# Free online GTD weekly review resources

> 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. Done Bear is a local-first task manager with Inbox, Upcoming, Anytime and Someday built in, so nothing needs assembling first.

Last updated September 22, 2026 · Matthew Blode

## Key takeaways

- Allen's published checklist has eleven steps in three phases.
- 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 for the GTD weekly review. The method itself lives in two guides.

For the procedure, why people stop reviewing, and how to start smaller after a gap, use [How to run a weekly review](/guides/how-to-run-a-weekly-review). For the method around the review, see [Getting Things Done, explained step by step](/guides/getting-things-done).

Official steps come from the David Allen Company Weekly Review Checklist PDF.

## 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 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 review time goes on reviewing, with no hunting for the right list.

| 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 and current when you are behind |
| Duration | Forrister (David Allen Company): 1 to 2 hours for a thorough review | A system that is already current takes much less. Long sessions are often recovery |
| Cadence | Every 7 to 10 days, most often Friday morning 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, and 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 that already exist as views skip the setup 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](/guides/how-to-run-a-weekly-review).

## Related guides

- [How to run a weekly review](/guides/how-to-run-a-weekly-review): How to run the three phases without turning the review into a second job.
- [Getting Things Done, explained step by step](/guides/getting-things-done): GTD's five steps and five lists, with one everyday example worked from start to finish.
- [Free online GTD contexts resources](/free-online-gtd-contexts-resources): Allen's starter context list, what each one is for, and when to skip them.

Migrating lists before a review? Start with [How to export your Todoist data](/guides/how-to-export-your-todoist-data), [TickTick](/guides/how-to-export-your-ticktick-data), or [Apple Reminders](/guides/how-to-export-apple-reminders). Docs for capture surfaces: [CLI](/docs/cli), [Raycast](/docs/raycast), [MCP](/docs/mcp).

## 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, and this page links to it in its sources. This page restates those eleven steps by phase, then adds a practical trigger list and an artefact table that are not part of the PDF. The weekly review guide covers running the habit.

### Can I use these resources without GTD software?

Yes. The weekly review is a habit, and no software feature can do it for you. Paper works if your system is small enough to hold in view. Software helps when the lists the checklist asks for, such as next actions, projects, waiting-for and someday, already exist as views you can open without assembling them first.

### Should I use this page or the weekly review guide?

Use this page as the checklist and trigger pack to keep open during a review. Use the weekly review guide when you want the full procedure, the reasons people stop reviewing, and how to start smaller after a gap of weeks or months. Read the guide once, then keep this page open each week.

### Do I need a weekly review if my system is small?

Usually not. Under about twenty active commitments, a weekly review is ceremony, because you can hold the whole system in view at once. Capture everything and run a short daily triage of the inbox instead. Add the weekly review when the list grows past what you can check in a few minutes.

## Where this information comes from

1. [The David Allen Company, GTD Weekly Review (official checklist, PDF) (the canonical eleven steps, grouped as Get Clear, Get Current and Get Creative)](https://gettingthingsdone.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Weekly_Review_Checklist.pdf)
2. [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)](https://gettingthingsdone.com/2011/11/gtd-best-practices-review-part-4-of-5/)
3. [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)](https://gettingthingsdone.com/2018/08/episode-43-the-power-of-the-gtd-weekly-review/)
4. [The David Allen Company, What is GTD? (the five steps are capture, clarify, organize, reflect and engage)](https://gettingthingsdone.com/what-is-gtd/)

## 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 keeps Inbox, Upcoming, Anytime, Someday, and Logbook as views. The habit is still yours to keep.

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