Consistent review practices are what separate dreamers from achievers. This guide shows you when and how to review your goals, KPIs, and habits to stay on track and keep making progress. ## Why Regular Review Matters Without regular review, even the best goals fade into the background of daily life. Review rhythms help you: - **Stay connected** to what matters most - **Track progress** on your most important outcomes - **Adjust course** when something isn't working - **Celebrate wins** and build momentum - **Make decisions** aligned with your goals The key is finding a rhythm that's sustainable for you. Start with what feels manageable, then build from there. > [!success] Rituals Make It Effortless > MakeTimeFlow's **rituals** are designed to help you effortlessly adopt these best practices. The **Begin Well** ritual guides your morning review, the **Weekly Reflection and Planning** ritual (WRAP) handles your weekly reviews, and the **Shutdown** ritual closes your days powerfully. When using the [desktop app](https://my.maketimeflow.com/desktop), these rituals prompt you spontaneously at the right times, making it easy to maintain your review rhythm without thinking about it. --- ## Daily Practice **Time Required:** 5-10 minutes total **When:** Morning (3-5 min) + Evening (2-5 min) ### Morning: Set Your Intention > [!success] Use the Begin Well Ritual > The **Begin Well ritual** makes this effortless! When using the desktop app, it will spontaneously prompt you to begin your day well. Simply engage with the ritual through voice or chat, and it will naturally guide you through reviewing your weekly goals, choosing your daily highlight, and setting your intention for the day. Start your day by connecting to your goals: **What the Begin Well Ritual Covers:** - Your weekly success story (your weekly goal) - Your daily highlight - the ONE thing that makes today successful - Today's calendar and key tasks - Your intention and energy for the day **Manual Review (if not using ritual):** 1. Open Focus Mode (`Cmd+1` (Mac) / `Ctrl+1` (Windows/Linux)) 2. Review your weekly goals (`Cmd+G` (Mac) / `Ctrl+G` (Windows/Linux)) 3. Choose your Daily Highlight 4. Scan your tasks for goal-related work **Key Questions:** - What would make today feel successful? - Which tasks connect to my weekly success story (weekly goal)? - What's my most important work today? ### Evening: Quick Reflection > [!success] Use the Shutdown Ritual > The **Shutdown ritual** makes ending your day powerful and effortless. When using the desktop app, it will prompt you at your preferred time. Simply say "Let's do shutdown" or engage through chat, and it will guide you through reflection on your day, celebration of wins, logging habits, and preparation for tomorrow. End your day by acknowledging progress: **What the Shutdown Ritual Covers:** - What you accomplished today - Progress on your daily highlight - Habit experiments you completed - Preparation for tomorrow - Gratitude and reflection **Manual Review (if not using ritual):** 1. Check off completed tasks 2. Note any habit experiments you did today 3. Quick reflection on your daily highlight 4. Set intention for tomorrow **Key Questions:** - Did I complete my daily highlight? - What did I learn today? - What went well today? --- ## Weekly Review **Time Required:** 30-45 minutes **When:** End of week (Friday afternoon) or start of week (Sunday evening/Monday morning) > [!success] Use the Weekly Reflection and Planning Ritual (WRAP) > The **Weekly Reflection and Planning ritual** (WRAP) is your secret weapon for effortlessly maintaining weekly review practices. When using the desktop app, it will prompt you at your preferred weekly time. Engage with it through voice or chat, and it will naturally guide you through reflecting on the past week, scoring your KPIs, reviewing habit experiments, and planning next week's success story (weekly goal). This single ritual handles what would otherwise require significant discipline and planning effort. This is your most important review practice. The WRAP ritual makes it effortless to never skip it! ### Reflect on the Week **What the WRAP