Recent content on Jaredigms
I find that some of my most effective work days are also the ones I end with the most energy. Which conflicts with the idea of ‘spending’ energy. I find going for a walk, writing, and exploring (in a very expansive sense) restorative. When time feels scarce I often neglect these, considering my focus to be better spent on what is right in front of me. But these activities reinforce…
The best way to throw out bananas is to not eat them. 
 The best way to not eat bananas is to wait until they’re ripe (read: forget about them until they’re way-past-ripe). 
 Honestly, I prefer bananas they’re just a bit green. I really enjoy the bit of bite (can I say al dente ?), the not-super-sweetness, the peel that doesn’t leave strings along the banana. 
 What this also…

 Review - 2021: The Year of the Chisel Lots of change and learning. Graduating, going full-time on Augment , throwing balance to the wind, overwhelming myself. Joining ZeroTo510 cohort, moving to Memphis, and more. Overall, 2021 gets a thumbs up. Deducting a few points for COVID-related transgressions. Close of the year, feeling good. The Year of the Chisel had a threefold focus. Artisan…

 Age is amusing. Getting older is a continuous process. We've made it a stepwise function. 'Years' are the discrete blocks to gauge it by. Nevertheless. Birthdays are points to reflect. To think about age and time. And, theoretically, they're unique. More unique than temporal holidays like New Year's Day. People evolve and grow over time. I (currently) believe our past selves change alongside…

 A Memory “Stand up if you’re living the dream.” The speaker’s voice echoes through the auditorium to the new students. I stand up, smiling. My internal monologue acknowledges that this wasn’t the exact plan, but it’s my plan now and I get to own that. Ferst Center at Georgia Tech is where my journey over the last 4 years began. Maybe not physically or administratively, but mentally. At that…
Generally, more information helps people make better decisions. If that's the case, it makes sense for people to gather as much information as possible. However, acquiring and processing information takes time. Time is a fundamental resource and currency. As a result, time spent acquiring or processing information that doesn't impact the person is wasteful, similar to dumping clean water into the…
When I was younger, my dad would regularly listen to music in our living room. Music playing also meant I'd be asked who created a particular song. Correct answers usually included Eric Clapton or John Mayer. Particularly infuriating answers would include The Who and Yes, due to the nature of their names. 'Who's playing right now?' 'I don't know, Eric Clapton?' 'No, The Who!' (but asked like a…

 

 When I was younger, I really enjoyed building LEGO sets. I would open the box, take out the bags, and proceed to empty those bags onto the floor. Then, I'd sit or lie on the floor, with the instructions on one side, the current state of the set in the center, and the shallow pile of colorful pieces on the other side. The most difficult part of building these sets was digging…

 

 For a long time, I've wondered whether the proper way to wear a watch is on my left wrist or on my non-dominant one. According to Wikipedia, this wouldn't be a problem for about 90% of people ( source ), because those two are the same. The problem is, I'm left-handed. On the one hand, watches are typically made to be worn on the left wrist. The crown sits to the right of the…
If you're reading this, you probably exist. If you're human, that means you were probably born. I want to take a moment and recognize the chances of your birth. What are the odds that a single living cell originated from the early Earth's primordial soup? What are the odds that single cell would form a symbiotic relationship with an absolute powerhouse of a cell (the mitochondrion!) and then group…
Wake up. Sit up. Get up. Brush teeth. Change into video call clothes. Get on video call. End result: all set for meeting. Sometimes slip into the alternative: Wake up. Check phone. Sit up. Check phone. Get up. Check phone. Brush teeth. Check phone. Change into video call clothes. Check phone. Get on video call. Check phone. End result: still ready for call. Different trajectory. Routine time…

 

 The density of matter is defined as the amount of mass per unit volume. This is expressed as m/V. This gives us an idea of how heavy a certain volume of a material may be. In the same way, there's a density of fun. Here, we can define it as the amount of satisfaction per unit time. This is expressed as s/t. This theoretically gives us an idea of how fun a certain activity will be.…

 

