<![CDATA[ The Weekly Review ]]> https://chrisbowler.com https://chrisbowler.com/favicon.png The Weekly Review https://chrisbowler.com Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:55:21 -0700 60 <![CDATA[ Bible study with Obsidian ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/bible-study-with-obsidian/ 6079e3a1730bc3003e6616f0 Fri, 16 Apr 2021 12:26:06 -0700 It's been a long journey for me in finding the right mix of tools to aid my study of scripture. It started with Olive Tree's Bible Study app, eventually moved to Ulysses, and now, thanks to my exposure to the Zettelkasten system, Obsidian is now the home of my notes.

This is one of those topics where each individual could have a slightly different setup than the next person. But tools like Roam Research and Obsidian are the perfect for taking your study to a deeper level.

Steps to set up

The first thing to do with either tool is get Scripture into it. Plenty of people are tackling this problem, so a quick search should get you a few options. I used the following resources:

  • This thread in the Obsidian forum
  • Joe Buhlig's copy of the script mentioned in the thread
  • Renamer (included in Setapp) to get the files into the desired format and naming convention
  • Sublime Text to do some large scale find and replace on some of the bits and bobs I didn't care for

Each chapter is its own note. Here's how that looks:

It took a couple of hours on a Saturday morning, but once the Scripture was in place, the rest is pretty easy. I chose to have each verse on its own line with a space in between. This keeps it readable, but more importantly, it lets me refer to specific verses in other notes.

My notes

The next step was migrating my notes that have come through using the Bible Study app and Ulysses. But I did things a little differently in Obsidian than I have in the past.

Previously, my notes would reside alongside the verses. In most Bible study apps, you can make a note and it shows in some in the UI with the verse number. I used the same format in Ulysses with footnotes or annotations.

In Obsidian, I instead create a separate evergreen note for each chapter of the Bible. Well, not each chapter — just the ones where I have a thought I want to jot down.

The verse references look like this [[Deut-08#^75d332]]. Hovering over that link and holding CMD will show a pop-up with the content of the verse. Or, I can refer to it this way to have it show in Preview mode: ![[Deut-08#^75d332]]

I still tend to read mostly from my physical Bible. But when I choose to read in Obsidian, I can open two panes: one for the chapter of the Bible, and one for notes on the book I'm reading.


The ability to connect your thoughts on related topics is why I started using a tool like Obsidian. And Bible study is the perfect use case for it. If you're a student of scripture, give Obsidian a try.

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<![CDATA[ Moving to a 4-day workweek ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/moving-to-a-4-day-workweek/ 6079e32b730bc3003e6616df Fri, 16 Apr 2021 12:20:33 -0700 It's been interesting to watch Buffer move to a four-day workweek and share their results.

The four-day work week resulted in sustained productivity levels and a better sense of work-life balance. These were the exact results we’d hoped to see, and they helped us challenge the notion that we need to work the typical ‘nine-to-five,’ five days a week. It’s worth noting that though we’ve seen sustained productivity levels, we’ve been gauging that based on teammate feedback and not company-wide goals, that is changing in 2021.

As a team that is coming up on our fourth full year of 4DWW, Wildbit is pretty familiar with the benefits it brings. But it was odd to see this post focus so much on statistics rather than focus on how people feel. Yes, their surveys are focused on people's perception of stress and happiness. But overall, the piece seems to stress productivity over all else.

Perhaps that is due to the questions that a team is inevitably asked about when making this kind of change. But, perhaps, in the middle of a global pandemic and related increases in mental health issues, we should encourage businesses to focus more on community, people, and impact instead of profits.

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<![CDATA[ Using tags in Obsidian ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/tags-in-obsidian/ 6054d50d0bdbf0003e111163 Fri, 19 Mar 2021 09:47:41 -0700 In a tool like Obsidian, direct, manually created links are the best way to connect your thinking across notes. This is the default behaviour of the Zettelkasten, and I appreciate the emphasis it's given by the folks at Zettelkasten.de.

However, I'm also not against using other forms of linking notes together. There's value to being able to see connections across topics, and for that use case, tags work well.

But I was a little surprised with how tags worked in Obsidian after coming from Roam.

The Roam approach

Roam treats a tag just like any other note (or page if you will). When you use the pound character to create a link to a theme you know you'll address in multiple notes, all you're doing is creating a note.

#christianity is essentially the same thing as typing [[Christianity]]

In essence, a tag is simply another entry in your Roam database. Put another way, Roam doesn't actually support tagging.

The Obsidian way

It's similar, but using a tag in Obsidian does not result in an actual note in your vault. Instead, tags can be used as a way to group notes that share a common theme and are essentially a type of "saved search".

You have a list of tags available, and clicking one results in a list of notes associated with that tag. Basically, a way to filter your notes.

Cause for confusion

This can be a real pain if you migrate from Roam to Obsidian.

I had created tags in Roam that had no actual content (because I had referenced the tag itself in a note, but hadn't put any content in the resulting page for that tag), migrating my database resulted in empty notes in Obsidian. Once I started to create more content in Obsidian, I would find some tags with a corresponding file and some without.

It took me a good while to realize that tagging in the app was not actually creating a new note.

Anyway…

I share this hoping it may prevent even one person from experiencing that same confusion. As shown in the image above, tags have their own section in the right sidebar and can be included your graph. But they do not show in the file explorer as there is no file created. They are simply a way to see all content related to a common theme.

That sounds like the right approach!

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<![CDATA[ The Wheel of Time entry on Wikipedia ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/wot-on-wikipedia/ 6054d46d0bdbf0003e11114b Fri, 19 Mar 2021 09:43:34 -0700 Yeah, I don't normally link to Wikipedia here. But I came across this recently when looking something up and it really sucked me in. Having spent 25+ years of my life reading this series, some of the books 5–10 times, I consider myself to have a fairly intimate knowledge of the story.

But the Wikipedia entry introduced some concepts that were new to me right from the start:

The series is set in an unnamed world that, due to the cyclical nature of time as depicted in the series, is simultaneously the distant past and the distant future Earth.
The series depicts fictional, ancient mythology that references modern Earth history (with one notable example being the legend of two giants named Mosk and Merk, who were said to fight wars against each other using spears of fire that could reach around the world), while events in the series prefigure real Earth myths (with King Artur Paendrag Tanreall, better known as Artur Hawkwing, serving as an allusion to the myth of King Arthur Pendragon).

😳

I have never thought of this story as been placed on our earth. It's funny how people perceive things differently. Anyway, whether this is actually true or not, I enjoyed getting sucked in.

It might be time for a complete series re-read.

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<![CDATA[ The Last Word on Bitcoin's Energy Consumption ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/untitled-2/ 60439cd00c5b570039dc18b4 Sat, 06 Mar 2021 07:17:35 -0800 Here's a a topic that make me feel old. Despite the title (we're likely nowhere near the "last word" on Bitcoin), this article challenges a few of the ideas I've had about cryptocurrencies. I've long held the view that anything related to blockchain technology is negative — the environmental impact is simply too high. But I confess I barely understand how this stuff all works.

Nic Carter makes a few points that challenge the common assumptions and got me thinking about this once more:

Another common mistake energy detractors make is to naively extrapolate Bitcoin’s energy consumption to the equivalent CO2 emissions. What matters is the type of energy source being used to generate electricity, as they are not homogenous from a carbon footprint perspective. The academic efforts that get breathlessly reported in the press tend to assume either an energy mix which is invariant at the global or country level. Both Mora et al and Krause and Tolaymatgenerated flashy headlines for their calculations of Bitcoin’s footprint, but rely on naive extrapolations of energy consumption to CO2 emissions.

It's an interesting read, but even he admits the bottom line is that this technology is energy intensive. I'm still of mostly the same mind, but am trying to keep my mind open about it. And to just understand what it's all about.

And don't even ask me about NFTs …

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<![CDATA[ The Compounding Effect of Small Leaks ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/untitled/ 60439c4f0c5b570039dc18a0 Sat, 06 Mar 2021 07:15:47 -0800 I enjoyed this article from Zakk Fleischmann. In it, he talks about how spending $5 for a Starbucks coffee is a "leak" and how this trickles into other areas of life.

Poker players have this concept called a leak: a blind spot that causes you to consistently make an error. As an example, a very common rookie leak is to only raise (put in more money) when you have a good hand. You can see why this would be problematic: after a few rounds, an observant opponent will be able to tell when you have a good hand and when you don’t.
There’s no question that getting an extra coffee is a small leak. But what starts as a $5 coffee on your walk to work can quickly become lunch out, with a drink or a side, and/or ordering dinner out instead of cooking what’s in your fridge. Yes, the first leak was only $3. But that leak grew throughout the day and now its $80 ($5 for coffee, $15 for lunch, $50 for dinner, plus $10 to have it delivered).

This reminds me of the idea of saying no to yourself. If you don't practice this, it will be hard to do so in any situation (this is why fasting is an important discipline). And once you say yes to one temptation, it's easier to give in to your desires in other areas.

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<![CDATA[ How to get started with tools like Obsidian ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/how-to-get-started-with-tools-like-obsidian/ 60300872ae074e0039e2e1d2 Fri, 19 Feb 2021 10:56:00 -0800 As the year has rolled along and the days are starting to get a little longer up here in the north, I've been enjoying my use of Obsidian more and more. As I mentioned in the past about Roam, these tools are additive.

The more you use them, the more valuable they feel.

This isn't by accident — you have to make meaningful connections between your notes (as I mentioned here). But as you make those connections, you experience the feeling of building. Your base of knowledge matures a little more.

Obsidian illustrates this in lovely fashion with its graph view. I shared mine in late January, but here's how that has expanded as of today:

I've brought my 12 years of blogging content in here and started making connections. As well, I've added the Bible and started adding all my notes from the years. It makes for a pretty picture, but the value is in the connections and working with the notes themselves.

But I don't want to talk about that today. Instead, I want to focus on the basics.

How to get started with a tool like Obsidian

I had a colleague mention how hard 2020 had been and how he'd watched myself and others jump onboard with tools like Roam and Obsidian. With everything going on, he hadn't any margin to even make an attempt. And so his request was this: just tell me how to get started.

Good news: it's really easy. Here's the two step process:

  1. Just start writing and making connections to notes.
  2. Add existing content

Ok, so just start writing is hard on its own when you're struggling with a lack of margin and mental space. But maybe going through the effort is worth it. Let me expand on that.

Start writing

A nice option with both Roam and Obsidian is the daily note (that option needs to be enabled in Obsidian, but is the default view in Roam). To start using these tools, simply start outlining what you do each day with the daily note. It doesn't need to be a fancy template or filled with clever prose — just jot down what you do.

Making this a habit is valuable on its own. Both to build a base of knowledge over time, but also for the sake of your mental health.

As you build this habit, you can then start making connections. Come across an article that resonated with you? Add that to your daily note, then make a new note from it using the double bracket [[]] syntax (same for both tools). Now you have a note for this article and it's connected to the day you first came across it. You can open the new note and add quotes from the article, as well as your own thoughts.

Another common, easy use case is to make new notes based on what you're doing. If a specific project at work or home has your attention for the day, as you note what you're doing in the daily note, create a new note for the project itself. Open it and add a few details about what you're doing.

And that's it. I used Roam in this fashion for several months as I watched the community build and grow around these kinds of tools.

Use existing content

For me, I used both options to get started, but it's easier to get a sense of the value of these tools with option 2. When you can add a bunch of notes and easily make connections between them, you can very quickly start to see the value.

I was able to quickly add my blog content to my Obsidian library. As I previously used Kirby as my CMS, all my old blog content was text files stored in a flat folder structure. A little AppleScript, a little bit of work in Renamer, and I had 475 markdown files ready to add to a sub-folder where my Obsidian vault is stored. Then I commit it all to Git as well.

Once I could see all my writing from over the years, I started to make connections. I set a recurring daily task to update 5 notes in here. I open the graph view, grab a random unconnected dot, and open the file. From there, I made an explicit reference to my The Weekly Review note (plus any other direct references if they make sense and I happen to think of them), then I add any applicable tags.

Here's how that looks in the note itself:

A filled-in example of my note template

After that, I started bringing in the Bible and adding my notes from my study over the years. And again, here's how these connections look now:

My library now. Biggest nodes for The Weekly Review and the Bible.

You don't have to use option #2 to see the value of Obsidian. If you don't have a collection of existing notes or articles, no problem. Today is the best day to get started on that.

Download the free tool, then start writing daily notes. Even 5 minutes a day will result in some good connections after a month or two.

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<![CDATA[ The discipline ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-discipline/ 6030092aae074e0039e2e1e7 Fri, 19 Feb 2021 10:54:57 -0800 William Van Hecke has an interesting idea for how to use his time. Based on a concept he read in a Neal Stephenson novel, he organizes his time in ten day periods:

Time is divided into ten-day decades. (We commonly use the word “decade” to mean ten years, nowadays, but prior to the 16th century, it could mean any collection of ten things, including days.) I love my desynchronized rhythms; the 10-day decade and the 7-day week create a healthy polymeter that drifts in and out of sync over time. At the start of each decade, I choose a template for how I’ll spend the next ten days worth of available time.

His days can be focused on five different themes: connect, read, study, create, or play. I love the idea, though I'm not sure I'd want to use the 10 day rhythm. If you like this article, his fuller picture of personal productivity can be found here.

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<![CDATA[ Re-reading goals ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/re-reading-goals/ 6008a73b0e6ac30039b2190c Wed, 20 Jan 2021 13:59:13 -0800 For the last several years, I've taken part in the Goodreads reading challenge. I tend to come up 3–5 books short each year, but I'm happy overall with how much I've been reading.

However, I'm not crazy about what I've done with the books I've read. Often, I've done very little beyond reading the words on the page. I made highlights and perhaps a short blurb somewhere in my notes. But as this was all before I had delved into the world of smart note-taking and making the most of what I read, so most of the books I read over the past 3–4 years have no notes.

This is all related to reading non-fiction. My pace of reading fiction has picked up dramatically in recent years and I'm super happy with that. I've even started taking some notes on fiction books for series where there's serious world building going on (see more in Currently below).

So I have several goals related to this for 2021:

  • Continue to build a habit of deep reading
  • Re-read the best books of my recent life

Deep Work. Atomic Habits. How to Think. These are all books that had an impact on me while I was reading them. I want that impact to be more … impactful. Deep reading and making my own notes from these is a key to increasing that impact.

How about you?

I know there are a lot of readers here who share my interest in knowledge management and reading. I'm curious how many folks have tried joining a group or purchased a class related to this topic. Have you taken any steps like this to increase your skills? Let me know!

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<![CDATA[ Writing more ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/writing-more/ 6008a75e0e6ac30039b21912 Wed, 20 Jan 2021 13:58:49 -0800 Joel Hooks shared this post about writing more and worrying less about the polish. He mentions how shifting from thinking about his writing and site as a blog to a digital garden helped him to write more:

Seriously. The idea of a "blog" needs to get over itself. Everybody is treating writing as a "content marketing strategy" and using it to "build a personal brand" which leads to the fundamental flawed idea that everything you post has to be polished to perfection and ready to be consumed.

I agree with his sentiment, but feel like these digital garden folks are thinking about blogging in the wrong way. For me, my blog is my digital garden (this newsletter included). It's a place to write about what's on my mind, clarify my thinking, and share it with people like you.

Back in the early aughties, this felt like the common perception of personal blog. Maybe that shifted as less people hosted and designed their own sites and started to use services like Medium (or worse, Twitter threads) as a replacement.

The last couple of years has seen a slight resurgence in the personal blog and I hope 2021 continues that trend!

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<![CDATA[ Roam vs. Obsidian ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/roam-vs-obsidian/ 5fe74a26f884d70039ed603a Sat, 26 Dec 2020 06:52:47 -0800 In a recent post, I made an offhand mention that Obsidian might be a better fit for some people than Roam Research. What was that all about?

Well, for one, I believe both are good tools. If you're looking to use Roam as a Zettelkasten tool, Obsidian offers many of the same benefits. I've been keeping my eye on its development all the months that I've cautiously used Roam. It's super easy to try out with these few steps:

  • Export your Roam content (I did that regularly and added it to a Git repo on my computer)
  • I would open the Zip file of exported content from Roam and move it all to a location where the repo is located
  • I also made that directory the location Obsidian used (it simply requires a folder store markdown files)
  • Then open Obsidian and review your fresh content from Roam

So why might Obsidian be a better option? This comment is largely due to the aversion some people have from using a web-based app for this type of tool. Here are a few concerns I have or have heard from others:

  • You have to trust the folks at Roam a whole lot to put all your most important thoughts into a tool that only works when it's syncing with their servers
  • Just considering usability, waiting for your graph to load can be frustrating in some scenarios (especially on mobile devices)
  • Some folks have also been put off by Roam's approach to security
  • The Roam team also appears to focus a lot on more complex features and eventually, multi-player Roam (sharing your graph with others)
  • And there's idea being future proof — a folder of plain text markdown files can be easily accessed by various tools. Roam has a decent export option, but the formatting is a bit of a pain to deal with in other tools
  • Last, it's a bit to cult-ish for some folks — a lot of Connor's tweets (founder & CEO) strike me as odd. I simply don't have the trust for him and his team that others do

So, if you're like me, you just want a solid tool that performs well to help you write good notes and connect your thinking. I'm not interested in sharing all my thoughts/research/notes (apart from what I put in a newsletter or publish to my blog) so multiplayer Roam is not for me, and I'm not interested in complex features like mermaid charts or tables or pomodoro timers in my Zettelkasten.

I want a tool that supports easy linking and the ability to reference notes or blocks in other places. Both Roam and Obsidian support that, but Obsidian feels a little safer to use to me.

Here are a few other things I like more with Obsidian:

  • Being a desktop app, it feels more responsive and smooth to use. It's not a big deal, but how software feels is pretty important to me
  • Opening multiple notes is more flexible and usable. Roam gives you the sidebar to open pages alongside the one you're working on. But Obsidian also allows you to open multiple notes, plus you can move them around and lay them out however you prefer (see the screenshot above)
  • Obsidian's graph view is a lot nicer to use as well
  • I grew to appreciate Roam's bulleted approach, but it's nice to work in regular markdown in Obsidian. It also makes me feel more confident in the future: if I were to ever stop using Obsidian, my notes are more usable in other places. Many of Roam's functions result in unusable or messy text

Is it all perfect? No. Obsidian has weak spots as well. The biggest one being a less useful block reference system. The syntax is a little clunky and if you embed a block into another note, the content of the embedded block is only visible when you view the preview version of your current note. Thankfully, that's super easy to do with the keyboard (see it in action in this image).

So, it works … but not quite as nicely as Roam.

Anyway, those are a few reasons why I chose Obsidian as my PKM tool. Again, both it and Roam are great. But when it came to making the decision between the two, I simply felt more confident in the future of my notes in Obsidian and less interested (or trusting) in the overall mission and approach of the Roam team.

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<![CDATA[ Matter ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/matter/ 5fe74945f884d70039ed6027 Sat, 26 Dec 2020 06:34:00 -0800 I signed up for the beta of this app because there have been a few instances where I wanted to listen to a blog post I had saved. My first thought was that iOS must have some kind of functionality for this (it does). But then some people in the Roam community mentioned Matter.

On a recent run, I gave it a try and listened to two blog posts that were around 2,000 and 4,000 words each. And it was a fairly pleasant experience. It's still an AI voice reading text, so it is a little flat. But Matter does a good job of giving intonation to the voice … it's better than Siri, for sure.

Side note: it struck me as odd that I struggle to listen to podcasts when on a run, but listening to blog posts felt like a good use case. I think it's due to all the extra blathering on you get with so many podcasts. The written word encourages brevity that the spoken word does not.

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<![CDATA[ Making sense of Roam Research ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/making-sense-of-roam-research/ 5fd902863ec33e0039cff937 Tue, 15 Dec 2020 10:39:40 -0800 Just over a month ago, I gave an intro tour of Roam Research to the Wildbit team. We have a call of this type on the first Friday of each month, and I'd wanted to do this for a while as a few people on the team started to use it. But each person seems to come away from the first few log-ins to Roam with this same question:

How do I use this thing?

The truth is, after months of using it, I still didn't have a firm sense of how I wanted to use Roam myself. Ever since Drew Coffman introduced it to me early in 2020, I've taken a very slow, cautious approach to using it. But after 6–7 months, I still found myself wondering what things I should add to Roam and how to structure it all.

What to put in here

The thing with Roam is that it could replace so many other tools and services you use. Here are the ones that come to mind from my current tool set:

  • Day One: Roam's daily note set up can replace any journalling habit you may have (although it may not replace your journal where you collect family memories)
  • Ulysses: I use it mainly for notes and drafts of my writing, which Roam can handle just as well, and in some cases, better
  • Things: you could craft a complex GTD set up in here
  • Instapaper: if I want to get highlights and quotes and interesting reads into Roam, why not skip the middle man?
  • Pinboard: and if those highlights, quotes, and general references to other materials are going to live in Roam, do I need Pinboard?

So when you come to Roam, it helps to have a clear picture of what you want to use it for. Is it going to be your journal? Your task manager? A place to store notes about every single thing?

It's too easy to start to find yourself with a mess of notes in various places. And despite the claim that you can "throw everything into Roam" and somehow come out with order on the other side, that has never been my experience. For any tool.

Using Roam (or any tool of this sort) will have greater benefits if you have a clear picture of how you want to use it. Finally, I'm in that place. Putting together a short intro demo helped, but while I was doing that, I also came across a few other resources that helped me define a usage I'm happy and comfortable with.

Backling is not very useful — often even harmful

First was this post on the Zettelkasten blog. Sasha and Christian discuss the potential drawbacks of automatic backlinking. Since the automatic bidirectional linking of Roam (and now other tools that have followed along) is one of the big selling points, I was intrigued by the title. And their argument is convincing.

Just think a moment about how difficult it really is to use the internet and its web in a productive way. The single most productivity-destroying problem with using the internet is the temptations link provide. The same is true for your Zettelkasten if your link structure is not well-groomed.

As I considered what to use Roam for, I knew one thing for certain: it would be the place to build a Zettelkasten collection. It is perfect for that use case. However, Luhmann took great effort to explicitely and purposefully list out other notes that related to whatever note he was working on. Having the slipbox do that for you takes away some of the thinking that makes the Zettelkasten to valuable.

Roam's backlinks won't necessarily negate the benefits of the slipbox. But reading through this post helped give clarity to what I wanted Roam for.

Implementing Zettelkasten in Roam: A practical guide

The second article was exactly what I was thinking about: how to use Roam as a Zettelkasten. Zakk Fleischmann walked through his set up and it helped me solidify how I was putting stuff in Roam. Book notes are easy and obvious, but I'd also already been posting links to web articles (or sometimes pasting entire article) in Roam.

Zakk's walkthrough helped by giving distinctions between reference, literature, and evergreen (permanent) notes.

Craft

And there was one more step in my setting up Roam. I realized the kinds of notes that don't need to be in the same place as my Zettelkasten set up. Things like my weekly review process, or Scripture verses I'm memorizing, or gift ideas for my wife. The kind of notes that are important to have easily accessible, but don't necessarily add to my personal knowledge base.

However, they do need to be located in app that is easy to access on all devices, quick to use, and doesn't have problems syncing quickly. Up until now, I'd been keeping those items in Ulysses and was considering moving them to Roam. But Craft came along … and I loved it right away.

It's fast, smooth, and (so far) syncing has been immediate. It treats content a little like Roam, but reminds me more of Notion. But it's far less clunky. And as it's a true native app on all Apple platforms, it's accessible everywhere I want it. I started moving my various notes that do not belong in my Zettelkasten, and happily paid for a years subscription.

An aside on a great writing app

I'd like to talk a little about Ulysses. It's been my main tool for … 4–5 years now. It's fantastic. But as I started to use Roam more, there was an inverse drop in my use of Ulysses. I use Ulysses in two ways: to start almost all of my writing that will end up somewhere else, and to store notes.

Once I started to use Roam more, the long form writing in Ulysses basically stopped. If I want to be able to take advantage of Roam's strengths, my words have to be in there, not in another tool. So I started to write drafts and store older content in Roam.

As for the other use case, Ulysses simply does not excel at being a note tool. Due to its reliance on hierarchical structure (yes, you can use tags, but it's designed to encourage the use of groups), it takes time to get to where you want. And worse, I found it's performance became worse over time on iOS or padOS.

My main use here was to refer to my short list of notes that I'd designated as Favorites. I would have things like a list of Scripture verses I'm memorizing, my goals for the year, or my wish list of items I'm interested in purchasing at some point. On iOS, it became common to open Ulysses, tap on Favorites, and only see 3 of my 10 or so notes. The app would dump the contents of my library when resources are scarce (at least, that was the team's explanation when I reached out in 2017).

That's understandable, but there is a big problem; it takes a really long time for the contents of my library to get back into Ulysses. So much so that I'd have to move on from what I was trying to do. And I would walk away frustrated with the app. Whether that's the fault of the Ulysses team, or it's due to iCloud syncing being slow, I have no idea. I do know that it contributed to my decision to use Craft instead.

Ulysses is a fantastic tool, but it now fits me less well than a combination of a focused notes tool (Carft) and a PKM tool (Roam).

End this, Bowler!

So, all those words to say, if you're considering using Roam but haven't been sure how, or what for, I hope this may help. You'll get more from it if you have a clearer sense of purpse. For me, this means:

  • I journal my daily activity in Roam, not Day One (but I still use Day One for family memories)
  • All Zettelkasten-type of notes are in Roam (reference notes, literature notes, and evergreen notes)
  • Process and reference lists go into Craft

Have any questions? I'm more than happy to chat about this topic. At length! Just reply and ask away.

Next up: why Obsidian might be a better option than Roam for many people 😳

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<![CDATA[ Deep listening ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/deep-listening/ 5fd901633ec33e0039cff91d Tue, 15 Dec 2020 10:37:02 -0800 I've been focused on enhancing my reading over the past couple of years (not to as much success as I would like). It's a desire to ensure what I read truly impacts me, to put effort into my reading. Or, as Adler puts it:

And that is why there is all the difference in the world between the demanding and the undemanding reader. The latter asks no questions — and gets no answers.

But of late, I've rediscovered another area this is of great benefit: deep listening.

One recent evening, an evening designated as "free night" where everyone in our family chooses to engage in whatever activity they feel like (rather than a time where we all engage in the same activity together), I chose to simply sit and listen to music. And I came to a realization: it's been far too long since I listened to music without doing anything else at the same time.

When I was in grade school, I was in the band for several years. Our teacher insisted on the importance of daily practice, but he didn't want us only playing our instruments in this time. He frequently encouraged us to participate in active listening. To sit and do nothing my engage our minds in following every ebb and flow, each crescendo and descendo, in a piece of classic orchestral music. When our minds wandered, we were to bring them back to the present and do our best to pick out all the different things happening.

I learned to love this kind of music over time. Brahms, most especially. And so this recent evening, I put on some Brahms, lay on my couch for a good 45 minutes, and just … listened. And it was amazing.

Anyway, I'll be doing more of this. I wish I didn't need to be reminded that focusing on one activity at a time is beneficial to the soul. But there it is…

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<![CDATA[ Intentional days with Sunsama ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/sunsama/ 5f779a467e322d00396b4f6e Fri, 02 Oct 2020 14:37:26 -0700 I have done well to stay away from new productivity apps the past couple of years. I'm still using Things as my main repository of projects and AoR (areas of responsibility) — this has not changed since Things 3 arrived and I wrote about it for The Sweet Setup.

The biggest change in recent years has been the use of pen and paper for daily planning and tracking. I still do this today (currently with a Do Journal from Baron Fig, but I'm also looking forward to Analog from Ugmonk).

However, I recently invested some time into trying a new entrant in this category. Not pen and paper, but an application. It's called Sunsama.

I heard about this earlier in the summer, but it was invite only to start and I chose not to act on the invite to a private demo from the team. But when my coworker Amy mentioned using it, I gave it a second look. And it brought enough benefit that I keep going back to it.

First, what's good about it? Well, it's not the nice design or the focus on integrations. Instead, it's the baked-in workflow. Take that away and it's just like so many other options available today.

There's a reason it's described this way on their home page:

The daily planner for elite professionals

Elite aside, this is a good description — it's a tool for planning your time. Rather than be a place to house all your tasks, Sunsama is just focused on what you want to get done today. That's a powerful habit to get into.

And what's really nice about the tool is the workflow. Each day, you start by identifying what you want to get done today. Tasks from the day before that are still not completed are available to be assigned to today. But you can also add new tasks that come to mind or are coming due.

One nice aspect of this service is that you can keep your projects documented elsewhere. Sunsama works nicely with your existing tools. You can add tasks to your day manually, or you can use one of the integrations to see your work and drag and drop the appropriate tasks.

If you use the integrated service, this means Sunsama can place nicely with team collaboration, something that has been an issue for GTD folks who like to use tools like Things or Omnifocus.

Good habits

The workflow is based around this daily flow of planning only the things you think you can get done each day. But there are a few others that are implicit in its design.

The first is time-blocking. Your calendar is a major piece of focus in Sunsama. While you collate a list of tasks each day, you can use your emails or your calendar for the day to create those tasks. But you can also choose to view the app in two different ways: with your tasks in focus and the calendar in the sidebar, or the other way around. If you use the latter, you can drag and drop each task into your calendar, similar to the process people like Cal Newport or Shawn Blanc advocate.

The second is tracking where your time goes. At any point, you can open a task and then put it into focus. This functionality includes a timer that you can click. Now you're able to record how long your tasks take you.

Of course, time tracking is always an activity ripe for inaccuracy as you often switch between different tasks (at least, I do). But that's exactly the kind of thing Sunsama is aimed to help you with — to focus on one thing at a time. And if you can manage that, you have this useful bit of information about how long things take.

Related to time tracking, Sunsama also lets you use the Pomodoro technique. The tracker and focus mode include the option to take a Break. The timer will switch to use a different title and is set to a default amount of time.

And when the week comes to an end, the app encourages you to perform a weekly review. The UI for this is not robust — it simply asks you three contemplative questions. However, encouraging the habit is a good addition, and you could use this to perform a full fledged check of your current situation.

Last, Sunsama starts to tie all these things together. It also makes tracking progress and reporting easier. In conjunction with the timing functionality, you can assign each task to a channels (think of categories or tags). If you do this effectively, the weekly review functionality shows you how your time was spent across each channel.

As well, at the end of each day's planning session, you are given a summary of what you've done and what you have planned for the day. This summary can be posted automatically to Slack (if you integrate it), or you can copy and paste it into the tool of your choice. For teams using an app like Geekbot (or some other automated daily stand-up replacement), the is also pretty slick.

At any rate, if this sounds at all enticing to you, use my referral link to check it out. I’ve been converted and am happily paying for the tool.

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<![CDATA[ A little less noise… ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/my-first-pergola/ 5f497eb80db83c0039d40602 Fri, 28 Aug 2020 15:03:19 -0700 My wife gave me an awfully nice gift for Father's Day this year. She took the kids out of town for a week to visit her family, leaving me all alone at home for 6 days.

The irony of this being a Father's Day gift is not lost on me. But to all the introverted dad's out there who've been working at home along with your children for the past five months, I feel you ✊

I love 'em all, but I was definitely looking forward to a lot more peace and quiet for a week!

But the funny thing is, doing nothing but what I've planned feels so bloody weird. I get up and plan my day, and there's no one to alter the agenda. There are no unknown priorities that pop up, no extra messes to clean, and no conflicts to sort out. 1–2 days of that and I start to wig out a little.

As the days pass, I recognize how it's good for me to have other people's needs to consider. Thinking only of myself is not.

I did my best to enjoy the full 6 day break. To rest a little. But I also did a lot of household tasks that I normally wouldn't. It was a bit of service I could give to my family (and to be honest, future me as well).

Pre-stain

The best part was getting a chance to build a pergola for my wife as an anniversary gift. And I felt pretty refreshed from the break!

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<![CDATA[ Björk — Post ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/twr-vol-vii-issue-14/ 5f497e2b0db83c0039d405ef Fri, 28 Aug 2020 15:01:22 -0700 Some time around the point in my life where I started to actually use the internet — maybe late 1999 or early 2000 — I also started to get into electronic music. Previously, I was fully all into grunge (I was late to appreciate that whole genre, but purchasing Siamese Dream by the Smashing Pumpkins had changed that and I spent the second half of the 90’s listening to all that stuff).

Towards the end of the decade, I picked up a copy of Spin Magazine that highlighted the top 90 albums of the 90’s (see a synopsis and the full list here. So. Much. Good. Music. Although … Siamese Dream should have been much, much higher on the list). This was one of the biggest influences in getting me into more electronic/digital music (second only to Trent Reznor). One of the artists that helped me in this shift was Björk and Post was the album that did it for me.

This article from Pitchfork does an excellent job musing on what makes her so unique and so good.

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<![CDATA[ Parenting during COVID-19 ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/twr-vol-vii-issue-13/ 5f36b13328eb650039326f9b Fri, 14 Aug 2020 08:49:33 -0700 I’ve tried to keep things positive in my writing and social presence. But as we move forward in 2020, although I know I should be focusing on how to move things forward on the unjust treatment of black and indigenous people, and that I should help people see the importance of remaining diligent with social distancing and similar measures, I must confess … I’m really tired.

It’s been almost five months of living full time at home with our children. And although we’ve had a lot of great days, and everyone is working hard to dwell in unity and improve how we treat one another, the cumulative effect of the day after day interactions are wearing on this introvert.

Parents everywhere need a break.

I hate saying these things as my children are a blessing and amazing humans. But I’d rather be real with you (and myself) then put on a false front. This has been a hard time. Moments of silence are few. My attention is fractured and spread all over the place, resulting in a less than stellar performance as an employee and as a parent. Both areas deserve better.

But … as I closed a recent newsletter, I still look forward. I still hope in the future. And I do my best to count my blessings on the hard days, for I have so much to be thankful for.

How can companies help?

Related to this, my time at work has been focused lately on the strain parents are under now. As news breaks in multiple states that school will be closed until at least November, I've been looking for examples of how companies are helping their teams get through this time.

That has been helpful for me as I see more and more teams and team leaders start to understand and live the belief that more work does not mean better work. More and more companies are learning that flexibility in hours not only means happier home situations, but it often results in better work. And, perhaps more importantly, it results in happier, engaged employees who are more likely to stay around.

When you know your team has your back in tough times, it naturally leads to feeling a greater desire to return the favour. And that's why I'm enjoying building People-First Jobs so much. It's a collection of companies who are taking the right approach, and I'm so thankful to be able to recommend a list of great places to work.

If you know examples of companies who are helping the parents on their team, I'd love to hear about it.

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<![CDATA[ How Andy Matuschak's notes compare to a Zettel ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/how-andy-matuschaks-notes-comapre-to-a-zettel/ 5f36b17d28eb650039326fa1 Fri, 14 Aug 2020 08:46:03 -0700 I mentioned Andy in the last issue. If you spend any time in the Roam community, you've heard of this fellow. And it's due in large part to his own "Digital garden" and his public notes.

How and where he stores those notes aside, I spent a lot of time going over this note, plus all its offshoots.

My practice of writing Evergreen notes is heavily inspired by Niklas Luhmann’s Zettelkasten practice and its contemporary advocates. I use a different term both because there are some distinctions and because I want to give myself space to explore ideas in this space apart from the culture surrounding Zettelkasten, which has its own prior values and proclivities.

This idea of connected thoughts makes sense in a way. But it also makes the reader do a little more work than if he had published this content as one longer article. But that's kind of the idea with the digital garden.

If needed, Andy could put all this content together into one longer form. But each point is its own thought, and can be referenced from multiple other points. His collection is the best example of a digital representation of what Luhmann was getting at that I've seen.

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<![CDATA[ Why books don't work ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/why-books-dont-work/ 5f209a69cf01400045c86dd6 Tue, 28 Jul 2020 14:39:31 -0700 I very much enjoyed this longer essay from Andy Matuschak on people truly learn. He makes the case that lectures do not work for the transfer of knowledge.

Lectures, as a medium, have no carefully-considered cognitive model at their foundation. Yet if we were aliens observing typical lectures from afar, we might notice the implicit model they appear to share: “the lecturer says words describing an idea; the class hears the words and maybe scribbles in a notebook; then the class understands the idea.” In learning sciences, we call this model “transmissionism.” It’s the notion that knowledge can be directly transmitted from teacher to student, like transcribing text from one page onto another. If only!

And he goes on to describe how books suffer from the same implicit assumption:

Like lectures, books have no carefully-considered cognitive model at their foundation, but the medium does have an implicit model. And like lectures, that model is transmissionism. Sequences of words in sequences of lines in sequences of pages, the form of a book suggests people absorb knowledge by reading sentences. In caricature: “The author describes an idea in words on the page; the reader reads the words; then the reader understands the idea. When the reader reaches the last page, they’ve finished the book.”

This is a longer read, but a good one. In the end, he makes a case for some kind of new form for reading. But along the way, he also makes the case reading in the sense that Adler does.

There is no inactive learning, just as there is no inactive reading.

If we are to understand something, we have to put effort into it. Active reading is smart note taking, it involves effort beyond simply reading the words on the page.

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<![CDATA[ The move to Ghost ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/move-to-ghost/ 5f2098f1cf01400045c86dbc Tue, 28 Jul 2020 14:36:28 -0700 It's been a while in the making, but I finally finished the move to Ghost this past week. Earlier this year, I started to have a couple of issues with Kirby. And since I was a couple of versions behind, the thought of paying for another license and updating was feeling like a chore.

When we added Ghost to People-First Jobs, I started to consider the idea of using a hosted service again. While using Digital Ocean was a good learning experience, I don't have a lot of time or interest in keeping up on anything remotely related to server maintenance. So Ghost seemed like a good alternative, and one that played really nicely with Ulysses. Throw in their focus on memberships, I liked what they were doing (although I have no desire to make my audience a business).

So here I am six months later. All the content from my old Kirby install has been migrated to my hosted Ghost account.

Clean up

One nice thing about this process was the chance to go through 11 years of writing. It's something I've wanted to do for a while. So I took my time and manually imported each post into Ghost, reviewing the content itself (a lot of it, but not word for word). I found a lot of typos, inconsistent casing and headers, and some elements that were styled on one version of the blog or another but were rarely used.

Ghost is also the first time in a long while (ever?) that I've used tags. Going through each post was a good exercise in reminding myself of the consistent themes in my writing.

Design

This is also the first time since the very first instance of my site (using Wordpress) where I used someone else's theme. I purchased one from the Envato marketplace and made a few adjustments. I like creating my own designs, but that takes more time than I had.

It's nice knowing the code is a little (lot) better than what I would have written 😅

This theme is also a lot like the very first Wordpress site. It's dark, and aligned to a grid. I may play around with an alternate lighter theme at some point, but for now I'm happy with it.

Ghost itself

This is a slick piece of software. Logging into the admin interface is almost nicer than seeing a Ghost site itself.

There's a lot to like about this tool as a CMS. Here's what stood out to me:

  • The admin UI is great, but so too is the editor. If you like the Medium aesthetic, then you'd like Ghost as well. Although I do all my writing elsewhere, once it's in Ghost, it's a pleasure to work with
  • The settings for a post are nice to work with and give you some good options. Managing dates, the post URL, meta data, excerpts, and marking posts as "featured" are easily accessible
  • The support for tags is nice. As I mentioned above, it's not something I've used in the past. But it is nice to add this layer of structure (and it will mirror well with the tags I use in Ulysses or Roam). And there's even the option to use internal tags so you can make groupings of content without sharing them with the public
  • I haven't yet decided on how to use the membership options, but it's very well done. Someone running a membership business will benefit from Ghost's set up — it takes all the headache out of managing users and integrates nicely with Stripe
  • It includes the option to email posts to members, so it could essentially replace your email marketing tools. However, it still lacks some of the features of a more mature email marketing service (like reporting or more complex list management options)
  • Their support team is small, but very fast and friendly in responses. When I've needed help setting something up, they've pointed me in the right direction
  • The integration right in Ulysses makes a YUGE difference. Publishing straight from my fave editor with the ability to set tags, a custom URL, and an excerpt are just 👌

Where it's lacking

Of course, like any publishing platform or CMS, there are some things missing from Ghost. Here are a few that I found in making the switch.

