The Friday review is a small boundary between work and the weekend. It does not need to summarize everything; it needs to make next week easier to begin.
Look at what actually moved
Open the plan and mark each outcome as done, partly done or not started. Do not rewrite history; just record what happened. A partial outcome often contains the next action.
Close or reschedule open loops
For each unfinished item, decide: finish it now, schedule it, delegate it or drop it. An item with no decision becomes mental clutter.
Choose next week’s three outcomes
Use what you learned this week to choose three outcomes for the next one. Keep one carried-over item at most unless it is genuinely the priority.
Write the first Monday action
Leave one sentence describing what you will open first and where it lives. That is the handover. Then stop.
Fifteen-minute review
| Item | Example |
|---|---|
| Minutes | Question |
| 0–5 | What moved? |
| 5–8 | What needs a decision? |
| 8–12 | What are next week’s three outcomes? |
| 12–15 | What is the first Monday action? |
What to watch for
- Turning the review into a new project.
- Using the review to list every failure instead of choosing the next action.
- Skipping the review when the week was busy—exactly when it helps most.
A useful next step
A good review ends with fewer open decisions and a clear first step. It does not need to produce a perfect plan. If Friday disappears, do the review on Monday morning before opening email. The day is less important than the handover; what matters is that the next action is chosen before the new week starts making decisions for you. If the review regularly runs long, answer only three questions: what moved, what needs a decision and what is the first action on Monday. Everything else can wait for the next weekly reset.