Four years ago I wrote my first personal user manual. A personal user manual is a short document that communicates the basics of who you are, your preferences and communication style. It is a tool to foster psychological safety and build trust in the workplace.
When I first wrote it, I knew I was going to write another one eventually. It is a valuable tool for understanding myself better, and now, years later, it is also an opportunity to see how much I changed and continue to create ways to communicate who I am to new people. Here it is: The Absolute And Never Definitive Guide of Laura
I like to define myself as a maker of things and a thinker of thoughts. Which means I like to conceptualize, envision and execute digital or analog objects and I put thought and intention behind them. I’m also an athlete, have been a roller derby player for 12 years and I've been doing crossfit, lifting, running, swimming and hiking in between.
I come from Medellin, Colombia and for the past couple of years I have been moving around: lived in Brazil for four years while studying philosophy and learning Portuguese, also spent time in Argentina, Chile, Spain and the Netherlands.
My career history starts in dropping out of architecture school to work on the architecture field for four years. After this I perceived that designing real world objects has real world constraints (shocking, right?). Particularly in the architecture field It is harder to conceptualize and execute a vision from end to end, some people do it, most don’t. So I started an exploration around other disciplines and decided to get into digital design. It doesn't lack challenges or constraints, but for me the main ones are often imagination or time, and they seem doable so far. So I started learning, creating, publishing and working for clients. After five years of this career change, I continue to be excited and happy that I get to do this work, which to me means that I’m in the right place.
I’m a morning person, I work better early and I love the feeling of having tasks done before noon. I adapt quickly to changes in environment and create new routines. I do my best work when I set clear goals. I set weekly, monthly and yearly goals for myself and make sure my daily actions are in alignment with them; I bring this same approach to work. I’m very organized, both offline and online, one of my favorite things to do is to devote a few minutes everyday to organize my files in Figma. I enjoy categorization, making keys, creating folders and naming my layers.
I love being a part of a team and working with others, specially in multidisciplinary teams. I enjoy seeing and understanding ideas from a different point of view.
Email and slack. I’m always available there. I prefer to use video calls sparingly, only when they are necessary and making sure they have clear goals.
No idea is final (this is a book I have in my desk). My ideas are not precious and I know that constructive feedback of my work is not personal criticism. I can articulate the why behind my design decisions and have a healthy discussion around them, and I’m never afraid of changing my mind. Im aware that sometimes there are additional factors I may have not taken into account and I’m always willing to learn and understand better.
Strengths: I enjoy thinking, learning and solving problems. I’m disciplined, determined and very organized. I love being punctual. I respect my time and everyone else’s. I’m flexible and adaptable, sometimes this becomes a weakness. I like a challenge, I actively put myself in situations where I need to exercise getting out of my comfort zone. This is both a strength and a weakness. I can change my mind when presented with new information, but I always do my research. Weaknesses: I take my time to process. Sometimes I need space and time to process, because it may take me a while to understand new information. Sometimes I obsess trying to make perfect little details that are not so important. I continue working on knowing how to recognize what details matter and which ones do not. I like a challenge, sometimes I take the difficult route in order to challenge myself. This could be time consuming and always depletes my energy. I need to remind myself to do the smart work and not the hard work. I tend to overthink.
Additionals. When I’m stressed or frustrated, I need some minutes to process my feelings. This usually means taking a break, stretch or going for a quick run to clear my thoughts. I dislike complaining because I think it is stressful to focus on a problem without taking practical steps to solve it. And if it is impossible to solve, stressing about it is only going to make it worse. I’m usually working on many ideas at once, that’s how I like my life to be.