In our series on the habits and skills of successful students, we have covered a host of ways that successful students are different from their peers.  Today, we show how successful students use a weekly review to learn from successes and mistakes.

Weekly planning and time-management is critical to success in school and life. Developing habits and mind-states that support health, happiness, and productivity will improve the lives of every high school and college student. Yet, success in the game of life is not measured strictly by busy-ness, actions, and positive feelings. Ultimately success comes from creating the results one has in mind and reaching the goals that one desires in the easiest way possible. Plans of action are just one piece of the productivity and success puzzle.  Successful students understand that the weekly review is as important as planning in the journey to happiness and productivity.

Getting what you want in life is the aim of any time-management and organizational system. To query your mind for obligations, desired outcomes, wanted actions and feelings each week is the first step in making your dreams come true. When you make your plans for the week ahead, you are in the stage of creation. Next, you must take action to turn plans and ideas into reality. You must open your U.S. History text to the correct chapter and begin reading and note-taking if you are to master the material and maintain a strong grade. Third, you must complete the tasks or achieve the desired mind-states. If your goal is to feel more relaxed this week, you must complete the actions that will lead to relaxation and move from tension to calm.

Consistent productivity, health, and happiness can only be maintained with a habit of consistent weekly review

Most students incorrectly assume that upon completing the prior week’s tasks, the cycle of productivity returns to creating new ideas and planned next action steps. This is a costly misunderstanding and one that constrains your ability to be consistently successful over the long haul. After the stage of completion, successful students do not immediately start with new plans. Instead, they review their actions and compare the prior week’s plan with the reality of what occurred. Successful students do not simply check off tasks on a to-do list, rather they reflect back on the week that occurred and look for insight. Each week, successful students ask these simple but illuminating questions during their weekly review:

What worked well for me? What obstacles did I face? What supported me in reaching my goals last week? What stood in the way of those tasks I did not complete? What might I do differently in the future if I am to be more effective and satisfied? Are there incomplete tasks from last week that should be carried over to the week ahead? How might I acknowledge my failures and reward my successes, so that I may move forward next week with a completely clear mind?

Successful students know that the game of life is not only about action, it is also about learning. By reviewing and acknowledging the week behind, you can gain great wisdom that will lead to further efficiency, happiness, and success. It is not critical that successful students maintain a record of perfection in reaching every desired goal or feeling, but rather that they use their life experiences as tools to sharpen their knife blade as they cut through the obstacles and tasks that are surely to come.

Life is easier and more satisfying when you treat it as an experiment in mastery

Successful students use each week as an experiment to be figured out in order to improve their performance on the next set of experiments. They use the weekly review to focus on the important lessons to be learned as they move forward in the game of life. Yes, prioritization and action are important, as are keeping your word to yourself and others. In the end, the reward is not only achievement, it is the confidence of knowing that you are capable of reaching your dreams. All that is required is close attention to the reality of your life.

We teach and integrate a system for organization and time-management that any teen can use to build a life that is satisfying and productive. Every teenager and college student can learn how to: plan and review for learning, productivity, and refinement, keep track of deadlines, break long-term projects into small, achievable tasks, and to maintain a productive and positive outlook. Our program for high school students, the Teen Independence Program, has helped hundreds of teens build satisfying and productive lives during the transition from childhood to adolescence.  The College Life-Management Program has transformed the lives of hundreds of our clients. We help college students use their time and energy to get good grades, have lots of fun and fulfillment, and to develop a roadmap for a lifetime of success at school, work, and in their personal lives.