1. Introduction

I believe collaboration is easiest when people know what to expect from each other. How we communicate, make decisions, and handle feedback, knowing what works for someone makes collaboration easier, more fun, and more productive.

This page is not about setting rules — it’s about offering clarity, mostly for work situations, but it can also add some insights if we connected on a personal level.

Everyone has different ways of working, and I hope this handbook helps you understand mine. I also want to make it easier for you to reach out, ask questions, or share feedback with me in a way that feels more comfortable for both of us.

2. Personal Work Style

• Communication Preferences:
  • Discuss things > live meeting.
  • Share information > Written format; preferably somewhere I can easily look it up again.
  • Share a decision with me > Should always be done in a written format.
  • Quick questions > text or Slack me
  • Want to meet up? Please let me know what it’s about before inviting me or at least add an agenda to the invite.
• Decision-Making:
  • Decision-making matrix = Take it – Tweak it – Move forward.
  • I tend to make decisions quickly and easily.
  • I have no issues with changing my mind when new information comes to light.
  • I am not very data driven, I am super aware of the fact that somehow some crucial information always shows up later in the process so emerging insights is something I refer to quite a lot.
  • I prefer people who make quick decisions and later change their minds to decisions being postponed for a long time, as long as they let me know they changed their minds.
  • Decisions need to be (publicly) accessible.
• Feedback:
  • I consider myself to be pretty direct. I also prefer any feedback directly.
  • I am open to feedback and am quite receptive to coaching. However, my initial response is often to defend myself and/or blame others. I am aware of this tendency. Taking some time between receiving feedback and responding helps me process and receive the feedback more effectively.

3. Meetings

• One-on-One Meetings: Always preferred.
  I prefer shorter meetings more often over one long meeting. Especially for ongoing things I’d rather do two meetings of 15 mins twice a week than one 1-hour meeting once a month (extreme example).
  I really like body doubling, which means as much as having someone around to do a task. This can easily be achieved by opening an online meeting with someone and you both work on your own stuff.
• Group Meetings: I don't do well in large group meetings. I get easily distracted, especially if the topic isn't very interesting to me. Taking notes in a group meeting is often a good way for me to stay focused. I believe all group meetings should publish notes and decisions publicly.
• Town Halls: I think they are a great way to stay up to date with vision and big decisions and plans. As these only require me to listen, this works best if I do something during listening that doesn’t require any mental space (like ironing).

4. Time Management

• Work Hours: I work part-time (32 hours) spread over 5 days, which means I work shorter days than most. I am pretty flexible with my time, but in general I start early (around 8 a.m.) and take a long break somewhere in the middle of the day.
  I work from home most days. I try to go to the office a few times a month. Working hours there will be 10-15 hours.
• Focus Time: I am most focused in the morning, so I like to do most of the work then. Meetings are best scheduled in the afternoon. My days work best for me if there is a good balance between time to work and meetings. More than 4 meetings a day is not working well for me. Task switching can be hard when I am in a hyperfocus, but usually switching tasks makes me more productive because it prevents me from going down unnecessary rabbit holes.
• Time Off:
  I am not a person for long vacations. I take a lot of random days off during the year. I do always schedule some time off after attending an event and during the Christmas season.
  I don’t have any work tools on my phone, so if something requires my immediate attention while I am away the way to reach me is via a phone call or WhatsApp/Signal message.

5. Values and Principles

• Core Values:
  • People above all else
  • If it doesn't contribute to something good, is it worth doing?
  • Have fun
  • Clear is kind
  • Transparency is key
  • Always assume positive intent
• Expectations:
  • Be open, clear, and explicit about what you expect from me.
  • Be as transparent as possible about what you are working on and what occupies your mind.
  • We are in this together
  • Always assume positive intent.

6. Tools and Processes

• Preferred Tools:
  • Message me anytime, I will respond at the right time for me. Send me your questions, check-ins, personal stuff, etc. Fun memes are always welcome as well.
• Processes:
  • I either do things now, or not now. Even though I have a to-do list, it's hard for me to stay focused on that.
  • I understand your priorities matter more to you than to me, so don't hesitate to remind me if you need anything from me. I won't take it personally. The same goes the other way around.
  • Asking questions is something I either do too much or too little; I am still working on finding a healthy middle ground.
  • I thrive on personal connections, so sharing why a task matters to you or having some personal chitchat is the way to get me more involved.
  • Ask for help if you need it. I am always happy to help, but focus on only doing that when asked instead of offering unsolicited help or advice.

7. Continuous Improvement

• As a person with ADHD, I struggle with tasks, to-do lists, and focus a lot, so that is always something I am open to learning more about.
• My focus this year is on personal leadership and accountability. How do I achieve it, how do I live it, and how can I demonstrate it?

• Feedback Loop: This is a live document, feel free to react, comment, and ask questions, I’ll revise it regularly.