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 […]
Productivity
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 […]
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 […]
Making RSS about people
Reading Time: 2 min I’ve been talking about RSS feeds for about 13 years now, and have been using them much longer than that. I recently suggested that most everyone should be using them, and you can see how they fit into my larger system here. That said, I’m constantly adjusting how I use them, which is part of […]
Don’t wait for inspiration to strike
Reading Time: < 1 min There are times when I find it difficult to come up with a subject to write about on here, but the solution isn’t too difficult — just dive in. In the book The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, he shares a great example: Someone once asked Somerset Maugham if he wrote on a schedule […]
Night shift all day long
Reading Time: 2 min A popular feature that has found it’s way to all major operating system (not only Windows and Mac, but iPhone, Android and others) is “night shift” mode, where your display shifts to show more colors from the warmer end of the spectrum, with less blue light. When you first enable it, most systems default to […]
Escape into brain.fm
Reading Time: 2 min I’ve been trying to read more over the past year, and for the most part have been pretty successful. Much of that is due to simply making it a higher priority, but some tools have helped along the way — a big one is brain.fm. The app is essentially just specially-created music that you listen […]
Don’t start tomorrow
Reading Time: < 1 min If you’re thinking of starting a blog, or writing a book, or exercising, or anything else, a good time to start would be tomorrow. A better time to start would be today. In his book The War of Art, author Steven Pressfield says: We don’t tell ourselves, “I’m never going to write my symphony.” Instead […]
Highlighting a physical book
Reading Time: 2 min When I’m reading, probably about 99% of the books I read are on Kindle. It’s simple, efficient, and makes highlighting super easy. Not only can I highlight on Kindle with a few taps, but I can easily grab them all from the Kindle website to pull into Roam Research (kind of like I describe here). […]