How to Make a Professional Highlight Reel
I don’t think my nostalgia for back-to-school shopping will ever go away.
Every year I have to remind myself: “Put it down! you don’t actually need another folder with woodland creatures on it!”
One tradition I’ve kept? Picking up a paper planner.
Not for scheduling…rather, I use it as a retrospective log to capture the moments that shape my professional story.
Over time, this tiny habit has become my personal highlight reel, a record I can flip through when preparing for interviews, writing performance reviews, or reflecting on how far I’ve come.
Some days I jot down:
- A conversation with a supervisor or colleague whose wisdom I don’t want to forget
- A project milestone, especially if I hit it ahead of schedule or received encouraging feedback
- A challenging moment I made it through, and what I’ll remember for next time
- Advice I gave that seemed to help someone else
- A cross-functional conflict our team worked through
- A day I earned a promotion and the key factors that led to it
- Something funny that just made the day better
Usually, entries are nothing more than quickly jotted bullet points. And I don't even do this every day. But there's always enough there to jog my memory later when I’m grasping to remember what I’ve been up to all this time. Turns out, a lot! And I’m sure it’s the same for you.
Because I’m a color-coder (where are my fellow color-coders at?!), I highlight entries so they’re easy to find later:
💛 Yellow = Success or Bright Spot
🟦 Blue = Insight or Lesson Learned
🟧 Orange = Hurdle or Growing Pains
🩷 Pink = KPIs or Metrics
I'll drop more specifics for each of those categories in the carousel below. Please send me a picture if you get a fun planner 🙏
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Hi, I'm Annie and my favorite thing on my desk is a wooden tape dispenser shaped like a squirrel.
I also work with leaders of remote and hybrid teams to strengthen their toolkits and their team culture, so they can lead with confidence no matter where their people are. If that’s you, I’d love to connect!
