The Sunday Review: Planning Your Week Like a Sprint

Friday, 5 PM.

You close your laptop. Exhausted.

"What did I actually accomplish this week?"

You worked 50 hours. You attended 23 meetings. You answered 147 Slack messages.

But what moved?

Your big project? Still at 40%.

The refactoring you planned? Didn't touch it.

The 1:1 prep you meant to do? Skipped it.

You were busy all week. But you didn't make progress on what matters.

Sound familiar?

Here's the pattern:

Monday morning: "What should I work on?" (10 minutes deciding)

Monday-Friday: Reacting to whatever comes up (meetings, Slacks, fires)

Friday evening: "Where did the week go?" (regret)

Repeat.

There's a better way.

Treat your week like a sprint.

With planning, priorities, and a review.

Enter: The Sunday Review.

Weeks That 'Happen to You' vs Weeks You Design

Most people:

• Let their week happen to them
• React to whoever is loudest
• End the week wondering what they did

High performers:

• Design their week deliberately
• Decide upfront what matters
• End the week knowing they moved the needle

The difference isn't willpower. It's process.

And the process starts with a Sunday Review.

The Goal of a Sunday Review

Not:

• Planning every minute
• Over-optimizing
• Creating stress

Yes:

• Aligning your work, life, and energy
• Deciding what not to do
• Entering Monday with clarity, not anxiety

30-45 minutes, Sunday evening.

That's it.

A Simple Sunday Review Agenda (30-45 Minutes)

Grab:

• Your calendar
• Your todo list / project tracker
• A notebook or doc

Work through these steps:

Step 1: Look Back (10 Minutes)

Review last week:

Questions:

• What actually happened? (wins, misses, surprises)
• What took more time than expected?
• What drained energy? What energized me?
• What would I do differently?

Don't just list tasks. Reflect on patterns.

Example:

Wins:

• Shipped feature X
• Good 1:1 with Sarah

Misses:

• Didn't start refactoring (kept getting interrupted)
• Skipped exercise 4 days (too tired)

Surprises:

• Incident Wednesday ate 4 hours

Patterns:

• Mornings were productive
• Afternoons were meeting-heavy and draining

Takeaway:

• Protect mornings for deep work
• Batch meetings in afternoons

Step 2: Check Commitments (10 Minutes)

Review next week's calendar and deadlines:

Questions:

• What meetings are scheduled?
• What deadlines are coming?
• What family/personal events are happening?
• Are there conflicts?

Example:

Work commitments:

• PR review deadline: Tuesday
• Architecture review: Thursday
• Sprint planning: Friday

Personal commitments:

• Kid's school event: Tuesday 3 PM
• Date night: Friday 7 PM

Conflicts:

• Tuesday 3 PM school event conflicts with recurring team sync

Action:

• Move Tuesday sync or skip this week

Step 3: Choose 3 "Big Rocks" (10 Minutes)

What are the 3 most important things for this week?

Not 10. Not 20. Three.

Big rocks = high-impact, non-negotiable priorities.

Examples:

Work:

• Ship feature X (final testing + deploy)
• Write architecture doc for Q1 project
• Prep and deliver architecture review

Personal:

• Exercise 3x this week
• Quality time with kids (3 bedtimes)

Why only 3?

• More than 3 = you won't finish any
• 3 = you'll actually do them

If you finish these 3, the week was a success. Everything else is bonus.

Step 4: Block Time (10 Minutes)

Now map your big rocks onto your calendar.

For each big rock, block time:

Example:

Big Rock 1: Ship feature X

• Monday 9-11 AM: Final testing
• Tuesday 9-11 AM: Deploy prep
• Wednesday 9-10 AM: Deploy

Big Rock 2: Write architecture doc

• Thursday 9-12 PM: Deep work block (3 hours)

Big Rock 3: Exercise 3x

• Monday 7 AM: Gym
• Wednesday 7 AM: Gym
• Saturday 8 AM: Gym

Why block time?

• If it's not on your calendar, it won't happen
• You're treating priorities like meetings (non-negotiable)

Step 5: Decide 1 Thing to Drop or Postpone (5 Minutes)

This is the most important step.

Look at your todo list.

Pick 1 thing that's been sitting there for weeks.

Ask:

• Is this still important?
• Or am I keeping it out of guilt?

Then:

• Drop it (delete)
• Postpone it (move to next month)
• Or commit to it this week (add to big rocks)

But don't let it linger as vague guilt.

Example:

Task: "Refactor user service"

Reality: It's been on my list for 3 months. It's not urgent. Other things matter more.

