Hiya! My name is Jacob Evans and I’m a technologist with many interests, most notably team building, the science of productivity, software development, astronomy, and travel. Over the last twenty years, I have had the privilege of leading and building high-performing software development teams.

I reside in the western United States (Salt Lake City, Utah to be exact) with my lovely wife Monira—to whom I’ve been married since 2006—and our daughter Zuri, who joined us in 2019.

The Evans Family, February 2022
The Evans Family, February 2022

Projects

I started this site to write about the things I find interesting and to share insights I’ve gained from bringing professional and personal endeavors to life. While it is still in its infancy, here’s a list of the projects I intend to write about and develop further in the open:

  • Personal productivity & related systems. Since I started using Kinkless GTD in 2005, I’ve been on a seemingly never-ending spirit quest to improve my personal productivity. Lately, I’ve been focused on building systems and personal habits that help ensure I’m spending the bulk of my time working on the right things and that I have low-friction systems in place to track everything else.
  • Amateur astronomy. I love astronomy and I’m lucky to live in a state that offers pretty dark skies. I’ve been exploring how to make my observing sessions more meaningful by better planning my time under the stars and recording the objects I’ve observed in a structured way.
  • Working remotely. I love to travel, especially internationally. However, when I’m on a trip, I sometimes need to work. I’ve been on a mission to pack the minimum amount of technology to be maximally productive.
  • Home automation. Once you start, you can’t stop. I have had all kinds of untold fun automating our home (well, actually, I am going to tell you about all the fun I’ve had). It continues to surprise and delight.

The Setup

Most of my computing is done on a 2022 Mac Studio with M1 Ultra and 64GB of RAM. I use two Studio Displays. Prior to this setup, I had a mid-2012 “cheese grater” Mac Pro for nearly a decade. Here’s hoping the Mac Studio serves me well for the next decade.

When working remotely, I’m usually using my trusty 13" M4 iPad Pro, which has become my favorite computing device—especially since adding the iPad Magic Keyboard. Whenever my work on the road requires a Mac, you’ll find me using an M4 14" MacBook Pro.

This site is static and built using Tinderbox. Its theme is of my own design, but influenced by the sensibilities of Shawn Blanc and John Gruber. The site is mostly free of JavaScript.

Contact

Please don’t hesitate to email me at hello@jacobevans.net. I read every email I get, but I often don’t respond in a timely manner. Please don’t be offended if I don’t write back immediately or at all.