Weekly Review Challenge (September 2014)

[Barb]

We've turned the calendar to a new month, my friends, and there aren't many left until the end of the year! So this month's challenge will focus on "getting real".

• Do you need to fine tune anything in your system before the final crunch at year end?
• Are there any tasks or projects you simply need to let go of--at least for now?
• Do you need to renegotiate any deadlines, either with others or with yourself?
• Do you need to ask for help? (That's a tough one, I know!)

The goal here will be to start October (final quarter of the year) with a clean, tight, system. I hope you'll share your thoughts along the way as you post each Weekly Review.

The prize this month is any audio download!!

GTD Path to Clarity, Success, and a Stress-Free Life
https://gettingthingsdone.com/store/product.php?productid=16965&cat=252&page=

GTD Managing Projects
https://gettingthingsdone.com/store/product.php?productid=16893&cat=252&page=

GTD Weekly Review
https://gettingthingsdone.com/store/product.php?productid=16891&cat=252&page=

GTD Live
https://gettingthingsdone.com/store/product.php?productid=16892&cat=252&page=

 

[eianevan]

For this weekly review I really got into the groove and cleared the decks. I actually let go of a lot read/review items and did not feel any guilt. For a long time I had a problem with wanting to keep everything. Some projects resurfaced that I had forgotten about.... But the best thing I did during this particular review was create mind maps for my Areas of Focus. Now I have a great orienting map that I can better manage my projects. The end of this year is going to be easier to navigate through successfully.

 

[hikerpa]

Week Review #1 September

This week's review focused on a couple of projects due by the end of the year and cleaning up my waiting for list. My system is more stream lined than it's ever been. Taking the time to do a weekly review has made such a difference in my life. I have more control over the projects that I've started and so for me as the year finishes out I feel like I have more control than I've ever had. Thanks to GTD, David Allen and this community!

 

[Barb]

Week Review #1 September

This week's review focused on a couple of projects due by the end of the year and cleaning up my waiting for list. My system is more stream lined than it's ever been. Taking the time to do a weekly review has made such a difference in my life. I have more control over the projects that I've started and so for me as the year finishes out I feel like I have more control than I've ever had. Thanks to GTD, David Allen and this community!

Doing that review regularly really does make a big difference! And Ellen: We, the community, are glad you're back with us!

 

[mwinn]

WR #1 for September

After 2 reviews in July, August flew by and I was back in 'continuous-partial-review' mode...

So I started off September with a clear-the-decks review, so I was already on-track with this month's theme! I got email back under control, cleared a bunch of never-gonna-do actions, as well as many that had been done but never marked as "done".

In August, I read a book called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying (Marie Kondo) (it won't be published in the US until mid-October but I got mine from a UK seller on Amazon) and it actually gave me HOPE about how to tackle a huge backlog of files to be purged. Her premise is to keep only those things that spark joy (or that you really have some legal obligation to keep). She is much more minimalist than I will ever be, but there were things in her book that I could apply right away.

That turned the whole "purge the files" project into something I'm ENJOYING. The book caused such a shift in mindset -- instead of looking at it as having to "DECIDE what to discard" (and only keep what's left), instead, I'm going on an adventure to see what I discover that sparks joy and that I GET TO KEEP (and then all the other stuff (except legal things) is easy to recycle/shred).

In keeping with this month's challenge, I hope and plan to be done with my files by the end of September! And getting rid of that drag on my system, my psyche and my space will be the best fine-tuning I can do to get ready for the 4th quarter. Oh, plus, ah… er…. uh… doing my weekly reviews, ah, WEEKLY!

Margaret

 

[FrDavid]

WR #1 Sept

Now that the semester has started, we are all back in a regular routine--thank goodness! First review of September went well. I have some catching up to do on my Reading and Reviewing material. I'm looking forward to dedicating some time to get caught up.

Had a bit of a difficulty getting the Mindsweep going this time--that was the first time I've had that issue. Maybe I'm getting better at trying to not use my mind to hold things??!!

 

[Popeye]

Hi Just want to pop in and say that the prizes this month are pure gold. I have all four audios and man.... They are super. 👍

 

[eianevan]

Review went awesome. Email and inbox are at zero, which is a great feeling. My backlog is manageable and on my lists. I was reading one of the GTD newsletters and found an article about someone creating a Weekly Review booklet for themselves that helped them concentrate on one step at a time. I really liked that idea and might incorporate that idea into my process.

 

[Barb]

Hi Just want to pop in and say that the prizes this month are pure gold. I have all four audios and man.... They are super. 👍

Thanks for this! And WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE WHAT WE HAVE COMING!!!! (I just love to tease....)

 

[Popeye]

Thanks for this! And WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE WHAT WE HAVE COMING!!!! (I just love to tease....)

Well, now you got me very curious.... but I think that was your intention.

Surfing by, just checking... and checking....

 

[MikeP]

WR #1

Wow, it has been 3 weeks since my last complete Weekly Review! I started one the Friday before I left for vacation but was interrupted by what I thought was a 1 hour meeting that blossomed into a 4 hour meeting. I got through my email and calendar but didn't touch my lists before leaving. Three weeks later and I have survived reentry from vacation and have a full Weekly Review under my belt and am feeling good about work again.

