I’m Amir Salihefendik, CEO of Doist and This Is How I Work
Todoist is a longtime contender among to-do list managers, helping people for nearly a decade to reduce their work to doable tasks. It evolved into a cross-platform tool that can be used for collaboration and project management, but it was created simply because Amir Salihefendich needed a way to track his work.
Amir is the CEO of Doist , a company he founded after Todoist went from a side project to a full-time job. Previously, he co-founded Plurk , a microblogging social network that remains popular in Asia, and now runs a decentralized team that collaborates in over 20 different countries.
You can never guess which app he uses as his to-do list these days. This is how Amir works.
Location: Santiago, Chile (visiting wife’s family). Our home base is Barcelona, Spain. Current office: Founder / CEO of Doist (not a concert, but a lifelong project). One word that best describes the way you work: focused. Current mobile device: iPhone 6s and Google Pixel. Current computer: 2014 MacBook Pro.
First of all, tell me a little about your past and how you became who you are today.
I was born in Bosnia, but due to the war of the 90s, I grew up in Denmark as a refugee.
During my college years, I had many side projects and Todoist was one of them. When I started Todoist in January 2007, I had no idea what I was creating. It was a simple to-do list app I created for myself to manage my chaotic life.
Since then, Todoist has grown from a small personal project to a service that has helped millions of people complete tens of millions of projects. To be honest, I never imagined that one day we would become leaders in our market and turn into a company that will employ almost 50 people from all over the world.
What apps, software and tools can’t you live without? Why?
I’ve probably been using Todoist every day since 2007. This is my personal operating system where I have everything I need and everything in one place (for both work and personal belongings). I even have a name for it: Systemist 🙂 You can read more about my specific workflow here .
To connect with our remote team (we are almost 50 people in about 20 different countries), I use Twist , an application that we have been working on for the past two years and recently released to the general public.
Besides Todoist and Twist, I love iA Writer for writing and Vim for development. Vim is something I have spent a lot of time on – in fact, I have one of the most popular configurations (which I have perfected over the years . I’m not sure if this is good or bad)
How is your workplace arranged? Coffee shop with laptop and headphones? Home office with a standing desk?
I have a wonderful home office with a permanent desk that I work for most of the week. However, on some days I do go to a coworking space because I feel that a long stay in your home may start to negatively affect you. When I work, I always use noise canceling headphones and usually listen to electronic music.
What’s your best time-saver or life hack?
I highly recommend starting the day with a 7 minute workout , 10 minutes of meditation, a cold shower, and then a healthy breakfast. I found this combination to be a great way to invigorate my body for the whole day. After that, once you sit down to work, I would recommend working on creative issues (like writing, coding, design) and not checking social media or responding to emails right away.
What’s your favorite to-do list manager?
I’m not going to lie, it’s obvious Todoist ?
What device, besides a phone and a computer, can you not live without and why?
Noise Canceling Headphones – I’m using a Bose QuietComfort 35 . This is especially useful when you are traveling, in a noisy office, or in a coworking space.
What are some of your best everyday activities? What’s your secret?
I cook eggs well, it’s the only thing I can cook and it’s delicious … What’s the secret? I copied Gordon Ramsay’s recipe at some point, I think you can find it on YouTube .
What do you listen to while you work? Have a favorite playlist? Or do you prefer silence?
I listen to electronic music on Spotify, usually listen to the Discover Weekly playlist. The music could be Daftpunk or Trentemøller .
What are you reading now? Or, if you don’t read anything, what advice would you give?
I am currently reading The Undoing Project , a new book by Michael Lewis (author of Moneyball ). Before that, I read The Daily Stoic .
I read a lot and always try to find ways to better look at things and learn new things. One of the books that inspired me the most as CEO / founder was Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctous Business, written by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard.
How do you replenish? What do you do when you want to forget about work?
I usually play soccer to recharge my batteries, as it helps clear my mind and interferes with thinking. If I don’t play football, I like watching a good movie or watching Korean Starcraft streams. (Starcraft has been my passion for many years.)
What is your sleep pattern? Are you a night owl or get up early?
I have slept and slept badly for most of my life. I still try to keep my daily routine – now I go to bed around 1 am and wake up around 8 am. This is something that I am actively trying to improve, as I would like to sleep about eight hours a day.
Fill in the blank: I would like _____ to answer these same questions.
Elon Musk.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Love your job. On average, people spend 87,600 hours at work in their lives … That’s over ten years! Finding something meaningful and something that you really enjoy doing is very important.
What else would you like to add that might be of interest to readers and fans?
I would like to thank Lifehacker and the Lifehacker community. Todoist was featured on this site in 2007 and has attracted thousands of users (many of whom still use Todoist!) Here is the original article by the wonderful Gina Trapani: