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💡 This is a living document and should be interpreted as such. Things will change 🎲!
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My name is Dimitrie Hoekstra (with an “e” at the end and pronounced correctly with emphasis on any syllable), I am a technical Senior Product Designer working on DevOps-related products, Design Systems, and Open Source projects.
Formerly, working on Design Systems at Postman, Product Designer at GitLab. I am Dutch 🇳🇱, currently live in Spain, Barcelona 🇪🇸, and frequent Amsterdam 🇳🇱 and Berlin 🇩🇪.
This document is my personal README, a place for you to get to know me, how I think, work, and communicate. Reading this will make it easier to work together with me effectively!
Hierarchy
Occasionally, values can contradict each other. For instance, transparency would dictate we publish all security vulnerabilities the moment they are found, but this would jeopardise our users. It’s useful to keep in mind this hierarchy to resolve confusion about what to do in a specific circumstance while remaining consistent with our core values.
Think of the hierarchy as a weighting system. Values higher in the hierarchy do not automatically override values lower in the hierarchy. Here are some examples:
- If a change impacts Transparency positively but impacts Efficiency negatively in roughly the same amount, we would move ahead since Transparency is higher in the hierarchy than Efficiency.
- If a change has a massive positive impact on Diversity but negatively impacts Iteration, we would move ahead even though Diversity is lower in the hierarchy than Iteration because the overall impact is more positive than negative.
Conditions I like to work in
- Either I have a quiet and well-ventilated place for focus time or be in a place amongst people to talk with while I work (70/30).
- Structure in terms of knowing what to commit to, what my responsibilities are towards others, and vice versa, plus having a clear transparent overview of this to fall back on.
- A playful working environment means assuming good intentions, room for experimentation and mistakes, exploring personal ideas with others, a time buffer so things can shift around, and being able to influence processes.
- I am very familiar with a remote working environment and its processes, which enables me to be flexible with my time and location.
The times/hours I like to work
- I like to be flexible with my time, shifting it around so I can incorporate personal or social needs into my days. Read more about a non-linear workday.
- From time to time, I travel with changing timezones as a result. When doing this, I will always try my best to make this work and/or move any appointments if need be. My available time on Google calendar should automatically adjust itself accordingly 🤗.
- I think of a day in 24 hours. For example, 8 o’clock in the evening is written as 20:00.
- Timezones are best written with the standardized format GMT+[insert number]. This makes it easier to deduct what a certain time means from my perspective and how to relate a time to you.
- Generally, I am trying to start my workday at 10:00 as I am often not a morning person and can be considered a night owl 🦉.
- Working late into the night might still occasionally happen, though I try to avoid that because of my work/life balance. Generally, 19:00 should mark the end of a workday including any potential meetings.
- Most often, I am having dinner between 19:30 and 21:00.
- Generally, I am not responsive or available during weekends or when I am Out Of Office, though you can always try sending me a message on slack.
- My work calendar is open and accessible, so everyone can see my availability. I don’t mind people booking things on my calendar if I am free/available. Guests can edit my calendar events by default.
- I will try to book focus time in my calendar to have unobstructed time to do deep work and make sure you can book appointments for when I am available.
- Anyone should always feel free to put something directly on my calendar. If in doubt, assume one is possible if scheduled enough in advance and act on it with a “bias towards action”. If I am not able to make the meeting I’ll make sure to reach out to resolve any issues.
- I appreciate meetings happening relatively close to each other so that I’ll not have occasional meetings throughout the day.
- This enables me to have a hybrid maker/manager schedule where a part of the day is up to me to fill in with either large or small blocks and another is dedicated to more frequent context switching.
- Preferable is to have a minimum of 5 min between meetings, also see the “speedy meetings” setting in your Google Calendar.
- Having meetings scheduled at least a day in advance helps with not disrupting focus time and being able to prepare if need be. Ad-hoc meetings are certainly possible but are simply not preferred for the reasons mentioned above. Additionally, they have the added side-effect, when working remotely with people in different timezones, that it might be easier to miss that these people will be pushed outside their normal working hours.
- In general, one can consider if something should be a meeting at all. Often something can be resolved asynchronously through either a written message or by recording a Loom video. A good guide as to when something should be a meeting is depicted here.
My spoken languages
Feel free to speak to me in any of the following languages, though I prefer speaking in English for professional topics!
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🇺🇸 English (Full Professional / C)
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🇳🇱 Dutch (Native / C)
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🇪🇸 Spanish (A progressing into B)
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🇩🇪 German (A)
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The best way for us to communicate
- When communicating a specific time in writing I try to use a relative time or create a calendar appointment instead. I appreciate this the other way around, as well! Alternatively, look for my ways of time notion up above.
- Asynchronous communication might often be the most effective way to get something resolved. Due to notification overload I do prioritize and filter incoming channels:
- Slack/IM: I have slack active most of my day, though I might turn off notifications when in deep work mode. Otherwise, I’ll react as soon as possible. I appreciate this channel for both formal and informal messages.
- I prefer to use open channels for most of my communication here! This ensures additional stakeholders can read or even contribute to the conversation. This allows more people to be on the same page without it costing additional effort!
- Email: I will occasionally check my inbox, and I’ll react depending on urgency and available time. I appreciate this channel for formal messages only.
- Issues/epics: Ticketing systems can easily create a notification overload, therefore I'll periodically filter through these notifications and react accordingly by either owning up, deferring, referring, or over-communicating in a different way. Feel free to reach out through slack if something is especially urgent.
- Google calendar and video meetings: Calendar meetings are dedicated to a specific time and have time allocated to them. I appreciate this channel for when quick back and forth discussions are beneficial.
