Aha of today

Aha of today: your ability to deal with bad/difficult situations is your true test as a professional. What are these situations for your role?

Today’s aha: when facing frustrated bureaucrats, remember why I’m there and focus on that. Getting caught up in their frustration will get me nowhere. #lifehacks

Aha of today: it’s fun to have a chat with someone from a completely different part of the organization and to hear what they love and hate about the product that I work on. #nosilos

Aha of today: create a skill tree and start leveling up. Don’t wait for your company to do it for you. #professional-growth

Aha of today: with the right kind of problem, without big time pressure, pair debugging is really fun.

Aha of today: When unpleasant emotions come up (especially when they are strong), remember that I’m not alone. I can ask someone if they’d be willing to listen to me without saying anything. #lifehacks

Aha of today: I need a new mental model for “first contact” with new ways of thinking/processes. My current model (that takes too long) involves researching until I get an intuiting that “I know enough”. Any suggestions?

Aha of today: after a conversation where my emotions ran wild… Resist the temptation to follow up until I’m ready to fully listen to the other first. Spend the time focusing on understanding what’s important for me in the interaction.

Aha of today: When I need some tool for work, I can ask for approval from my company to (eventually) buy it for me or I can buy it first and ask for reimbursement later. Life’s too short to wait for approvals.

Weekend aha: I’ve been journaling whenever unpleasant emotions come up and I’ve discovered, to my embarrassment, that my baseline emotion is anger/irritation. #selfmanagement