Before
Humanstate Quarterly Review, France
Humanstate
Lockdown musings
It's been great to hear your stories, see your home set-ups and meet your "work companions" as we doubled down on Zoom and other collaborative tools over the past two weeks. It’s been especially instructive to learn how everyone is getting on – and, I think, we’ve had more than a hint of the direction in which things could move for us as a distributed organisation in the future.
I've been asked by a number of you how I spend my days now that we're in lockdown. Since we started our new custom of checking in with a different colleague each day, I've come to realise just how little we really know about each other. So, in the spirit of openness and breaking down the newly erected Covid-19 barriers (and perhaps also in the hope of hearing more about what makes you tick), here’s a bit about my week and the things that keep me going.
My current daily routine is much the same as ever, believe it or not, and mostly spent in meetings and conversations with team members from all over the world.
On Mondays I start the day with Eduard and Jaco, looking at new business opportunities, followed by in-depth conversations with every PayProp country head (Jan, André, Louw) and the GivenGain leadership (Marc, Marius) about their markets and the week ahead. This goes on until early evening. We also stay in touch during the rest of the week, but our Monday meetings are more structured and a great opportunity to get a feel for what’s going on globally at the start of each week. When I get home on Monday evenings, in a sense I’ve been around much of the world in a day – from Miami to Stellenbosch to Toronto to London.
Tuesdays are spent looking at our global sales operations with Neil, getting quality time with our CFO Hans, attending our weekly Exco meeting (more about that below), discussing our group-wide marketing efforts and design with Luke, and setting out our communication strategy and projects with Carel. I’m probably a bit of a micro-manager and like to see every piece of communication that goes out into the world, as well as all designs – whether it’s advertising, product design or video material.
Wednesdays are mostly spent on ad-hoc meetings with various teams, looking at all the little things that so easily fall through the cracks. I don’t have a schedule for checking e-mail – I’m always online and read my e-mail whenever I have the opportunity. I do mute certain notifications, so that I’m not disturbed by unnecessary sounds or popup boxes, but I’m always available – my phone is rarely on silent.
Thursdays are for legal and compliance matters with Josua, all things technology-related with Laurent and Jaco, and product development with Jaco (and sometimes the PayProp and GivenGain product owners, Werner and Albert). And there’s a number of other meetings that I jump into if time permits.
Fridays are very much like Wednesdays: ad-hoc meetings with various teams, and everything I could not fit in during the rest of the week. So it’s usually a varied and very interesting day.
I work on Saturdays as well: It’s the only day that I feel I can really get into serious planning, with everything quiet and no disturbances. I used to work on Sundays too, but stopped doing so a year or two ago after Saskia put her foot down.
I believe it’s important to have input from a number of people before important decisions are made, and this is where I rely on the combined wisdom and experience of our Executive Committee (Exco) – currently consisting of myself, Jaco, Frans, Hans, Eduard and André. It is definitely not management by committee – I always take full responsibility for the decisions made – but new insights are formed when matters are discussed within a group of trusted leaders.
Getting together frequently and looking at challenges from every angle has really been a hallmark of our business. Jaco and I do not think a typical top-down hierarchical structure of management is very effective – we believe the best leaders are also the best followers. That said: I know I can be very opinionated and sometimes a real pain at these meetings, especially when I feel very strongly about something. But the fact is that there are times when I feel I must go against the advice of Exco – that’s part of my responsibility. The buck has to stop somewhere.
I work at a standing desk when I’m at the office – sitting down for long stretches is not good for you. My desk is a bit of a mess, I’ll admit. Computer screens, business cards, vitamins, keys, books, coins, hand disinfectant, papers to sign (sorry Niina!), notes from Saskia – and cables. Lots of cables.
I prefer to write in real notebooks, usually on squared paper. My father once told me that you can only really be free (and think freely) if you are bound by something. Well, I believe that the constraints of those unyielding little 5mm squares on paper allow me to think clearly. On the other hand, I’m completely silenced by a blank piece of paper.
I’m asked a lot about the tools I use. It changes as new technologies develop (and as per Jaco’s and Laurent’s frequent suggestions), but – other than my trusty notebook – I work mostly on a Mac and iPad (and sometimes iPhone). I’m very open to new technologies and often try out new tools, but currently use Spark for e-mail, Slack for team communication, Asana for managing tasks and Microsoft for working with documents and spreadsheets.
I work a lot with a plain text editor (bbEdit) and I use Bear for notes and Ulysses for writing other creative stuff. I’m subscribed to (and use the apps of) The New York Times, Financial Times, The Economist and The New Yorker for my daily news fix. (I also receive the hard copies of these publications.) I’m a bit of a news junkie – probably not a good thing – and I also look at the News24, CNN and BBC news apps at least once a day.
