly review is kept quite mechanical, then its successful completion can be guaranteed each week.

Then higher thinking can be done at a time when reflection comes more easily.
 
I would separate because Clear stage is one set of mind and Vision is another. You can clean your inboxes on Friday and set goals on Saturday.
 
Thank you.

Thank you all I got great insight on this discussion I have now successfully separated weekly review with Goal setting/higher altitudes; Though I am riding well on my weekly review I am disappointed with my Goal setting/higher altitudes status :(:D
 
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