The monthly project review: the check-in between weekly tidy-ups and yearly plans
Most productivity systems have a weekly review and a yearly plan. The weekly review keeps actions moving. The yearly plan sets direction. In between is a gap where projects drift: still on the board, still technically active, but not really going anywhere. Nobody notices for months because each week looks fine on its own.
A monthly review closes that gap. It takes 30 minutes and asks bigger questions than the weekly one.
The weekly review asks "what is next?"
The weekly review is tactical: chase waiting items, pick next actions, clear Done. See weekly project reviews on one board.
The monthly review asks "is this still right?"
The monthly review steps back:
- Are these still the right projects?
- Which ones moved this month, and which only looked busy?
- What have we been waiting on for too long?
- What should start, and what should stop?
Step 1: look at movement (10 minutes)
For each project row, ask: what got done this month? If a project has nothing new in Done for a month, it is stalled, whatever its status says. Decide: restart it with a clear next action, pause it explicitly, or drop it.
Step 2: look at waiting (5 minutes)
Look at everything waiting on other people. In Axtio, actions in the Other column show how long they have been waiting, and seven days or more counts toward the toolbar's "to chase" button. In a monthly review, focus on the oldest. Anything waiting a month either needs escalation or needs to be removed from the plan. See the waiting-on-someone problem.
Step 3: check priorities (10 minutes)
Things change in a month: a client leaves, a new opportunity appears, a deadline moves. Compare the board with what actually matters now. If the top priority on the board is not the top priority in reality, fix the board.
Step 4: decide one change (5 minutes)
End with one decision: start something, stop something, or change how the team works. One change per month adds up to twelve a year, which is more than most teams manage.
Who should attend
For a solo worker, just you. For a small team, the people who own projects. Keep it short; the monthly review fails when it turns into a half-day planning session.
Make it a calendar habit
Put it on the first working day of each month, or the last Friday. The fixed date matters more than the format.
The payoff
A monthly review is how you catch the projects that are quietly dying, the waiting items that became permanent, and the priorities that shifted without anyone saying so. It is also how a small team stays honest with itself about what it is really working on. See what a good project board helps you see.