Proof of Concept - The offseason
I recently left Replit and now on a break—grateful for a memorable year there. My break started with a wonderful trip to San Diego, relaxing in the desert with loved ones, and now back up in the bay area. One of the people I caught up with was Bob Baxley, a design executive I look up to. who recently left his executive role as well. There are two topics Bob and I bond over: making software and sports. We equated both of our breaks as the offseason before going for another championship run with another team. Let's use the offseason of a professional athlete as a tech operator taking a break between roles and teams. If you're not into sports, no worries. In this instance, the offseason refers to the period of time when regular activities, competitions, or events are temporarily paused or reduced in intensity. In the sports world, the offseason is the time between the end of one season and the beginning of the next. During the offseason, teams and athletes typically take a break from regular competitive play.With indefinite down time, I'll share a few areas I'm focusing on to fine-tune myself and be as effective as possible for whatever is next. Rehabilitation and physical conditioningMany high performing athletes ache and fight through physical damage throughout the season—playing through a litany of injuries until they no longer can. The offseason is when the much-needed surgeries and rehabilitation occurs. Tech operators endure a mental intensity like this through the grind. Our craft isn’t as physically demanding as a NBA basketball player on the court. However, our bodies are impacted by poor posture, terrible diets, and other aspects of inactivity that hurt our bodies. I recently went a traditional Thai massage, where my body got cracked back into place of how it was supposed to be positioned. When we need to perform with our mind, we need physical stimulation to recover. They say if you work with your mind, rest with your hands. This is why it’s important to touch grass, make things with your hands, and do the polar opposite of nudging pixels and writing code. What I’ll do:
Skill development and practiceThe offseason is a time to sharpen the blade. Performing at a high level day-to-do doesn't give you adequate time to develop new skills or improve skill gaps. Early in his career, LeBron James was a subpar three point shooter. Knowing that his body would give way later in his career, he invested in improving his three point shooting. When I left One Medical, I wanted to improve my communication skills. I started teaching UX at General Assembly, which allowed a one-to-many setting where I needed to clearly communicate concepts for understanding. I started this newsletter in order to work on my consistency and writing. Skill development and deliberate practice is the critical area to focus because it requires large blocks of time to go deep. What I’ll do:
Strategy planningStrategy planning for the coach of a team might be assessing team needs, reviewing game film, exploring new offensive systems, and re-thinking how you approach strategy in general—a time to be strategic about strategy. A mentor once suggested committing a big block of time to reflect on the previous role while it's fresh on your mind. This provides insights and learnings for what you bring next—what you want to double down on or need improvement. I write an Impact Doc and Work Journal as ways to track progress. What I’ll do:
RecruitingIf you're a manager, you should always be recruiting, even if you don't have a job. Many new managers are too short-sighted about recruiting and focus only on open headcount they need to fill. Instead, build a talent network of incredible product people, engineers, and designers that you'll recruit for the rest of your life. It's common for me to hire designers at a company where I've been recruiting them from 1-2 companies ago. The offseason is my time to strengthen those relationships with previous team members and individuals I haven't head the pleasure of meeting yet. Start thinking about talent who will become free agents (AKA they're looking for a new role) and start recruiting. What I’ll do:
Looking forward to the next runIt's a place of privilege to take an offseason in the first place. For that, I'm grateful. I'm looking forward to my career offseason to sharpen the blade, heal, reflect, and reconnect. I'll be well-rested and ready for the next season to make another run at it. You're currently a free subscriber to Proof of Concept. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. |
Older messages
Summoning creativity
Monday, June 3, 2024
Issue 196: Techniques to get out of a rut ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
The fictitious commencement speech
Monday, June 3, 2024
Issue 197: "Advice” to new design grads ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
On leading Marketing and Design
Sunday, May 19, 2024
Issue 195: When a designer runs Marketing ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Concept to keynote with Figma and Google Docs
Sunday, May 12, 2024
Issue 194: Taking a keynote presentation from concept to production ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Writing a POV Doc
Sunday, May 5, 2024
Issue 193: Share what you care about at scale ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
You Might Also Like
Accessibility Weekly #419: Understanding VPATs and ACRs
Monday, October 21, 2024
October 21, 2024 • Issue #419 View this issue online or browse the full issue archive. Featured: Understanding VPATs and ACRs: Key insights "This week I had a bunch of requests from clients
Mentorship
Sunday, October 20, 2024
Issue 217: Thoughts on the most important relationship in your craft ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Halloween Email Templates & Newsletter Ideas
Sunday, October 20, 2024
This week, we've released a selection of new Halloween email templates, ready for you to use directly from your Designmodo account.͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Driving stick shift
Sunday, October 20, 2024
Issue 216: The importance of manual driving in a world of copilots ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Accessibility Weekly #418: When Team Opinions Differ
Sunday, October 20, 2024
October 14, 2024 • Issue #418 View this issue online or browse the full issue archive. Featured: A11y at work: When team opinions differ "Sometimes working with a larger team means that you'll
#478: Inclusive Design
Sunday, October 20, 2024
Accessible numbers, ADHD, readability guidelines, neurodiversity design system and inclusive mindset workbook. Issue #478 • Oct 15, 2024 • View in the browser Smashing Newsletter Hej Smashing Friends,
Inside Mark D. Sikes’s Historic Renovation of Blair House
Sunday, October 20, 2024
View in your browser | Update your preferences ADPro Design Within Reach Turned a San Francisco Warehouse Into a Certified-Cool Flagship—And AD PRO Directory Members Got a First Look Inside On
Oops! Here's the Correct Edition of The Source
Sunday, October 20, 2024
View in your browser | Update your preferences ADPro Revisiting AD's Coverage of a Presidential Dwelling We accidentally sent out today's newsletter with the wrong text, here's the correct
12 real life business transformations, plus what are you reading?
Sunday, October 20, 2024
Learn how to make your business grow and glow! ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
How to Boost Your Profile, According to Kelly Wearstler and More
Sunday, October 20, 2024
View in your browser | Update your preferences ADPro Everyone's an Influencer Of course there's beauty in privacy—but for business owners, building and maintaining a public profile is essential