--- url: /recipes/weekly-review.md description: >- Close the week in half an hour: empty your Inbox list, check every list and plan the next week. --- # Run a weekly review This recipe is for anyone who uses Hule as their system for getting things done and feels it slowly fill with stale tasks. Once a week, in about half an hour, you bring your [Inbox list](/guides/capture-to-inbox#inbox-list-setting) and your other lists back to a trusted state. The weekly review is a step of the [GTD](/concepts/gtd) method. You need an Inbox list in each workspace and a GTD view on it. ::: warning Set up the Inbox list first Pick an **Inbox list** under **Workspace settings** → **Me in this workspace** → **GTD** ([Inbox list setting](/guides/capture-to-inbox#inbox-list-setting)) and add a view with **Display Mode** set to **GTD** on it ([GTD view on your Inbox list](/guides/run-a-gtd-session#gtd-view-on-your-inbox-list)). ::: ::: warning Configuring a list needs a permission Switching on **Repeats** needs **Update** in the **Lists** block of your permission set, such as **List/Folder manager** or **Admin**. ::: ## Review task, Review view and an empty Inbox list * A [recurring task](/guides/set-up-recurring-tasks) **Weekly review** that appears every Friday and holds the checklist. * A [personal view](/concepts/personal-and-work) **Review** that shows everything open and overdue or undated, across your workspaces. * An empty Inbox list and a planned next week, every week. ![The Table view Review: three tasks without a due date on top, then four overdue tasks, oldest first, with the filter rules and the Sort by Due date button above](/shots/recipes/weekly-review-1.light.webp){.light-only} ![The Table view Review: three tasks without a due date on top, then four overdue tasks, oldest first, with the filter rules and the Sort by Due date button above](/shots/recipes/weekly-review-1.dark.webp){.dark-only} ## Review task setup 1. In a list you use for your own tasks, open the list's **…** menu → **Configure** → **Features** and switch on **Repeats** ([Turn features on or off](/guides/set-up-a-list#turn-features-on-or-off)). A new list starts without it. 2. Create the task **Weekly review**, due this Friday. The **Repeats** field shows in its card. 3. In the task's description, type `/`, choose **Checklist** and add four items ([Slash menu](/guides/write-a-task-description#slash-menu-add-a-block)): ```text Inbox list empty Tasks without a date: still needed? Overdue tasks: done, moved or dropped Next week: 3 main outcomes chosen ``` ::: warning Write the checklist before the repeat The repeat copies the task as it is when you save the rule. Editing the description later doesn't change next week's copy ([Edits to a saved series](/reference/repeat-rules#edits-to-a-saved-series)). ::: 4. Click **Doesn't repeat** next to **Repeats** and set ([Repeat on a fixed schedule](/guides/set-up-recurring-tasks#repeat-on-a-fixed-schedule)): * **Mode**: **Fixed schedule**; * **Frequency**: every **Week**, on Friday, **at** 16:00; * **Ends**: **Never**. Leave **Description** on in [**Carry over**](/reference/repeat-rules#carry-over-what-a-new-task-copies); it is on by default. ::: info Why Fixed schedule **Fixed schedule** keeps the review on Friday even in a week you skip. ::: 5. Click **Save**. The **Repeats** field shows **Every week on Fri at 16:00**. ## Review view setup 1. In the sidebar's **User Views**, hover over the row with your name and choose **+** → **New view** ([Create the view](/guides/build-a-today-view#create-the-view)). The view form opens. 2. In **Name**, type **Review**, and set **Display Mode** to **Table** ([Views compared](/reference/views-compared)). **Type** reads **User**: the view is personal. 3. In **Source**, pick each workspace you work in, and click **Create**. The view opens. ::: tip Too many tasks? Pick only the workspaces you plan in, or add **Assignee** is **Me (current user)** in step 4. ::: 4. Click **Filter** and add rule 1 with **+ Rule**. Then click **+ Group**, add the two **Due date** rules inside it, and click the join between them to set it to **OR** ([Rules and groups](/reference/view-filters#rules-and-groups)): | Rule | Field | Operator | Value | |---|---|---|---| | 1 | **Stage** | none of | **Done** | | 2 (a group with **OR**) | **Due date** | before / less than | **Today** (**Relative**) | | | **Due date** | is empty | | 5. Click **Save** on the strip. Only open tasks that are overdue or undated remain. 6. Click **Sort** and add **Due date** ([View sorting](/reference/view-sorting)). Tasks without a date come first, then the overdue ones, oldest first. ## Weekly run, step by step When **Weekly review** comes up on Friday, work through its checklist: 1. **Empty the Inbox list (10 minutes).** In the GTD view on each workspace's Inbox list, press **Start GTD session** and clarify every task ([Run a GTD session](/guides/run-a-gtd-session)). The view shows **Inbox zero**. 2. **Question the undated (5 minutes).** Open **Review** and go through the tasks at the top, which have no due date: delete what no longer matters and date what does. ::: danger Deleting a task can't be undone A deleted task goes with its subtasks. If unsure, give it a date next month instead. ::: 3. **Clean up what is late (10 minutes).** Below them come the overdue tasks. Select several with **Cmd+click** (Mac) or **Ctrl+click** (Windows, Linux) and set **Due date** for all of them at once, or finish or delete them one by one ([Change the selected tasks](/guides/edit-tasks-in-bulk#change-the-selected-tasks)). 4. **Plan next week (5 minutes).** Pick three outcomes and give their tasks due dates next week. 5. **Close the review task.** Mark **Weekly review** done. Next Friday's copy appears on Friday whether or not you closed this one. ## Review problems and fixes * **You skipped a week.** The missed copy stays overdue. Do the review now and close it; next week's copy is unaffected ([Next date: Fixed schedule](/reference/repeat-rules#next-date-fixed-schedule)). * **The checklist is missing in the new copy.** The checklist was added after the repeat was set, or **Description** was turned off in **Carry over**. Choose **Don't repeat**, make sure the description holds the checklist with every item unticked, then set the repeat again; see [Edits to a saved series](/reference/repeat-rules#edits-to-a-saved-series). * **Review shows too much.** Narrow the view's **Source** to the workspaces you plan in ([Create the view](/guides/build-a-today-view#create-the-view)), or add a rule **Assignee** is **Me (current user)**; see [People fields and Me](/reference/view-filters#people-fields-and-me). ## Variations: team, daily, monthly * **Team review.** Create the Review view as a [workspace view](/concepts/views) (**New view** in the menu of the folder your team shares ([Share a folder or list](/guides/share-a-folder-or-list))) with the same filter, and review it together with a [lead's dashboard](/recipes/lead-dashboard) open on **Completed per week**. Creating it needs **Edit** access to the folder and **Create** in the **Views** block, such as **List/Folder manager** or **Admin**. * **Daily five minutes.** A short daily GTD session on your Inbox list keeps the Friday session small; see [Run a GTD session](/guides/run-a-gtd-session). * **Monthly look back.** Once a month, check that each folder is [shared with the right people](/guides/share-a-folder-or-list).