I travel this weekend to France. After being back at Automattic, the company where I work, for over two years, I will finally get to meet my teammates in person. I drank wine last night to train for the week. On our meetup, we’re going to give flash talks: 3-4 minute talks on any topic … Continue reading How to be good at conversation
A few weeks ago, I found myself avoiding my home office. I’d start my day down there, but by midmorning I was desperate to get out. My office space is a diminutive utility room in our finished basement. It’s half underground, and along with my desk and bookshelf, it houses the fuse boxes, water heater, … Continue reading Office refresh
I hit a big milestone at work yesterday. A bucket list milestone. The company I work for, Automattic, makes the WordPress.com blogging software: the software I use to publish this blog. This same software powers the internal communication tool we use so that 1532 of us in 82 countries can work together without having to … Continue reading One Million Words
Before I started working with a professional coach, I let fear dictate my actions. When I had an idea, I’d first get excited by the outcome it would achieve if it worked the way I expected. Then, the What Ifs would set in. What if it’s a dumb idea. What if it doesn’t work. What … Continue reading Action with mistakes is better than inaction
I’m under the canopy of my dogwood tree, which is thick with green leaves. It’s cool here in the shade. Fat lavender buds sway next to me in the wind. A purple finch drinks from the bird bath, which I refreshed with clean water a few minutes ago. Birds twitter, and the warm scent of … Continue reading Work from… garden
When I applied for my job as a Happiness Engineer, I wasn’t entirely sure what the job would entail. The job title is unique, for sure, and when I wore my Happiness Engineer T-shirt on my way to the company’s Grand Meetup, three different people stopped me to ask “What’s a Happiness Engineer?” All three … Continue reading A day in the life of a Happiness Engineer: Introduction
Butterfly Mind 