Things I'm Thinking About

Exploring how structure takes shape in everyday experiences and quiet realizations

Our original name for the blog was Can I Just Build a Spreadsheet First because that is how I organize my thoughts. It is something of a personal mantra, and because I actually hear myself say it out loud when I need to make sense of something, it became the natural starting point for capturing ideas that needed a place to land.

 

With time, I realized the spreadsheet is not the structure itself. It is the foundation that lets structure take shape. It is where ideas begin to sort and stretch, connecting and reshaping until they start to build on one another. What grew from that process, the space where those connections continue to evolve into something larger and more layered, was always present. Now it simply has its place at the front.

Welcome to Things I Am Thinking About.

Philips Hue setup for seniors
Helping My Mom Set Up Her Philips Hue Lights
A Comfortable Way to Bring Smart Lighting Into Her Home My mom has always had a healthy respect for technology, the sort that comes with curiosity but also a desire for a familiar guide. During a recent...
A minimalist room with soft morning light, a wooden clothes rack, green plant, and folded clothing — a calm, intentional space representing reflection and balance in AI in Plain Clothes.
AI in Plain Clothes: The Work Beneath the Work
We are in the thick of adjustment. That has been the undercurrent through every piece in this AI in Plain Clothes series. We are past the first shock of arrival, past the novelty phase where everything...
A warmly lit workspace with a laptop, coffee cup, and small plate, symbolizing comfort, curiosity, and structure in everyday work.
Comfort in the Familiar - Why Structure Frees Curiosity
Part of the Origins of a Planner series. I am, unapologetically, an app junkie. I love discovering new tools and imagining they will be the magic fix that finally brings every system in my world into one...
Photoreal image illustrating AI in Practice through the evolution of human knowledge tools — from a stone tablet to paper and pen, a typewriter, an early computer, a modern laptop, and a glowing orb of light symbolizing artificial intelligence — arranged diagonally to convey progress and continuity.
AI in Practice: AI That Evolves With You
Sometimes I want to shake my laptop and say, “You were just helping me. What happened? Why did you shift?” That moment captures something deeper than inconvenience. When the model I had been...
A brass hotel reception bell and sign on a wooden counter, symbolizing pre-boarding the brain through thoughtful planning, care, and readiness for travel.
Pre-Boarding the Brain - How Paris Planning Became a Lesson in Care
The Idea That Started It Planning a family trip to Paris for twelve people sounded magical in theory. In practice, it was an intricate puzzle of passports, expectations, and personalities. Some of us were...
Colorful puzzle pieces scattered on a wooden surface, symbolizing organizing a scattered mind
The Chaos of Organizing a Scattered Mind
Why My Brain Explodes When I Try to Find Calm I sat down today to get organized, or at least to start organizing a scattered mind. That was the plan. What actually happened was something closer to setting...
A group of people seated around a circular table, each holding a cup of coffee, symbolizing connection and shared understanding
The Power of Being Understood
Part of the series: Why and How I Started a Blog I have always been someone who thinks best by hearing my own ideas out loud. Sometimes that is through conversation, sometimes through dictation, and sometimes...
A wheelbarrow on a stone path between garden plots in a community garden, surrounded by soil beds and spring plants.
How a Community Garden Plot Helped Me Understand the Value of Temporary Structure
A Garden Meant for the In-Between Year I have always been the kind of person who plants a garden before the last moving box is unpacked. It is my way of learning a place, a small act of settling before...
A laptop and cocktail on a patio table in warm light, symbolizing defining wins with AI through clarity, structure, and balance.
Defining Wins in the Age of AI: The Quiet Metrics of Real Value
I have always been a little obsessed with automation, not because I love robots or code for their own sake, but because I am a self-proclaimed gadget girl who loves how the right tools make our actions...
Family itinerary planning with themed welcome bags, reflecting structured hospitality in action
Structured Hospitality – Why the Best Plans Feel Like Invitations
Part Five of the Planning as Invitation series – stories that trace how structure evolved from instinct to intention to care. The Politeness Loop There’s a funny thing that happens when you bring thoughtful...
Abstract illustration of a human head formed by flowing, web-like neural strands, symbolizing ideas connecting and branching.
Making Space for Ideas: How to Capture Ideas with Dictation
You know those moments when an idea, a solution, or a perfectly worded phrase just hits you? Maybe you’re on a walk, driving, or in the shower. Your mind, freed from the confines of a screen or keyboard,...
An abstract, aerial photo of a clear, organized river of thought flowing into a chaotic, branching delta, symbolizing the feeling of AI overwhelm
A Planner's Guide to the Age of AI Overwhelm
I’m a planner. A systems thinker. My mind works in terms of process. In the age of AI overwhelm, this is both a strength and a new challenge. While a task may send my thoughts in a lot of different directions,...
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