The Product Diary

Congratulations on being a new owner of the Product Diary! Once you’ve unwrapped the diary, there are certain pre-journaling steps you may want to complete. To help with this, find the “Before You Begin Checklist” at the start of the diary (page 10). It guides you on reviewing in-built resources and on completing certain templates such as your roadmap for referencing throughout the year. Once you’ve checked off the tasks, you are ready to begin Week 1! Since this is an undated journal, you can start this journal at any time of the year! Just make sure to date your journal entry using the date scale at the top of each page.

Jot down a quick win from your day – a challenge overcome, a compliment received, progress made. Categorize the day’s entry into a competency / PM Wheel dimension. You will come back to this during your quarterly and annual reflections. Also, there’s no penalty if you need to skip a day. This is all about you!

While a weekly review is not necessary, if you missed a few sections in your daily journaling session, a weekend sitting could help wrap the week’s journal. Review daily entries from the week and tie it to the skills you exercised and goals you are working towards using the “Links To” box at the bottom of the daily page. Ensure you have checked off all the Follow-Ups &To-Dos for this week. If you have the Plus edition, don’t forget to reflect on the weekly challenge!

The diary doesn’t have a dedicated monthly section, but there’s a lot you can do at the end of the month and start working towards your quarterly reflection. For example, review all your daily entries and bookmark strong stories across different PM Wheel dimensions. Note down one thing you want to start and stop doing. Review your roadmap and update it if there have been changes. Follow up on your KPIs/metrics and ensure you are tracking them.

Allocate at least 30 minutes to an hour to complete the Quarterly Reflection section. This can also be completed in multiple sittings across the last few weeks of a quarter. This comprehensive set of worksheets guides you on reflecting, analyzing and evaluating your PM journey so far and helps you uncover blind spots as well as build a strong springboard for the upcoming quarter. The quarterly section allows you to track your goals and milestones you’ve completed, measure metrics/KPIs outcomes against your roadmap, commentary on your deliverables, and document a selection of strong stories across key PM competencies to help mirror and reveal your growth.

Congratulations on completing a year as a PM! This is where everything comes together – all your incremental growth, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, are placed together to paint a complete picture of your achievements. Spend the last week at the end of a year to reflect on the goals you accomplished, the competencies you excelled in and retrospect on your leadership and growth opportunities. Celebrate the product(s) you shaped this year and the users you empowered. Use this time to draw up a plan for next year and envision the story you want to tell. Where will your career take you next?