Yin Lu
Yin is partner at MCJ Collective, an organization focused on bringing people together to solve climate solutions via a 2K online community of builders, and the My Climate Journey podcast and a venture fund which has backed ~70 climate tech companies. Yin is a former Google, Coursera and Khan Academy alum. As the mother of 2 young children (3, 6), Yin is deeply committed to helping ensure climate solutions scale responsibly in making a multi-generational impact. Yin splits her time between Vancouver, BC and the Bay Area.
What does your normal working day look like?
7-9:00 - breakfast with kids, make lunch, pack lunch, and send kids off to school/daycare for the day.
9:00-9:30 - exercise with my partner or solo walk around the neighborhood
9:30-4 pm meetings and IC strategy work time
4:30 - 9 kid pickup, dinner, bedtime
9:30-10:30 emails
How long have you had this routine?
Since the kids went back to school post-covid crazy times (July 2020).
How has it changed as your children have gotten older or as your family has grown?
Two drop-offs take exponentially longer than one (two lunches, two schools, friction on who gets dropped off first), so I push back my meeting start time. Also, once or twice a week I have a mtg on British time before drops offs, which also pushes back when I can finish dropping them by.
What boundaries have you set around your work and how did you work with your colleagues to enable them?
I’m very fortunate I work on a small team with others who have kids older than me, so they’ve seen this rodeo and have built-in empathy. With younger folks on the team, I set blockers on my calendar so it's VERY clear when I am not available for meetings and adds a layer of friction in case anyone wants to schedule meetings; they have to ping me to ask first. I name this clearly and my colleagues respect the boundaries unless there is something urgent.
What are the most important things for you to get right to have a successful day?
I write out my TODOs in apple notes each day and “inbox zero” is never one of them. I prioritize strategy work first and always knock out/make progress on the big ticket items. So my priority, using a GTD framework is 1. Do the non-urgent important stuff (strategic thinking, doc writing, framework building, professional development for team members), then 2. Do the urgent/important stuff (email, 1:1’s)
Switching to weekends, what are the most important things to get right to have an excellent weekend day?
I queue up emails that I need to send Friday afternoon to go out Monday early AM.
How do you "turn off work" and give the kids your full attention?
I literally hide my phone on a different story of the house so I can’t reach for it.
What has been the most impactful thing you've done to save time / energy in your family?
Khan Academy Kids - guilt-free screen time while you focus on getting things done
Fresh prep meals, you can cook with kids and don’t have to think through what to buy ahead of time
Having the kids share a room - builds relationships, and less clean up
What principles have served you best in your parenting?
Be present for every meal.
When you have to be on the phone, tell the kids what you’re doing on it, so they don’t feel like the phone is a thing that you “hide” or be “ashamed of”. Instead, it's a tool that I use for work.
Always make space to talk about your day, do highs/lows – something that made you smile, something that made you curious, something that made you frown.
Is there a primary parent in your household, or do you split the parenting evenly?
It leans slightly heavily toward me, given I do the bulk of pickups and drop-offs; however, my partner Mark does all the cooking.
If there is a primary parent, how do you set the boundaries, expectations, and breaks for that parent?
I take evenings off once every two weeks to do personal things while Mark watches both kids. Having me time is really important for my mental health.
What is your most life-changing parenting purchase under $100?
VAVA light for 0-3 - easy to use light to see in the dark while changing diapers, breastfeeding, etc.
Time Timer for 3-5 (teaches time, time mgmt) - teaches kids time, time management, scarcity