Writer Highlight: Michał Poczwardowski
Michał is writing "Poczwardowski Notes" where he shares his perspective on many different topics.
Hello, tech writers and readers. In this edition of the Tech Writer Highlight, we talk to
, author of —a newsletter about many things, from productivity to technical writing, book reviews, and more.First, tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you, what is your day job, what are your professional interests?
My name is Michał Poczwardowski. I used to work as an Engineering Manager in a software house from Poland. I was responsible for the whole employee life-cycle, and I led 5 different technical units: Ruby on Rails, Java, Cloud, Data Science, and Solution Architects. I have a Master’s Degree in Computer Science; I participated in Google Summer of Code twice and worked as a Senior Ruby Developer before jumping into a managerial role.
Our identities are fluid, and we should not stick to one of them too tightly. Professionally, I can be described as an engineer, an engineering manager, a technical person, a guy who likes computers, and an individual curious about the world who enjoys learning new things and solving problems.
Currently, I don’t have a day job; I’m having my gap year - I wrote an article about that:
Now, tell us about
. What is it about? What topics do you cover? Who is your intended audience?I believe that one of the best things to help us make better decisions is to look through the lenses of different perspectives. I’m sharing different perspectives through my publication.
My notes do not yet have a fully shaped target audience, nor one leading theme. I write book reviews and share my thoughts.
I share my experiences from my engineering manager role like in this post:
This post was featured in the SoftwareLeadWeekly newsletter.
How, when, and why did you begin writing about technical topics on the Internet?
I have decided to share my thoughts because creating public notes is a challenging transition from a single-player game to a multiplayer one, so now the content has to be compatible with more than just one brain.
My notes became public in November 2023 - by migrating my local Ghost instance into a Substack account.
What role does technical writing play in your job and life?
Writing shapes our thinking and putting thoughts into words helps us evaluate our understanding. I truly believe that writing is “thinking on paper”. Writing posts helps us to evaluate what we know, a valuable asset when it comes to technical topics.
How is your writing process? How do you organize your writing schedule? How much time does writing take you, on average?
I write about my current interests, or if I have nothing on my mind and inspiration is lacking, I write book reviews as a way to process what I read. Book reviews are how I started publishing and I still have quite a list of reviews to be written. I use a simple Google Doc for drafts, in one large file that I change annually. Sometimes, I take a small notebook and pen with me to write outdoors in a more traditional way.
In terms of time, I aim to write every day for at least 30 minutes. It is not always possible, but this is my priority. The key for me is consistency. We are in charge of how much we publish, so I set a goal of 52 articles in 2024, which means publishing once a week, but not necessarily every week. I am not a native English speaker, so I use the opportunity of writing to work on some of my texts with my English teacher.
What kind of advice could you give people considering or getting started with technical writing?
Sharing technical knowledge with others is the best way to learn something and evaluate your understanding. You will learn a lot, and as a side effect, you can help others.
The best advice is just to start, not overthink it, and not limit yourself to selected topics. Just write and publish when it is good enough.
Write about things that you would like to read about. Look for moments and topics when writing makes the time just pass by without noticing.
Any closing words you’d like to share with the readers of The Tech Writers Stack?
“Which would you rather be?
Someone who hasn’t created anything in years because you’re so busy consuming?
Or someone who hasn’t consumed anything in years because you’re so busy creating?” - How to live, by Derek Sivers:
Thanks for reading!
This was The Tech Writers Highlight, a section of the Tech Writers Stack where we recommend new and seasoned writers. Leave a comment or question for
to learn more about their writing. | A guest post by
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Nice to get to know you a little bit, Michal!