Learning how you work best is a superpower. Imagine, creating and seeking environments where you succeed best. Likely you remember times where you got

How You Work | Developer Musings

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2022-01-14 11:00:07

Learning how you work best is a superpower. Imagine, creating and seeking environments where you succeed best. Likely you remember times where you got into a flow state and produced magic, but you can’t pinpoint why.

Product user manuals have a section dedicated to “ideal working conditions” - to get the best out of the machine. This includes the maintenance, the temperature and location and how it should be operated. In the same way, you can develop a “personal user manual” documenting how you work best and where.

By preparing a user manual, you can quickly establish a rapport with your co-workers and effectively communicate your “ideal working conditions” to your manager. Having led teams, I ended up putting together versions of a “user manual” for everyone in my team in my head. A written document from that person would have proved vital.

The advantages are that both yourself and the people around you can understand each other and make everyone happy by aiming to keep work within those ideal parameters. Of course, this is not always possible. Tough, stupid things sometimes need doing. But a keen-eyed manager will always be aiming to balance these tasks with work you love.

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