Weekly Updates

I believe a week is the perfect time unit for tracking progress. You have enough space to make measurable progress, but not enough to get off track.

This is why I love Weekly Updates.

A Weekly Update is an artifact that details the progress of work. It outlines the overall status, updates what work was completed, and communicates priorities. It’s an orientation device for measuring progress. And it’s a great example of good friction—forcing you to pause, reflect, and set a course for the week ahead.

There are three parts to a Weekly Update:

1. 🚦 Status
2. 📣 Updates
3. 🔢 Priorities

Yes, the structure forms the acronym “SUP”. Intentional? Maybe.

Status

The status gives a high level sense of direction. Are we:

• 🟢 On track and the work is moving on schedule.
• 🟡 At risk and there are some challenges.
• 🔴 Off track and we need to adapt.

This is a good place to provide context. If we’re off track or at risk, explain why. Dig into the details, surface the challenges, and figure out how to correct course.

Pro Tip: If you’re working against a timeline, this is a great place to include a visual.

Updates

The updates detail the major headlines from the previous week:

• 🏆 Wins that were accomplished.
• 🛑 Challenges that surfaced.
• 💡 Learnings we took away.

Keep it constrained to three key updates. Visuals and videos increase engagement, so this is the place to include screenshots, demos, or any other visuals you have.

Priorities

With the status identified and the updates surfaced, the final part is the priority list. This is the list of the top three priorities for the week ahead. The list should derive from the status and progress of the work from the previous week. If your status is ‘off track’ or ‘at risk’, the priorities should reflect work that can move the status to green.

Pro Tip: Include last week’s priorities with a completion status (did do or didn’t do).

Bringing It Together

I’ve posted Weekly Updates as Loom videos, full text write-ups, and as a single visual (and every combination in between). So long as you include these elements, the delivery mechanism is up to you and your team. Find what works.

Weekly Updates are simple, but they’re packed with thinking, context, and intentional decisions. The cadence intentionally adds friction, forcing you to stop, reflect, and make sure you’re doing the most impactful work each week.

It’s about staying on track, one week at a time.