  • There is no default archives functionality. Out of the box, you have the basic blog set up with a paginated list of all your posts. But if you want a basic list that points to each post without an excerpt or the full post content, you have to build that yourself. Here's a good starting point
  • Another strange omission is search. Out of the box, there is no search functionality. The Ghost team has a tutorial to add it, but they're suggestion is using a third party service
  • Another part of a good blog (in my mind) is link posts. Ghost doesn't see the value in those and doesn't include any option for it.

Cost

Now, Ghost is priced for serious publications. The lowest plan is $36 per month (USD, so just under $50 CAD) — that's a decent cost for a small blog like mine.

However, I was running close to the same price if I factor in a one time purchase of Kirby, plus monthly costs for Digital Ocean and ServerPilot. Add in the potential option to use it in place of a separate email service and it makes a good investment. And I’ve always considered my website a part of my business and a worthy putting some money into.

Overall

I'm happy with the change. Not only is it nice to not worry about hosting or servers, the process of migrating was a great chance to review all my writing over the years.

Any CMS will require a serious blogger to learn something new and dig into the code & functionality it offers. Ghost is no different. But their focus on running a transparent, open source system that enables authors to easily charge for their writing is something I believe in.

It’s an easy recommendation to make.

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<![CDATA[ The importance of meeting together ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/fellowship/ 5eff6443bf11bb00399c657b Fri, 03 Jul 2020 10:02:13 -0700 If you’ve read any of the newsletters I’ve sent in 2020, you know I have a lot of great things to say about Drew Coffman. He’s an awful smart chap, and seems to have that magical touch with whatever he makes (videos, podcasts, websites…). But he said something a few weeks back that sat wrong with me.

A real bummer about not attending a church is that when you tell that to Christians they assume you’re a burnout.
What if you just…don’t…like church? The fact that we’ve so intermingled the concept of “person of faith” and “church-goer” is troubling

I’m not here to tell you Drew’s experience is wrong — who am I to judge another’s servant? But his experience is far different than mine.

I didn’t grow up in the church, or a community of faith, or whatever else you may want to call it. I grew up in a very loving home where the golden rule was taught, if not always lived out. Certainly not by me — I was pretty much a big jerk most of my younger years.

But as my mistakes piled up and I came to the end of myself, to start to seek God, I finally learned that Christ was the only way forward. And that included going to “church”.

Big C, little c

Now I don’t know exactly what Drew means when he says church. There’s church (the building you go to, or the event that happens on Sunday (sorry, Adventist friends)), and then there’s the Church. This is why words are so important, and I so wish I could visit Drew in person, maybe at the café he built a couple years back, and we could discuss this face to face. But the internet does ok in a pinch.

But I’m pretty sure Drew means little c church. I’d bet he really likes big C church, the fellowship comprised of the children of God spread across the globe and across time. It’s a pretty important group if you are a follower of Christ. It’s not a place, but the spirit of God indwelling in hundreds, thousands, millions(?) of people.

And the Bible is pretty clear that if we are a follower of Christ, we’re to spend time with others like us. If you've spent any time in the North American church, you've likely heard this passage in Hebrews 10 many times:

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (ESV)

Yeah, it's an author speaking to a persecuted group of people at a specific point in time. Yet, does it not speak a truth that we need to hear today? How easy is it for us in our culture of abundance to choose to holiday or enjoy recreational activities instead of meeting with others of our faith? To be encouraged by others, to hear their own confessions of faith? This is why I love witnessing a baptism so much

Maybe what Drew means is that he dislikes the trappings and traditions of the little c church. Which is understandable — much of what we do is truly tradition and maybe the commandment(s) of men, not from God. Plenty of people have tired of the traditions and tried other ways to not neglect the gathering together. Maybe it's a house church. Maybe it's primarily a small group atmosphere.

Whatever the case, my experience has been that nothing can replace being with others to worship God, to join in the public reading of God's word, and some Bible-based preaching.  I didn't grow up in a church, and in my early years of seeking God, I thought I could seek him on my own. I didn't need a group of people to help me with that. Maybe that's a little of how Drew feels.

But I learned over the years that is not the case. There is great power in hearing the testimony of others. There is so much opportunity to learn and grow when you spend time around people of ethnicities and generations different than your own, but grounded in the same hope. And there is so much blessing in serving a group of people.

Even when they do things that frustrate you.

Over the years, I've been reminded of these truths several times. We'd go away for week long a holiday and leave on a Saturday or Sunday. By the time we get back to our normal routine, we haven't been to church in three weeks. But once there, as I hear people around me lifting up their voices in praise, I remember. I need this.

I'm guessing Drew agrees with a lot of what I've said. But whatever the case, I know whatever detriments there are with going to little c church, belonging to and fellowshipping with a local group of believers is essential to the being a child of God.

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<![CDATA[ Analog ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/analog/ 5eff63a6bf11bb00399c6564 Fri, 03 Jul 2020 10:00:09 -0700 A few years back, on a trip to see the Wildbit team in Philly, I had the chance to meet Jeff Sheldon in person. I believe it was at that time that he shared the beginnings of an idea for a paper-based productivity tool.

Months and months later, Jeff finally shared that idea with the world. I’ve had the chance to try a few different versions of the cards he designed during those months, and I can say they were good from the start. If you like paper, and you enjoy uncomplicated ways to manage your life, Analog is for you.

It’s funny to think back to how Jeff was unsure whether this was a viable idea. He launched the idea on Kickstarter and met his goal in less than an hour. A couple days in and it looks like Analog might be a bigger success than Gather was. Which is saying something. Give this project a look!

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<![CDATA[ The weirdly enduring appeal of Weird Al Yankovic ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/weird-al/ 5eda6ac1800d4f0039e43c09 Fri, 05 Jun 2020 08:57:12 -0700 On the theme of music, I loved this overview of the life and times of Weird Al.

As his name suggested, Weird Al’s comedy operated right at the hot spot of my childhood agonies: weirdness versus normalcy, insider versus outsider. What a Weird Al parody did was enact a tiny revolution. It took the whole glamorous architecture of American mainstream cool — Michael Jackson’s otherworldly moves, Madonna’s sexual taboos — and extracted all of the coolness. Into that void, Weird Al inserted the least cool person in the world: himself. And by proxy, all the rest of us weirdos, along with our uncool lives.

I wasn't a huge fan myself, but my childhood best friend sure was. We listened to a lot of those albums in the 80's, and quite enjoyed UHF (especially Conan the Librarian and Stanley Spadowski, masterfully portrayed by Michael Richards (aka Kramer from Seinfeld)).

But you don't have to be a fan of his music to appreciate Weird Al's influence and longevity.

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<![CDATA[ Working on an iPad ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/what-to-reach-for/ 5eda6ae6800d4f0039e43c13 Fri, 05 Jun 2020 08:56:46 -0700 I've returned to using an iPad after a period of about five years. I don’t have any kind of a full-fledged review, but I do have a collection of thoughts that have come to mind in my usage.

The keyboard

I went inexpensive on this purchase, grabbing the base model of the new iPad. That means the Magic Keyboard was not an option. Instead, I purchased a Smart Keyboard and a Pencil.

While most people in my circles are raving about the Magic Keyboard, I’ll say I like the cheaper option. When I first took it out of the box, I was not so sure. But apart from its tendency to not sit totally flat, it’s been enjoyable. I find typing on it far better than typing on my MacBook's butterfly keys (thought not quite as good as typing on my external keyboard).

The Pencil

I have no idea when to use this — I’m not sure I needed one. I purchased a notes app that can make use of the Pencil, but I haven’t once found myself wanting to get it out.

The ability to focus

I love the friction of OS. Yes, I can do more now on an iPad with multiple apps than previously. But while the OS has expanded its capabilities here, it still feels so much more focused. When I’m in an app, there aren’t quite so many things ready to take my attention

Overall, there is a lot to like about working on the iPad. The improvements to the operating system, the inclusion of Files, and the third party applications truly allow one to do most of the things you need to on a desktop.

What to reach for?

After several weeks, I'm a little unsure how to fit the iPad into my workflow. I like working on it to write, largely due to the constraints of the OS. But after the first week, I found myself most often reaching to grab my MacBook to do work. That was unexpected.

I'm not 100% sure why this is the case, but it does have to do with some things being harder to do on the iPad. For instance, working with my Git set-up is something I haven't even considered trying to do on the iPad yet. So it may be related to the fact I haven't fully looked into how to do all the things that are a normal part of my workday.

I realized also that Roam Research plays a part in this. As I slowly adopt it for more things, this adds to the desire to work on the MacBook as Roam does not (yet) play super will with iPadOS. I hope that changes, as the prime activities I want to use Roam for benefit from a distraction-free environment.

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<![CDATA[ Do Journal from Baron Fig ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/do-journal/ 5ebc17d9f4ba2b003948d041 Tue, 05 May 2020 07:55:00 -0700 When it comes to my pen & paper tools, I came to appreciate a blank canvas over the years. My preference is for a nice grid paper that lets me sketch out a layout that works for me. I’ve shared a few of these over the years.

So when it comes time to get a new notebook, the Confidant from Baron Fig is usually my choice. I love the build quality and overall design of these notebooks. However, I have a slew of lesser quality notebooks, and I was determined at the start of the year to make use of them. I lasted one quarter.

I simply wasn’t using my notebook often, primarily due to the paper. If it doesn’t feel good to write on it, I tend not to use it. So when the team at Baron Fig announce the Do Journal, it caught my attention because I wasn’t enjoying what I was using.

Something different

Now, while I love the mainstay items from Baron Fig, they put out a lot of stuff that doesn’t interest. Quirky designs, notebooks with blank pages, fat tipped pens, dream journals — those don’t appeal to me. And while I have preferred blank notebooks, the design of the Do Journal looked so good I had to give it a try.

What stood out right away is the design. But that’s true for a lot of their options that don’t appear to me — all their themed notebooks look good. The typography is great, and the layout is aesthetically pleasing. But that would not be enough on its own.

What works for me — or at least I think it will — is the structure of this journal already matches what my notebook usage. I have annual high-level goals. I break those down into smaller chunks each quarter, then I pick and choose various pieces to focus on each given week.

Drawbacks

What’s not great about this notebook? For one, it only covers one quarter at a time. Each book has one quarterly page, 14 weekly pages, and 70 daily pages. There are some other items, including a section blank pages (just like their annual planner notebook), but the time-based pages are the crux of this design. 14 weeks covers a quarter, but 70 days does not.

The obvious answer is that the spread is focused on weekdays (14 x 5 = 70). But I would prefer to have one daily spread for Saturdays and Sundays.


Apart from that, it’s a great notebook. Not as heavy-handed as something like the Full Focus Planner, it gives you a light structure to follow. I’m going to give it a try for a quarter and see how it feels.

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<![CDATA[ Does Jesus really like me? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/does-jesus-like-me/ 5ebc1805f4ba2b003948d049 Tue, 05 May 2020 07:09:00 -0700 Switching gears here, I enjoyed this interview on the Crossway blog. They talk to Dane Ortlund, author of Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers.

The post resonated with me because I’m the kind of person who needs constant reminders of God’s love and affection for his children. I’m the kind of Christian who finds it far too easy to envision God as a stern heavenly father who is constantly correcting his flock (guess what my parenting style is like as well), rather than the sacrificial provider and nurturer that he truly is.

Ortlund does a great job of reminding us that the love of God is so much higher than what we picture on our own. More so, the conversation discusses how Christ likes us as well as loves us.

I have trouble believing both that he loves me and likes me. But I think you're right, Matt, that we do tend to not think, talk, preach, write much—or as much—about his liking us. By “liking us” I don't mean kind of indiscriminate approval of everything we do, but love communicates that he is bound to us, he's committed to us even to the point of having laid down his life for us. Liking us communicates desire, longing, affection, a desire to be in the presence of. And that's what is really hard to retain a strong sense of as we go through life and do what you just said: you go through life piling up sins and is he still attracted to me? Does he still want to be with me? And so I do think very much that we need to understand he wants us. He actually has a desire for us as sinners. He's drawn to his people. He's the friend of sinners and all the pathos that includes.

What a great reminder. This article was a blessing to me!

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<![CDATA[ The Roam cult ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/cult-of-roam/ 5ebc1780f4ba2b003948d032 Tue, 28 Apr 2020 09:00:00 -0700 Well, that escalated quickly. I went from disinterested when I first heard about Roam from Drew Coffman, to mildly curious when I saw a lot of chatter about it, to pretty sold on the idea. I’ve been using it consistently for a little over two weeks and I can see it’s likely a better tool for creating a Zettelkasten than any other product I've explored.

But one aspect that has caught my attention is the community using the tool. It reminds me a little of the hype of Slack in its early days, or more recently, the hype surrounding Notion and Superhuman. The latter is likely the best example for one reason: it was designed targeted at a specific audience.

Superhuman is intended for one main purpose: making it easy for executives to get through their email quickly. Does that mean someone like myself can't benefit? No, I'm sure its a great email client. But dealing with email isn't a big problem for me, so I don't fit the ideal user profile.

Roam is a little like that. On the surface, it's a note taking tool that anyone could use in that capacity. But if you were looking for a similar alternative to Evernote or Bear or even Apple Notes, you might give Roam a quick look and think it's a little odd. Maybe even lacking in some ways. But that would be missing the true purpose of this tool.

Anyway, I wasn't intending to write about the app itself. Instead, it's the community that caught my attention. It's comprised of people from across a wide range of professions, but who all understand the value of connecting related thoughts. And they're quick to help you get using the tools, even quicker to publicly sing its praises. There are all kinds of videos and community sites helping you make sense of how to benefit from what this product offers.

I'm currently working my way thought Nat Eliason's Effortless Output with Roam course. That one makes the most sense, for that is exactly what Adler's syntopical reading and Luhman's Zettelkasten method are all about: output.

It's easy to get caught in the trap of tooling. Roam is different — it has functionality you can dig into, but it's work to do so. The easiest thing is to just start writing, and the value builds over time.

That's where I'm at currently. I use the Daily Notes to track my activity all day (something I did previously in Day One … and I export each day to ensure I have my notes if I decide to walk away from Roam), but have truly not jumped into it all the way.

But I can already see the connections growing.

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<![CDATA[ Context to context ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/context-to-context/ 5ebc17b9f4ba2b003948d03b Fri, 03 Apr 2020 09:12:00 -0700 I've referred to Drew Coffman a lot recently. That's partly because we share similar interests, but it's also due to his use of Roam (he's writing a lot more). Anyway, he talks about Apple's iPad Pro Magic Keyboard in this post.

Well, he refers to it, but spends most of his time talking about the original Smart Keyboard for the iPad Pro.

The original Smart Keyboard was not a folio case like what we have today, instead it covered only the front of the screen and hid the keyboard away behind a fold. This fold was, weirdly, amazing. You would open up the keyboard with a flourish of the hand, popping the keyboard out and creating a little triangle tent on which the iPad would then stand firm, like a column on its pedestal.

And the best aspect of this tool?

I have nothing but the fondest memories for that keyboard. What I loved about it was the way in which any context felt possible. Did I want to write? I could write from anywhere! The couch, a desk, a coffee shop, an outdoor patio! Did I want to read? I could pull the iPad off the keyboard and, with a Pencil in my hand, take notes with ease! Did I want to lay in bed and watch YouTube? Sure, I could do that too! The original Smart Keyboard made changing contexts effortless. I never found myself worrying about whether or not I should change it up, I just did it.

This — and all the other articles about this recently — has caught my attention because I've just ventured back into the iPad realm after 5 or so years away from it.

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<![CDATA[ Roam: why I love it and how I use it ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/all-about-roam/ 5ebc1759f4ba2b003948d02d Fri, 03 Apr 2020 06:28:00 -0700 I continue to hear a lot of positive feedback about Roam Research. And although I'm hesitant to embrace new web apps that are VC funded, the number of people saying good things about this one has me intrigued (but it would have to be a life-changing tool to get me to invest my time and energy in a funded team that is not charging for their product).

Here are a few related items:

Nat covers a few points that are worth highlighting:

Each note has relationships to other notes, but no note lives inside another note or notebook. All of the information is fluid in the sense that you flow between notes based on their relationships, not because they’re all in the same folder or hierarchy.

And:

This also highlights a big difference between Roam and other note taking tools: tags are both everything and nothing. Every page is a tag, and every tag is a page. Whether you do a [Page Link] or a #Hashtag Link is purely a stylistic choice. I use [Page Links] when it’s inline, and #Hashtag Links when they’re out of context, but you can use them however you want.
By structuring information in this way, Roam makes it super easy to move laterally across your information, while retaining vertical references. The book Emergency by Neil Strauss can live in my Book Notes page, my Prepping page, and my Neil Strauss page, without having to be moved.

And Drew is replacing three types of tools with Roam:

So Roam has quickly replaced any note-taking apps I’ve been using and given me an increased drive to write — but there’s something else that Roam seamlessly replaced: My task manager. One of my greatest issues with task management apps has been the same problem I’ve had with note-taking apps in the past — that I don’t want to have to deal with the mental weight of figuring out where my tasks are supposed to live. I will open a task manager to write something down, get distracted by the urgent tasks that are left unchecked, and immediately get frazzled — or I will meticulously build sections into my task manager, add tasks to each, and then forget about them as they become buried too deep in the app’s hierarchy of folders and buckets to be easily acted on.

I'm not sure I'd want to go so far, but the gap between your tasks and your reference information is a major pain with most of today's tools. I wrote about this when Things 3 came out:

In all the services I’ve used over the years, there has been a gap between managing the actual tasks and the information that is required to work on those tasks. There always needed to be a secondary piece of software required. That might be apps like Yojimbo or Evernote or Ulysses, or it might be parts of the macOS (files/folders in Finder).

Having all you need in one place would be powerful.

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<![CDATA[ How much screen time? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/how-much/ 5ebc1724f4ba2b003948d026 Fri, 03 Apr 2020 06:20:00 -0700 The last two weeks have been odd, to say the least. I mean, for me, the day-to-day rhythm feels pretty close to normal. Staying at home for days in a row is something I'm used to. But in every other sense, things have changed.

Rather than been annoyed or frustrated, I've tried to approach this entire situation as an opportunity to rest. That can be hard when you have young kids at home, but I am finding not having to drive people to various events fives nights a week has been peaceful. We've developed a daily routine that gets everyone outside (and we're blessed to have an acre of space to run around on), helping with chores, being creative, as well as entertain themselves on various screens.

How much screen time?

On that topic, I have seen a lot of parents expressing concern about screens and trying to find a routine that encourages other activities. Which is good. But also, let's not place too much pressure on ourselves — this is not a time to be adding stress.

There is a healthy balance to be found and it can involve more than 60–90 minutes of screen time. For our home, that can be as much as 3 hours per day in addition to whatever family viewing we do together in the evening. If our children are going to be awake and at home with us for 14 hours each day, there is plenty of time left for work, learning, and creative activities.

One other aspect affecting how I feel about screens is the social impact. If your children are older, there's a good chance that gaming is a way for them to connect with their friends. Something they're doing much less in person because of social distancing. So if our 14 year old son chooses to do his screen time from 8:30–11:30 pm playing Fortnite, talking to his friends all the while, I'm happy he has the ability to do so.

Oh yeah, school too…

Thankfully, this major shift in life came just as we were heading into spring break. But I feel for any parents who are trying to juggle work and home life, while simultaneously feeling the pressure of taking on their children's education.

Give yourself some slack in all of these areas.

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<![CDATA[ The core habits of a successful GTD system ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/core-habits-gtd/ 5ebc16b3f4ba2b003948d017 Wed, 18 Mar 2020 09:00:00 -0700 Joe Buhlig makes some good points about using GTD in this post. As someone who’s followed the basic principles for a long time, he knows where he struggles to be consistent in the process. I definitely get where he’s coming from as I have my points where I could always use some improvement.

This caught my eye in particular:

It’s one thing to collect items on a someday/maybe list. It’s another to put them to work. I can capture ideas all day long every day of the week. But incubating them, curating them, and activating them is work in itself.

Amen to that. This also makes it harder to do a thorough weekly review — you have a list of projects/areas with tasks that you don’t have any firm intention of doing anytime soon. That friction makes it hard to review everything.

And another point that grabbed me:

In the case of GTD, we often think about this through the lens of contexts, a set of tools or periods when we work on certain lists. And a common misunderstanding here is working from these contexts “when you find yourself in that context.” I’m sorry, but I don’t “find myself” anywhere by accident. Even if that is the way life worked, I’m pretty sure that working from lists whenever you accidentally end up in a context wouldn’t allow you to complete the tasks you need to complete each day.
Instead, you have to choose to put yourself in those contexts. And I have found that the best way to do that is by scheduling time for different projects and contexts throughout the week. You see this concept employed in a lot of ways: time-blocking, daily themes, yearly themes, tasks on a calendar, etc… Choose the method that works for you, but don’t expect the contexts to magically appear and the work to complete itself when that happens.

For me, this issue is less about contexts and more about roles or areas of responsibility. If I don’t purposefully schedule time for home maintenance or certain tasks for my role as director of IT at our church, those things will always take a back seat to my roles that get a higher priority. Over time, that results in guilt or increased stress for those roles as the feeling if I should starts to build.

This is where Matt Perman’s weekly routine or Mike Vardy’s themed days can help.

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<![CDATA[ Thoughts on Tot ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/tot/ 5ebc16fcf4ba2b003948d020 Wed, 18 Mar 2020 06:33:00 -0700 I was intrigued as soon as I saw the news about Tot on Twitter. A small scratch pad that lives in the menu bar brings value. However, it’s an idea that has been addressed often already. But since Tot is available across Apple devices, that also adds to its value. However, I already have Apple’s own Notes or a tool like Ulysses on all my devices. So how would Tot be useful enough to use?

For me, it comes down to ease of access. Yes, I use Ulysses across all my devices — it even has a sheet titled Inbox. But when I have a one-off thought to record, opening Ulysses and navigating to a specific sheet takes a few seconds. Using a keyboard combo to open Tot in the menu bar, jot down my thought, then move on, is a lot less friction and helps me keep focus on whatever had my attention at first.

Tot looks good up in the menubar

Second, there’s just enough flexibility with Tot as it includes seven panes (distinguished by color). This fits nicely with my overall areas of responsibility in my life, giving one pane for each.

What do I collect in there?

Whereas Ulysses has lengthy notes and all my writing, Tot is simply a place to collect a loose collection of one liners. Maybe it’s a topic someone in the our family wanted to discuss, or a list of things to talk to a specific person about, or a few groceries I need to get from the store. I often have a thought that needs to be captured, but it doesn’t require its own sheet in Ulysses or a task in Things. It’s just a thought or note that I want to refer to later. And since the context of later will often be somewhere away from my desk, Tot scratches an itch I didn’t realize I had.

But what about the cost? When I first saw it was a macOS app, I expected a small cost as its more of a utility than a full fledged, feature rich app. But it was free. When I saw it also had an iOS version, I expected a subscription. But when I saw the price tag on the iOS version, I confess I was a little shocked. $20 USD is more than I’m used to seeing applications like this cost. It took about a week before I felt like it was compelling enough to pay that price.

Bonus points: an app icon on my iOS home screen that is not the same color as all the others.

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<![CDATA[ Running a membership business ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/membership-businesses/ 5ebc1686f4ba2b003948d012 Wed, 04 Mar 2020 05:43:00 -0800 Gosh, what a time to have something to share with the world. It seems there are new options every week to help you create something, send it out into the world, and earn a living doing so. From a teen who quit high school to focus on Fortnite and his Youtube channel, to a guy walking across Japan, it seems like the opportunities are only limited by your imagination.

As someone who has hosted a website for 10+ years and written a newsletter for just slightly less than that, 2020 feels like a golden age for self-promoting.

I’ve spent some time researching Ghost in recent weeks. This is partly due to their being an initial team on People-first Jobs. But I was also interested to hear about their purchase of Pico from Paul Jarvis.

If you’re considering starting a web site (or moving an existing one) or a newsletter, their recent article on How to create a premium newsletter (+ some case studies) may be useful. This seems like a great combination for people who want to build a membership-based business. It allows you to write, then choose whether a post should be available to the public or just members. If you choose your members, a lovely designed email is sent out.

It doesn’t (yet) give you a lot of the tools a typical email service provides. You can’t create custom onboarding workflows for new subscribers. There are no options for tweaking the email design. You can’t even view the aggregate stats of a newsletter (you can only view the details of one member at a time).

But it does allow you to connect to a Stripe account, charge for your content, and distribute that content to your audience. And the entire experience of using the platform feels good, including the ethos of the company behind it.

I’ll be paying close attention to how this matures.

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<![CDATA[ From the abundance of the heart ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/abundance-of-heart/ 5ebc1535f4ba2b003948cfe2 Wed, 19 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0800 Another reference to Alan Jacobs: he shared this article at the same time. This one is his own, where he shares the experience of giving a talk based on something he had written. But, as he's speaking to the crowd, he realizes he doesn't like the words he's about to say.

This is a strange kind of experience. As I was reading, as my mind was processing words and sending them along to my lips and larynx, a word pricked my conscience; I scanned my word-hoard for alternatives, and managed to retrieve one, to my relief. But it’s not always so easy. A few minutes later in the same lecture I came across a whole phrase that, even as it was about to emerge into the public air for the first time, was revealed to me as fundamentally uncharitable — but because it was a whole phrase I did not have time to construct an alternative. I was therefore forced to utter words even as I was renouncing them, to be convicted out of my own mouth of a lack of generosity. I was made to own, by speaking them, words I wished I had not written.

This makes me think of teaching Sunday School. When I'm standing in front of a group of people (most of whom are older than me), it's easy to get into a flow, but then come to a spot where you question what you just said, or are about to say. When that happens, I try to be honest and just add a caveat that I'm not 100% sure of my stance on the topic.

My biggest takeaway from those moments is to think of James 3:1: “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” 😳

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<![CDATA[ Why I'm not crazy for Notion ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/a-crazy-notion/ 5ebc1559f4ba2b003948cfe7 Wed, 19 Feb 2020 08:01:00 -0800 There's a lot of hype about Notion these days. Everyone seems to be using it, trying to figure out how to configure its complexity to be their second brain, or share their public roadmap, or a place to document what they read. It feels similar to when Slack started to get momentum.

I confess I'm struggling to enjoy the product.

We looked at using Notion in its early days, long before it was the rage. It didn't stick, but our team was keeping an eye on it. Now we use it for a few things at Wildbit, and I've tried to put a few different things of my own in there. But no matter what I try to do with it, I stick with my existing tools.

If that sounds crazy to you because Notion is clearly the way of the future, hear me out.

Feel

First, thing first — how does a tool feel to use? That's a critical part for me. And while I appreciate Notion's wiki features and power, good gosh, the way text is handled feels like stabbing yourself in the eye.

I just want some decent vertical rhythm to the text. Medium does this well. Ghost's editor is lovely. Grammarly too.

But Notion makes each line break its own module that can be turned into any kind of content. Unfortunately, these modules have no whitespace between them, meaning that if a page is a document full of text, each paragraph is all up in its neighbouring paragraph's business. Not cool!

Need that whitespace to let your text breath and your anxiety down? Me too. Unfortunately, if you had an extra line break, it's too much space. Small detail, for sure. But it feels yuck to me and that makes me want to write somewhere else.

Content permanance

You know what else Notion reminds me of? Evernote. Remember when everyone raved about Evernote and some people made their living helping others get the most out of the app? That's where we're at with Notion.

My big beef with Evernote was getting my content back out. It was always difficult to do and the results were a mess. I have the same concerns here. How long is Notion going to be around? If I put my whole life into it, can I get it back out easily?

Environmental impact

The more time I spend digging into B-corp certification and measuring the impact of my activity and that of our team, the more I'm convicted to use local tools. If software is eating the world, cloud software is eating the universe. But every piece of Web-based tooling we use means multiple computers are involved (mine, plus however many servers/VMs are involved in my web apps).

As a member of team making web based products, I realize this may sound off. But I'm simply saying that this factor should be evaluated when considering adopting a new tool. Notion is one tool that offers what a collection of desktop tools already provide for me.

Meeting all the needs

On that note, I'm also skeptical of tools that try to be everything for everybody. Notion wants to be the Slack of the team productivity space, or the new Microsoft Office. Communication tool? It can be that. Task management? That too. Design reviews. Roadmaps. CRM. Calendars. Journals.

Notion wants to handle all these use cases. And it can!

But maybe it doesn't do them all really well. And when you try to do so many things, there are tradeoffs that perhaps make the whole experience less of a joy.

I could do all my writing in Notion. But it's nowhere near as enjoyable as using Ulysses. The same for Things, or Day One, or Fantastical.

The good

Not everything is bad about the product. The leadership don't seem to want to grow just for the sake of growth, so their approach to funding is great. And it is a good way for team members to work together on certain initiatives.

But I'm not jumping on this bandwagon just yet.

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<![CDATA[ Where do I look for help? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/where-does-my-help-come-from/ 5ebc1513f4ba2b003948cfdc Tue, 04 Feb 2020 07:45:00 -0800 It’s taken a lot of years to improve on this, but I’m finally learning to turn to God as a first option more frequently. So often, when there is some kind of problem in my life, I would react and attempt to use my skills and resources to solve it. Some times this is enough; many times it is not.

God has helped me change my thinking over the past couple of years. And truth be told, the more common scenario is not dealing with an actual problem, but the potential for a problem (for when something goes wrong, we usually have to do something). Anxiety is the true problem here — my fear of what might happen down the road.

This is a problem God promises to help with. Our job is to trust and believe.

There are several verses that bring this home to me. I came across a newer one in Isaiah (newer to me) in a recent morning devotional time.

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,
“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”

Returning can also mean repentance here, but rest? Quietness? Trust? When I’m fearful, those can be hard attitudes to adopt. But later in this morning reading, I was in Psalm 31 and struck by how good David was at having this kind of mindset.

Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!

The next day I was in Isaiah again, and again this emphasis:

And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.
My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. (Isaiah 32:17-18, ESV)

This reminded me of a verse I had memorized last year. In Lamentations 3, Jeremiah, amidst his crying out (it’s a lament after all), gives this amazing expression of praise

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

There is so much emphasis in Scripture in this trust and confidence. I want more of this in my life. I long for quiet resting places, for my soul is often weary.

Thank God for making it possible for us to enter into his rest!

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<![CDATA[ Just write ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/just-write/ 5ebc14e2f4ba2b003948cfd7 Tue, 04 Feb 2020 07:19:00 -0800 One the topic of owning your own website, Sara Soueidan spends a few minutes sharing how important it is to simply write and put your thoughts out in the world. It’s good for you, but can also be good for others:

Even if only one person learns something from your article, you’ll feel great, and that you’ve contributed — even if just a little bit — to this amazing community that we’re all constantly learning from. And if no one reads your article, then that’s also okay. That voice telling you that people are just sitting somewhere watching our every step and judging us based on the popularity of our writing is a big fat pathetic attention-needing liar. (Saying this felt so good, haha.)

It’s good to shut that liar up by putting something online. Even if our writing needs a lot of improvement, the only way to actually get better is practice.

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<![CDATA[ A system for making the most of what I read ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/my-personal-knowledge-base-2/ 5ebc14c5f4ba2b003948cfd1 Tue, 07 Jan 2020 07:07:00 -0800

This is outdated now. It wasn't too long after writing this that tools like Roam Research and Obsidian came to the forefront of my time and attention. I now use Obsidian for all my personal knowledge management.

Regular readers will know that I’ve been focused a lot this past year on a couple of ideas. Namely, the Zettelkasten method and the idea of having a digital “second brain”.

Those are names other people have given the concept, but it’s simply about making the most from what we read and the information that comes our way. And these concepts are all about creating a trusted system that is used routinely, all for the express purpose of producing quality output.

I’ve shared most of these items in the past, but here’s recap of the various resources available on this topic.

What I’ve been missing

I’ve long had a fascination with how I and others work, the tools we use, and the processes that we put in place to do our work. Reading GTD way back in the early or mid-2000’s was the start. But while the processes I’ve honed since then worked great for focusing my attention and doing work, I would often have the problem of losing track of information.

“Where did I read that great line?” This is the type of question I’d find myself asking every couple of weeks. While I had tools in place for reading, or even taking notes, the usage was not consistent, nor was it all encompassing. I might highlight passages in a paper book, but then forget all about it. I could do the same in Instapaper, which is then added automatically to Day One, but completely forget where I read the specific idea or phrase months down the road.

The last article in the resources above well captures the problem:

The inefficiencies of a system (or lack of a system) don’t become apparent until we need to retrieve the information we’ve previously been exposed to; information we’ve already deemed important.
… and then can’t find the info or recall where you saw it.

This is an issue I very much wanted to solve this year.

Where I am now

After a lot of reading and thinking about this, I now have a far better set up in place. And the best part of it all is that I can make a great improvement in recalling information using the tools I already own and use every day. The less pieces of software I have to learn, the better. And I’m always happiest when I learn to do more with the tools I already have.

Here’s a sketch of how my toolset looks now.

How all the pieces of my system fit together

This reminds me of Christian Tietze’s sketch of how he pictures the Zettelkasten method.

Christian's lovely sketch of how he pictures the Zettelkasten

The main items I’m concerned about are:

  1. Bible Study
  2. Reading on the Kindle
  3. Reading paper books
  4. Reading in Instapaper
  5. Reading on the web or other iOS apps

When it comes to being consistent with saving information that interests me, collection was a problem. So when I wanted to improve my set up, the focus was on setting up the tools I use and then making my usage regular.

Some of these items are easy, no-brainers. When I’m doing my devotions, I can simply add a note to Ulysses or highlight a passage that resonates with me. When reading a book on my Kindle, I can use the share option when creating a note or highlighting text. But the last three items needed a little more work.

The most important aspects of the system is that everything I want to save comes into my system via the Things inbox and everything is stored in Ulysses (with references pointed to saved items in Pinboard). What helps with this is I only have to look in one place to retrieve items.

Here's how I put all the pieces in my system together.

  1. As I do my devotional time, I write down questions or thoughts that come to mind in my paper journal. When I want to make those a permanent thought to review in the future, I simply open Ulysses on my phone, open the passage in question, and create a note (using the annotation feature of the app). I add relevant tags in the annotation itself (depicted with a # before the word)
  2. When I’m reading a book on my Kindle and find a passage I like, I highlight it. From there, I use the share feature to send an email to Things. In the same vein, if I want to add a thought of my own, I create a note on the Kindle and share that in the same manner. The key with this is that I have work left to do — but that work comes later when I’m at my desk, not during my reading time.
  3. When I’m reading articles in Instapaper, highlighted passages and liked articles are automatically sent to Pinboard via IFTTT.
  4. When reading a paper book, if there’s a passage I want to highlight or comment on, I’ll do one of two things: mark it in the book on one of the last pages, or grab my phone and capture the text with Scanner Pro. If I choose not the capture it immediately, I just do the same process with Scanner Pro at a later time. But when ready, I scan the page, save the item and then use Scanner Pro’s OCR functionality to view the image as text. I then copy it to the clipboard, switch over to Things, and create a new task in the inbox.
  5. When reading an article online, but not in Instapaper, I can use the Pinboard bookmarklet to highlight a passage I want to refer to or comment on. It’s very similar to using Instapaper: both activities result in a new saved link in Pinboard. And every item in Pinboard results in a new task in Things (using the Pinboard and email to Things functionality in IFTTT).

The key with all of the items (apart from my Bible study/reading where action happens immediately) is that I have only taken the first step of collection. The critical work of a useful personal knowledge base is processing that content and adding my own thoughts.

That all happens at some point when I’m at my desk. I’ve slowly improved my shutdown ritual over the past couple of years to include cleaning out my Things inbox. This process will often include adding several new notes to Ulysses that include quotes from the various sources I’ve mentioned here, along with a reference link to Pinboard, then my own thoughts.

Why Pinboard?

As far as internet services go, Pinboard is not the nicest to look at. But in terms of doing the job you hire it for, it excels. And I prefer to spend my money on businesses that are going to be around for a while, where I know the money is going directly to the people who create the product.

Pinboard is accessible. I can use it via different apps (Pushpin on iOS, Readkit on macOS) when reading in a browser (via its bookmarklet), or automate actions with other internet services (IFTTT or Zapier).

It’s fast. And it allows me to back up content so that if a site or article is lost to the passage of time, I can refer back to it in Pinboard itself. Again, this is a service that never fails to deliver on the job I want it to do. While we’re all used to internet services simply being unavailable at some point, Pinboard (and the one man behind it) is the opposite.

It’s a reliable backup service for internet content.

Why Ulysses?

A lot of people have used Evernote in the past for this type of thing. I’ve never liked the product much myself. The new kid on the block is Notion, but I’m not crazy about tools that try to be everything for everybody. And I took a long look at Ulysses a while back and chose it as the place to store all my Bible Study notes, so it was already a leading candidate for my Zettelkasten-type of usage.

There are a few factors that make Ulysses a good choice. First, it feels and looks good to use. As a writing environment, it’s at the top of the list of good macOS apps. Second, it seems to handle a lot of content quite well. I have 2,016 notes containing hundreds of thousands of words, and it only rarely slows down for me.

Another great feature of Ulysses is the inclusion of callback URLs. These allow me to link between different notes and make use of the relations between different thoughts. And, of course, the tags in Ulysses also make searching for items and finding related content much easier.

Manual versus automated

You’ll note that a lot of the work of getting content into my system it manual. And while there are some instances where that is due to limitations, I’m not too concerned about it.

The most important aspect of the Zettelkasten method is taking the time to summarize what you read into your own words when you save a note (a settle). The manual aspect makes that more likely to happen.

However, I am happy to make use of automation where I can — and where it makes sense. Items like Instapaper highlights going straight to my Things inbox is far nicer than having to make a highlight on my Kindle and then remembering to share it via email (going to my Things email address).

There is always room for improvement. For example, with notes from paper books, it would be great if Scanner Pro added a way to share the text. As it is, you can share the scan as an image or PDF, but that doesn’t help much (and you can’t even use Things as one of the shareable apps). When you view the scan as text, all you can do is copy it to the clipboard.

Overall, this isn’t a huge problem as the number of times I do this is minimal. I’ve been reading most non-fiction digitally of late, so it’s infrequent. But this is a piece of my system that I will always look to improve.

Getting Kindle notes & highlights to your Mac

One specific piece of all this deserves a little more focus. Namely, getting highlights and notes you take on your Kindle is one of the touchier pieces of this whole practice. While it’s nice that Amazon integrated your Kindle activity with Good Reads and allows you to see your saved items, it would be far better if this were an open system.

Getting my Kindle notes and highlights is one of the more manual processes and it’s largely due to being a closed environment. I have to remember to send items as I create them. There are other ways to accomplish this. I could create a recurring task to review the page Amazon provides and manually copy things over. Or I could use a service like Readwise.

But it’s yet another subscription to pay for (and doesn’t look appealing enough to justify the cost). And I’ve found it’s easier to develop the habit of sharing the note/highlight at the moment of creation rather than doing multiple items later on.

Again, the real work happens when I process the notes. So while I’d like to see this improve, I can live with the additional friction at the point of collection.

