🛠️ Tools
Health Tools
Oura Ring - My number one tool suggestion for any man is an Oura ring. I was a Whoop user from the day they launched until about 2020 and really loved my Whoop band. I even have Whoop 4.0 but don't use it. I Highly suggest Oura to the everyday man pursuing health and fitness. Tracking my sleep, activity, recovery scores, steps, HRV, oxygen saturation in my blood, and more.
Bon Charge Glasses - Reducing blue light in the afternoon and evening can greatly increase your body's proper timing of melatonin release helping prepare for a really restful night's sleep. There are lots of brands out there but after having used a few, I found that you really do get what you pay for. Bon Charge is top of list for me.
Ultimate Longevity Pad - For years I've used this grounding pad to reduce inflammation, help me sleep, improve my HRV, and heal faster from illness. It's not magic but it is another tool in the toolbelt that compounds with others to optimize our health. This is mimicking the electronic grounding effect we get from being barefoot in the grass or swimming in the ocean. Here are some details on the evidence to support it.
Work Tools
Otter.ai - This is a game-changer for someone like me who can either be present and listen really well, or I can take notes (and miss half of what's said), but I can't do both well. Otter can show up to all my Zoom meetings, as well as I can use the app to record in-person meetings, conference talks, or sermons. Then it transcribes all the audio for me and creates a searchable database. I can even upload an audio or video file and have it transcribed.
Notion - Notion largely replaced wikis, project managers, to-do lists, Evernote/Apple Note, and several other tools for me. It's a very powerful platform and is especially good for business owners and leaders, whether you are a team of 1, or you have a team of hundreds. I do everything from daily journaling to content planning, to to-do lists and book writing here.
GetAbstract.Com - To save time and money with books, start by reading the free table of contents available on Amazon via the preview section. If it sounds like something you'd like, buy it. If you're like me and find that after reading half the book it seems to be repetitive and is full of what I call "publisher-required fluff" be OK with not finishing it. There's no rule that says you need to read every page of every book you pick up. Then, read a 7-minute professional summary on getAbstract to synthesize insights and catch anything valuable you may have missed by skipping the second half.
Family Tools
Skill of Fatherhood Masterclass - "Many dads today are left shooting from the hip on this parenting thing. Either we didn’t have our dads to show us growing up, or they gave us a bad picture we didn’t want to follow. Or maybe they were great dads but never passed on their knowledge. Being a father is one of the greatest privileges and joys of a man’s life and a role that brings immense blessing if we are willing to step into it. Join Jeremy Pryor and Jefferson Bethke as they unpack an entire 3-part system that will take you from A to Z and give you tactical, practical, and immediately actionable ways to level up your parenting."
1,000 Houses (aka 1KH) - A training and resource center for families, with the goal to help equip them to spread the gospel, build community, and multiply disciples, specifically in and through their own homes.
The Family Plan Calendar - This calendar really was a game changer for keeping some form of consistency, regularity, and structure during COVID. It helped us take the outcomes from our family meeting we have each week where we discussed logistics, budget, mission, etc, and put them somewhere we could reference and have in front of our eyes for