Ritual Covers:** - Reflection on your weekly success story (weekly goal) - Scoring each of your 3-5 KPIs (0-100) - Reviewing habit experiments and deciding on them - Celebrating wins and completed tasks - Learning from what worked and what didn't **Manual Review (if not using ritual):** 1. Open your KPIs dashboard (`Cmd+K` (Mac) / `Ctrl+K` (Windows/Linux), then search "KPI") 2. Score each of your 3-5 KPIs for this week (0-100) 3. Review your habit experiments - did you do them? 4. Look at your completed tasks (what you actually accomplished) 5. Reflect on your weekly success story - did you make progress? **Key Questions:** - Which KPI improved this week? Which declined? - Are my habit experiments working? - What helped me make progress? - What got in the way? - What did I learn? ### Plan Next Week **What the WRAP Ritual Covers:** - Creating or updating your weekly success story (weekly goal) for next week - Connecting next week to your quarterly goals - Identifying key tasks aligned with your goals - Setting intentions for the week ahead **Manual Planning (if not using ritual):** 1. Draft or update your weekly success story 2. Use AI coach to help if stuck: "Help me plan my week" 3. Identify 3-5 most important tasks for next week 4. Schedule time blocks for goal-related work **Key Questions:** - What do I want to accomplish next week? - How does this connect to my quarterly goals? - What are my 3-5 most important tasks? - When will I do deep work on my goals? ### Habit Experiment Decisions **Review Each Active Habit:** - Did I do it consistently? - Is it helping my KPIs? - Does it support my success story (your narrative goals)? **Make a Decision:** - **Keep** - Move to maintenance mode (part of routine, stop tracking actively) - **Modify** - Adjust and test for another week or two - **Abandon** - Not working for you, try something else **Note:** The WRAP ritual naturally guides you through these habit decisions as part of your weekly reflection. --- ## Monthly Check-In **Time Required:** 45-60 minutes **When:** Last day of the month or first day of new month > [!tip] Future Enhancement: Automatic Prompting > Soon, the WRAP ritual will recognize when it's the end of a month and automatically prompt you to do your monthly check-in as part of your weekly reflection. This seamless integration will ensure you never miss important monthly reviews. ### Review Your Quarter **What to Review:** - Quarterly success story (quarterly goal) progress - KPI trends over the month - Habit experiments tried this month - Wins and challenges **How to Do It:** 1. Open your quarterly goals (`Cmd+G` (Mac) / `Ctrl+G` (Windows/Linux)) 2. Read your quarterly success story (quarterly goal) 3. Review KPI scores for the past 4 weeks 4. Look at trends - improving or declining? 5. List completed habit experiments **Questions to Ask:** - Am I making progress toward my quarterly success story (quarterly goal)? - Which KPIs are trending up? Which down? - What's working well? - What needs adjustment? - Am I on track for my quarterly goals? ### Adjust Your Approach **What to Update:** - KPI definitions (if needed) - Quarterly success story (quarterly goal) - minor tweaks - Habit experiment list **How to Do It:** 1. Refine KPI definitions if they're not measuring what matters 2. Update quarterly success story (quarterly goal) if priorities shifted 3. Plan next habit experiments based on KPI gaps 4. Adjust baseline or goal scores if needed **Questions to Ask:** - Are my KPIs still the right metrics? - Do I need to focus more on any Flourishing Domain? - What habit should I try next? - Is my quarterly success story (quarterly goal) still inspiring? > [!note] Don't Over-Adjust > Some fluctuation is normal. Look for trends over 2-3 weeks before making major changes. --- ## Quarterly Review **Time Required:** 90-120 minutes **When:** Last week of quarter > [!tip] Future Enhancement: Automatic Prompting > Soon, the WRAP ritual will recognize when you're approaching the end of a quarter and prompt you to do your quarterly review and planning. It will guide you through closing out the current quarter, updating your Flourishing