ChatGPT Weekly Review & Planning Template Prompt
Run a structured weekly review that clears your head, captures all open loops, and sets you up for a focused next week.
Category
🚀 Productivity
Difficulty
Beginner
Models
3
Last Updated
2026-06-29
Works with
📄 Example output
⚠️ Common Mistakes
❓ FAQ
⚙️ Fill in your variables
📋 Prompt
You are a productivity coach who has helped 300+ professionals implement a weekly review ritual.
Work context: [type of work and role]
Biggest challenge: [too many open loops/unclear priorities/reactive work/no reflection time]
Time available: [20/30/45/60 minutes]
Current system: [none/informal/partial]
Task: Build a complete personalised weekly review template:
1. MINDSET RESET (2-3 min): How to mentally transition into review mode
2. CAPTURE CLEAR (5 min): Empty all inboxes — email, notes, desk, head — with specific prompts
3. LAST WEEK REVIEW (5-8 min): What got done, what didn't, wins, patterns
4. PROJECT STATUS (5-8 min): Every active project — next action and anything blocked?
5. CALENDAR REVIEW (3-5 min): Look back 1 week + forward 2 weeks
6. PRIORITY SETTING (5-8 min): 3 most important outcomes for next week
7. ENERGY CHECK (2 min): How are you going into next week?
Format: Repeatable template with checkboxes and fill-in prompts — something to actually open each week
Work context: [type of work and role]
Biggest challenge: [too many open loops/unclear priorities/reactive work/no reflection time]
Time available: [20/30/45/60 minutes]
Current system: [none/informal/partial]
Task: Build a complete personalised weekly review template:
1. MINDSET RESET (2-3 min): How to mentally transition into review mode
2. CAPTURE CLEAR (5 min): Empty all inboxes — email, notes, desk, head — with specific prompts
3. LAST WEEK REVIEW (5-8 min): What got done, what didn't, wins, patterns
4. PROJECT STATUS (5-8 min): Every active project — next action and anything blocked?
5. CALENDAR REVIEW (3-5 min): Look back 1 week + forward 2 weeks
6. PRIORITY SETTING (5-8 min): 3 most important outcomes for next week
7. ENERGY CHECK (2 min): How are you going into next week?
Format: Repeatable template with checkboxes and fill-in prompts — something to actually open each week
WEEKLY REVIEW: Solo Founder | 30 min | Every Friday 5pm
▸ MINDSET RESET (2 min)
Close all tabs. Make coffee. Set 30-min timer.
Reminder: this 30 minutes determines how your next 40 working hours go.
▸ CAPTURE CLEAR (5 min)
☐ Email inbox → zero or 'action needed' folder
☐ Notion/notes inbox → every loose note processed
☐ Physical desk → nothing out that doesn't belong
☐ HEAD DUMP: 5 min free writing — what's floating in my mind?
Rule: write it down. Don't try to do it now.
▸ LAST WEEK (5 min)
→ Most important thing I shipped: ___
→ Didn't get to: ___ because: ___
→ One thing that worked: ___
→ One thing I'd do differently: ___
→ Win worth celebrating: ___
▸ PROJECT STATUS (8 min)
For each active project:
• Status: on track / stuck / needs decision
• Next action: [specific verb + outcome]
• Blockers: [person or info needed]
☐ Project 1: ___ ☐ Project 2: ___ ☐ Project 3: ___
FLAG: No clear next action = stalled. Decide: continue / pause / kill.
▸ NEXT WEEK (5 min)
1. ___ 2. ___ 3. ___
Rule: 3 maximum. If everything is a priority, nothing is.
▸ ENERGY CHECK (2 min)
Energy [1-10]: ___ | Need to protect: ___ | Looking forward to: ___
DONE. Start Monday with clarity.
▸ MINDSET RESET (2 min)
Close all tabs. Make coffee. Set 30-min timer.
Reminder: this 30 minutes determines how your next 40 working hours go.
▸ CAPTURE CLEAR (5 min)
☐ Email inbox → zero or 'action needed' folder
☐ Notion/notes inbox → every loose note processed
☐ Physical desk → nothing out that doesn't belong
☐ HEAD DUMP: 5 min free writing — what's floating in my mind?
Rule: write it down. Don't try to do it now.
▸ LAST WEEK (5 min)
→ Most important thing I shipped: ___
→ Didn't get to: ___ because: ___
→ One thing that worked: ___
→ One thing I'd do differently: ___
→ Win worth celebrating: ___
▸ PROJECT STATUS (8 min)
For each active project:
• Status: on track / stuck / needs decision
• Next action: [specific verb + outcome]
• Blockers: [person or info needed]
☐ Project 1: ___ ☐ Project 2: ___ ☐ Project 3: ___
FLAG: No clear next action = stalled. Decide: continue / pause / kill.
▸ NEXT WEEK (5 min)
1. ___ 2. ___ 3. ___
Rule: 3 maximum. If everything is a priority, nothing is.
▸ ENERGY CHECK (2 min)
Energy [1-10]: ___ | Need to protect: ___ | Looking forward to: ___
DONE. Start Monday with clarity.
🏆
💡 Pro Tips
Best model for this prompt
Claude
Claude (Opus 4 / Sonnet 4)
The head dump is the most important step — writing everything floating in your mind creates clarity no app can replicate
Project with no clear next action is stalled — the weekly review is where you unstall everything
Look forward 2 weeks in your calendar — most prep failures happen because we see things coming and don't act early
Same time and place every week — the ritual signals to your brain it's time to shift into reflection mode
Skipping when busy — exactly when you need it most; a 15-min minimum beats skipping
Too many priorities for next week — 3 is the science-backed maximum for high completion
Not checking every project — the one you skip has the hidden blocker
Review on Monday morning instead of Friday — Monday reviews happen after the week has started chaotically
- Best time for weekly review?Friday afternoon — still in work mode, week is fresh, can handle final loose ends. Monday morning is second choice.
- How long?20-30 minutes for most people. 45-60 for managers with many active projects. Over 90 minutes means your capture system isn't working.
- Missed a week?Do a 10-minute mini-review rather than skipping. The two-week gap kills the habit — a short review resets it.
- Best model?Claude builds templates accounting for your specific work type. ChatGPT is faster for generating many template variations.