My note template

I have a snippet saved in Launchbar that I use for creating a new note in Ulysses. It looks like this:

My note template triggered from a Launchbar snippet

Using some of the automatic options (such as dates) in the Launchbar snippets, I can populate a unique ID based on the date and time. Note that this is separate from the title of the note, but it’s the unique ID that I use to create a link using the callback URLs in Ulysses. Using this, I can link to notes from within other notes. And the comments (indicated by the plus characters) remind me what to add to the note.

Here's how a full note looks.

A full note in my system contains all the items I want to refer to

Tags are included in the note and copied and pasted to the Ulysses attachments pane.


And that’s my system. Again, the purpose here is twofold. To reduce those moments of uncertainty trying to remember where I saw a piece of writing. And to make publishing content easier.

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<![CDATA[ Fortnite pastoral ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/fortnite-pastoral/ 5ebc149bf4ba2b003948cfcb Tue, 24 Dec 2019 09:17:00 -0800 I missed this earlier in the fall, but Robin Sloan shared his impressions of the reboot of Fortnite when Epic Games launched Chapter 2. What caught his attention? The look, the feel, the atmosphere of it.

Now, the island has grown up. A few landmarks remain, planted in new locations like scattered seeds, but the terrain is totally different, and it’s the terrain that is the star. The new island’s geography is softer, more natural. Mountains flow into moraine. Hills flatten into meadows. Draws empty into creeks.
In those creeks—there are ponds and lakes, too—you can swim, as well as fish, and it’s here that the soul of the new game shows most clearly. Dropped into a hundred-player melee, danger on every side, is it foolish to pause beside a stream, put aside your weapon, and cast a line? Possibly. But it’s a big island, and sometimes you find yourself alone.
The new environment is plainly pastoral. There’s more open space. The farms have become more detailed, with apple orchards and rows of trellised tomatoes.
Butterflies dance in the meadows.

I very much agree with this sentiment and enjoyed the change in the feel (although I still end up with a racing heart as I struggle to get in a head shot with my tactical shotgun). It’s a good mix of calm and chaotic action.

He finishes:

From the first wash of pixels, it was obvious: this new place was simpler and softer. Wide open. Unburdened.

Agreed.

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<![CDATA[ People-First Jobs ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/people-first-jobs-2/ 5ebc1482f4ba2b003948cfc5 Tue, 24 Dec 2019 07:00:00 -0800 I’m working a little over the holidays, but my big focus for the past several weeks was put out into the world this past week. A super small team-within-a-team at Wildbit launched People First Jobs.

People first jobs home page

What is it? Essentially, it’s a new kind of job board — one that is focused on helping people find jobs with companies that take a balanced approach to work.

A backlash against the valley mentality and always-on hustle has been in full swing for a while. While there are still a lot of people idolizing the Gary V mentality, there are plenty more who recognize that people do their best when they have a full overall life, not just a fulfilling career. We want to help people find jobs that support this vision.

Chris Nagele, one of the co-founders of Wildbit, described it like this in his intro post:

More and more people are searching for a place where they can do incredible work at a reasonable pace, with a team that cares deeply about their success and craft. The problem is, we don’t hire often and don’t always have an opening. Instead of turning them away, we want to create a list of like-minded companies who have job openings.

I’ve often had people reach out and share their admiration for Wildbit, but we’re a small team who doesn’t hire all that often. People First Jobs is a way for us to say, “We’re not hiring right now, but here are some other great places to work.” We’ve got a lot of work to do in refining exactly how to define traits of a healthy workplace (it can look slightly different from one team to another) and how to validate what companies say.

But I’m super excited about the response we’ve had and where we’re going to go with this in 2020. If you’re looking for a healthier work environment, subscribe to get updates on the companies we add and the jobs they’re looking to fill.

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<![CDATA[ The secret to enjoying a long winter ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/surviving-winter/ 5ebc1436f4ba2b003948cfba Tue, 17 Dec 2019 09:00:00 -0800 Jason Kottke shares some ideas I have to preach to myself each year. He talks about how he experienced depression last two winters and what’s been helping so far this year.

But this quote he shared from Matt Thomas nailed for me:

Fall is a time to write for me as well, but it also means welcoming — rather than fighting against — the shorter days, the football games, the decorative gourds. Productivity writer Nicholas Bate’s seven fall basics are more sleep, more reading, more hiking, more reflection, more soup, more movies, and more night sky. I like those too. The winter will bring with it new things, new adjustments. Hygge not hay rides. Ditto the spring. Come summer, I’ll feel less stress about stopping work early to go to a barbecue or movie because I know, come autumn, I’ll be hunkering down. More and more, I try to live in harmony with the seasons, not the clock.

This is key for me. I try to remember to view winter as a chance for a little more rest, as well as do some things that I never have time for in the spring and summer months.

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<![CDATA[ 15 Years ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/fifteen-years/ 5ebc1458f4ba2b003948cfbf Tue, 17 Dec 2019 07:03:00 -0800 Eugene Federenko, my colleague from Wildbit and someone I admire very much, had his 15th anniversary with the company this week. That’s a crazy number in our current times. He took the time to share a few thoughts about the idea and it’s a great read.

On what makes Wildbit such a great place:

15 years in the same company is rare, but tech companies that old are unicorns by themselves. Unlike traditional businesses, most of them come and go with a new wave of hype. Wildbit is product agnostic, privately owned, and built to be sustainable in the long term — that’s key to being in the business for 20 years.

In discussing professional growth, he talks about how he tries to make even mundane tasks more enjoyable and concludes with this nugget of gold:

It’s my responsibility to make work interesting for myself — no one else will take care of this.

So well said.

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<![CDATA[ Finding the right name ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/naming-things/ 5e18fb6fba88610038f8d7ba Tue, 10 Dec 2019 10:23:00 -0800 When working on a new idea, the hardest part for me is figuring out a name and how to talk about the idea overall. Even when the idea is solid and there is interest or demand for it, even when I can articulate the problem it will solve, I often struggle to find a name.

Perhaps it’s an aspect of launching projects where you believe you truly have to nail it. After all, changing the name of a product (any type of product) down the road can be a very hard endeavour. So you approach the name as if you have to get it right the first time.

Or, maybe the issue is related to the paradox of choice. With an empty slate to work there, it can feel daunting to know how to whittle down the choices.

Here’s a few things I try to do when I go through this exercise:

  • Write down words. Lots of ‘em. On paper, or in a blank file in your favourite text editor. Get everything out of my head and hope that something pops out of the mess.
  • Take inspiration from all kinds of sources, especially away from the screen. Read some books or magazines.
  • Check search trends. It’s always good to see what people are looking related to the problem you hope to solve.
  • Get away from the computer. Good ideas don’t usually come when I’m sitting on the computer. A long walk or shovelling the driveway allow my brain to sift while my body works.
  • Review notes and references. This is the good thing keeping about a commonplace book or Zettelkasten — you have a reference library that can help good ideas bubble to the surface.

Only time will tell if your name is good (it will never be perfect). But names grow on you over time — just ask any parent who struggled to find the right name for their child how it would feel to change it 5 years down the road. Impossible.

So don’t overthink it. Too much 🙂

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<![CDATA[ Analog Senses's 10th anniversary ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/years-of-blogging/ 5ebc1160f4ba2b003948cf7c Tue, 10 Dec 2019 07:37:00 -0800 Josh Ginter links to a post from Álvaro Serrano about his blog turning ten years old. I haven’t read this blog myself, but I am familiar with Serrano’s name. But what caught my attention was Josh’s comments:

The whole digital reality of this little group takes a backseat every few years when we get to see each other, but that digital divide has a stigma… it’s like we’re not allowed to call each other our best friends, because of it. But just you writing it that way helps pull down that divide. I really appreciate that.

And:

I stand by this, though I would have liked to use more words. Sometimes it’s easy to forget about the magnitude of a relationship when it’s hidden behind a screen for 95% of the year. Getting to see each other in the skin amplifies the relationship — perhaps makes it feel more concrete.

If you click through to either post, Álvaro’s story reminds me a lot of my own. I started a blog, started to meet people over Twitter, reached out to Shawn Blanc at one point. Eventually, that led to meeting Michael Mistretta, which led to Fusion Ads, which led to working at various SaaS companies that were our customers.

All because I started writing. And because I decided to reach out to someone. Now I have people I would consider some of my best friends who live all over the place. Some I’ve met face to face, others I have not (not yet anyway). But one I’m sure about: putting myself out there led to meeting some amazing people. And I’m so thankful for that blessing.

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<![CDATA[ A few words about Bibles ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/words-about-bibles/ 5ebc1106f4ba2b003948cf70 Tue, 03 Dec 2019 07:01:00 -0800 Alan Jacobs writes about Bibles in a recent newsletter. He mentions the Illuminated version of the ESV that was illustrated by Dana Tanamachi. That caught my eye as that’s the Bible I’m currently using (and thanks to an ordering gaffe, so is my wife — I bought two copies).

He very briefly gets into how it can be hard to mark up these nice Bibles that are works of art.

I myself own some beautifully bound Bibles, but I am always slightly uneasy about them. They are precious, but that’s a word with several meanings, and all of them are operative here.

But he is open to trying new things in a plainer version that focuses on reading:

For the last couple of years my everyday Bible has been this ESV Reader’s Edition, a plain hardcover that’s printed and bound like a novel or a work of history. I typically do not use highlighters, but I’ve been doing this little experiment in which I go through the Bible to isolate certain themes. For instance, the blue highlighting marks passages that relate to N. T. Wright’s comprehensive (some might say rather too comprehensive) account of the Big Story of the Bible; the green marks passages that deal with Christology. I also have been marking in a different color the passages that deal with what St. Paul calls the “principalities and powers,” a topic I am profoundly interested in. It’s nice to have a Bible around that’s marked up in this particular way. Perhaps later I will add new themes, and use new colors to identify them.

I share his struggles. I do underline some passages, but hesitate to add more. Part of this is due to my unsightly handwriting and lack of drawing ability. It’s also partly due that most of my more permanent notes go into a digital tool (Ulysses, for the record).

But my wife has no such compunctions. She’s add notes anyway, anywhere — and they look good (see below).

Some people nicely mark up their Bibles

I admire her tenacity to work out the text on the paper with which she reads it!

If this topic is at all an interest to you, you might also enjoy Jacobs writing about Crossway and the ESV as well.

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<![CDATA[ Polar Vantage update ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/polar-vantage-after-one-year/ 5ebc1133f4ba2b003948cf76 Tue, 03 Dec 2019 06:28:00 -0800 It’s been almost one year since I got my Polar Vantage M. Items like these always get a review after a couple of weeks of us; maybe a couple months at most. But it’s nice to hear how these devices hold up over time and shape our habits.

So here’s how I feel about the Vantage after 11 months of full time, every day use.

Discolouration

My wife purchased the white watch with the white band. Overall, the band has been very comfortable and I assume it’s comparable to the Apple Watch silicon band. The only thing that I’m noticing is the discolouration.

The white band is fairly yellowed

Daily use is going to have an effect on a product. Especially one that is against your skin and worn during exercise. So I’m not surprised at all to see a bit of a yellow tinge. However, it’s interesting to note that most of the coloring is happening to the body of the device, less so with the band. I had planned to pick up a replacement band, but it will look odd to be so pristine next to a yellowed watch.

Sleep tracking

Hardware aside, it’s the software I always care about the most. And what I’ve been most impressed with lately is the sleep tracking. Polar released an update this fall and it changed what the Vantage is tracking when you sleep and how it’s displayed.

Now you get two ratings for each night: an ANS charge and a Sleep charge. The first charge measures how well your ANS (automatic nervous system) calms down each night by tracking your breathing rate, heart rate, and heart rate variability.

The Vantage measures your ANS charge

The second charge measures your sleep structure by tracking how long you spend in the three sleep stages (light, REM, and deep).

And your sleep recharge

Now, if you hear a skeptical voice in your head asking how a watch can possibly measure all of those things, I hear you. However, I would value its ratings better than a phone (so many popular sleep tracking iOS apps use the microphone to track your sleep — movement and heart rate have to be better). But still, I would love to hear from a sleep expert about how useful these kinds of devices are for this kind of analysis.

Subjectively, I can say that the days after a night where I score well, I feel more energetic and awake. The following night is one where I do things like get some writing done, rather than just fall asleep after putting down the kids.

A great device

Overall, I would still recommend the Vantage M to anyone looking for a casual–to–serious athletic activity tracker. If you’re training for an Ironman, maybe you need something higher end. But for everyone else, this is a more than solid option.

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<![CDATA[ Apple TV, Apple TV, Apple TV, and Apple TV+ ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/apple-tv/ 5ebc10dcf4ba2b003948cf6a Tue, 26 Nov 2019 07:07:00 -0800 If you’ve wondered what exactly is up with Apple TV, know that you’re not alone. I didn’t realize quite how bad the situation was until reading this post from Dustin Curtis.

‪Apple TV is a hardware device.

Apple TV is an app on Apple TV that curates content you can buy from Apple and also content you can stream through other installed apps (but not all apps, and there is no way to tell which ones).
Apple TV is an app on iOS/iPadOS devices that operates similarly to Apple TV on Apple TV. Apple TV on iOS/iPadOS syncs playback and watch history with Apple TV on Apple TV, but only if the iOS/iPadOS device has the same apps installed as the Apple TV – and not all apps are available on all platforms. Apple TV is also an app on macOS, but it does not show content that can only be streamed from external apps on an Apple TV or iOS/iPadOS device.

Sadly, the list continues — it’s like watching Inception for the first time (a dream within a dream within a dream, but instead a service within an app within a device).

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<![CDATA[ Pray without ceasing ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/pray-without-ceasing/ 5ebc10bcf4ba2b003948cf64 Tue, 26 Nov 2019 07:00:00 -0800 I’ve long had a love–hate relationship with some of Paul’s directions to the various churches he wrote to in the NT. The love is for the blessing of the words God inspired him to write, for the feeling that comes when I really dig in. But the hate comes from my inability to follow the instructions.

Where I continually fail is Paul’s directions to pray all the time. Here’s a few examples:

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

And from his own practice:

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…

And the passage that I’ve wanted to improve on in my own life is from Philippians:

…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

What does it mean to pray without ceasing? To bring everything to God in prayer and supplication? Did Paul and other disciples we read about sit most of the day, kneeling before God and praying about all the people they knew? I don’t think that’s the picture we’re supposed to walk away with from passages like this.

After years of wrestling with these passages, I’ve come away with a general sense of how our lives should look. First, it’s a matter of heart. When issues do arise, when questions come, where do you turn first? These passages suggest our response should be to bring these cares to God.

Second, it’s a rhythm. Do your hours, days, and weeks reflect habitual patterns of seeking your Father? To pray without ceasing is akin to eating: I don’t eat all day long, day in and day out. But I do eat every day without a break (fasting aside). I eat without ceasing.

John Piper addresses this very verse when someone asked him what “praying without ceasing” meant. He used the example of Paul using this Greek word (adialeiptōs) in another verse (For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing adialeiptōs I mention you. Romans 1:9). He explains:

It doesn’t mean that Paul was verbally and mentally always, every second, mentioning them. It means that over and over, always, repeatedly, without fail, when I get on my knees, you are in my prayer. That is basically what I think he means by “pray without ceasing” — repeatedly and often.

This encourages me, for I do repeatedly come to God in prayer. And while I often feel like it could and should be more often, I’m already in the habit of doing so. For the rest of my life, I simply want that regularity and intensity to increase more and more.

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<![CDATA[ Fortnite chapter 2 ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/fortnite-chapter-2/ 5ebc1093f4ba2b003948cf5d Wed, 06 Nov 2019 06:11:00 -0800 If you don’t have teens or video games are not your thing, you still may not be aware of the phenomenon that is Fortnite. But if you are aware, you may know that the creators of Fortnite, Epic Games, recently update the franchise to what they call Chapter 2.

After 2 years and 10 “seasons”, taking the gaming world by storm, and doing some very interesting things, they shut down their product for 36 hours before launching a revamped version.

And I love the update!

What’s better

First, like most products, a revamp usually entails a slightly new look. And Fortnite follows suit here with a new map (the story shifts to a “new world”). The new location borrows a little from the first, but the overall look and feel has a little more texture to it. The water, the leaves on the trees, the entire landscape feels homey.

But along with that aspect of the game, Epic Games also update the UI. The location of items in the player’s HUD are slightly different, but so too are the mechanics for getting to your next match. Previously, once you were eliminated from a match or were the victor, you could spectate the person who eliminated you, or return to the lobby. From there, you could then start your next match.

In Chapter 2, this is greatly improved. When you’re eliminated, you can choose to spectate or return to the lobby. Or you can choose the new default option, which is to just head into your next match immediately. Not having to wait to return to the lobby and then wait while the next match loads removes the majority of the friction of playing.

After a couple of weeks of playing the game, my biggest takeaway was this:

In that vein, I think Epic would do well to make it a little easier for new players. Programmatically get groups of players in similar tiers/levels against each other so someone who’s played less than 10 times doesn’t wait 2 minutes for the game to load only to last 30 seconds before getting two pumped from behind by some person who's played since season 2… totally speaking from experience here

They really nailed this aspect in Chapter 2. After a couple of games, I felt like I was such a better player. So much so that I was compelled to dig into what had changed. And it was bots …

Now, the word itself causes confusion. When I first mentioned to my boys that the reason Chapter 2 feels easier and more fun is because of bots, they were confused. That’s because in their circles, bot is a word for a player who has purchased all the loot and looks like they’d be dangerous, but they really don’t know what they’re doing. There’s an entire vernacular for young people about this game.

But in Chapter 2, Epic Games added real bots As in, computer controlled players:

In the next Season, we are adding Bots to Fortnite. They will behave similarly to normal players and will help provide a better path for players to grow in skill. Bots will work in conjunction with the new matchmaking system, and as your skill improves, you’ll face fewer Bots. Bots will not be present in Competitive playlists. This is another system that we will continue to update and iterate.

Thanks to these changes, I finally achieved my first victory with 6 eliminations. And it felt sooo good. I’m pretty sure some of those six were even humans.

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<![CDATA[ Media accounting 101: appholes and contracts ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/appholes/ 5ebc1070f4ba2b003948cf56 Wed, 06 Nov 2019 05:43:00 -0800 I enjoyed this long essay from Craig Mod on a handful of related topics. Most importantly, he touches on how habits define our identity and why most people would not want to be described as social media addicts. But readers? Yes, very much yes please.

We’re amicable to calling ourselves readers for the same reason we want to identify as rock climbers or marathon runners or exceptional parents or selfless children or humanitarians or folks who’ve written thoughtful and considered books — because these activities carry with them an implicit sense of self-betterment, typified by being active (as opposed to passive). To climb El Capitan requires dedication, discipline, focus — and yes, some insanity. To be a good child means taking care of a parent, calling, remembering, participating. The implied (and attractive) corollary of cultivating those qualities are that you’re a more perceptive, present human, experiencing and living life with a certain (healthy / obsessive) fullness.

It’s a long piece, but worth the effort.

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<![CDATA[ RescueTime for iOS ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/rescuetime-ios/ 5ebc1039f4ba2b003948cf4f Tue, 15 Oct 2019 06:58:00 -0700 I’ve been using RescueTime for a few years now, and I have come to appreciate it. But for whatever reason, I never had any desire to install the version for iOS. Until recently.

What I like about it

The app tracks your pickups and how much time you spend on your device. I like the way it summarizes the pickups — both the total and the location and timing of them. It’s a nice way to visualize how much you’re reaching for the phone.

But where the real value of the iOS comes into play for me is how the desktop dashboard combines the two.

What I like is that it shows a combined value, but you can hover over the time to see how it breaks down across devices. The chart also shows the same with the phone time showing as a green line.

Does this replace Screentime (especially now that it’s available on all your devices as well)? It’s too early to tell for me. But since RescueTime is a tool our team uses and the team behind it focuses on nothing by healthy habits (unlike Apple), I don’t see myself dropping it for the options built into the operating systems.

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<![CDATA[ Mouse or trackpad? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/mouse-or-trackpad/ 5ebc100ff4ba2b003948cf49 Tue, 15 Oct 2019 06:48:00 -0700 Marius Masalar asks the question of which input device is easier to use. His own answer? Both.

My usage is by no means exclusively as described above, but in general if I’m moving a cursor and clicking, it’s with the mouse, and if I’m navigating a canvas or scrolling, it’s with the trackpad.

Personally, with a trackpad on one machine (my main laptop) and Magic Mouse on another (our family laptop), there’s no comparison. I’ll take a trackpad 100% of the time. All the pain I used to experience in daily computer use went out the window once I switched to a trackpad.

Now, whether that’s due to mice being so bad, or just the Magic Mouse being so bad, I’m not sure.

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<![CDATA[ Travel / walking gear ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/walking-gear/ 5ebc0fa6f4ba2b003948cf3d Tue, 17 Sep 2019 07:02:00 -0700 Yeah, I’m a sucker for this kind of post — I love to read about what people purchase for traveling and how they pack it all to go. Craig Mod shares his kit and since his recent travels are a little more robust than most, the list is long and contains some gear many of us do not need.

But it’s fun to read regardless.

I didn’t go through the exercise, but I’m betting Craig’s list here is in excess of $20,000. Good gear costs more for good reason and I’m a fan of spending more to make fewer purchases overall. But this list is not realistic for people most people … so be sure not to succumb to the internet siren song of comparison this time.

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<![CDATA[ Getting started with the Zettelkastën ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/getting-started-with-the-zk/ 5ebc0fdff4ba2b003948cf43 Tue, 17 Sep 2019 06:24:00 -0700 I’ve been wrestling with the usage of the Zettelkasten method for months. At first, my interest was merely piqued. Then I started to consider how I could benefit from using this method. Finally, I started to consider how to get started.

That eventually led to purchasing How to Take Smart Notes, which has been an enjoyable read (I’m currently about 75% finished). The problem? The focus has been very much on why you should use this method, but hardly much at all has been said about how you use it. Or rather, how one gets started.

This has led to a lot of review of previous blog articles I’ve read previously, then a lot of Google searches. Finally, I ended up back at Zettelkasten.de, landed on their curated article overview, and started reading through every post mentioned there.

Under the topic of what to store in your first note, this thought well captured the mental state I found myself in:

Starting your Zettelkasten note archive can be confusing at first. Getting it right first seems so important to some folks that they get stuck completely – paralysis by analysis.

Thankfully, I found inspiration in one of the other posts mentioned near the top of the overview. In a discussion of why categories are a bad idea, Christian states the following:

If you’re stuck setting up your knowledge management system, stop setting up anything at all. Just add information to it. Store text in files of your liking and put them in a folder if you’re uncertain which software to use. Starting is always better than not doing a thing. You can’t analyze your way into the perfect system without getting your hands dirty. Only experience reveals where the bottlenecks are, and whether you are really going to use (or miss) the oh-so-awesome feature X of the super expensive app Y.

I hope to have more to discuss in the coming weeks.

Regarding notes, this update from the Ulysses team caught my eye.

In addition to that, version 18 will bring the ability to use Ulysses’ own file format in external folders. This is bigger than it sounds, as it removes almost all of the limitations when working with these folders. You’ll not only be able to use all of Ulysses’ Markdown XL tags, but also to add writing goals, images, keywords and notes. Dropbox will therefore become a serious alternative for anyone who can’t – or doesn’t want to – rely on iCloud for synchronization. We’re happy about willing testers for this one, too.

As I’ve thought about adopting the Zettelkasten method, I’ve wondered whether Ulysses was a good choice. One concern with these types of things in lock-in: if I invest a lot of time putting notes into Ulysses, what happens if I ever stop using the product? Can I easily get my notes out of it?

Using Ulysses with external folders was a thought I had. This news that the advanced formatting Ulysses provides would be available for use with external folders caught my attention as it’s not currently possible. My research continues.

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<![CDATA[ On Cloudsurfer ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/on-cloudsurfer/ 5ebc0f71f4ba2b003948cf37 Mon, 02 Sep 2019 06:55:00 -0700 Once you begin to run regularly, you discover that you can go through 2–4 pairs of shoes in a year. My last pair of shoes were great — Saucony Clarions that I put on almost 1,000 km. This time around, I decided to get two pairs: one pair for trail running and one for the usual road training.

The trail shoes were another pair of Brooks (the Cascadia 13). I’ve gotten Brooks before and loved them as well. However, I decided to try something different for my road shoes and purchased my first ever pair from On Running.

These shoes are not like any I’ve purchased before. The experience starts with shopping — their website is top-notch and a joy to use. You can choose your shoes based on your focus (road vs. trails), how much support you need, or for training vs. racing. They arrived two days after ordering, and the packaging was far superior to what you’d be used to purchasing at your big box sporting goods store.

And while they cost a good bit, they’re not that much more expensive than other shoes. And On pays the shipping cost to almost anywhere in the world.

What about the experience of running in these? As you can tell from the picture, the design of these shoes is different. The sole is not comprised of all one piece. Maybe other shoes have a similar design inside of what appears to be a solid sole — I’ve never taken any shoes apart to get a look. But these feel a little different.

The build quality feels very solid. During my first session with them, the cushioning felt firm and solid, but not stiff. I felt slightly elevated compared to my other shoes … mini-stilts was the closest description I could think of. But it’s too early to tell how good (or not) these are.

I’ll be curious to see how they feel after a half-marathon or greater distance.

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<![CDATA[ Trying ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/trying/ 5ebc0f46f4ba2b003948cf31 Mon, 02 Sep 2019 06:06:00 -0700 Alan Jacobs shares why he likes writing his newsletter each week (emphasis mine):

Since I wrote that post I have started a newsletter, because a email newsletter is also a seasoned technology, and I wondered if I might be able to do some things with it that I can’t do with this blog. I’m still experimenting, still learning, still looking for what will make that project sing — but I am really enjoying it so far, and getting some lovely responses from people, and this morning I realized that one of the reasons I like doing the newsletter so much is that I have (quite unconsciously) understood it as a place not to do analysis or critique but to share things that give me delight.

That’s a great way to put it. Whenever I start to feel a little lost about what to write, I realize my time has been spent on certain activities that leave little time for exploring and discovering. So I’ll go read some Instapaper posts and — hopefully — find some things that give me delight.

He also mentions some truly great examples of newsletters in here. Check them out.

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<![CDATA[ Bloat ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/bloat/ 5ebc0f21f4ba2b003948cf2b Fri, 16 Aug 2019 07:44:00 -0700 It’s been sad to watch what started as a very focused and very well designed tool try to be something more. I lamented about this change this week:

Dropbox Paper started off as a focused tool: a collaborative writing tool with version control. Now it feels that features are added for the sake of adding features.
Example: the persistent menu now takes up precious vertical space on my laptop screen: https://dsh.re/b2bcb4

Paper was an excellent tool in its early days, focused on one thing: helping teams write together.

Over the past year to two, the Paper team has added a lot of features that detract from the writing experience. Elaborate timelines, nagging requests to add documents to folders, integrations with dozens of services. And that annoyingly persistent toolbar that takes up precious vertical space.

Maybe there are a lot of teams out there that use these features. Me? I just want a nice environment where our team can work on written materials together. My appreciation for focused tools only increases as the web and all our tooling options seem to grow more complex.

However, a product does not become bloated simply because new (unwanted) features are added. It’s only when those features get in the way of the core value that it’s a problem.

Launchbar is a great example. It’s an incredibly powerful tool with hundreds of different features. I probably use 10% of what it can do. However, my use of it to open applications, manage my clipboard, resize images, and various other things are not hindered at all by all the other features it offers. They’re there if I want to try them out, but otherwise, it all just stays out of the way.

Launchbar isn’t trying to force me to use it more. But the Paper team? It feels like there’s a push to get people to make it the hub of all their work, rather than just write collaboratively. Helping people get more value from a product is fine and understandable.

But it should never be done at the expense of the very thing that got people using it in the first place.

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<![CDATA[ Into the personal-website-verse ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/personal-website-verse/ 5ebc0ef6f4ba2b003948cf23 Fri, 16 Aug 2019 07:18:00 -0700 Matthias Ott is another person making a fresh plea for people to ditch social media and publishing platforms like Medium for a much more promising and healthy technology:

There is one alternative to social media sites and publishing platforms that has been around since the early, innocent days of the web. It is an alternative that provides immense freedom and control: The personal website.

Hear, hear.

Not only does he share why running your own site is good, but he takes it a further step and suggests how to improve the overall ecosystem of the web. Quote and link the things other people write. Use RSS. Employ webmentions. Etc.

It’s more work. But perhaps that’s just what the internet — and we — need.

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<![CDATA[ Whimsical: my app of the week ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/whimsical/ 5ebc0d86f4ba2b003948cef4 Tue, 23 Jul 2019 09:55:00 -0700 In the past, I’ve used Sketch a lot to illustrate concepts for my team, or create user journeys, or onboarding flows. Although it’s a full design tool for making mockups or full product designs, I found it also worked well for conceptual models.

Here’s an example I made for showing the ideal user journey for a Beanstalk customer.

Over the past couple of years, I haven’t needed to make this type of thing as often and I discovered at some point that I never installed Sketch on my newest laptop. And when the time came to create something new, I found that the version of Sketch was so far behind, I’d have to purchase an upgrade.

I like to pay for good software, but I hesitate when it’s not a tool I use regularly. And somewhere in the past months, I came across Whimsical. I think this is a service that could replace something like Sketch for me.

I won’t produce artifacts like the example above with Whimsical, but it does provide the ability to quickly create mockups, mind maps, flowcharts, and “walls of sticky notes”.

These are all lower fidelity, but that’s most often all I need in my role.

Check it out.

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<![CDATA[ Collaborate with kindness: consider these etiquette tips in Slack ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/using-slack/ 5ebc0d62f4ba2b003948ceee Tue, 23 Jul 2019 07:31:00 -0700 Matt Haughey shares some tips on how to use Slack in a manner more respectful of your team members. Things like:

Use emoji, bulleted lists, and bold and italic text styling to make your titles and key points stand out in longer messages. This is especially useful for announcements or meeting recaps.

That applies to any kind of digital communication, but sure. However, the more I read the article, the more it made something obvious: Slack, and other instant chat tools like it, are not the best way to communicate as a team by default.

Consider this suggestion:

You can also use DND to carve out focus time during your workday. Click the bell icon atop your channel menu and select a time. Your status in Slack will then communicate to colleagues that you’re heads-down working and they shouldn’t expect an immediate response.

This begs the question: why are most work environments defaulting to expect an immediate response? We’ve gotten so used to this behaviour that it’s expected and teams building tools like Slack have to build in features to combat the expectation.

Again:

Imagine you sent an email to your team with a new product idea. First you’re met with total silence, then later a reply or two. You have to guess how the rest of the team feels, or you can ask at your next team meeting.
What if that idea were posted in a team Slack channel instead? You’d likely see emoji reactions soon after posting. They might show support, indicate that the team wants to think about it, or note an approval.

A brand new product idea needs more than emoji reactions. Perhaps live chat is not the place for nuanced discussion.

At any rate, I like Slack — as far as instant chat tools go, it’s the best. But this post left me feeling like they have to explain away some of the functionality of the product. Many of the included tips just sounded like the practice of writing an effective email, the very thing Slack was created to replace.

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<![CDATA[ There are only 2 workplace distractions you need to worry about ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/real-workplace-distractions/ 5ebc0d1df4ba2b003948cee2 Tue, 16 Jul 2019 07:09:00 -0700 The Wildbit team focused on focus for the month of June. We went through the exercise of being super mindful of our time with the goal of getting in 4 very focused hours of work each day.

Before we started, I spent some time tweaking RescueTime so that it would automatically show my overall productivity and how much focus time I was getting. As part of that process, I subscribed to their email newsletter and quite enjoyed some of the articles they referred to. This was one of them.

In this piece, they outline the difference between internal and external distractions. The ones listed in the title above are the external, but it’s the internal issues that are hardest to overcome.

It’s not the chatter of people around us that is the most powerful distractor, but rather the chatter of our own minds.

This was good to read while I was going through the exercise of dumbing down my phone (more on that below). And while that exercise is focused on the removal of external input (email, social media, Slack etc), it’s actually just making it harder to act on the inner impulse (I’m bored or unsure of how to move forward on the problem at hand).

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<![CDATA[ One month with a dumbed down phone ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/one-month-in/ 5ebc0d3df4ba2b003948cee8 Tue, 16 Jul 2019 06:56:00 -0700 It’s been one month since I turned my phone into a device that, for the most part, does not give me any new content. No email, no social media, no RSS, and not even any work communication. A few people have asked how it’s going.

In a word, lovely. Absolutely lovely.

Since iOS debuted Screen Time, our family has reviewed the numbers for anyone who owns a device (4 out of 6 of us). I’ve been tracking this since October and we mostly use it for talking about screen usage and addiction, not telling our kids how they have to use their devices.

Looking at my own numbers since dumbing down, there is a small shift. The 4 weeks before starting this exercise, I was averaging 96 minutes of usage, 64 pickups, and 25 notifications per day. Since the change, the numbers have reduced to 83 minutes of usage, 44 pickups, and 17 notifications per day. Not a huge reduction at first glance.

But there is more to these numbers than what you see on the surface. First, those numbers are probably not that high compared to a lot of folks. Second, picking up my phone 20 less times in a day means there are 20 times when I choose to put my attention into something else. Last, my book reading comes into play. I tend to switch back and forth between paper and digital books and I happened to start a new digital book that bumped up my averages over the past couple of weeks.

And I’m definitely ok with reading books on my phone.

But the more important aspect of this entire exercise is not necessarily made obvious by the numbers. It’s the feeling. After the first week of getting used to the change, the compulsion to pick up the device to check something, anything, starts to fade. I've had plenty of moments where I realized I'm not sure where my phone is.

And so the number of pickups drops, yes. But the feeling of not needing to constantly find stimulus far outweighs the change in statistics. That change started to dribble into my work day. But the distractions are still present in that space (or habit field, as Jack Cheng called it) so I still have to fight the urge to shift screens and check something when I bump into uncertainty or switch between tasks.

So the changes are positive. But there is still room to grow.

Related, Isaac Smith posted an update about how his own experience has been going.

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<![CDATA[ Confessions of a 40-something default skin ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/fortnite-confessions/ 5ebc0ceff4ba2b003948cedc Thu, 04 Jul 2019 20:45:00 -0700 I must confess that I’ve finally succumbed to the world of Fortnite.

Two summers back, we finally brought video games back to our home (I’d given them up in my mid-to-late 20s) as our boys were showing increased interest. We started with a used Wii to see how things would go, then picked up a Nintendo Switch last year. My thinking was that if they were going to have this be a part of their lives, I would join them in it so it was something we did together. And Nintendo tends to have games that are less “adult” themed.

It wasn’t long before our eldest son started asking about Fortnite. We held back for quite a few months in our usual Amish fashion (take a wait-and-see approach to new things, albeit with a much shorter timeline than the horse-and-buggy crowd). As our son showed maturity on the topic (i.e. disciplined himself enough to stop asking about it multiple times per day), we let him start playing over the Christmas break. Season 7 for you Fornite aficionados.

Me? I tried it once after his first few weeks. But the chaos and fast game play seemed like a lot of stress I didn’t need. And things stayed that way for months. Until the boys lost the cartridge to FIFA 19 🙄

Once that happened, I slowly started to get into Fortnite. And to enjoy it. Well, some aspects of it at least. A few thoughts that have come to mind in playing the game.

  • We try to limit the exposure to violence in our home. But Fortnite is not bad in this regard. It’s a shooter, yes — but when you eliminate a player, there is no blood or gore. Instead, some flying robot-type-thing pops out and the player’s “projection” is sucked up. I’m not sure if that is correct depiction, but that’s what it feels like. Fortnite is the Candy Crush of first person shooters
  • If there is a danger with this game, it’s addiction. Epic Games is employing a lot of the same tactics services like Facebook and Twitter use. And based on their revenue, they’re benefitting a lot from those tactics
  • There’s an entire culture around the game. The more my two boys played the game, the less I understood what they were talking about. Defaults, sweaty try-hards, mats… there’s an entire vernacular to learn (although it really chaps my backside when they claim a term that has been around for decades came from Fortnite users)
  • And there’s a real sense of community here. My boys will play with friends from school — often in creative mode where you can build a lot and play against only the people invited — but have also made friends with people from all over the place. It’s something to be careful of, but also something that reminds me a little of the early days of Twitter
  • It’s not an easy game. Since I grew up playing games, I’ve tended to be able to beat my kids whenever we play. They could play Mario Kart for two weeks straight, then I’d play one grand prix and blow them away. But that ended with Fortnite — maybe it’s my age and declining faculties, but I find it hard to aim on the move and stressful overall
  • In that vein, I think Epic would do well to make it a little easier for new players. Programmatically get groups of players in similar tiers/levels against each other so someone who’s played less than 10 times does wait 2 minutes for the game to load only to last 30 seconds before getting two pumped from behind by some person who's played since season 2… totally speaking from experience here
  • But it is a lot of fun. As someone who spent a lot of evenings play 4-on-4 Goldeneye with friends, I appreciate a good group shooter. A team rumble can be a little chaotic, a solo match just stresses me out, but overall, it’s still a lot of fun and I find myself wanting to improve my skills

Since I made the decision to be involved with my kids in gaming, I’m glad I got started on this. We have some good times competing to see who can last the longest or get the most eliminations in a match. I'm curious to see how long it sticks.


Well, that turned into a longer list than I had intended. I guess I’m still in the honeymoon phase of the game. But if you're a parent who has been wondering about this game, here's a vote of approval from a fairly cautious dad.

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<![CDATA[ What I learned co-founding Dribbble ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/dribbble-founder-lessons/ 5ebc0cb0f4ba2b003948ced6 Thu, 04 Jul 2019 06:35:00 -0700 Dan Cederhom recently announced that he is leaving Dribbble, the company he started over 10 years ago. It’s one of those 20-things-I-learned kind of posts, but hang in until the end where he makes a great point that hits close to home.

Under point 19, aptly named Take care of yourself first, he shares a little about his experience with anxiety.

Anxiety is a medical condition—it’s biological. A chemical imbalance where our primitive “fight or flight” response kicks in at times it shouldn’t. It’s also a condition that’s often misunderstood by those that don’t experience it. But it needs to lose its stigma. It should be talked about more. Millions suffer from it.

This is why I’ve shared about the struggles in our family. If someone breaks their leg or comes down with cancer, we extend our sympathy. We need to keep talking about mental health issues so we stop thinking about these kinds of issues in the wrong way.

I like Dan’s focus here on the biology. A lot of mental health issues requires changes in thinking on the part of the person who is ill (and that is damn hard work). But it often just comes down the body not working correctly — just like cancer.

Our bodies are amazing chemical factories and, unfortunately, the end result doesn’t isn’t always good health. So the more we can talk about it, the better we can understand it, the better we can recognize that medication is often the appropriate treatment (or at least a part of the treatment along with CBT or related techniques).

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<![CDATA[ The dumb phone I already own ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/my-dumb-phone/ 5ebc0c84f4ba2b003948ced0 Wed, 12 Jun 2019 08:02:00 -0700 The act of replacing one’s smart phone with a less capable version is a growing trend. As digital decluttering and internet detoxes become more popular, so too is making the more permanent change of having less capability in your pocket at all times. Some people will pull out an old Nokia from their drawer, some will pick up the latest flip phone (they still make these?), and some will try one of few new options available in this category (i.e. the Light phone).

Me? I’ve kicked the idea around a few times. I gave it serious consideration once again when I saw that Isaac Smith made the switch recently. But there was an aspect of my job that required me to be on call for periods of time where a smartphone and some specific apps were needed — this had stopped me from truly considering the idea.