 Paul pulled out his phone, expanding the button on the back to more easily hold it in his hand. He presses the screen and the camera app opens. He pulls a lens attachment from his pocket and puts it over his phone camera with a flourish. Turning around, his attention on the window into the world created by his screen, Paul searches for the perfect scene. The window pans across the…

 

 It's a bright, sunny day. A small cup sits on the kitchen window sill, full of dirt. A child stares expectantly at the dirt. 'When will it grow?' asks the child, as he waters the dirt. 'Be patient, it takes time,' responds the parent. 'Okay,' says the child, skeptical that he's being told the truth. After an hour or two sitting at the window sill, staring, the dirt remains…
To automate or not to automate, that is the question. In terms of technology, automation tends to have a clear tradeoff – put in a bit of time now to repeatedly save time later. The time you save later isn't just the time spent doing the task. The time spent pondering the task and the mental energy it takes to remember the task can also be time sinks on their own. Habits act like 'analog…
In no particular order, here are 5 of the top products I've started using over the past few months that I absolutely love! No affiliate links here – just genuine recommendations! Hey Hey is a new email service that turns email on its head. It has special sections for emails you want to see right away (the imbox), emails that belong in a 'news feed' (the feed), and emails that are transactional…

 

 This weekend was the first weekend of Helluva Dance Competition at Georgia Tech! This is my 3rd time participating with Hannah and it was a lot of fun! Here are the videos for the American styles we danced: Waltz Foxtrot Tango Rumba Cha Cha Swing Full Playlist Here's a link to all of these videos in a single YouTube playlist: 2021 Helluva Dance Competition Share your videos with…

 

 I had the opportunity to chat with Jarvis Gray on his podcast, the HealthCare QualityCast . Big thanks to Nicole Cable for putting us in touch! I was really impressed that Jarvis made our conversation feel like we were old friends getting back together, even though it was our first time meeting. We covered leadership & healthcare and also dove into some of the principles I use to…
I’ve really enjoyed learning ballroom dance over the past 2.5 years. It’s been an awesome learning experience, especially coming from a background of soccer & weight lifting. Ballroom dance was actually recommended to me by a family friend (“Uncle Carl”) about 5 years ago, when I was visiting San Francisco. His words were “If there’s one thing you have to try, it’s ballroom dance.” This planted…

 2020 = over. Time to rethink everything and set new goals. New Years' is a bit arbitrary when you really think about it. Is there that much of a difference between December 31st and January 1st? More than between any other consecutive days? Anyway... The Cortex podcast by CGPGrey and Myke Hurley introduced me to yearly themes . You know SMART goals ? Yeah, it's the opposite of that. Not…
'I'll handle the business side' We've all heard it before - your friend (or acquaintance or even some random person on the internet you've never met before) - wants you to do all of the hard work to bring their ideas to reality. Oh, I forgot to mention you'll get a whopping 10% of the company since they came up with a revolutionary idea . I'm also an engineer at heart – I love building and…

 

 I was recently featured on the 6th episode of the Rangr podcast! I really enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with Richard and share my story so far and the lessons I've learned along the way. Check out the newsletter here: https://rangr.substack.com/p/who-writes-your-story And here's a direct link to the podcast:…
Excited to announce that my team, COVIDx finished top 3 in the USA at TechStars Startup Weekend 2020: Unite to Fight Covid-19! This weekend, we worked on an app to track COVID-19 based on symptom self-assessment and wearable data. More specifically, we worked to bring the business case to life and improve the UX of the open-sourced project. I focused on the frontend UX development. I converted the…
Let's talk about food allergies. First, I'll define what a food allergy IS NOT: Picky tastes (unless not dying/suffocating is considered picky) Lactose intolerance* Next, a working definition: a food allergy is an overreaction by someone's body when it detects particular foods. Food allergies generally correspond to proteins in food -- that's whey and casein in the case of milk. Part of your body…

 

 Can't believe summer's over, can't believe I'm on my way to the airport after about 3 months working with the CareerBlitz team (Murtaza & Mayhul). It's been a wild ride. Started on May 20 -- Did a test run the day before, but still turned down the wrong Peachtree Street (thanks Atlanta!). Get in and meet Murtaza & Mayhul. Have a few moments at my desk, where a CareerBlitz…