Smarter Week

How to automate it

How to automate “present designs and collect feedback across review rounds”

Here are 2 ways to spend less time on this, best first. Each comes with steps you can follow today.

60 min
typically, a few times a week
30%
of the time can be automated
Easy
to set up

Fix 1 of 2

Process fixBest fix

Run design reviews async with a recorded walkthrough and a feedback deadline

A five-minute recorded walkthrough and comments in Figma replace most live review rounds. Live time is kept for the hard trade-offs.

Typically saves about 35% of the time15 min to set up
  1. 1Record a short walkthrough (Loom or Figma's built-in recording) explaining the problem and the options.
  2. 2Ask for comments in Figma by a deadline and say what kind of feedback you want.
  3. 3Name one decision-maker for the review.
  4. 4Meet only to resolve conflicting comments.

Tools: Figma comments · Loom · Slack or Teams

Fix 2 of 2

Process fix

Replace alignment meetings with a short written proposal and comment deadline

Most alignment meetings exist to collect opinions. A one-page proposal with a comment deadline gets the same input, and you only meet on the points people actually disagree about.

Typically saves about 30% of the time20 min to set up
  1. 1Write a one-page proposal: problem, options, recommendation, what you need from each team.
  2. 2Share it with a clear deadline for comments (for example 48 hours).
  3. 3Resolve comments in the doc; list the open disagreements at the top.
  4. 4Hold a short meeting only for the open disagreements, then record the decision in the doc.
  5. 5Keep a decision log so the same debate does not restart next month.

Tools: Google Docs, Notion or Confluence

Who does this task

Roles in our library that list this as one of their common tasks. Each guide covers the rest of that role’s week.

HourLeak · the 8-minute work audit

How many hours does this cost you?

The free 8-minute check works out where your week goes and gives you your top fixes. The team scan does the same for everyone and adds it up, so you know which leaks to fix first.

Answers are anonymous. Leaders only see team totals.

Other common tasks for UX / UI designers