BoardSnap is an iOS app that converts whiteboard photos into clean summaries and action items in about ten seconds. This 1:1 template structures a 30-minute manager-report meeting on a whiteboard, their agenda items, your agenda items, blockers to clear, and follow-ups to track.
Use this every week for recurring 1:1s, or in the prep phase before an important one-off conversation. The whiteboard works whether the meeting is in-person or if one person walks through the board on a video call.
The template's core principle: the report's agenda comes first. If you fill 25 minutes with your items and leave five for theirs, you've turned a 1:1 into a status meeting. The whiteboard layout enforces the right priority.
The top half of the board belongs to the report. They write, or verbally share while you write, their priorities, concerns, and questions. No filter from you. Whatever is on their mind goes on the board. If they're new to this, ask: 'What's taking the most mental energy this week?'
A dedicated section for anything that's blocking progress, waiting on a decision, a dependency from another team, a resource gap, or a personal situation they're comfortable sharing. Name the blocker specifically and write the owner of clearing it (usually you).
The bottom half of the board: the items you need to discuss, context to share, feedback to give, decisions to make together, or information they need. This section gets whatever time remains after theirs.
A small column on the right: actions that come out of the conversation. Who does what by when. Not every topic produces a follow-up, but the ones that do should be written explicitly, follow-ups that live only in memory don't get done.
Two halves, labeled. 'Their agenda' on top, 'Your agenda' on the bottom. A column on the right for follow-ups. A dedicated box for blockers. The structure signals: this meeting belongs to them first.
Open with: 'What's on your mind this week?' Let them fill the top half. Don't interject your items until their section is as full as it's going to get. Silence is fine, give them space to think.
For each blocker: what is it, what does unblocking look like, and who does it? If you're the unblock, commit to a specific action and time. Write your name next to the action in the follow-ups column.
Use the remaining time for your agenda. If their items took the full 30 minutes, that's OK, the 1:1 worked. Add your items to next week or send them over Slack. Your agenda is less time-sensitive than clearing their blockers.
Read every item in the follow-ups column aloud before closing. Who does what by when. Both people hear it. This 60-second step dramatically increases follow-up completion rates.
BoardSnap reads their agenda, blockers, your agenda, and follow-ups. The output is a structured 1:1 summary, follow-ups are the action items, blockers are flagged with owners, and the summary is ready to drop into your 1:1 notes doc.
A 1:1 run from a shared Notion doc feels like a status report. A 1:1 run at a whiteboard feels like a conversation. The physical separation of 'their half' and 'your half' of the board is a visual commitment to the right structure.
BoardSnap logs the conversation without either person taking notes during it. Snap the board when it's done, the follow-ups, the blockers, and the agenda items are all captured and dated. In two weeks, you can look back at what was committed to.
30 minutes weekly is the most common cadence. 45 to 60 minutes biweekly works for deeper conversations. Daily 1:1s are usually unnecessary and burn both people's focus time. The whiteboard template is designed for 30-minute sessions, it's tight enough to stay focused.
That's data. Either the 1:1 has become too formal and they're not comfortable raising real concerns, or they're genuinely cruising. Ask: 'What would you work on if there were no constraints?' or 'What's the thing you're most uncertain about right now?' The whiteboard stays open until something real surfaces.
Yes, that's one of the highest-value uses of BoardSnap. Each weekly 1:1 board is dated and stored in the person's project. Before each session, you can ask BoardSnap's AI chat 'What follow-ups from last week are still open?' and get an answer from the previous board.
The free tier gives you one project and 30 boards, enough for about a month of weekly 1:1s. Pro is $9.99/month or $69.99/year for unlimited boards and AI chat that tracks follow-ups across sessions.
No exporting, no transcription. Snap the board, get the action plan.