Reading Time: < 1 min While I would never be considered a designer, I’m always looking for ways to improve how I think about the world around me. I found a great example in an old blog post I was reading (the post is not available, but you can see it using archive.org here) where this concept came up: Design […]
Add tasks in the middle of your work
Reading Time: 2 min If you follow this blog very much, you know that I play with a lot of productivity tools. A trend I’m starting to see emerge is the idea of having tasks mixed in with your notes, and I really like it. It can be a tricky thing to pull off. With any task system, you […]
What’s on the back of your cabinet?
Reading Time: 2 min If you were to pull your chest of drawers out from the wall and look at the back of it, what would you see? In most cases, it’s just a piece of plywood or even some heavy cardboard. That’s not necessary bad (cost savings, etc), but it speaks to the quality of the design. Steve […]
How Slack Builds Trust
Reading Time: < 1 min A few weeks ago, I mentioned a few companies that I tend to trust. In all of those cases, it was the humans at the companies that helped build that trust. However, Slack (the chat app that we use) does something automatic that I think is brilliant. If you add more users, they automatically charge […]
15 minutes is 1% of a day
Reading Time: < 1 min I’ve talked a bit lately about how 1% can make a difference, but there is an important thing to remember about 1% when it comes to time — it’s only 15 minutes out of your day. I was reminded of this while reading Your Best Just Got Better, and you should consider giving it a […]
One percent can make a huge difference
Reading Time: < 1 min A few years ago I talked about how 1% can be a big first step, depending on what you’re trying to do. When it comes to effort, though, 1% isn’t too difficult and can add up to a huge difference. A simple way to look at it is money. If you have $1, and do […]
There are only protagonists
Reading Time: < 1 min In the book Overcoming Bias, authors Tiffany Jana and Matthew Freeman make an interesting observation that I tend to agree with: The world certainly has bad guys who come along now and then, but most of the time there are only protagonists – and everyone is fighting for what they think is right. Particularly in […]
Argue like the Wright brothers
Reading Time: < 1 min Wilbur and Orville Wright were famous for their arguments, but they did it in a great way. Rather than ever attacking each other personally, they attacked the viewpoints of one another, freeing them to dig in deep. As much as they respected one another, they were open to new ideas which sometimes led to comical […]
Joe Rogan doesn’t have a podcast
Reading Time: < 1 min Joe Rogan used to have one of the most popular podcasts on the internet, but in mid-2020 he signed an exclusive deal with Spotify, reportedly for $100M. Therein lies the problem. I don’t fault Joe for taking the deal. If Spotify offered me $100M for almost anything, I’d do it. However, I love the open […]
Get all of the best apps, or just use a spork?
Reading Time: 2 min There’s a cycle that I constantly go through with the apps that I use. For a while I’ll find new apps that do a great job at a specific purpose, realize I have too many, and then combine them by using one mediocre “do everything” app. It’s like the choice between using a fork and […]