Every week, we ask these three questions to keep us focused, make sure we're working on the right things, and make sure we actually ship.
What are you aiming to get done this week?
Specific, measurable things we want to be able to call done by the end of the week. The wording here matters β "get done" is very different from "work on". It forces you to break things down into smaller problems, and get better at sequencing work in large projects.
Sometimes it's hard to answer this question, and that's when it's most important. Weeks without a plan are the ones where you're most likely to find yourself at the end of the week telling yourself "I felt like I was busy all week but I don't have anything to show for it".
How are your projects going so far this week?
A chance to share your work in progress, talk about interesting problems you've run into so far, and step back to assess whether you're on track to meet your goals. This one really helps us all on the team feel connected to what everyone is working on, and is an awesome way to get exposed to new things and keep learning.
It's also really helpful for leadership just to know how things are going and to be able to provide any helpful direction or suggest ways to cut scope to avoid spinning our wheels.
What did you accomplish this week?
Not what did you work on, what did you get done. A chance to celebrate what we each shipped, compare our progress to what we planned at the beginning of the week, and fine-tune our own expectations of ourselves for next week.
Getting stuff done feels awesome and gives you energy, and this little piece of accountability helps us stay focused on shipping, instead of letting long, murky projects drag out forever without locking in progress at thoughtful milestones.
β
Getting serious about answering these questions every week has made my life 100x better as a leader, and as an individual contributor. Everyone on the team answers these questions (including leadership), and it gives us all so much more confidence in what we're doing.
No more feeling of "lost weeks", and so much clarity about how to get started when cracking open the computer in the morning.
π We are thrilled to receive a 5-star review for our Shopify app! A big shoutout to our amazing merchant who took the time to share their experience. It's incredibly rewarding to know that our app is making a difference. Thank you for your support! π #ShopifyApp
Our second @ShopifyDevs app finally approved. Here is our pre-launch checklist:
β App approval.
β¬οΈ Get 5-10 beta users.
β¬οΈ Improve (and fix) the app based on feedback from beta users.
β¬οΈ Add billing support.
β¬οΈ Launch the app.
You know, I've got lots of fancy expensive stuff on my desk, but my absolute favourite thing ever is this $5 handmade, rice filled wrist rest that my wife made for me (that, and the motivational quote under my screen that she hand wrote)... #thelittlethings