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Weekly review: week 28, 2023

July 16, 2023

Every week, I do a weekly review ritual that helps me plan the next week and reflect on the one that has passed by. I take both a data-driven approach, since I measure a multiple number of things about my life, behaviour, and overall health, as well as asking myself a few questions that help me reflect on the week (some sort of mini-retrospective with myself).

This is a really powerful habit, the outcome (or lack of outcome) of which can make or break my following week. When done, and done well, it provides me a clear sense of purpose, peace, clarity, and motivation for Monday morning. When I skip it, it's easier for me to feel overwhelmed the moment I open my computer first thing in the morning.

So this is an experiment to share some of these raw reflections on this site, and see if this sparks conversation with otheers, or at the very least it might just be a good way for me to keep track of my own thoughts and reflections.

Anyway, here are some metrics and thoughts from this week:

Metrics

Health

Throughout 2023 I've been building a stronger habit of working out, something that I failed on my last year's resolution, which led me to yet another leg injury that I'm still recovering from. After a few months focusing on mobility, I ramped up again on strength training and cardio.

I'm also reframing my cardio focus to be less based on pace or distance, and more on enjoyment and time spent doing it. I'm focusing on zone 2 training sessions primarily, so it's a running/walking combination, which makes it easier to focus on the right running technique and not overdoing the exercise. I'm loving it.

Key metrics

  • Worked out 5 days (same as week before):
    • 4x strength training sessions (⇡100% increase from last week).
    • 2x indoor stationary bike (22.6 km total, ⇡∞ increase from last week).
    • 1x outdoor run (8.5km, ⇣57.5% decrease).
  • Sleep: 5h 35min daily average (⇡1.5% increase from last week).
  • Alcohol: had three drinks this week (⇡33% increase from last week).

Productivity

This week was Buffer's annual Build Week, so it was a lot of fun to work on a one week project with a couple teammates and get it to internal release (hopefully soon to be released!). It's a very special moment, as it's incredible to see how people self-organize and work on features and initiatives that might not be in our roadmap, and the level of creativity and innovation that comes out of it is mind-blowing.

Besides that, I've also been wrapping up the last few tweaks for Otter's new website, which we hope to launch next week. I'm excited to see it out in the wild, and see how it performs both in terms of conversion, SEO, overall user experience, and technical performance.

Key metrics

  • Total time at the computer: 55 hours, 42 minutes (⇡11h 22 minutes from week before).
  • Productivity pulse: 85/100 (⇣7% from week before).
  • Productive time: 43h 25min (⇡1h 12min from week before).

Spent most of my time this week coding (34% of my time), followed by async messaging and communication (14%), and video conferencing (12%).

Media

Books

Series

Movies

Questions

What went well this week?

I am enjoying a new routine of jumping straight into the hardest task right after waking up. The challenge with that is to have the discipline to:

  • Take a longer break in the middle of the day to reset, recharge, and exercise.
  • Not check email and Slack until mid-morning, as that can easily derail my day.

What could be improved?

With that new routine, my workout time is moved to the middle of the day, which makes it hard to go for a run in the summer heat. That leaves me with two options: either doing indoor cardio at the gym, or going for a run before dinner. The jury is still out on what works best for me.

I have also dropped meditation with my morning routine changes, and it's something I find really hard to fit in the middle of my day. At the same time, I realize that if I have time for a 1 hour workout, I have time for 10 minutes of sitting down and breathing, so there's no excuse really.

What are the goals for next week?

  • Finalize Q3 planning and communications for the team.
  • Ensure the Build Week project is ready for beta.
  • Launch Otter's new website.
  • Record one Instagram Reel / TikTok video / YouTube short for Otter.

So, this is it. If you have any feedback, thoughts, or questions, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter.