Alchemy in Adversity
summary
A three-person technical writing team faces March 2020 lockdowns, sees meetings multiply and documentation quality dip, then hired two new members and moves workflows online using Confluence pages and Microsoft Teams channels. Remote onboarding pages, prioritized task lists from product owners, ad hoc venting sessions and virtual cafe meetings get built; they reduce overload, improve cross-team collaboration and resilience, and restore quality after an initial drop.
AI-written summary · about
chapters (43)
- 0:00Introduction
- 0:53What is Alchemy
- 1:33In a nutshell
- 2:19Technical writers
- 2:49Lockdowns
- 3:35The Reality
- 4:19Coping
- 4:59Working from home
- 5:47Shifting to juggling
- 6:40Turbulence
- 7:34Overload
- 8:32Hiring
- 8:57Onboarding
- 9:21Difficult times
- 9:58Conclusions
- 10:27Take my team
- 11:05Selfisolation
- 11:25Going back to normalcy
- 12:09Stress
- 12:44WorkLife Balance
- 13:07Stress and Creativity
- 14:00Alchemy
- 15:02Tips and Tricks
- 15:40Establish Good Enough
- 16:25Rapid Contact Switches
- 16:44Asking for Help
- 17:05Prioritizing and delegating tasks
- 18:10Selflove and selfcare
- 19:01Finding inner peace
- 20:19Taking breaks
- 21:10Collaboration
- 22:16Time Wasted
- 24:51Alternative Team Building Methods
- 26:42Creating a Healthy Work Environment
- 26:52Finding a Balance
- 27:32Bias
- 29:53Trust
- 30:48Express appreciation
- 31:20Conclusion
- 32:20Credits
- 32:56QA Session
- 35:06Tips for returning to the office
- 36:37Tips for documentation
related talks
15mContinuous Annoyment: Bringing More Zen to a Hectic Writing Environment
48mSoftware Teaming: Onboarding, Remote Work, Productivity — Four Years in an Team's Life
27mRebuilding Together
27m"Thriving in a Connected World"
32mI’m newly remote under coronavirus, AMA
37mAdina Beer, Peter Schmidt: Building Bridges - Tap Into the Power of Communities of Practice
47mExtreme Remoting
36mOvercoming the Plight of Lone Writers
