Welcome back to our Verb Spotlight series, where we shine the light on some of our incredible Verb team members. Today, we’re introducing Yunyan Yu, our Director of Engineering, and what a typical day in her life looks like.
Wake Up:
I have a beta fish named Rainbow, and the first thing I do every morning is to check on him. After he’s been fed, I make myself a cup of tea and grab myself something to eat before I make the long commute (a walk to the other room) to eat and get to work.
Now that I’ve been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, I’m able to work in our Newport Office once a week, and while I do love the quiet and flexibility of working from home, it’s been really nice to have a chance to get out and socialize with my coworkers for a few hours. It’s been a great way to break up the isolation and monotony that so many of us have experienced during the pandemic. Today, however, I’m staying home, so I’m connecting with my team virtually.
Morning:
I have a morning check-in with my team several times a week so we can all stay in sync and on track. Because we’re all spread out throughout so many time zones, mornings are the best time to get everyone together, so that’s usually how I start my day.
The next few hours are usually full of more meetings. I’m currently working on verbLIVE Mobile, as well as helping Ian (our Director of QA, Practice Managment) to bring Agile to more of the company, so the majority of my time lately has been split between those two projects. I also work very closely with our repsite team to make sure we’re hitting all of our goals.
One of my favorite things about Verb is the team-based atmosphere, so even though meetings take up a lot of my day, I appreciate the chance I have to connect with other employees and allow everyone a chance to contribute.
Lunch:
My lunchtime changes from day to day, based on my workload and schedule, but I try to always take some time to relax and recharge in the afternoon before diving back into work. Today is busier than usual, so that means a quick bite to eat at my desk.
Afternoon:
After lunch, I often get time to do some coding, which is something I really enjoy. Right now, I’m working on mobile and CRM projects, and I don’t have a ton of time to get to it in the morning because of my meetings-heavy schedule. I’m glad that I get to do some more of it today—it's a great way to start my afternoon!
Later in the day, I get a chance to chat with other Verb employees who aren’t on my team. I’ve been interviewing members of other teams—products, sales, etc. —in an attempt to optimize our workflows and ensure that we’re all working together efficiently. We’ve created what we’re calling the Agile Leadership Team, or ALT, to accomplish this, and so far, it’s been a great way to increase our teamwork and productivity.
Evening:
After I sign off for the day, I focus on self-care. Three to four times a week, that means working up a sweat at my favorite kickboxing class. I also really enjoy gardening and find that it helps me to relax, so I spend as much of my free time in the dirt as possible.
To learn more about Yunyan and her role at Verb, take a look at her spotlight video!
And, if you’re interested in learning more about any of the incredible work Yuynan and her team are doing, feel free to check out our website, and follow us on Twitter!