Who are you, and what do you do?
I'm a neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and author. I split my time between academic research and running a business. At the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's College London, I study topics such as hypercuriosity, ADHD, and the intersection of AI and mental health. Alongside that, I run Ness Labs, a science communication platform for hypercurious minds. I write a weekly newsletter read by around 125,000 people and run a learning community of about 2,000 students. I'm also the author of Tiny Experiments, a book about living and working in a more experimental way. Outside of work, I'm interested in psychedelics, the nature of consciousness, tools for thought, and movement as a form of mindfulness. I also love a good sci-fi or fantasy novel!
What do you use to get the job done?
Most of my work happens on a MacBook, which I use for writing, email, and coding. I also use a reMarkable Paper Pro for deep reading and annotating academic papers, as well as for taking notes during in-person meetings and lab sessions so I can stay fully focused.
On the software side, I'm an ex-Googler so I mostly use Google Workspace: Google Docs for writing, Gmail for email, Google Sheets for tracking projects and building dashboards, and Google Calendar for meetings. I use Zotero to save interesting papers and manage references when I write academic papers, and I like that it integrates seamlessly with Google Chrome.
I rely heavily on Roam Research. It's really foundational to how I develop and connect ideas and I hope they never go out of business. I also use Scapple for visual mapping, Jamovi for statistical analysis, and the Adobe suite (mainly Photoshop, Premiere, and Acrobat) for design and editing. For coding, I use VS Code and Hyper as my terminal.
I still write a lot by hand. I've been using the same type of plain, unbranded notebooks I was given at a conference years ago. I can't find them anywhere online and I'm down to my last one. I'll be genuinely sad when I run out and have to switch to something else.
For pens, I use MUJI 0.38mm gel pens in black or navy for sketching and thinking on paper, an Oberthur stylo plume 'Quito' for journaling, and a Lamy Safari fountain pen when I travel.
What would be your dream setup?
I'm quite happy with my tools, so my dream setup is really about the environment. I'd love to work by a window looking out onto nature, like a forest or a park. I used to live in a ground-floor apartment overlooking a backyard, where squirrels would knock on the window asking for almonds. Sometimes a fox would pass through, or a crow or magpie would perch on the balcony railing. I spent long hours there writing my book, often pausing to look outside, and I still think about that apartment fondly.