Show HN: Record Your Accomplishments

by samteeeee • 5 years ago

72 80 5 years ago

I like the spirit of this app but I invite every manager to encourage their team to do this already. Every time I have a 1:1 I push my team to stop and think about what they accomplished in their last week of work. I have a simple template in a shared doc where I have them celebrate their accomplishment every single week. I cheer for them and surprisingly many people are not used to take a step back and think about what they were great at. Hopefully this app will help more!

gurjeet• 5 years ago

Beware, though. Praise and celebrate genuine accomplishments, otherwise after a few occurrences, the people would just be turned off by it. Overdoing it can do more harm than good.

avmich• 5 years ago

Don't record your accomplishments. Be humble. Make good deeds as the way of life, don't record your highs - if they are memorable, you'll remember, and will be able to tell later, and if they are not, they aren't worth it. Take example from high achievers - did Einstein, or Feynman, or Dostoevsky recorded carefully their accomplishments? Should those who are more modest achievers - perhaps - record them?

csdvrx• 5 years ago

Don't record your accomplishments. Be humble.

This!

Also, do it like backups the Linus way: let other record them for you :)

thereticent• 5 years ago

On one hand it reminds me of todone, but I like that it's weekly and focused on work and performance evaluations.

I signed up for Pro. I think you may want to make a "pay what you want" option with $10 as the threshold for Pro features. I would have paid more, especially as it's a one-time payment.

One note for you: the title of the pages on mobile are "Accoumplishment App" rather than "Accomplishments App." Probably an html title tag to edit.

samteeeee10• 5 years ago

Thank you

ggoo• 5 years ago

A less work-centric and more personal-life-centric version of this is a gratitude journal. I started doing mine some years back and, much to my surprise, it does actually work.

https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/gratitude_journal

arikr2• 5 years ago

OP, what template or site builder or CSS packages did you use for the design? Or was it a custom design by you?

Brajeshwar• 5 years ago

Not OP. A Bootstrap Theme.

arikr2• 5 years ago

Thanks

samteeeee10• 5 years ago

Inspired by: https://cruip.com/demos/open-pro/

smcameron• 5 years ago

This is insane. You do not need an app for this.

Just create a text file with vi(m). Type ":r !date" to get the date, then type in what you did at the top of the file. Then ":wq" to save and quit.

That's it. I've done this for decades and it's perfect. An app? Are you insane? As if an app is going to last for more than 5 minutes.

programmarchy2• 5 years ago

Yeah I’m sure that a janky text file will really impress a manager. Seriously, there’s something to be said for design.

wyclif3• 5 years ago

How many times are you going to send that file to a hiring manager? I'm guessing you probably would either 1/ Format it when it's interview time, or 2/ Format and bullet point the key takeaways. Either way, the overhead is mostly recording it, not processing it which shouldn't happen very often.

quickthrower22• 5 years ago

This is the “Dropbox is just rsync” comment

andretti1977• 5 years ago

I was thinking exactly the same thing :D

KronisLV6• 5 years ago

This is the “Dropbox is just rsync” comment

While that's a bit of a joke that gets tossed around occasionally, i don't think that this makes it any less worthy of a discussion. Sure, Dropbox might have bunches of complexity, but if you have a simpler alternative that works for you, why not consider that in earnest?

Thus, i think the comment stands and if nothing else, will probably lead to some folks sharing more information about their setups and what works for them, like i did in another comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29932945

kyawzazaw• 5 years ago

Have you considered the fact that some (a lot of) people don't want to do a lot of things in a text editor?

wyclif3• 5 years ago

They probably don't, but why have all this bloat and overhead for something so simple?

onion2k4• 5 years ago

And then make sure it's backed up because you don't want to lose it.

Oh, and put it on a server somewhere if you want to share it with people without needing to email it to them.

Maybe transform it into HTML+CSS if you want it to look better than the browser default text, and change it a bit for people on mobiles.

You could also make a form and a service so you can update it when you're not using the one computer the original file is on too.

Oh dear, you accidently built your own app.

chrisux• 5 years ago

Not that I disagree with the sentiment, but most of this can be accomplished with markdown, git, and things like github pages without building an app.

KronisLV6• 5 years ago

And then make sure it's backed up because you don't want to lose it.

