“Look further down the road, you’ll have more time to prepare.” – my driver’s ed instructor I floss my teeth every morning. For at least a decade, I didn’t. I had my excuses. None of them sound. Then, about 2 years ago, I had a bit of a tooth scare and committed to finding a …
Author Archives: Garrick van Buren
Is This Helpful?
If you’ve received an email from me since 2008, you’ve likely seen those 3 words concluding my message. I initially added them to my email as a soft way to confirm my message was, well, helpful. I envisioned them as a tiny step towards measuring the value of email in a new, qualitative, way. I …
Daughters and Suns
When the baby fusses at 5, I should stay up after settling her down. If instead I return to bed, The sun rises without me.
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What My High School Art Teacher Taught Me About Business
Unlike every other class in high school, I remember art class being completely self-directed. Yes, in English I could choose which book I wrote a 3-page report on and in History I could choose whether or not I paid attention at all, but it was art where I felt I could wholly and completely pursue …
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How I Learned to Get Up Before My Kids
Despite a bad habit of staying up until 2am most nights, I hadn’t used an alarm clock for at least 6 years. Likely a decade. When I was up that late actively working on a project (versus binge listening to music or watching Netflix), I’d joke my ‘second day’ was from 8pm – 2am. Yes, …
Beer Flights for Your Holidays
Lately I’ve preferred drinking small 4oz pours of 3-5 different beers rather than a larger pour of a single beer. Being able to compare and contrast multiple beers makes it easier to suss out the distinctive character of each individual beer. I’ve also found when I drink less when I drink mindfully. The big box …
Banality
One dreary autumn day in 1996 I, and the dozen others in my exchange student cohort, began the first day at our host school. The entire art school was abuzz working on projects for the all-school show. The theme: Banalität. Banality. Commonplace. Predictable. Obvious. In the screen printing studio, a team was working on the …
10th Time’s the Charm
For almost 2 years, Jamie and I have been working on a 1-page form to easily and quickly document a kubb game while it’s in progress. The latest version (iteration 10) incorporates a stats section to quickly calculate team performance (without an electronic device). This latest iteration also solves the awkwardness knowing which team opens …
Where’s Your Buyer Platform?
A few weeks ago, I met with a local small business owner. We first met back when we were both solo and have met for coffee every 6 months or so since. He now maintains an office downtown full of employees. Towards the end of our time together, he asked which social media services I …