Personal Retrospectives for Self-Improvement, Microsoft Tech Days Sweden, 2016

Retrospectives are a great way for a team to learn and grow. Why restrict those benefits to the workplace? This talk will introduce the idea of a ”personal retrospective” in which you as an individual take time to reflect on your behavior at regular intervals in order to grow. First, we’ll cover establishing the equivalent of the ”agile principles” for your life. Then, we’ll delve into how to conduct the personal retrospective itself. Finally, we’ll discuss ways to measure the effectiveness of the practice over time.

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http://compassionatecoding.com

Presented November 17, 2016 at Microsoft Tech Days Sweden in Stockholm

http://tdswe.se/session/retrospect-yourself-using-personal-retrospectives-to-improve-productivity-level-100/
http://compassionatecoding.com/personal-retrospectives

Transcript

1. Retrospect Yourself April Wensel Founder of Compassionate Coding @aprilwensel Using Personal Retrospectives To Improve Productivity #TDswe
2. @aprilwensel
3. N G C O D I N G COMPASSIONATE @aprilwensel
4. @aprilwensel Emotional Intelligence
5. Self-Awareness: Know yourself @aprilwensel Self-Management: Grow yourself
6. @aprilwensel 1.  Motivation 2.  Preparation 3.  Implementation The Plan
7. @aprilwensel 1.  Motivation 2.  Preparation 3.  Implementation The Plan
8. ”The human individual lives usually far within his limits; he possesses powers of various sorts which he habitually fails to use. He energizes below his maximum and he behaves below his optimum.” –William James @aprilwensel
9. ”We are so busy being busy that we don’t take the time to reflect on and ask the questions that can reshape our lives.” –Larry & Hersch Wilson, Play to Win @aprilwensel
10. @aprilwensel
11. @aprilwensel 1.  Constantly putting out fires 2.  Not growing skills 3.  Feeling stressed 4.  Staying in an unfulfilling job 5.  Not spending enough time on hobbies or with family http://www.government.se/contentassets/95678f8dfcea4ece916e5b7950f2260f/ a-work-environment-strategy-for-modern-working-life-20162020 50-60% work absences in the EU due to work stress
12. @aprilwensel
13. Can we do better? @aprilwensel
14. @aprilwensel “The best way to combat burnout and stress...is to continuously seek improvement in some area of your life.” –Steve McClatchy, Decide
15. Agile Retrospective @aprilwensel
16. @aprilwensel agilemanifesto.org
17. ”At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.” @aprilwensel http://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html
18. ”At regular intervals, I reflect on how to become more effective, then tune and adjust my behavior accordingly.” @aprilwensel
19. @aprilwensel
20. “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” –Jim Rohn @aprilwensel
21. @aprilwensel Professional + Personal
22. @aprilwensel
23. @aprilwensel
24. @aprilwensel
25. @aprilwensel 1.  Motivation 2.  Preparation 3.  Implementation The Plan
26. @aprilwensel •  individuals and interactions •  working software •  customer collaboration •  responding to change Agile Values
27. @aprilwensel What do you value?
28. ”[Y]our productivity is really about how well you are able to make an impact on what matters most to you.” –Scott Belsky @aprilwensel
29. “Good plans–whether for individuals or organizations– begin from the inside out: what are your values?” –Larry & Hersch Wilson, Play to Win @aprilwensel
30. "Connecting to a deep set of values…fuels a uniquely high- octane source of energy for change. It also serves as a compass for navigating the storms that inevitably arise in our lives.” –Jim Loehr & Tony Schwartz @aprilwensel
31. @aprilwensel
32. @aprilwensel Who do you admire? What are his or her admirable traits?
33. @aprilwensel What moments in your life are you most proud of? What values did you display in those moments?
34. @aprilwensel What would you do if you had a year left to live? A day?
35. @aprilwensel
36. @aprilwensel Schedule
37. @aprilwensel
38. @aprilwensel Mark your calendar!
39. @aprilwensel
40. @aprilwensel 1.  Motivation 2.  Preparation 3.  Implementation The Plan
41. @aprilwensel Implementation 1.  Gather data 2.  Group & prioritize issues 3.  Generate action items
42. @aprilwensel Implementation 1.  Gather data 2.  Group & prioritize issues 3.  Generate action items
43. @aprilwensel What went well? What could have gone better?
44. @aprilwensel
45. @aprilwensel
46. @aprilwensel
47. @aprilwensel
48. @aprilwensel
49. @aprilwensel
50. @aprilwensel
51. @aprilwensel Gratitude
52. @aprilwensel Resilience
53. @aprilwensel
54. @aprilwensel “Regardless of what we discover, we must understand and truly believe that everyone did the best job he or she could, given what was known at the time, his or her skills and abilities, the resources available, and the situation at hand.” –The Prime Directive
55. @aprilwensel Self-Compassion https://medium.com/operation-code/how-to-beat-coding- frustration-with-self-compassion-28297333524a
56. @aprilwensel “Emotion-free mistake making” –Angela Duckworth, Grit
57. @aprilwensel Growth Mindset
58. @aprilwensel “A growth mindset will strengthen you when you face obstacles and enhance your excitement when you…achieve your goals…” –Shawn Murphy, The Optimistic Workplace
59. @aprilwensel “More than anything else, what differentiates people who live up to their potential from those who don’t is a willingness to look at themselves and others objectively.” –Ray Dalio
60. @aprilwensel ”Pain + Reflection = Progress” –Ray Dalio
61. @aprilwensel How many?
62. @aprilwensel Implementation 1.  Gather data 2.  Group & prioritize issues 3.  Generate action items
63. @aprilwensel
64. @aprilwensel
65. @aprilwensel Implementation 1.  Gather data 2.  Group & prioritize issues 3.  Generate action items
66. @aprilwensel Debug your life
67. @aprilwensel
68. @aprilwensel
69. @aprilwensel
70. @aprilwensel
71. @aprilwensel Specific
72. @aprilwensel “I’m going to get more sleep this week.” “I’m going to be in bed reading a book by 22:00.”
73. @aprilwensel Achievable
74. @aprilwensel “I’m going to become a Python expert this week.” “I’m going to complete the first week’s lesson in Coursera’s Intro to Python course.”
75. @aprilwensel (Not)
76. @aprilwensel Repeat!
77. @aprilwensel Variations
78. @aprilwensel while(!dead) { Exist(); }
79. @aprilwensel while(!dead) { GatherData(); GroupAndPrioritizeIssues(); GenerateActionItems(); GetBetter(); }
80. @aprilwensel
81. @aprilwensel “It’s easy to sleepwalk through life, to operate at the level of ‘good enough’….But if we want to truly excel in our careers, we must awaken to our own profound capacity for growth.” –99U’s Maximize Your Potential
82. @aprilwensel References
83. @aprilwensel april@compassionatecoding.com