a wakeup call
Week 3 Reto
This week tested me.
What I Struggled With
Strategic Setup → still too rambly and too long.
User Segmentation → hit or miss.
Ideas vs. Explanations → the ideas are strong, but the way I explain them is confusing.
For a few days, I caught myself wondering if I was losing my edge. Rationally, I know I’m not—this is part of the process—but it still stings every time. (See “How I Coped” below.)
I’m also behind on mocks: I should be at 15 by now, but I only have 8 recorded. That gap weighs on me.
How I Coped
Instead of canceling sessions, I experimented:
Turned calls into joint brainstorming exercises
Ran detailed retros (see below + debrief recording)
Forced myself to cover 4 different segments before moving on
These aren’t wasted efforts. They kept me engaged, productive, and accountable—even on the days I wasn’t at my best. If you want to see how I structured it, check out this article.
Focus Area: Product Sense
Day 15.
✅ Product Sense Mock 5
✅ Drill/Quiz: 4 More Segments
❌ Focus: Keeping Strategic Section to 3 mins.
Day 16.
✅ Product Sense Mock 6
✅ Drill/Quiz: 4 More Segments
❌ Focus: Keeping Strategic Section to 2-3 mins.
Day 17.
✅ Product Sense Mock 7
✅ Drill/Quiz: Narrowing Broad Prompts (I like decision trees with pen & paper)
❌ Primary Article/Coursework: User Segmentation
Day 18.
✅ Product Sense Mock 8
✅ Drill/Quiz: Narrowing Broad Prompts
❌ Focus: Keeping mock to <35 minutes
Day 19.
❌ Product Sense Mock 9
❌ Drill/Quiz: Tradeoff Misses
❌ Listen to my own recordings
Days 20 & 12. Wiggle Room: No goals, anything I get is bonus.
Key Takeaways
What I felt
This week, I had a string of rough mocks. Some days my partner and I just weren’t clicking. I left feeling demoralized.
What I learned
Logistics: Daily goals may not be realistic long-term.
Performance: Pain points and end-to-end solutions are still my biggest blockers.
What I’ll do next
Logistics: Add a 5–15 min retro after every mock.
Performance: Be upfront about weak spots and invite partners to push me harder.
Bottom line: Week 3 wasn’t pretty, but it was a wakeup call. Staying in the game—even on bad days—is still progress.
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