How I Work

🧭 Overview

At work, I’m a lot more structured and rigorous than the rest of my life. I try to apply the lessons-learned as much as possible, but I’m DEFINITELY not there yet – both because I don’t think life should be run like a business, but also because it’s hard to keep up and maange.

Generally, I follow a GTD (Getting Things Done)-inspired approach to task management (what’s GTD?) — it plays really well with Agile and sprint methodologies. Everything is broken into small, actionable tasks. If it takes more than one step, it’s an Epic (or a “Project,” in GTD-speak).

My task list lives in a humble text file inside VS Code — always open, always evolving. Tasks are written to be actionable on their own, so I can tackle them efficiently, or pass them along without ambiguity. My golden rule: prioritize unblocking others before focusing on personal tasks (my wife will probably chuckle when she reads this…).

I schedule blocks on my calendar for anything with a deadline — usually giving myself some buffer time to reduce last-minute stress.

✅ TL;DR: Break things down. Prioritize people. Block time. Keep moving.

📚 Information & Idea Gathering

My workflow is always evolving because I’m constantly pulling in new inputs — conversations, books, podcasts, coworkers, friends, random late-night Wikipedia dives… If something resonates, I synthesize it into my approach.

A lot of what I document comes from others’ wisdom, even if I can’t always remember the exact source. If you recognize something I’ve borrowed, let me know — I believe in continuous improvement, not credit hoarding.

💬 Communication & Accessibility

Every organization communicates differently — learning those norms is a critical part of onboarding anywhere. That said, I’m a huge advocate for asynchronous communication, especially for remote and globally distributed teams and friend groups

• Slack is my primary communication channel for work, and I’m usually available there. That said, I don’t expect instant responses or 24/7 Slack monitoring from others.
• Discord is primary for communications outside of work, I admin/run a number of discord servers, and my family all use discord for various purposes already. I’m NOT going to put my discord handle on a public webpage!
• Async means autonomy. I care about results, not when or where the work happens.
• Thoughtful communication beats rapid-fire replies. Take your time to respond well. This is a lesson I need to learn also 🙂

I use email for more formal or cross-functional communication — things that need to be referenced or might outlive the lifecycle of a Slack thread. Also for anything that may need to be referenced or referred to in the future. I have an awful lot of filters and auto-routing put in place to help keep my inboxes as organized and streamlined as possible.

For work emails, I also organize messages with simple subject tags:

• URGENT: Needs action ASAP
• INFORMATIONAL: Review when you can — process or policy changes
• OPTIONAL: Might be interesting, worth a skim

I flag emails that need follow-up and review them regularly. If something lingers too long, I follow up or reprioritize accordingly.

Also worth noting:
📞 I don’t like phone calls. Let me repeat that: I don’t like phone calls.
💬 Slack/Discord/Text first, and if a conversation gets too complex, let’s talk about it directly and hash it out.

🛠️ My Workflow (Constantly Iterating)

I try to write everything down. Seriously. Whether it’s notes, to-dos, or ideas, I need to document it. I use a hybrid of digital tools and analog methods — like a modified Bullet Journal — because I enjoy handwriting (bonus: it gives me an excuse to practice calligraphy).

I’m currently experimenting with various ways to bring digital and analog notes/documents/artifacts together – I started testing out a reMARKable tablet, but the texture/feel of the device didn’t gel for me. I’ve tried Rocketbooks, etc – still searching. If you have any ideas, please feel free to send me them!

🔄 Prioritization Criteria

I assess tasks with a few key questions:

• Who’s asking, and what’s the context?
• When is it needed? What’s the impact if it’s delayed?
• How does this align with team, group, or company goals?
  

Once that’s clear, I offer an estimated delivery window and collaborate with the requester to set shared expectations.

🧠 Tools + Task Management

The actual tools might shift — Jira, Asana, Pivotal Tracker, a well-organized Notion page, you name it. What matters most is clarity, visibility, and communication.

Whatever the system, I revisit workflows often to identify what’s working, what’s not, and what could be streamlined. No process is sacred. If it’s not serving the team/user, it’s up for revision.