Manual of Me

A guide to working with me effectively.

How I Learn Best

  • Through practical demonstrations & hands-on practice
  • Direct experience with new concepts
  • Learning by doing rather than theoretical discussion
  • Exploring unfamiliar territory

Things I Struggle With

  • Overly long/unnecessary meetings
  • Communication lacking clarity/purpose
  • Email-heavy communication
  • Meetings without agenda/purpose

Things I Love

  • Tackling novel and challenging problems
  • Running - I will sometimes need to head out to clear my head
  • Structured, regular check-ins
  • Talking to people
  • Independent problem-solving followed by collaboration
  • Connecting & helping people
  • Building things from scratch
  • Music, running and time away from work

Other Things to Know About Me

  • I sometimes play guitar whilst thinking through a problem - it helps me focus
  • I create and release original music under the alias "entMOOT". Feel free to ask me about it if you're interested in the odd combination of movie dialogue, guitars and electronic music.
  • Prefer quiet workspaces
  • Can work effectively in busy environments with headphones
  • I value focused & uninterrupted time for deep work

Things I Need

  • Independent thinking time before collaboration
  • Regular check-ins on "big work"
  • Clear, efficient communication
  • Space to think before action
  • Focused meeting times with specific objectives
  • Time to process information independently

How I Best Receive Feedback

  • Direct, immediate delivery & honest/candid
  • Prefer verbal feedback, but written is acceptable
  • Will need time to process feedback
  • Appreciate straightforward approach - no need to sugar-coat

Best Ways to Communicate with Me

  • Via Slack - you can normally expect a response within minutes during work hours
  • Prefer focused meetings - 25-30 minutes where possible
  • Avoid scheduling default 1-hour meetings
  • For urgent matters, send a Slack message even if I appear busy. Worst case, call me.
  • Use plain English in an active tone ("Please review this" rather than "This needs to be reviewed")

Times / Hours I Like to Work

  • Early starter, typically available/start at 07:00 - 07:30 especially if I'm travelling into London
  • Protected focus time between 12-2 PM (please avoid scheduling during this time)
  • I'm available and responsive during normal work hours
  • I try to protect my time outside of work hours so a response the next business day is most likely