How to find quantity data in your notes
Episode #7 of the Tiny Graphics Advent Calendar, published by Marius Popescu for De Amicis.
Journaling is a great way to get out of your head the struggles of the days and questions which trouble you. But it would be awesome if someone could write it for us, right?
The next best thing is using analytical tools which can send you regular reports on your work habits.
EmailMeter reports how many emails you send or receive every month. Over time, I have written down these values in a Google Sheet and I have a chart showing how I’m doing in communication efforts month after month and year after year.
Getting back to my notes years after I find interesting thoughts and also fresh impressions. It’s like going back to your children’s photos when they were still babies. Even though you can imagine how they looked and you recall many things, your train of thought at the time has faded.
The same way, if you look over your product notes and presentations from the old days you will recall how it felt at the start. What dreams your team had at the time. Where you thought you were heading, and where did you land.
Where to find actual notes about your product development
- presentations for the pilot and the first version
- project and task management databases
- strategy documents like SWAT marketing analysis
- business plans and projections
- organizational charts
- feature-specific development notes
- timesheets and team effort spent over years
Your turn now
Where would you search for notes and journals related to your product development?
Send your questions and ideas via the Tiny Graphics mailing list.
PS
RescueTime is another tool I use to track applications usage. You can note any activity from focus to distraction, and every week you get an automatic report showing how you spent your work time.
Originally published at https://de-amicis.com on December 7, 2020.