Andrew Yeung Desk Setup — Workspaces #443

Andrew Yeung is the founder of Andrew's Mixers, a portfolio of events companies that cater to tech founders, investors, and professionals.

He has now hosted 100+ events for 30,000+ people. This networking has led to coverage in Bloomberg, Business Insider, Fast Company, Morning Brew, This Week in Startups, and more.

When he's not hosting meetups, he's investing in AI and developer companies at Next Wave NYC.

He was previously a Global Product Lead at Google and a Business Planning & Ops Lead at Meta.

Follow Andrew on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

What is the most useful item in your workspace?

I love my screen. Upgrading my screen has made the world of a difference for productivity. Writing, reading, and creating on my widescreen is an absolute joy. It's quite remarkable how much of a different a simple piece of equipment can have on your attitude toward work!

What does your typical daily routine look like?

I'm up by 7:30 am. Will start the day with 30-60 min of high-priority work so I don't feel behind. Then I'm off to the gym for a session of weightlifting before making lunch and getting 6-8 hours of work in. I don't take meetings before 12 pm and on Tuesdays and Thursdays. A lot of my "job" is meeting new people, and I'll aim to meet 5-10 new people a week, who are typically entrepreneurs, founders, or tech investors.
I'm either hosting or attending a tech networking event 1-3x a week in the evenings. I take Saturday off, but work Sundays. Sundays are my favorite days to work (I like to be online when others aren't... it makes me feel like I have an edge).
My team is quite small (6 people) so we don't have a lot of meetings. We've also started to use Roam (an all-in-one virtual office) for collaboration and to minimize unnecessary meeting time. It's been working! I am a strong advocate for async work and will opt for offline collaboration when possible.

Do you have any hacks for staying focused?

First, get into the right state before working. This might mean plunging into an ice bath (I'm a huge fan of Othership), getting a workout in, or supplementing your session (caffeine + L-Theanine is a cheat code).
Then, put your devices on airplane mode, put some Lo-Fi music on, and get to work. Aim to work for at least 40 min before taking a break. Then rest, but do it intentionally. Don't passively check emails, take calls, or think about work. Be disciplined here. After 20 min, get back to work. Repeat.
Keep it simple.

What is the most challenging aspect of throwing a large tech party or networking event?

80% of the job is curating the event with the right people.
I've been to incredible networking events at crappy, run-down offices, purely because of the quality of people in the room.
Once you've solved for this, everything else is easy. Ask yourself: Who do you want in the room and why?