Free template

Weekly review template

Use this weekly review template to look at what moved, what stalled, which patterns repeated, and which decisions need attention. It ends where a review should end, with a short and honest list of what gets your next week.

See the weekly review app →

Reviewing goal progress in HourLife on iPhone

Copy the template

# Weekly Review

Week of:

## What Moved
- Completed work:
- Goals advanced:
- Habits kept:
- Highlights:

## What Stalled
- Unfinished tasks:
- Missed habits:
- Avoided decisions:
- Energy drains:

## Patterns
- Best focus blocks:
- Low-energy moments:
- Repeated blockers:
- People or commitments needing attention:

## Decisions
- Decisions made:
- Decisions to revisit:

## Next Week
- Top priority:
- Goals to support:
- Habits to protect:
- Tasks to schedule:
- What to say no to:

How to use this template

Start with evidence, not with how the week felt. Memory is noisy by Friday, and the loudest task is rarely the most important one. Read your completed tasks, habit records, focus sessions, journal notes, mood or energy logs, highlights, and decisions before you write anything.

Then summarize what moved and what stalled. Keep both lists short. A review that catalogues everything is a review you will stop doing by the third week.

End the review with tradeoffs

The most useful part of the template is the last section. A week has a fixed number of hours, so choosing what matters is also choosing what does not.

Answer four questions before you close the file:

What is the single priority for next week?
Which goal needs attention, and which one can wait?
Which habits are worth protecting when the week gets busy?
What are you saying no to?

Writing the last one down is what keeps the first three realistic.

How HourLife supports this

HourLife keeps daily records, tasks, habits, goals, focus sessions, highlights, and decisions in one system, so review starts from what you already captured instead of a reconstruction.

Markdown export means the finished review can live outside the app too, in whatever notes or archive you keep long term.

Related workflows

All templates → Weekly review app → Goal planning template → Daily planning template →

Common questions

What should a weekly review include?

Include completed work, unfinished work, goal progress, habit patterns, energy patterns, decisions made or avoided, and the priorities for next week. The last part matters most.

When should I do a weekly review?

Pick a consistent time near the end or the start of the week. The exact day matters far less than the review being repeatable, so choose the slot you are most likely to protect.

How long should a weekly review take?

Twenty to thirty minutes is enough for most people. A review that runs longer tends to get skipped, and a skipped review is worth nothing at all.

What is the difference between a weekly review and journaling?

Journaling captures texture and meaning as it happens. A weekly review summarizes patterns, progress, and next actions across several days, and it ends with decisions rather than reflection.

Do I need a whole system to run a weekly review?

No. You need a record of the week you can actually read back. That can be a task list and a few notes, though the review gets easier when habits, goals, and daily notes sit in one place.