Tools for Tracking Work Progress

I've tried the fancy productivity systems, but here's what works: This 3x5 notecard... Each evening, I sit down at my desk and write down the 3-5 highest impact to-dos for the following day. These are the "important" tasks that directly contribute to my long-term projects or goals. The list is pure—I specifically avoid writing down all of the miscellaneous urgent and unimportant to-dos (more on that later). In the morning, I sit down at my desk for my first focus work block and start at the top of the list, working my way down and crossing off the important items as I get through them. My primary goal is to cross each item off the list by the end of the day. I am intentionally conservative in the number of items I write on the list. It's usually 3, sometimes 4, and very rarely 5. I never want to end the day with open items, so being conservative helps me accomplish that (and get the extra rush from getting through more than I expected). As I go through the day, I stole an idea from Marc Andreessen to use the back of the card to write down and cross off any minor to-dos that I complete (the urgent or unimportant tasks that are not welcome on the front of the card). The process of writing and crossing off an item on the back of the card is a further boost of momentum, so I find it to be a worthwhile exercise. My notecard productivity system is painfully simple, but it's grounded in five powerful realizations: 1. 15 minutes of prep in the evening is worth hours the next morning. By setting out your priority tasks the night before, you eliminate any friction from having to decide what to work on. You hit the ground sprinting. 2. Important > Urgent. By tackling the important to start the day, you guarantee progress against the big picture projects and goals. If my day went to hell after that morning focus block (which it sometimes does with a 1-year-old at home!), it would be ok, because I know I've gotten through much of my important work. 3. Momentum is everything. Crossing important items off your list to start the day immediately creates a winning feeling that you keep with you. Success begets success. 4. Simple is beautiful. If you're spending time thinking about your productivity system, you're studying for the wrong test. That's movement for the sake of movement. You should be focused on progress. 5. Find what works for you. It used to stress me out that I didn't have a beautiful productivity system that would impress others. Then I realized that whatever works for me is the best productivity system. Identify how you operate and find the system that works for you. To get started, just buy a stack of simple 3x5 notecards and give it a shot. If you've ever been overwhelmed by productivity systems and advice, this is an approach to try. Follow me Sahil Bloom for more ideas like this in the future and join 800,000+ others who get these in my weekly newsletter: https://lnkd.in/esGsF85Q

The professionals who advance fastest aren't necessarily the highest performers - they're the best documenters.   The challenge many professionals face: Outstanding work without strategic documentation.   Performance reviews and promotion discussions often rely on recent memory and subjective impressions.   However, careers are built on cumulative value creation that extends beyond the most recent quarter.   The solution: A comprehensive "Brag Book" that transforms achievements into promotion-worthy evidence.   The slides above outline a systematic approach to documenting: • Quantifiable business impact with specific metrics • Cost-saving initiatives with measurable outcomes • Team development results with concrete examples • Problem-solving capabilities under pressure • External recognition and professional growth   Key principle: If you can't measure it and document it, it becomes subjective opinion rather than objective evidence.   This documentation serves multiple strategic purposes: • Performance review preparation • Promotion justification • Salary negotiation support • Interview preparation for external opportunities   The most successful professionals I work with treat career documentation as seriously as financial record-keeping.   What significant achievement from this year have you properly documented for future career discussions?   Sign up to my newsletter for more corporate insights and truths here: https://lnkd.in/ei_uQjju   #deepalivyas #eliterecruiter #recruiter #recruitment #jobsearch #corporate #promotion #careeradvancement #careergrowth