That requirement changed suddenly a couple weeks back and I no longer have to be available after hours. So I once again thought about getting rid of my iPhone and getting something less functional, and therefore less distracting.

My requirements

Truthfully, social media and a lot of the things Cal Newport talks about in Digital Minimalism are not an issue for me. I don’t use Instagram and apps of that sort. I don’t have a Twitter app on my phone. The most common “entertainment” activity I perform on my phone was reading books.

Yet I still feel the need to use my phone less. I still suffer from the “just checks”. It’s just that what I check on is all work related. And, in a house of 6 where screentime is a common point of discussion and focus, I want to lead by example.

So I looked at my phone and thought about all the things I like to do with it. These are activities that are either necessary or something I consider enjoyable and a good use of my time. The only question is when I should take the time to do them.

  • write in my journal (including adding photos)
  • documenting and reviewing my personal and professional goals
  • completing my weekly reviews, which includes those goals and my calendar
  • reading books
  • logging my habits
  • memorizing Scripture
  • recording and reviewing my runs
  • reading RSS and email newsletters
  • taking photos
  • looking at our photos
  • reviewing maps when on trail runs
  • reading my Bible during a church service or when travelling (I use my hard cover Bible at home, but it’s big enough I don’t want to lug it around)
  • paying for items when on a run
  • transferring funds when out and about
  • scanning documents and receipts
  • work related items (checking Slack, Basecamp, Help Scout, Intercom, and email)

I’m sure there are some other items I haven’t thought of yet. I considered how to approach all of these if I was to move to a dumb phone. I’d probably want to get a Kindle. Some activities I could switch to doing on my laptop (but with less frequency). Some might be dropped completely (reading a digital Bible, paying for items with Apple Pay). And the purpose of this exercise was to do the work related items during my workday from my computer.

But when discussing this with my wife, she had a really great suggestion:

Why not turn the phone you already have into a dumb phone?

Great idea. And I did just that.

I removed all apps that get me picking up the phone to “check”. Slack, Basecamp, email, RSS, and Strava. I reviewed the Notifications panel in Settings — things were pretty clean already, but I removed a few more. I also disabled vibrations and reduced the number of apps that could post items on the Lock screen.

I’m looking forward to seeing how this plays out. Early returns are looking good — my phone has not been in my hand much the past week.

One other benefit of the dumb phone is not having to pay a ridiculous price for your data plan. I get a bit frustrated that we have very few options here in Canada and they’re all spendy (we pay around $200 CAD/month for 3 phones and data). So I’m still considering the dumb phone as a possibility at some point.

But for now, I appreciate the supercomputer in my pocket that lets me do most of the items I listed above. But with far less distraction now.

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<![CDATA[ I'm walking away from the product I spent a year building ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/walking-away/ 5ebc0c64f4ba2b003948ceca Wed, 12 Jun 2019 06:34:00 -0700 Derrick Reimer shares the story of his last year. He had left Drip and started working on Level, an alternative to Slack (reminds me a lot of Twist), before choosing to walk away. His desire to build a calmer chat tool is laudable and the story is interesting.

But one point leapt off the (web)page and grabbed my attention. After building an early prototype and sharing with interested users, the results were not what he had hoped:

The response did not live up to my expectations. Only a subset of people who paid booked an onboarding session. Of those who did, some never touched the product. Some who did poke around the product never gave it a real go with their team (and didn’t show much interest in following up with me). A handful did convert.
Every conversion funnel leaks, but I was admittedly disheartened. There seemed to be a curious mismatch between the sentiments I gathered early on and the actions people were taking. If people were ravenous for a solution, why weren’t most people even attempting to pilot Level?

He decided that he needed a larger sample size and invited another 1,000 people to try his product. To similar results:

I observed how people were using it for about a week. There was a lot of poking around and, once again, virtually zero evidence of anyone piloting it with their team. I reached out directly to everyone who made it into the product: are you planning to test Level out? What can I do to help?
It became clear pretty quickly that the gap between interest and implementation was of canyon-like proportions…
Small teams (who have a much easier time making the jump due to their size) didn’t seem that compelled by Level. In follow-up conversations, I discovered that Slack was at most a minor annoyance for them. Suboptimal? Yes. Worth going through the trouble of switching? Probably not.

It turns out that his message resonated with people. But the pain they experienced in their current toolset was not enough to prompt change. This is where the forces behind the jobs-to-be-done framework are so key.

push me, pull me

Our work with Conveyor feels similar to what Derrick experienced. We’ve had multiple rounds of user testing and I’ve learned to not trust the exact words people say to you. Their actions speak much more loudly.

Building a successful product is no easy feat.

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<![CDATA[ Independent publishing ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/indie-web-publishing/ 5ebc0c2df4ba2b003948cec4 Fri, 07 Jun 2019 06:01:00 -0700 My thoughts have turned back to independent publishing on the web of late. It’s something I think about a lot (obviously), but sometimes other people bring it front and centre when sharing their own related thoughts. Alan Jacobs lamented getting plain text into Wordpress. Cal Newport wrote about indie social media. Craig Mod walked hundreds of kilometres across Japan and published a daily entry over SMS — and shared a strangely enjoyable podcast of sounds to boot.

All not merely about blogging, some maybe even a little weird, but all tangentially related to publishing on the web. And owning your stuff.

Most important, my pal Rian Van Der Merwe finally (finally!) started up his newsletter once again and launched his own site membership after 10 years of writing. We’ve talked about this frequently over the past months and I’m super excited to see him finalize a direction and run with it. Please consider joining — he writes mostly about product management, but also a lot about how technology affects us. If you enjoy this newsletter, chances are you’ll enjoy his as well.

So this is all top of mind for me. But the reality is, I don’t really have time for much publishing these days. We’ve been having some hard times in our home and the mental health of my family comes before hobbies such as this (more on that some other time).

But when I’m short on time for writing, I’m thankful for the work of others providing good reading!

Back to Craig Mod and his walking+publishing experiment. Not everyone is into walking; I can get that. But good writing? I think we can appreciate it even when the topic is not normally of interest.

For 25 days I woke up to this kind of thing waiting in Messages:

Day 18. Thirty-seven asphalt slammin’ kilometers. What are pinkie toes anyway? Not necessary, right? Mine have become meta-pinkies, shadows of pinkies, mere charcoal sketches of pinkies. Somewhere, below the blisters, there are pinky toes and they are fully ready to bow to evolutionary desires and leave this material world. I write to you from Denny’s. The most popular place in the known universe. I have left the forest and reentered Pachinko Road.

There’s a lot of negativity about what the internet turned out to be after 25 years. But it’s not all bad … some people are still having fun.

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<![CDATA[ Digital nomads are not the future ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/nomads-not-the-future/ 5ebc0bf7f4ba2b003948cebb Fri, 07 Jun 2019 05:13:00 -0700 pictures of many privileged people sitting by the beach with their computer

This was a featured story on Medium last summer, but I stumbled across a few posts recently that brought this to my mind. Paris Marx makes gives astute commentary on our current obsession with a nomadic lifestyle, opening with the allure:

In an era of increasingly precarious jobs, ever-longer working hours, and declining social mobility, it’s no surprise that digital nomads are gaining a sizable following. Office dwellers lack happiness or hope in the daily grind. They know there must be something better. After enough time spent in an office chair, it’s easy to aspire to become one of those people with a MacBook on a beach in a foreign locale.

And who among us hasn’t spent a 15 minute session scrolling through some “van life” Instagram feed? But he quickly hints at the darker reality:

Many digital nomads had significant privilege before pursuing such a lifestyle, privilege that allows them to avoid the potentially negative aspects of location independence.

Later in the article, he states his case — and the problem with this movement — more clearly:

The fierce individualism embedded in the culture of digital nomadism ignores (and can damage) communities, both at home and abroad. People who feel “liberated” from space have no stake in improving the space around them. To them, local communities are as valuable as co-working space. Digital nomads are far less likely to work toward positive local change, fight for the rights of disadvantaged peoples, or halt the gentrification that displaces long-term residents — to which they usually contribute — because those issues don’t affect them.

I’ve been making my way through A Field Guide For Everyday Mission with other members of our local church. It’s been a good read and I recognize changes I need to make in my thinking. This post resonates in a similar way.

Marx finishes the article with a scathing judgement (understandably so), but sadly doesn’t offer any solutions.

Privilege allows digital nomads to ignore all these things. It allows them to live in a fantasy world where they need only worry about themselves. They take full advantage of their positions, increasing their satisfaction while avoiding their responsibility to contribute to the society that granted them their privilege in the first place. Their lifestyle actively augments the forces displacing locals. Digital nomads evidently do not care about the places where they happen to live and, for that reason, they have no place in the future.

That’s where the book I mentioned above comes in. It encourages followers of Christ to open our eyes, see the mission field right where we are, and to start to make changes by serving others and sharing the Good News of Christ.

This is one I’ll read through, then go back and go through it again. The second time making notes and picking practical changes to make in my daily life.

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<![CDATA[ Long conversations ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/long-conversations/ 5ebc0b50f4ba2b003948cea1 Tue, 28 May 2019 07:17:00 -0700 Our church recently held a seminar with a guest speaker who specializes in a few topics dear to my heart. Specifically, parenting in our digital age, sexual orientation, and gender identity. It was an intense weekend that covered a lot of ground. And it was time well spent.

These kinds of topics can be hard to address — and can be hot button topics for a lot of people. But we need to talk about them, constantly, for our kids are growing up in a world far, far different than the one we grew up in.

I wanted to share a few of the key ideas that I took away from the sessions.

  1. God is still in control
  2. God is for us
  3. God has called us

We don’t have to fear these things. While culture is changing greatly — good in some ways, bad in others — he is still a sovereign God. And he has called us to such a time as this.

It’s crucial to remember these points on any issue where we feel passionate as it’s far too easy to focus on our own efforts. Or worse, to feel like things are “going to hell in a hand basket”. And when it comes to facing how our culture is changing in regards to technology and sexual orientation and identity, the seminar speaker (Sid Coop) put it well:

There were no good ol’ days. They’re a myth!

It’s easy to look back and think, “Things were so much better when I was a kid.” But culture is not wrestling control away from God. Everything happens under his sovereign eye.

Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding

Our session covered a lot of material and some good discussions. Our take-home was the following list:

  1. Think about technology in a Christian way
  2. Evaluate our (adults) personal use of technology
  3. Create and re-create boundaries for your family
  4. Delay smart phone / social media use (don’t get them phones before grade 9/10)
  5. Where appropriate, engage your kids in their digital world (text them)
  6. Teach discernment
  7. Invest in shared experiences and activities
  8. Make character development a priority
  9. Remember, relationships win
  10. Pray, like crazy

Some of my thoughts on this list:

  • 2 D’uh. Remove the speck in your own eye first, right? Of course, you don’t have to be perfect with your own usage before you set limits.
  • 3. You’re not going to get this right the first time. Or the second or third time. So it’s a good habit to talk about our screens and our habits using them over and over. And, as your kids grow and circumstances change, so too should your boundaries.
  • 4. There’s likely no perfect time as kids are all different. But grade 9/10 (14–15 years old) feels good to me. Our daughter was slightly younger and our son even more so. Looking back now, we’ll be waiting a little longer for the next (and precedent can be thrown out the window — again, the kids are all different).
  • 5. I can’t recommend this enough. We preach the value of face-to-face interaction as the best form of communication, but it’s important to interact with our kids with the tools they love as well. Example: my wife follows our daughter on Instagram and checks on her content regularly. We refrain from commenting though — we save that for IRL.
  • 7. This is so well said. Sid made the point that we can’t just take things away — like it or not, our kids social lives will run though these devices. If you choose to withhold, you have to replace it with something. Shared experiences are key.

It was reassuring to see from an expert that we’re already on a good track in our home. And back to the title of this section, it’s all about conversations. Lots, many of them long. I often have to battle my desire to just head to be and instead engage in listening.

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<![CDATA[ Wondrous creatures ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/wondrous-creatures/ 5ebc0b25f4ba2b003948ce9b Tue, 28 May 2019 07:01:00 -0700 Sam Hernandez doesn’t write all that often for his site. But when he does, he does it so very well. This time he’s sharing about his dog, his next dog, and becoming a dog lover.

I used to say goodnight to Bear every night. I’d hold his face in my hand and say in my best Texan accent, “Quite a wondrous creature you are, Bear, made by the hand of God himself, I swear. Go to sleep pretty boy.”

Sam does a great job of sharing his experiences, but he has a knack for dropping dollops of wisdom along the way. Like this one:

I’m fond of saying that you love what you love. I mean that you feel love for what you love on purpose, and you become a better person because you love on purpose rather than by some serendipitous accident.

Amen. Thanks for writing, Sam!

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<![CDATA[ Digital minimalism and God (or, is social media undermining religion?) ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/social-media-and-god/ 5ebc0b08f4ba2b003948ce93 Tue, 21 May 2019 08:03:00 -0700 If you follow Cal Newport’s blog, you’ll know he writes often about the trends in our culture and the shift towards all things shallow. In this post, he addresses a chief concern of mine. He shares an example from the life of Martin Luther King Jr’s life to get to his point:

I’m bringing this all up because it provides background for a surprising claim that’s been growing online in recent years, and which seems self-evidently worthy of unpacking: social media might be accidentally undermining religion.

He began to notice a lot of the traffic for his newest book, Digital Minimalism, was coming from certain religious circles. After some thought, he recognizes this should not be a surprise.

Though there are many ways in which tools like Twitter or Instagram might work against (or in some cases with) the traditional objectives of religion, the issue that kept arising is the way in which the ubiquitous distraction they provide corrodes the contemplative life.
Courage, reassurance, revelation: these require a quiet mind capable of apophatic insight. One of the unintentional consequences of innovating an algorithmically-optimized, always-present source of attention-snagging noise is that this quiet disappears.

From my own experience, it’s tough to hear a still small voice amidst the mighty winds of social media and other tools that call for my attention.

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<![CDATA[ Reading in the age of constant distraction ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/reading-with-constant-distraction/ 5ebc0ab9f4ba2b003948ce8e Tue, 21 May 2019 07:54:00 -0700 Mairead Small Staid shares a brilliant piece of writing all about reading and its apparent demise. She frames the problem well:

The diminishment of literature—of sustained reading, of writing as the product of a single focused mind—would diminish the self in turn, rendering us less and less able to grasp both the breadth of our world and the depth of our own consciousness.

So, what we write and what we read helps shape our thinking and our very being? I like that. But Staid goes further — a lot further — and claims that the attack on reading is tied to topics like democracy and the environment:

And perhaps the greatest danger posed to literature is not any newfangled technology or whiz-bang rearrangement of our synapses, but plain old human greed in its latest, greatest iteration: an online retailer incorporated in the same year The Gutenberg Elegies was published. In the last twenty-five years, Amazon has gorged on late capitalism’s values of ease and cheapness, threatening to monopolize not only the book world, but the world-world. In the face of such an insidious, omnivorous menace—not merely the tech giant, but the culture that created and sustains it—I find it difficult to disentangle my own fear about the future of books from my fear about the futures of small-town economies, of American democracy, of the earth and its rising seas.

The remainder of the essay describes the experience of reading books, the immersive act that it can be when done rightly.

The heightened state brought on by a book—in which one is “actively present at every moment, scripting and constructing”—is what readers seek, Birkerts argues: “They want plot and character, sure, but what they really want is a vehicle that will bear them off to the reading state.” This state is threatened by the ever-sprawling internet—can the book’s promise of deeper presence entice us away from the instant gratification of likes and shares?

The alternatives like Twitter and news sites and talk radio (aka podcasts) cannot give this depth. They were not designed with this intention.

Horizontal reading rules the day. What I do when I look at Twitter is less akin to reading a book than to the encounter I have with a recipe’s instructions or the fine print of a receipt: I’m taking in information, not enlightenment. It’s a way to pass the time, not to live in it. Reading—real reading, the kind Birkerts makes his impassioned case for—draws on our vertical sensibility, however latent, and “where it does not assume depth, it creates it.”

I could quote this entire article (and nearly did). Please stop here and go read it in full. This is a repeated message in my space, but this message bears repetition. It’s crucial to remind ourselves that depth is important and worth fighting for.

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<![CDATA[ How to create idea babies: a knowledge processing system for marketers, creators, and knowledge workers ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/idea-babies/ 5ebc09c2f4ba2b003948ce6a Thu, 16 May 2019 07:00:00 -0700 I can’t recall how I came across this article. But it sure got me thinking long and hard about my set up for storing notes and information related to all the things I do. Andre Chaperon absolutely nailed the description of a problem I still experience from time to time:

The inefficiencies of a system (or lack of a system) don’t become apparent until we need to retrieve the information we’ve previously been exposed to; information we’ve already deemed important.
… and then can’t find the info or recall where you saw it.

Despite efforts to ensure this doesn’t happen, I still find myself having these moments. And so this article inspired me.

In short, Chaperon is making a case for the Zettelkasten method of notekeeping. And he goes into great detail about the entire system and how one can implement it digitally. And while he ends up in a different place than I picture, it sounds fantastic. I can picture this set up with Sublime Text. But I feel like it makes the most sense to use Ulysses in this fashion.

My issue on this topic is that the Zettelkasten method feels a little like overkill for me. I could make better use of keywords (tags) and smart filters in Ulysses to ensure I can find the things I need.

However, if one was to implement the Zettelkasten system, I recommend reading why one would want to use it. In his post Create a Zettelkasten to Improve Thinking and Writing, Christian Tietze from Zettelkasten.de goes into detail on the benefits of this method. At its heart, he talks about how taking notes is good for a knowledge worker; the Zettelkasten method is the method to do so that allows related notes to be more interconnected.

Doing it right, you can move way beyond input/output-based note-taking. You can interact with and communicate with your system of notes. As holds true for every communication, you’ll learn something new when you interact with your Zettelkasten.

Anyway, as you can see, I’m a little infatuated with this idea right now.

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<![CDATA[ A sucker for a new bag ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/new-bag/ 5ebc097bf4ba2b003948ce62 Thu, 09 May 2019 08:11:00 -0700 Jory Raphael recently tweeted about a new bag he’d picked up. And I must say, nothing piques my clicky finger interest like bags. Messenger bags, duffel bags, backpacks — this is an area of temptation for me and I can never resist scrolling through pictures of people sharing their own.

This last fall I was needing a new bag as I’d given my daughter my old Tom Bihn Smart Alec for school. This time I didn’t jump to a decision immediatly. Instead, I did a lot of research and spent way too much time watching Chase Reeves talking about bags… (seriously though, the next time you’re in the market, Chase has you covered with his BagWorks review site).

Here are a few of the bags I considered:

In the end, I went with the Day Pack from Aer.

What's nice about the Aer

There are quite a few things I like about this bag. First, it's a great mixture of form and function. Tom Bihn bags work very well, but they're just not nice to look at. Other bags look great but aren't laid out well.

The Aer is the best of both. It looks sharp. I wasn't sure about the glossy aspect of the front, but this makes it super easy to clean.

As for the design, this one has been well thought out. The top pouch is perfect for AirPods, sunglasses, or your passport. It's easily accessible even when the bag is over your shoulder.

The two main compartments also work well. The front one is perfect for your gadgets and tech dopps. You can also easily fit a light jacket in there.

The rear most compartment (closest to your back) has a nice section for your laptop. In front of that go your notebooks (and an iPad or alternate tablet would also fit easily). In his video, Chase talks about “papers”, but notebooks and novels work perfectly in that space.

This compartment also has a nice water bottle sleeve. The only issue is I think this would be more appropriate in the front pocket. A leak in the back would be an issue with all your electronic gear.

Last, build quality is something to think about with bags. Cheap bags from Walmart feel like you'd expect: they won't last much longer than a school semester. A good bag has a solidity to it. And you know it when you feel it. Zipper and pocket linings are the place to look first. Next are the straps. And the Aer passes the test!

Overall, I'm a big fan of this bag and would recommend it. I would also assume the Fit or Flight bags are excellent options as well.

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<![CDATA[ Oh God, it's raining newsletters ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/raining-newsletters/ 5ebc093cf4ba2b003948ce5a Thu, 09 May 2019 07:23:00 -0700 My favourite writer writing about email newsletters. This is the epitome of my reading experience. About the burgeoning popularity of the age old technology, Craig Mod has this to say:

Newsletters and newsletter startups these days are like mushrooms in an open field after a good spring rain. I don’t know a single writer who isn’t newslettering or newsletter-curious, and for many, the newsletter is where they’re doing their finest public work.

And while we often discuss this topic in terms of the readership experience, Craig shares a sharp ovbservation about creating a newsletter:

Here’s another, more subtle, point about the grace of email and newsletters: Creation and consumption don’t happen in the same space. When I go to send a missive in Campaign Monitor the world of my laptop screen is as silent as a midnight Tokyo suburb.9 I think we’ve inured ourselves to the (false) truth that in order to post something, in order to contribute something to the stream, we must look at the stream itself, “Bird Box”-esque, and woe be the person in a productive creative jag, wanting to publish, who can resist those hot political tweets.

And best of all:

And of all of my publishing online — either through this site or publications, on social networks, in blips or blops or bloops or 10,000 word digressions on the sublimity of Japanese pizza — almost nothing has surpassed the intimacy and joy and depth of conversation I’ve found from publishing Roden.

There is a connection between the newsletter writer and newsletter reader that should not be ignored.

Speaking of which, you can’t go wrong supporting your favourite writers. So please consider joining Craig’s membership.

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<![CDATA[ Am I doing enough? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/doing-enough/ 5ebc08fcf4ba2b003948ce54 Tue, 05 Mar 2019 15:34:00 -0800 I’ve been preparing to teach a new class this spring and start this Sunday. And it’s been one of the hardest sessions I’ve had to prepare.

Sometime last year our associate pastor emailed some of the teachers in our church a list of potential topics as he planned classes for the coming year. I chose one that has been on my heart for some time, but it’s such a vast, broad, and sensitive topic that after some months we both agreed to save that one for later. And so I chose another from the list: steps to keep growing.

At first glance, this seemed like a topic that would be, well, not exactly easy (teaching is never easy), but not a terrible stretch for me either. However, once I started to prepare, I realized my mistake.

There is one main problem with a topic like this. Namely, the people who attend adult Sunday school at our church have long been at this. Oh, we all have room to keep improving, but the fact that they come — and so consistently — is proof of their desire to grow in Christ.

What can I bring that is new to them?

My own walk

I did not grow up in a Christian home. I spent two summers in a row at a Bible camp and it was there that I prayed to God to save me. But with no foundation to build on, the focus fizzled. It wasn’t until my early 20’s that I realized I needed to repent of seeking my own way and instead seek God’s way.

I would describe myself in the years between those events as the seeds that fell on rocky ground. But God is good and he delivered me and opened my eyes and I hope I more resemble seeds on good soil. But the years go on and you build ritual and routine and pretty soon you’re … comfortable.

Being a Christian isn’t about “doing”, but you don’t have to attend church for long to know we’re all supposed to read our Bible, pray, and spend time in worship together. How do we go beyond the basics? I often find myself asking the question:

Am I doing enough?

The question is not quite right. It reflect a bad theology, a bad way of thinking about God. Am I doing enough to get saved? Obviously not.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Am I doing enough to keep my salvation? Will I lose it? I don’t believe so.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And yet I read some passages in the Bible and I’m fearful. Let me share a few from the Gospel of Matthew. Returning to the reference I used above, the parable of the sower:

As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

And the parable of the talents:

But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.

Last, at the end of the sermon on the mount in Matthew 7:

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

The scariest part of this passage for me is that the people Christ is addressing knew him. Or rather, they knew of him. And they even did activities (impressive ones at that) thinking they were serving him. His response is chilling. How much of what I do now could be just religious busy-ness?

Is this fear a bad thing? I don’t think so, not necessarily. Not when considered in the right way. Philippians chapter 2 has long been a key for me when I think of the tension between God’s sovereignty and my responsibility.

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

In this Look at the Book, John Piper gives a nice rundown of this verse and digs deep into what “work out” means here. It’s a continuous, sustained effort. Not to earn our justification, but to press on to the end goal, the end result of the salvation that comes from our faith in Jesus.

---

We’re not all missionaries in a foreign land. We’re not all serving the needy in our community. We’re not all evangelists sharing the Gospel in the marketplace.

But should we be? Do I make myself feel better about staying in my comfort zone by saying I serve in my church? That I disciple my kids?

And so preparing this class has been a challenge for me. What can I do to ensure I’m growing in my faith and in Christlikeness? I do not ask these questions to cast doubt. But I fear getting stuck being comfortable. I fear hearing those words:

I never knew you.

And so I’m driven to live in a way that results in a far more wonderful statement:

His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

I’ll share more of my thoughts on this topic in the coming weeks.

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<![CDATA[ You’re probably using the wrong dictionary ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/wrong-dictionary/ 5ebc08ccf4ba2b003948ce4e Tue, 05 Mar 2019 15:21:00 -0800 Another excellent read I came across in a newsletter (Sarah Bray this time), James Somers talks about dictionaries. That may not sound enticing, but he does it really well!

He first describes the problem:

The way I thought you used a dictionary was that you looked up words you’ve never heard of, or whose sense you’re unsure of. You would never look up an ordinary word — like example, or sport, or magic — because all you’ll learn is what it means, and that you already know.
Indeed, if you look up those particular words in the dictionary that comes with your computer — on my Mac, it’s the New Oxford American Dictionary, 3rd Edition — you’ll be rewarded with… well, there won’t be any reward. The entries are pedestrian…

That is, until he discovered John McPhee (an American non-fiction writer) describing how he uses his dictionary.

But somehow for McPhee, the dictionary — the dictionary! — was the fount of fine prose, the first place he’d go to filch a phrase, to steal fire from the gods.

And after illustrating how good McPhee’s dictionary must have been, he mentions the sad fact that McPhee never names the particular version he used. So Somers did some sleuthing and discovered the history behind Webster’s dictionary.

Take a simple word, like “flash.” In all the dictionaries I’ve ever known, I would have never looked up that word. I’d’ve had no reason to — I already knew what it meant. But go look up “flash” in Webster’s (the edition I’m using is the 1913). The first thing you’ll notice is that the example sentences don’t sound like they came out of a DMV training manual (“the lights started flashing”) — they come from Milton and Shakespeare and Tennyson (“A thought flashed through me, which I clothed in act”).

This is the best thing I’ve read in a while.

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<![CDATA[ The Polar Vantage M ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/vantage-m/ 5ebc0881f4ba2b003948ce45 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 07:32:00 -0800 My wife treated me well this Christmas and I was the recipient of some lovely running gear. The most prominent item was a new Polar Vantage M. Up until the late fall, I had my eyes on a Garmin device, but once Polar made this the Vantage M available I was sold.

The Vantage M is the nicest looking Polar device in some time

First of all, most of the serious runners in my community use Polar gear. Second of all, the Vantage M looked like Polar was starting to take aesthetics more seriously (their older stuff is butt ugly).

Prior to this Christmas, I’ve been wearing a Fitbit Charge 2 for the last 24 months (which is apparently the approximate amount of time required for my wife to start to consider purchasing me a gift that replaces a previous gift she gave to me … she’s too good to me). The Fitbit has served me well and as a general activity tracker, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.

But as I became more serious about running, I wanted something a little more robust.

What I was looking for

When I first started thinking about replacements, the Apple Watch was the device that came to mind. However, since I was focused on the athletic aspects, much of what the Apple Watch provides was not of interest to me. In fact, it was a detriment — I would have to set it up to not be a distraction. I have enough of that in my life already.

Second, in order to use it for running as I desired, it would have to connect to local cell networks. And that costs money. I’d like to reduce the mobile charges our family pays, not the opposite.

Last, battery life is a big consideration. I want a device that can run a long while between charges. The Fitbit Charge 2 fit that requirement very well — I would charge it about once per week. The Apple Watch would require charging nightly. Not ideal for an activity tracker.

The Polar Vantage M? I put it on around noon on Christmas Day and it’s currently 3:17 PM on New Years Day as I type this. The battery appears to have just under 20% left.

So I was looking for a device that:

  • has great battery life
  • enables me to run without my phone
  • gives me advanced stats on my runs
  • tracks my general activity like steps and sleep
  • and looks good

The Vantage M ticked all those boxes. It would be nice if it also could store music, but that factor was not a huge detriment for me. I’ve been slowly listening to less of, well, everything on my runs. So this is not a deal breaker for me.

How do the two compare?

In some senses, this is not an apples to apples comparison. Fitbit is a company that targeted activity tracking for the general public since its inception, whereas Polar is laser focused on serious athletics. In most cases, a device from either company would be designed for a different overall purpose.

However, the Vantage M is Polar crossing the ground from dedicated training device to the realm of a general activity tracker. You won’t go wrong using it to train for a triathlon; but neither would you go wrong buying one to be used as a watch, step counter, sleep tracker, and for casual, less frequent exercise.

So in that sense, it was easy for me to compare the two. I’m not a serious athlete in terms of competing against others. But I am a runner — and it’s a big, important piece of my life. So how do they compare?

Aesthetically, the Vantage M is a nicer looking device. It’s more on par with an Apple Watch or wearables in that category. Fitbit themselves have similar devices … but the Charge 2 is not one of them. It fits the definition of a classic activity tracker, not a smart watch. And while the Charge 2 looks fine, it’s not as nice to look at as the Vantage.

Not that the Vantage doesn’t have room to improve. Polar has taken steps to improve the look of their devices, but they shouldn’t rest where they are. The hardware itself is quite nice and it feels even better. You know that feeling of a solid, well-made product? It has that feel.

But the software could still use improvement. A lot of the possible “screens” on the Vantage are still more functional than beautiful. The views when training are quite nice. But inexplicably, the basic regular “I’m living my life” views are less pleasing. Polar needs to keep iterating here.

One last thing to note on this topic is the customization that is possible. You can build your own “profiles” that can be displayed while training (and it can differ from sport to sport). This is a nice touch and lets me see exactly what stats matter most to me when on a run.

One area where the Vantage M is a huge improvement over the Charge 2 is the display itself. The Charge is the worst possible combination. It’s not bright enough to see in the daylight hours when training and so rendered pretty useless for seeing your details while exercising. But if you roll over in your sleep and raise your arm, you’re likely to wake up your significant other with blinding blue light (sorry, hon). The lack of some kind of ambient awareness was something that irked me daily for two years.

The Vantage M does a much better job of this. I’ve not had to strain my eyes or even move the device out of direct sunlight to see the details while on a run. Nor have I had it blind me at 2am.

Another advantage I would not have considered before purchasing is how the Vantage handles water. That is to say, you can take it in the pool. I’m no triathlete, but it is nice to be able to record some laps when taking the kids for a swim.

A tangent on the importance of software

Tangentially related, one critique of Polar is one I’ve had of other health-related data-centric services. They all seemed to be designed by developers. Fitbit, Polar, and even Strava to a degree, all share one thing in common: their web applications are poorly designed.

At this point, I have two years of data from my everyday life in Fitbit. And to a degree, the Fitbit web application is functional. But its form leaves a lot to be desired. Polar is no better. Strava is a little ahead of these two services, but it leaves me wondering why all of these companies aren’t better at what they offer.

I guess one could say it’s a reflection of their core offering. Both Polar and Fitbit are hardware companies. They make profits from selling physical devices (like Apple). Strava is not, so it makes sense that they put more effort into their software.

But I would argue that the longevity of these companies will be dependent on the quality of their software. If I choose to purchase and use their devices, the chances of me purchasing a second, third, or fourth devices is much higher if the data I generate is useful and enjoyable.

Design makes everything better.

If I took anything important away from my time at InVision, it was the mentality that was plastered on my Kyle Steed-illustrated tee shirt.


At any rate, the Polar Vantage M is an upgrade from the Charge 2. I’d consider it a high end activity tracker that also meets the needs of more serious training. I’m very happy with the change!

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<![CDATA[ Skim reading is the new normal. The effect on society is profound ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/skim-reading/ 5ebc0852f4ba2b003948ce40 Tue, 29 Jan 2019 06:18:00 -0800 It’s one thing to write about how the internet has changed the way we read. It’s another thing to claim how that change in reading as affected us overall. This article from Maryanne Wolf opens with just that:

When the reading brain skims texts, we don’t have time to grasp complexity, to understand another’s feelings or to perceive beauty. We need a new literacy for the digital age.

What are the problems? Well, the author states there are several:

Multiple studies show that digital screen use may be causing a variety of troubling downstream effects on reading comprehension in older high school and college students.

So, comprehending what we read. But that’s not at all:

Katzir’s research has found that the negative effects of screen reading can appear as early as fourth and fifth grade - with implications not only for comprehension, but also on the growth of empathy.

So not only understand what we’re reading but also in how we feel about others and the things they’re facing. Wolf sums it up like this:

The possibility that critical analysis, empathy and other deep reading processes could become the unintended “collateral damage” of our digital culture is not a simple binary issue about print vs digital reading. It is about how we all have begun to read on any medium and how that changes not only what we read, but also the purposes for why we read. Nor is it only about the young. The subtle atrophy of critical analysis and empathy affects us all. It affects our ability to navigate a constant bombardment of information. It incentivizes a retreat to the most familiar silos of unchecked information, which require and receive no analysis, leaving us susceptible to false information and demagoguery.

Whether you agree with her case, this is worth reflecting on.

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<![CDATA[ Should I focus on habits or my task list? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/tasks-or-habits/ 5ebc082af4ba2b003948ce3a Thu, 03 Jan 2019 08:24:00 -0800 Habits are in focus at this time of year more than any other. My recent reading of Atomic Habits and testing various habit tracking apps has had me evaluating how I get things done and how I plan my time.

I’m not alone. Here are other authors writing along similar lines:

One thing I’ve begun to ask myself is whether it makes sense for me to plan tasks each week. A shift started to occur in my weekly review process this past year: I noticed that I was missing my weekly goals with increasing frequency. However, the habits that I wanted to incorporate in my life were becoming increasingly consistent. I started to wonder whether that was good or bad. Should I even set weekly goals?

How it looks

Here’s what that change looks like with practical examples. For a given week, I may have a set of goals like this:

  • Complete an outline of my proposal for Jan. board meeting
  • Finish all planned improvements to CRM set up in Airtable
  • Practice all 15 of my katas at least once at home
  • Finish installing new sump pump
  • Have a date night with one of the kids

These goals are based on various projects I want to complete or am responsible for. And they can be for any area of my life (home, family, work, health, church, etc.).

At the same time, I also have a list of several activities that I want to perform more regularly. Aka, habits. These are the kind of things I’ve tracked:

  • Bible journalling
  • Communion with God
  • Saying something positive to my kids
  • Homework with one son
  • Journalling
  • 60 mins of pure focus time
  • Exercise
  • Stretch one muscle group
  • Write 400 words
  • Read 10 pages of non-fiction
  • 1 core exercise per day

My time is limited, so it’s rare when I have a week that includes me hitting all these habits daily and completing all my goals. Very rare.

So which is more important?

Some inspiration

Atomic Habits has been a good read (largely because it’s highly practical and immediately actionable). I don’t agree with much of how author James Clear talks about human motivation, but the book is very well done overall. And the part that stood out most to me is Clear’s focus on identity. He talks early in the book about how habits shape your identity and so there is a very important first step to succeeding in life:

  1. Decide the type of person you want to be.

That resonated greatly. But I’m still unsure how that fits into planning my days and weeks. And I’ve been pondering that question over the Christmas break.

A few insights revealed themselves:

  • Habits are better in the long run. They shape who you are and are present no matter what current tasks or projects you have on the go
  • Some habits will help you complete those tasks and projects
  • Some projects are purely aspirational and “nice-to-haves”, whereas your habits are vital to a successful, enjoyable life

Let me unpack that last one with some concrete examples. I’ve had the itch to refresh my website again (an itch that comes every two years). I have a project broken down into tasks and sub-tasks that has been in my task manager for over 12 months. Every once in a while I manage to make small increments of progress on this project.

But truthfully, it doesn’t really matter if I never complete this project.

On the other hand, doing an exercise 5 days per week to strengthen my core makes a big difference to my life. So too with running four times per week (and the first habit makes the second more doable). Helping my son with his reading makes a huge difference in his life. So too with speaking positive words to my kids every day. And journaling makes life less stressful now and brings a lot of joy in the years to come.

So you may get be getting a picture here: I’m putting more value on the habits, not the projects.

End result

Will I stop setting goals for my weeks? No, not yet anyway. But maybe I’ll stick to 3 instead of 5–6. And each day I’ll be keeping a close eye on keeping those streaks alive.

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<![CDATA[ Apps that help build habits ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/habit-apps/ 5eb5a1a0194fbf0039ca7d08 Thu, 27 Dec 2018 12:08:00 -0800 Over the past several years, I’ve used my notebook to track the habits I want to adopt in my life. And I still do that today.

However, I’ve been slowly trying out different apps to go along with this habit. It started with the Google Calendar app for iOS, but from there I began to explore a few of the options in this space. After a year, I think I’ve found a winner. Or maybe two winners.

The options

Here are the various apps I’ve tried.

Google Calendar

The iOS app for your Google calendar is different than what you get in your web browser on the desktop. The biggest addition is the Goals feature. You can set a goal, how often you want to do it, and Google’s AI will schedule times on your calendar.

If you complete the activities at a time the AI did not schedule, it will learn your preferences and adjust its scheduling accordingly.

Overall, it was a nice implementation of AI (the best I’ve used to date), but it did not stick for me. I still used Fantastical for scheduling actual meetings and having two calendar apps was not necessary. More importantly, my habitual activities do not need to be scheduled to a specific time. If I’m going to run on a given day, I slot it in depending on my other activities (whether those activities were on the calendar or not).

Last, while scheduling the habits was easy, seeing your progress and being mindful of it is clearly an afterthought in this app. The focus is all on the scheduling of the activity.

Sorted3

An interesting option, I found the UI on this one different enough that I ended not wanting to use it. I wasn’t interested in taking the time to explore an alternative UI — I just wanted to track my activities.

Overall, this app is focused most on calendar-based productivity. I like that, but I was looking more for something to track how I consistent I was in my habits, not another task manager.

Done

This option did better at offering the functionality I wanted, but in less than ideal package. Function is more important to form, but between two functional apps, I’ll take the one with better form any time.

That brings me to the next option.

Habitify

When I first came across this app, I loved how it looked. But for reasons I cannot recall, it didn’t stick for me at the time.

Streaks

When I first considered all the options above, it usually was from reading some tweet or a link in a blog post. I wasn’t actively searching for a solution of this sort. I finally got serious about it this all and took a closer look at the options in this space with a firm goal in mind. Right away, Streaks jumped out at me. Here are the aspects of this app that I like.

  • The ability to group different habits together (categorize). I can keep all my fitness focused habits in one group, all my work related habits in another, and all my family focused ones in the last
  • The badge! Yeah, I turn badges off for every app on my phone (except for due items in Things). But for Streaks, I want that reminder that there are activities I still want to do today
  • The mechanics of the app. A long press on the habit results in a satisfying completion of the circle around the habit. It’s better than filling in a checkbox
  • The ability to do a specific activity multiple times in the specified timeframe. Stretching is a good example for me. Ever since I started running consistently two years ago, I’ve wanted to stretch more regularly. But I could never seem to find the time to sit down and do a full, proper session of stretching. But with Streaks, I set up an entry for stretching one muscle group — I can take 3–5 minutes to stretch my quads a lot more easily than taking 30 minutes to stretch everything. And in Streaks, the habit is complete when I do two muscle groups per day, 6 days per week.

So I’ve been using Streaks for the last several weeks. I thought it was a clear winner. However, I took the time to review all the apps above once I had a clear goal in mind. Habitify now made a lot more sense to me as well. Both are very good options.

