Build Your Operating System: The Weekly Review

A 30-minute ritual that turns chaos into clarity—and keeps your trajectory moving forward.

Most men don’t need more motivation.
They need a system that keeps them honest.

If you don’t review your life, your life will be run by:

• whatever feels urgent

• whatever feels easiest

• whatever you’re most reactive to

• whatever you’ve been avoiding

This post gives you a simple weekly operating system you can run in 30–45 minutes that protects your trajectory.

Not a “planner routine.”
A governance ritual.

What the Weekly Review Does

The Weekly Review is how you:

• stop drifting

• correct course before things break

• re-commit to the standards you claim to live by

• choose priorities based on reality (not mood)

It is the difference between:

• living intentionally
  and

• managing consequences.

The Rule

No plan survives contact with the week.
So every week, you recalibrate.

The goal isn’t perfection.
The goal is trajectory.

The Setup (5 minutes)

Before you start, do these three things:

1. Clear the room
   Silence notifications. Sit down like you’re meeting with the CEO of your life—because you are.

2. Open your calendar + notes
   You need evidence, not vibes.

3. Pick a timer
   30–45 minutes. No overthinking. This is a repeatable ritual.

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The Weekly Review (7 Steps)

Step 1 — The Scoreboard (5 minutes)

Answer these with brutal honesty. Yes or no.

Body:

• Did I train at least 3 times?

• Did I sleep with consistency?

• Did I eat like a man who respects himself?

Mind:

• Did I protect focus blocks?

• Did I reduce mental clutter or add to it?

• Did I learn something that matters?

Character:

• Did I do what I said I would do?

• Did I tell the truth (including to myself)?

• Did I act with restraint when it mattered?

Life:

• Did I move money/work forward?

• Did I show up for my family?

• Did I handle what I’ve been avoiding?

Then write one line:

This week’s trajectory moved: ⬆️ forward / ⬇️ backward / ➖ flat

No shame. Just data.

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Step 2 — Wins (3 minutes)

List 3 wins. Even if the week was rough.

Why? Because wins show what’s working and what to repeat.

Write:

• Win #1:

• Win #2:

• Win #3:

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Step 3 — Leaks (5 minutes)

Leaks are the silent drains that steal your arc.

List the top 3 leaks:

• Leak #1: (time / energy / money / discipline / conflict)

• Leak #2:

• Leak #3:

Then label each leak as:

• Avoidance

• Impulse

• Overcommitment

• Disorganization

• Relationship friction

• Unprocessed stress

You’re not diagnosing your soul.
You’re identifying failure points.

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Step 4 — The Root Cause Question (5 minutes)

For each leak, answer:

“What was I trying to get, avoid, or soothe?”

This is where you stop treating symptoms.

Example:

• Leak: scrolling at night

• Root: avoiding the discomfort of starting tomorrow’s priorities / seeking relief

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Step 5 — The One Fix (5 minutes)

Pick one change that reduces the biggest leak next week.

Not ten changes. One.

Write:

Next week’s leverage move is: ____________________

Common examples:

• phone out of bedroom

• 2 focus blocks scheduled before noon

• gym bag packed the night before

• one hard conversation scheduled

• remove one commitment

• reset sleep time by 30 minutes

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Step 6 — The 3 Outcomes (10 minutes)

Choose three outcomes for next week. Only three.

1. Body outcome:

2. Work/Mission outcome:

3. Relationship/Character outcome:

Outcomes are not tasks. Outcomes are results.

Bad: “work more”
Good: “finish draft v1 of X and send to Y”

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Step 7 — The Calendar Lock (10 minutes)

Now you earn your confidence by scheduling reality.

For each outcome, schedule:

• Two blocks to move it forward

• One block for recovery (walk, training, solitude, reset)

If it’s not on the calendar, it’s not real.

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The Standard (Non-Negotiable)

End your review with this sentence:

“I am the kind of man who ________, even when it costs me.”

Examples:

• keeps his word

• trains when he doesn’t feel like it

• tells the truth quickly

• handles what he avoids

• protects his family with discipline

This line becomes your identity anchor.

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The Weekly Review Template (Copy/Paste)

Week of: ________
Trajectory: ⬆️ / ⬇️ / ➖

Scoreboard notes:
Body: ____
Mind: ____
Character: ____
Life: ____

3 Wins:

---

---

---

3 Leaks:

1. ____ (label: ____)

2. ____ (label: ____)

3. ____ (label: ____)

Root cause (what I was trying to get/avoid/soothe):

---

---

---

One Fix for next week: ____

3 Outcomes for next week:

---

---

---

Calendar blocks scheduled:

• Block A: ____

• Block B: ____

• Block C (recovery): ____

Identity anchor:
“I am the kind of man who ________, even when it costs me.”

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Optional: Use AI as Your Weekly Review Coach (AI Tutor Preview)

If you want to use the “learning experience” approach:

Copy this into ChatGPT:

“Act as my Weekly Review coach. Ask one question at a time. Do not motivate me—extract data, identify leaks, and force clarity. After the review, output: (1) my one fix, (2) my three outcomes, (3) a calendar plan, and (4) a one-sentence identity anchor.”

Next: AI Tutor: The Weekly Review Coach Prompt → https://trajectoryarclab.substack.com/p/ai-tutor-the-weekly-review-coach

Want the full system? Coherence Score (Paid) → https://trajectoryarclab.substack.com/p/the-coherence-score-measure-the-gap

AI Tutor Pack v1 (Paid) → https://trajectoryarclab.substack.com/p/ai-tutor-pack-v1-your-trajectory