My name is Dan. I am a coach and writer. This page is an ever-expanding list of authors, books, apps and products that I’ve found useful in anything from anxiety attacks to awakening; home-working to long-distance running. I often recommend things in person and on calls and realised it would be easier to have all my recommendations in one place. Where the product I’m recommending is available on Amazon, I’ve used an Amazon affiliate link. That means if you click through and buy something I recieve a pitiful commission with no downside for you. This is an easy way of supporting my work whilst you get to buy cool stuff. Thank you!

Awakening

📱 Waking Up. Despite being the target audience, I never tried Sam Harris’ Waking Up app until 2024. Mostly because I don’t use guided meditations. But one of my favourite non-dual teachers, Joan Tollifson, shared her new course with a 30-day free trial and I’ve been using the app since. Her series is a direct exploration of the simplicity of being—more a sustained contemplative exploration than guided meditation—and across the app as a whole I found the audio production and talk quality to be very high. There’s also beautiful artwork to boot. I’ve listened to John Astin’s two series a few times and enjoyed some of Loch Kelly’s meditations. Gripes: I wish resuming a series was less painful.
📓 Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante G. This is usually what I recommend to people who are new to Vipasanna or insight meditation. A wonderfully written “nuts and bolts, step-by-step” meditation manual. You can read the original version online for free.
📓 Seeing That Frees by Rob Burbea. My favourite guide on the realisation of emptiness. Comprehensive, progressive and deep reaching.
📓 The Deepest Acceptance by Jeff Foster. It is more a relaxed set of talks than a book, which suits the topic at hand. The theme of the book is that the deepest acceptance has already happened; that by something being here in your experience, it has already been allowed in; that our usual acceptance and rejection are always too late; and that what you are is not the pain or the joy, but the capacity for all of them. 8/10.
📓 The Yoga of Radiant Presence by Peter Brown. Peter Brown is not a well-known teacher. He was unrelentingly direct, funny and original. He taught the Yoga of Radiant Presence: radiant presence being the essence of reality, and yoga being the work of sensitively attuning to this reality as it appears, right now. His presentation manages to sidestep 90% of preoccupations with ego, self, not-self, nd non-duality. His book, The Yoga of Radiant Presence, centres around a series of modern Sutras, followed by commentaries to help unpack the meaning. Nic Higham has a great introduction to Peter’s teaching. I enjoyed Paul Dobson talking to John Astin about the impact Peter Brown had on him. I have spent a lot of time with book and keep returning to it. 10/10.

Home office

Ikea Bekant motorised standing desk. I’ve been using this desk for about 10 years. It is spacious, minimal and the raising and lowering is managed by two neat buttons. My battery died once about 5 years in and a free replacement was sent out. No issues since. I have a great office chair too, but at some you realise you just can’t sit all day. A standing desk is the answer. I also find that I prefer to coach standing up.
AirPods. I use them for every meeting and coaching session. And for listening to podcasts and music when I’m walking each day. And you can tell: they’re a state. But they still work well. I’ve never had one fall out of my ear, even when trail running over long distances. The sound quality is surprisingly good considering there are no buds to block out other sounds. I’ve not tried AirPod Pros yet. When I want quality I turn to…
AirPods Max. These were a big purchase and come with a high-risk of being labelled an unquestioning Apple fan boy. I regret nothing. The sound quality is fantastic, they’re very comfortable, and the integration with Apple TV is dreamy. The noise cancellation is next-level and I particularly appreciated it whilst travelling on the tube or just needing to block out a busy office/loud neighbour. Watching great shows on TV with quality, wireless headphones is a wonderful experience. This was my first dip in Spatial Audio and it is very impressive. The first time I played a Spatial Audio-enabled show on my iPhone, on a train, I was convinced the sound was coming out of my phone, not my headphones. It was so surreal! If you’re not already trapped/embedded in the Apple ecosystem, there are probably better options for your money.
Logitech K860 ergonomic keyboard. I used an Apple Magic Keyboard for many years, mostly because it travelled well. But it’s an ergonomic nightmare. The first time I rested my hands on this keyboard I let out a small moan of joy. I will never go back. You could go further and investigate the world of split keyboards. But they’re more expensive, harder to get a hold of and there’s a bigger learning curve. I found this to be the perfect middle ground.