You mean like it's possible to do with cron + rsync? Or maybe something like BackupPC, or Bvckup, depending on whether you also feel like you should automate backups of your own devices, not just a particular file?

Oh, and put it on a server somewhere if you want to share it with people without needing to email it to them.

Come to think of it, why not have this folder (that's also backed up) be a part of your own Nextcloud install?

Maybe transform it into HTML+CSS if you want it to look better than the browser default text, and change it a bit for people on mobiles.

Nextcloud handles both the remote storage aspect (e.g. a copy in another location), sync with your devices when you want it both on desktop and mobile, as well as allow sharing stuff through its web UI, if you expose it (or a separate instance of Nextcloud) to the outside world.

You could also make a form and a service so you can update it when you're not using the one computer the original file is on too.

Curiously enough, they also allow editing many file formats in the browser, should the need arise, so it's not like you need to create that functionality for your specific file/data type when it already exists for text files in generalized form as a part of their software.

Oh dear, you accidently built your own app.

No i haven't, because while it would be a nice educational pursuit and perhaps just something fun to do over a weekend, i use tools that are better suited for the general use case (preserving and sharing files, optionally with a web interface) and that are actually maintained by others for this.

You don't always have to reinvent the wheel for everything, depending on existing software that's probably both stable and popular (and hence well supported) is entirely valid for this. Text files are perfectly well as the actual storage medium.

Of course, if the OP wants to make an app for this, let them! Nothing wrong with that either, different things will work for different folks. For example, i almost always use LibreOffice for working with documents locally, but others do it almost only online with Google Docs or whatever Microsoft offers nowadays.

That said, i still think that there is perhaps some merit to the critique over micro apps popping up but many of them probably not being viable long term and just being bound to disappear eventually.

lpcvoid• 5 years ago

I agree with you, been doing the same thing. I can rsync my text file to backup it, I can version it, I can view it in around 5 seconds within my terminal, and it's private to me personally. This "everything-needs-to-be-a-website" thing is so strange to me. I'm already feeling old and I just came from university.

onion2k4• 5 years ago

This "everything-needs-to-be-a-website" thing is so strange to me.

No one is saying that though. People are only saying everything can be a website.

wyclif3• 5 years ago

Exactly what I was thinking, and what I do.

iamcreasy• 5 years ago

What does `:r !date` command do? How do I use the built in help to find it?

afarrell• 5 years ago

By “you do not need an app for this”, you probably mean “I do not need an app for this”. Knowing other people’s needs requires listening to them first.

calsy8• 5 years ago

This post a highlights a huge pitfall many in tech fall into and best avoided if you want to progress in your career. Drop the elitism and ego and start thinking about how other people go about managing their digital content and create things that others find useful, not just you.

TedShiller• 5 years ago

Yes. But, in this case he’s right tho

quickthrower22• 5 years ago

Nice app idea. I set up a slack reminder to do the same, so there is a need and a problem to be solved.

I wouldn’t pay for this but something to think about is an organisation might because they should want to know what their staff have achieved. Otherwise all they have to go on is completed tasks - which we all know isn’t everything. There is value in gap fillers.

A org focused product would be great especially if it was rounded with 1-1 and performance review stuff. products like that already sell which is a good sign.

slantyyz2• 5 years ago

If I didn't have a solution in place already, I think I'd pay for it. $10 for the lifetime fee is far from egregious, imo.

samteeeee10• 5 years ago

An org focused version is now on the roadmap! Thank you.

yddev• 5 years ago

I've been doing this in a single long running document - think a single 200 page word document with <hr>'s everywhere - for many of the reasons you articulate in your landing page for the past 3-6 months.

Things like "designed and created an algorithm to index the internet using c++" or "developed an online platform for selling books using php".

My reminder is stepping into the transport tube home. I spend maybe 3 hours in 5-15 min blocks a month.

I feel as though I'm your target customer in that it would give me better visibility of what I have recorded and more ready access to analysis of it.

(here comes the but...)

Please don't take this as a slight on your product or your work but somehow it feels too expensive for the quality difference between my current process and what you are offering. I couldn't give you feedback as to specifically why or what features would convert me to a paying customer just that I wouldn't purchase it or evidently sign up for the free account.

At least one other person has signed up per comments here and yet I am comfortable with my enormously long horizontal rule separated... work blog diary?

