Woke up this Sunday, you know, usual routine. Coffee, staring out the window. But felt a bit restless, like I needed to do something more than just zone out before Monday hits again. Been feeling this way for a while, like I’m just stuck in my little corner at work, not really getting the bigger picture.
So, I decided, okay, let’s try this thing. This whole self-improvement kick. Got myself set up at the kitchen table. Wasn’t really sure where to start, honestly. Felt a bit like playing grown-up.
Getting Started
First, I just kinda brainstormed what I actually wanted to figure out. It’s not like I’m aiming for a fancy degree here, just trying to connect some dots. I thought about that project that went sideways last quarter. Why did it happen? Seemed like a good place to start digging.
I pulled up some old emails and reports related to it. Spent a good hour just reading through them again, but this time trying to look at it differently. Not just my part, but everyone’s.
- Tried to map out who was responsible for what.
- Looked at the timeline, where things actually slowed down.
- Tried to understand the decisions made, even the ones I disagreed with back then.
It was slow going. Made a bunch of notes, mostly questions really. Like “Why did we choose Vendor A?” or “What was the actual budget discussion outcome?”. Things I didn’t really question at the time, just went along with.
Digging Deeper
Then I remembered this business podcast I listened to ages ago. Something about analyzing failures. Found it again and skipped to the relevant bits. Didn’t give me magic answers, obviously, but it gave me a different way to frame my questions.
Started looking less at who messed up and more at what in the process was weak. Communication? Planning? Resources? Used my messy notes from the project review and tried to sort them into these buckets.
Honestly, it felt kinda weird. Sitting there on a perfectly good Sunday, dissecting old work stuff. But it was also… interesting? Like solving a puzzle, but the pieces are emails and meeting notes.
Realized a lot of it boiled down to assumptions. We assumed Marketing knew what Sales needed. We assumed the tech team had the bandwidth. Lots of assuming, not a lot of confirming. Seems simple, but seeing it written down like that was a bit of an eye-opener.
Wrapping Up
Didn’t solve world hunger or anything. Didn’t suddenly become a business genius. But I spent a few hours really thinking, instead of just reacting or complaining like I usually do when I think about that project. Forced myself to look at the structure, not just the annoying bits.
Packed up my notes. Kitchen table’s back to normal. Still feels a bit strange calling this ‘study’, it’s more like… structured thinking? Intentional pondering? Whatever it is, it beat scrolling through social media for three hours.
Might try it again next Sunday. Maybe pick a different angle, look at a competitor or something. Feels like a small step, but hey, it’s something.
