The Best Interviews of 2017 on How I Work
This year at How I Work, we learned about the work habits of comedians, screenwriters, developers and haunted house designer. Here are the best interviews of the year and some of their greatest quotes.
Most Commented: Wen Lai, Chevrolet Creative Designer
Wen Lai’s profile received 105 comments, and not all of them were people whining about “cars these days.”
Then there are the swatches: piles of fabric swatches, paint swatches, chrome bits, door fittings, dashboard sections, floor mats, leather skins, spools of thread, seats, laser etched samples … the endless materials I am hoarding.
Most Viewed: Matt McCue, Editor-in-Chief, 99U
Matt McCue came to New York in 2005 without work, friends, or housing. He currently runs Adobe’s publication for creative professionals. His profile had over 80 thousand readers.
I also moved my office phone under the desk. It took up a lot of space, and if people want to call me, they can always call my mobile.
Best Video Profile: Feminist Press Director Jamia Wilson
Writer and activist Jamia Wilson is also the youngest person and the first woman of color to run Feminist Press, a 47-year-old non-profit literary publisher. In addition to our regular text profile, we had to film her at work and hear her run an inclusive progressive organization.
I am using the Danielle LaPorte Desire Map planner which is based on living my life as you wish. This is a great way to prioritize your time in a way that will benefit you, and it’s important to take the time to do this with deep intention.
Most Cinematic: Eric O’Neill, Former Counter Terrorism Officer
In the FBI, Eric O’Neill caught the spy Robert Hanssen, whose story was played out in the 2007 film Breach . He is now a national security strategist at cybersecurity company Carbon Black.
Father’s advice: “Sleep is a weapon.” I repeat this advice every night as a mantra because, as with so many other things, my father has a full view. Sleep helps us organize our minds and exorcise the demons of the day.
Most meta: Cal Henderson, technical director of Slack
Cal Henderson is the co-founder of Slack, the largest office communication tool since Outlook. His best time-saver can irrationally piss you off:
Listen to audiobooks at 2-3x speed. About 5 years ago, I almost completely switched to audiobooks, so I could combine walking with reading, but the choice of speed was a real incentive.
Most Iconic: Brian Fox, author of the Bash shell
At the Free Software Foundation, Brian Fox created the iconic Bash command line interface for the GNU operating system. It is now using blockchain technology to combat internet censorship and surveillance.
I try very hard not to “work”. Instead, I try to focus on why I am doing what I am doing so that I can truly enjoy the feeling of satisfaction when I’m done.
Most Exciting: Gianna Toboni and Isobel Jung, VICE Correspondents on HBO
Gianna Toboni and Isobel Young interviewed ISIS members, DRC rape criminals, Tanzania fishermen and Hong Kong protesters.
GT: I like to drink several drinks at once: water, juice, coffee, tea, etc. The sweatshirt and comfortable shoes are key factors. All of this may sound frustrating, but mobile comfort is important when you spend a lot of time in awkward places.
Most Hardest-to-Use Application: Aurelia Moser, Mozilla Community Leader
At the Mozilla Science Lab, Aurelia Moser works with programmers and scientists to make academic research more open. It also works with a lot of specialized software.
ShiftIt – Love this app to customize keyboard shortcuts for moving windows and apps around the screen, useful for anyone with a small screen and a big space saver.
Most informative: Roxanne Gay, author of ” Bad Feminist”
Bestselling writer, memoirist and essayist Roxanne Gay shared this year’s best life advice:
Every time I share this, I feel embarrassed because the advice is so simple and seems trivial, but it wasn’t trivial, and I am not offering it trivially here. When I entered the academic job market, worried about interviewing on campus, my friend Matt Seigel advised me to just be myself, because otherwise, if I were hired as the person I was pretending to be, I would have to maintain this pretense. for the rest of my career.
We’ll be returning every week in 2018 with new profiles of the most productive professionals. And we’d love to hear your recommendations on next year’s topics.