My Most Beneficial Ritual
Every Friday afternoon, I sit down and interrogate my life.
As a business owner, leader, parent, and/or spouse, it's easy to fall into a "rut of reactivity."
The day-to-day slog. The endless things vying for our attention. The all-encompassing sensory overload of social media, in-person events, projects, and even opportunities.
About 10 years ago, it became too much.
Then I stumbled upon a weekly ritual from Michael Hyatt: The Weekly Preview.
For a decade, I've spent 20-30 minutes each Friday afternoon "cleansing my mental palate." And it works. Really well.
The results?
Clarity. Realignment with my "why?" Renewed focus on those most important to me. Reduction of anxiety. Gratitude. A spotlight on issues I've been failing to address. And more...
So let's walk through The Weekly Preview together. Perhaps you'll try out this ritual and find it as valuable as I have.
Time, Place, and Platform
When you do your Weekly Preview is entirely up to you. I've tried Friday and Sunday. Friday stuck. For me, it's less about the week to come and a bit more on the week gone by, and by Sunday, I've forgotten a bit about the thrills and agonies of the week prior.
As for where to do your review, might I suggest a quiet place where you tend to relax? A favorite chair, your home office, heck, the hot tub might do, too. Regardless of where, minimize distractions for optimal results.
When it comes to the "platform" to use, I prefer my reMarkable tablet. Since I already use it for Bullet Journaling, this makes sense. Other options might include a "running" Word or Doc, a paper journal, Notion, or Apple Notes. Whatever works for you. It is helpful to be able to look back and reflect, so future accessibility may be a consideration.
So, What Do I Review & Preview?
Great question, here is the "form" I adapted from Michael Hyatt's concept:
Wins from the Week
These are the highlights from the past week. My Weekly Preview is not limited to any one area of life, so for me, these are personal, family, and/or work wins. I write out as many as I can think of. It's surprising how often I forget about a big win after a few days unless I make a conscious effort to "revisit" it. Writing 3-10 wins from the week immediately inspires me and prompts a feeling of gratitude. Every time.
Big 3 Review
At the end of each Weekly Preview, I determine the three most important goals for the coming week, as defined by alignment with my quarterly "rocks." So in this section of the Weekly Preview, I review the current week's Big 3. I mark them as complete, cancelled, or carried forward to the following week. That's it. Takes about 15 seconds.
What Worked / What Did Not Work?
Here, I reflect on processes and approaches from the previous week that succeeded or failed. This immediately reinforces the good (Keep doing more of that, Scott!) and prompts me to reassess my approach to the bad (We're not doing it that way again, are we, Scott...)
For example, maybe finally having that tough conversation worked. I’ll keep challenging myself to do this. But perhaps a new marketing concept fell flat. I’ll remember that for next time and not stub my toe again.
Keep / Improve / Start / Stop
This is pretty simple:
What do I need to keep doing that's working?
What areas need improvement?
What is something I should start doing next week?
What is something I'm doing that is not bearing fruit and needs to be pruned?
I'll admit, many weeks I have to tell myself to "Stop starting new things!" I'm not kidding, I'm that bad at chasing the squirrels...
3 Week Lookahead
I then take a moment and walk through my Google Calendar for the next three weeks.
What I'm specifically identifying are:
Things I need to prepare for (perhaps they become part of next week's "Big 3...")
Conflicting activities that I failed to recognize
Important events I need to remember to celebrate or communicate about
I'm a highly anxious person. This lookahead helps me avoid surprises (anxious people hate surprises) and feel prepared for what's ahead. (So far as one can be prepared in this crazy world.)
Rock Review
As I've mentioned, I don't know, 300 times, I use EOS (Traction) to run each business, my personal operating system, and my personal brand.
This leads to 4-7 quarterly rocks (or goals) across my various roles.
So each week I review each rock and identify what's been done for each of them and what is next to accomplish.
Personal Tracker / KPIs
I have 3-5 personal KPIs I like to track, aligned with my personal quarterly rocks, and primarily related to health and learning.
So once a week, I update these KPIs on a simple spreadsheet and reflect on progress, or a lack thereof.
Big 3 For the Week to Come
Lastly, I establish the "Big 3" for the coming week. The simplest way to do this is to review my quarterly rocks in order of importance, identifying the first three tasks that need to be completed to achieve the rocks.
At times, the upcoming week has an unusual feature (such as a family vacation or holidays). In these situations, I may only have a single "Big 3" for the coming week, such as "Be 100% present with my family on vacation."
Conclusion
Some of us aren't wired to reflect; instead, we're wired to always be pushing, growing, and moving forward.
While this mindset has some distinct advantages, a failure to reflect, in the long run, reduces motivation and causes us to fall into a rut.
I hope this Weekly Preview is a tool you can try, and that, if you do, it changes your approach as dramatically as it's changed mine.
Thanks for reading this post. I appreciate you. In return, please share this with those you know who may be interested.
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