elproducto v0.2 👉 a weekly round-up of Tech and Product goodness for humans

A curated selection of Tech and Product articles and happenings within the last few days from a curious and frequently skeptical Product Manager’s perspective.

Angel Jaime

Jan 13, 2017·5 min read

Welcome to the second week of elproducto, and what a busy week!

On this week’s iteration I’m starting the MVP of elproducto site and a mailing list. Find out more at angl.me

📚 Good reads

• Your Product Team is failing. Do you you know why? Johnathan Nightingale brings us some hard truths and misconceptions within the Product Management world.
• Inside Spotify’s algorithm. Meet Edward Newett, the man behind the music you discover every week.
• Position, Position, Position! Ryan Singer on why it’s vital to understand what makes you different, why trade-offs are necessary, and why it can be hard to say No.
• The ultimate Product Launch list, originally published by Inc, with great commentary by Larry Kim.
• Some inspiring projects at Product Hunt favourite launches of 2017,
• Book: The Shallows. How the internet is changing the way we think. The constant shift of tasks that the net encourages makes our brains more nimble when it comes to multitasking. The tradeoff is the decrease in our capacity for deep concentration. Optimizing for multitasking can reflect in better functioning in some cases, although in most of them (creativity processes, productiveness, inventiveness) it will make us less deliberate. We become more tolerant to conventions and we challenge less original lines of thought.

📰 Seen on the news

• All things Jira. Altassian has acquired Trello, a popular Project Management tool, often used e.g. as backlog by Product teams. The plan is to keep Trello as standalone tool for the time being, leveraging some of the integration possibilities that Altassian will open up (Jira, Confluence, HipChat).
• Apple’s teenager. The iPhone is turning 10 in the middle of its first teenage crisis. Here’s a visual history of the phone that has changed the way we see, use and think about phones, and is likely to keep doing so for many years to come.
• But Apple is looking ahead, peeping into AR opportunities together with Carl Zeiss and preparing to compete on original content with the likes of Amazon and Netflix. There are also reports of new iPad models coming up in 2017.
• Facebook to leverage its growing video platform by showing ads mid-roll.
• And Instagram to follow a similar direction with in-story ads.
• Microsoft aiming to speed up innovation by expanding their experimental projects program “The Garage” to Cambridge (Massachusetts), India and China.
• WeChat keeps growing and looks at new challenges with the launch of “mini-programs” ahead of Google’s upcoming instant apps. Meanwhile, voice-messaging seems to have taken the Chinese market by storm. Here’s one of my all-time favourite articles on the Chinese mobile-first phenomenon.
• Hyperloop getting serious and considering projects all around the world.
• Some of the coolest gadgets presented at CES2017 include fitness tracking rings and TVs so thin that can be held using magnets.
• Latest WhatsApp version for Android (finally!) includes Giphy integration.
• Google maps integrates Uber’s live cars, making possible to book and track rides within the App.
• And Uber is also trying to expand riding occasions by importing calendar events.
• Spotify is hiring! You may have good chances to work with them if you have 8 years experience running a big country and you have won a Nobel Price. I would still go for Booking.com’s Product Owner Super Laser System position for the Death Star Operations department, opened ahead of 2015 Star Wars The Force Awakens’ release :)

🔬 Things I’m testing right now

Lately I have been experimenting with different morning routines and plenty of Apps. By optimizing my routine I have managed to work on my personal goals first thing in the morning, have healthy breakfasts, do more exercise, start work full of energy and be more productive. The latest iteration looks something like:

5.15–5.45 wake up. I found out that my optimal sleep time is around 7 hours, so I adjust my wake up time depending on what time I go to bed.

5.30–5.45 tea + meditation. Before going to bed I leave the kettle and a cup of my favourite black tea ready for morning. Sometimes I do yerba mate too. Immediately after (before checking emails and social media) I try to do some meditation. I had been unsuccessfully trying to practice mindfulness for a long time. My inner skeptical kept pushing me back, but I insisted in giving it a try. I found Tara Brach guided meditations too “spiritual” for me, Headspace too dry, but I found a middle ground in 100% Happier App (and the book, which is great).

5.45–6.00 preparing for the day. I start with a 5-minute journaling style (I tried the app, but didn’t find it convenient, now just using a physical notebook or Evernote) which helps me not forgetting what went well, I learned and enjoyed the previous day, setting clear goals for the day ahead and thinking about how they match with my long term vision. I also use Todoist for tasks or objectives I want to complete further ahead in the week, and Coach.me to follow up on my weekly goals.

6.00–7.15 personal projects. I have a huge backlog of objectives and writing topics (from blogging to travel essays and novel attempts) more or less prioritized from which I keep pulling every morning.

7.15–7.45 breakfast + shower. By this time my wife will wake up, and either of us will prepare a fresh juice (usually spinach, cucumber, oranges, lime, apples, strawberries) or smoothie (some of the previous plus banana, coconut yogurt and almond milk).

7.45 or 9.15 go to work! Depends on the day I may have early or late meetings, so I adjust my starting time according to that, trying to avoid commuting on rush hour. If I go late, I will usually stay reading or keep working on my personal projects for a bit longer. On my commute I generally play some Duolingo (trying to learn a bit of Russian and Turkish) or read, and while walking from the station to the office I listen some audiobooks from Audible or Blinkist.

Working on my personal objectives early in the day gives me plenty of free time in the evenings, when I would usually exercise, read or just chill.

For some inspiration on morning routines check out MyMorningRoutine amazing weekly publication, and the books Daily Rituals by Mason Currey and Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss.

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