When I roll into work in the morning, I pour myself a cup of coffee and settle in for what I’ve come to think of as my “snooping time.” I’m working on a project with teams all over the world, so by the time I sit down at my desk, other teams have gotten a full day of work in and I’ve got a mountain of Slack messages and emails to dig through.
It’s tempting to only respond to threads where I’m tagged and otherwise do a quick skim so I can dive into development tasks. But recently I’ve realized my real superpower as a consultant isn’t elite coding — it’s the ability to see the bigger picture. That morning overview helps me understand who’s doing what, what conversations are heating up, and how it all fits together.
I read in Slack channels beyond my own.
I don’t just check the threads I’m tagged in — I lurk in other channels, too. Even if I’m not actively working on a feature, I read through discussions about design decisions or problem-solving. Because we don’t have a centralized backlog across all teams, Slack becomes my informal dashboard. It tells me:
- Who’s currently owning a feature or bug
- What blockers have come up
- Who I might need to loop in down the road
By staying tuned in, I can proactively connect the dots later, instead of scrambling for context when the time comes.
I keep tabs on pull requests, past and present.
After Slack, I glance at open and recently closed PRs. I’m not trying to do a careful review of every change. Instead, I’m using this time to stay current on what’s landing in the codebase. I note:
- Whose name is popping up frequently
- What areas of the code are seeing activity
- Any new libraries or patterns being introduced
That way, if I start working in a module that recently changed, I’m not caught flat-footed. I already have that context tucked away from snooping earlier.
I think at the product level.
All this context-gathering pushes me away from low‑level code work and more toward product-level thinking. I’m not just blindly crushing feature work. I’m anticipating user needs, client concerns, and dependencies between teams. That means I can better:
- Ask the right clarifying questions before starting something
- Align my work with what others are doing (or planning)
- Identify issues early, before they become blockers
Consulting Beyond Code
Reading Slack, checking PRs, and staying in the loop might seem like “soft” work, but it’s the backbone of effective consulting. It transforms me from a ticket‑chaser into a connector: someone who understands the whole system and can help the client move forward, confidently and in harmony.
So yes, morning “snooping time” might look a lot like just indulging my natural nosiness. But it’s actually a form of strategic reconnaissance. And I’ve learned it makes me a better developer, teammate, and consultant.
What’s your own process for building context at work? How much “snooping” do you do in the morning — or later in the day? I’d love to hear how others balance focus and awareness.