One of the hardest balances to master as a leader is staying informed about your team’s work without crossing the line into micromanaging them. You want to support them, remove roadblocks, and guide outcomes without making them feel like you’re hovering. Here’s a framework I’ve found effective for maintaining that balance: 1. Set the Tone Early Make it clear that your intent is to support, not control. For example: “We’ll need regular updates to discuss progress and so I can effectively champion this work in other forums. My goal is to ensure you have what you need, to help where it’s most valuable, and help others see the value you’re delivering.” 2. Create a Cadence of Check-Ins Establish structured moments for updates to avoid constant interruptions. Weekly or biweekly check-ins with a clear agenda help: • Progress: What’s done? • Challenges: What’s blocking progress? • Next Steps: What’s coming up? This predictability builds trust while keeping everyone aligned. 3. Ask High-Leverage Questions Stay focused on outcomes by asking strategic questions like: • “What’s the biggest risk right now?” • “What decisions need my input?” • “What’s working that we can replicate?” This approach keeps the conversation productive and empowering. 4. Define Metrics and Milestones Collaborate with your team to define success metrics and use shared dashboards to track progress. This allows you to stay updated without manual reporting or extra meetings. 5. Empower Ownership Show your trust by encouraging problem-solving: “If you run into an issue, let me know your proposed solutions, and we’ll work through it together.” When the team owns their work, they’ll take greater pride in the results. 6. Leverage Technology Use tools like Asana, Jira, or Trello to centralize updates. Shared project platforms give you visibility while letting your team focus on execution. 7. Solicit Feedback Ask your team: “Am I giving you enough space, or would you prefer more or less input from me?” This not only fosters trust but also helps you refine your approach as a leader. Final Thought: Growing up playing sports, none of my coaches ever suited up and got in the game with the players on the field. As a leader, you should follow the same discipline. How do you stay informed without micromanaging? What would you add? #leadership #peoplemanagement #projectmanagement #leadershipdevelopment

No SWE recalls every bug they fixed. No SWE remembers every meeting they’ve attended. No SWE can pull out proof of impact on the spot when review season hits. But the best engineers I’ve worked with and have seen constantly climb the ladder in their career? They can (without having a photographic memory) How do they do it? They keep a personal worklog, they track their progress daily and it changes everything. I’ll be honest, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve nudged folks on teams to start this one habit, especially in those early career years: Here’s why Keeping a worklog is a gamechanger: → Standups: You don’t scramble for updates. You walk in, scan your log, and your work speaks for itself → Performance reviews: When it’s time to talk about promotion or pay, you’re not digging through emails trying to remember what you did. You’ve got a timeline of real wins, right there. → Self-awareness: Over months, patterns show up. You see where you’re getting stuck, where you shine, and where you can ask for help or level up. → Storytelling: Your log is the story of your growth. The little wins, the firefights, the team moments, all of it’s there. I’ve been keeping one for years and It’s never been about tracking every task, it’s about recording the meaningful things, the actual needle movers. Sometimes, I open up a year-old entry and see how far I’ve come or spot the places I kept tripping. It keeps me humble, but also shows progress nobody else sees. And recently, I've been journaling with ChatGPT, doing so, for the last 2 months. If you haven’t started a worklog, start today. Doesn’t need a fancy tool. Could be Notion, Google Docs, or a plain text file. Write down the highlights, what you built, fixed, shipped, learned. One small habit. Huge payoff over time. And when it’s time to show your value? You won’t just remember, you’ll prove it. Trust me, I wish I’d started even sooner.

15 Agile Metrics & KPIs Every Scrum Master Should Track (and Why They Matter) As a Scrum Master, your role isn’t just about facilitating meetings it’s about driving visibility, improving flow, and helping your team continuously deliver value. Here are 15 essential Agile Metrics every Scrum Master should monitor 1. Sprint Velocity ↳  Measures how much work the team completes in a sprint (story points). ↳  Helps forecast future capacity—but avoid using it as a productivity score. 2. Burndown Chart ↳  Visualizes the remaining work in the sprint. ↳  Helps the team stay aligned and identify early risks of missing the sprint goal. 3. Cycle Time ↳  Time taken to complete a task from start to finish. ↳  Shorter cycle time = better flow and faster delivery. 4. Lead Time ↳  Time from request to delivery. ↳  Reveals responsiveness and overall process efficiency. 5. Work in Progress (WIP) ↳  Number of tasks being worked on simultaneously. ↳  Limiting WIP helps reduce context switching and bottlenecks. 6. Team Happiness ↳  Measures morale and job satisfaction (via surveys or check-ins). ↳  High-performing teams thrive when they feel supported and safe. 7. Defect Density ↳  Number of defects relative to product size or complexity. ↳  Highlights areas where quality needs attention. 8. Escaped Defects ↳  Bugs that reach production after release. ↳  Indicates gaps in testing or quality assurance. 9. Sprint Goal Success Rate ↳  Percentage of sprint goals achieved. ↳  Helps assess planning accuracy and team focus. 10. Team Capacity ↳  Total amount of work the team can handle in a sprint (considering availability). ↳  Crucial for realistic sprint planning. 11. Stakeholder Satisfaction ↳  Measures how well the team meets stakeholder expectations. ↳  Gathered through reviews, feedback sessions, or surveys. 12. Retrospective Action Items Completion Rate ↳  Tracks how many improvement actions get completed. ↳  Shows whether retrospectives lead to real change. 13. Release Frequency ↳  How often the team releases functional software. ↳  Frequent releases improve feedback loops and value delivery. 14. Technical Debt ↳  Effort required to fix shortcuts or quick fixes. ↳  Growing tech debt slows the team down, track it before it gets out of control. 15. Team Collaboration ↳  Assesses the quality of teamwork (via peer reviews or pairing). ↳  Strong collaboration drives innovation and team resilience. Final Thoughts: ↳  Metrics should empower the team, not micromanage them. ↳  The goal is to create meaningful conversations that lead to continuous improvement; not just dashboards. What’s your most valuable Agile metric? And, are there any metrics you think are overhyped? Drop your thoughts. I’d love to hear from you! DM me if you need help to get a Scrum Master Job.

