Be awesome like me.

I have a friend who waits until the very last second to complete their annual review.

It causes them so much anxiety and procrastinate because they don’t think they’re “good enough.” (I promise you, this friend is WAY more than enough.)

They can’t for the life of them remember what they did over the past six months, let alone a year.

So they wait… and get more anxious. And procrastinate. And of course, think about the fact that they’re not working on it constantly.

Oftentimes, they wait until their manager asks for it.

Does that happen to you?

My first year at Cruise I completed my personal review and sent it to my manager within one hour of receiving the email.

I had absolutely no stress and felt super prepared.

How did I become so awesome?

I'm glad you asked.

I prepared for them in advance and I want to share my strategy now so you can end up like me… and not my friend.

Similarly to the email I sent a couple weeks ago about turning off my work brain: today is the day to start recording the projects that you’ve been working on and what you’ve been spending your time on.

This should definitely include new projects you’ve taken on, new customers you’ve taken on, money you’ve saved for the company, team members you’ve started managing and anything else you think made a big impact on your company and your team.

A few questions to consider to get your juices flowing if you’re not coming up with anything:

How did I make someone else’s job easier this week? (Bonus points if that person was your manager or their manager.)

Who did I ask for help? Who helped me?

Make yourself an “I’m awesome” folder in your email or photo album on your phone.

What problems or challenges did I solve this week?

Did I hit any team or company goals this week?

How was your work impacted this week by the pandemic?

After you’ve answered these questions, go through your messages and take screenshots of compliments you got throughout the week.

Take those screenshots and put them in your “I’m awesome” folder.

Then take a few more minutes later this week to go through past emails and collect everything you can find.

I promise if you start logging your progress now, and getting your accolades together, you will be on your way to having a smooth review cycle.

And the best part is, if you start this today, your subconscious mind will start thinking about stuff from the past that you’d forgotten about.

(Isn’t it cool how our brain figures out problems when we’re not even thinking about them?!)

If you're like, Nic, I don't even know what I've done for the past year. All good, my love.

If I were your coach, I could help you not only figure out wtf you did this year, but we can also make it sound good AF so you can impress your manager.

Sound like something you need? Hit me up.

I got you,

—Nic

PS. This “I’m awesome” folder is also a place to go when you’re having a shitty day, writing a new resume, or in need of some evidence to ask for a raise.