At the end of each business week, I make it a point to pause and look back at what just happened. This isn't just a casual glance at my calendar or a quick mental recap while commuting home.
I do this because I genuinely want to understand what worked well and what needs to shift. Nobody else is going to make these changes for me. I need to either make them myself or find ways to influence change in my environment. But before any change can happen, I need awareness of what actually needs changing.
Why I do this: Three key benefits
I've found that this practice serves three main purposes, and honestly, they're all connected:
Taking a conscious step back: Instead of reviewing my week while I'm still in the thick of things, I deliberately set aside time to reflect when I'm not caught up in the daily chaos. This dedicated time for improvement has become part of how I approach my work.
Continuous improvement: I want to learn something from each week that helps me get better at what I do. Whether that's improving myself, supporting the organization more effectively, enhancing our product, or refining our processes, I see this as a core part of my job. Getting a little bit better each week adds up over time.
Building a success archive: Keeping track of my work and wins has proven incredibly valuable. It's amazing how quickly we forget the good stuff when we're always focused on what's next.
The simple log that makes it work
To review my week properly, I write a brief log. Sometimes this ends up being just two lines, other times it stretches to ten lines or more. The real magic isn't in the length or format, it's in the thinking and the actions that follow. I don't pressure myself to document every single task or answer every possible question because this exercise is primarily for my own growth.
The whole process typically takes much less than thirty minutes, which feels like a pretty good investment for the insights I gain.
The questions that guide my reflection
The questions I try to work through, though I don't always tackle every single one:
What were this week's successes? Did I accomplish something meaningful, wrap up a significant piece of work, or score a small but important win? I've learned that collecting these successes creates a valuable "achievement archive" that comes in handy during performance reviews and salary negotiations.
What's not moving forward? Is there something stuck, or are there risks that I'm not managing properly? These items usually need attention in the coming week or at least deserve a spot on my planned action list.
What drained my energy? This is more personal but equally important. It's not just about what went wrong, but about what left me feeling depleted. What sucked the life out of my day? Understanding the why behind energy drains helps me figure out what needs to change.
What gave me energy? On the flip side, what parts of my work felt particularly engaging or fun? Is there a pattern I can identify and lean into more? These energy-giving activities often point toward my strengths and interests.
What should I stop doing next week? We all end up doing pointless work sometimes. That recurring meeting that never produces results, that report nobody actually reads, that process that adds no value. What can I eliminate from my plate?
What am I avoiding? This one is tough. Sometimes I know exactly what I should be doing, but I keep putting it off. Maybe it's something I don't enjoy, or maybe it's something that makes me nervous. The solution is never to keep avoiding these things, but to tackle them as quickly as possible. Growth happens in the uncomfortable spaces, but first I need to acknowledge what I'm dodging.
What needs to change? Is there something that needs to shift in how I approach my work, how our team is structured, how we document things, or how I communicate with colleagues and stakeholders? I make a list and start planning how to make those changes happen.
That's really it.
The list isn't overwhelming, and I don't always work through every question. Some weeks focus more on successes, others on energy management, and sometimes I spend most of my time on what needs to change.
But by the end of this simple exercise, I know what I want to adjust going forward, and I've learned something valuable about how I work best. It's a small investment that pays dividends in self-awareness and continuous improvement.
What I read
As usual, I will list some of the best articles I read on the Internet. I will keep a list of the best articles (currently >900) at https://www.digital-product-management.com. These are today’s picks:
What Really Happens in a Board Meeting: Demystifies the dynamics, governance, and accountability structures of corporate board meetings for engineering and product leaders.
Creating a Compelling Product Vision: A Step-by-Step Guide: Craft a customer-centric product vision using personas and Jobs to Be Done to align teams and drive decision-making.
Constraints You Won’t Find on a Jira Board: Leadership behaviors and implicit policy constraints often act as invisible bottlenecks that limit engineering team throughput more than process issues.
Benefits
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I keep one of those success archives too, except a weekly job pulls the wins out of my work log for me. It handles your first question fine, but the energy ones I'd still have to write myself.