A weekly reset is a good idea that usually fails in the same way: it is designed for a week that went fine. The first bad week breaks it, and then there is a reset to catch up on as well.
This guide is about a reset that is small enough to survive a bad week. It is practical, not medical advice.
The ten minute reset
Open the pile
Look at what is there. Do not decide anything yet.
Pick one thing
One, not the list. The one that matters most this week.
Put one date on it
A day you chose. If you do not want a date, leave it empty.
Two kinds of reset
- Reviews everything that happened
- Builds a plan for the whole week
- Falls apart after a missed day
- Adds a catch-up task
- Looks at what is in front of you
- Picks one thing
- Works the same after a missed week
- Adds nothing to catch up on
A reset that needs a good week
- Reviews everything that happened
- Builds a plan for the whole week
- Falls apart after a missed day
- Adds a catch-up task
A reset that survives a bad one
- Looks at what is in front of you
- Picks one thing
- Works the same after a missed week
- Adds nothing to catch up on
What to do with the week you skipped
Nothing. A skipped week does not need to be caught up. It does not create a debt. You do the ten minutes this week, as if the last one had not been missed, because for the purpose of the reset it has not.
Some weeks the honest answer to what you got done is that you did not get to it. That is a real answer, not a failure. It changes nothing about what is in front of you now.
A floor and a ceiling
On a bad week, do the floor. On a good week, the ceiling is allowed.
3 things to do
Ticks are for this visit only. Nothing here is saved anywhere.
If the whole system has stopped working
If you stopped using a system entirely, the fix is not a better system. It is a way back that does not start with a catch-up. That is covered in why you stop using planners, and how to come back.