Claire Bradford: Woman in Business

DO you do a weekly review? The idea is that an hour or so is blocked off once a week to give you an overview of your current situation and plot the short-term course ahead.

It’s a great practise to get into, giving you the opportunity to take a step back from your daily to-do list, but without the pressure of your loftiest dreams. Google ‘weekly review’ and you’ll find a plethora of templates and tips dedicated to making the most of this time.

However, do be warned that some of these articles, discussions and forums can take themselves extremely seriously and you risk going crossed eyed at the level of detail that some people go to.

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To that end, here’s the Straightforward Coaching ‘weekly review tips lite’:-

• Choose a time for your review and block it in to your diary for each week. You will need about an hour at a time that suits your working week – a Friday last thing or Monday first thing slot is ideal if you work conventional hours.

• Imagine yourself as the CEO, with your whole life as your business empire. The weekly review covers home and social life as well as work life, and they all need looking at regularly.

• Don’t use the time to do work – use it to identify what work needs to be done and create an action plan for doing it.

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• Use the first part of your hour to clear your desk, sort any paperwork and clear your inbox – or make a huge dent in it if that’s more realistic for you.

• Take a look at the week ahead and all that’s in it, and be clear about your time constraints. Make a list of all that needs to be done by whatever system suits you best.

• Take some time to think about your bigger goals, plans and dreams and check that a good proportion of your task list is getting you towards those and not just day-to-day firefighting.

• Look back on the previous week, recognise the progress you made, identify the highlights and make a note of lessons learned.

Check out www.facebook.com/womaninbusiness or www.twitter.com/coachbythecoast for some links to articles on weekly reviews, and let me know your thoughts and experiences.

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