Andy Matuschak
patreon
Experimenting with "office hours" next week
🕑 Added 2021-12-24 16:59:46 +0000 UTCI hope you all are having a peaceful and bright holiday season. This isn't one of my usual "letters from the lab"—more a time-sensitive invitation.
tl;dr: I'm holding "office hours" next Monday and Wednesday (12/27 and 12/29) from 2-3PM PST. Come by and ask questions, pose problems, or offer work for feedback. https://meet.google.com/bby-nmzu-apx
I've noticed that my mental energy falls into a trough in the early afternoon, usually around 1-3. I'm usually just wasting my time if I try to do difficult work or reading during this period, so I often take the time to stroll, nap, or do low-effort tasks. But I've noticed that it's also a good time to take meetings: social energy seems to draw from a different well.
In that spirit, I thought it'd be fun to try experimenting with "office hours" during this time. I'll "open my office door" from 2-3 PM PST next Monday and Wednesday (12/27 and 12/29). I invite you to come by with questions, problems, and work to share for feedback: https://meet.google.com/bby-nmzu-apx
A few logistical details:
- At least for this experiment, I'm not offering "reservations". Just show up; we'll form a queue.
- In the fashion of academic office hours, eavesdropping is encouraged. You may have to wait a while to ask your question, but listening in on others' questions may turn out to be more valuable than whatever motivated you to attend, anyway. Likewise, feel free to chime in if you have thoughts on a question someone else brings—just be graceful in sharing airtime.
- These conversations aren't 1:1, but we'll have better discussions if we feel safe to speak. The Chatham House Rule is in effect: paraphrasing is okay, but don't identify anyone. And of course, we'll treat each other with generosity and nobility; I'll moderate problems.
- Unless few people show up, I'll probably cut off any one line of discussion at a maximum of about ten minutes. If it feels we've gotten the most out of a topic after just a few minutes, I may switch us up sooner. Take that as a sign of success, rather than a critical judgment!
- Rough work and ill-specified questions are very welcome. Several people have told me that they're waiting to show me design work until it's more polished. Honestly: that's silly!
I recognize that this timing is unfriendly to people in Europe, Asia, and Africa—forgive me! If these events seem fruitful, we'll work something out.
I know people will ask if I'll record these. My answer, initially, is no: I want to make sure we can create the right kind of vulnerable space first, and I'm worried recording will hamper that. If this proves fruitful, recording may be possible once we all get more comfortable.
See you next week, or not: in any case, I wish you clarity and equanimity!
Comments
Yiliu Shen-Burke
I second Will's encouragement to repeat this experiment on a more regular basis. Sadly, I wasn't able to make either session due to holiday travel, which I will be regretting for a while. Happy New Year all!
Andy Matuschak
Glad to hear it, Will!
Andy, thanks for doing this. You are bringing smart people with interesting projects together. I'd encourage you to continue on a more or less regular schedule. I hope it wasn't against protocol to attend the second session as a fly on-the-wall. I love the two threads of the discussions, one being the technical 'tools for thought' and the discussion of why we are exploring and what is the personal meaning we're discovering.
Martin Bernstorff
Thanks a lot for doing this, Andy! You're incredibly gracious and curious about nascent ideas, very inspiring :-)
Bryan Bryce
There’s a dip in alertness around that time, depends on when you wake up and how your circadian rhythm is. I’ve used the app Rise to help me track my dips and peaks. I now work around my two peaks, first peak is around 9 am, second around 6 pm. I go home and spend time with the family in the afternoons.
Great idea - I'd love to see some earlier times for Europeans, but in the meantime, enjoy the conversations!
Yiliu Shen-Burke
Andy, this is a wonderful idea. Looking forward to it.
Andy Matuschak
Ah, nice! For me, exercise during this period helps, but doesn't really make difficult work tractable again.
I kind of also get the same mid-day lower energy, but lately I think a quick 20min workout (mostly weights) seems to get me right back to almost wake-up energy levels
