Charlie Kroon

Hi 👋, I’m Charlie! I am a Fullstack Software Engineer on the Security Insights team at GitLab. As a teenager, I thought I’d become a journalist, a writer, or work at a fashion magazine. I’ve done all of these, but they weren’t as fun as I expected. That’s why I decided to switch careers in 2020.

I really enjoy travelling. My favourite places I've travelled to so far: Hawaii, the Algarve (Portugal) and Patagonia (Argentina). In my free time I enjoy running, working out, being outdoors, meeting up with friends, knitting and learning new things.

🤝 How you can help me

I have ADHD, and while I’ve learned to manage it as best as I can, it still shows up in my work sometimes. Here are some examples and ways you can help:

• I may miss obvious details occasionally. If you notice this, a quick clarification or follow-up is always welcome.
• Switching between different tasks (e.g., coding → meeting → Slack → refining an issue → coding → reviewing an MR) can be challenging. Having a bit of buffer time helps me transition more smoothly.
• While pairing, I can sometimes get overly focused on one thing. If you notice this happening, feel free to say: "Let’s take a step back." This works well for me, and I’m training myself to recognize when to step back on my own.
• It takes more effort for me to read through big walls of long text. Concise communication, like bullet points, summaries, or visuals, helps me process information faster.
• Asynchronous communication works well for me, as it gives me time to think and respond thoughtfully.
• Starting large or complex tasks can feel overwhelming. For this reason, you might see me often sum things up or break bigger tasks into smaller parts.
• During calls or meetings, I usually write down instructions and double-check afterward to ensure I’ve understood them correctly.

📝 How I work

• I use GitLab To-Do, so feel free to ping me on MR's or Issues.
• I check Slack and email throughout the day, but when I’m in deep work, I snooze Slack notifications to stay focused.
• I enjoy working with others, sharing knowledge, and brainstorming solutions. If you’re interested in pairing or want to talk through an issue, feel free to reach out!
• I believe there’s no such thing as overcommunication. Regardless of someone’s experience, I always assume they might not have full context. For this reason, I try explain even the most obvious details to ensure we’re aligned and nothing gets overlooked.
• One of my favorite values is: Always assume positive intent.

⌛ My Typical Day

To avoid excessive context switching, I try to stick to this schedule. This is what a typical day looks like:

• 9:30 - 10:00: Morning Prep (e.g., checking emails, planning priorities, organizing tasks).
• 10:00 - 11:00: Code Reviewing - Focus Time.
• 11:10 - 12:00: Going over my GitLab To-Do's: Responding to Slack messages, Issues, and Comments.
• 12:00 - 13:00: Lunch and reset.
• 13:00 - 15:00: Focused Coding Time and Deep Work.
• 15:15 - 16:00: Meetings or Pairing Sessions (if scheduled). If not, I continue Deep Work.
• 16:00 - 17:00: Code Reviewing - Wrapping up outstanding reviews or looking at new MRs.
• 17:00 - 18:00: Wrapping up remaining tasks, reflecting on the day, and writing down main priorities for tomorrow.