I prefer the looks of Habitify, but I love that Streaks allows me to have several iterations of any given habit in order for it to be considered complete for the day (i.e. stretch one muscle group twice per day). But Habitify comes with a macOS and iOS app, whereas Streaks is iOS only (and the macOS version has a nice menubar option).

At this point, I recommend both of them!

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<![CDATA[ How to write a novel with Ulysses, part I: organization and the writing process ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/write-novel-with-ulysses/ 5eb5a15e194fbf0039ca7d02 Thu, 27 Dec 2018 08:03:00 -0800 Matt Gemmell gives some insight on how he writes his novels using Ulysses.

TOLL is the result of two years of work, and is the second book in my KESTREL series. It’s around 100,000 words long, and required a great deal of planning, research, and organisation. I used various tools for the planning stages, but ultimately I moved almost everything into Ulysses, to keep all my book-related material in one place and easy to access.

You don’t have to be a novel writer to get some value from this post. He goes into detail about his setup and the tips included cover both the features of Ulysses and creating a clever system to make it work on a bigger project (I especially like his use of keywords).

I tend to easily consider alternate options for most of the apps I use. That is not the case for Ulysses — it just continues to get better and I have not yet hit the borders of what it can do.

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<![CDATA[ My zettelkasten ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/zettelkasten/ 5eb5a10e194fbf0039ca7cfc Mon, 03 Dec 2018 11:04:00 -0800 Alan Jacobs gives some insight into how he keeps track of things when doing research for a book. Reading the post, you come to know he’s tried many ways of organizing things, but he’s recently begun following the methods of Niklas Luhmann’s Zettelkasten system.

He shares how he had thought he was too late in life to adopt this system, but…

But ultimately, when I was working on The Year of Our Lord 1943, I realized that the demands of my research — trying to track the thought and writing of five figures working in complete isolation from one another — called for something like a Zettelkasten system. (It would take a long time to explain why, but it had to do with cross-referencing ideas that were related to one another in a variety of ways: by author, by date, by theme.) Well, I thought, why not have a collection of Zettel that is based not on a lifetime of research but on a single project? So I tried that. And it worked wonderfully.

It’s an interesting post and this kind of subject always catches my attention. But, if you’re like me, you may not understand the terminology being used or the core concept of the Zettelkasten system itself. But that’s the beauty of a good Internet rabbit trail.

Jacobs points the way and this is where I found myself lost for some time. I won’t bore you with details if you're not into information architecture, paper, and organization.

But if you are, save this link for later!

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<![CDATA[ The alternative to thinking all the time ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/too-much-thinking/ 5eb59e59194fbf0039ca7cc9 Tue, 27 Nov 2018 17:18:00 -0800 David Cain shares an experience:

One evening last week, I was sitting on my front stoop waiting for a friend to come over. I brought a book out with me, but instead of reading I just sat there and let my senses take in the scene.
I didn’t look or listen for anything in particular, I just let the details of this particular moment in the neighborhood come to me: the quality of the air—heavy and warm, the incoming summer storm kind; birds; two couples having a conversation down the sidewalk; the clinking of dishes coming from inside the house to my right; distant hammering from a construction site somewhere in the blocks behind my house.

That sounds nice. Real nice. The busier my life is, the more I long for these moments. It’s so easy to always focus on the next thing and miss the experience itself. Cain sums this up well:

Life can disappear on us just like a cup of coffee consumed on autopilot. In other words, to really experience life itself, as opposed to just more thinking about life, we need to remember we’re having an experience.

This article is a good reminder for me. I need to ensure there is enough margin in my life so I feel free to take the time to enjoy the various moments of my life.

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<![CDATA[ When you have so many things on the go ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/more-tasks-than-time/ 5eb5a0e4194fbf0039ca7cf6 Tue, 27 Nov 2018 06:43:00 -0800 Maybe it’s simply due to the current stage of my life, but my days can feel so busy and scattered that I have to fight the feeling of being overwhelmed. Where all the different scenarios or locations in my day bring a reminder of another thing that needs tending to, anything thing that I should be doing something about.

And that sense of being overwhelmed leads to the feeling of not even knowing where to start.

How It Looks

As I work from home, usually alone, there are a lot of ways this feeling can come at me. It’s also one of the dangers of working remotely from your home: people think pleasurable pursuits are a distraction (like binge-watching Netflix shows), but in reality, it’s my other responsibilities that distract. When you work in an office, the triggers and reminders of the tasks from the rest of your life are largely out of sight, out of mind.

Anyway, here’s how it can look on any given day for me:

  • I’m working on my most important work task of the day, the kind of activity where I want to be most focused. As I hit a moment of uncertainty about how to solve the problem, I take my fingers off the keyboard and look out the window as I meditate
  • At that moment, I observe that is stopped snowing … I wonder if I need to shovel the front deck
  • Then I question whether I’m going to get in the lunch run I had planned — I dislike running right after a snowfall, but I know I’ll feel pressure if I don’t do it
  • I return my attention to the task at hand, but just as I start to type, I hear the beep of the washing machine. I’ll need to get the next load going (6 people make a lot of dirty laundry in a week)
  • Dang that reminds me — I still haven’t taken any meat out of the freezer for dinner. I quickly do that, and put on the next load of laundry, before I forget again
  • I get back to work and make some progress. But once the uncertainty of how to handle the next unknown strikes again, I glance down at my hands as I stop to think
  • And then I notice the papers on my desk. Oh man, I need to get that account set up for the latest software tool our youngest’s teacher wants him to use. I write that down in my planner as a task to handle later in the day when work is finished
  • On the opposite page, my weekly goals are listed out. Sigh. It’s already Thursday, and I haven’t even started on my annual report for the church IT ministry. The board meeting is next week…

And on it goes. Every moment of every day does not feel like this, but the fact that I play multiple roles in my life and work from a space where all those roles converge means I often come face to face with all the reminders of my responsibilities.

How I Handle This Anxiety

How does one cope? Well, different people will have different responses. Not everyone is cut out for remote work, for example.

But here’s what works for me.

Be ok with working in small, micro chunks

You have to change your mindset. Even small bits of progress are just that: progress. I have had to recognize that even if it takes me 4 weeks to complete a task that could actually be finished in 4–5 hours, that’s the reality of the current stage of my life. And it’s ok.

With 4 kids coming up to their teen years, I’m likely the busiest I’ll ever be in my life. We have extracurricular activities 4 nights during the work week (and two on the weekend). I simply have to be on my game and as organized as possible. And some of my own desires have to be laid aside.

This is serving. And it’s a worthy sacrifice.

Process effectively

Another key here is straight out of GTD. I’m being inefficient if I handle the same thing more than once. Whether it’s a piece of paper or an email, I’m always needing to remind myself to process these items (and schedule a related task) and file them away rather than leaving them around.

Do not underestimate the power of the visual trigger. Seeing these items repeatedly will cause anxiety.

Have a weekly routine

This is an area I have struggled against for a long time. Matt Perman makes the recommendation for having a weekly routine, and I have fought this idea for far too long.

But it makes sense. If you wear multiple hats and those hats represent responsibility in a certain sphere of your life, you do well to give each of those roles some attention each week. I am in charge of the IT ministry at our church. It’s not a role for which I have a lot of time to devote, but I serve better when I give it at least a few minutes each week.

I’ve recently themed my weekdays so that each one has a different role in focus. It helps me to overcome that feeling of where to start. If I have a free moment, I focus on the day’s role.


Of course, I didn’t mention the fact that it’s always good to step back and evaluate whether you should cut some things from your life (and learn to say no). That’s a given.

But some things are worth saying yes to, even if it means you’re busier than a one-armed paper hanger.

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<![CDATA[ Spend thirty minutes in heaven ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/30-minutes-in-heaven/ 5eb59e26194fbf0039ca7cc3 Mon, 05 Nov 2018 06:23:00 -0800 I enjoyed this look at the devotional practices of Richard Baxter. I’m already a believer in Christian meditation, but sometimes hearing the experiences of others can be an inspiration to us.

In The Saints’ Everlasting Rest, Baxter states that, because man is a rational creature, we must reason with ourselves. We are to take a truth and mull it over in our minds. He compares it to a balance that sits before us. There is a natural desire to want to tip it, to add a little more weight, and then a little more, and then a little more, and finally the thing tips. So, it is to be with our hearts. We meditate upon a truth and add reason upon reason in order to believe this truth, to revel in this truth, to delight in this truth, and eventually the scale tips. We bring one reason to bear, and then another, arguing with ourselves, until eventually we are affected.

Since reading this, I’ve tweaked my morning routine slightly. I take a few minutes (not 30, but at least 5–10) to just focus on one aspect of God. The compassion of Christ, the long-suffering of the Father, how Christ fulfills the role of sacrifice and priest — whatever comes to mind or catches my attention in my reading.

And this change has had an impact in how worshipful I am in my devotions. Mixing in reading, intercessory prayer, and this focused meditation has been a blessing. I find the focus on God leads me to praise him more readily. From there, every other activity in my devotions is richer for it.

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<![CDATA[ Expanding your design system ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/design-better/ 5eb59df8194fbf0039ca7cbd Mon, 05 Nov 2018 05:55:00 -0800 I’ve been heads down with our team getting Conveyor ready for a launch. And most of my work is writing. When you write copy for a product, you quickly come to realize how massive an effort this is — and just how much copy is required.

Tracking all your work and changes is not an easy task. And so I’ve been keeping an eye out for people describing their own writing practices of guidelines. As UX Writer is relatively new as a career choice, there’s not yet a lot of material to be found. Oh, you can find voice and tone guides (see Mailchimp and Shopify). And design or development frameworks are a dime a dozen.

But writing frameworks? This is a mythical creature, oft mentioned but never seen.

However, I did come across this nice resource: Design Better from the folks at InVision. It’s a large collection of resources (they say books, but it’s a collection of writing on the web) on various matters relating to design. And they included a decent chunk on writing.

It focuses on not only defining what a guideline is, but how to create one of your own.

Writing guidelines also help evolve your voice. Just as your personality matures over time, your voice will evolve as your company grows. Guidelines define what you should sound like right now, so when you do steer away from them, you’ll know that you’re doing so intentionally. (“I’ll just throw an emoji in this subject line,” turns into, “Hey, let’s test how emoji perform and see if they’re worth adding to our writing guidelines.”)

It’s a small section of the site overall, but it’s far better than most of the stuff Google has to offer when you go looking for “writing frameworks”.

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<![CDATA[ Screen Time for parents ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/screen-time-for-parents/ 5eb59dc3194fbf0039ca7cb6 Wed, 10 Oct 2018 08:11:00 -0700 Since I follow so many people who live on the edge of Apple updates and run the beta all spring and summer, I was comfortable upgrading to iOS 12 right away. And I’m pretty pleased with the biggest improvement: Screen Time.

Not only is this a helpful tool for myself, it’s a great option for parents. There’s a lot of products aiming to help parents to manage what their kids see and how long they’re on screens; Disney’s Circle is a prime example. So it’s not like Apple is far ahead of the curve here. But I have been happy with the implementation of screen time.

Alongside the Screen Time settings for my own device, I can see the devices of my kids. We currently have two children out of four with their own phone (one high schooler with a SIM card, one without). And Screen Time lets us set the same limits and restrictions as on my own phone.

Putting it to use

So far, we’ve not set many limits. We have a set Downtime for all our devices (I’m down a lot earlier than our t(w)eens). But apart from that, we’ve only set what apps are always allowed.

For now, we’re just letting our devices record our activity. Then each Sunday, we’ve decided to sit down as a family and compare our stats. Over time, we’ll decide whether further steps are required.

It’s not about how much time

In all our discussions, Erica and I try to emphasize the danger of addiction while also not sounding like we have it figured out. To show how we can struggle in this area ourselves, but without minimizing the behaviour. It’s not an easy line to walk.

One thing I have focused on is that I’m not quite as concerned about total time as I am about pickups. One thing I’ve learned from a couple years of using RescueTime (for macOS) is that the days where I feel most frazzled are not necessarily where I spend a lot of time on Twitter or reading blog articles.

The problem is constantly switching between activities. You don’t achieve focus or depth when you only stay in one application for less than five minutes at a time.

On my phone, this is best indicated by the amount of pickups.

So all this is great for awareness. And it’s so nice to have the tools available to enable conversations about this topic with concrete data. Whether or not it brings changes in behavior remains to be seen. But it’s a start.

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<![CDATA[ Frontier Journal Issue #2 ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/frontier-journal/ 5eb59d93194fbf0039ca7caf Wed, 10 Oct 2018 07:27:00 -0700 Isaac Smith released issue #2 of the Frontier Journal. Like issue #1, there are some great articles. But I most enjoyed the Fuel for the Frontier part — it reminds me a lot of a digest email (like this one).

He covers a number of topics, but the portion at the end was the best. Issac shares how using analog tools has been a help, but he can still find himself slipping into reactive mode once he gets in front of the computer. A small change has helped:

A subtle but significant difference. Instead of making my default work approach my computer, I’ve made it easiest to work offline (pen and paper), then to work on my computer I have to shift my chair, posture, and attention over to my monitor.
My analog tools are front and center. My computer is off to the side waiting for me, when I’m ready to do work that requires a internet connection.

That’s something I may have to try myself.

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<![CDATA[ Extreme athleticism is the new midlife crisis ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/new-midlife-crisis/ 5eb59d43194fbf0039ca7ca3 Mon, 17 Sep 2018 11:00:00 -0700 I know, there’s been a lot of running talk around here. But this article grabbed my eyes with the title — and the rest of it did not disappoint. Nailed it!

For decades, the midlife crisis has been expressed in tired pop-culture tropes in which (usually) white men buy sports cars and carry on affairs with younger women in a doomed and desperate bid to feel young again. But increasingly, people are responding to the anxieties of middle age not by clinging to the last vestiges of expiring youth but to taking on challenges that seem to belong to the young alone: by pushing the limits of what they’re physically capable of through endurance athletics and extreme fitness. The focus is less on what happened before the crisis and more on what happens after. Call it the midlife correction.

I don’t feel that I’m having a mid-life crisis. But I do know that running has helped me deal with anxiety (that I do have — who doesn’t?) and has given me a focus in sports beyond just the benefits of the physical exertion. I won’t call what I do “extreme fitness”, but it is pushing myself beyond what I could do before.

And the benefits are far greater than a shiny car or any of the pursuits commonly found attractive by those entering their second half of life.

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<![CDATA[ The emphasis on faith in Matthew ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/faith-muscles/ 5eb59d64194fbf0039ca7ca9 Fri, 07 Sep 2018 10:14:00 -0700 2018 is a year where I do not read the entire Bible. Instead, I take one book at a time and read it through 20 times. This year I’ve been making my way through Matthew (currently on the 14th reading) and one thing has stuck out more than everything else.

Jesus’s emphasis on faith.

Reading that aloud, it’s not shocking. The entire Bible is about faith. But it’s the way Jesus talks about it as recorded by Matthew that gets your attention. At least, it does for this guy with a Reformed theological leaning.

Whose work?

Back in early 2017, I talked about this seeming paradox in Scripture: how does my work contribute to my faith? I still hold to the idea that our faith comes from God. It is in fact a gift from him, as the apostle Paul points out in Eph 2:8:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Theologians (professional or amateur) have wrestled with this idea for a long time. I still prefer how Kenneth Boa puts it:

The biblical balance is that the spiritual life is both human and divine … we are responsible to work out, not work for, our salvation. On the divine side, God gives us the desire and empowerment to accomplish his purposes.

So God gives us faith, gives us new hearts and enables us to accept the gift of his son, who died in our place to face the wrath of God and take the punishment we were due for our sins.

But that does mean we are to live a soft life of no work.

Faith is a muscle to be exercised

I know this intellectually, but reading through Matthew this year has opened my eyes a little wider to the importance of faith. Here are a few examples that sure got my attention.

When his disciples are afraid of a storm (Matt 8:23–27):

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

When touched by a woman with a long-term illness (Matt 9:18–22):

While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.

Healing two blind men (Matt 9:27–29):

And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”

When walking on the water, Peter comes to join him (Matt 14:28–33):

And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

After his disciples failed to drive out a demon (Matt 17:18–20):

And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

And the height of the tension is found towards the end, when Jesus curses a fig tree in Matt 21:18–22:

In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.
When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

What is the tension that I’m referring to? The fact that answers to prayers might be dependent on my performance. My level of faith, or the lack thereof.

Unstable ground

I don’t have any firm answers to this tension. I know there is a balance between believing that God equips me with faith and does so in proportion to what I need in each experience in my life. At the same time, I’m to “work out my own salvation with fear and trembling” and to “believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him”.

But I often feel like the father in Mark 9. This is the same story I referenced above from Matthew 17 where Christ’s disciples struggle to exorcise a demon. But in Mark, we get a little more detail to that story.

And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

That is my cry. I believe, but I sure need Jesus to help with my lack of conviction, where my faith falls short. But, in the end, I always take comfort knowing that my Father provides.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
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<![CDATA[ I completed my first marathon — now what? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/all-things-running/ 5eb59ceb194fbf0039ca7c9e Wed, 22 Aug 2018 08:56:00 -0700 It’s been just over a month since I completed my first marathon. One thing has become clear to me during this time:

I’m not very good at running just for the sake of it.

Many people talk about a low after achieving a goal in athletics. I haven’t been feeling down, but I have found myself wondering what is next. Do I keep running long distances? Or longer runs (marathons aren’t that big of a deal in our age when so many people are doing ultra marathons in extreme climates)? Get into running with groups? Focus on speed? I’ve spent several weeks feeling unsure about the entire topic.

But what I’ve realized is that I enjoy the sport a lot less when I don’t have a goal to focus on.

A big part of my enjoyment in running has come from having a mark to aim for and getting closer to it each time I lace up the shoes. This is probably why I enjoy Strava so much — the stats are a big part of my running experience.

So now I have decided on some goals — improving my personal bests at several lengths:

  • 5KM < 20 mins (less than 4 mins per KM)
  • 10 KM < 42 mins
  • 21.1 KM < 90 mins (half marathon)

I’m excited to get back to running with a specific purpose in mind. But the past month also allowed me to think about the sport overall and what I get from it. And I wanted to share with you a lot of what I’ve been reading and pondering.

To autopause or not to autopause

Related to my goals, one thing I have started to wonder about is the merit (or lack thereof) of using the Auto-Pause feature in Strava.

Early in my running “career”, I discovered this feature and loved how it worked. As I’ve always been into the stats of running, I hated to increase my time while waiting for a traffic light or for the dog to do her business. I would often pull my phone out of my pocket and hit pause in those scenarios. In comparison, Auto-Pause was wonderful — it accurately stops recording once I stop running and starts again once I resume.

And that worked great for my early runs of 5–15 KMs.

But once I started getting into longer distances, say anything over 15 KMs, I realized this feature can be a little deceitful. As I started to train for a marathon, my runs over 21 KM (half marathon) would often include stops. Sometimes you need to do your business, sometimes you just need a breather, and I struggle to take in carbs while on the run (whether in liquid, gel, or semi-solid form).

I started to wonder what other runners do with timing. Maybe more people aren’t preoccupied with their pace like I am? But eventually, I noticed that Strava itself tracks two different times for your activities: moving time and elapsed time.

Running time versus elapsed time

You can see here that my running time was 1 min 32 secs faster than the actual elapsed time. And while the activity stats use the run time, Strava uses the elapsed time to track your personal bests and any monthly challenges you’ve joined.

And this makes sense. The runner who runs 10KM, takes a 15 minute break, then runs another 10 KM, should not have her stats compete with the runner who runs 20 KM straight.

The result? I still use the feature on my shorter runs when I’m in town or running with the dog or a family member. But on my long runs, I began to turn it off this spring so I could have a more accurate reflection of my performance during the run.

The social aspects of running

Strava has become my favorite social media tool. It’s a community where everyone is working towards something and rather than put each other down, people are lifting each other up. I find myself opening the app on occasion just to see what my fellow athletes have been up to.

But running itself? While I have enjoyed the social aspects of sharing my runs and discussing training techniques, I have not yet embraced the “running group”. You have likely seen these in your own town, ten or fifteen people running together down the side of the road. I live in a town with quite a number of groups but have never made an effort to join.

There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that I’m almost always focused on running quickly. Not always my top speed, but fast enough that conversation is not an option. Second, running is a solace for me. As a father of four who works all day with various communication tools on (Slack, Basecamp, email etc), I go for a run to get away from the noise and spend time in my head (as Ryan Holiday describes above).

Running is a time to think through problems, to meditate, or to come up with outlines for articles or classes. And I cherish the solitude.

However, I do think there is a place for running with others. Specifically for trail running. Last year, the majority of my running was on trails. I would take the dog and leave the road behind without a second thought. This year, as I focused more on distances and pace, I spent almost all my time on the road. And now when I want to hit a new trail, I’m a little hesitant to do so alone (thanks in no small part to an article I read about a fellow hiking the Appalachian trail that I can cannot seem to find, but… bears are the real deal around here).

I’ve had a few invitations to go for a run with people, both those I know IRL and those from Strava that live in my town. It might be time to accept a few of those…


Back to my goals. As I look back on my running over the past two years, I realize that the most enjoying times were in the 10–21 KM range. I quite enjoy the half marathon and improving on my performances for those distances (5, 10, 21 KM).

But when I was training for the marathon, runs over 25 KM were really just a grind. A focus on survival. While I appreciate having done it — and I may do another marathon at some point — I find more pleasure in running faster than running farther. And while I appreciate the tenacity of ultra-runners, I don’t feel any pull to join them in their efforts.

So, for now, I’ll focus on improving my speeds. But also to learn to get on the road and slow down and just enjoy the pleasure of putting one foot in front of the other. Those two goals are somewhat at odds, so I also look forward to the challenge of taking both on at the same time.

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<![CDATA[ Building a better training log ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/a-better-running-log/ 5eb59cc0194fbf0039ca7c99 Wed, 22 Aug 2018 08:43:00 -0700 Way back when I first started using Strava, I came across this excellent post on Reddit by Jimmy Daly (not a source I link to often … Reddit, that is). In it, he describes how he exported all his Strava runs to Airtable and uses IFTTT to add any new ones (his base is listed here).

I am perpetually dissatisfied with training logs. For years, I used notebooks, then Google Spreadsheets and more recently have relied on Strava to track all my runs. And as great as Strava is, there are a few things that really bug me:
– You can't categorize your runs (long run, intervals, hills, etc.)– You can't easily filter out important runs (like races)– You have to pay for some basic features (like training plans)I love my Garmin and I love Strava, but I wanted a better way to track and analyze all the data, so I've been working on a better training log using Airtable. I used the Strava API to import a few years of running into Airtable, then started slicing and dicing. I then setup IFTTT to send new runs from Strava to Airtable.

I immediately loved the idea and started to test it out myself. Unfortunately, I could never get the IFTTT applet to work: it always errors out. And when this scenario happens, you quickly learn how bad of an experience IFTTT can be when your services do not play nicely together.

After several attempts over a few months, I gave up on the idea. But it kept coming back to me, specifically because of the second reason he mentions here. It’s a pain in the butt to find my PRs.

So I finally started from scratch building my own running log.

My running log in Airtable

I had to sit down and ask myself what I wanted from such a thing. I came up with the following:

  • The ability to review all my runs and sort them by various criteria
  • To quickly see my PRs in different lengths
  • To track my goals and see progress for each
  • To have runs where I establish a new PR automatically populate a Day One entry
  • To track how I feel for any run where I want to make a note of it
  • Ideally, this is all populated automatically (except for the parts that have to be manually)

At this point, I have two IFTTT recipes for my runs. One populates an entry in my Day One running journal. The other adds a task to my Things inbox to log the run. I still cannot get Airtable to take my activities from Strava via IFTTT and contacting IFTTT support was not any help.

But since I have to manually add some information anyway, taking five minutes 3–4 times per week is not a problem. It's not perfect yet (it's not automated at all and I do not track my goals in it), but it's far better than searching through all my activities in Strava.

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<![CDATA[ Can our digital tools help build habits? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/habits-with-apps/ 5eb59b8f194fbf0039ca7c7d Tue, 07 Aug 2018 11:01:00 -0700 Well, sure they can. I’ve mentioned several times here how I use a combination of paper and digital tools for journalling. And a big part of my journalling is tracking the activities that I want to turn into regular habits. That has been taking place on paper for me.

But I was recently intrigued by what Google has been doing with Calendar. If you use Google Calendar on your computer, you may not have seen what I’m referring to. An old post from David Kadavy recently resurfaced in my Medium feed (things must be slow). Titled What I Learned About Productivity While Working on Google Cal, he shares about Google’s acquisition of Timeful and how they were incorporating these features into Google Calendar. It caught my attention when I first read it and did so again.

The catch? These features have not been added to all versions of Google Calendar. Just on mobile.

Habits

The key feature is goals. On the mobile app, you can add 4 types of items to your calendar: events, reminders, goals, or an out of office period. Three of these are quite self-explanatory.

But the goals option is unique. With it, you can choose an activity you want to incorporate into your life on a regular basis. You tell the app how often you want to do it and for how long. It then finds spots in your calendar where the activity will fit.

Nothing terribly impressive so far. Of course, you could schedule in these things yourself (and if you don’t use an app for this, you should add them manually — things that get on your calendar get done).

Where it delights

I’ve enjoyed letting the app choose the days and times when I run. As I tend to look at my weekly schedule (usually a part of my weekly review) and pick 3–5 times myself, letting the machine do that for me has been a time saver. It’s just one less thing I need to do.

But what about when it chooses a time that doesn’t fit? This is what has made the tool a good experience for me so far.

First, I’m pretty flexible. So when I see that I have a run scheduled for the day, I don’t have to think about it much. If it’s a work day, I know it will happen around midday: I run on my lunch break and the exact time depends on booked meetings or my energy levels on meeting-less days.

Second, since the app itself can integrate with iOS’s Health app, I can just forget about the time. If GoogleCalendar chooses 8–9 AM for my run, I can run whenever I want, and the app adjusts itself accordingly.

Google Calendar, while poorly named, is nicely designed

You can see here that I ran around 12–1 PM. But while the event itself was originally scheduled for 8–9 AM, the integration ensures things are updated to reflect reality. And without me having to do anything. That’s a good experience.

Last, the app is supposed to learn from your tendencies over time and get better at picking those spots. I haven’t been using it long enough for that to happen, but based on the early experience, I’m betting it does this well.

So, can our apps help us build habits? Well, without the internal desire, no. But if you have a desire to change, then yes. By removing some friction and being adaptable, digital tools can help. I’m a big fan of Fantastical (it’s a great app and nicely ties together all my calendars from various sources), but I’ve been using both tools over the past few weeks.

I don’t see that changing any time soon.

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<![CDATA[ Even short, practical think weeks are powerful ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/think-weeks/ 5eb59b66194fbf0039ca7c77 Tue, 07 Aug 2018 10:44:00 -0700 A lot of smart peple are blocking off entire days in the week in order to focus. Untouchable days, so to speak.

But I hear you saying to yourself, “A day doesn’t feel like it would be enough.” I’m with you. So too is John Baluch. Rather than regular untouchable days, he schedules think weeks.

Okay, in his case, it was a longer think weekend … but the idea is the same:

Taking the time to think is a powerful thing, regardless if it’s for work, relaxation, or personal spirituality. The most successful people in the world regularly take the time to reflect on their lives or a specific problem. Bill Gates had made the concept famous during his Microsoft days. The founder of Skillshare has been taking a think week for the past several years to answer his larger questions.

If you’re into this topics at all, you’ve likely heard stories about Bill Gates (Cal Newport talks a lot about that in Deep Work) or others. My wife and I have had this type of getaway weekend the past several years and we absolutely love it.

Even taking just 48–72 hours away from all the aspects of your regular routine is a gift we all need.

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<![CDATA[ Why single-tasking is your greatest competitive advantage ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/single-tasking/ 5eb59bcb194fbf0039ca7c84 Mon, 23 Jul 2018 17:09:00 -0700 The Doist team continues to put out good content about topics that interest me. Single-tasking is the focus of this one and while they do not make any surprising points, it’s a great summary of why this is an important habit to develop.

They do give one tip that I personally don’t agree with: using multiple spaces on the desktop (a macOS feature).

I limit myself to four desktops only: one for communication windows (Gmail, Slack, Todoist, Sunrise Calendar) and the other three for the windows associated with different projects I plan to work on that day. I add a different background to each desktop so I know exactly which task I’m focusing on at any given time. I’ve found that this decreases the likelihood that I’ll switch tasks mid-way into working on something else.

I find this made things worse for me. CMD+Tab is already problematic enough. Switching between Spaces is even more of a time-waster. When I used them, I also attempted to give different Spaces a different purpose. But I would just end up switching around at all times. For me, full screen apps enables better behaviour.

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<![CDATA[ 3 ways to make the journaling habit stick ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/stick-the-habit/ 5eb59b37194fbf0039ca7c71 Mon, 23 Jul 2018 07:23:00 -0700 My most read piece on Medium is How I Journal. Since writing that, I’ve received a lot of questions about my journal, Day One, and how I put it all together. But there is one question that comes up more than all the others.

How can I start journaling and make the habit stick?

A lot of people see the value of keeping a journal, but struggle to fully adopt the habit. It’s very easy to try out an app like Day One, add several entries over a week, then forget all about it for a month. The world is full of empty paper journals with a couple of notes scratched into the first 3–4 pages.

So how does one adopt this habit?

There are plenty of good articles on this topic. And people like James Clear spend a lot of time talking about how to start a new habit. But as someone who has struggled with journaling regularly, I can share you with you what has helped me make this an almost daily occurrence.

Start Small

If you do not journal at all, envisioning yourself suddenly scribbling 800 words per day is not realistic. The best way to start journaling (or any other habit) is to start small.

This could mean a quick couple of lines at the end of your work day to sum up what you did. This would also apply at the end of the day before you go to bed, but you write about anything in life. Or it could mean adding a couple of images of your kids to an app like Day One without any commentary.

The important thing is to get started and to get some entries into whatever tool you’re going to use.

Use automation

One great way to achieve this very goal is to use some automation. There are activities you perform every day that can make good journal entries.

The perfect example for me is my reading journal. I have 5 journals in Day One, one of which is where I put quotes that resonated with me. I sometimes take pictures of a physical book I’m reading, but most of the entries are populated automatically without any work from me.

Using tools like IFTTT, I can populate my journal based on my reading habits. When I read an article in Instapaper, I can highlight sentences that I enjoy the most. A few minutes later, that highlight is added to Day One by an IFTTT recipe.

Quotes from Instapaper

I’ve done the same with my runs in Strava or my daily Fitbit summaries. The options are vast: your posts to Instagram, your tweets, posts to your blog.

With workflows like this, I’m building up a library of information that is of interest to me, but with no effort required on my part.

Review your entries

As I mentioned above, I have struggled myself to adopt the habit of journaling consistently. From 2012 to 2014, I wrote a lot of manual journal entries in Day One as a part of my morning routine. For whatever reason, I dropped that habit in the years after.

I still had Day One on all my devices. And when special occasions took place, I would tend to make a note or add some pictures. But I was not writing regular daily entries.

However, I was seeing the On This Day banner in Day One.

Day One includes this nice prompt to review all your entries for the current calendar day

And it was this banner that helped me see the value of keeping a journal. Every time I opened the app, I could see the 3–4 entries that had been written over the years on this specific day. The nostalgia from these captured thoughts and events immediately showed me how wonderful it is to have a repository for things your mind has forgotten about. Not every entry brings this feeling, but there’s value in the mundane daily activities as well as the special moments.

It’s all gold.

Over the past 3–4 years, I’ve persisted in increasing my use of a journal based largely on the value I’ve gotten from regularly reviewing my journal entries from the past. This is why starting small and using automation is so vital: you simply need to get some entries in there to see the value.

This is why building habits is hard. The return on the investment can take time. Even with Day One, you’d have to create a few entries and wait one year to see the value using On This Day.

So in order to see the value more quickly than that, force yourself to add some short entries, add some automation, then ensure you take some time to review what you’ve added.

Why Day One is so effective

I’ve mentioned the app enough times here already, but it’s worth pointing out why it’s so good. But let me state it plainly.

Day One makes it easy to get started, enables some nifty automated workflows, and even works well if you prefer a paper journal.

How I Journal now is a mix of paper and digital entries. But they’re all in Day One. When I sit down for morning devotions, my journaling starts in paper. But I always snap a picture of my notebook in a Day One entry. And my weekly review habit is also on paper, but each week also exists in Day One.

It's really the best option.


And that's how I've been able to keep journaling a regular part of my life over the last 8 years.

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<![CDATA[ The power of regular reviews ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/regular-reviews/ 5eb59a1b194fbf0039ca7c56 Thu, 19 Jul 2018 11:00:00 -0700 I’ve written about the value of regular weekly reviews before, even going back as far as 2008. It’s a key part of GTD or any other type of system you use to keep yourself organized. If you have a system that is not reviewed (and regularly), then you have a system you don’t fully trust because you can’t be sure that what’s in it is up-to-date and accurate.

Open loops are killer, yo!

After a lot of years of inconsistent weekly reviews, my using a paper notebook improved over the last two years enough so that this is now a regular habit. However, I’m finding value these days in even more frequent reviews.

The Daily’s

The weekly review is great for reviewing the whole picture and envisioning what a successful week would look like. You pull out 3–4 bigger goals you want to accomplish. But if you wait until the next week before you look at this once more, it’s very easy to get lost in the details and to miss your mark.

But if you take time to do smaller reviews, it’s a lot easier to ensure that your week does not slip away from you. And while any habit can be hard to adopt, daily reviews are quick and easy enough that they’re easier than making some big change.

Taking 10–15 minutes at the end of each day can bring a lot of peace of mind to your following morning.

Anytime

One of the nice aspects of Things is the Anytime list. It shows you all tasks listed by Area of Responsibility and Project. You can quickly scan this list (quickly is relative — the time required is dependent on how many projects/tasks you have in there) to plan what to work on the next day.

Until recently, I did not make much use of the Anytime list and it’s been a wonderful addition to my workflow. And if you have a smart (yet simple) system of tags (review this article for an example of tagging in this manner), your can very quickly narrow down the Anytime to list to get to the important stuff.

Process

As I go through my day, I send items to the Things Inbox. Towards the end of the day, I then open Things and process that Inbox. From there, I also review the Anytime list and see what items might fit well for my following day.

Again, this is not a long process — it’s nothing like a weekly review. But there is a lot of peace in taking a few minutes to check back in with my weekly review and ensure I’m still moving towards the goals I came into the week with.

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<![CDATA[ Anti-flow ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/anti-flow/ 5eb599ed194fbf0039ca7c50 Thu, 19 Jul 2018 06:32:00 -0700 I loved this piece from Rands in Repose. If you’re familiar with his writing, he often talks about flow and how to get into the zone in order to achieve it.

The Zone is a place, and Flow is an activity that occurs within this precious mental place. Flow is the ability to consider a project or a problem deeply. In Flow, you can keep a superhuman amount of context in your head and can traverse that context with ease. With Flow, you can produce extraordinary value.

In this article, he describes anti-flow:

Anti-Flow is shower thoughts. They are the random connections your brain makes on a problem, a thought, or an opportunity when you aren’t thinking about that problem, thought or opportunity.

He goes on to describe how he works on problems or articles during his cycling sessions. This is a concept I refer to often as working with our hands or doing physical activity.

What I loved about this article was his tip for how to remember the ideas that come to mind:

As an idea shows up and I deem it worth further investigation, (Yes, there are truly dumb ideas that show up that I briefly consider and then dump) I remember the one word that encompasses the idea and start making a memorable sentence. The sentence from a recent ride was, “Larry stats offsite in London.” Gibberish, right? Two of those words were absolute gold.

I’m taking that idea to heart.

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<![CDATA[ Rest ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/rest/ 5eb599ae194fbf0039ca7c44 Tue, 10 Jul 2018 16:55:00 -0700 In Pixar’s latest film, Incredibles 2, Mr Incredible has a really great experience. Rather than gallivanting around the world fighting super villains, he’s fighting a much harder battle: running the home. This time around Mrs Incredible gets the spotlight and kicks butts in the process, while her husband comes to realize how hard it is to be the homemaker.

The writers of this movie sum up his exhaustion that so many of us parents can relate to in his conversation with Edna:

I haven't been sleeping. I broke my daughter. They keep changing math. We needed double-A batteries, but I got triple-As, and now we still need double-A batteries. Put one red thing in the load of whites, now everything's... pink. And I think we need eggs.

I feel you, Mr Incredible. I feel you!

Productivity Required

All the organization in the world won’t help when you lack margin. As I’ve been working my way through Getting Things Done recently, I can’t help but think our obsession with being productive is necessary because we have so much stuff. Physical stuff, sure, but also stuff of every sort. Digital stuff. Financial stuff. And expectations (real or perceived).

The worst part of having so much on your plate is that you cannot focus on one thing for too long. There are so many projects on the go and I can only make one or two steps of progress before having to move on to the next thing. Having a solid “system” of some sort is required to maintain some semblance of sanity.

This has been on my mind more in the recent weeks. Two changes precipitated this:

  1. My wife started a preceptorship to get back into nursing after 10 years away and 2. Summer holidays started. As a remote worker with a home office, this has impacted me. With a family of six, margin was already in short supply, but these changes have meant I have to be on top of my game.

Not just taking care of the details. But also being more ready than usual to deal with emotion. And relationships. To nurture (not my forté!)

We’re not in the garden anymore, Toto

All of this comes to a head in one word for me: striving. In this world, there is always a pressure weighing on us. There is always more to be done. There is always a need to meet. It has no end. Striving can have a positive sense, but I’m referring to this definition:

to struggle or fight vigoursly

This occurs in all areas of life, but our home is a concrete example. We live on a small acreage with space between us and our neighbours on each side. And the wilderness encroaches. Every year I have to fight to stop the forest from taking over cultivated land. If I were to stop mowing and pruning the back of our lawn, it would quickly be overtaken: trees, wildflowers, invasive weeds of all sorts would move in. Ignore this need for several years and there would be no lawn.

For this reason, the story of Adam and Eve being banished from the Garden hits home for me. In Genesis 3:17–19, God gives delivers this curse to Adam:

Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

I take this literally and symbolically. I see the literal work of the wilderness fighting against human effort. But I also believe this applies to all areas of life: we have to constantly strive against the chaos and, ultimately, death.

But … but!

The Promise

There is good news: rest is possible. Jesus makes this promise so beautifully in Matthew 11:28–30

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Rest, true rest, is a promise God makes for his children. And it’s what I cling to the most. I’m not the most charismatic Christian around. But I once experienced a vision early in my walk with Jesus that I’ll never forget.

Somewhere in the early morning when you’re half way between asleep and awareness, I found myself drifting in a wooden rowboat in a lazy pond. Not a breath of air rippled the water. The boat was under a large tree, the kind with droopy branches almost touching the water’s surface. Through its canopy, the light streamed through, dappled and suffusive and not at all too bright. I say “light”, for I had no sense of the sun being there … the light just was. And for all the imagery, the strongest sense was one of absolute peace. Contentment. And a presence.

He was there and I had no need or want of anything. No anxiety, no care, no striving. Just rest and a trust that my Father can and has and always will take care of things.

I often force myself to recall this vision. I need it when I feel the pressure of this world and my inability to do all that needs to be done.

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<![CDATA[ macOS Mojave: back to the Mac ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/mojave/ 5eb5998c194fbf0039ca7c3d Tue, 10 Jul 2018 08:03:00 -0700 There used to be a time when Apple keynotes got me almost as excited as Christmas morning. I’d immediately dig into all the updates coming to OS X (nee macOS) and write about it in the weeks following. Now, I barely know the new features that come out with each new release of Apple’s macOS or iOS.

