The 15-Minute Weekly Review That Actually Ships (Setup Guide for Founders)

If your weeks keep disappearing into "busy" and context switches, you need a weekly review that takes 15 minutes and forces one clear outcome.

Most founders spend hours planning and zero minutes executing. This is backwards.

FocusNinja fixes this with a simple loop. It's like an accountability coach for your week. Morning Anchor. Midweek Pulse. Weekly Review.

A week is a unit of execution. Drift kills weeks.

What a 15-minute weekly review actually does

A 15-minute weekly review is not an inbox cleanout. It is not a life audit. It is not journaling.

It is a founder execution reset that answers five questions:

• What is the one outcome by Friday?
• What are the three deliverables that prove it?
• When are the two deep-work blocks?
• What is my midweek drift check trigger?
• What score did I earn, and what changes next week?

In FocusNinja, this maps to your Weekly Intention, your wins logged, your Midweek Pulse, and your Weekly Review verdict.

Shipped. Wasted. Enjoyed.

Busy isn't progress. Shipped is progress.

Why this works (and why founders drift without it)

Weekly planning works because it turns intent into commitments you can keep.

Most founders do the opposite. They hold intent in their head. Then they let the week negotiate them down.

Three principles make this format stick:

• Implementation intentions increase follow-through because you pre-decide what you will do when reality hits
• Planning fallacy makes you underestimate time. You schedule protected blocks up front and adjust Wednesday, not Friday
• Goal gradient effect makes motivation rise when progress is visible. You score deliverables and log wins as evidence

FocusNinja builds around these principles. You don't just "plan." You create a weekly truth loop grounded in wins logged and shipped weeks.

The exact setup you need

You can run this in Notion, Todoist, or any tool. The key is the structure.

The minimum fields to create

Create a weekly template with:

1. Weekly Outcome (One Thing)
2. 3 Deliverables (proof of done)
3. Deep Work Blocks (2 scheduled blocks)
4. Midweek Drift Check (Wednesday trigger)
5. Friday Score (simple number + lesson)

In FocusNinja, these are native:

• Weekly Intention for the One Thing
• Wins logging for deliverables and proof
• Focus timer tied to intention for deep work
• Midweek Pulse to catch drift early
• Weekly Review + AI coach verdict to score the week

Scoring system (keep it binary)

Use a score that prevents rationalization:

• 0 to 3 = deliverables completed
• Optional: 0%, 50%, 100% per deliverable

Avoid scoring effort. You are measuring outcomes.

The 15-minute workflow (minute-by-minute)

Run this Friday afternoon or Sunday. Same time every week. Same template every week.

Minute 0 to 3: Choose ONE weekly outcome

Write one sentence: Weekly Outcome: "By Friday, I will ______, so that ______."

Criteria for a good weekly outcome:

• Measurable by Friday
• Moves the business forward (revenue, activation, retention, learning)
• Achievable with 2 to 6 hours of deep work plus admin
• Does not require five other people to cooperate

FocusNinja tip: tie this outcome to your North Star so the system holds you accountable weekly. Your North Star defines what "winning" means. Your One Thing defines what "winning this week" means.

Minute 3 to 7: Define 3 deliverables (proof of done)

Deliverables must be binary. Done or not done.

Use this template: Deliverables (3): "Done looks like: (1) ___ (2) ___ (3) ___"

Strong deliverables are shipped artifacts:

• "Landing page V1 published + analytics installed"
• "Stripe checkout working end-to-end"
• "10 sales calls booked from 40 outbound messages"

Weak deliverables are activities:

• "Work on onboarding"
• "Improve marketing"
• "Research competitors"

In FocusNinja, you log wins as you ship. Log wins. The coach uses wins as evidence.

Minute 7 to 12: Schedule 2 deep-work blocks

If it is not on your calendar, it is not a plan. It is a wish.

