The Checklist Man, End of Year Giving and Fun with a Continuous Glucose Monitor
Your weekly 5 things from the mind of Miles Lasater
Happy Saturday! Here are your 5 things from the mind of Miles for this week.
I’m taking a break from the newsletter for a few weeks and plan to resume in the new year.
The Checklist Man. From considering and closing an investment to producing a podcast episodes, I’ve got at least a dozen individual formal checklists going at a time. We’ve also got a daily responsibilities checklist posted for each kid. We have a checklist in the car that our son reads out before we leave the house for school (it includes kiss your mother and bring your sense of humor). But would you think it was taking it too far that I use moving things from a specific drawer to the counter as a physical checklist for my morning ablutions? If you haven’t read Atul Gawande’s ode to the checklist, it might help you understand my obsession.
Do Your Startup. If you need any encouragement to do your startup, read my essay on the reasons you should do it now! If you want to chat about your idea, please let me know.
End of Year Giving. Do you do more philanthropic giving at the end of the year? We use this season to confirm we have given as much as we want and to the organizations we want to support. If you aren’t sure where to give, I recommend GiveWell’s maximum impact fund. Another org that we have supported since inception is OneAcre. I’ve been impressed with their commitment to transparency, sustainability and scalability. And helping people increase their farming income is an amazing cause.
Levels: I’m even more of a cyborg. Yes, I had contacts lens, bluetooth earbuds, and my heart rate and activity monitored via wearable. For a 30 day period, I’ve added a continuous glucose monitor. The goal is to better understand my reaction to various foods and activities in pursuit of knowledge and health. For years I’ve been interested in a CGM but it was a hassle as it is regulated. Levels makes it easier as they wrap in a telehealth doctor review. Fun so far!
Hemingway. I read Old Man and the Sea in school. OK, yeah good writing. I tried to read A Moveable Feast a decade ago and didn’t finish it. I read another one of his novels at one point. But this summer I was entranced with A Moveable Feast and layering in Hemingway’s short stories at the same time. And in the middle also watching Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen’s movie about a writer going back in time to hangout with Hemingway in Paris.). The references from one to the other were delightful.
As a reminder, my work projects are:
Startup investing with Purpose Built Ventures
A podcast called Startups for Good with associated virtual community and giving circle
My blog Venture Patterns
Until next week,
Miles