Hello, fellow tinkerer 👋 Earlier this week, I drove my teenager to an overnight camp. It was more than 3 hours round trip, so I had a lot of car time. I'm currently listening to David Sedaris's new book The Land and Its People. I listened to an interview Sedaris gave about his process for writing essays. If you're not familiar with him, he's a humorist, and his essays are self-deprecating and semi-autobiographical. He tests out material in front of live audiences for a long time before...
17 days ago • 2 min read
Hello, fellow tinkerer 👋 Happy Wednesday. If you're intrigued by Claude CoWork but not quite sure how to get started, I'm hosting a live session on Thursday, July 23rd at 10:00 am CT (GMT-5). I'll walk through how to set up CoWork projects, scheduled tasks, and how I use CoWork in my business. Even if you can't make it, signing up will give you access to the replay. Register 1) Reflection: When I was a kid, my family had an annual croquet tournament on the 4th of July. I've kept the tradition...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hello, fellow tinkerer 👋 Happy Wednesday. Ahead of the 4th of July holiday in the U.S., my kids have no summer camp this week. We are headed to the Pokémon Fossil exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago. I've been listening to Pokémon conversations since my kids were little, and it goes in one ear and out the other. But my kids are excited. 1) Reflection: When I was younger, I had to travel a lot for work. I was implementing enterprise software at banks and credit unions. I'd go on-site to the...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hello, fellow tinkerer 👋 Happy Wednesday. If you're a solopreneur, I am hosting a free live session next Thursday, June 25th — Your Solopreneur Tech Stack: What You Need, What You Don't. If you're not sure which tools are worth paying for, this session is for you. Register 1) Reflection: I'm writing this from a hotel in San Francisco, my second trip this month (the first being New York two weeks ago). My spouse is here for a conference, and I've been enjoying kid-free days and eating my way...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Hello, fellow tinkerer 👋 Happy Wednesday. I got a Stream Deck as a gift and have had all kinds of fun configuring it this week. Mostly just opening different apps and web pages when I click the buttons. But I feel like the possibilities are endless, and I'm not thinking creatively enough with this little device. If you have any experience with Stream Decks and have something interesting configured, can you reply back and let me know what you've got going on? 1) Reflection: I'm coming up on...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Hello, fellow tinkerer 👋 Happy Wednesday. I have a giant wooden fence in my backyard, and it's being repaired today. Old boards replaced, some structural issues addressed (big storm about a month ago), repainted. Necessary work, but expensive. Houses are money pits. 1) Reflection: On this day a year ago, I had just arrived in Barcelona, Spain, for a 9-day trip with a friend. About three weeks later, I found out that I had a brain tumor and needed surgery to remove it. I haven't written in my...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Hello, fellow tinkerer 👋 ICYMI, I'm co-hosting a free live session about taxes and budgeting for solopreneurs with tax expert Hannah Cole of Sunlight Tax on April 30th at 10:00 am CT. Register Can't make the live session? Sign up anyway, and I'll send you the replay and resources after. 1) Reflection: My 16-year-old got their driver's license last week. Let me tell you, I thought it was hard when they got behind the wheel for the first time with their permit. But at least I was in the car...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Hello, fellow tinkerer 👋 Happy Wednesday. This week, I'm sharing a few actual, real-life annoying problems I have solved. On the Product Tip, specifically, I'm debating the value of writing up a tutorial for my tutorials site. It feels pretty specific to me, but maybe I'm wrong. If you read that and go "Omg, I need this also" can you reply and let me know? If I get a few replies, I'll know that it's useful for other people and write up the tutorial. 😁 1) Reflection: Yesterday, I scanned the...
5 months ago • 2 min read
Hello, fellow tinkerer 👋 Happy Thursday. I failed to get this wrapped up and sent yesterday because a) my kids didn't have school Monday or Tuesday of this week, and b) yesterday was my middle child's birthday. He's now 14, so I was having a very real, "Where does the time go??" moment. I'm hosting a live AMA on March 24 at 11am CT. Ask me about the tools I use, automation, AI, or where to start. You can submit questions ahead of time or ask live. Register 1) Reflection: I'm in a few Slack...
5 months ago • 2 min read