Map, and drafting your next quarterly success story (quarterly goal). This is your big reflection and planning session. Block dedicated time for it. ### Celebrate and Close Out **What to Review:** - Your entire quarterly success story (quarterly goal) - All KPI progress over 12 weeks - All habit experiments tried - Major wins and lessons learned **How to Do It:** 1. Read your quarterly success story (quarterly goal) from 12 weeks ago 2. Celebrate what you achieved 3. Review final KPI scores - compare baseline to current 4. List all habit experiments you tried 5. Note biggest wins and key learnings **Questions to Ask:** - What am I most proud of this quarter? - How did I grow? - What did I learn about myself? - Which habits became part of my life? - Which KPIs improved most? ### Plan Next Quarter **What to Create:** - New quarterly success story (quarterly goal) - New KPIs (3-5 from Flourishing Domains) - First habit experiments to try **How to Do It:** 1. Update your Flourishing Map (reassess all 6 domains) 2. Draft next quarter's success story (quarterly goal) 3. Choose 3-5 KPIs for next quarter 4. Set new baseline and goal scores (0-100) 5. Plan first 1-2 habit experiments **Questions to Ask:** - What do I want to achieve in the next 12 weeks? - Which Flourishing Domains need attention? - What are my 3-5 most important outcomes? - What's one habit I want to test first? > [!success] Use AI Assistance > Let the AI coach help you draft your quarterly story and choose KPIs. It understands your history and can suggest ideas based on your Flourishing Map. --- ## Yearly Reflection **Time Required:** 2-3 hours (can split into multiple sessions) **When:** Last week of December or first week of January > [!tip] Future Enhancement: Automatic Prompting > Soon, the WRAP ritual will recognize when it's the end of the year and prompt you to do your annual reflection and vision update. It will guide you through reviewing the entire year, updating your 5-year vision, and setting direction for the year ahead. This is your deepest reflection and visioning session. ### Review the Year **What to Review:** - Progress on 5-year vision (your long-term narrative goal) - All 4 quarterly success stories (quarterly goals) - Annual Flourishing Map changes - KPI trends across the year - Habit experiments and patterns **How to Do It:** 1. Read your 5-year vision from a year ago 2. Review all quarterly success stories (quarterly goals) 3. Compare Flourishing Map from start of year to now 4. Look at KPI trends across all quarters 5. List all habit experiments - which ones stuck? **Questions to Ask:** - How did I grow this year? - What am I most proud of? - What surprised me? - What patterns do I notice? - Which habits became part of who I am? ### Vision for Next Year **What to Create/Update:** - Updated 5-year vision (your long-term narrative goal) - Updated Flourishing Map - First quarterly success story (quarterly goal) - Initial KPIs **How to Do It:** 1. Update your Flourishing Map for the new year 2. Review and update your 5-year vision 3. Draft Q1 success story (quarterly goal) 4. Choose starting KPIs 5. Set direction without over-planning **Questions to Ask:** - Who do I want to become in 5 years? - What matters most to me now? - Which Flourishing Domains do I want to focus on? - What's my quarterly focus to start the year? --- ## Quick Reference | Review | Frequency | Time | Ritual/Tool | Key Activities | | ------------- | -------------- | ---------- | ------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | | **Morning** | Daily | 3-5 min | **Begin Well ritual** | Review weekly goals, choose daily highlight | | **Evening** | Daily | 2-5 min | **Shutdown ritual** | Reflect on day, note habit completion | | **Weekly** | Weekly | 30-45 min | **WRAP ritual** | Score KPIs, review habits, plan next week | | **Monthly** | Monthly | 45-60 min | *Future: WRAP+ monthly* | Check quarterly progress, adjust KPIs | | **Quarterly** | Every 12 weeks | 90-120 min | *Future: WRAP+ quarterly* | Full review, draft new success story, choose new KPIs | | **Yearly** | Annual | 2-3 hours | *Future: WRAP+ yearly* | Update 5-year