Starting as a Marketing intern in 2014, Christin’s passion has been critical to Mailbird’s growth. Now, as an Operations Manager, she channels her drive towards making Mailbird available to an even wider audience.
In this interview with Thrive Global, she opens up about:
- the perks and challenges of remote work
- her top productivity tips and tactics for better stress and inbox management
- the upcoming launch of Mailbird for Mac.
Christin, you’ve been with Mailbird for 10 years now – almost unheard of in the tech space these days. What keeps you motivated?
Being with the same company for such a long time definitely comes with a lot of perks as well as challenges to stay motivated.
Here are a few things that have kept me motivated over the years at Mailbird:
- Our product keeps changing and growing. At this point, it feels like I’m seeing my child grow into this amazing teenager, including all the ups and downs that come with that. This year we’re launching a Mac version for it, which will be like a “new baby”.
- My team’s trust in me has grown along with my loyalty. My manager, team mates, and the leadership team are as open and transparent with me as I am with them, and I really appreciate that kind of working relationship.
- I get the opportunity to focus my skills on what I love doing. I was the Marketing Manager at Mailbird and my manager noticed that I might feel more motivated and passionate for my work if I switch to Operations management instead. That was three years ago, and my passion and motivation have been growing since.
- Mailbird as a company is also continuously looking into ways to keep us long-term team members motivated and retained. For example, we’ve just introduced a new setup for our paid vacation days. With each year we’ve been at Mailbird, we get two days of paid time off added to our allowance – up to a specific number of days. Thanks to this setup, Mailbird is giving us 40-50 paid days off per year.
In addition to that, we’re working on making sure that we keep growing into the roles that we’d like to see ourselves grow into. We have regular surveys and meetings to ensure we stay motivated and continue taking steps to ensure we further improve. - Last but not least, Mailbird has been and is extremely accommodating to each team member’s personal needs. I’ve never had to feel bad for one of my children getting sick or my baby having to join a meeting.
You and your team have been remote from the start, when remote work wasn’t common. How much do you think this has contributed to your overall well-being?
Oh, that’s a good question! I’d say it’s had a very positive impact on my overall well-being.
Having the choice of working from where and when you feel the most comfortable and productive is a luxury I wouldn’t want to miss.
My personal productivity place is my desk at home, but having the option to decide makes a major difference psychologically for me.
Now with two children, I can schedule around their activities and my most productive time. This setup takes off a big load of stress that I see many of my non-remote working friends experience. I don’t have to rush myself or my children in the mornings to get ready for daycare because I don’t need to be at any office at a certain time. Of course, I do have obligations and meetings that I need to attend, but again, I can schedule them as needed.
That being said, even though I love the freedom and flexibility I get from working remotely, I treasure my routine and workspace.
I’m not a fan of working by the beach or pool as it tends to be portrayed on social media. I’m most productive at my desk, with stable wifi and a power outlet in reach.
How did you end up in Bali?
Considering how I got to Bali, I still believe Bali was my destiny. (smiles) I was planning to go to New York for a year and a half to work in an advertising agency. I was very much looking forward to that as I’d been to New York before and loved the city’s vibe. So I quit my job, had my apartment rented out, and was ready to go.
But I never got there, because I was denied the visa to go to the U.S. – twice. The reasons for the denial are still unknown to me.
My former boss in Germany offered me my job back, but I was mentally prepared to leave; it was impossible to go back. So, after the shock passed and I picked myself up again, I thought I needed to go somewhere I liked but also wanted to learn something new.
That’s when I got an internship with Roger Hamilton at his entrepreneur’s resort here in Bali.
Through that, I met Mailbird’s former CEO Andrea Loubier, and she hired me at Mailbird.
That’s how my 10-year story at Mailbird began.
How often do you see your family in Germany?
Both my husband and I live far from our families. We try to visit them once a year. With two kids and post-pandemic flight prices, it’s becoming more difficult, but we try to make it happen.
Working in tech is notoriously stressful. How much does living in a tropical paradise help mitigate some of that stress?
There is something in Bali that makes life and everyone more relaxed. I don’t even know what it is, to be perfectly honest. Maybe it’s the laid-back mentality of the Indonesian people. Maybe it’s the heat all year around that requires you to take things more easily, or that we walk barefoot almost all day, every day, in our house.
I notice the difference every time we visit my family and friends in Germany. We book the flights around five to seven months before. Even with this much time in advance, it’s very difficult to find a date when everyone is still available to meet. I know that this is normal in Germany as I used to be booked with various appointments months in advance. But in Bali it’s not like that. We’re very, very rarely booked in advance and it’s a lot easier to meet people spontaneously.
