Keep a Brag Doc

We wrapped up mid-cycle reviews at work last week. Not a full performance review. Just a check-in. New goals, self-reviews, peer feedback for some.

Talking to my team, it's always a challenging time. They think they haven't done anything meaningful. Or what they accomplished feels insignificant somehow.

I always encourage the same thing: keep a work journal. At minimum, a brag doc.

Write down what you did. What you finished. What you helped with. What you shared. Be brief if you want. But write it down.

In 6-12 months, you'll thank yourself. It's easier to pick out the big wins when you can see the full list of everything you did.

If you're a team lead, take this further. Keep brag docs for others on your team. You know you'll get asked for feedback when review time comes. Be prepared. Your memory isn't as good as you think it is.

Last Week on Slightly Caffeinated

AI Projects, Iris Updates, and Personal Health Challenges

We covered a lot of ground. I shared updates on the AI initiatives and new projects at work. TJ is pushing forward on Iris. He's updating the system to allow better user customization and refining memory management for performance.

We also talked through my NAS/Plex setup (more on that below), Fine Print Hound progress, and the importance of data privacy in everything we're building.

We're recording again tomorrow, so keep an eye on slightlycaffeinated.fm for the new episode.

What I'm Working On

The NAS and Plex setup continues. I've imported 5.5TB of data across movies, TV shows, and music. It's been great.

I keep tinkering to dial things in. This week I set up a Cloudflare tunnel so I can access the NAS from outside my home network. Remote access without exposing ports directly. Clean setup.

The unexpected part: nostalgia. Looking through old videos and music brings back memories of when I watched and listened to them. Some of these files are 15+ years old. It's a time capsule I didn't know I had.

Still have more to import. Then I'm planning to actually sit and enjoy the media instead of just organizing it.

That's it for this week. Reply with any tools or resources you think I should check out.

-Chris