Jeff Shibasaki
Jeff Shibasaki
Jeff is the creator of Geek Strong—where glitchy habits get patched and thriving becomes the default. 🚀
Hey there, geek! 👋🏻
I’m an ex-smoker, ex-drinker, a reformed cheese addict, a recovering fast-food junkie, a retired stress machine, and a proud dropout from the “not me” club. It took time to level up—but I did it. You can too!
Years ago, I set out to patch the habits that were holding me back. What I found was something bigger—a better way to live built on simple, repeatable habits. That journey led to patchOS and the Patches that bring those habits to life.
Jeff’s journey
Origin story
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Origin story 👇🏻
The crash
I thought I was doing everything right to be healthy—no red meat, only weekend drinking, and jogging on Saturdays. Then—bam! One ER trip later, I was on the operating table getting my gallbladder removed. My system crashed. Hard!
Geeks like us are usually early adopters, but it’s easy to fall behind when we stop paying attention. Showing up isn’t enough. We have to build better habits, too! That emergency room visit was my wake-up call. I didn’t want to spend the second half of my life with shoulda, woulda, coulda regrets. I was determined to fix my glitchy habits. Armed with books, documentaries, podcasts, and dozens of open browser tabs, I took a deep dive—down rabbit holes that kept branching, looping, and going further than I ever expected.
Creating patchOS
Even though I have no medical credentials—and the only letters behind my name are G, double E, and K—I realized I could create a behavior-change system using the same principles I use to design digital experiences—turning complex ideas into clear, simple, and easy-to-follow solutions. So that’s exactly what I did. I reverse-engineered the advice of top lifestyle docs into six default habits—simple, memorable, and easy to use. These habits became patchOS—the operating system designed to patch the habits that hold you back and keep better ones top of mind with simple two-word defaults—easy to remember and use:
Plan Ahead
Eat Well
Move Often
Stress Less
Love More
Sleep Deep
patchOS isn’t a biohack—it’s a repeatable system that runs day after day—in any order. Don’t know who to call in an emergency? Plan Ahead. Tempted to grab a donut? Eat Well. Been sitting for a long time? Move Often. Feeling overwhelmed? Stress Less. Want stronger relationships? Love More. Tired all day? Sleep Deep.
Wellness isn’t about perfection—it’s about playing the long game with smarter choices, and building strength from the inside out.
Becoming Geek Strong
Day by day, I started making real progress...
Minimize emergencies and maximize preparedness. Done. Switch to a whole-food, plant-based diet and stop drinking alcohol. Done. Build endurance to run 5 miles, 5 days per week. Done. Identify stressors and accept things I can’t change. Done. Stop holding grudges and transcend my ultra-introverted personality to be friendlier. Done. Create a cool, quiet, and dark sleep haven. Done, done, done, done, done, done, and done.
With patchOS installed and running smoothly, everything started to click—and I mean everything! Brain fog? Gone. Snoring? Stopped. Cholesterol meds? Canceled. Weight? Dropped 35 pounds. Skin condition? Glowing. Energy? Through the stratosphere. Muscles? Back like a retro bonus level!
Today, I’m building Geek Strong to help people patch the habits that hold them back—with patchOS and story-driven Patches that make it easier to start and stick with change. Let’s patch things up!
Don’t worry. Be gritty!
😣
Don’t worry. Be gritty! 😣
How I show up
Be curious
Be genuine
Be humble
Respect everyone
Skip the fluff
Think critically
Build better habits
Have fun
My proudest geek moment
I created an Apple Account for my daughter when she was just a few months old. As she grew older, I wanted her books and music to be associated with her account. Selfishly, I also wanted her Baby Shark and The Wiggles recommendations to stop appearing in between Bon Iver and Andrew Bird in my recommendations. Stress less! 😆
My super power
Grit! I’m a quiet geek, but I don’t let that stop me from facing hard missions and achieving my goals. I tackle complex challenges, break them down into manageable steps, and persevere until the task is complete. 😣
50% curious. 50% creative. 100% geek!
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Jeff is a Staff UX Writer at Wellhub and a lifelong storyteller. He’s written blogs on wellness, UX writing, UX design, web design, and international cultures. He’s also authored three books on Korean and Japanese cultures. Japanese Gestures is available on Apple Books.
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Jeff once owned a web design studio called Bento Sites—named after the Japanese lunchboxes he loved while living in Japan. During the pandemic, he pivoted to UX design and UX writing. Two years later, the Interaction Design Foundation (IxDF) ranked his portfolio among the most inspirational UX design portfolios, and the UX Design Institute named it one of the best in the world.
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Jeff is a Cambridge CELTA-certified English teacher who spent 12 years teaching private, corporate, and government classes across Japan, South Korea, and Thailand. His iPad-powered “Wheel of Fortune” and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” review games with multiple projectors were ahead of their time—and a student favorite.
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Jeff has lived with the Urak Lawoi (Sea Gypsies) on a remote Thai island, crossed the DMZ into North Korea, cycled across northern Thailand, South Korea, and Japan, climbed Mt. Fuji—and ultimately arrived just in time to meet his future wife sitting across from him at a Tokyo izakaya. They later set sail across the Pacific together to start a new life in the US.
Jeff’s sites