Most PMs hide behind status reports while elite PMs build in the open. The difference? ... It's not advanced certifications or agile methodologies. It's radical transparency. I've guided hundreds of projects to completion, and here's what I've noticed: - Average PMs share updates on a need-to-know basis. - Elite PMs make visibility their competitive advantage. Let me show you what I mean. When managing deliverables, the typical PM keeps tracking documents in private folders. → They send status reports once a week via email. → They control information flow. But the elite PM takes a different approach. → They maintain a publicly accessible project dashboard that stakeholders and team members can check anytime. See the difference? The first PM creates information bottlenecks. The second PM creates informed teammates who feel trusted and aligned. Or take status meetings. The average PM jumps straight into issues and action items. They rush through updates, highlighting what's off-track and who's behind. The elite PM begins every call showcasing the dashboard and celebrating wins. They heap praise on team members delivering results (and occasionally those who need encouragement). The first PM trains their team to dread status updates. The second PM creates an environment where progress is visible and contributions valued. This pattern transforms how the team handles inevitable obstacles: When facing delays, the typical PM uses vague terms like "𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴" or "𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯." They downplay issues, hoping executives won't notice. The elite PM directly calls out what's not going well and what's falling behind. They name the problems precisely because you can't mitigate what you won't acknowledge. The common PM breeds uncertainty and backchanneling. The elite PM creates 𝗽𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 and 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺-𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴. Why don't more project managers embrace this kind of transparency? Three reasons: 1. They fear being judged for variance from baseline plans 2. They mistake information control for project control 3. They underestimate leaders' ability to handle reality But here's the truth: Your stakeholders already sense when projects aren't on track. By being transparent, you're not revealing failures—you're demonstrating that you have the confidence to lead through complexity. That's what separates elite PMs from the rest. Not perfect execution, but perfect clarity even when execution isn't perfect. So next time you kick off a project, resist the urge to gate information and manage perceptions. Instead, build dashboards for all to see. Celebrate openly. Address issues directly. ~~~ PS- Are you still using slide decks to convey status? Or do you leverage real-time tools to provide just-in-time answers? . .

Struggling with never-ending to-do lists? 📝 Here's a simple Excel trick that changed how I work: add a linked donut chart to your to-do list that updates in real-time as you check off tasks. Why it works: -Visual progress tracking keeps you motivated -The chart updates automatically with each completed task -Clean, minimal design that's easy to implement I created a quick tutorial showing exactly how to set this up in Excel: https://lnkd.in/eeqhwQtq No fancy add-ins needed - just basic Excel formulas and a donut chart that gives you that extra push to finish your tasks. #excel #productivity #msexcel #microsoft365 P.S. If you know someone drowning in to-do lists, share this with them - they'll thank you later!

