The Life 1:1

I am an introspective person, so I spend a lot of time thinking about my future goals and what I need to do to achieve them. This involves a lot of self-reflection and analysis of how I spend my time.

I find journaling to be the most effective tool for this. Harnessing the mind on paper has been one of the most reliable ways for me to reduce stress and improve mental clarity. Like a safety release for the subconscious, the urge to journal is often triggered after a build up of existential pressure. Is there a way to be more proactive and consistent about self-reflection?

In the workplace there is a solution: the one-on-one. This weekly meeting with your manager ensures that your work is aligned with higher-level company goals. From a career perspective, it is an opportunity to share your hopes and fears about work. It’s the time to discuss your own career goals and come up with a plan to reach them. (Disclaimer: This describes a 1:1 with a good, supportive manager. Unfortunately, this is not descriptive of all experiences.)

In our life outside of work, we could use such a system. Instead of company goals, we have our own personal goals we want to fulfill. Forget company values. What are our values? How do we make sure we are on track to a life that embodies these values?

A few months ago, my friend and I started the Life 1:1's to address this issue. We both happened to be starting new jobs and began talking about what we wanted to be mindful of in the first month. What started as an early morning coffee chat, turned into a monthly 7:30am meeting in a café in the Mission to reflect on our careers and goals outside of work.

Having this 1:1 has forced me to take a step back and reflect on my life in a more comprehensive way. In a 9–5 world where it is so easy to run on autopilot, this is really important.

The insights and accountability gained from our first few meetings helped me break through a mental rut, finally learn how to build a web application, and launch my first project at work

Oh, and it also helped me start this blog.