End of Year Reflection

What We Cover:

• Why annual reflection matters for product people

• How Petra and Teresa each started their reflection habits

• The evolution from rigid goals to values and themes

• How paper notebooks, art projects, and “Dear Data” shaped Petra’s approach

• The influence of Chris Guillebeau’s annual review process on Teresa

• The difference between outcome goals and process goals

• How reflection helps uncover unrealistic expectations (and let them go)

• The “100 wishes” exercise — why it’s powerful and surprisingly difficult

• How to recognize patterns across years to guide future decisions

• Building in spaciousness vs. over-scheduling

• What to do when the year doesn’t go to plan (and why that’s normal)

• Why your reflection process should flex with how you learn and stay motivated

• The role of values, themes, and decade-level intentions

• Balancing public sharing with private processing

Resources & Links:

• Follow Teresa Torres: ProductTalk.org

• Follow Petra Wille: Petra-Wille.com

Mentioned in the episode:

• Dear Data (dear-data.com/theproject) by Giorgia Lupi & Stefanie Posavec (dear-data.com/aboutus)

• Chris Guillebeau (linkedin.com/in/chrisguillebeau)’s How to Conduct Your Own Annual Review from The Art of Nonconformity (chrisguillebeau.com/how-to-conduct-your-own-an…) blog

• Atomic Habits (jamesclear.com/atomic-habits) by James Clear (jamesclear.com)

• Dealing with Setbacks (youtube.com/watch?v=8uJyTYxkwfc) - All Things Product with Teresa & Petra (youtube.com/@AllThingsProductPodcast)

• Stefan Sagmeister (sagmeister.com)’s The Power of Time Off (TED Talk) (ted.com/talks/stefan_sagmeister_the_power_of_t…)

• Previous episode - Role of Leadership in Transformations (youtube.com/watch?v=bXzLTjOXKVU)

• Paul Graham (paulgraham.com/bio.html)’s Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule (paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html)

• What I’m Saying No to This Year—And Why (producttalk.org/saying-no-2019/?srsltid=AfmBOo…) blog post by Teresa

• Ask Teresa: My Leaders Still Want Roadmaps with Timelines—What Should I Do? (producttalk.org/roadmaps-with-timelines/?srslt…) blog post by Teresa

• Scaling Impact: A Look at the Year Ahead (2022) (producttalk.org/scaling-impact) blog post by Teresa

• Let’s Connect in 2025: A Look at the Year Ahead (producttalk.org/2025-annual-letter/?srsltid=Af…) blog post by Teresa

• The Interview Coach (learn.producttalk.org/course/story-based-custo…) by Teresa

• Petra’s reflections (petra-wille.com/blog/tag/the+Year+Ahead) and her 2026 version (petra-wille.com/blog/what-i-am-dedicating-2026…)