256 - Simon Scholz

Simon Scholz is currently a Product Lead at 360dialog, a global Facebook business solution provider, enabling companies of all sizes and from all over the world to use WhatsApp.

Previously he had been working as a freelance designer and frontend engineer, as well as co-founding his own company that eventually folded.

He is a self-described huge coffee nerd and recently started a side project called Home Barista Collective where he lists great coffees, curated by the community.

Twitter → twitter.com/scholzsimon1

Tools:

• 14“ MacBook Pro M1 Pro (work)
• 13“ Macbook Pro late 2013 (private, still going strong)
• Eizo EV2785 27“ monitor
• Nuphy Air 75 keyboard
• Logitech MX Master 2S mouse
• iPhone 6 as webcam (attached to the monitor with a cheap car mount, that can be folded back to hide it)
• Elgato key light mini (attached to the wall with another car mount)
• iPhone 11
• AirPods Pro
• Unbranded dual laptop stand
• Lots of Staedtler Pigment Liner fineliners (from my time as mech. eng. student) and Muji ballpoint pens

Software:

• Reflect for daily notes and to-dos
• Figma, VS Code, Mixpanel and Jira to get my work done
• Slack for team communication
• Cron, Mimestream to keep me organized
• Notion, Tally, Vercel, PlanetScale for my side projects

What is your favorite item in your workspace?

Difficult to say. Probably the Elgato light. It’s one of my newest additions and I got it because of the workspace optimization techniques described by @hubermanlab. My room is quite dark in the mornings and this light helps me getting more „overhead light“ into my eyes. It makes me feel more awake and helps me concentrate.

How do you spark creativity?

Going out for a run or bike ride. Talking to friends and family (with a cup of coffee 😊).

How do you manage work-life balance?

Another tough question. I always love to read the answers in the newsletter though, so I’ll give it my best. Working from home and having a toddler both helps and makes things more difficult at the same time. My daughter makes sure I spend enough time away from screens, but then again her timing isn’t always the best, which results in me catching up on work at times I wouldn’t have otherwise. So let's conclude: I’m still adapting.