1.Bitcoin: The price of bitcoin has gone from 18k to 41k in the last month. I don’t understand it enough to invest. However this trend and its implications for society are worth understanding.

2. Thing I’m Using: I purchased a Peloton Bike in August. In all of the years that I have worked out – I never liked stationary bikes. I love my Peloton bike and have ridden for about an hour each day since I’ve had it.

3. Thing I’m Thinking About: That one of the things I love about the bike is that I clip in. It physically connects me to the technology and prohibits my attention from wandering. I think about this a lot in a world that is filled with endless distraction.

4. Thing I’m Watching: Soul. One of the best movies I’ve ever seen. Brilliant in every way.

5. Why I Haven’t Written: The strain of world events coupled with my obligations to my firm and my clients have made creative thought very difficult for me. I think about this a lot as well. And the impact that stress and uncertainty have on populations that are marginalized. This is every day of their existence for perhaps centuries.

1. Thing I’m Using: I miss the gym. I miss my weights. It’s near impossible to find weights. I picked up a TRX suspension trainer. And I’m getting a great full body workout. It’s easy to use anywhere including small spaces.
2. Article That Struck Me: Bloomberg has a great piece on life post lockdown in Wuhan. It’s insightful. The last line really struck me: “We worked nonstop for years, chasing every opportunity,” he said. Now, “everyone I know has one goal for 2020. It’s to survive.”
3. The Space We Need Reflected on the Beastie Boys documentary and couldn’t help but think of how things have changed. If the Beastie Boys happened now, did what they did, they would have been highly criticized on social media to the point of being non-viable. They would never have had a chance to grow up and change. It’s a dynamic that scares me about today’s world. We are all works in progress.
4. The Disconnect: Record unemployment and a great month on Wall Street – that’s April 2020. Paul Krugman explains why. Key line: “Investors are buying stocks in part because they have nowhere else to go”. The markets and the economy are very different things.
5. Check This Out: The All In Challenge is fantastic. Money goes to various charities to help feed those in need. Hunger is a real issue right now across the country. Check out what Pearl Jam is doing and search around to see what your favorite artists, athletes, and entertainers are offering up.

1. Thing I’m Struggling With: Creativity. It has been nearly impossible for me to write this column during the past 6 weeks. It used to be very easy. The reason – my brain’s creativity functioning has been shutdown. @alexisrockley explained: “your brain has temporarily diverted all its creativity (aka ability to solve novel problems) to “how do I avoid dying?” while in a narrowed, slow burn, fight-or-flight state.” She’s right.
2. App I’m Using: The How We Feel App. It’s a small way to be part of the solution. It’s so well done. Just check in on how you are feeling. For every new person that signs up they donate a meal. The data helps scientists identify outbreaks. It’s a way forward. Sign up.
3. Thing I Watched And Brought Me Joy: The Beastie Boys Story on Apple TV – a true journey of friendship through life. It’s a beautiful story. I miss MCA.
4. Thing You Should Order: A Pulse Oximeter. They are available online and give you blood oxygen levels. One thing that is happening with COVID-19 cases is people’s lungs are being compromised without them feeling it. And when they get to the hospital the blood oxygen levels are very low. A pulse oximeter will help you understand what is going on before you are in crisis.
5. Thing I’m Optimistic About: Human ingenuity and American capitalism. People talk a lot about “reopening” and I’m not sure what they mean. A lot of things are now open just differently. Like liquor stores doing curbside pickup, gyms doing virtual training, and lawyers doing zoom depositions. None of this happened 2 months ago. Today it is common place. We will get through this.

1. Thing I’m Doing: Focusing on drinking lots of water and staying hydrated. When I focus on water all other facets of my health fall into place – sleep and exercise. It’s recommended that you drink at least a half ounce of water for every pound you weigh.
2. Thing I’m Certain Of: What mattered before still matters and will continue to matter. So much of anything is fundamentals. In football it is blocking and tackling. Get the fundamentals right and the rest falls into place.
3. Cool New (to me) Thing: We got the kids and our parents Facebook portals. The device is really well done and the result is a lot of laughter.
4. Leaning In: If you can at all make some donation – any donation – to your local food bank. There are so many people struggling to get food on their tables right now. Every little bit helps.
5. What I’m Seeing: Organizations can run deficits in many ways – financial, managerial, organizational, and technological. Right now the pandemic is making those bills come due for a number of organizations.

