The words we speak or the tone we use can cause damage just as physical blows. This evening I had a small altercation with my eight year old. It was nothing major. He refused to do his chores when it was clear that he wouldn’t get his turn on the Nintendo Switch since it was already bed time. He slammed the door and ran downstairs. A f...

My 3yo was eating some chips and held some out for me. We played a bit of a game with me jumping in to eat it out of his fingers. After he had given me a few, he said, “This is the last one to fill your big tummy.” He walked over to my wife and said, “I gave Daddy ‘nuff to fill his ginormous tummy!”

This week I share about a significant birthday, a leather notebook cover, and a new psychiatrist. Mental Work Health weekly updates are an ongoing series in which I share what it is like to live with OCD in an effort to reduce the stigma around mental health, particularly in the workplace. Something hard This week’s version of somethin...

My wife and I had lunch today at Maria Bonita, a delightful Mexican restaurant in a strip mall. We were on the way home from my therapy appointment and stopped to eat and chat. The food was great, but that wasn’t my favorite part. The ambiance was charming and welcoming, but that wasn’t my favorite either. I loved the menu. With all my...

People at my work know that I am not a fan of meetings. I put together a presentation about communication principles and how we could have fewer meetings and be more productive. Essentially, less of this: And more of this: We need to move away from group gatherings that often waste many people’s time, and embrace individual conversatio...

In my update this week, I share about more departures at work, writing by hand, and looking forward to a new psychiatrist. This is part of an ongoing series in which I share what it is like to live with OCD in an effort to reduce the stigma around mental health, particularly in the workplace. Something hard One of the hardest things ab...

I have taken off my phone most of the apps that are endless scrolling, mind-numbing distraction apps. However, I still find myself getting out my phone and looking for distraction. This time, when I caught myself, I decided I would write something instead. This is still a distraction of a sort, but a productive one. I always feel bette...

7yo: “The best tasting foods in the world are pizza, and watermelon, and broccoli. I love broccoli. Oh, and, um, shrimp. I really love shrimp.” 😂

One of the most helpful things I have been doing lately is to try to start the day with some unstructured writing in an actual notebook with an actual pen.

It has been an interesting experience lately to watch our youngest start to become award of her emotions. Up until a certain age, almost any emotion triggers crying, and that’s about it. But as of late, when she gets mad, she gets really mad. The thing that is bizarre to me is when she starts to bang her head on the floor. I understand...

I have been asked to give a couple talks at a homeschooling conference about sketchnotes—one to young adults, and one to adults. No big deal. I’ve taught classes and presented on sketchnoting often enough. But there is a wrinkle. Due to the shitstorm that is the world right now, all of the venues cancelled, and so the conference will b...

The advent of HEY World has made me think again about everything I do and own online. Right now, I have a number of different sites for different purposes. I don’t actually post to them very often, but they are there just in case. I also have a number of email addresses set up, most of which are unnecessary. The main ones I have conver...