FROM THE ARCHIVE / A WORKING METHOD
Turn one goal into a monthly and weekly plan
A goal, a month-end review and next week’s calendar answer different questions. Use them together: the goal gives direction, the monthly record checks what changed, and the weekly log makes the next step concrete.
By Key Organization ·
The earlier Key Organization site published three one-page forms for this purpose. Their headings still make a useful distinction: intended progress belongs in a plan; achieved progress belongs in a review. This guide connects those forms and adds an explicit evidence check.
The diagram in words: define a result → compare monthly evidence with that result → book a weekly next step and review → revise the plan when the evidence changes.
1. Give the destination an inspectable finish line
Write the result, its benefit, the current date and a proposed completion date. Then list the steps, reserve time and name a first-month checkpoint. The original destination form also makes room to recognise progress.
“Improve our help centre” leaves the end unclear. “Publish four agreed support articles and link them from the help index” gives someone a result to inspect. Define what is excluded too: publishing four pages does not establish that support requests have fallen.
Keep a proposed date separate from a commitment. Check the required reviewer, access and available work time before agreeing the date with other people.
2. Review results before planning the next month
The monthly form asks for achieved results, the next steps, booked dates and reflection on whether the goal needs to change. Start with what can be checked: a published page, an approved draft or a recorded decision. “Worked hard” does not identify a finished result.
Mark work in progress separately. If two drafts are reviewed but still await publication approval, write exactly that. Then decide whether to change the next steps, ask for a decision, narrow the goal or revise its date.
3. Put the next move and next check into the week
The weekly form separates results, next week’s steps, activity dates and the next evaluation date. It also asks what was easy or difficult. The archived page contains two copies of the same log; those are two writing spaces, not two different methods.
- Carry forward the same goal identifier so the weekly note has a destination.
- Record one observed result and any unresolved dependency.
- Name the smallest next action that can advance the result.
- Book the activity and the next review separately. A due date alone is not reserved work time.
- At the review, compare the evidence with the earlier note and update the monthly record.
4. Follow one result through all three views
This is a fictional training example, not a report of measured productivity. Imagine a team starting on 19 October 2026 with a target of four agreed support articles by 30 November.
| View | What the record says |
|---|---|
| Goal sheet | Four articles published and linked. First checkpoint: two drafts reviewed by 31 October. Reserve two 45-minute drafting blocks and a Friday review. |
| Month-end record | Two drafts reviewed; none published. Approval is still pending. Next month: confirm approval and draft the other two. Check whether the finish date remains realistic. |
| Week of 2 November | Ask the agreed reviewer for a decision on 3 November. Review the response on 6 November. Writing was straightforward; approval ownership needs clarification. |
The weekly step responds to the actual dependency. Scheduling more drafting would not resolve an unclear approval owner. If the agreed scope changes to six articles, record that as a new decision rather than quietly retaining the old promise.
5. Reuse the worksheet without building another reporting chore
Download the editable CSV workbook ↓
The CSV contains all three views, the completed fictional example and an empty column for your own record. Open it in a spreadsheet, give the goal an identifier and replace the example with your own information. Keep the file in the location agreed with anyone who needs it; this page does not collect or upload your entries.
- Before starting: identify the result, its recipient and the evidence of completion.
- At each weekly check: record a result, next action, activity date and next evaluation date.
- At the month-end check: decide what the accumulated evidence changes about the goal or plan.
- When stopping: record completed, paused, revised or cancelled with a reason. An unchecked box should not become an indefinite obligation.
Use the smallest set of fields that helps a decision. If the same information already lives in an agreed project system, link to that evidence rather than making another competing status record.
The three original forms
- Destination Worksheet — one page, preserved on 4 November 2006.
- Monthly Distance Report — one page, preserved on 4 November 2006.
- Weekly Maintenance Log — one page, preserved on 4 November 2006.
The capture date establishes when these copies were preserved, not when the forms were first written. Their archive wording and the new worked example are kept separate. For a related team handoff, continue with the acceptance contract; for planning within capacity, use the workweek budget.