That’s partly due to my stage of life (aka I’m old). But it’s also because after Lion (maybe Mountain Lion) I realized I rarely used the new stuff that became available each year. And maybe that trend will continue with Mojave when it comes out this fall.

At any rate, I happened upon this summary of the upcoming changes from Jason Snell. And I enjoyed it! Every so often I enjoy being reminded that I moved from Windows to using Macs because of the software. And it’s so good that I know I take it for granted.

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<![CDATA[ Using the ESV API ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/esv-api/ 5eb59969194fbf0039ca7c37 Wed, 27 Jun 2018 16:15:00 -0700 I mentioned last week that my Bible study set up using Ulysses was published over at The Sweet Setup earlier this month. This resulted in a handful of people asking about my reference to using the ESV API to populate Ulysses with Scripture.

I was (obviously) not quite clear in the article. It was my intention to start that a person could use the API. But I have not been doing that myself. Instead, I manually copy and paste 10 chapters at a time from the Bible Study app into Ulysses when needed. I do this for a couple reasons:

  • It’s easier to focus on my notes and highlights this way. I would have to go through the entire app to get my content out anyway (Olive Tree, like so many other companies, has not made it easy to get your data out), so I might as well include this in the migration process
  • Whether you copy and paste manually or use the API, there’s going to be some massaging of the content required

But since there were a few people curious about this, there may be some value in walking through how one could use the API.

Get a client

First, a disclaimer. I am no developer so there will likely be better ways to go about this. But I am technical enough to get content via an API 😀

The first step is to decide how you’re going to interact with the API. You can certainly make cURL requests from the command line … but that’s pretty neck beardy. When I have to work with an API, I prefer to use a graphical client. A coworker recommended Postman multiple times and it’s the best option I’m aware of.

Setting things up

Once you have that, you can head over to the ESV site and create yourself an account. From there, you need to create an “app” so you can get an access token to use in your API calls.

This needs to be included in the headers of each call, so no, you can’t skip it.

From there, you can head to the ESV API docs to figure out how to build your requests. There are a lot of options available, but for this purpose, you want a very minimal return to your response. Just the text and verses. You can set build your desired query right on their API page (click in the text boxes, then use the “Try It Out” button at the bottom.

It can take some twiddling and tweaking to get this just the way you want, but here’s a sample query of how I would use it:

https://api.esv.org/v3/passage/text/?q=ps1-10&include-passage-references=false&include-verse-numbers=true&include-footnotes=false&include-footnote-body=false&include-short-copyright=false&include-copyright=false&include-passage-horizontal-lines=false&include-heading-horizontal-lines=false&include-headings=true&include-selahs=true&indent-paragraphs=0&indent-poetry=false&indent-declares=0&indent-psalm-doxology=0&line-length=50

This is where Postman makes things pretty easy. You can simply copy and paste this URL into the GET request field at the top of the app.

Be sure to also include your authorization token in the Headers tab. It took me a bit to figure out how the ESV API wanted this to be formatted, but do not use the default options Postman provides. I set their authentication Type to No Authentication, then manually entered in the correct values in the headers.

Clean up

Once you have tested this a few times and you get the content that you want, you can run a query and then copy & paste the results into Ulysses. And this is where some clean up will be required.

If you have development chops, you could probably script up some solution for formatting the text as you want it (Regex, anyone?). The API does things like add square brackets to each verse number, so Ulysses treats them as links (see above). So it can take some time to get the content as you personally prefer it.

But at the very least, you can get what you need from the API. I hope that helps anyone who was considering this option!

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<![CDATA[ GitHub is Microsoft’s $7.5 billion undo button ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/ms-undo/ 5eb59898194fbf0039ca7c15 Wed, 27 Jun 2018 05:45:00 -0700 On the topic of tech companies with money to spend, Microsoft’s purchase of GitHub was interesting! Paul Ford had some things to say about this.

GitHub rode the wave of git adoption to become the central repository for decentralized code archives. As a result, 27 million users maintain 80 million projects on it—some private and closed off, some open sourced, many abandoned after a weekend of inspiration. That’s a significant portion of the software in the world.

The article is a bit of an explanation for business folks who may not understand Git and GitHub itself. But, as with most of his writing, Paul adds a lot of humour and wit.

Towards the end, he touches on an interesting idea:

I had idle fantasies about what the world of technology would look like if, instead of files, we were all sharing repositories and managing our lives in git: book projects, code projects, side projects, article drafts, everything. It’s just so damned … safe. I come home, work on something, push the changes back to the master repository, and download it when I get to work. If I needed to collaborate with other people, nothing would need to change. I’d just give them access to my repositories (repos, for short). I imagined myself handing git repos to my kids. “These are yours now. Iteratively add features to them, as I taught you.”

I love this idea. To a degree, it gets to the heart of what we’re trying to do with Conveyor. We’re still focused on developers (agencies, specifically), but making version control more of something that just works in the background so you can focus on the important things is our goal.

And wouldn’t that be nice for all the work we do?

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<![CDATA[ Ulysses for bible study ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/ulysses-for-bible-study/ 5eb59832194fbf0039ca7c07 Tue, 19 Jun 2018 07:08:00 -0700 I recently shared my system for using Ulysses for Bible study over on The Sweet Setup. It was a longer piece and one I’m happy about. Not because of my writing, but simply because Ulysses works so well for this purpose.

I had been looking for a better option for storing my notes, highlights, and related passages for some time and was quite happy when I started considering the option of using a tool that was not a Bible app.

I talk about structure, notes, tags, search and a lot more. If you take your Bible study seriously, but do not want to pay for a tool like Logos, give this a look. Maybe the tool you need is already installed on your devices!

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<![CDATA[ Don't make me think ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/do-not-make-me-think/ 5eb59867194fbf0039ca7c0f Mon, 18 Jun 2018 07:09:00 -0700 Medium’s claps and Basecamp’s boosts. These are two items that feel like the creators have gone and ignored Steve Krug’s advice from his excellent book. Both features went from a very straightforward use case to one that caused me to pause and ponder.

I talked a little about Medium’s change from hearts to claps last summer (Vol IV Issue 23 to be exact), so I’ll focus on Basecamp this time.

In its latest version, Basecamp 3, there was an option to clap for someone’s post. Like Twitter or Facebook, these claps are clearly applause, but the true purpose of giving a clap can be ambiguous. All of the following are applicable:

  • I might clap to acknowledge a thought — like I’m saying, “Hey, I read this”
  • I could clap to show support for someone who had less than ideal news
  • And, of course, I may clap because I thought someone’s work or thinking was really good (truly, applause)

Recently, the Basecamp team changed this feature so that applause is now Boosts. When giving a Boost, you can use any emoji available as well as add up to 16 characters of text. I understand some of the sentiment and thinking of the Basecamp team. But I do feel like the added complexity is not worth the benefit you get from the change.

A good example of where this applies is a weekly automatic check-in we use at Wildbit. We have a Work from Home team where we talk about remote working. One of the practices the team has grown to love most is our weekly check-in asking “How was your weekend?” This is where we get to know our teammates better and to learn about our families. In a company where we call each other a family, we all welcome these glimpses into each other's lives.

This is where the old model of simple claps could fall short. When someone shared that they were sick and stayed in bed all weekend, or when their spouses grandfather had a stroke, a clap doesn’t quite feel appropriate.

But (and it’s a big but) in that scenario, you could leave a comment. “Get better soon” or “I hope your grandpa recovers fully” are easy to communicate using one of Basecamp’s main features. The combination of claps and comments gave you the tools you needed to quickly and easily express your thoughts to the team.

Boosts were intended to fill that gap, but I (and many on our team) have found ourselves sitting and wondering which emoji makes the most sense. And 16 characters isn’t enough to communicate your full thoughts, so you still turn to comments in these kinds of situations.

And the worst aspect is that Boosts have caused some people to stop giving “applause”. Some would give a clap for all answers to “How was your weekend?” to indicate their enjoyment of seeing everyone’s updates. Now, they’re not sure of the best response and, in the face of too many choices, they make none at all.

Claps were a very straightforward, easy to understand option that was easy to use. Boosts add friction. Enough so that the having to stop and think has caused the opposite effect that the Basecamp team was hoping for. Sometimes, design decisions that seem clever add complexity.

And no one needs that in their tools.

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<![CDATA[ Should you let your kids play Fortnite? Well… ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/kids-and-fortnite/ 5eb59802194fbf0039ca7c01 Wed, 13 Jun 2018 12:12:00 -0700 On this theme, if you have kids older than 5, then you’ve most likely had requests to get Fortnite. It’s the current rage right now and as someone who spent many nights playing 4-on-4 battles of Goldeneye, I understand the allure.

We’ve taken a stand against this kind of gaming in our home for now, but it’s something all parents have to think about. This article does a good job of discussing the pros and cons.

It also touches on aspects of gaming that my parents never had to worry about. It’s no longer just the kids and the console and the game: there’s the entire online aspect. Both playing against strangers, as well as watching strangers play the games via YouTube and other sources. People can build massive followings just playing games and recording their sessions for others to watch … it still feels weird to type that.

But it's a thing.

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<![CDATA[ Why The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is my game of the year ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/why-botw-is-so-good/ 5eb597c9194fbf0039ca7bfb Wed, 13 Jun 2018 11:55:00 -0700 I shared a couple of weeks back about gaming in our home. Part of that essay was focused on how much I (and my kids) are enjoying Breath of the Wild. This article from late 2017 does such a nice job of summing up why it’s such an enjoyable game.

The vast majority of open-world games are actually very linear in terms of their core progression, with a series of primary story beats that have to be played through in order. Prior Zelda games were much the same, with a rote approach to acquiring items to solve dungeons to move onto the next. Not so with Breath of the Wild; in fact, most of its story is entirely optional. There’s so much to do in the world, and so much of it is delightful, that it’s easy to forget about saving the world from Ganon and get wrapped up in your own adventure. But you’ll always know how to get back on track, and the holistic design means that what you’ve been doing will rarely feel irrelevant or frivolous.

I’m just passed the first divine beast (maybe a quarter of the way through the game) and I’m in no hurry to finish (I only play a couple of hours each week). It’s the kind of game that encourages exploration and I prefer to savour the experience rather than rush to complete it.

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<![CDATA[ Kottke: On Margins ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/kottke-on-margins/ 5eb59680194fbf0039ca7bda Fri, 25 May 2018 07:00:00 -0700 Related to the recent theme of running your own website, Craig Mod interviews Jason Kottke on the latest episode of On Margins*. Craig’s podcast is focused on books, but he interviewed Jason on the premise that his hundreds of thousands of words published on his site over 20 years is several books worth.

A lot of the interview is only tangentially related to the theme I’ve been harping on lately. But there are some golden words spoken towards the end of the interview about running your own site, memberships, and the intimacy of email newsletters.

Craig states:

As false as it may be, the inbox is a place of implied intimacy, where you can have an even stronger voice than you can on the open web. I know for me, writing stuff to my mailing list is probably the most satisfying thing I do online, to be honest. The responses I get are unlike responses you can get anywhere else on the web, I've found. You're not going to get a 3,000 word comment from the heart posting on a news site or something like that.

And Jason follows up:

Right, not anymore. But blogs used to be that way, a little bit. One of the ways I've always thought about blogs is like you're writing an email to anyone who might be interested, rather than a single person. I think that blogs very much used to be like that. It was, we are all writing these open emails to each other and anyone who wanted to respond at length could.

Craig closes the show describing his feeling for a site that he has been following for over a decade (kottke.org):

You go to this familiar place that keeps evolving over time, but everything is connected through the strength of your voice and your ethos and your curiosity. I think that's a very important, amazing thing to have in the world today. Thank you for doing that.

That’s a big part of why we do this kind of thing.

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<![CDATA[ The new rules of marathon nutrition ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/marathon-nutrition/ 5eb597a3194fbf0039ca7bf3 Fri, 25 May 2018 06:01:00 -0700 Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve bonked on my longer runs. This often happens to me in a minor way around 14–15 KMs. But during my long run last week, it happened at 5 KM in. I finished just under 27 KM, but it was a thoroughly unenjoyable run and very slow.

So it got me wondering about my nutrition. And reading. The link above has been helpful for getting a better understanding of how to approach this goal. And I thought I would share a few others:

Now, like most things related to health, we need to be cautious. Take the advice you see in articles like this with a grain of salt. You only have to read a few to realize you can get very contradictory advice from one article to the next. It seems that scientists and athletes alike have very differing opinions on how to approach your diet when training for long distances.

What I’ve found for me is this: what I eat all week affects my one long run each week. Previously I had focused more on a plan for eating the day before and day of my race. But I hadn’t given a lot of thought to how I’m eating 2 months out. And as my overall weekly distance increases (60+ KM last week), I believe I’ve been getting too low on glycogen.

So yay, more carbs are on the way 😀

If any of you have experience in this area and some good resources to share, I’d would love to hear it!

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<![CDATA[ Alan Jacobs: a Christian intellectual for the internet age ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/ayjay/ 5eb59625194fbf0039ca7bcd Wed, 16 May 2018 17:34:00 -0700 I recently shared a list of personal blogs that I enjoy. But I neglected to add Alan Jacobs to the list. Perhaps it’s because he maintains several blogs, some regularly, others less so.

But his primary personal blog is one I subscribe to, and it’s almost like a digital commonplace book. I first mentioned Alan in this space because of Habits of Mind in an Age of Distraction. Since then, I’ve enjoyed his site and several other longer essays on other sites. The one at the top included, which is a profile of Jacobs by David J. Michael. If you’re not familiar with Jacobs’ work, this is a good place to start.

I appreciate Alan Jacobs for his writing on theological matters, but also because he’s a man of faith willing to take on the subject of technology. Indeed, he embraced the internet from early on, as mentioned in this piece:

Jacobs began thinking more seriously about technology in the late 1990s, when he taught himself to code. At that time the internet was emerging as a vibrant place for intellectual conversation, and he became an early and active participant

But even more so, Jacobs, a veracious writer on many topics, saw changes in himself brought on by changes in technology. And he’s not been afraid to tackle that subject either:

By the end of that decade, Jacobs noticed he was losing his ability to focus on books for extended periods of time. Worried that it might never return, he made strenuous efforts to reclaim his attention and made adjustments to his online habits. He also started to work out ideas around concentration, reading and technology on a new technology blog called Text Patterns. He collected these ideas in Reading in the Age of Distraction, which argued for the value of “whim” in reading and made recommendations for preserving the pleasure of reading amid the noise of the internet.

Another related piece by Alan himself is Tending the Digital Commons: A Small Ethics toward the Future. Cal Newport has referred to this article a few times in recent months and for a good reason. In it, Jacobs outlines a few issues with the current state of the internet and the “walled gardens” of Facebook, Twitter, Google, and the like. And (this is where I finally get around to relating this to last week’s issue) he makes a case for running one’s own website:

For the last few years we’ve been hearing a good many people (most of them computer programmers) say that every child should learn to code. As I write these words, I learn that Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, has echoed that counsel. Learning to code is a nice thing, I suppose, but should be far, far down on our list of priorities for the young. Coding is a problem-solving skill, and few of the problems that beset young people today, or are likely to in the future, can be solved by writing scripts or programs for computers to execute. I suggest a less ambitious enterprise with broader applications, and I’ll begin by listing the primary elements of that enterprise. I think every young person who regularly uses a computer should learn the following…

He goes on to list several skills that all relate to running your own site. Buying a domain name, choosing a good web host, and writing some HTML & CSS. It’s a long piece, but he sums it up well.

I am, in short, endorsing here the goals of the Domain of One’s Own movement.

I haven’t even mentioned the books that he has written, two of which are very high on my to-read list. If you’re looking for a new site to subscribe to, I suggest Alan Jacobs is a worthy addition!

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<![CDATA[ On gaming & the Breath of the Wild ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/gaming/ 5eb5965d194fbf0039ca7bd3 Sun, 06 May 2018 17:45:00 -0700 I’ll be straight up: I’m not much of a gamer. Up until very recently, we did not have a console in our home and it was something I did not miss. But it wasn’t always this way.

I grew up when video games weren’t much of a thing. I have a foggy memory of a friend getting an Atari in the late 70s (yeah, I’m that old), but video games in the home weren’t common. I grew up playing most video games in a smoke-filled arcade, digging quarters out of my dad’s back pocket while he chased the high score in 1942 bomber. My sister and I would always go through our allotment of quarters in the first 10–15 minutes, but since dad was good at his favourite game, he’d still be playing his first or second quarter when we ran out. The arcade owner was a friendly guy who’d give us free licorice when we got bored of waiting for dad to finally finish. Those Saturday mornings were good memories.

Finally, around the mid-80’s, the NES became the hot item and my friends and I would pool our allowance and paper route money to rent a console and try to beat Super Mario Bros in a weekend. A little later, it was the Sega Genesis and NHL hockey. I spent a lot of time leading the Canucks to the Stanley Cup in full season mode.

As a young adult, I stopped gaming for a number of years. It seemed I always had more interesting things to do and I was bored of NHL hockey. That was until the first Playstation came out. I’d consider that the pinnacle of my gaming experience. I spent a lot of hours in my early twenties playing Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy, Gran Turismo, and a lot of Madden football (I switched favourite sports in the early 90s). And my core group of friends would get together for a lot of nights of GoldenEye (still one of the best group games I’ve experienced).

When I was a child…

I share all this because games were a part of my walk with Christ. It was during this period in my early twenties that my first marriage fell apart. And as we had two children, I suddenly felt the need to evaluate where I was in life and what had led me there. And while marriage involves two people, God showed me the part I played in failing my wife and children. Selfishness was the root issue.

And video games were a core part of where I invested my energies. So I quote the apostle Paul in the heading above because I realized that games and movies and the pursuit of entertainment were how I focused on pleasing myself above all other things.

This is not a judgement: I’m not against video games. As with many things, it’s the dose that causes problems, not the substance itself.

But for me, I decided this was a part of my self-focused childhood that needed to be left behind. As God led me to himself, as he slowly transformed my heart to enjoy the taste of heavenly things, I began to leave behind some of things that used to take my time and energy. And games was one I dropped completely.

Starting over

That was some 20 years ago. But here I am with a new family, including 4 children between 14 and 8 years old. As they go to school and spend time with other children, gaming is a subject that had become much more prevalent over the past 3–4 years.

Parents in 2018 have a lot of choices to make regarding screens and their children. How much is too much? What should they be able to watch, play, consume? How do we track it? Stay involved? These are very common questions.

My wife and I prayerfully consider these questions constantly (for ourselves as well). Slowly, we let gaming into our home a little at a time. We purchased some games for the Mac App Store. Then a couple for the Apple TV. Finally, we picked up a used Wii last summer. The kids enjoyed them all, but as is the way of these things, there was always something better out there. When your console is two generations behind, you’re the odd kid out (although not quite as weird as the kids who don’t have any at all).

Finally, we got a Nintendo Switch this past spring for one son’s birthday. I’m not ready to let my twelve-year-old play Call of Duty. And likely never will be. But I do believe there are some quality games available that can be a shared experience.

For our family, that is playing Nintendo games. We have a lot of fun playing Mario Kart as a family (we’ll have tournaments occasionally). And my boys and I are all greatly enjoying Zelda: Breath of the Wild. We can’t play it together, but we sure enjoy sharing where we’ve explored during screen time.

Look for the positives

As many of us face these hard decisions, I thought I would share what led me to the decision to where we are today.

First, I wanted to join my children in what they’re doing. I’m not the best when it comes to dropping everything and saying yes when my children ask me to play. I’m getting better, but that’s likely because play has morphed into playing basketball more than make-believe. At any rate, if my kids were going to seeking out games, I’d rather be involved and aware of what they’re doing instead of them trying to fulfill that desire at any one of their friend’s house.

And we’ve found just that with Nintendo. If a case can be made that video games can be “good for us”, then I think Nintendo is making those kinds of games. There’s a focus in their games that goes beyond mere violence. Most of us are familiar with the various options of the Mario universe and I can say I don’t feel bad about my kids playing them. Or playing them myself.

But I’d like to take a moment to sing the praises of Breath of the Wild. For some reason, I never tried any of the Zelda games over the years. But the latest version for the Switch is one of the best games I’ve ever played.

The content is clean and friendly for all the ages in our home (yes, you fight monsters — but it feels very cartoonish and non-threatening). The landscapes are lush and graphically stunning. The mechanics of the gameplay just feels good. But what has impressed me the most is that there’s so much to this game: it’s a large world that encourages exploration.

It reminds me a little of the Final Fantasy games of my younger years. Large worlds, goals to accomplish, weapons to find, spells to learn. But Breath of the Wild is much more enjoyable because I’m not just pointing characters around and making text-based decisions. Instead, I climb trees and mountains, swim in the rivers, and fight the bad guys by hand. And that’s not all: you spend your time hunting and foraging, then cooking meals and elixirs. You have to think about supplies and starting fires and having appropriate clothing.

All in all, I believe this game is more wholesome than a lot of options and it has a touch of realism to it. There have been a number of conversations where my wife has had to take a few moments to realize the topic was a video game.

My Concerns

Back to the larger topic, I do have some concerns about games in general.

One is the false sense of accomplishment that games give you. Zelda does this very well. You have your main quests, but also a lengthy list of side quests you can tackle. It’s very goal oriented and each time you sit down to play, there is a sense of satisfaction at completing a portion of the game when you’re finished.

I want my children to understand that this is a false illusion. You have accomplished nothing beyond entertaining yourself. In a culture where entertaining oneself is a primary form of idolatry, I want to be very careful with the example I set and how we communicate about it to our children. Entertainment is serving yourself. Which is fine and good, but in a proportionate amount compared to how we spend our time overall.

The second concern is the sheer amount of time. I was surprised the first couple of times I played Zelda (again, it has been some 15 years since I last experienced this type of game) by how time flew by. I’d say to myself, “I’ll just finish this shrine trial” and then be shocked that 45 minutes has gone by. We’ve only had this game for 5 weeks, but I’ve probably played around 10–15 hours of it so far.

We all have to decide how much is too much. But it is something to be evaluating regularly.


As with everything, we try our best to find balance as parents. Both for ourselves and for our children. For now, we’re really enjoying playing and talking about this game. Tomorrow? We’ll see.

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<![CDATA[ The value of owning your own domain ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/personal-websites/ 5eb595fd194fbf0039ca7bc6 Thu, 03 May 2018 07:03:00 -0700 We all have those people we follow online that we admire. The people who get us excited when their site pops up in our RSS feed reader, or when they share a link to their site on Twitter. For me, Craig Mod is at the top of that list.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about people making their own home on the web. Not on places like Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. You can achieve success there, but it never feels to me like I’m getting a fuller picture of the person behind the persona. However, with a personal website, one complete with writing, examples of someone’s work, and a healthy dash of personality, you get a more complete sense of the author’s humanity.

In a podcast I refer to below, Craig had this to say (slightly paraphrashed):

I've looked at all the stuff I've worked on, and the thing that has, if you want to make it really evidence based… the things that I have worked on that have had the most interesting returns … have come from writing.

And that's really it. Writing and then sharing your words with others has value that can be hard to measure in the short term. But if you zoom out and look at the long view, maybe with someone who has been owning their own domain and publishing there for over a decade, you can start to point to the value of running your own site. I've shared my own journey before, but Craig Mod is a person who might exemplify this value in the most obvious

Last week I shared a handful of posts on using pen and paper. This week, I’ve got a handful of links to share that all involve Craig Mod. If you’re not familiar with his work, I think you’ll appreciate his writing style as well as the topics he tends to write about. He spends a lot of time writing long form essays on photography, books, and publishing. But in the past couple of years, he’s shifted a lot towards technology and its effects on how we live.

All topics we care about in this space. I hope you enjoy!

Conjuring Creative Permission from Our Tools

Published a year ago, I finally finished this piece early in 2018. As usual, it’s a piece written well enough that I read it through despite it involving a lot of discussion about cameras and photography. Topics that don’t usually capture my attention. But, it’s Craig Mod.

But the root of the article is a focus on how our tools enable us to create.

Many of us, to varying degrees, fetishize certain objects as having magical powers that enable, most often, creative processes. This is not to say that the right notebook or camera or sewing machine produces brilliance — of course not. But the right tool in the right hand might be the very thing that whispers to that artist. “Hey, what about this?” A dollop of permission.

Craig talking about cameras is a thing. He does it often enough and it’s clearly a passion. Enough that I’ll read about it, even not being interested in the topic.

A Walk in Japan, an Art Observatory, Therapy in Server Work

Pilgrim Laundry, Rebel Girls, Sacred Mirrors

Long time readers know of my love for a good email newsletter. Craig’s Roden Explorers is one of the best. The last two issues have both been enjoyable, specifically when he touches on his recent 3 day meditation retreat and his Kumano Kodo walk.

As I finish this up, I’m on a new train, a post-vipassana train, hurtling past Mount Fuji towards Shin-Osaka. Those three vipassana days were hard. Make no mistake — these vipassana course are not “fun.” They’re trying. And the first three days are definitely the worst, the hardest, the most exhausting. So a three days course is kind of like asking for all the bad and very little good. It was a great refresher though, and I’m looking forward to seeing how much I can carry with me onto the Kumano Kodo.

If you enjoy a good newsletter like I do, give this one a try. They’re normally quite infrequent (the last two were close together), perhaps one every 2 months. But they are worth the wait!

Longform Podcast

In one of the two Roden Explorer emails above, Craig mentioned being a guest on the Longform podcast. I’m glad he did as it was a very enjoyable listen.

I mentioned above that I enjoy Craig’s writing enough that I’ll read his thoughts on topics that usually do not interest me. But I’ve noticed a gradual shift in his content.

His early essays were often focused on photography and books. But of late, he seems to have shifted slightly to focusing on how technology is affecting the way we live. Topics you hear a lot about here, like attention, distraction, and the like.

In this episode, he said a lot of good things. But this jumped out at me:

You pick up an iPad, you pick up an iPhone—what are you picking up? You’re picking up a chemical-driven casino that just plays on your most base desires for vanity and ego and our obsession with watching train wrecks happen.

You’ll hear similar sentiments in his essay How I Got My Attention Back, as well as in his guest appearance on Hurry Slowly. It’s great to have a writer and thinker like Craig giving this subject attention.

Creatiplicity Episode 16

Speaking of podcasts that feature Craig as a guest, I wanted to share one more. Back in the day, when I was still running my own business, Shawn Blanc and I started a podcast with a not-so-great name. It was a lot of fun, although it was not a form a media I was any good at.

Listening to Craig on the Longform podcast got me thinking about the episode where Shawn and I interviewed him for Creatiplicy. Surprise, we talked a lot about books, how they were changing with the arrival of the iPad and iPhone, and about focus and attention. That episode aired in September of 2011.

Eight years ago.

I’m still talking about the same things. And I’m still struggling with how to best manage my attention. But it was fun to listen to an old conversation with a good friend and someone I admire. If you can get past my boring monotone, you might enjoy it as well.

Personal Sites

Back to my thoughts above about making a home for yourself on the web, I’ve been thinking about my own “home”. It’s been 18 months or so since the last refresh, which is usually when I start to get the itch. There’s always a desires to play with type and create a new aesthetic. But there’s also a desire to clean up.

Running a personal site for 10+ years means there’s always some artifacts that clutter the place up (not necessarily for the visitor, but for the person running the site). Anyway, whenever I get the urge to change things up, I review the other sites that I am currently enjoying. And when a person takes the time to create their own little corner of the Internet, I like to share.

Here’s a few sites I’ve enjoyed visiting over the past year.

Do you have any favourite web destinations that are run by one human? I’d love to hear of them!

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<![CDATA[ In praise of paper ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/in-praise-of-paper/ 5eb595c9194fbf0039ca7bbf Tue, 24 Apr 2018 06:27:00 -0700 I’ve got a backlog of things I’ve read that related to paper, notebooks, journaling and the like. This week felt like the right time to share a few with you.

How to Save the Day, Repeatedly, with a Notebook

Michael A. LaPlante makes the case for writing things down in order for them to be of use to you later. Well, he lists two benefits, the other being to capture your creative ideas. In a sense, this is journaling as many people see it. And I’d certainly recommend it as a valuable use of time for anyone.

I’ve shared a similar habit for myself when it comes to my job. A part of my journaling habit is to write one entry per day that summarizes what I’ve done. That has been very helpful to review why some decisions were made, or to recall what I did on a specific day.

A new (to me) concept for keeping a notebook

In a related theme, Shaunta Grimes shares how the concept of a commonplace book made using notebooks click for her. It was basically how she has used a notebook for so long, but without her being aware of such a thing. In her case, this usage fits well for paper notebooks.

In her post, she’s very clear on what this is not:

I’m not talking about a journal. I’ve never been great at journaling. This isn’t a reflective thing. Just a notebook for writing down my ideas or other people’s thoughts or what other people have to teach me.

Instead it’s a notebook:

…that I carry around with me and write lists, bits of eavesdropped conversation, notes from a meeting, recipes, reminders, quotes, ideas for projects.

Over time, you get a lot of joy building up this resource you can draw from again and again. If you’d prefer a digital tool for creating this type of resource, may I suggest using Day One? Here’s my setup (a 3 part series).

Collected Goodness

On the topic of commonplace books, Drew Coffman has been kicking some butt on this topic. He decided to take this idea and make it available to anyone. He recently created Collected Goodness, a site where he shares books, podcasts, movies, and web articles. Oh, and poetry and Scripture as well. That’s impressive on its own.

But he also takes the time to share choice excerpts from each, as well as his own thoughts. Just writing extensive notes like this is impressive, let alone setting up something where he can share it with the world.

That’s envy I’m expressing there, Drew.

How To Improve Yourself With Journaling

Last, Darius Foroux shares how journaling can make you a better person. There’s no shortage of articles on this subject. But he makes the case that we’re bad at this habit because no one ever shows us how to do it. He then proceeds to share some tips on how to become a successful journal keeper.

First, get clear on your why. For me, there’s only one reason to keep a journal: To manage myself.

Again, there’s no shortage of this type of article in 2018. What I liked about this one is the brevity, the solid advice in 3 short tips, and the absence of nonsensical blathering.


If you frequent Medium or places like The Cramped, you'll note that this current focus on pen, paper, and other analog tools is not new. However, it does seem to be a trend that is on the rise.

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<![CDATA[ How do you think about mental health? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/mental-health/ 5eb3385dccb23f003926a6da Wed, 18 Apr 2018 16:34:00 -0700 Gosh, “mental health” is such a loaded term. Thankfully, it’s something that carries a lot less stigma today than it has for, well, ever. It’s a term our culture is becoming more comfortable talking about and accepting.

I’m not sure why we treated it differently than physical health for so long. Myself included. Like most people, if my friend had a broken leg, I would recommend he see a physician. Obviously. I would not tell him, “You just need to change your thinking.” Or to “shake it off.” Or any of the other stupid things we’ve tended to say to people who were struggling to cope with certain aspects of their lives and how they thought and felt.

Thank God.

Close to home

Full disclosure: I am no expert on any of this stuff and I have no special wisdom to impart. There’s always the risk of Instagramming things, giving an impression online that does not reflect reality. That is not my goal here: I simply want to share our experience. I explained the gist of this article to my wife, and she had some strong words about being real.

I must confess that I may have been stuck with my old mindset if things had been different in my own life. But in recent years we’ve dealt with our share of mental health issues in our home. My wife had a full-fledged panic attack one year that manifested in acute chest pains. 4–5 years later, we can look back at that moment (and the subsequent bouts of anxiety) and be thankful for healing and growth. But it was not easy to go through — and she still struggles with anxiety every day.

After a while, we realized one of our children was struggling with anxiety as well. It manifested differently: through slowly developed, increasingly complex routines for various scenarios. If you know anything about it, you stop making jokes about OCD (Obsessive-compulsive disorder). Preferring your desk to be set up a certain way is not the same thing. OCD can be severely debilitating to living life, especially for a young child.

And we have another child who suffers from separation anxiety. Thankfully, we were better equipped to help our kids because of what my wife had been through.

While you cannot solve mental health issues with a list of bullet points, I’d love to share a few things that helped us. And again, my wife leads our home in this area — and I’m so thankful for her wisdom and nurturing care.

Get help

That’s an obvious statement. But I fear that there is still a stigma about seeking help for mental or emotional issues that make it hard to admit we need help, let alone seek it out (especially for men). So the obvious needs to be stated.

Therapy is not a bad word. It’s a blessing to live in a country where qualified, capable, and caring professionals are available to help people cope with their thoughts, anxieties, and feelings. CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) can be a beautiful thing!

You wouldn’t hesitate to see your doctor if you developed chest pains. And you would see a physiotherapist regularly if it meant you could keep playing your favorite sport. So don’t be fearful of seeing a therapist for emotional or mental issues — and be quick to recommend it to your friends and family before a problem gets worse.

Last, if you have someone in your life who has a mental health issue, getting help isn’t just for them. It’s for you as well. Taking the time to learn about the illness and how to cope shows a willingness to work together with those you love. This is one are I need to improve myself.

One of the biggest challenges people face when dealing with their mental health is feeling alone in their suffering. When you take the time to educate yourself and become familiar with how people can cope (and hopefully recover), you’re showing your love in action.

I say this not because it comes naturally to me — it doesn’t. But it does for my wife, and she leads our family in this way. I’m inspired by how she ensures she knows as much as possible about an issue our children face. Without her, I’d be ill-equipped to help my children in any way.

Talk about it

Related to the last point, talking about mental health is vital. When you’re willing to talk about your issues, you’ll quickly discover other people in your life will be struggling with the same types of things. But when you’re sick, it is so easy to feel as if you’re the only person on the planet who is going through whatever you’re facing. And that you’re the only one who can’t “get it together”.

The more open we are, the more we normalize the reality that we all struggle with our thoughts and feelings. That's the biggest reason I wanted to write about this, even at the risk of giving a false impression.

Don’t over-spiritualize

For those of us who claim a faith of any type, be sure that you’re not minimizing someone else’s struggles. It’s easy to make things worse.

Of course, a healthy spiritual life can help us deal struggles of all types. But that cannot be forced by one human onto another. Be loving, but encourage your loved ones to seek help from professionals rather than handing out your own advice.

Ask yourself some pointed questions

Last, make sure you’re taking the time to ask yourself hard questions. Do these make you uncomfortable?

  • Why do we think about injuries to our mind differently than we think about injuries to our body?
  • Why do we have compassion for someone who struggles with chronic back pain, but feel like someone who struggles with alcohol addiction just needs to “get it together”?

They should.


In this matter, being a good spouse, parent, child, friend, or neighbour looks the same as a lot of things. Listen well. Be available. Love in action.

Again, I’m not an expert in this stuff. But our home is like any other — we have struggles to get through. And the ones we’re experiencing have taught me a lot about how to think about mental health.

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<![CDATA[ Beyond #DeleteFacebook: more thoughts on embracing the social internet over social media ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/beyond-delete-facebook/ 5eb33824ccb23f003926a6d4 Wed, 18 Apr 2018 06:02:00 -0700 You’ve likely seen this article already, but it’s worth revisiting a few times. I enjoyed Cal Newport’s comparison of the social internet and social media, but this specific post hit home more for me.

Not only does he offer some practical ways to embrace the social internet, but one of those tips is dear to me: own your own domain. He sums it up well:

I can tell you from experience that this approach is harder than simply setting up a Twitter handle and letting the clever hashtags fly, but it’s immensely more satisfying to produce things when you’re not a data point in some Silicon Valley revenue report.

And:

When you run your own site, reality is harsher. If people don’t truly care about what you have to say, or don’t truly care about you, they’re not going to stick around. You have to earn their attention. Which can be really, really hard.

Add to that, he quotes Alan Jacobs a couple of times. Alan is quickly becoming one of my favourite writers and happens to own his own domain as well.

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<![CDATA[ God’s sovereign plans behind your most unproductive days ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/purpose-of-productivity/ 5eb337a3ccb23f003926a6c8 Tue, 27 Mar 2018 16:45:00 -0700 John Piper pens a good reminder for us regarding our task lists, our “systems”, and what they mean in the big picture.

By all means, make your list of to-dos for the day. By all means, get as good at that as you can get. Prioritize the list. Get first things first. Make your plan. Do the very best you can. Go ahead and read a book about it.
Then walk in the peace and freedom that, when it shatters on the rocks of reality, which it will most days, remember, you’re not being measured by God by how much you get done. You’re being measured by whether you trust the goodness and the wisdom and the sovereignty of God to work this new mess of inefficiency for his glory and the good of everyone involved, even when you can’t see how.

Somehow, this relates to my recent thoughts above regarding hyper-scheduling. My system should serve me, not the other way around. It has to enable me to do good works. When I start to feel a slave to the routine, then I know it’s time for a break and a reset.

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<![CDATA[ CJ thinks I’m wrong ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/cj-thinks-wrong/ 5eb337d5ccb23f003926a6ce Tue, 27 Mar 2018 05:56:00 -0700 CJ Chilvers posted a short blurb in response to a recent article I wrote for The Sweet Setup, Getting More From Your Calendar. His main point is that I suffer from a common misconception about scheduling:

I hear this sentiment a lot, but I think this is the wrong way to approach scheduling (and, sorry David Sparks, I just hate the term hyper-scheduling). If your week is full of work blocks in your calendar, then it’s up to you to add blocks for play. In fact, if I don’t schedule fun things in my life, they never happen. Blank spaces on my calendar tend to make me revert to the couch, or worse, the couch + Twitter.
Schedule date nights, field trips with your kids, vacations, meditation time, photography hikes, real rest, or whatever defines play for you. Make them repeating entries so you don’t have to think about scheduling them in the future. These appointments are more important than work and should be treated at least as seriously on your calendar.

I have a couple of thoughts on this. First, we’re both right. His approach works for him, but not for me. Different personalities will approach their calendars in different ways. This rigid approach where all the slots are filled does lead me to a feeling of burnout after some time. Recurring calendar entries become like recurring tasks: something to ignore, eventually. I plan the things that are most important in my week on the calendar, but relish the freedom of leaving empty spots to fill as I see fit in the moment.

I do not have to schedule fun things: just the opposite. I have to schedule the hard work, the things that need focus. I naturally seek out the fun things.

Second, he’s actually not talking about scheduling. I thought he was at first, but once he mentions recurring calendar entries, I realized what he’s describing is more of a weekly routine. A rhythm to his days. It’s a lot like what Matt Perman advocates in What’s Best Next (he gets into this idea here, but fleshes it out more fully in his book)

Last, I should have prefaced my thoughts on The Sweet Setup with the comment that this hyper-scheduling will be the wrong approach for some people. But it will work fine for others.

Anyway, a conversation of this sort is what makes blogging great.

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<![CDATA[ A few notes on daily blogging ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/daily-blogging/ 5eac83361c15f80039eebd47 Fri, 23 Mar 2018 05:15:00 -0700 Austin Kleon posted this last year and it’s worth revisiting. He shared what led him back to writing more regularly, then the results. It was a success and he lists multiple reasons why. This one resonates with me:

I had forgotten how wonderful blogging is as a mode of thinking. Blogging is, for me, more about discovering what I have to say, and tweeting more about having a thought, then saying it the right way. It’s also great to be able to go as long or as short as you want to go.

This kind of post gets me excited about still running my own site.

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<![CDATA[ How I journal ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/how-i-journal/ 5eb3374eccb23f003926a6be Tue, 20 Mar 2018 05:17:00 -0700 After last week’s focus on using pen & paper alongside digital tools, I had a few people ask me questions about how I journal. Rather than repeat myself over several emails, I thought I’d answer those here.

Vikas Navani asks,

I would love to know more about your Journaling process. Do you journal in a notebook? Is it everyday? What time during the day do you journal? What’s the format of your journaling?

And my friend and co-worker Rian asks,

Do you use a template?

