A weekly habit for keeping networking promises
Use a private ten-minute review to find introductions, resources, and replies you actually promised—without turning people into a sales pipeline.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Once a week, review only explicit commitments: the article you offered, the introduction awaiting consent, the answer you owe, or the date you agreed to revisit. Complete, renegotiate, or close each promise, then delete notes you no longer need.
Capture the promise, not a private biography
Write the smallest useful record: person, context, what you promised, due date, and whether consent is needed. Avoid sensitive speculation, gossip, health details, or information unrelated to the commitment.
A fictional entry is: "Ari — design meetup — send public accessibility checklist by Friday." It records an action without scoring the person or inventing relationship status.
Choose one of three honest outcomes
Complete the promise, renegotiate it with a specific new date, or say you can no longer deliver. Quietly carrying an overdue promise forward every week does not make it more likely to happen.
Harvard recommends staying in touch and sharing relevant resources; UC Berkeley recommends recording takeaways and next steps. Neither requires constant contact. The useful unit here is the commitment you actually made.
Sources: Harvard FAS: Guide to Building Your Network · UC Berkeley Career Engagement: Informational Interviews
Close the loop and minimize the record
When you deliver, name the context in one line so the recipient knows why the message arrived. For an introduction, confirm both people want it before sharing their contact details.
Mark the action complete and remove notes you no longer need. A networking tool may help retrieve context, but the habit works with a private notebook or task list and does not require tracking every interaction.
Sources and editorial notes
Reviewed September 16, 2026. An original five-field promise record and complete-renegotiate-close weekly worksheet.