How to keep track of things as an EM?

Leadership
1

I’d like to know what your “daily rhythms” are. As an EM, I can get to the end of the day and think, “I know I missed something, but I don’t know what.” Have you found any checklists or routines that help you make sure you’ve done the most important things?
I’m not necessarily looking for GTD or other methods, unless you’ve found one that fits the world of an EM perfectly.

2

There are many frameworks available. I used the 3P (people, projects, processes) when I was a new EM. There are also 5P, 7S from McKinsey, and PDCA from Deming.
You can get ideas from all of them, but I really think you should make your own.
First, keep track of the things you and other people in your organization already do. Pay attention to how often it happens, how long it takes, who and what tools are used, and what effect it has. And write it all down.
When you’re done, you’ll not only have a framework that fits your role perfectly, but you’ll also know where all the waste is, what to keep for yourself, what to delegate, which roles are missing, how to hire for them, and so on.
You don’t have to make it too hard if it sounds like too much. Just write down what you need to do as you do it. That will help you make a good list of things to pay attention to.
Making the invisible visible is 80% of this.

3

i totally get this. for me it’s less about rigid checklists and more about having a few anchors each day, 1:1s, async follow-ups, quick triage of blockers, and a “what keeps me up at night” check before logging off. still miss stuff sometimes, but it keeps the important things from falling through.

4

Totally feel this, Neel. I think the tricky part is balancing structure with flexibility. Anchors like 1:1s and async follow-ups help, but sometimes the invisible stuff, team mood, tiny blockers, context switches, slips through. I’ve started jotting down quick “micro-notes” through the day in a single doc, just 1-2 lines per thing. By evening, I can see patterns and what actually matters. Doesn’t replace intuition, but it saves you from feeling like you missed half the team’s signals.