Finding My Flow, Reflecting on Feedback
Hi friends,
This week, I’d like to share my thoughts on two books: Designing Your Life and The Making of a Manager. Through Designing Your Life, I reviewed my daily work habits and found ways to organize my time more effectively. The Making of a Manager helped me better understand how management operates and how to collaborate more effectively with leadership.
Review of Designing Your Life
I’ve been reading a couple of books lately, and one of them is Designing Your Life. It’s all about self-reflection and setting goals. One of the exercises in the book is called the Good Time Journal, where you track your activities, engagement, and energy levels to figure out what you enjoy and find your flow.
I’ve been logging my activities for the past three weeks, and after reviewing the data, I noticed a pattern: I’m usually more tired in the mornings but more focused in the afternoons. When I have a clear design goal or I’m really interested in the project, I can be fully immersed and barely notice the time passing. For smaller meetings, 1:1 discussions, or writing, I stay focused but my energy drains quickly. On the other hand, during larger meetings, it’s tough to concentrate; my focus drops rapidly, sometimes down to 10%, and I end up exhausted. If I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do, I find myself switching between tabs, and my energy gets scattered.
Looking at my calendar, about a third of my work is spent in meetings, another third on project discussions, file updates, and presentations, and less than a third is actually spent on design. If I were to become a manager and spend two-thirds of my time in meetings, I’m not sure if that’s a good fit for me. Maybe it means I’m better suited as an individual contributor. Before I figure that out, I’ll keep tracking my activities and focus levels, exploring how to use flow to be more effective, and finding better ways to manage my time.
Review of The Making of a Manager
Another book I read recently is The Making of a Manager. I picked it up to better understand what managers actually do and how to work with them. I’m not necessarily aiming to be a manager, but I wanted to learn their daily responsibilities. The book is written in a conversational style, easy to read but sometimes harder to distill into key takeaways.
What is management
Management is about building a team, setting clear goals, and supporting members to succeed. It also means creating processes that make work smoother. At its core, it’s about people—building trust and using 1:1s to remove obstacles, share insights, and adjust priorities. I often find 1:1s difficult, but the book reminded me they can be used to discuss priorities, feedback, and support.
Feedback skills
The book emphasizes setting clear expectations and giving timely, specific, and actionable feedback. It suggests framing feedback in a way that makes success clear. I realized I often don’t know what kind of feedback I need, and at work it can feel overwhelming or critical. The best feedback I’ve received has been specific and supportive, and I want to start treating managers more like coaches who guide me toward clear goals.
Understanding yourself
The book encourages reflecting on your strengths, weaknesses, and triggers. By imagining what a perfect version of your role looks like, you can identify gaps and seek feedback to improve. I often feel unsure about my strengths, but asking for feedback helps me calibrate. It also reminded me to adopt a growth mindset, learning from criticism instead of fearing it.
Making things happen, leading teams, and nurturing culture
These chapters focus on vision, alignment, and culture. Good managers empower their teams, delegate effectively, and communicate the purpose behind the work. They also pay attention to the gap between current and ideal culture, and take steps to close it for long-term growth.
Takeaways
This book gave me a better perspective on management and reminded me it’s okay to ask for feedback and grow from it. It may be lighter than other management books, but it’s filled with useful insights that made me rethink how I work with managers and fit into my team.
Long
嗨，讀者朋友們，
這週我想分享兩本書的讀書心得：Designing Your Life 和 The Making of a Manager。透過 Designing Your Life，我檢視了自己的工作狀態，找到了更有效安排時間的方法；而 The Making of a Manager 則幫助我更好地理解管理層的運作，並學會如何與他們更好地合作。
Designing Your Life 讀書心得
我最近看了兩本書，第一本是 Designing Your Life – 檢視自己和設定目標的書。書裡有個活動是記錄自己在工作中不同活動的參與和投入程度，來檢視自己對哪些事情最有興趣。
我斷斷續續地記錄了三週，今天整理了一下數據，從過去三週的記錄中，我發現早上通常比較疲累，下午則有較多專注時間。當我明確知道自己要設計什麼時、或是對專案內容很有興趣的時候，可以全神貫注，也不太會注意時間流逝；當要進行溝通、討論、紀錄、寫作、少人的專案會議和一對一會議的時候，會很專心，但專注力跟能量會消耗得很快。相反地，多人會議中，我真是很難專心，而且會隨著時間和內容專注力急速下降，有時甚至低到 10%，會後整個人也會很疲憊，腦袋當機；而在沒有明確設計目標時，我會在各種軟體中來回切換，無法集中精力，能量也很分散。
如果從行事曆來看，日常工作大約三分之一是開會，另一部分在進行專案討論、檔案修改和準備發表，真正投入設計的時間不到三分之一。如果成為主管級別，是否會有三分之二的時間都在開會？這樣似乎不太適合我目前的狀態，是否暗示我比較適合當獨立工作者 individual contributor 呢？還沒解答之前，我打算繼續紀錄活動與專注力，研究如何利用心流來提高工作效率、更好的分配時間，之後再來分享。
The Making of a Manager 讀書心得
我最近讀的另一本書是 The Making of a Manager。讀這本書的原因不是因為想當主管，而是想更了解主管在做什麼，以及如何與他們合作。這本書用口語化的方式撰寫，容易閱讀，但有時候不太好抓重點。
什麼是管理
管理的核心是建立團隊、設定明確目標，並支持成員成功，同時建立流程讓工作更順利。書裡強調「管理就是人」，透過信任與 1:1 對話來排除障礙、提供觀點與調整優先順序。我自己常常覺得 1:1 很難，但這本書提醒我，這其實是討論優先順序、回饋與支持的好時機。
回饋技巧
書裡強調回饋必須具體、即時、可行，並讓對方清楚什麼是成功。我意識到自己常常不知道需要什麼回饋，在工作中甚至會覺得回饋太多或太嚴苛。回想起來，最有幫助的回饋通常是具體而支持性的。我也學到應該把主管當作教練，用來引導我朝更清楚的目標前進。
了解自己
書裡建議多思考自己的強項、弱點與地雷，並透過他人回饋來調整。我常常不確定自己的長處在哪，但詢問別人的觀點能幫助我校準自己。它也提醒我要有成長心態，把批評當成學習的機會，而不是害怕的事情。
讓事情發生、帶領團隊與建立文化
這幾章談的是願景、共識與文化。好的管理者會授權、有效分工，並持續溝通工作的目的。他們也會關注現有文化與理想文化的差距，並努力縮小它，讓團隊能長期發展。
心得總結
這本書讓我學到最重要的就是不害怕尋求和接受回饋，找到可以進步的地方，並更了解自己和團隊。它不像其他管理書那麼嚴肅，但也給我了很多不同的思考方式。雖然我還不知道未來會去到哪裡，但它確實改變了我看待管理和成長的態度。下次見！
Long