There have been other people asking questions, but they mostly fall under the categories listed in the questions here.

First of all, I do all my journalling in Day One. I love my pen and paper, but I do not love the activity of writing by hand. My notebook usage tends to be purposeful layouts (i.e. my habit tracker), regular templates (i.e. my weekly plan), and quickly scribbled lists. I enjoy tracking things on paper, but not writing.

So journalling happens in Day One.

Do I journal every day? Yes, and no. Yes, something goes into Day One every day. But no, I do not sit down and record the thoughts or events of each and every day. My perception that when most people think of journalling, they think of a diary type of resource where the activity is recording your feelings, thoughts, events of life, and plans for the future. I only use my journal in this way occasionally.

How I use Day One is evident in the five journals I have included there (you can have more than one). They are:

Bible Study: this is where I track my devotional time each day. I’ll note what passages I read, the things I prayed for, plus paste in a verse(s) that I was meditating on and my thoughts on it. This one does get filled in almost every single day and is even an item I include in my habit tracker

Personal: This is the type of journal I refer to above, the common way of thinking of journalling. Here I include my thoughts on life, plans I’m considering, pictures of our kids and records of the memorable events in their lives, my weekly reviews, and completed home maintenance tasks.

Reading: Day One is also a commonplace book for me as well as a place to track my thoughts and feelings. I’ve written about this for The Sweet Setup, but in short I have various IFTTT recipes that grab information from other sources and add entries to Day One.

Quotes are nicely formatted and point to the original source

A good example is my highlights from Instapaper: when I highlight a passage in an article there, it gets automatically saved as a new entry in my reading journal. When I sit down to write an issue of this newsletter, I review that journal to find a quote of the week.

Reports: This one is something I’m considering of removing. I have more IFTTT recipes that grab entries from RescueTime and Strava and add them as an entry in this journal. But I do not find myself valuing these entries and am considering deleting this entirely. Or focusing on my runs and removing the rest.

Wildbit: Last, I track my work activities here. This is one journal that is regular: I have a daily recurring task called Complete Shutdown Routine. A big part of that is recording what I accomplished through the day. I don’t get to it every single workday, but it’s pretty consistent.

These entries are not long — just one or two lines to summarize the day, then a bulleted list of what I did. Occasionally, I’ll add thoughts on why I did something so I can later recall the thinking that led to a decision.

Usage

Again, my entries for the Personal journal are irregular and I do not use templates. In this area, I journal spontaneously when the notion strikes. However, it is something I would prefer to do more regularly. And so it’s also one of the items I include on my monthly habit tracker.

But the Bible Study and Wildbit journals receive regular entries. The Reading and Runs journals receive updates automatically when I have time to read or run (or when I’m not dealing with an injury). So there is some automation, some entries are almost exclusively added on macOS (Wildbit entries), and some almost exclusively on iOS (Bible Study).

However, reviewing and reading entries happens almost completely on iOS. I have a couple of recurring tasks to review certain things in Day One quarterly. And one of my favourite aspects of Day One is “On this day”. Once per day, the iOS version of the app shows a banner that takes me to all the entries that were created on a specific day.

One last thought. Rian asked about templates, and I mentioned I do not use them. However, my notebook and weekly plan are a similar use case. Every week I list out one piece of Scripture to focus on, my goals, but also my wins, lessons learned, and things I’m thankful for over the previous week. Once completed, I snap a picture of this page and add it to an entry in my Personal journal.

That is a bit of the more traditional journaling people think of. Just in a different format. And that’s what is great about the habit — we have a lot of amazing tools that give us flexibility.

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<![CDATA[ Build the life you want with a hybrid system ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/a-hybrid-system/ 5eac830e1c15f80039eebd3f Mon, 12 Mar 2018 14:00:00 -0700 Cheesy title, yes. But it describes how I’ve developed my use of various digital and analog tools over the past several years to live in a way that fits my beliefs and brings satisfaction. Is there room to improve? Of course — there’s always room to improve. But my combination of habits and tools is feeling settled and peaceful.

And as many people seem interested in these topics, I wanted to share my overall system.

Why paper and digital tools?

Simple. Both have advantages.

Digital tools are backed up, available on all your devices, and easily searchable. Paper tools enable clarity and add a sense of calm and slowness to your day. You can throw all kinds of things into your digital tools: images, links, text, files, and more. Paper tools give you the flexibility to use them in whatever way suits you best (at least, ones with blank pages).

Paper offers benefits to mental health

There is no reason to limit yourself to one or the other. In 2018, there are even several options that allow you to automate the process of getting your thoughts on paper into digital form. But that is not necessary: your use of digital and paper tools can complement each other and coincide.

Let me share how I do just that.

My system

My setup starts at the yearly level. I don’t have any 5, 10, or 50-year plans. I just take time each December to review my year past and plan for the year ahead. If I do well at that, I figure I’ll be in a good place at the end of the journey: however many years down that road that is.

So I plan each year with several high-level goals. Now, I call these goals, but many of them are truly habits. Or rather, habits are what will accomplish the goal. If you read much on this topic, you know people like James Clear are singing the praises of habits over goals. And I agree in general.

But I feel they go hand in hand. A common example is rather than having a goal of writing a book, just focus on writing 500 words every day. But while that habit is a fantastic one, on its own, it will not produce a book. Those 500 words could live in a daily journal, or 500 words could be combined into one 2,500 word blog post each month. But writing and publishing a book involves more. So while the habit should be the day to day focus, it’s also important to have a long-term goal that you revisit regularly.

And that is the heart of my system. Here’s how it works:

  • Each year I set several goals. Things like reading 12 non-fiction books. Run my first marathon. Write 35 newsletters. Be more positive in my interactions with our kids. Have 12 date nights with my wife (oh, settle down you with your 52 date nights … we have four kids and have goals for date nights with each of them. 12 dates is doing pretty good 😀).
  • The overall focus is being able to look back in December and feel that my time was spent on the things that matter most.
  • Each quarter, I list out the things that I need to do to meet those annual goals.
  • Each week I do a review (aka the weekly review) and look over the list of annual and quarterly goals. I choose 5–6 main tasks I want to complete that week. Some of those tasks are related to the goals (write 1 issue of the newsletter). But some are not (home maintenance items that are urgent for example)
  • And last, on the daily level, I track how I’m spending my time. This is not related to tools that track your actual activity on a computer or anything of that nature (although I use those as well). This is where habits come in: I have a list of 8 or so things I want to track daily. I do not necessarily need to perform each of these activities every day, but I want to track them daily to ensure I’m not going to long without each. Exercise is a good example: running seven days a week is too much. But I do need to complete 3–5 runs each week.

This entire process is set up to allow me to get into the details each day, but with a focus back on the higher level as I set up each week. And I use my paper tools for the daily items and digital tools for the long term. There’s a bit of overlap, but this is the basic gist of my system.

The tools

The tools themselves are not terribly important. Any mix of digital tools like task managers, note, and calendar applications would work for you. But I’ll list my preferences for full transparency (and because I enjoy reading about other people’s setups myself).

Ulysses is a fantastic tool for getting organizing your thinking

My primary software tools in this area are Ulysses, Day One, Things, and Fantastical. There is a bit of crossover here, and one could make a case for consolidation. But I do like each of these tools for a specific purpose:

  • Ulysses: this is where I store all permanent documentation, strategy, planning, and writing. These are the big picture documents that I refer to on a regular basis (such as my life vision document and annual goals).
  • Day One: in contrast, this app is where I store progress on things, the thoughts and feelings I may have, and longer-term thinking. That last item is similar to some stuff I’ll put in Ulysses, but there’s enough distinction to warrant it here. I put ideas for the more distant future in Day One — more concrete plans to achieve those goals and ideas go in Ulysses. And Day One is tied to time. Entries here can be easily recalled thinking of the time, season, and circumstances when the idea first came to me.
  • Things: this is where I track all the work. Where Ulysses may hold strategy, Things includes the actual steps to put the strategy into action. This is also where recurring tasks are stored.
  • Fantastical: last, this is where I get a high level visual of my week(s). When I’m planning my week and choosing my most important tasks, I prefer to use my quarterly goal and calendar (weekly view) side by side.

On the physical side, the tools truly do not matter. Not that they are insignificant, but there are so many great options available that people of all kinds of tastes can find something pleasing. Maybe a Bic and a $2 lined notepad are your jam. Or maybe a Moleskine and a fountain pen. Me? I love my Baron Fig notebooks and Muji pens.

But the important part is how you use them. What kind of consistent routines and habits do you employ with these tools?

Last, I must also give praise for the humble index card. I’ve used cards off and on over the years, but for some reason, I come back to them time and again. I like their ease of use and temporal nature. I use them when my day gets crazy, or I need to break down a larger task into an outline or smaller set of steps. And as I know the card is not going to be a permanent fixture I keep around for years, it gives me a little more freedom.

The humble index card is a nice disposal addition to a workflow

It’s common for me to have a page in my notebook with a weekly plan and an index card stuck inside with a plan for the day. I can go through 3–4 of those in a week.

What makes a hybrid system work

The first, and most important, habit that makes a hybrid system work is regular reviews. To be fair, this is what makes any productivity system work well. But it’s even more vital for this mix of paper and software tools. Because you have items in a couple of different places, it’s important to revisit them on a regular basis.

This is important in two ways. First, if you tend to jot down ideas or thoughts in a notebook (capture), some of those items need to get into your digital system at some point (processing). This is where a shutdown routine serves you well.

If you take the time every day to review what came your way and set up the next day, you’ll naturally process these kinds of items. Consistent collection and processing ensure you’re not searching through pages of notes on a Saturday afternoon searching for that one thing.

Second, I enjoy tracking my habits more on paper than in a digital tool. Again, habits are what will allow us to achieve our goals, to build the kind of life we desire. And there are apps to help with this, but I prefer paper.

Nothing beats the look of a nicely filled in grid

There’s something about filling in those boxes. Seeing consistency — and the results of that consistency feel wonderful. And taking 5–10 minutes in my day to review what I’ve done and physically mark things off brings a lot of contentment that I don’t seem to get from software tools. So this is another area where a hybrid system serves us well.

It may not be for everyone, but many people could benefit

There are some people who happily tap keyboards all day and keep everything in digital tools. But not me. And I suspect, not the majority of knowledge workers today. There’s a connection between our hands and brain that makes using paper calm and freeing. A hybrid system allows us to use that connection between body and mind, while also allowing us to disconnect from the screen and all its various sources of input and distraction.

Who doesn’t need a little more of that in 2018?


Do you use a mix of tools to organize your life? I’d love to hear about how you fine folks handle this stuff as well. Reply and share the details!

Until next time!

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<![CDATA[ How to recover when things get overwhelming ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/how-to-recover/ 5eac82dd1c15f80039eebd38 Fri, 23 Feb 2018 14:45:00 -0800 There comes a time when your tasks and responsibilities will get out of hand. Despite your best efforts and disciplined approach, you suddenly find yourself with overflowing inboxes, tasks and notes scribbled out on paper, and a sense that you're not in control. Something will be missed or forgotten. This happens to all of us.

And this is when people feel their “system” is broken and they jump ship. This can come in the form of reverting to old habits and ways of doing things. Or you start looking for a new tool, system, or framework for managing your life.

But before you take either of those steps, there are a few things I’ve done that help me regain a sense of clarity on the current state of things … and where I want to go. And with clarity comes calm.

When I find myself falling behind, it’s not because I’m lazy or undisciplined. It’s because I’ve suddenly taken on something new or a specific project or area of my life has taken priority and other things have had to be ignored for a while. Which is fine —that’s how life works. But it can start to be stressful when my inbox is in the double digits for a week at a time.

When that happens, the following are ways I recover.

Let Yourself Off the Hook

First, I recognize that the guilt or stress I’m feeling is usually artificial and self-imposed. Yes, those recurring or scheduled tasks that are piling up are important to me. But very few of them have true hard deadlines and most scheduled tasks are there because of intention, not an expectation of someone else.

So when things get crazy, the first thing I do is recognize that whatever I’m spending my time is important enough to take priority over the other tasks I had thought I might get to.

There’s a tricky balance to be found here. Systems, habits, and routines are wonderful tools, but terrible masters. I’m in control — and every so often the system needs a reboot, not me.

And so I remove the expectation. In Things, I use the Today view the most. And when that count gets too high for too many days in a row, I select all the tasks there and clear the When field.

Make a Date With Yourself

Next, I review my calendar and find a time when I can take the time to sit down and take stock of things fully. This would often happen in my weekly review on Sunday evening. But there are times when I will do this mid-week if required.

I add a spot to my calendar, usually in the early morning or after the family is all in bed. I prefer this type of planning to be done when there’s minimal activity in Slack, email, and Basecamp.

Clear the Decks

Once I’m enjoying a moment of peace and quiet and have nothing else scheduled, I like to clear the decks. Just get everything out of my head, out of my inboxes, and any notecards or scribbles in my notebook. It’s a little like the process David Allen describes in the early stages of setting up GTD.

There’s been a building sense of stress and pending disaster and we want to shake out our pockets, so to speak.

For me, this process works best with paper. I start by listing out my areas of responsibility (this also works well with the different roles in your life), then listing out all the things that come to mind that I need to address. Not necessarily do, but be aware of, planned, or scheduled. Give yourself time for this process because it takes a bit for the mind to warm up and recall all the things that have been adding to that sense of stress.

Sometimes it’s good to walk around your home as a part of this process. Likely, many of the things that cause stress are little things that you notice as you go about your busy days. That bathroom faucet that is starting to leak. The recycling that is piling up in the carport. Filling out that form for your kid’s school trip. Little things — but it’s the little things that are always pre-pended with “I should get to that” in our inner dialogue that cause the stress. And when you’re barely getting enough time to stay on top of the highest priority items, it’s the little things that pile up and drive you crazy.

So clear the decks and get it all out. When finished, you can then process the results. Cancel projects or plans where you can. Document where necessary (not everything needs to be scheduled and some things just need to be documented so you can get it out of your head). And plan or schedule the rest.

Focus Again on the Routines

Once that is all complete, the last thing to do is once again focus on routines. Your regular activities (aka habits) are what make your system work. So if you frequently find yourself feeling that your system is failing you, maybe it is. This is also a good time to review the rhythms of your days and weeks.

I think about this stuff enough (too much?) that going through the above exercises gets me to a place where I feel calm and in control once more. I don’t usually need to make large changes. It’s enough to remind myself of the importance of developing habits and make any small tweaks that may be needed.

Sometimes the right answer is to look for new tools and techniques. But most of the time, the answer is to get out of the trenches and see things from the big view. If you bring old habits to new tools, you’ll just end up in the same place.

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<![CDATA[ Is it even good to have goals? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/are-goals-good-to-have/ 5eac82b41c15f80039eebd32 Fri, 23 Feb 2018 14:43:00 -0800 I recently enjoyed a couple of good episodes of Whims That Work. In this one, hosts Drew Coffman and Joe Buhlig touch on goals and whether or not they’re a good way to approach life. So much of this episode touched on things that I discuss a lot here: goals vs. habits, notebooks, commonplace books.

As I listened during my run, so many related resources came to mind:

  • On habits and goals, no one I know of has written as consistently as James Clear. So much of what Drew mentions here about why goals make feel like he’s failed before he even starts is articulated by James here: Forget About Setting Goals. Focus on This Instead
  • As the guys talked about time blocking or using a calendar to manage your tasks, I kept thinking to myself that it’s vital to ensure your days have down time. Both time to relax, but also time where you allow yourself free to be spontaneous … to do whatever comes to mind. Or whatever you feel like doing most. The Focus Course gives proper attention to this area of life and it’s one of the core modules
  • I mention it often, but What’s Best Next is a book I don’t hear people talk about enough. As Drew and Joe talked about creating weekly routines rather than set goals, I was reminded of how well WBN addresses this. You can have the best to-do list in the world, but if you do not carve out time in your calendar for all the areas of your life, then parts of that list will just grow and grow and bring stress rather than calm.

Anyway, I do go on. Great show, great episode.

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<![CDATA[ Bible reading plans ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/bible-reading-plans/ 5eac82831c15f80039eebd2c Fri, 16 Feb 2018 06:23:00 -0800 I recently was asked about Bible reading plans that I would recommend. And while I don’t have one go-to plan that I use regularly, I did have a few resources to share. Since this is a focus for a lot of you, I thought I would summarize things and pass them on.

First off, my own habits are to switch my focus year by year. Every second year I will read through the entire Bible. Again, I don’t have a specific plan — I’ve just used one from the options available on my Bible reading app. Or I’ll grab one that was mentioned on one of the blogs from Christian ministries I frequent (Desiring God is good in their coverage of this topic around the Christmas season).

Every other year, I choose a book of the Bible and read it through 20 times in a row. I started this habit several years ago after being inspired by a post on the very topic. The depth that is achieved by this practice balances well with the breadth that is achieved by reading the Bible in its entirety again and again.

But when faced with the question, I discovered I had a few recommendations based on what I’ve seen other people using. We’re already a little over 1/12th (8%) of the way through the year, but if you’re still looking for help getting into the word, maybe one of these would be of use.

  • John Piper talks a little about Bible reading here and links to his preferred annual reading plan
  • In fact, Desiring God has had a lot of good posts on this subject over the years
  • And the Bible Project has so much good content to supplement your reading plan, I can’t recommend it enough. Check out their Explore page
  • Another ministry I enjoy is Crossway. The ESV is my translation of choice for reading and memorizing (I prefer the NET for more in-depth study), they offer beautiful Bibles, have a decent app, and they offer a lot of reading plans. Both in their app and in PDF.

Whatever gets you in the word, go with that.

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<![CDATA[ Dictatorship ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/dictatorship/ 5eac825e1c15f80039eebd27 Fri, 16 Feb 2018 06:14:00 -0800 I wrote a giddy post-Super Bowl post last year. This year, my favorite sportsball team was back in the big game, but this year they came up short. And although my sons are now, through osmosis I suppose, getting into football and spent last Sunday wailing at the TV, flipping tables, or throwing hats on the floor, I was calm about the entire affair.

Well, I was suspenseful during the game. But once the outcome was certain, I was fine with how it ended. This is partly due to the fact that my employer has headquarters in Philly and half our team, whom I love dearly, resides there. I was very happy for them to enjoy their first Super Bowl championship. And it was also due to the fact that the Eagles coaching staff, Doug Pederson specifically, called a brilliant game. You have to give them respect for their approach.

And last, with 8 Super Bowl appearances and 5 wins in the big game, I have very little to complain about as a fan. But that won’t stop me from focusing on one aspect that turned me off on Sunday.

There was one thing that had me shaking my head. The view of Malcolm Butler standing on the Patriots sideline (aka the bench) not playing a single defensive snap. If you’re not familiar, this is the same Malcolm Butler who made the Patriots as an undrafted free agent out of college in 2014. He finished that season with the game-sealing nail-in-the-coffin interception of Russel Wilson the waning moments of Super Bowl XLIX (that’s 49 for you millenials who did not learn Roman numerals in grade school). The same Malcolm Butler who became one of the top players at his position in the NFL, despite being undrafted and lacking the size and traits that are prized for NFL cornerbacks.

There are times when Belichick’s schtick feels old. Even for a hard-core long-time Pats fan like me. Only Bill knows why he chose to sit Butler for the entire game. But as a fan, seeing one of the heroes of your team be treated this way doesn’t sit well. There is always some speculation and “inside sources”, but we know so little from the outside.

Regardless, absolute authority will bring skepticism. When one person wields that power and keeps things bottled up, you open yourself up to scrutiny. To date that has worked because the Pats have so much success.

But when that success stops, there will be only so much patience for that type of leadership. Even from the fans.

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<![CDATA[ There is nothing virtual about bitcoin’s energy appetite ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/bitcoin-energy/ 5eac82361c15f80039eebd22 Fri, 16 Feb 2018 06:00:00 -0800 This is an area where I am lacking in familiarity with the subject. While I have read the headlines and watched in amazement as friends have taken the plunge to “investing” in a cryptocurrency, I have not taken the time to get a better grip on why some people are so bullish on this technology (I have several long articles on the subject in Instapaper, so bad on me). But any time I think about it, I can’t get past the environmental impact.

The total network of computers plugged into the bitcoin network consumes as much energy each day as some medium-size countries — which country depends on whose estimates you believe. And the network supporting Ethereum, the second-most valuable virtual currency, gobbles up another country’s worth of electricity each day.

It seems there are people who believe affects of bitcoin (and the like) on the environment are overblown. And there are others who plainly state the technology is worth whatever environmental cost they incur. But I cannot wrap my head around that. My thinking is that the generations of the last 100–150 years have made more than enough decisions already that have placed a low priority on environmental cost — and we need to radically shift our priorities.

Energy consumption was a concern before cryptocurrencies were the rage. Again, I need to take the time to gain a better understanding of how this technology can help in other ways. But as a means to obtaining wealth? No thanks!

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<![CDATA[ Morning routines ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/morning-routines/ 5eac7fc91c15f80039eebcfe Wed, 24 Jan 2018 06:34:00 -0800 Drew and Joe from Whims That Work discussed their morning routines on the most recent episode. I greatly enjoyed the show despite the fact that there’s a tiring amount of advice in this category right now. You can’t look at Medium without seeing articles like 15 Steps For the Perfect Morning Routine That Will Lead You to the Promised Land. Seriously.

But the topic itself is one that interests me a lot. I love to see real world examples of how talented people structure their time. After listening to the episode, several thoughts came to mind.

Different times work for different people. There’s a lot of focus on the “perfect morning” in our culture right now and as a morning person I understand the allure. But some people simply find their energy at night. The exact time is not what’s important, but what we do with the slots of uninterrupted time in our schedule.

The same is true for the activities. There’s a lot of different things you can do with this time. Drew and Joe mention quite a few: reading, writing, meditation, morning pages, and just clearing your head. Planning for the day. All are healthy and helpful for helping us remember why we do what we do. And how we should be going about doing it.

These routines change with life seasons. Joe has kids, Drew does not. I also have kids, but they’re older than Joe’s. These details have an affect on when you take the time to do the kinds of things discussed on the show. And how long you have to do them. When my kids were all under 10, evenings were an option. Now that we have teens and tweens, they’re the ones staying up in the evening and I’m hitting the hay. Different seasons of life bring different rhythms.

This episode was an enjoyable listen. But I also was surprised as I listened. As the show unfolded, there was a big piece missing. More on that below…

There’s a person missing here

Back to the episode of Whims That Work I talked about in the opening of this email. There was one thing that really surprised me as I listened to the show during a run this week. In all the things Drew and Joe mentioned, there was no mention of Christ. No prayer, no communion. Joe mentioned meditation, but the focus was on a clear mind and improving the ability to focus.

I couldn’t help but wonder why this was not mentioned.

Now, not everyone shares the same faith. I get that. And even if you call yourself a Christian, there is a lot of diversity in how you express your faith, how you spend your time, and the liturgical rhythm of your life in a local church. However, when two Christians take the time to publicly share the details of how they spend their mornings, I tend to expect to hear details about how they spend time with Christ himself.

If a Christian meditates, should it be to stretch the ability to focus? To open the mind? Or should it be to fill our minds on Christ and his word? If a disciple of Christ has two hours in the morning to do the things — the most important things — that set up the rest of our day for success, should that time be spent seeking the presence of the Almighty and hearing how he wants us to spend our time? To know his will?

I had the chance to contact Drew and Joe and ask some of these questions. And that was slightly awkward — questions like these can be offensive and so easily taken the wrong way. Digital communication leaves a lot of room for misunderstanding. Thankfully, they were very gracious and we ended up having a good conversation.

My hope was to ask the questions without sounding preachy or judgemental. The reality is twofold:

  1. I struggle with these questions myself and
  2. I’m intensely curious about how Christians in our modern culture handle this aspect of their life

Many readers here have shared how this can be a struggle. So I often wonder how can help each other — even if only online and separated by distance — as we fight against the lust of the world and even the good things of this world to enjoy Christ more fully.

In the spirit of transparency, I’ll share my own habits.

  • Although things are shifting slightly as my children get older, I still tend to be an early riser. I’m usually up around 5 AM (with a range between 4:30–6 AM)
  • As the kids get older, my time of devotions (study, prayer, meditation, reflective thinking) can sometimes happen right before bed (which is usually a range of 9–10:30 PM)
  • My time tends to be spent mostly on reading the word, short prayers, and meditating on a passage of scripture
  • Some days I focus specifically on memorizing a text, but this also usually leads to meditation on the meaning of the text
  • If I happen to be getting close to teaching a Sunday school class, the morning time may be focused on that
  • Occasionally I’ll run in the morning and devotions come later
  • Some days, the duration of these activities is short and I start on my work day early. To me, short means 15–30 minutes.
  • Sadly, my prayer life is pretty stinky. I’m far more fond of studying the word than praying … the Lord knows this. We talk about it often 😀.
  • This reality is likely due to my thinking about prayer in the wrong way and it’s something I want to improve. I’m trying by learning to pray succinctly and sincerely and by memorizing a lot of Psalms and praying those instead of my own words and thoughts
  • Most important, I want to get better at “waiting on the Lord” because prayer is bidirectional and listening is just as important (or even more so) than speaking to God. I do this listening in the word, for I believe that is where he speaks to us

Anyway, I do go on. This is all what life is about for me. So that is exactly why I both enjoyed and was intrigued by this episode of Whims That Work.

How about you?

Would you be open to sharing your own habits in this area? It would be great to get a summary of what you folks think is most important, where you succeed, and where you struggle. We live in an interesting time where brothers and sisters in Christ can connect all across the world. And we’re all part of this body.

I’d love to hear how other parts are doing. Hit me up!

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<![CDATA[ Why I schedule 3 hours Of “NOTT” — no outcome thinking time — every week ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/nott/ 5eac7fa01c15f80039eebcf9 Wed, 24 Jan 2018 06:09:00 -0800 Mitchell Harper reminds us that it’s important to schedule time to just think. Not to do, but simply to take time to ponder what we’re doing on this journey.

During my thinking time I focus on not “doing” anything. I don’t try to make progress on anything tangible. I don’t mark off goals on a ToDo list. I just sit in silence and think about things that are important or top of mind.

I’m confident that the reason we all get our best ideas in the shower is because we’re not taking time to just sit and think. A lot of smart people recognize the importance of this type of (in)activity, which seems counterintuitive at first. But here’s a couple other reminders:

  • In this list from the Fizzle team, Corbett Barr reminds us to “reconnect with our why” … and that takes time.
  • In The 2 Hour Rule, Zat Rana recommends reflective thinking. And schedules 2 hours on his calendar each week
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<![CDATA[ How to use Day One as a commonplace book ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/commonplace-book-with-dayone/ 5eac7f351c15f80039eebced Wed, 17 Jan 2018 17:01:00 -0800 I've shared my own system for remembering what I read over at The Sweet Setup. For the holiday season, I wrote a series of three posts that cover how you can put Day One to use as a digital commonplace book.

The purpose here is to put all your reading, web content, e-books, or paper books, into one place in order to review what you’ve read. It’s not a system for implementing what you read into your life. But it’s the resource you would use if you have a process for doing that type of thing.

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<![CDATA[ Better defaults ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/better-defaults/ 5eac7f681c15f80039eebcf2 Wed, 17 Jan 2018 05:34:00 -0800 Productivity in 2017: What we learned from analyzing 225 million hours of work time.

This article provided some interesting, yet not surprising, results from the RescueTime team for 2017. I love that they’re scrubbing the data they receive and combining the results. The thing I took away the most from the report was this:

Email rules our mornings, but never really leaves us alone

That’s something I’ve been working hard at the past couple of months. I’ve longed believed in the idea of batching email, but have struggled to adopt the practice. Back in late November, I signed up for Setapp and started switching my subscriptions there. One included app was Focus. And I’ve grown to love it.

It's a very simple premise in that it blocks certain websites (and comes with a pretty good default black list). But it also shuts down specific apps and has a schedule for "focus time" each day. I have it run from 8am–12pm every day (4 hours) and it blocks email and Twitter clients for me.

It's a simple thing and easy enough to just shut off the app itself. But the fact that I have chosen to have it run and have set this schedule has been enough for me to remind myself I want this change. And if you do try to shut it off, it gives a little prompt asking something akin to “Are you sure you want to do this? You set this schedule!” It’s just enough friction to keep me from making a change.

RescueTime also gives you the ability to focus, but it’s a backwards model. The default is that distracting apps and web sites are allowed and you have to start a focus session.

Focus is the opposite — it’s a set schedule for focus with the ability to take a break during the regular schedule (as recommended in Deep Work under Embrace Boredom, Don’t Take Breaks from Distractions. Instead Take Breaks From Focus). The fact that I don’t have to think about this at all is liberating.

As they say regarding productivity, create better defaults. Add friction to distracting activities. Make it easy to start the tasks that matter. Soon, habits will form.

One step for me is email. I'm not dealing with it until the afternoon each day.

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<![CDATA[ Quality after quantity ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/quantity-before-quality/ 5eac7f011c15f80039eebce7 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 07:24:00 -0800 One big takeaway for me from 2017 was the idea that when building new habits, you have to start with quantity. Focusing on quality too early will impede progress.

As I started to increase my running last year, first for a half marathon and then training for a full one, I had to focus first on the total distance. I cannot run a fast half marathon before I can merely finish one consistently. Training has helped with this insight.

Experts recommend that you be consistently running 80 KM (50 miles) per week by the time you get to race day. In order to get to that point, I need to get comfortable running 15 KM at a time. And running 15 KM 3–4 times per week. As I build up my base endurance, I’m mostly running just to get the miles in. I’m not thinking about my speed at all.

Only as I get comfortable with these distances have I started to think at all about my time for a full marathon (for the record, anything under 3:30:00 will be a win).

The same thinking can apply to writing. Before you can write a good book, you have to learn to write a good 500 words. And before you can do that, you need to write 500 words consistently, period. And you have to learn to finish a book before you can focus on writing a good book.

As we’re right in the middle of the season of best intentions, I find this is a good reminder. For any habit I want to make stick in my life, I’m focusing merely on completing the activity. Quantity over quality, until it’s habit. Only then will I focus on improving how I perform the activities.

I won’t be running a marathon in under 3 hours in 2018. But I will finish the race.

That is my current focus.

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<![CDATA[ Habits of mind in an age of distraction ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/habits-of-mind/ 5eac7ecd1c15f80039eebce1 Wed, 10 Jan 2018 07:12:00 -0800 My wife listens to a lot of shows on CBC radio (the Canadian equivalent of NPR). Over the holidays she was sharing some details from an interview Nora Young of Spark conducted with Alan Jacobs. It piqued my interest and led to me checking out Alan’s site.

And that led to this article here, one of the best pieces of writing I’ve found in recent years. The sub-heading to the article says it all:

Small steps to meet the challenge of hearing God in a technologically disruptive environment.

It’s a long read that touches on a lot of related topics. But it’s so very worth your time to give it a read, then some time to reflect on the ideas within. To give a taste, here are a few of the passages that stood out the most to me.

I am a living illustration of Technological Stockholm Syndrome: I have embraced my kidnapper. Or, to change the metaphor yet again, I have welcomed this disruptive ecosystem into my mental domicile and invited it to make a home for itself here—like those poor kids who let the Cat in the Hat in.

And the primary problem of this technological state we find ourselves in?

Our "ecosystem of interruption technologies" affects our spiritual and moral lives in every aspect. By our immersion in that ecosystem we are radically impeded from achieving a "right understanding of ourselves" and of God's disposition toward us. We will not understand ourselves as sinners, or as people made in God's image, or as people spiritually endangered by wandering far from God, or as people made to live in communion with God, or as people whom God has come to a far country in order to seek and to save, if we cannot cease for a few moments from an endless procession of stimuli that shock us out of thought.

A hearty amen to that!

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<![CDATA[ My favourite reads from 2017 ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/fave-reads-from-2017/ 5eac7e951c15f80039eebcdb Wed, 03 Jan 2018 13:34:00 -0800 As we got closer to the end of the year, I wanted to take a moment to share the articles that inspired me the most. They cover a few of my favorite topics, ones that are discussed here regularly but are worth revisiting often.

Note: these are not all written in 2017, but it is when I read them

These are some articles I've revisited multiple times. Enjoy!

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<![CDATA[ Nock Lanier ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/nock-lanier/ 5eac7e671c15f80039eebcd4 Wed, 03 Jan 2018 06:45:00 -0800 There are a few areas where I tend to keep an eye open for my next purchase. Notebooks. Pens. Bags. There are so. many. good. bags out there!

One recent item I picked up has been fantastic: the Lanier briefcase and pouch from Nock. I’ve had my eye on this for a long time and finally picked one up after my birthday this fall. It’s a high-quality item that I wanted to recommend.

If you’re not familiar with Nock, it’s the business of Brad Dowdy, formerly of Jet Pens and mastermind of the Pen Addict blog and podcast. There are two things I appreciate about Brad: he really cares about pen and paper tools and he believes in making things locally. So when you purchase a Nock product, you’re not buying a nicely designed item that is put together by low paid workers in China. Instead, you can enjoy your purchase knowing it was assembled and manufactured right in the US. And they use high quality materials.

So the Lanier itself. It’s the second item I’ve purchased from Nock (the first being the Hightower). I had my eye on it more because of the pouch than the briefcase. As a consistent user of notebooks, I’ve wanted something to carry my notebook along with the various Muji pens I use. I don’t like carrying a notebook around with a pen in hand as I’m always worried I’ll lose the pen.

The Lanier is a great solution to this as my notebook is always ready to take with me. I keep it along with a .38mm black or blue Muji, several colored Muji gel pens, my passport, business cards, my AirPods, and a small notepad all in the pouch.

Sexy briefcase

If I want to go out and leave the laptop behind, I just grab the small pouch. If I need to work from a café, I take the entire Lanier with me, laptop included, and the pouch sits nicely alongside it in my bag.

Since I’m (currently) using a smaller messenger bag with very few pockets, the Lanier gives me a nice way to organize my stuff.

Look at those pens

When I’m at a meeting or a café, I can quickly pull out the pouch itself without disturbing the stuff in my bag or digging through pockets to get what I need. So the usability, along with the nice fit & finish, make this an item I’d recommend for anyone who has this type of need.

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<![CDATA[ Waiting on the Lord ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/what-is-wrong-with-waiting/ 5ea8ade401e05a0039d14c3c Wed, 27 Dec 2017 16:45:00 -0800 Well, it’s been a year. Back in the fall of 2016, I made some big changes for my personal website and my weekly newsletter. The biggest was to more intentionally focus on helping Christians fight the good fight. What is that fight?

To master our will and hearts and minds and focus them on our reason for living. Our cause for joy. And the person for whom we have reason to celebrate this time of year (and all the year long).

My goal is to disciple Christians by encouraging depth & focus in the digital age. And to be discipled myself in like manner.

We started out this year talking about seeking God. But the truth is, sometimes we seek and do not find. At least, not right away. This leads me to the focus for the end of this year.

To Wait Upon The Lord

Waiting is so against our nature. And our culture. Seize the day!

There is a fierce battle being waged over something precious: our attention. The enemy wants nothing more than to keep our minds scattered and distracted, for us to give up on waiting. Heck, we so often never even get started on waiting.

But we must realize that truly seeking the divine presence will often require that we wait. And that is a big part of what the season of Advent is all about. It might be a repetitive message, one we hear year after year. But it bears repeating; it’s vital to our walk.

There are a lot of verses in Scripture that convey this tension where the saints of God eagerly and enduringly wait for his presence. Here are a few that come to mind.

Gen 49:18 where Jacob mentions waiting while giving his blessing to his sons. The Psalms are full of this type of language, but see 5:3, 42:5, and 130:5 specifically. Isaiah is also often mentioning this idea, the most famous being 40:31 and the most poignant is the short chapter 64. The minor prophets mention more of the same, Micah saying it best in 7:7. And Paul repeats it through his epistles.

But the two that caught my heart this past year are these. David knocks it out of the park in Psalm 62 (verses 5–7 shown here).

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

And Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, who had the most externally miserable life we see in the Bible, speaks out light and truth and unshakeable hope in the midst of lamenting. Lamentations is not a book I quote often, but as I read through it this year, 3:25–26 jumped off the pages and grabbed me by the ears.

Here was a guy who was instructed to warn his people about their ways, had to watch them ignore him (like all the prophets before him), then had to watch foreign armies conquer their city and take much of the people away. He endured famine during the siege. He was accused of being a traitor trying to defect, then thrown into a well. He spent time in prison. When he counselled those left behind in Jerusalem to stay put, they took him prisoner and headed for Egypt. Through it all, he wept for his people and what he knew was to come.

In Lamentations, we see him crying out and recounting all that has happened to him and his people. These are not the words of a joyful man.

I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long. He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones; he has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation; he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago.

But suddenly in chapter 3, he preaches a sermon. To himself. Likely to whoever would read these words. But mostly to himself.

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Those last 2 lines have been with me this fall.

Many of these saints of old waited amidst persecution. They waited even while they knew they were being punished for the nation’s sins against their covenant keeping God.

Us? We try to wait before we allow ourselves to be distracted with the newest shiny bauble or app or productivity method. More than anything, I want 2018 to be a year of waiting. Like the author of Lamentations, I want to preach this reminder to myself again and again.

If we are his, (big s) Salvation is already attained by his work. But I want wait for his salvation in various circumstances. And most of all, I want to wait for his presence.

Daily.

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<![CDATA[ BuJoPro: thoughts on adapting bullet journal to a hyper-connected world ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/bujo-pro/ 5ea8adbb01e05a0039d14c36 Wed, 27 Dec 2017 16:14:00 -0800 Ha, talk about my worlds colliding. Cal Newport covers the Bullet Journal system (aka BuJo) and suggests how it could be improved to better meet the demands of the modern day knowledge worker.

I thought it interesting that all his suggestions fit my own current usage:

  • I use weekly plans for my notebook, not the monthly log that BuJo suggests
  • My days are outlined in my calendar … not every hour of the day is there, but the major items get slotted in
  • He suggests keeping a deep work tally, which is exactly what I do with my monthly habit tracker for the things I’m working on including in my daily life
  • He also suggests augmenting the BuJo with a digital calendar and task list. That is a hybrid system that so many of us use already
  • Last, he suggests adding email to the mix. Hopefully, most of us are working with email in scheduled batch sessions and moving included tasks to our inbox of choice already (the recently released email option for Things is a nice option, although I do prefer the Things helper that allows the email to be linked to in the task itself)

Overall, it was fun to see Cal commenting on this system. And he nails why it’s so good:

First, I want to emphasize what I really like about the system. Its largely unstructured use of a blank notebook is a brilliant example of low-friction freestyle productivity. In my experience, these types of systems are much more likely to persist than those that require more involved constraints.

I agree. The Bullet Journal is a good place to start, but make it your own. Not every piece is going to fit how you work.

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<![CDATA[ Year end planning ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/year-end-planning/ 5ea8acc501e05a0039d14c15 Tue, 12 Dec 2017 05:35:00 -0800 Forget about goals. Instead, focus on habits. This is a common refrain of late. The likes of James Clear, Shawn Blanc, and Nir Eyal all make the case for habits being greater than goals.

I won’t go so far as to tell someone to not set goals. But I do agree that habits are what will enable you to meet your goals. I still like to set an end destination in mind, but I’ve finally begun to see how powerful — and vital — the habits and routine are for getting to the finish line.

