Tag: work
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Systems Made of Humans
I think I’m starting to see the pattern now. The parts of my job that energize me most are all variations of the same thing. Listening to someone describe their work. Noticing when the system is slightly misaligned. Helping reconnect the pieces. Then watching the whole thing move again. Strategic thinking shows up there. Helping…
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The Autonomy Factor
There’s one thing that drains my energy faster than almost anything else. Micromanagement. Not being micromanaged. Micromanaging someone else. Just thinking about it makes my brain tired. Hovering over someone’s shoulder. Checking every step. Correcting every move. It feels like trying to steer a bicycle by grabbing the handlebars while someone else is riding it.…
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The Conductor Problem
Someone asked me a strange question recently. “If you could never do one part of your job again, which would bother you the most?” There were several options. Solving hard technical puzzles.Designing architecture.Teaching complex ideas. All very appealing. But the one that stuck with me was this: Coordinating people to make things happen. Which surprised…
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The Big Picture Moment
One of my colleagues was describing their progress on a project. They were doing good work. Thoughtful work. The kind of steady progress that moves things forward. But as they talked, something started to itch in the back of my brain. Not wrong. Just incomplete. They were deep in the details. Which happens to all…
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Something Interesting Is Happening
This morning I was standing at my desk with a mug of English breakfast tea.Lots of milk. Stromps was investigating something extremely suspicious on the curtain. Possibly a spider.Possibly a portal. And I was thinking about work. Which is interesting because my occipital neuralgia is still very much A Thing. Pain has a way of…
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भारत की ओर प्रस्थान
(“I’m headed to India!” in Hindi ^)
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Have You Packed Yet?
It’s fascinating to me how when I’m procrastinating doing one thing, I will do SO MANY OTHER THINGS. That I have been procrastinating.
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The Packing List!
[COVID Day Five Hundred Sixty Seven] OMG OMG OMG OMG Cause I’m going to pack Sunday which means I need to do laundry Saturday which means I need to write this list NOW. Also, Leander, don’t forget that you need to reschedule that doctor’s appointment you have for this upcoming Friday because YOU’LL TOTALLY BE…
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Ready to Fly Again?!?
[COVID Day Five Hundred Sixty Six] I am traveling for work, having not traveled for eighteen months, starting on Monday, lasting for ten days, and not going to one conference, but, technically, only two, but with LOTS of day zero events and social events and everything that goes on in between. And working The Booth.…
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Eat That Frog
[Dutch Lock Down Day Four Hundred Sixty Nine] But I don’t wanna! Here I am, trying to ‘Eat That Frog‘, and totally doing anything and everything other than eating THAT frog. I don’t even want to talk about it. All it boils down to is that I’m worried I’m going to get in trouble. And…
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A Company Wants to Hire You But
[Dutch Lock Down Day Three Hundred Ninety One] They don’t have a tax entity in the Netherlands. What do you do? The short version is that every single company that extended an offer doesn’t have a tax entity in the Netherlands, so I’m doing a LOT of research on my options / their options for…
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Don’t Forget To Breathe
[Dutch Lock Down Day One Hundred Fifty Seven] Remember, Warriors – breathe in, breathe out, repeat as needed.