Lark - A Notion Alternative
How I used ByteDance's Lark to improve my work and life
Foreword
Although still an obscure product to the western world, Lark, a collaboration & productivity software developed by ByteDance, is winning hearts of both enterprise and consumer users in China.
I use Lark for both work and life management. It has become my life OS. In today’s post, I will share how Lark has helped me:
lead product, design, and engineering at a startup
build a personal productivity system
manage relationships
My Lark Story
My Lark account has three organizations: Stoooges, Code Switch, and K & G. I use them to manage my work, my life, and my relationship.
Lark has helped me find a balance between multiple identities, bringing my life more peace and control.
@Stoooges
As Stoooges' first product manager, I was responsible for building the company’s learner collaboration product.
On my first day, there were two people on the tech team. The product development process was not standardized, the tools scattered. The team released features slow.
Now, we release new features 3-5 times a week. From birth of a requirement to its final release, every product development step is executed in an orderly manner on Lark.
Product Discovery & Feature Request
I set up a Lark topic group where users can share product feedback. All the suggestions will be automatically added into our backlog by the bot 🤖 ️ and notified to all product managers. The topic group also serves as a community where developers and designers can hear customer voice directly.
Feature Analysis and Prioritization
We analyze each feature through asynchronous communication. We share our own insights in the doc. Our team never writes PRD for its own sake. We write to think. We update our thoughts constantly. Over time, they culminate into a logically sound requirement docs, which is just a by-product of our collective clear thinking.
Closing the gap between Design and Engineering
Before adopting Lark, our design and project management tools were scattered across different platforms. Though Lark's workplace, we have brought together all third-party collaboration tools into one hub.
I use MockPlus to communicate and collaborate with designers asynchronously.
I use PingCode to manage engineering projects and sprints.
24/7 online inspiration coach
I added a bot to our engineering chat group and connected it to our codebase Gitee. For each commit, the bot, in spirit of China’s great leader ChairMao, will provide an update in the group, along with an inspiring message.
Imagine how fun it is to get recognized by Chairman for every submission. 😂😂😂!
Using Bitable as a micro backend
In 2021, after Lark’s Bitable open platform was released, our team decided to use it to host static data. This is a boon for our R & D team. It means that when we need to modify data schema and add entries, there is no need to make changes at the code level!
Lark x Maze Deep Integration
In 2022, we began to develop the essay collaboration platform. We integrated Lark Doc into our own system, allowing tutors and students to collaborate real time through Lark docs.
@Code Switch
Code Switch is where I manage my life. I am a big believer in “developing oneself as a company”. So, I create this organization to build my life system around knowledge and health.
Knowledge Base: Build My Digital Garden
I organize my daily information input in Lark Wiki. It is an important tool for me to develop a structured knowledge system. It can scale on its own as I continue to organize and distill my daily information input.
Tasks: Set yourself daily tasks
I use Tasks to practice my execution skills. It is a very sacred corner. If something is added to Tasks, I will do everything to make sure it is done. If I have ambivalent feeling about an item, I won’t add it.
So, only urgent and important items can be added in Tasks. I plan ahead for each day. Writing tasks helps filters out must-be-done items from unimportant ones.
Reminder: Build a personal reminder system
I use Lark’s Reminder to remind myself of things that I often forget to do, such as drinking water regularly. The tasks added to Reminder are important but not urgent.
With Reminder, I can guarantee that these important things, even if they are not urgent, can be finished one day. I have tried to use Reminder to develop some good habits, such as long-term reading, etc., but found that this is not a problem that Reminder can solve. I am still trying new tools and processes to get myself into some good habits.
OKR : Bi-monthly objective management
Every two months, I spend a day writing 3-5 abstract objectives for the next two months, and then specify 2-4 key results for each goal.
This practice helps me stay focused on goals and live a much more intentional life.
@K & G
Feishu Survey: retrospection after each fight.
K and I fight. In order to avoid heated verbal arguments, we will use Feishu Survey to retrospect after each major conflict.
We send questions to each other. I believe that writing requires rational and clear thinking. As we answer questions on survey, we can fight emotions and understand each other’s perspective better.
Afterword
Since my graduation into the pandemic, Lark has brought my life more peace and order.
Although Lark is a productivity tool meant to provide utilitarian values, it still provides a playground for creative experimentations, allowing people to build their own digital garden.
If you read until the end, I want to thank you for taking time to see the scenery in my digital garden. If you have the opportunity in the future, I hope to see your garden scenery. 😊