These are some lessons I learned

Emails and meetings

• Do not read work email at night
• Do not read work email on weekends
• Do not send emails when inebriated
• Do not send emails you’re pretty sure you might regret
• Do not accept meetings when pretty sure there’s no point to it

Communication

• When something is upsetting, wait until you understand the context before reacting
• When asked a surprising question, ask for context rather than answer the question

Sending emails

When in doubt about an outbound email, use the following checklist:

• Courteous
• Factual
• Genuine and honest
• No finger pointing
• Not defensive
• Could say it in the face
• Proposes follow-up actions
• Helps moving forward
• Is useful