vision, reflect on growth | **Note:** The desktop app spontaneously prompts you for Begin Well, Shutdown, and WRAP rituals at your preferred times. --- ## Making Review Sustainable ### Start Small Don't try to do everything at once. Start with the rituals - they make best practices effortless: **Easiest Path (Using Rituals):** - **Week 1:** Enable the **Begin Well ritual** in the desktop app - let it guide your mornings (5 min) - **Week 2:** Add the **Shutdown ritual** - let it guide your evenings (5 min) - **Week 3:** Add the **WRAP ritual** - let it guide your weekly reviews (30-45 min) - **Month 2:** Use WRAP for monthly check-ins (will be automatic soon) - **Quarter-end:** Use WRAP for quarterly reviews (will be automatic soon) **Manual Path (If not using desktop app):** - **Week 1:** Just morning review (5 min) - **Week 2:** Add evening shutdown (5 min) - **Week 3:** Add weekly planning (30 min) - **Month 2:** Add monthly check-in (45 min) - **Quarter-end:** Full quarterly review (90 min) ### Use the Tools MakeTimeFlow makes review easier - especially the **rituals**, which are designed to make best practices effortless: **Rituals (Your Secret Weapon):** - **Begin Well ritual** (daily morning) - Spontaneously prompts you in the desktop app to start your day with intention - **Shutdown ritual** (daily evening) - Guides reflection, habit logging, and closure at your preferred time - **Weekly Reflection and Planning (WRAP)** (weekly) - Comprehensive weekly review, KPI scoring, and next-week planning - **Desktop app spontaneous prompting** - These rituals automatically prompt you at the right times, making it effortless to maintain your review rhythm - **Voice or chat** - Engage naturally through conversation rather than forms and checklists **Keyboard Shortcuts:** - `Cmd+G` (Mac) / `Ctrl+G` (Windows/Linux) - Jump to goals - `Cmd+K` (Mac) / `Ctrl+K` (Windows/Linux) - Open command palette (search "KPI" or "Habits") **AI Coach:** - Voice reflections: "Let's do my weekly review" or "Let's do wrap" - Chat guidance: "Help me review my KPIs" - Drafting support: "Help me plan next quarter" ### Protect the Time Review time is sacred time: - Block it on your calendar - Treat it like an important meeting - Find a quiet space - Turn off notifications - Give yourself the gift of reflection ### When You Miss a Review Life happens. You'll miss reviews sometimes. Here's what to do: **Missed Daily Review:** - No big deal - just do tomorrow's - Don't try to "catch up" on multiple days **Missed Weekly Review:** - Do a lighter version as soon as you can - Focus on: scoring KPIs, planning next week - Skip deep reflection if pressed for time **Missed Monthly/Quarterly:** - Block time within the next week - These are too important to skip entirely - A late review is better than no review > [!tip] Get Back On Track > The best time to restart your review practice is now. Not Monday. Not next month. Today. --- ## Related Resources - [[Getting Started with Goals]] - How review connects to the overall system - [[Goals]] - Understanding Success Stories - [[Habits and KPIs]] - What you're reviewing each week - [[Flourishing Map]] - Foundation for quarterly and yearly reviews --- ## Remember **Rituals make it effortless.** The Begin Well, Shutdown, and WRAP rituals handle the heavy lifting of maintaining review practices. When using the desktop app, they spontaneously prompt you at the right times, making best practices automatic. **Consistency beats intensity.** A quick 5-minute daily check-in beats a 2-hour quarterly review you never do. The rituals help maintain consistency without relying on willpower. **Review reveals truth.** It shows what's really happening vs. what you think is happening. **Adjustment is normal.** If something's not working, change it. The system serves you, not the other way around. **Celebrate wins.** Don't just focus on gaps. Acknowledge progress and growth. The rituals naturally build in celebration and reflection. The rhythm that works is the rhythm you'll actually do. Start with the rituals - they make best practices effortless. Start simple, be consistent, and let your practice evolve.