I’m Mike Senese, Executive Editor of Make, and This Is How I Work
For a decade, Make: Magazine has published stories of people doing incredible projects, from flying robots to slicing spoons to beekeeping, and has been a central pillar of the producer movement. Mike Senese helps convey that enthusiasm.
Mike created things in the name of science, experimentation and learning in various media; you might recognize it by appearing on the Science and Discovery channels, which previously hosted Pankin Chankin , How Everything Works, and others. Personally, Punkin Chunkin (where teams compete to launch pumpkins as far as possible with air cannons and catapults) gradually became a family Thanksgiving tradition in those lazy turkey days when we were all weighed down with sauce, and I appreciate Mike’s advocacy in the ballistic pumpkin industry. …
Mike is currently the Executive Editor of Make: Magazine, continuing to work tirelessly in this area of research and education through creativity. He’s also obsessed with perfect pizza. We got in touch with Mike to find out a little about how he works.
Location: San Francisco Current job: Executive Editor, Manufacturer: Magazine One word that best describes how you work: Compressed Current mobile device: iPhone 5s Current computer (and what OS is it installed on?): Mac laptop. For the past few months, I have been using a 13-inch MacBook Pro running 10.10.2 (Yosemite). I just submitted a refund request to the MacBook Air (max consumption) to get more battery life and weight. It turns out that the MBP Retina screen is not that important to me, and its slight performance advantage is not noticeable from the point of view of the magazine editor.
What apps, software and tools can’t you live without?
For sit-down interviews, I usually use Microsoft Word’s much overlooked ” audio notes feature”, which records audio and queues it up with the notes you type, great for taking notes to find key points in a conversation.
I live with a second screen set up to Chartbeat , a real-time traffic dashboard for our website traffic.
Our Makezine.com site is hosted on WordPress; the magazine was made using standard Adobe Creative Cloud programs. When one of them falls, I usually sit and cry quietly or search for the most appropriate reaction GIF to express my rage.
How is your workplace arranged?
I’m a big fan of standing desks, but after a recent office move, I’m sitting back in my place. I try to keep things tidy, but my desk is often littered with various Arduino and Raspberry Pi components, microcontrollers that I would like to use better, or the random tools we are looking at to test.
I am pairing my laptop screen and 28-inch monitor with an Apple Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.
As the deadline approaches, I move more and more to free up space in the office. Even those colleagues who just took a break.
What’s your best time-saver or life hack?
It’s not much of a life hack, but the only way to find out your email is if you’re not connected. I came closest to mailbox zero last year when I had two trips to Europe in a two-week period.
I try to queue up as many emails as possible on the train and send them when I reconnect to the internet. I’m dialing this from BART.
What’s your favorite to-do list manager?
Standard 2 “x 2” yellow stickers. I have stacks of them with tasks for every day. I make tiny checkboxes, remove them, and save the list when I’m done. They turn into a diary – it’s strange how many memories and emotions are stored in these little verbatim notes.
What device, besides a phone and a computer, can you not live without and why?
My Nikon camera. I have always loved photography and have continuously improved my gear for a long time. We had a baby last year and I decided it was time to finally get my hands on a full frame DSLR and some high quality lenses. I carry it with me almost everywhere, although this beautiful glass is heavy.
What are some of the things you do best in everyday life? What’s your secret?
Outside of work, my biggest passion is pizza. Years ago, I realized that homemade pizza, while fun to make, usually doesn’t provide an opportunity to eat, so I decided to find out why this is and how to overcome it. It turns out that there is a huge online community of pizza lovers made up of incredibly smart and friendly members. I’ve learned a lot of tips on how to get homemade pizza close to what you’d find in an upmarket wood-fired pizza parlor, although I’ve also found that, like most things in life, the better the pizza, the better it takes more work.
Through this community, I have made some really good friends who continue to inspire me. Guys like PizzaHacker and Paulie Gee – who started out just as passionate amateurs but then jumped in, opened their own restaurants and are now killing it.
What do you listen to while you work?
Usually nothing. Sometimes it’s just Pandora radio or iTunes, and when I do it while I’m working, it’s usually scores and a soundtrack. Like themusic from Downton Abbey – wonderful, serene.
What are you reading now?
In terms of books, I slowly read The Hobbit to my child – I never actually read the full version. But this week, I’ve been reading more often for free on tomato growing how-to websites, specifically researching ways to overcome windy weather for the garden. Obviously tomatoes hate the wind, and maybe that’s why mine always fought.
How do you replenish?
I play with my little son. I work in my little garden. We build things in the garage. Surfing when I have a few hours to spare, which is rare.
What is your sleep routine?
Long gone are the nights in which I did not sleep until 3 am. Being until 11:30 pm these days is pretty wild. More often I fall asleep in bed with my baby at 8:00 pm and wake up a few hours later and then again at 6:00 am. I don’t use an alarm clock unless I have a very early flight.
Fill in the blank: I would like ____ to answer these same questions.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
“Assholes do every job, so why not you?” This comment has changed everything I think about the world and what I can do in it, and it has given me an absolutely amazing experience.
What else would you like to add that might be of interest to readers or fans?
The best part of my job is seeing amazing things coming from the community every day. Impressive and imaginative creations that never cease to amaze me. I salute everyone who shares their projects, it is the fuel that helps us move forward in many ways.