Since the weather has been getting colder lately, here are some ways to stay warm especially when winter comes:

1. Wear multiple layers – It is easier to change your body temperature than room temperature, not to mention more eco-friendly. Dress in multiple layers to help keep you warm. Socks and hats are a great way to retain body heat even when you are indoors.

2. Reverse ceiling fan circulation – Since warm air rises, if you’ve run your heater for a little while, turn on your fan on its lowest setting to push the warm air back down.

3. Drinking hot soups and beverages – Raise your core temperature by consuming hot soup, tea or coffee on cold days.

4. Close off unused rooms – Keeping doors closed won’t just prevent cold air from moving into the rest of the house, it will help contain the heat generated from a fireplace, heater, etc.

With the end of the year approaching at lightning speed, that means reviews are right around the corner as well. Whether you've been here for years or just a few months, it's a great time to reflect on what growth you've seen in yourself recently and what growth you'd like to focus on for next year. Self assessments will be here before you know it, so do yourself a favor and take 5 seconds out today's craziness to open a private google doc and throw just a few bullet points in there about your achievements or other things you'd like to discuss during your review. 

Once the google doc is there, it's a breeze to open up and add other points as they pop into your head in the over the next few weeks. 

And definitely be specific! Talk about some distinct projects you worked on that you're especially proud of, or be really honest about things in your job you'd like to change if there are any. Communication is key for reviews to be productive, and it's important to remember that your manager is most likely not a mind reader. It's our job as well to keep them in the loop of what's going on within teams or within ourselves when it comes to our jobs, so take advantage of the time to be transparent, and your manager will definitely thank you.

Happy Brainstorming! 

Disclaimer: brace yourselves for a number of Uganda-related Loop posts from me over the next few Mondays #SorryNotSorry


Before I left for Uganda, I grabbed a few belts to bring with me to give to some of my friends over there. Ugandan-made products are notoriously very poorly made and don't last very long, so I knew they'd be stoked to have some really good belts that would last them a long time. Not to mention, of course, expanding that SlideBelts ratchet belt market into unchartered territory


I gave James (left), Tony (middle), and Janen (right) each a belt and they were STOKED. They were blown away by the quality and were really fascinated by the ratchet design. I think it's safe to say that there aren't many ratchet belts available on the streets and in the local markets in Gulu, Uganda.

The morning we were set to fly out, they took us to an awesome outdoor bar right on the shores of Lake Victoria. I took a few pictures of all three of them with their new SlideBelts on, and it wasn't until I sat down to write this post that I realized...Janen (right) has his belt on completely inside out, ratchet strip facing out and all Ugh. So close.