How to Work With Me

About

We are complex beings. It takes a long time to understand ourselves. Even to this day, there are still parts of ourselves that work beyond our control, difficult to understand.

It is certainly strange to expect others to understand us when we ourselves have never explained ourselves to them. As expressed in the book "Nanti Kita Cerita Tentang Hari Ini" (One Day We'll Talk About Today):

For the reasons explained above, this writing was created. About what and how I work (work in its broad sense, being active and connected) with others.

This writing represents the ideal version of myself. Unfortunately, there are times when I am not in my usual state. Regardless, I will always try to be in my ideal condition.

As I continue to change over time, this writing will never be finished and will always be updated as my circumstances change.

Table of Contents

• Communication
• Promises
• Teamwork
• Making Meetings Effective
• Many Dimensions of Life
• Things to Know About Me

Communication

After greeting, state your purpose immediately. The recipient may be busy and may not want to start a conversation at that moment. But if you tell them what you need right away, there's a good chance that they might be able to quickly answer you and move on. That saves a lot of time for you. - Stop saying "Hi" and waiting for a response.

You can reach me anytime. There is no time limit, even in the middle of the night. But please note, I am not in front of a screen 24 hours a day. There are other responsibilities that need to be done. Messages will be replied to when I have time. Of course, for formal matters, the best time to contact me is during business days and hours.

You can reach me through any medium. However, for WhatsApp, it may not always be active. Therefore, telegram is the fastest way to reach me.

Follow up if your message hasn't been replied to after some time. I'm quite bad at multitasking, which is why sometimes messages get missed and I forget to reply.

Ask for permission before adding my name to a list. So that I can carefully consider the decision I will make.

Promises

The value of promises. Keeping promises is about self-respect and respecting others. When a promise is made, time must be sacrificed. Therefore, it is important to fulfill promises. I am forgiving in many things, but not so forgiving when it comes to breaking promises. You will see me upset or even angry when a promise made is dishonored.

Inform if cancelled. A promise is still a promise, not a destiny controlled by humans. There will very likely be sudden obstacles. It's okay to cancel a promise, as long as you inform me. Waiting without certainty is unpleasant. Seriously.

Teamwork

Some expectations when we work as a team.

As a team. Working in a team is different from working as a team. The second option is the best concept, but the first is also acceptable.

Be responsible and help each other. Teams are formed from different skills to achieve common goals. It doesn't matter if each person has different workloads. Not everyone needs to be an expert. What matters most to me is that all members are responsible for their tasks, help each other, and contribute even for simple things.

Remind me when I'm wrong/mistaken/not as I should be. Sometimes due to certain things, I miss out on my responsibilities. Therefore, I really hope and appreciate if someone reminds me about it.

Remote and/or asynchronous as the priority. Working asynchronously, remotely, using zoom/google meet/google workspace (docs, sheets, slides) is the preferred choice. However, if there are things that require working directly, face-to-face, that's also fine.

Making Meetings Effective

Gathering many people at once actually requires significant costs (not just money, but also time). Here are some notes for running the best meetings.

Meet only when necessary. When an issue can be resolved through messages or email, that is the best choice. But if it's not possible, then a meeting should be held.

Discuss what needs to be discussed. It's important to determine the topics and points to be discussed. As a guide for the meeting, so no time is wasted discussing unimportant things.

Before the meeting, it would be great to have shared knowledge. I appreciate when before a meeting, preliminary information about the meeting has been shared. So when the meeting happens, all participants already understand (or have a better understanding of) the issue. As a result, the meeting can go straight to discussing the problem.

Many Dimensions of Life

Humans live their lives in many dimensions simultaneously. We can be a child, parent, student, university student, teacher, lecturer, subordinate, and superior at the same time. This means there will be many responsibilities to carry. It's important to have the ability to empathize and treat humans humanely.

Things to Know About Me

I enjoy helping. If you're experiencing difficulties and the problem seems to match my competence, you can contact me anytime.

I'm a laid-back person. We can talk about any topic. From how to dig a well to how to launch a rocket full of cats to the moon.

I'm an introvert. Although I'm quite capable of being in front of many people, it always drains a lot of energy. It's important to make sure I have time each day to step away from the crowd.

I'm more comfortable interacting in small groups. You'll find me more open and flowing when speaking with just a few people.

**I'm bad at *multitasking***. Especially when focused, especially when writing code. Time often passes without me noticing at all. I find it difficult to divide my focus, even for simple things like replying to messages.

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Note: this writing was inspired by How I work and like to work with you, How to Rands, and Niklaus.README.