Hes been programming (and blogging atiamcal.com) for 15 years.

Like most computers at the time, it came with a BASIC interpreter, and I was fascinated.

Within a few years I had decided that programming is what I wanted to do when I grew up.

Ive been pretty obsessed ever since.

Whats your workspace setup like?

I have a desk in our headquarters, but Im rarely found there.

Most of my days are spent in meetings.

Im also a mechanical keyboard nerd, and currently use a tenkeylessVarmilowith blue Cherry MX switches.

Its super loud and sounds a bit like a typewriter.

Whats your best time-saving shortcut or life hack?

Listening to audiobooks at 23x speed.

How do you recharge?

What do you do when you want to forget about work?

Or, spend time with my 3-year-old son.

Nothing forces you to reorient your attention like a toddler.

Whats your sleep routine like?

I have a very regular sleep schedule: Im typically in bed by 10:30 and asleep by 11:30.

I usually spend 3060 mins at the end of the day winding down, listening to sci-fi books.

I wake up at 7:30am every day.

You and your co-workers famously developed Flickr and Slack while developing video games.

What were these pivots like?

What was different the second time around, Slack vs. Flickr?

The pivots were hardno one sets out to fail.

When we built Flickr, the idea of putting your photos online was pretty new.

Now the idea of putting them anywhere else is weird.

The other big shift is the development of infrastructure and the cloud.

What everyday thing are you better at than everyone else?

Thats a bit full-on.

Theres a very prevalent stereotype that engineers are socially unsophisticated, but thats just not the case.

Its a team activity.

What apps, software, or tools cant you live without?

Probably prioritizing my time.

As an organization grows in size and complexity, its easy to fall into just being reactive.

Theres always one more thing coming to you that wants attention and needs to be done now.

But stepping back and being strategic about what you focus on is really important.

What do you listen to while you work?

What are you currently reading, or what would you recommend?

I recently finished Ada PalmersTerra Ignota series, which I strongly recommend.

A view of humanity post-scarcity and what it takes to hold a society together.

Whats the best advice you ever received?

And to drink lots of water and get regular exercise.

Whats the greatest idea youve had that you dont want to do yourself?

If someone manages to make what we were aiming to, Id play the shit out of it.

For example, how much do you use Slack during off-hours?

Have you ever made a big faux pas like sending a sensitive message to the wrong channel?

While I read Slack at all hours, I venture to avoid DMing people late at night.

The pressure for people to respond quickly can guilt people into thinking they need to be always on.

Youve pulled off some great stunts, like the who looks like a manager game at Yahoo.

]What role have side projects played in your career?

Fill in the blank: Id love to see _________ answer these same questions.

If thats something that you enjoy, right now is a great time to get into the industry.

Theres a lot of opportunities to make things that people use and rely on every day.

People from all walks of life who have a great passion for what they do can accomplish a lot.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.