The 90-second daily check-in
What it does: one sentence each, once a day: how you’re doing and what’s coming up. No debating. What you get: a tiny daily habit, and a fill-in sheet if you’d like to keep track. About 2 minutes a day
A 90-second daily check-in that makes small corrections every day, so little things don’t pile up into a big weekend argument.
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Ninety seconds a day, so small things don’t pile up.
A short check-in every day keeps you in step. Little things get said while they’re still little, instead of piling up into one big talk at the weekend.
Dig deeper: why it works -
Once a day, one sentence each.
Pick a regular moment, like after dinner, or the start of a shift. Each person says how full they were today (low, medium or high), one thing they appreciated about someone they share the day with, one small thing that didn’t feel great, and one thing that would help tomorrow. The last two are optional.
Dig deeper: the daily loop -
Just listen. No need to debate.
One person speaks, everyone else takes it in. Nothing gets solved here. If it needs a real talk, save it for your weekly catch-up.
Dig deeper: just listening, no debate -
Once a week, look for repeats.
Skim the week’s notes. Anything that came up more than twice moves to your job list (One owner per job) or your tone check (Say it so it lands) instead of just hanging around.
Dig deeper: the weekly catch-up -
Keep it a quick update, not a complaint.
If the check-in turns into criticism, it stops feeling safe and you’ll both start to skip it. Keep the daily one to plain, kind facts.
Dig deeper: what to watch for
Try this: Choose your moment tonight and try it. Start with the appreciation, because it sets the tone for the rest. The whole thing takes about 90 seconds.
On a team? Make it a 5-minute stand-up with the same questions, one sentence each, going round once: how full your load is, one thank-you to someone on the team, one thing that got in the way (a process, not a person), and one thing that would help tomorrow. Anything bigger goes to a follow-up. More for teams on At work.
Sharing a house? Use it once a week as a 10-minute house meeting: everyone says how full they are, one thank-you, one thing that slipped, and any job on One owner per job that needs a new owner. Start with the Lemonade Stand if you haven’t seen the split yet.
Fill it in on screen and save a PDF →
Goes with Chapter I: Why we get out of tune · Check-ins · Do all your sheets in one place
What’s this?
On the full version and on the PDF, this sheet is called WP-13. It puts one of the site’s Five Pillars (the five big ideas everything here is built on) to work: tune how you send and receive: small daily corrections keep you in step.