1. I’m Noting This: There has been a lot of loss in the world. Ranging from lost dinners, to lost jobs, to lost vacations, to lost loved ones. The grief surrounds us. It manifests in many ways – anxiety and anger. It’s important to sit with this. And to acknowledge our losses individually and our collective losses.
2. Doing Nothing: The best thing we can do is stay in place. Which is the opposite of how so many of us live.
3. Thing To Do: The change to my life has changed many things. One of the things I’m remembering to do is drink water. Drinking water is essential for our health.
4. I’m Practicing This: Kindness. It’s always good to be kind. It’s especially good in a time of immense anxiety.
5. I’m Listening To This: Pearl Jam’s “Gigaton”. It’s fantastic. The production quality is amazing. I’ve listened through and this is likely going to be my favorite PJ album in many years.

1.Thing I’m Doing: Covid-19 has resulted in several significant travel plans of mine being canceled. I’m going to use this “extra” time to tackle some big projects in my life.

2.Thing I’m Pondering: Figuring out what new skill I want to tackle with so many events in my life being canceled. I think I’m going to work on improving my Spanish. I have downloaded the Duolingo app.

3. Thing I’ll Be Doing: Tackling some home improvement projects that need doing. The door that is overdue to be painted is going to get painted.

4. What’s On My Mind: Making sure my loved ones and those who depend on me are taken care of.

5. Thing I’ll Also Be Doing: Isolating myself and my family as completely as possible from others. During this time I will turn off the news, shut off my laptop and go for walks, exercise, do puzzles, maybe convince my kids to learn Spanish with me and read books.

1.Book I’m Listening To: 10x by Grant Cardone. Good book. Takeaway – thinking big and working hard makes life easier.

2. Thing I’m Down On: Short work travel trips. They can be great an energizing but come at a significant cost of energy and health.

3. Thing That Needs To Stop: Handshakes. The coronavirus highlights the absurdity of handshakes. They are not necessary.

4. Security: Perhaps the single biggest differentiator in cell phones right now is security. They all have good cameras and screens. According to the National Institute of Standards – Android has the most security vulnerabilities for 2019, 2017, and 2016.

5. Quote: Thousands of candles can be lighted by a single candle, the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. – Buddha

1.Question I Was Asked This Week: How do you write a book?

2. Answer I Gave To Question I Was Asked: Sit down and write 500 words a day – the best way to write a book is to write a book.

3. Thing I’m Doing: Using GPS in areas that I am familiar with. I find that my usual routes weren’t always the most efficient routes. Saving 3 and 4 minutes on frequently traveled routes adds up.

4. Quote I’m Thinking On: “To move forward, focus on what can be done today, then repeat.” – Hailey Rice

5. The Future of Law Practice: Erin Levine the visionary founder of Hello Divorce keeps winning legal innovation awards. These awards are well deserved. As we look at the future of law watch Erin.

1.Thing We’re Doing: Beginning our weekly meetings by going around the table and giving shout outs to other team members. It sets the tone for who we are.

2. Thing I Look At Each Day: A magnet that says “Action This Day”. It’s on my refrigerator at home and at work. A reminder from Churchill that the best time to do something that needs to be done is right now.

3. Talk About the Weather: The National Weather Service has issued its 3 month forecast. The Northeast is going to be warmer and wetter than normal. 2020 has a 50% chance at being the hottest year ever. Link.

4. In The Not Too Distant Future: People will wonder why people walked around with cell phones. Pandora announced a standalone app that works for the Apple Watch without an iPhone. The future will not be the phone.

5. Thing I Hope For: A political system and an electorate that focuses on data to craft public policy decisions. The age of ideology needs to end.

1.What I’m Thinking About: The line between self acceptance and complacency. Which brings me to point 2.

2. Podcast Episode I Listened To: Brene Brown on Tim Ferriss where they discussed point 1 and many other things. Give it a listen if you are fans of either.

3. Book I’m Gifting: How About You?: A Handbook of Questions To Help You Live Your Best Life by Karen Caffrey. Karen is a wonderful person and this is a wonderful book if you’d like to do some thinking.

4. Product I’m Loving: Gold Bond Friction Defense stick. I work out a lot and my skin is sensitive so chafing can become an issue. I’ve used Body Glide before. But this is medicated and offers healing.

5. Thing I Just Love: Lifting weights. Resistance and weight training are tremendously beneficial. And there’s something just so satisfying about lifting.