80 Hours, 9 Posts: What a 7-Week Writing Sprint Taught Me
What kind of writer am I? Am I a product builder who writes or a writer who builds products?
Hi! My name is Mark Koester. I'm a data-centric technologist based in Venice, California.
Latest Articles
I Forgive Myself, Now I Can Work: Book Notes on Feel-Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal
I’ll admit that I sometimes feel guilty when I struggle to be productive. A few days ago, after a rough night of sleep and a productive-but-not-particularly-demanding morning, I struggled to get back to work after lunch. I knew what I...
Cut Your Goal in Half: Book Notes on Finish by Jon Acuff
I often treat my blog writing and even simple book review posts like they need to be 2000+ word opuses involving research, sophisticated arguments and deep philosophical engagement. The end result is that I have read hundreds of books and...
Stuck in the Middle: Why Motivation Collapses Halfway to Your Goal
Even though I had finished dozens of songs and released 6 albums, I dreaded working on my latest music album. I didn’t even want to open Ableton, my music production software. I couldn’t get myself to do even the simplest...
Is What I Am Doing Useful?: Book Notes on The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
“Think of life as a series of dots” - Alfred Adler I read “The Courage to Be Disliked” in mid-2024, and it has quickly become one of the books I most often recommend, alongside Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning....
The Ostrich Problem: Why do we avoid checking our goal progress?
What metric are you currently hiding from?
Forwards & Towards by Stellar Mammals & Jacob Burgdorf: My Sixth Music Album Release
Whether it’s learning a new skill, building something meaningful, or making music – the path to reaching your goals and dreams is forwards and towards.
A Year in Time: 2025 - A Builder's Year
Time management is a zero-sum game. Every hour invested in one area is an hour divested from something else.
A Year in Book Reading: 2025
The books I read each year often unfold like maps and trails—shaped by the places I visit, the questions I’m wrestling with, and the stories that find me along the way.
How Intelligence Emerges from a Thousand Brains: Jeff Hawkins' Model of the Neocortex
Why doesn’t your brain get overwhelmed when you’re at a noisy party? How is it that so many competing signals resolve into one coherent world rather than a cacophony of competing interactions and interpretations?
A Year of Creativity: Tracking My Inputs, Outputs and Lessons from 2024
Creativity is often seen as an unstructured, free-flowing process. But what if we could track it like a data scientist—measuring time, effort, and connections between ideas?
Why Reflection Matters in Professional Work: Book Notes on The Reflective Practitioner by Donald A. Schön
“A designer shapes the situation, the situation talks back, and the designer reflects on the back-talk.”
A Year in Time: 2024
What do you make time for?
A Year in Book Reading: 2024
Book reading feels like an act of cognitive rebellion in an American society driven by social media and pointess fear-based news. By reading books you are actively engaging the magical act of imagining, world creating and perspective-taking.
There are no mental depths to plumb: Book Notes on The Mind Is Flat by Nick Chater
Nick Chater’s Mind Is Flat challenges several core common-sense notions and beliefs about the nature of our minds and even who we are as cognitive beings. Specifically, the book argues against the idea of a deep subconscious (like an inner...
Chop Wood, Carry Water by Stellar Mammals & Jacob Burgdorf: My Fifth Music Album Release
Ever wonder what happens when a software engineer and a jazz trumpeter team up in a Venice Beach music studio?
AI Included Disclosure Acknowledgment (AIDA): Why Artists Should Disclose AI Use in Their Creations
Was AI Included?
Exploring the Boundaries: Three Hard Questions on AI and Creativity
Who truly “creates” when we use AI in our art and work?
Creative Principles for Music Makers: A Music Producer's Guide
There is no wrong way to make music. In fact, there are probably an infinite number of right ways to make music.
Stardust and Dreams by Stellar Mammals: My Fourth Music Album Release
Star Dust and Dreams is my fourth album release. I feel overjoyed to have the energy and creative chance to make more music, and, of course, to share my art for listening pleasure.