Creating More Palatable Color Palettes in Redash

I love using Redash to create and automate SQL queries that generate reports. Its dashboard feature lets me automate many of the reports I used to create manually in Numbers and Google Sheets. Redash saves me dozens of hours a year, and it lets me get real-time access to the data I need most. Instead […]

70 Atoms Share What Most Helped Them Transition to Remote Work

Last Wednesday afternoon, we got the email you might have, too. We’d be closing the office and working from home to protect ourselves and our communities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. By Friday, we had transitioned to an all-remote company. After a quick and smooth transition, I wondered what could we share with […]

How Templates Cured My Gmail Paralysis

I’ve learned an inconvenient truth: avoiding writing a difficult email won’t improve my situation. So why do I fall prey to email paralysis? I spent some time considering the emails that trip me up most, and I found they tend to fall into a few categories. I put off writing emails that: must be absolutely […]

How Toilet Roll Art Taught Me About Levity as a Workplace Superpower

Last year, our Ann Arbor workplace touched a third rail: office toilet politics.

Help Me, Help Me: My Experiment Taking Self-Help Seriously

Here’s the thing about self-help books: They contain wisdom, but something about them makes my eyes roll. As I read, I often agree with their thesis, but my inner soundtrack of “yes, but”s disputes the advice. I am so adept at contradicting the advice of self-help books that I’ve become immune to their teachings. Then […]

Brittany Hunter named Managing Partner in Atomic’s Grand Rapids Office

Brittany Hunter is Atomic Object’s newest managing partner at our Grand Rapids office. She will join Jeff Williams, Mike Marsiglia, and Shawn Crowley on the office’s management and leadership team, which conducts sales, manages staff and client relationships, and develops new business. Hunter’s career at Atomic has spanned eight years and three roles. She joined […]

Four Lessons I Learned Too Late about Balancing Work and Grad School

I’m in the final stretch of a graduate program I’ve completed while working 40 hours a week. Three years ago, I remember agonizing over whether to enroll. Would I lose my friends? Would my work performance suffer? What would I have to cut out of my life to manage the added time put towards school? […]

Reviving the Handwritten Thank-You Note: Tips, Tools, and a 4-Sentence Template

I’m pretty sure you already think handwriting thank-you notes is a good move. So why don’t you more often? Does it seem old-fashioned? Too much work? Overly time-consuming? Not sure what to say? Do you associate it with obligatory notes to Aunt Martha, thanking her for your itchy birthday socks?

Turn Travel with Colleagues into Your Professional Superpower

Over the past year, I’ve spent dozens of hours in a car, train, or plane next to a coworker. We Atoms travel together between offices and to client sites, outreach events, and conferences. I’ve always loved traveling. The passing landscape provides the perfect backdrop for a nap, catching up on email, or staring out the […]

Who’s Doing the Glue Work at Your Company?

Lately, I’ve been thinking about the work that falls outside of job descriptions. I’m talking about the stuff that needs doing, but isn’t anyone’s explicit job. I’m aware of how this type of work can impact my career, but Atomic has made that impact manageable—and sometimes even beneficial—through smart policies. I’ll share my story and […]

Atomic Spin

Atomic Object’s blog on everything we find fascinating.

By: Elaine Ezekiel

Author: Elaine Ezekiel