Stuff

I spend a lot of time hyper-optimizing my stuff, so I'm putting this here for other stuff-enjoyers.

Tech Stack

Cool stuff you might not be using already:

Cool products I'm experimenting with but haven't fully incorporated yet:

Sleep, recovery, and small upgrades that compound:

Hatch Restore 3— smart sleep companion, sunrise alarm & sound machine (phone-free bedside routines).
WHOOP 5.0— 24/7 recovery, sleep, and strain tracking.
Eight Sleep Pod— dual-zone bed cooling/heating & sleep tracking (Pod Cover / Pod system).
Blackout curtains — true bedroom-darkening panels (outsized sleep payoff).
Manta PRO Sleep Mask— modular eye cups, side-sleeper friendly, full blackout.

I spend a lot of time thinking about this stuff, it's my vice

Mac mini (M4)— tiny footprint desktop; Apple silicon in a 5×5" box.
Work Louder k•no•b•1— low-profile mechanical keyboard with LCD deck & twin rotary knobs.
Bellroy Classic Backpack Premium— 20L commuter pack; Premium Edition (pick the cream / light leather colorway).
Bellroy Tech Kit, Lite Packing Pouch, et al. — expensive pouches & organizers, but exceptionally dialed.
RIMOWA Essential Cabin— polycarbonate carry-on.

I've made many YouTube videos. Here's what's served me well:

Panasonic LUMIX S5II Mirrorless Camera - 24.2MP Full Frame. Expensive, but one-and-done for ~5 years. If you're an amateur, start with your iPhone.
Rode VideoMic Pro+ - Clip-on microphone for camera. Nice because you don't have to sync audio separately.
FIFINE USB Studio Recording Microphone (K690) - You don't need a Blue Yeti—it's overrated. This Fifine mic is BETTER and has served me for years.
iPhone Continuity Camera Mount - Super helpful if you have a MacBook. Improves your webcam without buying a weird Logitech extension.
K&F Concept Carbon Fiber Tripod - A super stable tripod is well worth it. I used to have a cheap one from Walmart but it was so finnicky.
Godox SL100D LED Video Light - Lighting is super important. Getting a real light versus those trashy LED panels matters.
Amazon Basics Light Stand (2-pack) - Very affordable.
Softbox - Spreads your light evenly.

MacBook Pro M4 Max - It's overkill and I genuinely think the MacBook Air is good enough for 90% of people. Next time I'm getting the Air—it's lighter and more portable.
Keychron K8 Mechanical Keyboard - Great keyboard. A little loud though, so I can't bring it to libraries.
Logitech Lift Vertical Ergonomic Mouse - Save your hands.
Sceptre 27-inch Gaming Monitor - Be careful: if you get too big of a monitor with poor resolution, it'll look worse than a smaller monitor with higher res.
Anker Prime TB5 Docking Station (14-in-1, 8K, Thunderbolt 5 — 140W host charging) — desktop expansion for Thunderbolt 4/5 laptops (macOS 15+ where applicable).
Anker 525 Power Bank (PowerCore Essential 20K PD) (20,000 mAh) — USB-C PD brick for long travel days.
Anker MagGo Wireless Charger (2-in-1 Stand) (Qi2 certified, MagSafe-compatible) — simultaneous stand charging for iPhone & AirPods (wireless charging case).

The ultimate credit card stack.

Mercury - Let me save you some time. 1% off on credit cards. If it's your first company, just open a Mercury account. No wire fees (including international!). Great integrations, bill pay, reimbursements. Deposit $10K and we both get $250.
For Claisen, we tried Brex and Rho. Liked Rho the most because of the 2% platinum card. Brex rewards aren't great (1000/1500 ratio for flight rewards), so 2% flat is actually better.

Rho Platinum Card (2% flat) - see above
Amex Business Gold Card - Great opening offer: 200K points for $15K spend in 3 months (~$1,200 statement credit or ~$8,000 if you're a flight maxxer using seats.aero). Plus 4x on top two spend categories (Food, Rideshare, or Online Ads—the real hack for Meta spend!).
Amex Personal Gold Card - Similar to business gold, but for yourself. ~80K points for $6K in 6 months.
Robinhood Gold Card - 3% cash back on all purchases (requires Robinhood Gold membership).

More coming soon...