Work is 90% communication and 10% trying not to lose your mind over miscommunication. Ever had a coworker who spams you with emails when a simple Slack message would do? Or a manager who loves last-minute meetings that could’ve been an email? Or worse—someone who takes three days to respond to a simple yes/no question? Misaligned expectations = Frustration. Solution? Create a How to Work With Me Cheat Sheet. Here’s how to build your own personal user manual—so people know how to work with you before they drive you insane. How to Work With Me Cheat Sheet: Set Expectations Before They Set You Off You know what’s worse than a tight deadline? A tight deadline + people who don’t know how to work with you. Work would be 10x smoother if people just knew what you need: The best way to reach you


How you make decisions


What drives you crazy (so they can avoid it) Most of the frustration at work isn’t from the work itself—it’s from poor communication. So instead of waiting for people to “figure it out,” just tell them upfront. Here’s how to create your How to Work With Me Cheat Sheet. Step 1: Communication Preferences (So No One Wastes Your Time) How do you prefer to communicate? Short messages? Detailed emails? Voice notes? 🔹 Best way to reach me: Slack? Email? Carrier pigeon? 🔹 Response time expectations: Do you reply instantly or check messages twice a day? 🔹 When NOT to contact me: Nights? Weekends? When I’m eating lunch and watching YouTube? Example: “I check Slack every morning and after lunch—don’t expect an instant response. Email me for important stuff. And for the love of God, no long voice notes.” Step 2: Decision-Making (So People Don’t Leave You Hanging) How do you make decisions? Gut feeling? Data-driven? Need time to think? 🔹 What I need to make a decision: Bullet points, a spreadsheet, a 2-minute pitch? 🔹 How fast I decide: Immediate? A few hours? 24 hours? Example: “I make fast decisions when I have clear options. If you send me a novel-length email, I will ignore it.” Step 3: Work Style (So People Don’t Drive You Insane) 🔹 How I handle meetings: Daily check-ins? Weekly reviews? No meetings unless necessary? 🔹 Preferred working style: Collaborative? Solo deep work? Example: “I work best when left alone for long stretches. Need me? Send a message first instead of booking a random meeting.” Step 4: My Pet Peeves (A.K.A. How to Stay on My Good Side) What tiny things unreasonably annoy you? Meetings without an agenda? People who “circle back” 15 times? 🔹 Biggest productivity killer for me is… 🔹 If you want to frustrate me, do this… Example: *“If you book a meeting with no clear agenda, I will fake a Wi-Fi issue and leave.”*‍ Step 5: Personal Stuff (So People See You as a Human, Not Just an Email Address) 🔹 A few random facts: Favorite coffee order? Do you have pets? Hobbies? 🔹 What keeps me sane outside of work? Example: “I drink three cups of coffee before noon, and yes, I am addicted. Also, if I’m not online, I’m probably at the gym or eating tacos.” How to Use This Cheat Sheet Once you have yours, share it. Add it to your onboarding doc


Send it to new hires


Drop it in Slack when someone joins the team Or just keep it for yourself—so you can be more self-aware and avoid unnecessary stress. Because let’s be real: 90% of work headaches come from bad communication. Fix that, and everything else gets easier. Final Thought If you don’t tell people how to work with you, they will make assumptions. And those assumptions will be wrong. Save yourself the frustration—set expectations early. The best working relationships start with clarity. And clarity starts with you. Until next time ✌️ Ben Work is 90% communication and 10% trying not to lose your mind over miscommunication. 90% communication 10% trying not to lose your mind over miscommunication. Ever had a coworker who spams you with emails when a simple Slack message would do? Or a manager who loves last-minute meetings that could’ve been an email? Or worse—someone who takes three days to respond to a simple yes/no question? three days Misaligned expectations = Frustration. Solution? Create a How to Work With Me Cheat Sheet . Solution? How to Work With Me Cheat Sheet Here’s how to build your own personal user manual —so people know how to work with you before they drive you insane. personal user manual before How to Work With Me Cheat Sheet: Set Expectations Before They Set You Off How to Work With Me Cheat Sheet: Set Expectations Before They Set You Off You know what’s worse than a tight deadline? A tight deadline + people who don’t know how to work with you. people who don’t know how to work with you. Work would be 10x smoother if people just knew what you need: knew The best way to reach you How you make decisions What drives you crazy (so they can avoid it) The best way to reach you The best way to reach you How you make decisions How you make decisions What drives you crazy (so they can avoid it) What drives you crazy (so they can avoid it) Most of the frustration at work isn’t from the work itself —it’s from poor communication. work itself So instead of waiting for people to “figure it out,” just tell them upfront. tell them upfront. Here’s how to create your How to Work With Me Cheat Sheet. How to Work With Me Cheat Sheet. Step 1: Communication Preferences (So No One Wastes Your Time) Step 1: Communication Preferences (So No One Wastes Your Time) How do you prefer to communicate? Short messages? Detailed emails? Voice notes? Short messages? Detailed emails? Voice notes? 🔹 Best way to reach me: Slack? Email? Carrier pigeon? Best way to reach me: 🔹 Response time expectations: Do you reply instantly or check messages twice a day? Response time expectations: 🔹 When NOT to contact me: Nights? Weekends? When I’m eating lunch and watching YouTube? When NOT to contact me: Example: “I check Slack every morning and after lunch—don’t expect an instant response. Email me for important stuff. And for the love of God, no long voice notes.” “I check Slack every morning and after lunch—don’t expect an instant response. Email me for important stuff. And for the love of God, no long voice notes.” Step 2: Decision-Making (So People Don’t Leave You Hanging) Step 2: Decision-Making (So People Don’t Leave You Hanging) How do you make decisions? Gut feeling? Data-driven? Need time to think? Gut feeling? Data-driven? Need time to think? 🔹 What I need to make a decision: Bullet points, a spreadsheet, a 2-minute pitch? What I need to make a decision: 🔹 How fast I decide: Immediate? A few hours? 24 hours? How fast I decide: Example: “I make fast decisions when I have clear options. If you send me a novel-length email, I will ignore it.” “I make fast decisions when I have clear options. If you send me a novel-length email, I will ignore it.” Step 3: Work Style (So People Don’t Drive You Insane) Step 3: Work Style (So People Don’t Drive You Insane) 🔹 How I handle meetings: Daily check-ins? Weekly reviews? No meetings unless necessary? How I handle meetings: 🔹 Preferred working style: Collaborative? Solo deep work? Preferred working style: Example: “I work best when left alone for long stretches. Need me? Send a message first instead of booking a random meeting.” “I work best when left alone for long stretches. Need me? Send a message first instead of booking a random meeting.” Step 4: My Pet Peeves (A.K.A. How to Stay on My Good Side) Step 4: My Pet Peeves (A.K.A. How to Stay on My Good Side) What tiny things unreasonably annoy you? Meetings without an agenda? People who “circle back” 15 times? tiny unreasonably 🔹 Biggest productivity killer for me is… Biggest productivity killer for me is… 🔹 If you want to frustrate me, do this… If you want to frustrate me, do this… Example: *“If you book a meeting with no clear agenda, I will fake a Wi-Fi issue and leave.”*‍ Step 5: Personal Stuff (So People See You as a Human, Not Just an Email Address) Step 5: Personal Stuff (So People See You as a Human, Not Just an Email Address) 🔹 A few random facts: Favorite coffee order? Do you have pets? Hobbies? A few random facts: 🔹 What keeps me sane outside of work? What keeps me sane outside of work? Example: “I drink three cups of coffee before noon, and yes, I am addicted. Also, if I’m not online, I’m probably at the gym or eating tacos.” “I drink three cups of coffee before noon, and yes, I am addicted. Also, if I’m not online, I’m probably at the gym or eating tacos.” How to Use This Cheat Sheet How to Use This Cheat Sheet Once you have yours, share it. share it. Add it to your onboarding doc Send it to new hires Drop it in Slack when someone joins the team Add it to your onboarding doc Add it to your onboarding doc Send it to new hires Send it to new hires Drop it in Slack when someone joins the team Drop it in Slack when someone joins the team Or just keep it for yourself —so you can be more self-aware and avoid unnecessary stress. keep it for yourself be more self-aware Because let’s be real: 90% of work headaches come from bad communication. Fix that, and everything else gets easier. everything else gets easier. Final Thought Final Thought If you don’t tell people how to work with you, they will make assumptions. they will make assumptions. And those assumptions will be wrong. Save yourself the frustration—set expectations early. The best working relationships start with clarity. And clarity starts with you. clarity. you. Until next time ✌️ Ben

Before

Drop

Human

Slack

YouTube

Too Long; Didn't Read

Boost your HackerNoon story @ $159.99! 🚀

This Cheatsheet Method Prevents You From Getting Triggered at Work (And Actually Enjoy Your Job)

About Author

Comments

TOPICS

THIS ARTICLE WAS FEATURED IN

Related Stories

Untitled Story

How To Learn Anything Fast

Don't Give In to A Promise of Instant Content

Dirty Pirate Metrics: How to Measure the Success of Your Open-Source Dev Tool

Planning With Lighthouses - and Why You Need Delulu Goals

Convenience: The Leading Cause of Death in 2045?

How To Learn Anything Fast

Don't Give In to A Promise of Instant Content

Dirty Pirate Metrics: How to Measure the Success of Your Open-Source Dev Tool

Planning With Lighthouses - and Why You Need Delulu Goals

Convenience: The Leading Cause of Death in 2045?

Light-Mode

Classic

Newspaper

Dark-Mode

Neon Noir

Minty

HN StartUps