I definitely do not jump out of bed when I wake up, like some people suggest you do. I used to start each day by reading my e-mail, but now I get my focus by first saying thanks for the important things I have experienced. I have an app on my mobile that counts the days since certain events in my life, which I use to remind me of things that changed me for the better. Personal monuments, as it were – I feel it is important not to forget the lessons we’ve learnt and the things we’ve experienced that changed us for the better. I really do believe that those who forget the past are bound to repeat their mistakes.
It's easy to wake up early with Josef, who’s already 5 months old – he lets us know when it's time to rise and shine!
I try to go on a daily walk with Saskia and Josef – in Villars, with its mountains and fresh air, it is a real pleasure to do so. We're also currently in lockdown, so of course everything is closed except for supermarkets and pharmacies.
I start every day with Saskia's life-changing home-baked bread (recipe here). I absolutely love it with butter and Cenovis (the Swiss Marmite), and we drink litres of hot water with lemon, ginger and turmeric during the day.
I really believe in the power of food supplements. Saskia laughs at the handful of colourful “sweets” that I take every morning. I simply don’t think it’s possible to get by on what you get through food alone nowadays.
I take mega-doses of vitamin C (the recommended daily intake will only prevent acute scurvy). The protective power of vitamin C is extraordinary. Magnesium also helps me a lot – everyone is deficient in this vital mineral.
I like to cook dinner if I finish with my meetings early enough, a great way for me to unwind. Although I will eat anything that moves slowly enough, Saskia prefers meals without eggs and gluten.
I buy real books and only use Kindle for stuff I can’t find in bookshops. I prefer the feel and smell of a real book and love to turn the pages. A little habit I learned as a child: I never stop reading for the night unless the end of a sentence is on the first line of the next page on the left. Try it – it’s one way of finishing a book fast!
I read everything, even the labels of shampoo bottles.
My photo storage is a mess. If anyone has tips on how to properly store and retrieve photos, please let me know.
My pet hates: Dishonesty. Laziness. Sugar. Gossip. Sunday afternoons (don’t ask me why, I’m working on it).
I don’t listen to music while I work – I find it to be a distraction. And anyway, I’m in meetings for most of the day. That said, music is a very important part of our lives. We listen to a lot of classical music and jazz in the evening. My current (more popular) personal playlists on Spotify are:
(Beware: Some of the lyrics are X-rated – the inescapable consequence of immersing yourself in different cultures!)
Since you ask, Josef’s (and our) bedtime playlists are:
After Bach by Brad Mehldau
Sleep by Max Richter
I don’t really do lunch, but – if I do (obviously in pre-lockdown times) – I will walk the 50 metres to our local restaurant, L’Alchimiste, where I will have a salad or tartare or Plat du Jour with a varied clientele including local workers and tradesmen.
We don’t have a TV at home. I believe all push technologies to be a waste of time – I prefer to “pull” my entertainment because it lets me decide for myself when and what I want to watch. Every now and then I will dive into a series recommended by Maria (I’m subscribed to Netflix, Apple TV, Showmax and Amazon Video), and then binge-watch throughout the night. The most recent series I watched is The Man in the High Castle, a very interesting take on what the world might have looked like if the outcome of the Second World War had been different.
I’m Amazon’s best customer (I hate shopping malls – let’s just leave it at that).
Some of you have asked about my wardrobe. I really do understand the need to cover yourself in a sensible way, especially in the Swiss winter, but decided many moons ago to opt for something simple and comfortable. I don’t like buying clothes and I wear whatever Saskia makes for me, preferably something loose and practical. It’s not for everyone, I know, and I really hope that I do not scare away the buttoned-up converts, but it works for me. Life is short: Do what works for you (and wear your common sense). I buy black T-Shirts online from Uniqlo, socks and the basics from everywhere else, and that’s about it. Oh yes, shoes from Troentorp. This saves me a tremendous amount of time and effort, and is one of the better decisions I’ve made to simplify my life.
Wine is probably my one remaining vice, especially a good red. I used to smoke, a bad habit that I really enjoyed, but I stopped many years ago – one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I try to have at least a glass with every dinner, preferably a good Burgundy. Switzerland also has excellent wines: Since moving here more than 10 years ago, I’ve come to struggle with the heavier new world wines.
That's just a brief snapshot of my week in lock-down mode. If you’d like to use Slack to give us a paragraph or three about how you’re experiencing our new virtual community, by all means tell us your stories too, using the #random channel.
Speak soon,
Johannes
WRITTEN BY JOHANNES VAN EEDEN