Inbox detox
For the past few years, I’ve been doing a weekly review as part of my routine, a practice inspired by the GTD method. This involves processing everything I’ve captured during the week and planning for the coming week. From emptying inboxes to organizing tasks, setting the stage for the days ahead.
Overtime, my weekly review has evolved and here’s what it looks like today:
- Actionable: Items requiring action are moved to my to-do app.
- Non-actionable: Everything else gets archived.
Files
I use two cloud storage services - Google Drive for personal files and OneDrive for work. Each week, I sort through the Inbox folders in both, organizing documents into their respective folders. This includes reference materials, receipts, e-books, and more.
Notes
I used to organize my notes into various folders, but to simplify, I now only use three folders in UpNote: Inbox, Notes, and Writing.
- Inbox: For pending items
- Notes/Archives: For general notes once processed
- Writing: For notes that may serve as references or research material, complete with tags for easy searchability
To keep everything accessible, I maintain an Index note, which functions as a table of contents with links to all the notes I regularly revisit.
Calendar
Check schedule for the coming week.
Journal
Make an entry or two in my journal app of any highlight in the past week.
Tasks
Tasks in the Inbox folder get processed, scheduled, or deleted if no longer relevant.
Finances
I regularly track my net worth so this is an important part of my review. I reconcile my balances across cash, bank accounts, and investments using the Money Manager app.
Photos
I go through my photos and delete those that aren’t worth keeping, freeing up storage.
Weekly Notes
I’ve been meaning to start making weekly notes, but as I reflect on it, I realize my life is pretty routine and uninteresting. Writing about my week might be more challenging than expected.
The weekly review has been helpful in managing my digital clutter and helping me feel more organized. How do you do your weekly review?
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