Tyler Jefford - Senior Engineering Manager, Chicago Illinois

Every engineer knows what tech debt is.

The Headline: August ran on everyone else's calendar but mine.

The code was done in a few weeks.

The number one metric is the outcome.

The Headline: Slowing down on purpose.

Hogline is on the App Store now!

Build the runbook before you need it Nobody hands new managers a plan for this.

The Headline: “Sleep is the single most effective thing we can do to reset our brain and body health each day.”

When I first started using AI in my workflow, I did what most people do.

There's a certain kind of busy that feels productive but isn't.

Retail is struggling, and I'd argue loyalty programs are a bigger part of that problem than most brands want to admit.

Leading a platform team, I think a lot about what it actually means to build good tools for developers and non-developers alike.

Most interviews suck.

I finally got around to doing the scheduled maintenance on my Roborock this week, despite the constant app notifications about it.

I’ve tried a lot of task systems over the years.

I have to keep reminding myself of something simple: you can just do things.

The headline: The Winter Olympics were a fun distraction this month.

Technology isn’t making us stupid.

Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari is one of those books that sneaks up on you.

I think a lot about trust and how I’m perceived by the people I manage and the peers I work alongside.

I recently finished Engineering Management for the Rest of Us by Sarah Drasner and it immediately earned a spot on my short list of books I recommend to engineering leaders.

The headline: Trying to stay above water.

I’ve been playing with the Statamic 6 beta, and I even pushed it live on this blog.

2026 hit the ground running, so I didnt get to push this post out at the beginning of the year like I wanted to.

I’ve been journaling for a long time.

Seemed like all the travel that I’ve done this year has crept into November (and December), with holidays, on-sites and a couple brief getaways.

There’s something about crossing even the smallest thing off your list.

The entirety of October, the US government has been shut down.

Following up on the last post where I talked about over communicating, I want to share a tool I use when critical feedback is not landing.

If something’s worth communicating, do it twice.

Leadership isn’t always loud.

Product Driven is a refreshing read for engineering leaders who are looking to shift your team’s perspective on shipping code and thinking about outcomes for the users, or being product driven.

August is always a fast rollercoaster into the end of summer.

Why aren’t we using AI for everything?

Like clockwork, got really busy and didn’t publish a lot in June. but im back now in July.

I read The Emergency with a knot in my stomach.

There’s something special about building a tool that only you will use.

I see a lot of engineers, including myself, let an idea run loose and balloon until we don't even want to work on it anymore.

I've always wanted to be someone who journals in physical books, leather bound with nice thick pages.

I'm so sick with ecommerce sites that interrupt my product research with intrusive full screen popovers.

May has been rainy, dry and all around busy.

Finished Superagency by Reid Hoffman this week, and it’s one of the more thoughtful takes on AI I’ve read lately.

I’ve got a pretty dialed-in Notion system where I track daily metrics and roll them up by week, month, and year.

I’ve always been someone who reads a lot across different topics.

No-code tools have opened up a whole new way to build.

Last week, I wrote about how carving out focus time as a manager helps me lead better.

As a manager, my calendar doesn’t really belong to me.

There’s a lot of energy spent on growth.

I started blogging again this month, dusting off the old blog and updating its platform and design to version 7.

I recently finished reading Moonshot by Mike Massimino, and one quote in particular has stuck with me: “Admire and care for everyone on your team.”