I Was on the Brink of Burnout (Here’s How I Turned It Around.) Last year, I hit a wall. It was late 2024, and I was juggling three clients at once. Here’s how my plate looked: For two clients, I was responsible for documenting workpapers. For another, I was handling more than 30 IT application controls and managing budgets and actuals for their entire engagement. September came, and everything spiraled out of control. Three clients. Three managers. Three teams. Multiple deadlines. 45-hour weeks. I started working on ad hoc tasks just to survive. But the cracks were showing. I was exhausted, overwhelmed, and ready to give up. Then, a thought struck me; a lesson I had heard from Ankur Warikoo, someone I admire deeply. He once said, “Your brain’s job isn’t to remember things; it’s to understand and execute them.” That changed everything for me. I realized my problem wasn’t just the workload. It was how I managed it. Here’s what I did. I stopped relying on my brain to track everything. Instead, I used OneNote to manage tasks for each client. Step 1: I created three pages—one for each client. Step 2: Each day, I added a new heading with the date and listed every task as a checkbox. Step 3: For each task, I estimated how long it would take and noted it in brackets. Step 4: At the start of the day, I planned my available hours. If I had 9 hours and 6 were already allocated, I knew I could only take on 3 more hours of work. This simple system changed everything. I met my deadlines. I stopped feeling overwhelmed. I didn’t need to remember tasks anymore. Everything was written down. By the end of the day, I knew exactly what was done and what needed to be carried forward. The biggest lesson? Your brain is for thinking, not for remembering. Let tools handle the memory part. You’ll save your energy for what really matters—getting the work done. #itaudit #risk #internalaudit #riskmanagement #timemanagement #job #career #success #productivity

Our Business Operations team was wasting ~$16,000 per month on inefficient meetings (estimated by 5 hours per week x $100 per hour x 8 people). One simple change cut that out: we transitioned from verbal to visual. Here's what we did: BACKGROUND: When we went fully remote at Blip years ago, progress updates became a special kind of torture. Every "quick sync" turned into an hour of: - "Remember when we discussed..." - "Wait, which part are we changing?" - "No, I thought we agreed on..." Same conversations. Different day. Zero progress. THE SHIFT: Instead of talking about changes, we started drawing them. Using @lucid we mapped every single user action before meetings. Not high-level flows… every click, every decision point, every expected behavior. Now when our Supply head says "we're changing this," he points to one square. That's it. Meeting over in 15 minutes. THE SYSTEM: 1. Map the entire journey first (30-45 mins) - Every action documented - Every decision branch visible - One source of truth 2. Share the visual 24 hours before any meeting - Team comments directly on elements - Context builds asynchronously - Everyone arrives prepared 3. Run surgical discussions (15 mins vs 60) - Point to specific boxes - Click in and annotate live - Decisions stick because everyone sees the same thing 4. Track changes visually - Before/after comparisons side-by-side - Progress visible at a glance - No status meetings needed RESULTS: Month 1: Folks complained about "extra work" Month 2: Meetings cut in half Month 3: People started making diagrams without being asked The real magic: Async conversations actually reach conclusions now 😀 Someone screenshots a flow section, circles a box, drops it in Slack: "Change this?" Three replies later: Done. No meeting. No confusion. Just execution. LESSON: Remote teams don't need more meetings. They need better artifacts. When everyone sees the same picture, you stop explaining and start shipping. Draw first. Talk second!

Good work you forget is good work wasted. Track it and write it down. Lesson 19: Make a brag document. One of the biggest game changers for my career was writing a brag document. A brag document is simple. Once a week, you write down everything you did. Big launches. Small design feedback. Bug fixes. Mentorship. Process improvements. Anything that moves the team, the product, or the culture forward. When I was chasing my E4 to E5 promotion at Meta, I was religious with my brag doc. Every week, I would write down what I contributed across our main axes — Project Impact, Direction, Excellence, People. Then I would review it with my manager regularly. This gave me early feedback on what was strong, what was missing, and what needed course correction before it was too late. Most people only start thinking about their work at the end of the year, when performance reviews are due. By then, it is too late to fix the gaps. You cannot go back in time and generate impact. You can only capture it in the moment. Keeping a brag document forces you to see the full picture. You realize how much value you are actually creating and you also spot where you need to do more. And when the time comes to package your work for promotion, you are not scrambling to remember what you did. You have the receipts. It is tedious. It is annoying. But it is one of the most powerful tools if you are serious about leveling up. Make a brag document. Start today. I am sharing 40 lessons from 10 years of software engineering. Follow along so you do not miss the next ones.