The Weekly Review That Makes You Better at Your Job (In 30 Minutes)
Sometimes, weeks can blur together. You stay busy. You attend meetings. You react and respond.
Then Friday lands and you’re not fully sure what you moved forward.
This weekly review fixes that, it's the review I use.
It takes 30 minutes. Low friction. Positive. And it helps you build impact you can actually feel.
Do it once a week. Put it in your calendar. Treat it like a meeting with your future self.
The 30 minute Weekly Review (Free Template Below)
1. Capture the Week without judgement (5 mins)
This isn't a report. You’re collecting evidence.
- What did I ship, finish, or improve?
- What did I move forward, even slightly?
- What did I learn that will save me time next week?
Examples: “I finished the client web page. I solved three bug tickets. I automated the daily report.”
2. Score your Impact (10 mins)
Impact is personal. Define it your way (I use H/M/L). Use two direct questions:
Work impact
- What changed because you showed up this week?
- What work looked busy but didn’t really matter?
Examples: “I spent three hours polishing a deck that didn’t change any decisions. I had a client meeting where they renewed with add-ons."
People impact
- Who did I help succeed this week?
- Who did I ignore, avoid, or frustrate?
Examples: “I gave quick, clear feedback to unblock Priya. That saved her a full day. I spent time mentoring Tom on Thursday, that helped him define a new career plan.”
If you can’t name someone you helped this week, that’s your signal.
3. Find the Drag, and remove it. (10 mins)
This is the part most people skip. It’s also why they stay stuck.
- What slowed me down repeatedly?
- What decision did I delay?
- What conversation did I avoid?
Then ask:
What would “cleaning this up” look like next week?
Examples: “I keep getting pulled into random requests so I need a tighter intake rule. I avoided setting expectations with my manager, I’ll add it to my 1:1 document and do it on Monday.”
4. Set three actions for next week. (5 mins)
Not goals. Not intentions. Actions.
Your actions should be: Specific, Visible and Finishable. If you can’t finish all three, you picked the wrong three.
Use this structure:
Action 1: One thing to finish
- What will I complete next week that reduces stress?
Example: “Finalise the onboarding doc and share it with the team.”
Action 2: One thing to move
- What will I push forward that creates progress?
Example: “Book 20 mins with Sales Ops to unblock the reporting change.”
Action 3: One people move
- Who will I support, align with, or challenge directly?
Example: “Give Dan clear feedback on the project plan by Tuesday.”
Your copy-and-paste template
Weekly Review
Wins (Just the Facts)
Best Use of time:
Worst Use of time:
People Impact
Helped:
Missed:
Drag Points
Three actions for next week
The real point of this review
You don’t need a perfect system. You can adapt the one above to suit your needs.
I schedule this at 2pm on a Friday afternoon - and then write a weekly email to my team. This is my end of week routine.
You need a repeatable moment every week where you:
- Face the truth
- Notice & recognise your progress
- Choose the next right moves
When will you schedule your 30 minutes? Friday afternoon or Monday morning?
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