In Germany we have a word for that. It’s called “Freizeitstress,” which translates literally to “leisure stress”. It’s the stress you get from having too many obligations in your leisure time. That “leisure stress” is what I don’t – or only occasionally – have in Bali. This makes a big difference.
What do your mornings look like? Do you have any particular habits that make your days better?
I try not to rush things in the mornings. I learned I had to let go of things that I cannot influence and that would stress me. That makes a huge difference in how my entire day goes.
While my mornings depend on when the kids get up, I usually have my coffee and start my work between 9-10 am. If possible, I start earlier, but again, if that means I need to rush or force things, then I don’t.
I have my coffee and check new Slack messages as well as notifications and activity in the projects that I currently manage. If I have a meeting in the morning, I enjoy my coffee during the meeting and will get on to the morning routine right after.
How do you explain Mailbird to non-tech savvy people you meet? What exactly does it do?
Our slogan on our website describes Mailbird quite well. “Email just the way you like it”.
Mailbird is a no-clutter email client. It’s highly customizable, meaning that you can enable or disable features and add-ons depending on whether you need them or not. This keeps the interface distraction-free and makes it easier to focus on what really matters – your emails.
We’ve always prioritized quality over the number of features. But at the same time, we’ve focused on implementing features that complement each other and improve the user’s email management flow.
Some of those features are:
- Unified inbox and folders: it’s the absolute favorite feature of the majority of our users who have to manage more than two email accounts.
- Email tracking: it lets you know when your email was opened by the recipient. This way you can plan any necessary follow-ups and other next steps.
- Filters and rules: They help you keep your inbox clean and clutter-free. You can set them up in no time and have emails sent to the respective project folders or forwarded to a different account if you need to.
- Send later and Snooze email: These two are great and so versatile. Send later can help you send emails at the right time to ensure you are not sending emails after working hours, for example. Snooze will let you postpone dealing with an email and have it pop back up in your inbox at a selected day and time. Many of our users use it to remind themselves to follow up with an email.
- Move email between accounts: Many of our users have different emails for different clients or projects. Sometimes it makes more sense for an email to be in a different inbox. Instead of having to forward the email to that other address, you can just move it to another inbox through a simple drag-and-drop.
- Email templates: We all know there are certain emails we have to send or reply to on a regular basis. Invoices, project updates, marketing outreach – just to mention a few. With Mailbird’s email templates, you can save your standard replies, apply them with two clicks, and customize them as needed. It saves so much time.
We’ve just released a bigger upgrade to our existing Windows version and are very happy with the overall response to it. Another exciting update is coming in October this year! We’re going to launch Mailbird for Mac.
It’s something many of our users have been asking us to build. This fall, Mac users will get to benefit from some of Mailbird’s email productivity features.
Our team is elated to make this available – and those who are interested can already sign up to get early access.
Are you a fan of Inbox Zero? And can you share three tips for anyone to better manage their inbox?
I’m a big fan of Inbox Zero. However, I’m one of those “4 is my inbox zero” people. I keep some emails in my inbox that need a follow-up or that I don’t consider “completed” yet. If I can finish my week with only four unread emails in my inbox, I feel a similar accomplishment to reaching Inbox Zero.
I do have some “rules” that I’ve set up for myself to manage my inbox better:
- When going through my inbox, I reply right away to any email that takes less than five minutes to respond to. All other emails need more time and focus, so I keep them for my “focus time” slot.
- Any email that I’m not ready to respond to gets marked unread. This way I know they need my attention and I make sure I don’t miss them during my focus time.
- Any email that is replied to and doesn’t require any further action goes into the “completed” or other respective folder. This way they’re out of the inbox and I’m a step closer to Inbox Zero.
What excites you at work right now?
We have the big product launch – Mailbird for Mac – in October this year. That means the entire team is very busy within their respective fields. As the Operations Manager, I’m leading the project management for this launch.
While this may sound rather non-exciting or stressful for other people, it excites me. I really enjoy all the steps of putting all the little puzzle pieces into their place in the most efficient way so we can have a successful launch. It comes with ups and downs, but this is the environment I thrive in and that motivates me for the next project.
What about your personal life – what excites you the most?
I enjoy making time for myself and my well-being again after the birth of my second child. It’s always a difficult balance between doing what you love and dealing with the mom guilt when some of the things you love don’t involve your family.
I completed my Online Business Manager certification just before my baby was born, and will resume the last modules at the beginning of next month. I’m very much looking forward to that!
Connect with Christin on LinkedIn and check out Mailbird’s email management tool – you can try it for free.