Another year over, and what have you done?
It's really easy to think "I haven't achieved anything this week!" and fall into self-pity.
So, at the start of 2019, I decided to give future-me a present. I started a Trello board called "Done!".
Each week, I created a new column - "Done 2019-01-04", "Done 2019-01-11", and so on for the rest of the year. Every day, when I'd completed a task, I'd add a new card to the list. Mostly simple things:
- Emailed Jo about Project X's Q1 results.
- Meeting with Y Corp
- Got new badge from security
Nothing too trivial, nothing to heavy. It's not there for me to track my actions, or to store links to important documents, or to formally measure anything. It's just a pinned tab that I switch to every time I feel I've accomplished something.
I used to hate daily stand-ups, monthly 121s, and year-end reviews. But this reduces my anxiety considerably. I've got a little list.
Sure, some weeks are busier than others. But when there's objective proof of what you've been doing, it makes 121s, stand-ups, and KPIs, much easier to deal with.
Sure, some weeks are longer than others. And, looking back, the significance of some entries are lost on me. But, damn, I've accomplished a lot - and I'm really proud of 2019-me for being so kind to 2020-me.
I hope you also find it useful.
My NY resolution...I'm going to try and do this! https://t.co/74Mqy4iQhy
— Rosalie Marshall (@RosalieMarshall) December 31, 2019
That's a fantastic idea, thank you for sharing
— Splendid Consulting (@splendid_work) December 31, 2019
This is a lovely idea. Nicking it.
— Sharon O'Dea (@sharonodea) December 31, 2019
I love this.
— Claire Sutton 💚💙💁🏼👜👩🏼💻👸🏼 (@ClaireLSutton) December 31, 2019
This is such a simple, lovely idea. Worth trying for 2020 https://t.co/2J5el8fDGS
— Chris Adams - @mrchrisadams (@mrchrisadams) December 30, 2019
I love this. I'm going to give it a try.. https://t.co/nGmixVHj1R
— Polly Thompson (@pollyrt) December 30, 2019
That’s amazing !! Definitely part of my new year resolution ! 🤩🤩
— Omar Tayel 🧑🏻💻 (@Tayel) December 30, 2019
💡Ooooh I'm going to try this, downloaded the app so I'm less reliant on being on my pc to update @edent https://t.co/eysmmSoAJs
— Almaas (@AlmaasOsman) December 30, 2019
😍 copying this https://t.co/0CR9UNjLMb
— Sarah Carter (@SarahLCarter_) December 31, 2019
https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/1211656287609643008
I am totally doing this in 2020. https://t.co/nKeq5CDI3Q
— Kate Baucherel 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ (@KateBaucherel) December 30, 2019
James Turner says:
Interesting idea! Might give that a shot.
Jamie Tanna says:
This is a great idea! I'm planning on doing a similar thing to this based on the "Week Notes" that Ton does ie https://www.zylstra.org/blog/2019/12/week-notes-1952/ as a visible way of recounting weekly achievements / what kept you busy
Henning Rokling says:
Fantastic stuff right there!