Getting things done

📱 Things. During my sabbatical, I survived for many months without any real to-do list. (In fact, the absence of a to-do list is perhaps why I survived…) But these days things are busy and there are a lot of balls in the air. After a brief detour into task management with Obsidian, I switched to using Things. The standard of the UX and the beauty of small interactions leaves most apps in the dust. It’s expensive and Apple-only, but I use it every day. My favourite features are the quick entry, natural date parsing on due dates and just how powerful it is.
📱 Mimestream. I recently paid for Mimestream, a native macOS email client for Gmail. Superhuman was the new hotness for a while, but it’s way overpriced for me and I don’t want to be Superman; I just want to tend to email quickly. Mimestream has great keyboard shortcuts, quick search, the ability to create filters and it’s fast. The Inbox Zero confetti burst is a delightful experience. Using a native app has the benefit of not having to open a browser each time you need to do email. Not having to face that endless row of tabs. Combine an email client with a decent read-it-later app, and you should be able to quit your browser daily. I do this regularly now and it brings me great joy.
📓 Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. An exploration of time management that ends up asking the deepest questions about what it means to “have time” and how we often buy into illusory ways of controlling our time to stay “on top of it all.” Despite its routine topic, it ends up being very profound, as our time and our very being are—in the final analysis—inseparable. Burkeman is accessible but also capable of discussing the philosophy of Heidegger and the contemplative wisdom of Shinzen Young without losing the trail. Perhaps my favourite “productivity” book.
📱 Time Out. After going through burnout, I could barely look at a screen without feeling nauseous and dissociated. As my energy improved, I would get overexcited, use my laptop for too long and feel wiped out again. The only way I got through this was using an app to remind me to take regular breaks. I use a free Mac app called Time Out. Every 20 minutes it will fade into view and stop me doing anything for 20 seconds. I usually stand, blink and stare at the birds. This small interruption makes a world of difference over a day.
📱 Unhook. The YouTube algorithm is one of my least favourite. Unhook is a browser extension that removes all Recommended videos from YouTube. And pretty much anything else. It’s a wonderful viewing experience.

Burnout

📓 The End of Burnout by Jonathan Malesic. A much-needed deep dive into the social and cultural aspects of burnout. I think Jonathan does an excellent job of traversing the changes in working conditions and the economic and cultural forces that have somehow led us to identify more as “workers” than human beings. Just what you need after reading 20 burnout advice pieces telling you to practice gratitude and take more naps.

Health and Fitness

Exercise is the magic pill—a great summary from Harvard Magazine on the pervasive power of exercise, and our cultural reluctance to move on it.
📓 The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray. A witty, honest, non-preachy reflection on drinking and the joy of dropping it. The reason I decided to take a Sober Spring.
I walk around a lot in barefoot shoes. My gotos are Merrell Vapor Gloves. I bought two pairs about 6 years ago and still walk in them every week. They seem virtually indestructible and provide a truly barefoot experience. I also use them for Tai Chi.

Running

📓 The book that got me hooked on running was Born to Run. Even if you aren’t particularly interested in long-distance running, it’s an incredible story that’s hard to put down.
Before you really hurt yourself trying to run barefoot, read Can Barefoot Training Make You A Better Runner? Takeaway: it’s one tool, not a full-time thing.
My favourite book on running nutrition is Fast Fuel by Renee McGregor. The initial overview is simple and evidence-based, and the recipes are quick and delicious.
Running shoes are a personal affair, but the brand I buy the most from are Inov-8. The shoes are durable, don’t look terrible and can accomodate wide feet. I own the X-talon Ultras, the Ultra G 300 Max and the Parkclaws.

Anxiety

📓 Dare: The New Way to End Anxiety and Stop Panic Attacks. This book was one of the most important resources in my recovery from high anxiety and panic attacks. I remember telling my partner at the time “the next time I’m anxious, please please remind me to read this book again”. My anxiety rarely flares up these days, but if it does the pointers from this book are still lodged into my brain and helpful in defusing the situation.

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