A couple of months ago I mentioned my use of Ulysses along with a few other tricks to develop a writing habit. And that has worked great... for a time. That is, it worked until I saw this tweet by Brett Terpstra.
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Since starting Bookworm I have been taking notes on my books in a variety of ways. I started off keeping independent text files for each book. Then I started doing the same, but in Drafts. Then I had a short stint when I wrote them in a physical notebook. But then I came back to Drafts.
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My good friend Mike Schmitz just released a new course on mind mapping over on The Sweet Setup today. I've watched Mike pour over the details of these courses before and know the depth he goes to make sure it is high quality and packed with information. Combine that with the passion of The Sweet Setup team and a 20% off launch price and you can't go wrong here. Check out the new course here!
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For a couple of years now, I have been weaning myself off of Google’s services. I am simply tired of volunteering my information for their algorithms and seeing it used to create a confirmation bias that is unhealthy in the long-term. Yes, there are other companies doing the same, but for the sake of this article, let’s focus on Google. Here’s a look at the services I’m using to avoid them.
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David Sparks has done it again. And this time it's FREE! He has a new Field Guide on Fantastical. I can't say I've see a video course on Fantastical anywhere, so this is an easy one to grab if you're at all interested in Fantastical.
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Save yourself the trouble. Set up a bank account for your blog or podcast early on in the process. The accounting mess of managing the finances within your personal account isn’t worth the trouble. This is especially true when there are online business banks that make the process smooth.
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I keep my iPhone home screen empty. This is a commitment that is either a fad or a convergence of technology writers wanting better control over their handheld computers. Despite the scenario, I find that a blank home screen forces me to consider why I have unlocked the device.
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The GTD Weekly Review is likely one of the most talked about and most resisted aspects of following the GTD methodology. And it makes sense. It takes time to do it right and it requires thinking at a level that is less than enjoyable.
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When I re-committed to writing back in July of 2019 I started doing so in MultiMarkdown Composer. I learned about the tool from Brett Terpstra at MacStock and having learned that my brain works in many similar ways to Brett’s, I figured it was worth a try.
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This past year I made numerous changes to my workflows and the tools I use to get my work done. And those tools are ones I love talking about. Thus, I needed to put this together.
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What better habit to build than reading your Bible daily? This is something I have been working on for five years now, reading my Bible in its entirety in 365 days.
I want to help you out. It’s the time of year when a lot of us take a step back and reflect on what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. We do our annual reviews, set some goals, or make a plan for the upcoming year. But it’s also an excellent time to reflect on the tools we use to do all of the above.
I can't say I've seen The Sweet Setup do this before, but today they have a deal running on ALL of their training courses. Having been through a couple of these and knowing the team behind them, I can tell you this is an awesome deal we should all join. I especially have my eye on the photography course.
Learn OmniFocus is easily one of my favorite places to go when I need motivation around my OmniFocus system. So it was a high honor to be able to spend some time with the Learn OmniFocus community going through my current OmniFocus structure and how it works for me. Be sure to check out the free recording on the Learn OmniFocus site.
This past September I had the opportunity to go to the D6 Conference with my wife, a handful of staff members, and most of the pastors from my church. I was expecting to have a good time and enjoy the opportunity to connect on a deeper level with friends. What I wasn't expecting was Jefferson Bethke.
My main web browser of choice for almost a year now has been Brave. I love it because it takes the guts of Chrome and puts a privacy layer on top of it. It strips all the tracking and blocks ads out of the box. But you don't have to sacrifice the great rendering and developer tools in Chrome to do it.
I have used Hover for almost four years. They were the first dedicated domain registrar I used, which was primarily due to the ridiculous number of times I heard about them in ad spots on podcasts. They are phenomenal at marketing and getting their name out there. But despite my history with them and their marketing, I have decided to move on.
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At this point, you have most likely heard of SetApp. But not everyone believes the subscription is worth it. In my case, it's an easy sell since there are two or three apps I use constantly that on their own would have cost me more than the SetApp subscription itself. But it's the full spectrum of apps available that make it worth so much more. Just being able to download them to explore them is worth a trial. And to show you how much I get out of it, here's a look at every single app I downloaded from SetApp.
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There's a trend. It's a typical trend. It's one you see in many sectors. It's a trend that comes from one of two sources. One, people need a break. Two, people know and understand more about their sector than the general population. But the question is, what do you do about it once you know?
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David Sparks has done it again. He's just released a brand new Shortcuts Field Guide specifically geared towards iOS 13. I haven't had a chance to go through the whole thing, but I can tell you it's intense. There is a LOT of great video here. And since it's so great, I figured it was only fitting to create a Siri Shortcut that takes you to the Shortcuts Field Guide.
A little over five years ago I took a small stack of index cards and clipped them together with a small binder clip. The idea was simple and it was one I took from Merlin Mann. It seemed like a helpful tool at the time and it was one that filled the need for ubiquitous capture. Five years later I'm still using the hPDA, but the ways I have used it are different from my original intent.
It's official. I've come back to OmniFocus in full force. But after making that decision, I realized that my life is very different from where I was when I was using OmniFocus previously. And that means rethinking the whole structure. So I went on a search for inspiration and came up with a plethora of valuable resources.
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The seed was planted about two years ago. I learned about the world of white-hat hacking and Hacker One. And although I haven't done much of anything with my hacker account there, I did spend a lot of time researching and developing a knowledge of what it takes to make any decent money on the platform. But that research showed me how easy and prevalent the exploitation of user privacy has become. It opened my eyes to the lack of privacy we truly have online.
Macstock was especially awesome this year. Each time I return home I try to dedicate time to reflect on my time on the event. And I always come away with a better understanding of the Mac community, deepened friendships, new friendships, and way more tools to play with than I should ever download.
A couple of years ago I became familiar with the Audiogram tool created by NY Public Radio. I was enamored and immediately set it up. I created a couple and shared them, but it was a bit tedious and I could never get it to look quite the way I wanted. Some of that is due to my limitations in time dedicated to the process and some of it was due to motivation. But recently, I discovered a tool that helps automate the process and gives me the design features I want.
I could see the rage building in her eyes. This had come up many times before and it had now reached critical mass. Something was about to break and regrettable words were about to be turned loose if we couldn't find a solution. That is if I didn't find a solution.
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Contexts are forever a sticking point for new adopters of Getting Things Done (GTD), but they are also an extremely popular discussion point for long-time practitioners, including myself. They are highly personal and dependent on your daily routines, hardware, software, lifestyle, personality, company policies, and hair color. And that means there are just as many variations on how to use them.
It’s a bittersweet moment to see a fountain pen begin skipping on the page. On the one hand, frustration takes over. The half-written words will need to be re-written and you’ll have to bring yourself back into the flow of writing. But on the other hand, it creates an opportunity to choose a different ink and rediscover the pen in a small way. Which means your love for the pen may deepen.
This past week I had a chance to jump on Free Agents with my good friends Mike Schmitz and David Sparks to talk about a pretty big transition I'm working through with my work. It may not be a popular decision I'm making, but it's definitely the right move and I'm certainly excited about it.
👋 I'm Joe. I strive to build productivity systems that stand the test of time and help me do more than check boxes. I'm here to help you do the same.
🎙 I read a lot of books and talk about it.
🐿 I can't focus on one thing for long, so I write a lot of code for an eclectic grouping of projects.
📓 And I'm a bit obsessed with finding non-proprietary solutions to digital problems. Thus, text files for the win! 🎉
