What you should do after screwing up

Personal retro

Author

Chandan Karkera
May 20th, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

After reading this article, you’ll learn:

  1. What is a retro (retrospective)?

  2. When & how to use it at a personal level to improve.

We’re so busy in our lives. Work, personal stuff, unexpected events - sometimes things are never- ending.

Most of the time we run on auto pilot - wake up, freshen up, breakfast, work, return, watch TV, sleep, repeat.

Sometimes things don’t go well -

  • You mess up a presentation.

  • You get a bad rating.

  • You miss a deadline.

Ouch!

You’re upset for a few days. Then you resume working, exactly in the same way. Few months later, you give another bad presentation.

You’re upset again - after all you’ve been working so hard! So what’s the problem?

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

George Santayana

A “Retrospective” (or “retro”) is an is an activity in agile product development. After some work (called a “sprint”) is done, the team gets together.

They analyze what went well & what didn’t. Most importantly, they decide what they will do next time to improve.

I want to use this at the personal level. Assume you mess up a presentation in office. Instead of feeling sad & continue working the same way, here’s what you can do:

Block your calendar for at least 30 minutes tomorrow. Then:

  1. Analyze - what went well.

  • Every cloud has a silver lining.

  • Maybe you met 10 new people during your presentation.

  • Maybe you learnt something new when researching for your presentation.

  1. Analyze - why did you screw up?

  • Did not prepare well?

  • Got nervous in front of the crowd?

  • Encountered unexpected questions?

It’s important to spend time here so that you really understand the root cause. Don’t make the same mistake twice!

  1. Decide - what systems will you put in place to avoid the mistake.

Examples. Next time:

  • I will block 30 minutes to review if I’ve prepared well.

  • I will practice alone/ in front of my friends

  • Make a list of potential questions and the answers. Rehearse so I can be more confident.

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems”.

James Clear

In conclusion, it’s important to make time in our busy lives to understand how we can improve continuously. A personal retro is an effective way to do this.

Let me know if this helps. And if so, share the article with your friends and family.

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