For the past three years, I’ve been conducting quarterly review and planning sessions. These sessions are part of the roles-based intentional living system pioneered by David Sparks, as explained in his Productivity Field Guide. My last session was held the last week of March 2024.
Over the years, I’ve made several modifications to my process. I’ve used different apps to record my results and changed the template contents.
After David Sparks released the Productivity Field Guide in January 2024, I overhauled my system to include new questions and a modified process in my quarterly reviews.
Overnight Retreat or Day Work Session for the Quarterly Review?
Sometimes, as I did at the end of March 2024, I do my review and planning session as an overnight retreat, typically at a local motel or rental. Other times, I’ll choose not to stay overnight away from home but instead plan a half-day work session.
1. Overnight Retreat. Whether I do an overnight retreat depends on the circumstances. I thought I would have much to work on this time because I’d recently reworked my whole system, so I felt an overnight retreat would be appropriate.
I also tend to choose an overnight when I feel like I’m having some issues I need to figure out and work through. If I feel like my roles and Arete statements need a lot of work, I’ll consider an overnight. See my post, The Benefits of Going on an Overnight Retreat: A Guide to Planning and Taking a Productive Retreat.
2. Block out work session. However, sometimes it feels like things are working well with my system, and I know a lot of what I want to work on in the next quarter. When I decide that I don’t need that much time or don’t feel a real need to get away, I’ll work from home or go to another location, like a coffee shop.
I’ll block out the time I think it will take. Doing a good job with a quarterly review generally takes me at least half a day. But be aware that the first few times you do a review, it will take you longer than you imagine!
Using Quarterly Review Templates to Guide the Process
I follow my quarterly review template as I go through the process. I’ve prepared a template in the Obsidian app with the questions and process that is suggested in the Productivity Field Guide . If you use a different notes app like Apple Notes, Craft, or Notion, you can prepare your template using that app.
When I’m ready to do a quarterly review and planning session, I open a new document and insert the template. I fill in my answers on the template as I work through the process.
I’ve prepared a copy of my template and published it on the web in Craft. You are welcome to download it and copy and paste it into whatever notes app you use. Note that you must replace my roles with your own unique set of roles.
An Overview of the Quarterly Review and Planning Process
The quarterly review has four parts. My purpose here is not to describe the content of the review in detail but to give a broad overview. The Productivity Field Guide contains a complete explanation using videos and text.
First, I reviewed the last quarter. I reviewed what I intended to do by reading my prior quarterly review and then comparing that to what I got done the last quarter. This time, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I’d done much better in meeting my objectives than I realized. I’d completed several projects, one of which was a large project that spanned two quarters. So, I celebrated that progress and felt good about my accomplishments.
Second, I performed a comprehensive roles review. I looked at each of my roles and asked questions of them. Is this role still valid, or do I need to remove it? Are my Arete “best version of myself” statements accurate? Do they need revision, or do I need to add new ones or remove old ones? How will I improve on that role in the next quarter?
Third, I responded to a series of closing prompts. These included questions like, What Do I Love? What Do I Dread? What would be the best use of my time in the next quarter? What am I Looking Forward To?
Fourth, I examined my role reviews and asked, What actions (habits and projects) do I plan to take in the next quarter? The final action is to decide how I will assign all of the action items to my system and actually do it.
A New Tool: Recording all Action Items in a Separate Document
In the past, I’ve worked directly from those lists of projects, habits, and tasks under each role in my quarterly review template. Sometimes, I’d consolidate all of my action items at the bottom of my completed template. But this time, I did something different.
At the end of the planning session, I opened a new document in Obsidian titled “Projects.” In that document, I collected all of the tasks, habits, and projects I planned to do in the next quarter.
I consider this my process document. It’s a convenient way to gather all of the projects, habits, and tasks I plan to do in the next quarter into one place to process them. Having all of my action items in one combined list makes it easier for me to process than looking under each role to see what habits/tasks/projects are listed.
That document became my working document to implement my quarterly planning. I listed each item on a separate line with a checkbox in front.
Next, I processed the list. As I dealt with each task, habit, or project, I would check it off as though it were completed. However, it wasn’t typically completed at that point but rather just assigned to my system. The check indicated it was processed.
• Tasks. If there were tasks related to a project or just individual tasks I had decided I wanted to do this next quarter, I added those tasks to my task manager, Things. If there were events, such as a meeting or something I was planning on a particular date, I added those events to a calendar.
• Habits. Regarding habits, I decided whether it would make more sense to add them to a task manager or a calendar to give me regular reminders. It just depends on what I think would work best. If you use a habit tracking app or some other system for tracking habits you want to work on, you could record them there.
• Projects. Most of the time, my projects are simple and straightforward enough that I don’t need to move them from the process list to anywhere else. So after I process all the tasks and habits, they remain unchecked on this list. This list then becomes my projects list to remind me what projects I want to work on this quarter when I plan my week and my day. I try to spend some time each week working on each project.
On a few occasions, there were very short actions that I could do right then. For instance, I could send an email and mark the checkbox as completed.
Another New Tool: Adding the Habits and Projects to my Roles and Arete List
In addition to adding all of my action items to a centralized list for processing, I’ve also added my projects and habits to my master list of roles and Arete statements under the appropriate role.
I’ve added the two additional “Habits” and “Projects” categories under each role on my master list of roles and Arete statements. That way, I’m reminded of my associated ongoing actions for the quarter every time I review my roles, which I do monthly and weekly.
The Benefits of Conducting Quarterly Reviews and Planning Sessions
Quarterly review and planning sessions are powerful personal growth and productivity tools. Taking time to reflect on your accomplishments, identify areas for improvement, and create a plan for the next quarter can help you to make real progress on fulfilling your Arete “best version of yourself” statements.
Conducting thorough quarterly reviews can enhance your productivity, set projects, tasks, and habits, and monitor your progress. This process empowers you to stay on track and become a better person as you strive to live up to your Arete statements.