Weekly status report template in Markdown: done and next

A weekly status report template gives you one short Markdown file per week for the people you work with. In a few lines the file says how the week went, what got done, what comes next, what is stuck, and what you need from someone else.

Below are the template, a line on each part, and one filled-in week for an invented company. No install is needed: the text editor on your computer is enough.

Who reads a weekly status report

A weekly status report is one dated .md file that you write as a work week ends. It gives a quick picture of where your work stands: a one-line summary, a status word, and short lists for done, next, blocked and asks.

You write it for the people you work with, such as a manager, a teammate, or someone whose work depends on yours. A reader should get the gist from the first three lines and be able to stop there. This post made its own template, so change any part that doesn't fit your week.

Two neighbor files cover other moments. A postmortem goes back over one problem after it got fixed, and the postmortem template gives it a timeline, causes and action items. A decision record keeps one choice and the options that lost, and the decision record template lays out fields for that. A status report covers a span of time, one week, and the next week gets a new file.

The weekly status report template

Start a new .md file, paste in the block, and replace each placeholder line with your own words. The top three lines give the quick picture. The four headed lists under them hold the detail.

# Status report: week of YYYY-MM-DD

Summary: one sentence on how the week went.

Status: on track

## Done this week

- Something you finished, in a few words.

## Next week

- Something you plan to work on next.

## Blocked or at risk

- What is stuck, and who or what it waits on.

## Asks

- What you need, and from whom.

What each part does:

• Title. A heading with the date of the week's Monday as YYYY-MM-DD, so the first line tells a reader which week the file covers.
• Summary. One sentence that a reader can stop after. Write it last, once the lists are done.
• Status. A short word line. This template allows three values: on track, at risk and blocked.
• Done this week. One list item per piece of work you finished. Work that is still under way goes under Next week instead.
• Next week. The few things you plan to work on in the coming week.
• Blocked or at risk. Anything that is stuck or might slip, plus the person or thing it waits on. When nothing is stuck, write "Nothing this week." under the heading.
• Asks. Requests you need answered, such as a sign-off or a reply. Each ask names the person you need it from.

Doe Holdings sample report

Here is one week with every part filled in. Every name here is invented: Doe Holdings is a placeholder company, and Jane Doe and her coworker John Doe are placeholder staff. The whole week is made up for this sample.

# Status report: week of 2026-10-19

Summary: Jane Doe ran the travel booking training and has the
vendor list cleanup ready for John Doe to sign off.

Status: at risk

## Done this week

- Jane Doe removed 14 duplicate names from the vendor list.
- Jane Doe ran a one-hour training session on travel booking for six staff.
- Jane Doe wrote a first expense policy draft and sent it to John Doe.

## Next week

- Jane Doe adds John Doe's comments to the expense policy draft.
- Jane Doe sets up a second training session for staff who missed the first.

## Blocked or at risk

- Jane Doe can't close the vendor list cleanup until John Doe signs off on it.

## Asks

- Jane Doe asks John Doe to sign off on the vendor list by 2026-10-27.

Read the Status line next to the Blocked or at risk list: the one stuck item is the reason the status says at risk. The Asks line names John Doe and a date, so he can see what Jane Doe needs from him without reading the rest.

Keeping the report short

This template aims for a report short enough to sit on a single screen. Four habits keep it there:

• One line per item. An item that needs a decision kept on record, or a full write-up of a fix, gets a separate file, as the section File names and a folder for the weeks describes.
• Lead with the result. "Sent the policy draft to John Doe" tells a reader more than "worked on the policy".
• Keep the Status line in step with the lists. An item under Blocked or at risk calls for at risk or blocked on the Status line.
• Fill an empty list with a short phrase. A heading with nothing under it doesn't show whether you skipped it on purpose.

For test runs that show when a list stays whole and when it splits in two or more, see the tests on Markdown bullet points.

A one-off message to a group of people goes in a memo file of its own.

File names and a folder for the weeks

This post's pick is a status/ folder holding one file per week, named for the Monday that starts it, such as status/2026-10-19.md. A year-first date keeps the files in date order when a folder listing sorts by name. Once a week is over, leave its file as it is and start a fresh one.

To add the date and your name as fields above the first heading, see the guide to status, owner and date fields, which explains what each of those fields stands for.

Some weekly items outgrow one line. When an item turns into a choice that someone has to make and keep on record, write it up as a separate decision record. When a problem from the week gets fixed and needs a full write-up, start a postmortem file for it. Then add one line to the status report that names the new file, so readers know where the detail lives.

Where Sashmark fits

If plans hold, Sashmark will be a reader and editor for Markdown on the desktop, aimed at anyone who reads .md files written by AI agents. Sashmark itself is still in development and isn't out yet. A folder of dated weekly reports, with one file for each week, matches the file sets Sashmark is planned for.

See the planned features, the help pages and the roadmap for where each part stands.

Visit sashmark.com.