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Write up a standup and download a Word file that opens in Google Docs, filled in.
A daily standup is a short meeting where each person says what they did, what they are doing next, and what is in their way. The third answer is the point of it: the first two exist so the rest of the team can tell whether a blocker is theirs to clear.
People
3
Blocked
1
Date
08-29
The download is a real Word document, not a text file with a heading. Google Docs opens it natively, which is why this is a .docx rather than anything else.
1. The header
DAILY STANDUP across the top with a rule underneath, then the team name and the date, which is what makes one of these findable three weeks later.
2. One block per person
Their name as a heading, then the three answers, each labelled. An answer left empty is left out rather than printed as None.
3. Blockers to clear
A table of everyone with something in their way, so the one part of the meeting that needs action is not buried in the recital. It appears only when there is something in it.
4. Notes
Anything that came up which is not one of the three, followed by a small line naming where the document came from.
Written before the meeting rather than during it, the standup becomes a conversation about blockers instead of three people taking turns to recite.
DAILY STANDUP
Product team 2026-08-29
Priya
Since we last met Finished the supplier review and sent the shortlist round.
Before we meet again Writing up the recommendation, then picking up the invoice bug.
Marcus
Since we last met Traced the duplicate invoice to a retry in the payment webhook.
Before we meet again Patch and a regression test for it.
In my way Need someone with production access to confirm the fix.
Sam
Since we last met Pricing page copy, second pass.
Before we meet again Handing it to design, then the brand asset cleanup.
Blockers to clear
| Who | What is in the way |
|---|---|
| Marcus | Need someone with production access to confirm the fix. |
Anyone with nothing in their way has that line left out rather than filled with None, and the blockers table only appears when there is something to put in it.
Google Docs
Upload it to Google Drive and open it, or use File then Open inside a Docs document. Docs converts the Word file on the way in and keeps the headings and the table.
Microsoft Word
Double click the download. If Word shows a yellow protected view bar, click Enable Editing before you change anything.
Slack or Teams
Open it, select all and paste. The headings survive as bold lines, which is usually enough for a channel post.
Formula
Since we last met | Before we meet again | In my waySince we last met = What actually finished, not what was worked on
Before we meet again = The one or two things that will be done by tomorrow
In my way = Anything you cannot clear alone, which is the only part needing the whole team
Worked Example
A team of three
Did you know? The standing part was the mechanism. Standups came from teams who literally stood, on the theory that a meeting nobody can get comfortable in ends sooner. Once teams stopped standing, the fifteen minute cap became the only thing holding the format together, which is why written standups tend to be shorter than spoken ones.
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