On the topic of fine tuning my system, I recently cleaned and tweaked my WR checklist so it goes smoother. I even managed to make some headway on the "get creative" part by realizing that several of the items (review wins for the week, what responsibility am I assigning myself / taking on, what is causing me stress) can go into the journal I have tried to start.

Knowing that I have fiscal and calendar year-ends coming up I do need to take a hard look at my projects and next actions to for items that I need to let go of or renegotiate so this is a timely reminder for me. I'm adding a special note to my WR checklist right now!

Mike

 

[MikeP]

WR #1 Sept

Now that the semester has started, we are all back in a regular routine--thank goodness! First review of September went well. I have some catching up to do on my Reading and Reviewing material. I'm looking forward to dedicating some time to get caught up.

Had a bit of a difficulty getting the Mindsweep going this time--that was the first time I've had that issue. Maybe I'm getting better at trying to not use my mind to hold things??!!

Keeping something on hand at all times to catch random thoughts (note pad, notetaker wallet, voice recorder) has virtually eliminated Mindsweeps for me.

 

[SiobhanBR]

WR #1

So last Friday morning I did do my regular weekly review, but given a lot of goings ons I limited it to work only, hoping to get to my personal review over the weekend. Why I figured that would happen I have no idea! I had to create the community newsletter Friday night and then my son's first music lesson and then off to our brand new (old) cottage - queue a really, really, really long list of new projects. And now it's Monday morning and my inbox overfloweth...

Keeping it real:
- I am going to focus on a few big projects while keeping the day to day stuff moving as best we can until we are fully staffed once more
- we are prioritizing our cottage projects realizing that the weather will limit what we can do before winter
- I was able to say no to a new volunteer request, although it would be a wonderful activity and in line with my life purpose (added to Someday/Maybe)
- I took time to relax this weekend and celebrate my niece's 8th birthday
- it's almost hockey season (Go Jets!)

 

[Barb]

#1 for September

I started my WR Saturday and it just went on and on and on! I finally finished early this morning.

I kept repeating, "keep it real" because my system is very full of projects and actions that simply are not going to happen between now and the end of the year. I spent a great deal off time getting rid of things, lots of deleting and lots of parking in someday/maybe. I also need project planning time for the few remaining big things that MUST happen before end of year. I'll start that this afternoon.

And I have to stop going down the rabbit holes--Facebook, online shopping, heavens there are so many distractions! So I started using one of my favorite focusing techniques, the Pomodoro system, this morning. I don't use it completely as it is supposed to be used, but just the timer helps.

Hope everyone has a good week...and keep on getting real. When we skate into the last three months of the year, you'll be very glad you did.

 

[hikerpa]

Weekly Review #2 September

So I finished my weekly review a little earlier this afternoon and worked on some projects that have to be done by the end of this month! I needed to seed some areas of my lawn and without GTD reminding me I probably would have just put it off. I also have to complete my CEU's for my Respiratory License. Having them show up in my GTD system makes it so much easier to remember.

I worked on some new projects and I'm trying to keep my pending and waiting for lists clean. All in all it was a great review.

 

[Hrlakat]

Weekly Review # 1 September

Returned Sunday so started my Weekly Review on Monday (not my normal day). Finished up today.

Didn't make much headway on setting up a work system with Outlook-OneNote-Reminders (for my work phone sync) while offshore, but I did do a good job of keeping to the two-minute rule for what I actually did process from my inbox. Added that (new system) as a formal project this week to my OmniFocus system. Also added "Plan Christmas" project too - I'm going to be overseas again in Oct/Nov, so I definitely need to start early!

Wrt the challenge - I thought I probably needed to see what was left to do wrt my 2014 goals, and I realized that I didn't turn most of these into "projects" to act on and review weekly. Something that I need to build into my system / Weekly Review checklist going forward so I make progress on them ratably during the year vs. trying to cram things into 4Q (which likely isn't going to happen this year). I was just so excited to do a year-end review that I didn't use advanced common sense on this one lol!

 

[Jenn]

WR # 1 for September (# 30 of 2014) I'm a little late in posting this month's first review. I did it last Sunday night to reset before the work week. An audit the week before mixed up my preferred Friday schedule. I like this month's challenge of getting real. I overcommitted on some things this week and looking back I can see many opportunities to say no. I need to be more realistic about what I put both on my calendar and my action list.

 

[FrDavid]

Keeping something on hand at all times to catch random thoughts (note pad, notetaker wallet, voice recorder) has virtually eliminated Mindsweeps for me.

Thanks for that--I think you may be right. I am getting better at "collecting" items so I think that might be the reason that my mind sweeps just aren't as substantial as they used to be.

 

[FrDavid]

WR #2 Sept Second review of the month crossed off! For the monthly challenge, I did a good job of really purging a few projects that needed to be put to bed. I also spent some time reviewing horizons of focus since it is almost the end of the quarter.

 

[SiobhanBR]

WR #2

Just a quick and dirty work-only review this morning. I was home sick yesterday so have some extra cleaning up to do at work before the end of day. And a meeting to prep for that didn't happen yesterday. But I did get through all of my work lists and email support and cleaned up quite a bit.

My getting real just got tougher since one of my staff left for another job. I am hoping for a quick replacement but "quick" around here is usually several months... re-prioritizing is just part of daily life. GTD has really helped me with this because I can put things into Someday/Maybe without worrying about losing them forever. And having a list of 100 Next Actions can help when asked "Why haven't you done X yet?"