Three review altitudes: weekly (execution), monthly (portfolio), quarterly (strategic) — each catches different kinds of drift

Why This Is a Rule

Different types of workflow drift operate at different time scales and require different detection methods. Execution drift (is this workflow being run? Are the steps being followed?) happens week-to-week and is caught by weekly execution review. Portfolio drift (is the mix of workflows still serving my needs? Are any workflows redundant or missing?) happens month-to-month and is caught by monthly portfolio review. Strategic drift (are my workflows aligned with my current goals? Has my context changed in ways that invalidate assumptions?) happens quarter-to-quarter and is caught by quarterly strategic review.

A single review cadence misses at least two of these three. Weekly reviews catch execution problems but can't see portfolio-level patterns or strategic misalignment. Quarterly reviews catch strategic drift but are too infrequent to catch execution abandonment (a workflow abandoned in week 2 sits dead for 10 weeks before review). Monthly reviews miss both the tactical execution detail and the strategic big picture.

The three-altitude approach borrows from aviation: pilots maintain instrument scan patterns at different frequencies — attitude indicator every few seconds, heading every minute, flight plan every 15 minutes. Each scan frequency catches a different category of deviation. Workflow reviews follow the same logic: high-frequency tactical, medium-frequency operational, low-frequency strategic.

When This Fires

• When establishing a maintenance protocol for a workflow system
• When workflows degrade without anyone noticing until they fail catastrophically
• When you have many workflows and need a structured way to keep them healthy
• Complements Retire workflows inactive for 60+ days (unless seasonal/event-triggered) — inactive workflows are maintenance debt without value (retirement threshold) with the review cadence that identifies candidates for retirement

Common Failure Mode

Single-cadence review: doing only monthly reviews (common) means execution problems persist for up to 4 weeks before detection, and strategic misalignment persists for months because monthly reviews don't naturally prompt strategic questioning.

The Protocol

(1) Weekly (5 minutes): For each active workflow, ask: "Was this executed this week? If yes, were there any issues? If no, was it supposed to be?" Flag non-executing workflows for investigation. (2) Monthly (15 minutes): Review the full portfolio: "Which workflows are active? Which are stale? Are there gaps — things I do repeatedly without a documented workflow? Are there redundancies — multiple workflows covering the same function?" (3) Quarterly (30 minutes): Strategic alignment: "Do my workflows still serve my current goals? Has my context changed (new role, new tools, new priorities) in ways that require workflow revision? Are there new capabilities (AI tools, automation options) that could transform existing workflows?" (4) Each altitude produces different actions: weekly produces execution fixes, monthly produces portfolio adjustments, quarterly produces strategic rewrites. (5) Schedule these reviews as recurring calendar events — review systems only work if the reviews actually happen.