Default block plan:

• Block A: 90 minutes
• Block B: 90 minutes

Rules:

• Put blocks on the calendar immediately
• Name each block with your weekly outcome. Example: "Deep Work: Ship onboarding emails (Weekly Outcome)"
• Protect the first 10 minutes of each block for setup only

In FocusNinja, you run a focus timer tied to intention so your deep work stays connected to the One Thing.

Minute 12 to 14: Set the Wednesday drift check

Midweek is when drift is still fixable. Friday is too late.

Set one recurring reminder for Wednesday: Midweek Drift Check: "Am I on track for the One Thing?"

Then add an if/then rule: If I'm not 50% done by Wednesday, I will:

• Cut scope (reduce one deliverable), or
• Add one extra deep work block, or
• Renegotiate the weekly outcome to something shippable

In FocusNinja, this is your Midweek Pulse. Start aligned in the morning. Correct drift midweek. Review on Sunday.

Minute 14 to 15: Set the Friday score

Write two lines now (so you do not turn Friday into a debate):

• Friday Score: __/3 deliverables
• Carryover rule: "If I miss a deliverable, I either (a) drop it, or (b) make it next week's One Thing. I do not quietly carry it in the background."

In FocusNinja, your week ends with a verdict. Shipped. Wasted. Enjoyed. That verdict forces a decision.

Two complete examples

These examples show the structure: one outcome, three deliverables, blocks, pulse, score.

Example 1: Product week (MVP onboarding)

Weekly Outcome: "By Friday, I will ship onboarding V1 so new users reach the first success moment in under 3 minutes."

Deliverables (3):

1. "Onboarding checklist UI shipped to production"
2. "Welcome email + 3-step in-app prompt shipped"
3. "Track activation event in analytics (event fires correctly)"

Deep Work Blocks:

• Mon 9:00 to 10:30: Build checklist UI
• Tue 9:00 to 10:30: In-app prompt + email copy
• Thu 9:00 to 10:00: Analytics event + QA

Midweek Drift Check: Wednesday 3pm. If deliverable 1 is not done, drop deliverable 2 or add a Friday block.

Friday Score: __/3. Lesson: ___. Next week change: ___.

FocusNinja usage: set the One Thing in your Weekly Intention, run focus sessions tied to it, log each deliverable as wins, and let the Weekly Review judge the week by shipped evidence.

Example 2: Sales week (pipeline)

Weekly Outcome: "By Friday, I will create 10 qualified sales conversations for next week."

Deliverables (3):

1. "Send 40 outbound messages to ICP list"
2. "Book 10 calls (on calendar, not 'interested')"
3. "Write and ship a 1-page offer doc to reduce back-and-forth"

Deep Work Blocks:

• Mon 2:00 to 3:30: Build list + send first 20
• Wed 2:00 to 3:30: Send next 20 + follow-ups
• Fri 9:00 to 10:00: Offer doc + scheduling cleanup

Midweek Drift Check: Wednesday 11am. If fewer than 4 calls booked, add one extra outreach block and tighten targeting.

Friday Score: __/3. Lesson: ___. Next week change: ___.

FocusNinja usage: Morning Anchor to pick today's move, track daily wins (messages sent, calls booked, offer doc shipped), then Weekly Review gives the verdict based on outcomes.

Common failure points (and fixes)

Each failure point is a drift pattern. Your workflow must catch it early.

Failure: "I picked five goals because everything matters"

Fix:

• Force one weekly outcome
• If you cannot choose, pick the one that creates leverage for the others (often: distribution, revenue, or activation)

FocusNinja feature: Weekly Intention is one field. The system is designed around one target so you cannot hide in a list.

Failure: "My deliverables are vague, so I can't score the week"

Fix:

• Rewrite deliverables as artifacts you can point to
• Use verbs like ship, publish, send, book, deploy

FocusNinja feature: wins logged are proof. If you cannot log it as a win, it is not a deliverable.

