Free online GTD weekly review resources
Free GTD weekly review resources: eleven checklist steps by phase, a head-emptying trigger list, artefacts to keep open, and official vs practical guidance.
The short answer
Free GTD weekly review resources usually mean David Allen's three phases (get clear, get current, get creative), the eleven checklist steps, a head-emptying trigger list, and artefacts to keep open. No PDF runs the review for you. Done Bear is a local-first task manager with those lists as navigation if you want the assembly step gone.
Key takeaways
- Allen's published checklist has eleven steps in three phases, not a vague intention to tidy up.
- Get clear means every inbox at zero, including the one in your head.
- Get current needs two separate calendar passes: previous week and upcoming.
- Get creative is the phase people drop when they treat the review as tidying.
- The David Allen Company suggests 1 to 2 hours, every 7 to 10 days, for a thorough review.
What these free GTD weekly review resources cover
This page is a reference pack: phase checklists, a trigger list for emptying your head, artefacts to keep open, and an official-versus- practical table. It is not a second how-to.
For the procedure, psychology of quitting, and how to start smaller after a gap, use How to run a weekly review. For the method around the review, see Getting Things Done, reduced to what sticks.
Official steps come from the David Allen Company Weekly Review Checklist PDF. Duration and cadence figures come from company coaching content by Kelly Forrister, not from the PDF itself.
Get clear checklist
Get clear means nothing is uncaptured. From the David Allen Company Weekly Review Checklist (eleven steps).
| Step | Done when |
|---|---|
| Collect loose papers and materials | Nothing loose outside the system |
| Get "in" to zero | Every physical and digital inbox is empty |
| Empty your head | Open loops are written down without deciding yet |
Get current checklist
Get current means every commitment is accurate and unblocked. Two calendar steps matter: previous week and upcoming. From the official checklist.
| Step | Done when |
|---|---|
| Review next-action lists | Each item is still a real next action |
| Review previous calendar | Missed follow-ups from last week are captured |
| Review upcoming calendar | Prep needs for upcoming events exist as tasks |
| Review waiting-for list | Each item is chase, wait, or drop |
| Review project lists | Every active project has at least one next action |
| Review relevant checklists | Recurring standards and area checklists still hold |
Get creative checklist
Get creative is the phase people drop when they treat the review as tidying. From the official checklist.
| Step | Done when |
|---|---|
| Review someday/maybe | The list is honest, not a guilt archive |
| Be creative and courageous | At least one non-maintenance idea is captured |
Weekly review trigger list
Use these prompts while emptying your head. They are practical capture prompts, not official checklist steps from the Allen PDF.
- People you owe a reply, decision, or deliverable
- People waiting on you, and people you are waiting on
- Projects that have stalled without a next action
- Calendar leftovers from the last seven days
- Upcoming events that need prep you have not written down
- Money, admin, home, and health open loops
- Ideas parked "for later" that you keep rehearsing
- Commitments you made verbally and never captured
Artefacts to keep nearby during a review
Keep these open so the review is reviewing, not hunting for surfaces.
| Artefact | Why it is open | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| David Allen Company Weekly Review Checklist (PDF) | Canonical eleven steps in three phases | Official |
| Calendar (past week and upcoming) | Two separate official calendar steps | Official |
| Next-action, project, waiting-for, and someday lists | Get current and get creative ask for these explicitly | Official |
| Physical and digital inboxes | Get clear cannot finish while anything is uncaptured | Official |
| Recurring "Weekly review" appointment or task | The habit usually dies when it is not scheduled inside the system | Practical |
| Done Bear Inbox, Upcoming, Anytime, Someday, and Logbook | Same GTD lists as navigation, so you review instead of assembling views | Practical |
Official GTD checklist vs a practical weekly review
Keep the official structure. Borrow practical shortcuts only when they keep the habit alive.
| Topic | Official (Allen / DAC) | Practical (this site) |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Eleven steps in get clear, get current, get creative (PDF) | Same phases; start with clear + current when you are behind |
| Duration | Forrister (David Allen Company): 1 to 2 hours for a thorough review | A current system can take about 20 minutes; long sessions are often recovery |
| Cadence | Every 7 to 10 days; Friday morning is most common in coaching content | Put a recurring task in the system it reviews |
| Waiting-for | Waiting-for is an explicit checklist step | A separate list helps; chase-dated tasks can stand in |
| Get creative | Get creative is a required phase | Most often dropped when the review becomes tidying only |
| Software | No app is required | Lists as views remove the assembly tax before you start |
How long a weekly review takes
Kelly Forrister's David Allen Company coaching post suggests 1 to 2 hours for a thorough review, every 7 to 10 days, most commonly on a Friday morning. That figure is company coaching content, not Allen's PDF and not Allen speaking in that post.
If your system is already current, a maintenance pass can be much shorter. Long reviews are often recovery after a gap. For how to restart after months away, see the weekly review guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the official GTD weekly review PDF?
No. The free one-page PDF from the David Allen Company is the official checklist. This page restates those eleven steps by phase, adds a practical trigger list and artefact table, and links to a how-to guide for running the habit.
Can I use these resources without GTD software?
Yes. The review is a habit, not a product feature. Paper works if your system is small enough to hold in view. Software helps when the lists the checklist asks for already exist as views.
Should I use this page or the weekly review guide?
Use this page as the checklist and trigger pack. Use the how-to guide when you want the full procedure, why people quit, and how to start smaller after a gap.
Do I need a weekly review if my system is small?
Usually not. Under about twenty active commitments, a weekly review is ceremony. Capture and a short daily triage may be enough until the list grows.
Where this information comes from
- The David Allen Company, GTD Weekly Review (official checklist, PDF) (the canonical eleven steps, grouped as Get Clear, Get Current and Get Creative)
- Getting Things Done, GTD Best Practices: Review, by Kelly Forrister (1 to 2 hours for a thorough weekly review, every 7 to 10 days, most commonly on a Friday morning)
- Getting Things Done, Episode #43: The Power of the GTD Weekly Review (David Allen calls the weekly review the critical success factor in making GTD stick)
- The David Allen Company, What is GTD? (the five steps are capture, clarify, organize, reflect and engage)
When you might not need this
If you hold fewer than about twenty active commitments, a formal weekly review is usually ceremony. Capture well and triage daily instead. If you want lists that already match the checklist, Done Bear maps Inbox, Upcoming, Anytime, Someday, and Logbook as navigation, not as a replacement for the habit.