How I survive the “startup life”
Many people ask me what I do on a day to day at work and I always respond: “it depends on what happened the previous night.”
As a Customer Success Engineer for a platform that is quickly growing on all fronts from a business and product perspective, the scope of work that I might see on my plate changes each and every day.
It could range from performing a code review for a client who needs it “tomorrow” — and beware of “tomorrow” as it is a dangerous day to live by in the business world. It could be answering the mountains of technical support emails we receive about our product or platform — hardware is hard. It could be new product testing (software, firmware, or hardware) for our engineering team. It could be rebuilding and maintaining the support platform that we’re improving everyday. It could be a day where I’m managing the documentation platform and scrambling for content from the rest of the team. It could be going to a client’s office and debugging with their engineering team for hours on a product that I’m seeing for the first time. If it involves making an experience, process, or product better for the users of our platform then I’m probably doing something that helps in those departments.
With that said, how do I keep my life straight, at work, as things are spiraling around me?
Always start the day with Devotion.
Keeping a clear mind and a strong moral compass is key for me. Daily Bible devotion is part of my morning process in preparation for a successful day.
Always keep a cup of water on my desk
Stay hydrated my friends.
Always, always keep a cup of coffee near.
I drink about 2–3 12oz cups of coffee a day. It’s a bad arrangement. My teeth are yellowing. My breath probably smells bad. But it keeps a good balance to my day. Little cream, 2 splenda.
Always keep a notebook of things around.
Writing things down, for me, allows for better task management throughout of the day.
Always keep product on your desk, old and new.
This allows me to quickly test a user “issue” without going across the office to find some product to use for testing. Those little blue lights also let me know if the Wi-Fi is working or not :-)
Keep a multi-meter around to test Hardware failures.
Have a good JavaScript book around — because it just makes sense.
Shoutout to my co-worker who gave me this. I feel like I’ve been accepted into the society of people who are still confused by JavaScript, lol.
And of course, always have an external, larger monitor.
Coding on tiny screens isn’t the coolest thing in the world.
Never forget why you’ve joined the company you’re working for as that will be a huge driver in your daily motivation. If you’re only there for the money, it’s probably a good time to pack your bags now.
Find your “why” and run with that.
Thanks for reading.