How To Do A Weekly Review (With One Question)

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There's many people out there that can and will give you elaborate ways to do a weekly review (or daily, monthly, or yearly, for that matter).

There's numerous questions, a lot of introspection, and then you're supposed to remember or enact all of the insights that spring up from the soil.

My suggestion is that just one question can be enough, and it's a question I ask myself:

"What, if taken away from your past week would have you made you much less effective, successful, happy, or made you more regretful?"

By asking this, and only this, you can identify the oft-mentioned, and awfully elusive 80/20 ratio of what brings you the majority of your positive results.

You can even substitute "past 24 hours/month/year" if you want to do more than just a weekly review. But you really only need that question.

For example:

Using this question helped me spot the kinds of content I find most valuable to read, the activities that if done would help me keep my distance from any regret (like spending more time with loved ones), and the kinds of tasks that serve me better when I don't avoid them.

That all sounds like basic "duh" information to learn about yourself, but reviewing your life works because:

1) We Are Often Walking Through Life Mindlessly, Without Turning Our Gaze Inward

2) We Often Need To Remind Ourselves of Evidence That Highlights What Truly Matters In Life

Final Thoughts

It's easy to seek out elaborate solutions to our problems, but one reminder I've received from utilizing the above question prompt is: simple sticks, while elaborate creates avoidance.

Before trying to make your weekly review a task that takes 30 minutes or more, try this simple question and see if it gets the job done without sparking your internal resistance.

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