- Phone: Calling is mostly reserved for personal matters or emergencies!
- Whatsapp: Again for personal matters or less extreme emergencies only 🙃. (There is a link to reach me on my personal website).
- Twitter: I mostly use my Twitter for my professional life. Feel free to reach out to me there anytime!
- My communication style [1] [2] consists of a mix of spirited, direct, and considerate when I am feeling comfortable. During stress, it can shift to a more direct and systematic approach. Because of this, I like to focus on the bigger picture, be inspired by big goals, have a structured framework to rely on, and have a healthy discussion that reinforces me.
- I appreciate a bit of casual conversation at the beginning of a meeting but do like to be direct as well. Say it like it is, honest and to the point so that we can work together.
- For 1:1’s, I prefer a bi-weekly or weekly cadence as it allows for a genuine connection.
- I might occasionally leave a message on the weekend. Feel free to read it on Monday!
- Generally, I am against using acronyms when they can be avoided. They have the effect of excluding people from the conversation if they are not familiar with a particular term. If acronyms are used, expand them at least once in the conversation or document. Alternatively, link to the definition. This is based on the communication guidelines of GitLab.
- Don’t just say “hi” when opening a written conversation, but instead immediately let me know what you are looking for even if it's just a bit of conversation! I’ll try to do the same! It will save us both time ^^.
- Try to not use acronyms when you can avoid them. Acronyms have the effect of excluding people from the conversation if they are not familiar with a particular term. Example: instead of
MR
, write merge request (MR)
. — Inspiration
- If acronyms are used, expand them at least once in the conversation. Alternatively, link to the definition (also see the Kramdown abbreviation syntax).
- Let’s speak up if we don’t know the meaning of an acronym, ask. This is always considered “Oll Korrect” (OK) 😇.
- Consider using and configuring a text expansion tool (e.a. Raycast snippets) that automatically replaces an abbreviation with the complete version. This way you keep the productivity of using abbreviations without the downsides.
Communicating feedback
- I like to give and receive personal feedback in 1:1’s so that questions flow freely and we can dive into how to improve upon it. I appreciate for these discussions to be honest, human, and authentic.
- Praise is generally good to be given in public where it can be seen and acknowledged by others. I will try my best to follow this rule when you help me out or I see something good done that deserves more attention 🙌.
- For design feedback, any method should work, 1:1, in a group, or asynchronously. Timely feedback will help with iteration frequency and effectiveness.
- I want to understand the broader purpose behind why we are doing something a certain way, as this helps with applying the required changes afterward. “Say why, not just what”.
- For continued feedback, three dimensions are required:
- Safety should be high (no fear of retaliation)
- Effort should be low (healthy discussions)
- Benefit should be high (positive results)
Things I need
- Open-minded, playful, inclusive, and diverse people to talk and work with. This includes the tools and environment we work in. I consider myself an ally towards moving us all in this direction.
- A smaller but closer group of people I interact with on a more frequent basis, including potentially experimenting on self-driven and initiated projects for the greater good.
- A positive culture is fueled by assuming positive intent where new ideas and change are valued, not hindered by too much bureaucracy.
- Sweets like cookies and chocolate 🍪.
- Enough time Out Of Office where I truly am not engaged in work-related matters and can move outside of the digital world.
- Time dedicated to a more mundane task for calming the mind. ⇒ "Meditation is concentrating the front of the mind with a mundane task." [Guess the movie quote 😉]
- Authenticity and ethicality - I value honest and human interaction. Think for yourself, see what is truly right, and act upon that. People often make mistakes or may mean different, let’s keep that in mind as we all learn as we go.
- Meetings with clear actionable outcomes and assigned DRI’s. Let’s not waste our own time, “bias towards action”, and have clear feedback loops!
- Responsibility and ownership. This includes not needing to ask for permission. This fuels me to do my best work.
- A shared sense of progress based on a common goal/vision upon which we regularly decide the next steps together.
How I learn best
- Diving into the deep end is something I can appreciate as long as I have room to make mistakes. Doing so helps me to get a quick but rough grasp of the entire space.
- I like to have good and well-explained examples or information available. Then being able to apply said learnings will solidify my understanding immediately.
- Having a subject matter expert available whom I can ask specific questions will contribute greatly towards getting around any blockers.
- Thinking systems by using flowcharts help me to know and visualise how things fit together.
Things I struggle with
These are things for me to improve myself but good to be mindful of as a team member.
- I consider myself an eternal optimist. Overcommitting myself can happen more quickly because of it. I am always on the lookout to become more consistent in input and output 👀.
- I have days where I am super productive and days where I am less so. I consider this healthy but at the same time, a learning opportunity 💪.
- Incorporating enough physical exercise and meditation into my lifestyle. Ideas are always welcome! I am an avid roller ⛸️!
Things I love
- My happy place is at the intersection of design and product management.
- I love going to meet-ups, including having a great and inspiring night out.
- I love introducing change, which creates value for others and myself. Ideation is a prime example of this. I am always ready to come up with new and creative ideas.
- Trying out new software or gadgets no matter how unintuitive or niche.
- Making things works in a scalable and DRY way. I love to invest time to make things work well. My .dotfiles and my "second brain" in Notion are examples of this.
Office setup's
Default workplace
When primarily working remotely from one place I have invested in optimizing that space to be able to effectively work and communicate.
On the go
When primarily working remotely from one place I have invested in optimizing that space to be able to effectively work and communicate. Below is a list of the current equipment I use:
Other things to know about me
- I am a cat person 🐱!
- I love reading books, such as biographies, fiction, and science fiction.
- I am big on card games and board games, especially older ones such as Mahjong 🀄️.