Async standups across PST and CET, the cadence that worked
the discipline part is what people usually fail at. one person stops writing deep updates and then the whole system falls apart in a month. are you the lead? i feel like this only works if the boss is 100 percent bought in and enforces the quality of those written updates. plus being in málaga makes the extra effort worth it for the lifestyle.
the doc list you posted is solid but I think people underplay how much the dnv rules might change by 2026. specifically around what counts as working for a foreign company if you're too integrated into their slack/daily flow. your async cadence is actually a good way to prove you're an independent contractor if the tax office ever gets curious.
i moved to málaga last year and the pst time gap is brutal. the 4pm thursday call sounds like the sweet spot though. i tried doing 6pm syncs for a while and it completely killed my social life. people here don't even start dinner until 9 or 10 but if you are stuck on a call until 7 or 8 you just feel drained. did you find the pst folks actually read the monday cet emails or do they just skim them when they wake up?
honestly they skim them at first. we had to make a rule that you had to comment on at least one item from someone else's update to prove you actually opened the doc. sounds micro-managey but it fixed the ghosting issue pretty fast.
this is a game changer for the malaga move I'm planning in 2026. the nine hour gap to california is the only thing making me nervous. do you find that people actually read the docs or do you still end up having to jump on late night calls to clarify things? if the async part fails it feels like the whole system falls apart fast.
honestly it took about three months for the team to get the hint. I had to start ignoring slack pings after 7pm cet or they would just keep treating me like I was on pst. set the boundary early or you'll regret it.
the 3am sync idea makes me want to cry just thinking about it. i hope whoever suggested that got a stern talking to. i am in málaga as well and i just told my team i am unavailable after 7pm cet period. you have to set hard boundaries or the pst zone will just swallow your entire evening. do you use any specific tools for the async highlights or just plain email?
thanks for sharing this. the doc list is super helpful. I'm curious if you noticed any friction with coworkers who feel like they're doing more of the synchronous heavy lifting while you're offline. sometimes the people back in california get annoyed if they can't get an answer in real time even if the documentation is there.
vancouver to málaga is a massive shift. i am curious about the spotlight section. does it actually feel genuine or just like another chore? i find that when we do those personal things over email it feels a bit forced. i much prefer just catching up for five minutes at the start of the thursday call instead of writing it down.
it helps if you keep it focused on the local vibe. i usually just post a photo of the sardine espeteros on the beach. the canada team seems to love seeing the sun while they are in the rain. it builds a bit of envy but it keeps us talking.
hard disagree. the written personal bits are great for introverts who dont want to speak up on a zoom call with 15 people. keep the spotlight.
I feel like the malaga lifestyle doesn't really work if you're stuck in the home office until midnight. I'm moving there next year and my plan was just to work 4pm to 11pm but your async setup sounds way healthier. did you have to get buy in from your manager for this or did you just start doing it? My team is pretty old school with meetings.
I find that if you just produce results they don't care how the sausage is made. just make sure your updates are posted before they wake up so it looks like you're ahead of the game.
glad to see someone actually making the pst thing work without killing their social life. I tried this in 2023 and failed because I was too flexible. looking at your timeline for 2026 it seems like you've baked in way more buffer than I did. that doc list is definitely going to save some people a lot of trial and error.
great post. we do something similar but we moved our sync to wednesday. it feels like the middle of the week is better for catching blockers before the weekend. monday feels a bit too early for some of our slower moving projects. are you guys using jira or just tracking the goals in the email body? keeping the source of truth consistent is usually the harder part than the timing.
we use linear for the actual tasks. the email is really just a summary for the humans so they dont have to go digging through tickets. if you make the email too technical people stop reading it.
this is exactly what I needed to read today. moving to malaga has been the dream but the logistics of the time zone were the biggest hurdle. that specific timeline you mentioned for the handoffs makes a lot of sense. it's basically using the time gap as a feature rather than a bug. I might try to trial this with my lead next month before I even apply for the visa.
this is the way. too many people move to spain on the dnv and try to keep working till 11pm to match california hours. you will burn out in three months if you do that. the monday to tuesday handoff is clever because it uses the time difference as an advantage instead of a hurdle. i might pitch this to my manager because our current daily standup at 6pm is killing me.
i find that asynch works until there is a production fire. how do you handle it when something breaks at 10am pst and you are already out having tapas in el palo? that is the part of this setup that always worries me. the cadence is great for dev work but feels shaky for devops or support roles.
weekly is risky for engineering. if someone gets blocked on a wednesday and they wait for the next cycle you lose a lot of velocity. we do daily check-ins on slack but we have a strict no-reply-expected rule until your own local morning. it keeps the paper trail alive without forcing the 3am wake ups. glad it works for you but i would be worried about the lag.