On a side note, I think a market exists for it and I applaud the effort in creating it - can you comment on your tech stack?

halfdan• 5 years ago

The pricing page lists the paid version as a one time payment of $10 and not a subscription. Price seems fine to me if you end up getting any value out of it.

samteeeee10• 5 years ago

No problem, thank you for the feedback and insight. The tech stack is very boring - I made this thing to solve a problem for myself, not to play with new tech :)

ram_rar• 5 years ago

In the spirit of this concept, I think the most value you would get is by associating this with jira/slack and other workplace tools where employees can use these as way to justify raise/promotion/impact. Just as a standalone app, it doesn't add anymore value than recording this in notion/gdoc or any note taking tool.

samteeeee10• 5 years ago

Good point, and nice idea about workplace tool integration. I'll look into that. Thanks

BossingAround• 5 years ago

I don't know, I like it. I think it'll be incredibly tough to sell because you're competing with text editors, which esp. engineers use on a daily basis... When I think about it, things like:

- Organizing text (e.g. source files)

- Ordering text (e.g. based on dates)

- Syncing text to a backup (e.g. gdrive)

- Setting up a reminder (e.g. crontab)

All of the above are kind of core competencies of a lot of engineers. So I think it has to do more, such as drag-and-drop images like Evernote, integrate with Jira/Slack, integrate with Anki (for whatever reason), I don't know...

I like the idea, but personally, I wouldn't buy it because I can do all of the above myself with literally minimal effort. I hope you can make it a more compelling offer. Looks great to me though, I wish you all the success!

Note that maybe the solution is to target different users than engineers. Students wouldn't care about Jira/Slack integration, for example. Then again, students wouldn't pay for this, they get their stuff for free from Microsoft.

samteeeee10• 5 years ago

I agree. I built it to solve a problem for myself. Having it be a standalone app actually helps me to remember to record my accomplishments, rather than a GDoc which I easily forget about.

kaetemi• 5 years ago

I have a paper journal on my desk. Keeps me focused.

Apps distract / disrupt flow too much for me.

cheesysam• 5 years ago

There will be lots of users who don't have the same workflow as a developer opening vim all day. People who spend their lives in meetings probably need the reminders. I like the idea and it's a super simple execution.

PS. There's a typo in the html <title>.

JimWestergren• 5 years ago

Props for the pricing model.

I recommend enabling accomplishments.app/username listing the accomplishments publicly for those that enable that. Vanity is a powerful pull.

MattGaiser• 5 years ago

Vanity or just personal marketing/easily sending to other people. Like your boss that you want to try and extract money from.

samteeeee10• 5 years ago

Added this to the roadmap - great idea. Thanks!

sdrothrock• 5 years ago

I see a lot of engineers here saying this is redundant and wonder if you might not be targeting the right audience. Parents with kids, students, people trying to form better habits, people with depression all seem like they could use this kind of tool.

prepend• 5 years ago

I noticed one benefit is to help “beat imposter syndrome.”

This is certainly very real, I feel it quite a bit, I recognize references to this more frequently. And they all tend to assume that imposter syndrome means that people are truly capable.

This is an interesting assumption as true imposters also feel like imposters. I don’t mean con people, they are quite brazen. I mean incompetent people also feel like imposters.

I suppose it’s nice to help false imposters overcome their anxieties. But I’d like to see data on false vs true. Assuming that true imposters are false can lead to just lots of noise about BS accomplishments.

I had an employee who would laundry list accomplishments during their annual reviews and it was hard to distinguish true accomplishments vs things like going to a meeting (listed many times) or preparing meeting minutes (listed many times). That employee was challenging and more so because they ascribed to a philosophy of “celebrating all accomplishments.” It was like having unbirthday parties with people not as much fun as the Mad Hatter.

thedufer• 5 years ago

they all tend to assume that imposter syndrome means that people are truly capable.

Isn't that just what impostor syndrome means? It's not a syndrome to correctly identify yourself as an impostor. That's just "being an impostor".

throwaway984393• 5 years ago

It's funny how the cargo cult hides groupthink. Particularly the psychology of impostor syndrome. It's not just insecurity, it's got an underlying cause. The person affected realizes a truth: that there's a body of knowledge they lack, or they aren't accomplishing much but are still getting approval from their boss. Thats not some kind of "false impostor feeling", that's literally becoming aware of a truth about oneself, followed by fear of consequence.

