write your user guidešµ just some tea #40
Step-by-step guide to write a profesh doc if you are not a writer
When I first started living with my boyfriend (now husband!) - weekends were always tricky to plan.
I am a get up early and hike kinda weekend girly. He embodies the slow weekends philosophy.
By the time he woke up on weekends, I would be in a crappy mood because I really wanted to be out by then. He couldnāt understand why we just canāt go out for a late lunch and a nice evening walk instead.
And then the entire weekend we would end up in a mismatch of energies and temperaments.
One day out of frustration, I wrote this document titled Chhaviās ideal weekendāļø.
It detailed out basic components of my ideal weekend (long walk, cute cafe, time to reflect together), and even had examples of weekends I would consider perfect (I list them here in this one.)
He scanned it once and voilĆ ā¦
Plot twist
Following weekend, we spent Saturday morning walking to our favorite park and getting a hot chai. We came back in afternoon and I spent time writing and he took a nap. Sunday, I went out with my friends, and he stayed in.
What really surprised me was, did I not tell him exactly this like a 100 times?!! What difference did that one document make?š¤
Looking back I can tell you.
- It was intentional (who am I and what do I want)
- It was actionnable (how can we work together)
- It took into account that both of us have different ways of thinking, likes and dislikes. (can you meet me halfway?)
Excited by itās success and influence by Julieās user manual, I replicated this approach at work.
No plot twists here, they work like magic.
Why write a user guide?
- Helps set a tone and rhythm when you start working with new people and teams
- Helps establish your personal professional boundaries (like why you wonāt reply to slack after 5 PM)
- Giving and receiving constructive feedback (both as managers and peers)
- Reflect intentionality as a professional (you are self-aware af!)
Some tips for writing a good user guide
Edit it like your life depends on it (no one wants to read a novel about youā¦yet!)
Match the context (Is it for your team you work with on a daily basis? Your website? LinkedIn?)
Remove the obvious stuff (I donāt like answering calls at midnight and feeling micro-managed)
Write it in your voice. Your colleagues should say that it feels like something you have written.
Convinced but how do you write one?
Well writing a document about yourself feels overwhelming af.
So I am sharing my personal template you can use to write your own. I hosted a workshop for my team at Bumble, and we absolutely loved it.
Itās free - you can download it here. It also has my personal guide, so you can use it for inspo if you like x
I would suggest going to a cafe in your neighbourhood, getting a nice coffee, and tapping away on your laptop for a bit.šø
If you do end up writing one, please share with me. I would love that!
š Reading
I read this very rom-com-esque novel titled you, again. If When Harry Met Sally is one of your favorite romcom and you are looking for an easy read over a weekend, this one is for you.
š§ Listening
I still havenāt found my airpods.š« I am giving them another week to magically reappear in my life like they always do.
šø Moment
This one - it was on my birthday in Paris. I was there after almost 7 years. The sun was shining, but the lake was frozen and the sidewalks had ice. And for a few moments there, I felt free and content.
I intentionally did not take many pictures, except this one.
Talk next week,
Chhavi x
was inspired by the user guide you've written, just from that screenshot alone, that I decided to write one for myself! thanks again for writing this. By the way, i'm curious if you've heard a similar doc written by Dustin Moskovitz? I heard about it on an episode from Tim Ferriss on his podcast.