Action: Postpone to Q1. Remove from weekly list.

Result: Mental clarity. One less thing nagging at you.

Treating Yourself as a Product: Backlog, Roadmap, Sprint

If you work in product/agile, this will feel familiar.

Your Backlog

All the ideas, tasks, and projects you could do.

Don't try to do them all. Prioritize ruthlessly.

Your Roadmap

Your quarterly or monthly plan.

What you're focusing on this quarter:

• Q4 2025: Ship V2 of feature X, improve system reliability, learn distributed systems

Your Sprint (The Week)

What you're committing to this week.

Your 3 big rocks.

Treat your week like a sprint:

• Clear goal (3 big rocks)
• Defined capacity (your time and energy)
• Review at end (what worked, what didn't)

Avoid Overstuffing the Sprint

Classic mistake:

You have:

• 30 hours of work capacity (realistically)

You commit to:

• 60 hours of work

Result:

• You finish nothing completely
• You're stressed all week
• You feel like a failure

Better:

You have:

• 30 hours of work capacity

You commit to:

• 20-25 hours of focused work (your 3 big rocks + necessary admin)

Result:

• You finish your big rocks
• You feel accomplished
• You have buffer for surprises

Your week is not infinite. Plan accordingly.

Integrating Work, Family, and Personal Goals

The Sunday Review isn't just for work.

If you only plan work, your life becomes all work.

Make Sure Family and Personal Goals Show Up

Bad Sunday Review:

• Big Rock 1: Work project A
• Big Rock 2: Work project B
• Big Rock 3: Work project C

Result: You ship work stuff. You neglect family and health.

Good Sunday Review:

• Big Rock 1: Ship feature X (work)
• Big Rock 2: Exercise 3x this week (health)
• Big Rock 3: Bedtime with kids 4 nights (family)

Result: Balanced week. Work moves. Life doesn't suffer.

Example: Integrated Big Rocks

Work:

• Write Q1 architecture doc

Health:

• Exercise 3x (Monday/Wednesday/Saturday)

Family:

• Date night Friday
• Full presence at dinner 4 nights (no phone)

Personal:

• Read 1 hour Sunday morning (deep book, no screens)

All on the calendar. All protected.

Adjusting Mid-Week Without Guilt

Plans change. Life happens.

The Sunday Review isn't a prison. It's a compass.

Run a 5-10 Minute Mid-Week Check-In

Wednesday or Thursday:

Questions:

• Are my 3 big rocks still on track?
• What's changed?
• Do I need to reprioritize?

If things shifted:

• Move tasks consciously (don't just let them slip)
• Communicate changes (to team, to family)
• Adjust expectations

Example:

Sunday plan: Ship feature X by Wednesday

Tuesday: Production incident. Lost 6 hours.

Wednesday check-in: Feature X won't ship until Thursday. That's okay. Communicate delay. Adjust Friday plans.

The key: Adjust consciously, not by default.

Closing: 10 Sundays from Now

Imagine:

10 weeks of Sunday Reviews.

Each week:

• You enter Monday clear
• You know your 3 priorities
• You protect time for work, health, and family
• You finish the week knowing what moved

After 10 weeks:

• 30 big things shipped (3/week)
• 30 workouts done (if that's a priority)
• 40 quality dinners with family
• Clear head, sustainable pace

Contrast:

10 weeks of reactive chaos:

• Each week: wondering what to work on
• Reacting to whoever is loudest
• Finishing each week exhausted and unclear

After 10 weeks:

• Not sure what you accomplished
• Lots of busyness, little progress
• Burned out

The Sunday Review is the difference.

Your First Sunday Review: Checklist

This Sunday (30-45 minutes):

Look Back (10 min)

• What were last week's wins?
• What didn't happen that I wanted?
• What drained/energized me?
• What pattern do I notice?

Check Commitments (10 min)

• Review calendar for next week
• Note deadlines
• Note family/personal events
• Resolve conflicts

Choose 3 Big Rocks (10 min)

• Big Rock 1 (work):
• Big Rock 2 (health/family/personal):
• Big Rock 3 (work or personal):

Block Time (10 min)

• Add big rocks to calendar as time blocks
• Protect deep work time
• Block family time

Drop 1 Thing (5 min)

• What's been on my list forever but isn't actually important?
• Delete or postpone it

Enter Monday Clear

• You know your 3 priorities
• Your calendar reflects your priorities
• You're ready

Weeks don't manage themselves.

Design your week like you'd design a sprint.

Plan. Prioritize. Protect. Review.

That's how high performers stay high-performing without burning out.