On Work, Life, and Leaving Automattic

Thank you note to Automattic, the best place to work.

I’m fortunate to have spent most of my adult life at Automattic. You see, it was my top choice for a company to work for back in 2007, and in retrospect I’m so proud that I ended up here.

Automattic is a very real representation of my life, the way I’ve lived, loved, and gone about my days. A way of living that, in some regards, I started in middle school.

A little background: up until high school I attended a Montessori school. Like all schools, they have to teach a predefined curriculum, but this doesn’t stipulate how teach it. For us it meant a lot of “free project time” where we’d work on any subject we wanted from a grand list.

We could either work on a project or goof around.

While I’d struggle to get started, I took great pleasure in seeing these projects come together. Some of our finished papers were ledgers, detailing how the Roman empire worked or gave an overview of all the religions currently present on earth.

Every time I’m doing spring cleaning I come across these masterpieces and I can’t bear myself to throw them away. Many even had spiffy title pages!

Work, Life

Being able to manage your own time and work on projects you actually care about are for me the fundamentals in a healthy work-life relationship. It gives you the power to lead a life that’s true to you.

In a world where 1’s and 0’s are just shuffled around, there’s no need to commute to work. Any screen around you is now a computer. The time you save working from wherever you are instead of wherever you’re supposed to be is time saved to pursue your passions and lead a more healthy and productive life — both professionally and personally. This means more time for family, friends, pet-projects, but also time to do excellent professional work of better quality.

Humans are not great at dealing with stress in the workplace. If you’re able to prioritize your work yourself, in an open environment like your home, it means that the time you save is your time. You decide what to do in your own time. Maybe you go make a delicious cup of tea, or you spend another hour reviewing and perfecting the code you just wrote.

Here’s the kicker: However you spend your extra time, both your life and your work will benefit.

Tea reinvigorates the soul and makes you less stressed or more alert. Perfecting your craft makes you more confident and instigates pride. Whatever you do with your own time, make it worthwhile and true to you.

Leaving Automattic

Imagine having time to “Always Be Charging”.

I spent 7 years working for Automattic. It’s a testament to how great of a workplace it really is.

I’ve managed my own time.

I’ve been able to pursue projects I like.

I’ve been able to switch roles within the company multiple times.

I’ve travelled the world*, met coworkers and people from the larger WordPress community.

I’ve been able to practice speaking in front of audiences at conferences and company meetups.

I’ve not had to stress about time or money.

I’ve learned valuable communication and leadership skills.

I’ve had time for friends and family when I needed them or they needed me.

I’ve been happy.

I’m leaving Automattic for personal reasons. While I love it here, after 7 years and most of my 20’s I want to do something different. Maybe work some place where they don’t have it all figured out, and help them get there. Maybe I’ll pursue creative projects that inherently don’t have any monetary return. I want to travel and learn more about other ways of living your life.

I also wouldn’t mind going to Mars. Just saying.

I’d like to thank Matt Mullenweg and Toni Schneider who believed in me and helped me grow as a person through all these years. I’ll always be grateful to you, and I only wish the very best for you and Automattic.

To all my fellow Automatticians** that I’ve grown so fond of over the years: thank you for making my everyday life at Automattic fun, inspiring, creative, and life-changing. You are some of the most talented people I’ll ever meet, and I know that you’re on the right path. Keep making the world better.

Thank you.
– Isaac

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