Biweekly 1:1
Every 2 weeks: are you on track? What's blocking you? What do you need?
TL;DR
- 10 min to fill out - If it takes longer, you're overwriting
- Status each goal - On track / At risk / Off track. No ambiguity.
- Blocks are problems to solve - "Waiting on design mocks for 2 weeks" not "not enough time"
- Next milestone - What ships or happens in the next 2 weeks? Be specific.
How It Works
This is accountability, not reporting. Don't write to impress — write to be honest about what's working, what's not, and what needs to change.
Fill this out before the meeting. Your manager reads it in advance so you spend the meeting solving problems, not reading updates.
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| On track | Will hit the goal at current pace |
| At risk | Will miss unless something changes |
| Off track | Will miss unless we adjust scope, timeline, or resources |
"At risk" is not failure. It's early warning. The earlier you flag it, the more options we have.
Template
Date:Person:
Progress
Goal 1: [Copy from your Quarterly 1:1]
- Status: On track / At risk / Off track
- Since last check-in: 1-2 sentences. What shipped, moved, or changed.
- Next 2 weeks: What ships or happens next? Specific milestone.
Goal 2:
- Status:
- Since last check-in:
- Next 2 weeks:
Goal 3:
- Status:
- Since last check-in:
- Next 2 weeks:
Blocks
What's stopping you? Be specific about the root cause and what would unblock it.
| Bad block | Good block |
|---|---|
| "Not enough time" | "Spent 3 days on unplanned incident, Goal 1 is 1 week behind" |
| "Waiting on other team" | "Waiting on design mocks from Jordan since Feb 3, blocking frontend work" |
| "Need more clarity" | "Spec doesn't cover the multi-account edge case, need PM decision by Friday" |
- Block:
- Root cause:
- What I need:
If none: "None."
Topic (Optional)
Career, team, process, feedback — anything that doesn't fit above.
Example: On Track
Date: May 15, 2024 Person: Alex Chen
Progress
Goal 1: Ship payments v2 by end of Q2
- Status: On track
- Since last check-in: Completed Stripe migration. Running parallel processing with old system. Zero errors in 1000+ test transactions.
- Next 2 weeks: Full cutover to new system by May 28
Goal 2: Reduce API latency to sub-200ms p95
- Status: On track
- Since last check-in: Query optimization done, p95 from 800ms to 400ms. Redis caching layer in review.
- Next 2 weeks: Redis to staging by May 22, production by May 29
Goal 3: Build team from 3 to 5 engineers
- Status: At risk
- Since last check-in: 1 offer accepted (starts June 3). 2nd candidate in final round. 3rd role still interviewing.
- Next 2 weeks: Close 2nd candidate by May 20
Blocks
- Block: Redis infrastructure budget not approved
- Root cause: Finance hasn't signed off on $5K/month recurring cost
- What I need: Push finance to approve by end of week, or latency goal slips
Topic
None.
Example: Off Track
Date: August 10, 2024 Person: Jamie Rodriguez
Progress
Goal 1: Ship notification system end-to-end without pairing
- Status: Off track
- Since last check-in: Tech spec took 3 weeks instead of 2. Still in review, haven't started building.
- Next 2 weeks: Get spec approved this week, start backend next week
Goal 2: Reduce PR revision rounds from 4+ to 1-2
- Status: On track
- Since last check-in: Last 5 PRs averaged 2.2 rounds. Checklist working.
- Next 2 weeks: Maintain <2 rounds over next 10 PRs
Goal 3: Debug production issues without escalating
- Status: On track
- Since last check-in: Shadowed Sarah on 2 incidents, documented runbooks for both.
- Next 2 weeks: Shadow 1 more, then take on-call with backup
Blocks
Block: Tech spec stuck in review for 1 week
- Root cause: Sarah underwater with payments launch, hasn't reviewed
- What I need: Get Sarah 2 hours to review, or assign another reviewer
Block: Goal 1 scope may be unrealistic
- Root cause: Spec feedback shows notification system more complex than estimated
- What I need: Decide: adjust goal to "ship with minimal pairing" or descope feature?
Topic
Behind on Goal 1. Want to discuss: descope or push timeline?
Common Mistakes
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Writing a novel | 10 min max. 1-2 sentences per goal. |
| "On track" when you're not | Flag "at risk" early. More options when caught early. |
| Vague blocks ("need more time") | Name the root cause and what would unblock it. |
| No next milestone | "Continue working on X" → "Ship X to staging by May 22" |
| Skipping the meeting when busy | This is when you need it most. 30 min to unblock > 2 weeks stuck. |
| Filling it out during the meeting | Fill out before. Meeting time is for solving, not reading. |
Related:
- Quarterly 1:1 - Where your goals and win log live
- Performance Reviews - The full quarterly + annual cycle