When peers say "that's just impostor syndrome, don't worry about it!" they're reinforcing a groupthink that we should ignore the truth. The truth is that we often do excel despite our own shortcomings - but those shortcomings are real. We shouldn't hand-wave them away just to feel better, we should be focusing on improving ourselves.

marcosdumay• 5 years ago

I mean incompetent people also feel like imposters.

Well, not all. Does the share of people that feel like imposters increase or decrease with expertise? I have anecdotal evidence pointing both ways, and no good real study to get data from.

Anyway, imposter syndrome hurting competent people is way too common to ignore. You are just combating the reciprocate hypothesis, what is ok as long as it doesn't also harm the original one.

Cthulhu_• 5 years ago

I wonder if maintaining a list of things would only increase impostor syndrome - it's not about recording your accomplishments, I think, it's about how you feel about them. Is it something that took maximum effort, or do you feel like you were just at the right place at the right time?

DarylZero• 5 years ago

I have reverse imposter syndrome, where I don't think I'm an imposter, but other people do.

lkxijlewlf2• 5 years ago

I like this idea and I've been doing it most of my career (I keep a work journal).

But... It is only half the equation.

If your manager isn't doing same, they suck at their job and you should leave.

Your manager should keep a file on every single one of their reports that details that report's accomplishments, fails, training, wants, likes, dislikes, etc. They get this info from talking to everyone - constantly.

When review time comes, there should be no surprises. If you walk into the room for you review (or call or whatever), and you don't have a strong idea what your rating is, your manager sucks and you should leave [0]. There should never be surprises during reviews. You should never have to remind them of your accomplishments - though you should be prepared to.

A manager's job is to manage. If they're not doing the above, they suck and they're not doing their job and you should leave.

[0] Or you suck and can't pick up on what their trying to tell you, but that's another rant.

typeofhuman• 5 years ago

Harsh

lkxijlewlf2• 5 years ago

No, it really isn't. It is the very minimum of what a good manager should be doing.

A good manager once drilled all this into me.

slantyyz2• 5 years ago

While I agree with you in principle, at some point, you're going to run out of places to work at.

Even the managers who I considered to be good at their jobs didn't record this stuff.

wiliaonson• 5 years ago

I wonder what the special feature that will use this one instead of other journal or notepad apps is?

joe8756438• 5 years ago

This is super cool. I built a product that accomplishes a similar function: record notes via sms or email input, play them back via email[0].

I originally thought this would be useful for every todo. Once done, it would be put on the list of "done" accomplishments. But, accomplishments of too fine a granularity are not really motivating anymore. I'm interested in trying to zoom out and see what it's like to receive a summary of "accomplishments" instead of "tasks."

Nice work!

[0] https://www.tatatap.com

badrabbit• 5 years ago

It's performance review season and I struggle with this. I don't organize what I do in terms of accomplishments, it's all always small steps part of a larger vision so I have to spend a lot of time trying to figure out what counts as an accomplishment.

If I fix something big or get something done, I just move to the next thing, perhaps an app like this can help me document that if I am not too lazy to use it.

acemarke• 5 years ago

I've been keeping a daily work journal since 2013 [0]. Just some daily notes in Markdown files about what I worked on, who I talked to, problems solved, stuff to remember, what I should pick up with tomorrow. (Currently just using VS Code with the Foam extension, configured to create a YYYY-MM-DD file as a command.)

It's great for helping me look up "what was that fix I did a couple years ago?", but it's also invaluable come perf review season. I go through literally every day's notes for the last year, summarize each day into a bullet, then re-summarize into higher-level tasks and accomplishments.

[0] https://blog.isquaredsoftware.com/2020/09/coding-career-advi...

nkko• 5 years ago

This is great. You should consider team version where everyone shares their accomplishements and you could have a joint team accomplishements table (manager or individuals could tag some of them appropriately). I would implement this with my team immidiately.

samteeeee10• 5 years ago

This idea is now on the roadmap, thank you!

samteeeee10• 5 years ago

How much per month would you be willing to pay for a team version?

sidcool• 5 years ago

Feature request. Enable saving with Cmd + Enter :) Also key board navigation.

samteeeee10• 5 years ago

Added to roadmap, thanks!

Show HN: Record Your Accomplishments

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