Why I developed a habit of Periodic Planning and Review

In this post, I want to explore why I carry out our regular periodic planning and review. I thought it was worth exploring further as I wrote my blog post on why I moved my periodic planning from Notion to Obsidian.

I have written elsewhere that since I started Blogging in October 2020, I have been on a whirlwind journey of self-discovery and learning. The habit of periodic planning and review is one of the ideas I discovered while on this journey of personal development and growth.

Periodic planning allows me to track my lifetime objectives into the present, which act as milestones along my journey.

The review aspect allows me to track what went well, what challenges I faced and anything I have learnt from that experience.

The importance of planning in achieving your long-term objectives

One of the first productivity books I read on my journey was The One Thing by Gary Keller, and I posted about it in the list of five books that have so far had the biggest impact on my life.

As I’m drafting this post, I have decided that I should look to write about what the biggest takeaways from that book were. Just going through my notes for this book, I unearthed a gem I have been using but not as recommended by Gary Keller. That gem is relevant to this post.

The biggest takeaway I have had from the book is what Gary Keller calls the focusing question. “What is the ONE Thing I can do such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?” This is a question that can help you identify what your priority is now or help you work out the priority over longer time scales.

I ask this question every year in November to try and figure out what I want to do with my life. The biggest question anyone can ask themselves.

The gem I unearthed was a note containing a modification of the focusing question from Gary Keller's book, which is “What is the one thing I can do in my life that would mean the most to me and the world, such that by doing it everything else would be easier or unnecessary?” I hope to ask myself that question next November.

I ask myself a few supporting questions for specific areas of my life to support the overarching life goal.

So after asking that big question, you need to feed it back to today so that you can determine the best path to take you where you want to get to today.

As part of this process over the last few years, I have started defining five-year goals to act as a distant milestone. New five-year goals are written every year. On the back of these goals, I write my annual goals for the following calendar year.

Starting in October 2024, I decided to set quarterly goals to act as stepping stones between the annual and monthly milestones. I also set weekly goals.

These goals are made up of both habits I wish to start and track during the year. Along with projects or tasks, I need to complete them to help me make progress along my path, with the aim of making the rest of the journey easier for myself.

The Importance of reflection and review

The first time I ever considered carrying out regular reviews of my work was while reading David Allen's book Get Things Done. This is an opportunity to make sure your productivity system is correct and up to date. It was enough for me to schedule a weekly review each week.

I undertake my review on Saturday afternoons for my personal goals and opportunities, including my writing. As my personal week runs from Sunday to Saturday for my paid job, I do it on a Friday.

After reading James Clear's book Atomic Habits, I realised that my reviews gave me an opportunity to continue to grow and improve as I undertake my journey through life. I could review my plans to create a feedback loop into my system.

My periodic reviews include these three questions. Firstly, “What went well?” Secondly “What was this weeks challenges?” and thirdly “Lessons learnt?”

I don’t necessarily have an answer for every question when I consider how things went, but I have given myself the opportunity to do so, which is what matters. I think it has helped me to improve my organisational skills. Turning them from a weakness to a strength. But there will always be room for improvement.

Conclusion

You should now have a better understanding of why I have created a productivity system which contains regular periodic reviews. I hope you will join me and give them a try by starting a weekly planner and review regime and see how you find it.

Further reading

Why I moved my periodic planning from Notion to Obsidian
5 Books that have influenced my life
David Allen, Get things done
Garry Keller, The One Thing
James Clear, Atomic Habits