ever seeking a right-fit life
Over the last decade, there have been numerous hacks which resulted in millions of peoples' personal data being compromised. In June 2015, United States Office of Personnel Management announced that it had been the target of a data breach targeting personnel records. During that hack, my name, birth date, social security number and more were... Continue Reading →
My zero-waste journey began as a broke college kid with an allergy to the one-time-use plastic in grocery store bags and very few possessions, over a decade before the idea of sustainability even became popular. The developed world is filled with stuff, often more stuff than we really need. In my mind, zero-waste comes down... Continue Reading →
I recently listened to an interview on the Tim Ferriss podcast with presidential biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin. One particular story caught my attention: when elected to office, President Lincoln filled his cabinet with his political adversaries, namely the men who ran against him in the contentious 1860 election. Though it seemed counter-intuitive, even at that time,... Continue Reading →
At the start of October, I will be celebrating four years as a department manager with my current employer. As with any job, the experience has been filled with ups and downs. In that time, people have filed in and out of my office, and countless projects have flowed through my hands. Considering the milestone,... Continue Reading →
At one time or another we've all attempted to implement a new habit or drop an old one. Sometimes we succeed, but even more often we do not. When we read self-improvement books and research habits of the world's most successful people, it's easy to get caught up in the idea that we should drastically... Continue Reading →
Three years ago, I moved into my boyfriends house, bringing with me over 900 books. When he asked whether I really needed all of them, I answered "yes" matter-of-factly. I loved my books and I wanted to keep them all, even those that had been boxed up in storage for over a decade. That question--Do you... Continue Reading →
One of the biggest workplace complaints is that people don't like their manager. I was recently reminded of the Peter Principle, which states that employees are promoted based on their performance in there current role; thus, employees only stop being promoted once they can no longer perform effectively. If managers rise to the level of their incompetence,... Continue Reading →
After a major flood forced us out of our house, my boyfriend and I were forced to pack our lives into the backseat of our cars. For over 100 days, we got by with three outfits each, a bag of toiletries, and some books. The lack of "stuff" was incredibly freeing. So, when we returned... Continue Reading →
"Those who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its brevity." ― Jean de La Bruyère One of the biggest frustrations plaguing the modern world is the feeling that we have too many tasks on our to-do lists and not enough time to accomplish everything. Adults and children alike... Continue Reading →
I’ve been doing freelance writing on the side for nearly ten years, though nowadays I’m only working with one client. She’s a professional athlete and I recently helped her caption an Instagram post celebrating an exciting, yet somewhat scary, middle-age milestone. Milestone birthdays tend to stir up emotions and force us to contemplate what we’ve... Continue Reading →
One of the biggest differences between my boyfriend and I is that he tends to procrastinate, whereas I tend to micromanage every task to ensure it's completed ahead of schedule. Interestingly, over the last several months, I've noticed that he's started to plan things out weeks, months and years in advance. The other day, in... Continue Reading →
Gone are the days of home cooking, timeliness fashion, and handcrafted tables. The modern world is instead saturated with fast food, trendy clothing, and build-it-yourself plywood furniture. People buy what's cheap and convenient, gradually filling their homes with poorly-built junk. Everywhere we look, there are too many unnecessary things. I'm currently taking a online course... Continue Reading →
In his latest blog post, Seth Godin discusses the triumph of everyday design, arguing that simplicity is often superior to luxury when it comes to function and usability. That sink with an intricate, motion-sensing faucet is more difficult to turn on and more likely to make a mess than the standard model. Luxury goods used to... Continue Reading →
When I was ten years old, my family took a trip to Denver, Colorado. One evening, my mom kissed me on the forehead and told me she would be speaking at a seminar. I inhaled the sweet scent of her perfume as she handed me a large science kit and told me to have fun... Continue Reading →
Several months ago, I signed up for a course on Human-Centered Design. The class began this week, and it has already opened my eyes to the ways in which our world often neglects human factors when creating or revisiting products and systems. We design aesthetically stunning marble showers, in which people slip and injure themselves.... Continue Reading →
existential ergonomics 
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