Reading Time: 3 min When trying to remember something there are two basic parts to it: In his book “The Design of Everyday Things“, author Don Norman explains it in more detail: There are two different aspects to a reminder: the signal and the message. Just as in doing an action we can distinguish between knowing what can be […]
Let’s do this again next week
Reading Time: < 1 min I’ve mentioned the fantastic “Founders” podcast on here a few times. Not only do I get a lot out of it, it partially inspired my new podcast as well. Earlier this year, David from Founders did a show with the guys from the “Acquired” podcast and it was an amazing episode. It was nearly three […]
Digitally prepping for a trip
Reading Time: 2 min Over the next few months I’ll be heading to both New York and San Antonio for some fun trips. My goal is to work very little on those trips, but I still want to keep up with some of my daily streaks (such as this blog), so preparation is key. Blogging I generally stay a […]
The Sunday Summary: Working on paper, quitting, and being clever
Reading Time: < 1 min In an effort to help me keep up with everything I post each week, here is my latest “Sunday Summary” of my posts from the week. Mon, September 11: There is no average personBuilding an ideal persona for your audience is key, but it’s also important to know that you’ll never find that perfect person. […]
Is it clever or self-indulgent?
Reading Time: < 1 min There is a fine line between a design that is clever and one that is self-indulgent, and they often fall to the latter. As Don Norman said in “The Design of Everyday Things“: “Rule of thumb: if you think something is clever and sophisticated beware-it is probably self-indulgence.” Ultimately, though, it doesn’t really matter which […]
Never quit?
Reading Time: 2 min A popular piece of advice is to “never quit”, but it’s not always a good way to approach things. Certainly you don’t want to give up too early, but choosing to “never quit” can be foolish. As Seth Godin shared in his book “The Dip“, he says: “Never Quit” What a spectacularly bad piece of […]
Intentional imbalance
Reading Time: < 1 min Work-life balance is something that many strive for, but it’s often a fool’s errand. Not that work should consume your life, but that trying to balance them neatly may be impossible. In “The 12 Week Year“, author Brian Morgan suggests this instead: Trying to spend equal time in each area is unproductive and often frustrating. […]
Visceral responses matter
Reading Time: 2 min Generally speaking, I’m not a fan of AI. There are some great things coming from it, but I generally prefer the old way of doing things, and wish that all creativity came directly from human minds. However, it’s not something I can control so I’m digging in deeply to understand AI as well as I […]
Does it work on paper?
Reading Time: 2 min As I’ve shared before, the “weekly preview” that I do each Friday is one of my favorite things. It helps me to make sure the coming week is well-organized, it gives me a chance to tidy up any tight spaces, and leaves me feeling good about the week before the weekend hits. My weekly previews […]
There is no average person
Reading Time: < 1 min While building audience personas is a vital piece of any marketing campaign, it’s also a bit strange. We build this very specific idea of who the customer is, knowing that this exact person doesn’t exist. In his book, “The Design of Everyday Things“, author Don Norman says: There is no such thing as the average […]