Failure: "I planned, but I didn't schedule deep work"

Fix:

• Add blocks immediately
• Start with two blocks. Earn the third

FocusNinja feature: focus timer with intention keeps deep work connected to the weekly outcome.

Failure: "Midweek I panic and expand scope"

Fix:

• Use the Wednesday rule
• Cut scope before you cut sleep

FocusNinja feature: Midweek Pulse asks the uncomfortable question early so you can course-correct.

Failure: "My weekly review turns into a 60-minute session"

Fix:

• Use the same template
• Set a 15-minute timer
• Only answer the five questions

FocusNinja feature: Weekly Review is structured. It ends with a verdict and a decision, not a reflection spiral.

How FocusNinja operationalizes this workflow

The workflow is simple. The hard part is consistency when you are solo, reactive, and tired.

FocusNinja turns the 15-minute plan into a repeatable execution loop:

• North Star Goal Planning: define what winning means so the week has direction
• Weekly Intention (One Thing): commit to one outcome
• Morning Anchor: start the day aligned to the One Thing
• Wins logging: track real progress. More wins logged equals sharper coaching
• Midweek Pulse: catch drift early and correct course
• Weekly Review (AI Coach): your week gets a verdict. Shipped. Wasted. Enjoyed
• Momentum analytics: trendlines and streaks that show if you are shipping more

You are not collecting tasks. You are building proof you shipped.

15-minute weekly review template

Use this exact text. Do not improve it. Consistency beats novelty.

Weekly Outcome: "By Friday, I will ______."

Deliverables (3):

1. ---

2. ---

3. ---

Deep Work Blocks:

• Block A: ______ (day/time)
• Block B: ______ (day/time)

Midweek Drift Check: Wednesday ______. If I'm not 50% done, I will ______.

Friday Score: __/3 deliverables. Lesson: ______. Next week change: ______.

In FocusNinja, this maps to the weekly plan, daily anchors, pulse, and review. Pick one thing. Track wins. Get a weekly verdict.

FAQ

What counts as a weekly outcome vs a task list?

A weekly outcome is one measurable result by Friday. A task list is actions you might do. In FocusNinja, your Weekly Intention is the outcome. Your wins logged prove the tasks produced something real.

How do I pick one goal when I have product, sales, and ops?

Pick the one that makes the others work easier. If you are pre-revenue, the weekly outcome often points to distribution or sales conversations. If you have demand but churn, it points to activation or retention. FocusNinja ties this back to your North Star so the choice is not random.

What if my week is reactive and I cannot protect deep work?

Schedule two small blocks anyway, even if they are 60 minutes. Then use the Midweek Pulse to renegotiate scope early. FocusNinja's Morning Anchor keeps you aligned even when the day gets messy.

How long should deep work blocks be?

Start with 2 x 90 minutes. If your life is chaotic, use 3 x 60 minutes. The point is protected time tied to the One Thing. In FocusNinja, focus sessions are linked to your intention so your timer does not become productivity theater.

What should I do on Wednesday if I'm behind?

Pick one lever only: cut scope, add a block, or renegotiate the target. Do not silently accept a failed week. FocusNinja's Midweek Pulse exists to force this decision while the week is still salvageable.

How do I score the week without beating myself up?

Score deliverables, not your self-worth. Use __/3 and write a one-line lesson. FocusNinja's verdict is blunt on purpose. It helps you separate truth from mood.

Where should I run this workflow?

Run it wherever you will actually do it weekly. Most tools store plans but do not enforce the loop. FocusNinja is designed as a weekly review app with daily prompts, midweek correction, and a weekly verdict.

How do I stay honest if I'm solo and nobody is watching?

You need an externalized system that asks the same questions every week and judges by evidence. That is why FocusNinja uses wins logged and a weekly verdict. It's like an accountability coach for your week.

How do I prevent carryover from turning into an endless backlog?

Use the carryover rule: unfinished deliverables are either dropped or become next week's One Thing. Do not let them live as guilt. FocusNinja's Weekly Review forces a reset so drift does not compound.