Let’s dive into a topic that’s near and dear to my heart—coffee. My love for coffee has been brewing for years, ever since I had my first mocha in Madison, Wisconsin, in the mid-90s. From hanging out after school at Monks on 4th Street in Dubuque, Iowa, to studying the ethics of coffee farmers in college, coffee has long been my constant companion. It’s more than a beverage for me—it’s a ritual, a moment of pause, and a source of comfort. 

I was at London’s airport, en route to Helsinki for Teemu Arina’s Biohacker Summit, with 20 pounds of cash burning a hole in my pocket. The airport bookstore called my name. So many options, but one book stood out: Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things by Adam Grant. I picked it up, put it back down, and wandered off to browse other titles. Yet, I kept coming back to this one. Something about the idea that “we can all improve at improving” hit home. So, I took my last 20 pounds and made it mine.

When I first heard about hand analysis, I was admittedly skeptical. Like many, I associated it with fortune-telling and mysticism rather than science. However, after attending a session at the Biohacker Summit in Helsinki, my perspective completely shifted. Brent Bruning, a renowned hand analyst, delved into the fascinating correlation between fingerprint patterns and human behavior.

Holding yourself accountable can be incredibly challenging. Whether you’re working from home, overwhelmed with a long to-do list, stuck in freeze mode, or facing a task you’re unsure how to start, it’s easy to get sidetracked. But what does it really mean to be accountable? According to the dictionary, it’s being "required or expected to justify actions or decisions; responsible." But sometimes, we need a little help with justifying our actions and holding ourselves responsible to get things done.

As someone who has worked remotely since 2016, I was ahead of the curve on the hard truths that many discovered during the pandemic. While there are plenty of advantages to working from home, it can also become overwhelming and lonely. This is where I found myself in the Summer of 2022. My to-do list already felt never-ending, with new tasks pouring in each day, but I needed to make time for two major project finishes that had deadlines looming. With a staff count of one clocking in at my home office (although he has a great attendance record, my ragdoll cat isn’t yet on the payroll), I knew that if I really wanted to get stuff done over the next few months, I needed to look for some outside accountability.