Hi, I’m Meng To, author of Design+Code and world traveler. AMA!

• Prior to the book, I’ve designed as a job for 14 years. 2 more years before that, as a hobby/student while going to high school.
• I had around 20k. I soon realized that I couldn’t travel for long with that money, so I took a job in Hong Kong for 6 months.
• Reckless? I think that’s relative. Compared to staying home and saving money? Sure. But at the same time, you don’t take risk, which probably won’t challenge your ideas the same way. It’s hard to see it at first, but it makes sense after a while. Eventually, you don’t really think about it because it feels so natural. Who knows what kind of person I’d be if I didn’t go to the US, or traveled for a year and a half afterwards. But I’m happy I did and it feels so right, even though it felt crazy at first.

I guess what I’m saying is that you should always be reckless. Keeps you hungry. That recklessness starts feeling normal.

• I’d like to build a dream team and grow products, so that they mean even more. Tools, education, design. I’d like to settle, but keep traveling. My views have opened greatly and I’d like to bring those views to wherever I settle.

• I have a Retina Macbook Pro. 16 GB RAM and a nice graphics card so I can play games when I feel inspired.

I’m humbled to be here and to receive these amazing questions.

• Currently, I’m working on a 15-inch Macbook Pro. I did travel and work on a Macbook Air for a year. I think the need of a big monitor or a mouse is an illusion, because it’s really really hard to get out once you’re used to it. But over the years, I found that it’s a really good practice to get out of your comfort zone and really try new things. In fact, I’d force myself to, so I can understand better the people I design for. I did so with the Mac 10 years ago when I transitioned from Windows. Most recently with going mobile-first, using the Macbook, iPhone 6 Plus, etc. It’s only after a long period of time that you can truly judge the pros and cons. Traveling has been instrumental because it forced me to live with less materials.

• I guess you learn how to work with full-screen windows instead of having them open next to each other (which I would argue is more distracting). Reality is that we all suck at multi-tasking. Command + ~, Command + Tab really helps.

Really appreciate it!

Definitely Elon Musk for both his bold vision and phenomenal execution. I really believe that he’s going to change transportation, space exploration and energy in a big way. If you read Nikola Tesla’s short autobiography (something he wrote a century ago), you’ll find that we are still far behind our potential as a human race.

I still read about Steve Jobs. But I must say that I’m very impressed with Tim Cook’s ability to grow Apple in his own way. Perhaps not as visionary but still extremely efficient and world-changing as ever.

Obviously Jony Ive, the subtle force behind Apple. His taste is so disciplined that it changes mine. I think that innovation has the ability to change minds.
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
― Henry Ford

Ray Kurzweil really changed my life with his view of the future (singularity, scary stuff) and how I should approach my daily habits in regards to eating, sleeping, taking supplements and analyzing my own self. Technology is going to change biology and medicine in an unprecedented way.

Finally, I just started reading about Ed Catmull, the CEO of Pixar about managing creativity. Super inspiring stuff.

The feeling is mutual. Love what you’re doing here @levelsio!

• The beauty of traveling is to open doors. It really made me rethink about my options. I don’t look at working in the US the same way anymore. Considering the visa hurdles I’d have to go through, I am not as desperate to work in the US. But who knows.

• I’d call the denied visa the best thing that ever happened to me. I am who I am today because of it. Steve Jobs summed it best:
  “Sometimes life’s going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did.” -SJ

Thanks the kind words, Daniel.

• The key is to love your work more than you love traveling. Focus is important. You have to understand what makes you focused: music, good wifi, great projects, etc. I’d suggest getting an unlocked iPhone and ask for a SIM card first thing in every airport that you land to.

• I spend an average of 5 hours of focused work per day. Before a launch, that can grow to 12, but that won’t be sustainable. I travel with my fiance, so sightseeing, culinary explorations and watching movies is part of the deal. – I do enjoy the balance and I think that’s key to keeping it consistent and avoiding burnouts.

• I can’t live without Ulysses, Screenflow, Ember, Dropbox, CloudApp, Mint, StrongVPN, Slack, Keynote and of course Twitter.

In my first year, I took only a carry-on + backpack thinking I’d save a bunch of money. If you can do that, that’s great! I soon realized that it was too constraining and that Airlines always have a way to make you pay somehow. Plus, some of them give you a free checked luggage.

This year, I bring a big luggage + carry-on. Get a 4-wheel, it’s definitely worth the extra money! I eventually got rid of my backpack because it was uncomfortable (also you end up hitting a lot of people without knowing).

Hey Ricardo, good to see familiar faces here.

I questioned myself many times if I should write more books, but every time, I looked back at the content and felt the itch to improve things. I could never repay enough the people who spent their hard-earned money on my first book.

Family and being nomad? Probably, but not as crazy as visiting 30 cities in a year. My ultimate goal is to have places to stay in multiple cities on earth and spend 3-6 months on each per year. Follow the sun, Sakura blossoms, and design events. I think 3 cities a year is definitely feasible while having a family.

Thanks, happy to hear that you’re enjoying the book!

I don’t think it would have stopped my travels, but definitely would have made it shorter. Just like anyone, my back-up plan would have been Freelance or getting a job somewhere. Before writing the book, I stopped 6 months in Hong Kong. That’s the brilliance of tech – you can work anywhere in the world with your laptop.

I freed myself from my reliance on my giant iMac and mouse. Gives me the ability to be flexible about the work environment.

Thanks Arthur, it’s a privilege to be here!

• I can’t speak for the developers who have massive projects, but for me, Swift is definitely ready. I build all my apps using Swift, and I’m working with two iOS developers who use Swift on a daily basis.

• When I wrote about the code part, I always questioned myself if this was the best possible way to write code. So I consulted my friends, and that evolved into a real team. The act of hiring is always about getting people better than you at something. In order to continue providing the best content, I knew I had to get other people onboard. With the success of the book, that enabled me to do it and I’m so happy I can.

• For me, the worst thing about traveling is being stuck in an airport and dealing with the visa, not being sure if you can enter the next country or not. But once that’s done, it’s the greatest feeling in the world. It’s like winning a small battle. Each time I deal with old systems and come out stronger, I feel infinitely grateful.