308 - Kevin Bronander

Kevin Bronander is an Account Executive at Paragon, the embedded integration platform for SaaS apps.

He is also the publisher of Prompted, a newsletter delivering insights and journal prompts while creating a community of people looking to become a bit better each day.

Twitter → twitter.com/kbronander

Inside Kevin's Workspace

Hardware:

• MacBook Air, M1 2020
• LG 32” UltraGear Monitor
• Apple Magic Keyboard
• Apple Magic Mouse
• Apple AirPods Pro
• Joshua Tree Mousepad, Redbubble
• Good Office Day, Journal/Notebook
• Muji, Gel Ink Cap .38mm Pen

Software:

• Notion for writing and task management
• Substack for hosting my newsletter
• Webflow for website design
• HEY for email
• GCal for meetings
• Cal.com for scheduling

What is your favorite item in your workspace?

My favorite item in my workspace is my journal. It's not pictured here, but I always keep it close by whenever I get stuck or start doubting myself. I've come to rely on journaling my way through problems and have found it's a great way to work through thoughts and feelings as well as business or operations problems.

How do you spark creativity?

I spark creativity in two ways. The first is kind of cheating, but I've worked really hard to get better at writing down interesting ideas when I have them. This took a lot of practice, but now whenever I'm struggling to come up with an idea for a new edition of Prompted I can circle back to a running doc I've titled the "Ideas Lab" and pull from a previous moment of creativity.

Alternatively, if I've run out of ideas completely, I open a new Notion page and populate a random emoji and start writing about the first thing that comes to mind. Usually, this is enough to land on a new metaphor or analogy that I can expand on with more writing and helps me generate new perspectives.  

How do you manage work-life balance?

I've created strict working hours and location changes that correspond with different "work" projects and the rest of "life". For me, this means turning off WiFi first thing in the morning and heading to the first floor to write for an hour or two uninterrupted. Then I go to the gym, shower, and head upstairs to turn the WiFi back on and begin my day job. The hardest but most important piece is exiting Chrome and Slack at 5pm and resisting the urge to check back in until the start of the next workday.

What do you think is the main benefit of remote work?

Removing a constant sense of obligation. In the office, we feel like we have to look busy, go out to lunch, attend happy hours, and join in on conversations throughout the day. All of these are great in small doses, but for many introverts (like myself) the constant feeling of obligation to participate in all these extracurriculars can be overwhelming. Remote work means focused working time and the freedom to pick and choose which extracurriculars we'd like to participate in.