Write your growth review
In our work, something is always changing. This activity is a time to pause the flurry of slack messages and customer feedback and see how we ourselves have changed. During this writing exercise you will think about yourself and projects from the past and how you approach your work today. This will serve as a way to see how you have matured as a designer, thinker, and collaborator. Then you can use these insights to understand your natural talents and what energizes you as means for guiding your next chapter.
Some prompts builds on standard product designer career ladder core competencies:
Craft: Visual design, interaction design and prototyping, systems design
Product Strategy: Defining requirements, research, vision
Collaboration: Communication, process and feedback, mindset
Impact: Business impact, leadership, design citizenship
Personal Satisfaction: ways in work the energizes or deflates you
Before you begin
Find a quiet space where you won't be interrupted. Turn off all notifications and background sounds including music. Grab your preferred writing tool (notebook, journal, etc.) and set a timer for 45 minutes to fully focus on this activity. Take your time with each section. If you finish early, pause, take a few deep breaths, and keep writing. See what else comes out.
Brain Dump (5min): Release the whirlwind of thoughts cluttering your mind. Write down everything: half-formed ideas, pending tasks, future plans, and nagging concerns. Our minds are naturally in a state of restlessness – use this moment to transfer that hard work your mind does onto paper. Think of this like a stretching before a workout, get your muscles moving and help focus your mind.
Reflection
Baseline: Write about 2-3 projects you’re proud of from ~1 year ago, or the last time you did this exercise. Choose projects you feel best showcased your strengths in the core competencies, especially craft and impact. How was the quality of your work and how you approached it? Where did your efforts have high quality execution or impact? What led to that work being well done. What energized you the most?
Milestone: Now think about a project from ~1 month ago. Repeat the activity above but highlight where your quality of your craft and approach has advanced. In which areas have you matured most as a designer? Describe the key moments that got you here.
Vision: And finally, look at yourself and your work with a kind but critical eye. If you could focus 90% of your time and energy one only competency, or better, a specific area within a competency, what would take you to the next level? What would move you from good to great? Use this as an opportunity to think about what you need to get you there. How would you spend that focus time? What kinds of projects would you do? What would you invite to inspire, critique, and guide you? Who would you want to learn from? Where might you get stuck? What parts of this work make you curious and excited to go deeper?
Synthesize
Pause here. Time helps us digest big ideas. Take a few days to sit with these ideas. This as a tool to celebrate your growth and shape your goals for the next milestone. When you’re ready talk through these insights with a design coach or manager to chart your course.
