Things I’ve Read, Thoughts I’ve Had

A Little Bit About Me

Welcome.

I’m Max, author of the international bestseller Time Off: A Practical Guide to Building Your Rest Ethic and Finding Success Without the Stress, a book about the importance of rest and leisure, and getting more done by doing less. My ideas have been featured in Fast Company, Financial Times, Thrive Global, Entrepreneur Magazine, and other publications.

Going beyond the book, my co-author John Fitch and I founded the company Time Off. Our workshops, courses and tools help individuals and companies to prevent burnout and unlock more creativity through the art of intentional time off. We help you – and your business – design your rest ethic.

I am also an AI Researcher, focusing particularly on the creative applications of AI in design and music, and its use together with biometric data in personalized health and wellbeing. I have worked on creative AI as Principal Researcher at the creative studio Qosmo, founded Yudemon with the goal to integrate generative soundscapes and music, based on real-time biodata, into meditation, HRV biofeedback training, and immersive experiences, and I am currently leading the AI/LLM team – both product and engineering – at Mercari, Japan’s largest C2C marketplace.

My biggest overarching interest in AI is how it will shape the future of work, allow us to focus more on truly human skills such as creativity and empathy, and help us achieve states of peak wellbeing and performance.

Before getting into AI, I worked in Quantum Information Theory, receiving a PhD from Imperial College London and working as a postdoc at Tokyo University.

I see myself first and foremost as a creator, whether that’s writing, code, or companies.

Another creative pursuit of mine is music. I produce and perform under the name Taktile. I mostly make Drum & Bass, but am also interested in some more experimental types of music, and integrating AI into the production and performance process.