Naiman Labs Newsletter #9. The power of review

During the lockdown last year, I stumbled upon the fascinating world of productivity hacks and how our brains affect our ability to get things done. I spent countless hours devouring self-help articles and books, and watched almost every video by productivity gurus like Cal Newport, Tiago Forte and Ali Abdaal.

One tip that stood out to me in every productivity book was the importance of review. Everyone talks about it because it’s an essential practice that can make all the difference. By reviewing your day, you can identify what you’re grateful for, what went well, and what didn’t. Looking back at your week helps you track your progress, and monthly reviews help you stay on top of your goals.

And there’s even more. At work, our teams have several review practices, including retro-sessions where they assess their performance as a team. In every performance cycle there’s a very important part of goals review and of performance review, where you need to reflect on your goals on how you’ve been achieving them.

But I have to admit, I never regularly used personal review practices on my own until recently.

Last Monday, while transferring my work notes from one app to another, I stumbled upon my old notes and decided to give them a quick review.

While moving my work notes from one app to another, I found myself reviewing my old notes. I thought, “Oh, this point, we’ve discussed it, and it’s done now. This point, we talked about it, but it hasn’t been resolved yet. This task, I captured it, but never came back to it. This task, I completed earlier, but it’s not relevant anymore.”

During that hour, I reviewed, organized, and moved all my meeting notes. By the end of that hour, I had a new, clean notes structure and a short to-do list of tasks that needed my immediate attention. I also realized that I had already completed 30 out of 50 ideas I had during my first two weeks at the company.

This experience made me realize how powerful the review practice is. It brings peace, helps you stay focused on your goals, and ensures that you’re always moving in the right direction.

If you’re not already reviewing your tasks, notes, and projects regularly, it’s time to start! It may take a bit of time initially, but once you get into the habit of reviewing, it becomes a quick and straightforward process that takes no more than 10 minutes a day. Trust me, the benefits are worth it. So why not give it a shot?

🤝 People management article of the week

I am sure that I will share my view on learning from mistake culture and why it is important to reflect on mistakes made at work. Review, reflect and learn. Not punish and point the blame.

This week I am sharing a short article about learning culture from Sloan Management Review again :) Yes, I really like their content.

Every mistake is a valuable lesson and managers should always keep it in mind.

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💼 Your career tip of the week

Don’t be shy to talk to your manager about your growth. Be curious and ask questions.

This is always a win-win: you get valuable guidelines for your growth and you show that you are ready to grow and learn.

Don’t wait that someone will come to you and say: “Hey, we decided that from now on you’ll be on your track to become a team manager”. This happens, but rarely.

Show your interest, don’t hesitate to discuss your growth with your manager. Yes it is their job to help you grow, but it your growth is your responsibility isn’t it?

⚒️ Productivity tip of the week

It is always a hard choice when you choose your own productivity app. It is hard to pick the right note-taking app, and it is even harder to pick the right task manager. For notes, I use two apps, as I realize that there are two layers in my note-taking process: quick and deep.

For quick note-taking, I need an app that is easy to use, quick to capture, and frictionless. I use the simple Apple Notes. I made a “Quick Capture” note and it serves as a brain dump where I can jot down ideas, phone numbers to call, or interesting thoughts from a podcast.

For deep note-taking, I need an app that is perfect for writing, summarizing, and researching. I use Notion, and it is amazing. Notion is perfect for structuring notes, deep writing, and connecting several notes together. When I research a topic, brainstorm ideas, or collect highlights, I can easily connect my thoughts with summary notes of articles I have read earlier and filter the most relevant ones.

Although I tried using Notion for quick capture as well, I found it easier to use Apple Notes for that purpose.

My tip is to think about your own note-taking process and avoid trying to use a single app for everything. Consider dividing your process into quick capture and deep writing, which may make it easier for you.