What has made the most difference for me is running in 2017. My year looked a little like this:

  • I got into using Strava based on Rian Van Der Merwe’s recommendation
  • This got me running a little more regularly as I enjoy the stats aspect of these fitness apps
  • Having friends who used Strava was incentive to run more, especially those folks who could run faster or further than me (I’m a competitive type)
  • A friend was planning to run in a half-marathon event, so I set the goal to run the same distance at the same time
  • I made a plan, then ran the 21 KM a few weeks early
  • From there, I decided I might as well go for the real thing and run a full marathon in 2018

Keeping a pretty regular rhythm to my weeks is something I’ve done for some time (as regular readers have likely noticed — I talk about this stuff a lot). So all of that to say the biggest key for me seeing progress was one thing: running regularly. Putting in a plan to incrementally increase how often or how far I was running has made a significant difference.

Running totals for Nov 2016

In November 2016, I ran to my church and back for the first time. A distance of 14 KM. It was a big jump in my distance at that time and was a significant milestone. In November 2017, my average runs are 15 KM and quite comfortable. And all because I’ve been running 3 times per week.

Running totals for Nov 2017

So as we get ready for the end of this year and the start of the next, I wanted to share a number of articles I’ve enjoyed the past 12 months. They’re all focused on the themes of habits and rhythms and how to ensure you actually accomplish the things that are important to you.

Stop Setting Goals (Do This Instead)

This focus for me was triggered last week by this article. To be honest, I’m not crazy about the writing and the post is not incredibly insightful compared to other authors. But the section titled “The power of daily habits” got me thinking about the topic again.

Also note that by the end of the article, he admits that he sets goals now. And that’s fine. But when you realize that daily (or weekly) actions are what will actually help you get where you want to go, there also needs to be a recognition that you need to be selective.

You only have so much time to fit new habits in your day (unless you have a lot of time you're currently wasting). And it’s not wise to try to build multiple new habits at the same time. So if you want to write a book in 2018, writing daily is all the change you can likely handle.

Choose carefully!

How to Build a New Habit: This is Your Strategy Guide

I mentioned James Clear in the opening of this newsletter. He’s been a very consistent voice on this topic. This post is a bit of a summary of his writing on this topic and includes a lot of links. But I also wanted to share a few of his articles I’ve read or had sitting in Instapaper from the last 12–18 months.

You’ll see a similarity between these posts, but that’s a good thing. James is consistent with his message.

The Power of Anti-Goals (How I designed my perfect day by fixating on what I hate)

Andrew Wilkinson makes the case for focusing on what you don’t want to do with your life. He summarizes it this way:

How I designed my perfect day by fixating on what I hate

This could be a useful tool when it comes to choosing what habits you want to establish. Or, which ones you need to cut out.

Take a Load Off: The Missing Key to Productivity Is Reflection

While doing is what we’re talking about here when it comes to habits, it’s vital to remember to take time to reflect. That’s exactly what makes this time of year so enjoyable for me.

Jocelyn K. Glei puts it well in this article.

In order to stop doing busywork and start doing our best work, we have to make a point of scheduling in regular time for reflection.

There is a delicate balance to be found between planning and doing, between process and outcomes. But to just simply do all the time without ever reflecting on why or how is foolishness.

How A “Zero-Based” Calendar Can Supercharge Your Productivity

When you begin to consider the idea of focusing on habits over goals and projects, it’s hard not to move to discussing your calendar as well. I’ve talked about this a good bit over the last year (thanks to proponents of the idea like CJ Chilvers, but it just makes sense with this approach to achieving your goals.

Habits work best in a regular rhythm to your days & weeks. This is why Matt Perman includes two full chapters on setting up your weeks in What’s Best Next (titled Setting Up Your Week and Creating the Right Routines). Cal Newport and the folks interviewed in this article above are also proponents of making your calendar the place where you put your focus.

Not your task list.


My hope is this post and the content it points to will be helpful for you as you reflect. I know I’m going to enjoy the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day just resting mentally and envisioning the year to come. I hope you get a chance to do the same!

And let me close with this reminder: this is not just about your career! It’s so easy to read about focus and achieving goals and success and then apply that to our work life. But anyone who takes these ideas and applies them 100% to their career will likely end up feeling empty in the long run … even if they find success.

We’re more than our jobs. Let’s remember that as we plan for 2018. Your family, friends, coworkers, and physical & mental health all need as much (or more) attention as your profession.

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<![CDATA[ The cure for complaining ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/cure-for-complaining/ 5ea8ac9d01e05a0039d14c10 Tue, 05 Dec 2017 15:13:00 -0800 A couple of weeks back, our senior pastor gave a message exhorting us all to live with a little less complaining. Or a lot less (he included himself as the target audience). Our church started a reading plan in September to get through the entire Bible in 9 months. And in tandem with this plan has been the pastors preaching from current reading. That has brought us to Numbers.

If you're familiar at all with the desert years for Israel, you’ll know complaining is a common theme.

One passage has stuck with me through the years. Phil 2:14–16(a)

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life

That first sentence hit me hard, especially during a period when I worked for a particularly inept supervisor back in my corporate life. I would dispute regularly. Worse, I would grumble constantly (many translations use complain here instead of grumble, but both words convey the same idea) and often when this person was not around. It was an area of sin for me, one brought on by my own pride.

And while I was in that situation, I felt convicted that my behaviour was wrong. However, I was not able to get past it; I was unsure how to change how my heart felt. And we all know that what the heart feels, the tongue eventually makes it known.

It was only recently that I’ve come across what I believe is the solution for complaining. The long-term, life-long solution for not grumbling.

A Life of Gratitude

Over the past 2 years, I’ve had the blessing of teaching at length from both Philippians and Colossians. As usual, I always feel that I get far more from teaching a class than anyone attending. When you're taking the time to prepare lessons, you tend to be more saturated with a few specific pieces of Scripture. My time in these two books was an immense pleasure and a source of peace for me.

And while my lessons were often focused on the larger whole, one aspect began to jump out at me. Paul is constantly preaching a life of gratitude. This is true for Philippians and Colossians, but also for his other epistles. The more I looked, the more I found a regular, rhythmic focus on being grateful.

In his epistles, the word thanks or some derivative (thankful, thankfulness, thanksgiving etc) is used almost 50 times. Here are a couple that have caught my attention.

Col 2:6–7

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Col 3:16–17

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Phil 4:4–7

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Eph 5:3–4

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

You read these over and over through the years and it can be easy to gloss over it. But when I started noting how important being thankful was to Paul, I was amazed at the consistency of his

A cup half full

I’ll be very honest with you: I’m a negative person. A cup half empty kind of guy. I’ll notice what I don’t like far before I find the good in things. Just ask my children!

As Christians, there is a bit of baseline thankfulness that has to exist. In order to believe that you must be saved, you have to face your sins, your flaws, and recognize God’s right to judge you. From there, you feel your need for a saviour. And when you make that choice to accept Christ in such a way, gratitude is the natural reaction.

But being thankful about that does not automatically result in a grateful approach to all areas of life. That’s why I love Paul’s emphasis on the topic.

In some cases, thankfulness is the end, the result of our circumstances. But in other cases, he’s exhorting us to choose to be grateful. The thankfulness is the means rather than the end. Phil 4 is a great example of this. Let me paraphrase this passage:

  1. The Lord is near
    2. Therefore, do not worry about anything3. Instead, ask God about everything you need
       4. And do so with thankfulness
           5. If you do that, you will experience God’s peace, which transcends all things and will guard you from future worries

The end is experiencing God’s peace. But the means is having a grateful attitude.

Living it out

What that has meant to me is to pull back in situations where I would normally complain (if I can catch myself), then consider what I can be thankful about in that moment. There’s always something there if I look for it.

When my particularly disagreeable son is pushing all my buttons, I try to stop and appreciate how he’s improving his skills in debate. When the sun is down at 5pm and I think how we have 4–5 more months of cold weather ahead, I try to be thankful for a warm home and peacefulness of a fresh dump of snow. And when the

Sadly, I don’t have this all together. In a lot of scenarios above, old habits kick in and I miss the chance to make something better of it. But I’m learning.

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<![CDATA[ Oak & meditation ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/oak/ 5ea8ac5401e05a0039d14c0b Mon, 27 Nov 2017 16:56:00 -0800 Meditation has been a part of my mornings for years now. But it likely doesn't look like what people would expect. Some days it's sitting still with my eyes closed and focusing on one thought, or one verse. But many days it's very different.

I would consider my morning time meditative over all. But that time will include prayer, reading the Bible more casually, and more concentrated study of a specific passage or topic. In Habits of Grace, David Mathis paints a picture of meditation this way:

It is a distinctively human trait to stop and consider, to chew on something with the teeth of our minds and hearts, to roll some reality around in our thoughts and press it deeply into our feelings, to look from different angles and seek to get a better sense of its significance.

Mathis quotes several Puritan’s in his book as meditation was an area of focus for many of them. One, Thomas Manton, put it this way:

The word feedeth meditation, and meditation feedeth prayer. . . . Meditation must follow hearing and precede prayer. . . . What we take in by the word we digest by meditation and let out by prayer.

I love thinking of meditation in this sense. More than emptying my mind, I see my morning time consisting of multiple activities that are meditative. I can move between them all, flowing from one to another as I’m led (whether by my thoughts or by his Spirit). But it’s one whole, these morning devotions, and the end result is (hopefully) peace, resolve, and a better sense of direction for the day ahead.

I have never tracked my morning times. I’ve consistently made space for it over the years and have been noting whether I do indeed spend any time in morning devotions each day. But how much? Never.

However, I've used meditation as one of my primary goals in Gyroscope each week. And it was one goal where I often fell short. Mostly because I only timed myself in the act of just sitting and clearing my mind in order to focus on one thing. Call it contemplative prayer, if you will.

But Oak has changed that for me. If you haven’t heard of it, Oak is a new meditation app for iOS from Kevin Rose. And it’s been a great addition to my homescreen.

It’s a simple app. It has 3 main sections: meditation, breathing, and wisdom. The latter is simply a few audio clips and I’ve not checked them out at all. But the meditation feature is good. You can conduct unguided, manual sessions or use “mindful” sessions where you have a voice guiding you (similar to Headspace).

Back to the meditation in a bit. What I really like about the app is the breathing section. It has 3 types of exercises that take you through a series of inhaling, holding, and exhaling breath.

Oak has some clever UI touches

This is a fantastic feature that helps you gain some clarity in those moments when you don’t have time to sit in solitude and silence and focus for even 5 minutes. But a couple of minutes of focusing on your breathing can do wonders.

What’s more, I’ll even start my morning devotions with one of these breathing exercises. It’s a great way to start. Then I begin an unguided meditation session, put the phone aside, and dig in. I might start with a short prayer asking the Spirit to guide my time, then read my Scripture passages for the day. From there I might spend time praying for specific needs, digging into a topic that caught my attention, or just reflecting and pondering on a passage that resonated.

It’s this last one that is the most enjoyable and results, as Manton and the Puritans observed, in the most heartfelt prayers and most intimate communion.

As for the app, Oak has been a help. But it adds your activities directly to the Health app, which in turn is pulled into Gyroscope. My total meditation times have been higher than ever. Yes, it’s a bit of gamification. But this awareness, plus the idea that I can just sit and breath for 2 minutes, has me opening the app during the middle of the day, or as I sit in bed reflecting on the day past.

If technology can help with that, I’ll take it!

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<![CDATA[ The life changing magic of taking long walks ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/magic-walks/ 5ea8ac3801e05a0039d14c05 Mon, 27 Nov 2017 06:07:00 -0800 Like Craig Mod, Ryan Holiday appreciates the value of walking. He loves nothing better than talking a long stroll in the countryside surrounding his farm (pictured above … here’s hoping he usually hangs on to the stroller). Brought on by an injury, he learned that the act of walking does something for our minds that is peaceful, freeing, and productive.

But it should be said that walking thoughts are usually a different kind of thought. They are not the racing thoughts of the worried mind. Or the distracted thoughts of the workplace mind. They are, as many walkers attest, more naturally reflective, calmer and contemplative.

I hope this is crystal clear: achieving clarity or a burst of inspiration is not a side benefit of walking. As if the exercise itself is the purpose and the calm, ordered thinking is just a secondary nice-to-have.

I walk in order to gain clarity and be productive in all the areas of my life.

Exercise itself? That is secondary. And living in the country affords one many other ways to get fit (have you seen my axe?) If you're on the fence, take 2–3 slots on your calendar this week and schedule a 30–60 minute walk. You’ll be better for it!

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<![CDATA[ What happens when we work with our hands? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/with-hands/ 5ea8ac0f01e05a0039d14bfa Mon, 20 Nov 2017 16:43:00 -0800 As I slowly move increasingly to using paper over digital tools, I can’t help but wonder exactly what makes the act more satisfying. There are various options in our digital tools that can mimic what paper offers. Writing down our thoughts, brainstorming ideas, and mind-mapping are a few examples of activities for which we have software tools available. Yet, I find myself turning to using my hands with older tools.

Pen and paper, or a whiteboard, seem to enable a greater connection to my thoughts. These tools are free from distraction, which helps. But more than that, the physical activity somehow helps me to gain a better sense of clarity and a feeling of “clearing the decks”.

On a recent episode of Jocelyn K Glei’s Hurry Slowly, she and Austin Kleon discuss this very topic at some length. They touch on a few points, but what stuck the most for me was the concept of analog tools are for thinking and planning, where our digital tools are for implementing those plans.

While I was listening to this episode, Craig Mod’s Drawing the Calendar came to mind. In it, Craig outlines his habit of drawing out a monthly calendar on paper. Rather than using a digital calendar, or even a paper calendar, he sketches out his own version on blank paper. Why do this?

Craig describes it better than I can (as usual):

the act of drawing itself becomes a meditation, and slowing down to feel the shape of days and weeks to come carries an inherent value not found in the already-made.

I concur. This is exactly why I prefer a blank grid in a notebook rather than a template of someone else’s choosing. He continues:

The most satisfying part of the drawn calendar is the more you use it, the more you fill it in, the more beautiful it becomes.

Last:

But most of all, the making of the drawn calendar becomes an act of reflection in and of itself.

This well captures what I’ve been finding for myself. I still keep a digital calendar. I still track projects and tasks in Things 3. But increasingly, I turn to paper for many things. Journalling my thoughts through the day, tracking the habits I want to adopt with regularity, writing down each day’s 3 core tasks, brainstorming larger projects … these things are more joyful when I use my hands and a pen and paper.

I can’t state exactly why this is so. And it may not be the same for everyone (it’s likely not). But the current resurgence with non-digital tools does not appear to be going away. I think we’re just getting started.

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<![CDATA[ An inbox for your time ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/inbox-for-time/ 5ea8abd001e05a0039d14bf4 Mon, 20 Nov 2017 06:44:00 -0800 CJ Chilvers has been a very consistent advocate for giving your calendar a greater priority than your to-do list. Or, rather, for making your calendar be your to-do list. He talked this week about an issue that blocks people from making this type of change:

How do you track all the actionable stuff in your life that you can't schedule?

His solution is to put everything into an inbox. Everything that is important enough gets on your calendar. The rest just needs to be processed regularly (and part of the process might be ditching ideas or tasks that just aren’t important enough to get some of your time).

I like the idea to a degree. I do have items that make my to-do list (whether on paper on digital), but that are a lower priority. There’s a very good chance they do not get completed. That’s only a non-issue as long as I keep my thinking in check. If those incomplete tasks cause anxiety, I know things are slipping. I have to be ok with the idea that habits and core projects take precedence and some tasks can be left behind.

CJ alluded to this nicely in another post this week, one where he reflects on an issue raised by Jason Kottke. His summary:

Your life can be filled with endless tasks and the anxiety of not knowing whether you'll have the time to complete them, or you can ensure there's whitespace for the balance between play and work by building it into your habits and calendar.

My habits and my calendar … these are the two items that are getting the most attention from me most days. My task lists get about 10% of the time of my weekly review. I spend far more time reviewing my habits and mapping out my days (and this work is done mostly by hand).

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<![CDATA[ Dropbox: utility vs. collaboration & creativity ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/dropbox-for-creativity/ 5ea8ab9d01e05a0039d14be9 Sat, 11 Nov 2017 16:31:00 -0800 On a recent episode of Drew Coffman's Whims That Work, the guys discussed Dropbox.design. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s where Dropbox (the company) takes some time to talk about their brand and how it’s evolving. And if you read between the lines, you can see that this is about a lot more than color palettes and typefaces.

Drew and Joe talk about how this move from Dropbox feels odd. And if you’ve been using Dropbox (the utility), that would make sense. Drew stated that he wonders if Dropbox is “starting” to work on collaboration and creativity tools and Dropbox.design is an attempt to shift how people think about Dropbox as a whole.

However, if you’ve used Dropbox Paper at all, this entire direction would feel more clear. When I joined Wildbit, the team was using Hackpad regularly for shared documents. It wasn’t too long after I joined that Dropbox acquihired the Hackpad team and a couple months later, Paper arrived on the scene. We’ve been using Paper ever since it was available (and were a part of early research calls with the Paper team) and it has steadily improved as an overall tool.

Paper started as a collaborative writing tool for teams. Today it feels like a little bit more than that. Dropbox the remote file storage & syncing service feels like a utility that is less of a life saver in 2017 than 2008. Mostly because all the big players seem to have this solved (even Apple). But Dropbox Paper is something different. After Editorially died, there was a gap in tools for teams (don’t you throw Google Docs in my face, you charlatan) when it comes to writing. Paper feels that void and has been a breath of fresh air.

And it has been evolving since the day it was first available. Where it was document focused at first, it now enables teams, includes folders and projects, and even allows you to manage tasks.

In fact, it has improved so much in this last regard that I’ve given it some consideration as a main task management tool. To my comment above about not being sure what “paper” Drew and Joe were referring to in episode 11 of Whims That Work, I was thinking Dropbox Paper at first. You’ve long been able to create a task in a Paper document. But in recent weeks, the Paper team has added a Task icon to the main menu in Paper.

Paper includes a new menu option to see all tasks across documents

Click on that icon and you get a nice view of all your tasks across multiple documents. And you can view tasks you assigned to others, or tasks that are assigned to you.

You could almost use Paper as your task management tool

As I wrote about Things 3 in June, I love a task manager that takes a more document-centric approach to managing your tasks and projects:

In all the services I’ve used over the years, there has been a gap between managing the actual tasks and the information that is required to work on those tasks. There always needed to be a secondary piece of software required. That might be apps like Yojimbo or Evernote or Ulysses, or it might be parts of the macOS (files/folders in Finder). Things 3 is the first tool that made me think there was a chance I could handle it all in one place.

But where as Things takes managing your tasks and allows you to flesh out a project or task to include some thoughts, Dropbox Paper adds a layer of task management on top of your documentation. I’m not sure I’d be ready to use it in this way full time, but it has got me thinking.

And when it comes to writing, Paper is a fantastic experience.

Our team writes more because of it (those people for whom writing is really painful have been writing more because the experience feels good). I’ve written a ton of micro-copy for our new product Conveyor, everything from transactional emails to Slack integration notifications to placeholder text in the Mac client and web app, and kept it all in one very long Paper doc. For a web based app, Paper is robust and enjoyable.

If Dropbox, as a company, can continue to build experiences like this, I feel good about their chances to evolve from a behind-the-scenes utility to something more.

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<![CDATA[ Women aren’t nags — we’re just fed up ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/emotional-labor/ 5ea8ab5201e05a0039d14bde Sat, 11 Nov 2017 05:29:00 -0800 This article by Gemma Hartley has made the rounds in recent weeks. For good reason! In it, she well articulates the frustration a lot of women feel about their roles in our homes. In an age where gender equality is something so many claim to uphold, there still exists an unbalanced distribution of what she terms “emotional labor”.

“That’s the point,” I said, now in tears, “I don’t want to have to ask.”

Hartley does such a fantastic job at spelling out a complex issue in a way we (both genders) can understand. As a family of 6 who have spent some time homeschooling, this is a subject my wife and I have discussed at length in our marriage. Like the author’s spouse, I’ve always been willing to help.

But it’s being proactive and owning situations and thinking ahead that is where we men need to step up.

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<![CDATA[ Experiencing the peace of God ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/peace-of-god/ 5ea8ab0001e05a0039d14bd9 Sat, 04 Nov 2017 05:12:00 -0700 This week’s post has a little different feel to it. Rather than share something I’ve been reading, I wanted to continue with the larger theme for 2017. Most recently, the focus has been on the tools we have at our disposal: study, meditation, and prayer.

But today I wanted to get back to the higher level and consider a core purpose of those tools. If our time here is best spent seeking Him, and if our actions play a role in that seeking, there must be an end result that benefits us. And there certainly is.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism starts off by stating that the purpose of man is to “glorify God and enjoy him forever”. The folks at Desiring God put it another way: God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in him. I love how John Piper expresses the challenge in our walk:

The essence of the Christian life is learning to fight for joy in a way that does not replace grace.

So we fight the battle with our tools, the disciplines mentioned above (and others). But the result is what’s most important. We should not focus overly on the tools themselves, but the goal for which we use them. And that is joy. And peace. And satisfaction. And so many other things.

But today I’d like to focus on peace. Today’s newsletter is based primarily on a Sunday school class I taught last winter. Our local congregation had spent the fall season focusing on being still in order to seek and enjoy God’s presence. This led me to focus the class on the sense of peace we receive when that happens. I hope it may be as much of a blessing to you as it was for me!

Being Still: Experiencing the Peace of God

I need a little less peace in my life. Who thinks this way? Not too many of us I imagine. In our hurried, fragmented days, most people are seeking a way to find a sense of peace among all the notifications and busyness.

If you're a Christian, there’s good news. We have a source of peace that is beyond any other. We have promises to stand on, to put our hope in. Hope and assurance are ours and should result in a peace that overwhelms all our worries. And yet so many of us struggle with experiencing peace day to day.

It shouldn’t be this way. I say this not in the sense of “you should be doing something different”, but more in the sense of “this is not what God has intended for his children”. Let’s dig deeper.

The Bible has a lot to say about peace, but Phil 4:6–7 is the key passage that drives this home for me:

Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

It’s hard to separate these two verses, but I’ll focus on the second. Each aspect that sentence deserves some meditation. But in reality, the two verses are different sides of the same coin.

Peace throughout the Scriptures

A review of how the Bible talks about peace is an important way to look at this topic. Let’s just look at a handful of verses and contemplate what they convey in terms of peace.

Only 2 verses use the exact phrase “peace of God”. The passage above, as well as Col 3:15:

Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body to this peace), and be thankful.

The two verses are similar in form and intent. I equate the peace of God with the peace of Christ (indeed, some translations use peace of God in Colossians here). This peace controlling our heart is a similar expression to the idea of it guarding our hearts and minds in Phil 4. Both verses mention thankfulness, an extremely important idea (one to come back to a in a future newsletter).

And there are many more verses that mention peace itself:

  • In John 14:27, Jesus gives his peace to his disciples
  • In Rom 5:1, Paul tells us we have peace with God through the work of his son
  • And in Rom 8, Paul compares the spiritual mind vs. the carnal mind, including the culmination: “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace”
  • In Rom 14:17, we see that God’s kingdom consists of peace (and righteousness and joy)
  • In Eph 2:11–22, Paul uses this peace to talk about how God has brought Jews and Gentiles together into one body (the body of Christ)

Of course, these are all Paul’s writings. But we get some beautiful imagery in the Old Testament as well. The entire chapter of Isaiah 55 is a wonderful image, including this verse:

Indeed you will go out with joy; you will be led along in peace;

And Isaiah 26:3 is a favourite verse of mine (although the context of this verse may be targeted more at Jewish people needing safety from foreign armies, talking of safety more than peace, I still enjoy the sound of it and believe it’s applicable in a broader sense):

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

There are many more verses, but hopefully this small sample gives us a sense of how God speaks about peace.

Let’s Define It

We have to address the fact that our English words often have more than one meaning. In peace, we see two primary use cases in the Scriptures:

  • a lack of conflict
  • a feeling, a sense of well being and contentment

What are the words we see in Scripture?

  • ειρήνη (eiríni): from the verb “to join”, peace, implies prosperity, one, peace, quietness, rest

That’s it. Other words we see in the NT refer to the idea of one “holding your peace”, which means keeping silent. Any other word is some derivative of the word we see here (example: Matt 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”)

Matthew Henry, in his commentary on Phil, describes this peace:

The peace of God, the comfortable sense of being reconciled to God, and having a part in his favor, and the hope of the heavenly blessedness, are a greater good than can be fully expressed. This peace will keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus; it will keep us from sinning under troubles, and from sinking under them; keep us calm and with inward satisfaction.

This sense of well being and reconciliation is the peace that Phil 4 is alluding to.

Another way to understand the peace of God is to understand his character. Many verses refer to God as the “God of peace”: Rom 15:33, Rom 16:20, Phil 4:9, I Thess 5:23, and Heb 13:20. In essence, he is a God of order and his dominion is peaceful as a result. He is not unstable, whimsical, or disordered (i.e. chaotic). Because of who he is, we can experience peace.

While we’re defining it, let’s consider what this peace is not:

  • It’s not fear and anxiety of what is to come. Well, of course it’s not: it’s the complete opposite.
  • It’s not peace with God. That is a result of Christ’s work and should result in the peace of God, but they are two different ideas.
  • It is not inactivity, the lack of doing. Sometimes we picture peace as laying on a beach somewhere and doing nothing all day. While that can be peaceful, that is not how Scripture describes it. Peace can be found in the busyness of life as well as our times of rest.

On this last point, Wayne Grudem puts it well in his Systematic Theology. And this fits so well when considering peace as a result of his character:

This peace certainly does not imply inactivity, for it was at a time of intense growth and activity that Luke could say that "the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was built up" (Acts 9:31). Furthermore, although God is a God of peace, he is also the one who "will neither slumber nor sleep" (Ps. 121:4). He is the God who is continually working (John 5:17). And even though heaven is a place of peace, it is a place also of continual praise to God and service for him.
Thus, God's peace can be defined as follows: God's peace means that in God's being and in his actions he is separate from all confusion and disorder, yet he is continually active in innumerable well-ordered, fully controlled, simultaneous actions.
This definition indicates that God's peace does not have to do with inactivity, but with ordered and controlled activity. To engage in infinite activity of this sort, of course, requires God's infinite wisdom, knowledge, and power.

Often we see the Psalmists use chaotic imagery. Psalm 46 is a good example:

God is our strong refuge; he is truly our helper in times of trouble. For this reason we do not fear when the earth shakes, and the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea, when its waves crash and foam, and the mountains shake before the surging sea. (Selah)

God is a contrast to the chaos. He is the foundation, the rock, the very thing that makes peace in this chaotic world actually possible.

Breaking It Down Further

I’ve found it helpful to take Phil 4:6–7 and break down each concept within.

How does this peace “surpass all understanding”?

There are 7 different words translated as "understanding" in the NT. The one used in Phil 4:7 is nôus:

the intellect, i.e. the mind (divine or human; in thought, feeling, or will); by implication meaning: mind, understanding

To paraphrase it, I would put as "our ability to grasp a concept". And so our verse states that this peace is greater than all the things that we can understand. It can take a hold of us, even when it makes no sense to us. Or to the world.

This would have been very applicable and understood by the audience in Paul's time. They faced persecution for the stance they were taking, both from their fellow Jews, as well as Gentiles.

Looking at the word translated as "surpasses" is also a good exercise. Hupêrêchō:

to hold oneself above, fig. to excel; as an adjective: superior, better, excellency, higher, supreme

The peace of God is better than understanding. It is superior to knowing the details.

While we're undertaking this exercise, let's consider the last word. All here means all. The peace of God goes beyond all we can understand or grasp, and all we can ever understand or grasp. No matter how wise we get, how much we grow in knowledge, God's peace will always be greater.

Our Guard

This peace guards our hearts and minds. What does that mean? The Greek word here (often translated as “keep”) means:

to be a watcher in advance; to mount guard as a sentinel (post spies at gates); to hem in, protect

As Paul often employs, the phrasing here has a militaristic sense to it. But what is it guarding against? What obstacles stop us from experiencing this peace? The enemy and spiritual attacks? Doubt? Falling back to thinking about and responding to situations the way we did when still enemies of God?

Likely, all of these. My feeling is the peace we experience when in communion with Christ guards against external and internal threats.

What do our hearts and minds entail?

So we can take confidence knowing that we have a God who guards us from the world and from our sinful nature. But what exactly is he guarding? What do the Scriptures mean when it says “hearts and minds”? What is a (wo)man made of?

Throughout the Bible, we get quite a few body parts mentioned: heart, mind, spirit, soul, or body. What do they all represent? What are the actual Greek and Hebrew words being used? Our passage in Phil 4 brings this important and interesting area of Scripture to mind.

In a nutshell, it means all that we are.

That idea is explained really well in MacLaren's Commentary (Expositions Of Holy Scripture):

What does he mean by ‘the heart and mind’? Not, as the English reader might suppose, two different faculties, the emotional and the intellectual--which is what we usually roughly mean by our distinction between heart and mind--but, as is always the case in the Bible, the ‘heart’ means the whole inner man, whether considered as thinking, willing, purposing, or doing any other inward act; and the word rendered ‘mind’ does not mean another part of human nature, but the whole products of the operations of the heart. The Revised Version renders it by ‘thoughts,’ and that is correct if it be given a wide enough application, so as to include emotions, affections, purposes, as well as ‘thoughts’ in the narrower sense. The whole inner man, in all the extent of its manifold operations, that indwelling peace of God will garrison and guard.

In short, the peace of God guards how we think & feel, and in turn, how we act.

In Christ Jesus

Last, this passage in Philippians uses a crucial expression that is introduced in the New Testament. This is a very lengthy and detailed topic deserving of its own space.

But imagine that you're finally getting beyond the superficial with someone you met recently. A coworker, a neighbour. Or maybe it’s a brand new baby Christian who has just started to learn to read the Bible. You’re in a conversation with this person, and they ask you a big question … but you know your time is limited. You have 30–60 seconds to give a generalized response before the moment passes. (Parents, you’ve been in this situation before). You’re going to have to give your elevator pitch for this question:

What does it mean to be “in Christ Jesus”?

We see this concept repeated through Scripture: God in us and we in God. What does it mean? In reformed theology, it was referred to as:

unio mystica

Or, mystical union. Charles Hodge describes it this way:

The technical designation of this union in theological language is ‘mystical’, because it so far transcends all the analogies of earthly relationships, in the intimacy of its connection, in the transforming power of its influence, and in the excellence of its consequences.

Different theologians will categorize this concept in different ways, but I like Wayne Grudem’s approach. He lists being in Christ Jesus under the doctrine of redemption and breaks it down 4 ways:

  1. We are in Christ
  2. Christ is in us
  3. We are like Christ
  4. We are with Christ

However, you want to categorize, it deserves our meditation. Why? Because the phrase occurs between 40–50 times in the NT (depending on your translation). There’s a concept here that deservers our attention.

While we don’t have the space here to go deeper, there is one thing to take away. If you a person is not in this union with Christ, are not “in Christ Jesus”, then this perfect peace of God is not attainable.

---

Well, that is a lot of material. My hope is it gets you thinking at the least and inspires you at the best. Preparing this class (and this newsletter) was a blessing for me. Regarding how to apply the doctrine of a God of peace in your life, I’ll refer back to Wayne Grudem’s commentary:

As you think about reflecting God's peace in your own life, think first about your own emotional, mental, and spiritual state. Can you say that by-and-large you have God's peace in the sense that your inner life is separate from confusion and disorder, and is frequently or continually active in well-ordered and well-controlled actions that further God's glory? Then ask the same questions concerning what may be called the "external circumstances" of your life, that is, your family relationships, your relationships with neighbors, your activities in studying or at your job, and your relationships in church activities. What about the overall picture of your life, viewed as a whole? Does it exhibit God's peace? What might you do to reflect God's peace more fully?

I’m just a regular guy with a busy life. We’re all busy. I want to order my hours, days, and weeks to ensure that I’m taking the time necessary to seek God and experience the peace that comes from fellowship and communion with him.

My prayer is the same for you. Have a blessed week!

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<![CDATA[ Quartz: Daily Obsession ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/email-done-right/ 5ea8a8e801e05a0039d14bbd Thu, 12 Oct 2017 16:23:00 -0700 I’ve shared my love for a good email newsletter in the past. Until recently, most of my favorites have been put out by single publishers. Bloggers and writers who use email as an extension of their own web site. But this past week I’ve seen what I’d consider the very best use of email I’ve ever experienced.

It’s the Daily Obsession from Quartz.

For a little context, the team at Quartz has been putting out one of these daily news-around-the-globe emails for a while now, titled the Daily Brief). It’s similar to other options like the Economist’s Espresso or Dave Pell’s Next Draft. I’ve subscribed to it on and off over the past couple of years and it’s well done. It provides bite sized summaries of recent events and the best part is the writing is clever and full of wit, but without alienating the reader. It’s hip.

But this past week, the Quartz team launched something new. It’s an afternoon newsletter that, rather than summarize a bunch of topics, goes deep into one topic. It’s the Daily Obsession … and it is so very well done!

Each email is broken into several sections, somewhat like The Weekly Review. Each one has a quiz near the beginning, a poll near the end, several stats that give insight into the topic, and of course, there is a lot of information and external links for those who want to read more about the topic.

It’s the perfect form for 2017. The email itself is about the length of the daily brief, but each section on its own is short and sweet. Brevity still rules the day here. You can quickly move from one section to the next, each slightly changing the focus of what you're learning about the subject at hand. In all, you can read through one of these in just under 5 minutes, but come away with a better awareness of the email’s subject than you had going in. Excellent writing, good stats, clever headlines, funny GIFs, links to related videos … Quartz has nailed the perfect combination of content that fits today’s readers.

Most important to me is the writing: if they nailed all the rest but the writing fell short, the entire idea would fizzle. But the writing is the glue that makes this newsletter so special. From the pre-header to the footer, the Obsession is filled with copy that makes me feel raging envy. It’s like the team has their finger on the pulse of what is hip and have perfected their delivery.

Subscribe and see for yourself.

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<![CDATA[ I once tried to cheat sleep, and for a year I succeeded ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/cheat-sleep/ 5ea8a8be01e05a0039d14bb7 Thu, 12 Oct 2017 16:09:00 -0700 I’m not sure why, but I’m a sucker for articles about sleep. And while recent Nobel prize winners show why we’re basically a nation of sleep deprived zombies, it’s these articles about people experimenting with their sleep that I enjoy the most.

I tried an experiment myself back in 2010, just after our 4th child was born. I attempted to see how well I could do on 4 hours of sleep per night. Yep, that’s just bad science, folks. The results were not surprising. I followed up my week’s experiment with another week of getting more sleep.

7 years later, I still take those lessons to heart. While I love the idea of using the time I spend sleeping to get some other things done, I'm pretty good at listening to my body. The time I spend getting a solid night of rest (7+ hours) is actually an investment that bears fruit in the time I spend working the next day.

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<![CDATA[ Designing Twist: The challenge of making teamwork less stressful ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/designing-twist/ 5ea8a87201e05a0039d14ba8 Thu, 14 Sep 2017 06:03:00 -0700 I haven’t used this service, but I sure appreciate the thinking behind it. The team at Doist (the creators of Todoist) noticed how Slack was changing how they worked:

When our remote team started using Slack three years ago, we experienced the subtle but real impact that design has on behavior. From its free-flowing chat channels to its one-line-at-a-time message composers, everything about Slack was designed to keep you communicating with your team in real-time, all the time. (It’s not surprising that the team behind Slack originally designed game apps).

So they decided to improve things. Enter Twist.

What I loved about this post was their process. They identified how they thought a team communication tool should support their team values. Reading the post, it reminded me a lot of the things the Basecamp team talked about when creating Basecamp 3.

As someone working on a remote team, I greatly appreciate companies that are focused on making this aspect of our work better. To enable us to do our best work, rather than take away from it.

I recommend following the Doist team on Medium. They have a lot of stuff related to their own products, yes. But they also post just plain good stuff (like this post on being a remote working parent). When you find a company that has a great approach to work and running a team, it's almost as good as finding a great personal site.

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<![CDATA[ How much screen time? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/screen-time/ 5ea8a89f01e05a0039d14bb0 Thu, 14 Sep 2017 05:32:00 -0700 For any of us with children, this is the question that will quite possibly define our generation as parents. Are we putting our children’s future in harm’s way? Or will the amount of time they spend in front of screens of any size play no significant part in how their lives turn out?

Looking forward, that’s a very hard question to answer. Obviously, there are many factors that play into whether or not someone’s life is successful. And there are many different definitions of success. But there are a few things I remind myself of whenever I ponder this area of our family’s life.

  • Look to my own behaviours. Whether or not we come to a definitive answer in our culture about “how much is too much”, I can help my children by honestly evaluating how I’m spending my own time. Remember, our children are often a reflection of ourselves. If you see something you don’t like, you're likely the one who needs to make a change.
  • Establish better defaults. I don’t simply mean that you train yourself to pick up a book instead of your phone every time you have a spare minute (although that’s a good thing to do). But when I preach this to myself, it’s my way of remembering that my motives are important. Am I picking up my phone in order to check something I care about? This gets me to asking what do I care about. Is my default motivation entertainment and pleasure? Or do I feel a broader purpose for my life? Hopefully, the answer to the last one is yes. Then I can start to ask what am I doing right now to achieve that broader purpose? What defaults can I build to get myself moving down that road?
  • The dose makes the poison. Old adages can be cliché … but often they make a lot of sense. I don’t believe that 30–60 minutes of screen time for my children is a problem provided that there is balance and useful pursuits through the rest of the day. But if I see them spending the rest of the day wandering around not accomplishing much of anything, spending all their time talking or thinking about the screen related activity — that’s when I start to worry.
  • Creation trumps consumption. Cameron Moll shared recently how they're family had to go back to the "contract" when consumption started to take first place. That's the same for our home, but we also add an emphasis that being creative away from the screen should get as much attention as being creative with a screen.

I don’t have all the answers here. But I think about this a lot. And we talk about it with them. A lot. Even if we don’t get it right, they know our worries, our own struggles, and what we value.

Hopefully that will bear fruit.

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<![CDATA[ The 2 hour rule ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/two-hour-rule/ 5ea8a84b01e05a0039d14ba2 Thu, 31 Aug 2017 16:48:00 -0700 I enjoyed this article quite a bit. The author liked the habits of thinkers of old and tries to do the same thing, but rather than a daily routine (in the morning), he does it once per week. He takes 2 hours to do nothing but think.

I like that idea. A lot.

In the evening, I remove all possible distractions, especially electronics like my phone and my laptop, and I basically lock myself in a room to question my work and my lifestyle with a pen and a notebook.
2 hours is a long time, and some of it will feel unproductive and not all of it will be structured, but I have a few general things that I almost always start off with to set me in motion.

After reading this excerpt from Kevin Rose’s newsletter, I’ve been looking for ways to adopt this practice myself:

Lately, I’ve tried to introduce a little boredom into my life by revamping my morning routine. Instead of turning off the alarm on my phone (which pulls me right into notifications and Instagram), I’ve now switched to an analog bedside alarm.
After turning off the alarm, I purposely avoid all electronics (TV, laptop, phone, etc.) for the first hour of the day. I shower, then take the dog to the local coffee shop, leaving my phone at home. Once I have my coffee (or tea, depending on the day) I just sit, letting myself daydream and wake up slowly for about 30 minutes.

After reading it, I thought it sounded great. But how could I achieve something like this in my own life? With kids, the town we live in, and our location (far from all coffee shops), this routine would not exactly work. But are there other ways to achieve the same net effect?

I spent one morning just giving myself this time to think on things. I spend a lot of mornings reading my Bible, praying, then moving on to studying, writing, or just getting ready for work. Oh, and reading online. So I took one morning and just sat and thought about stuff. It would end in reading my Bible, but I gave myself the entire 90 minutes to just slowly get ready for the day.

But I was still open to other ideas on how to have a time like this. As regularly as possible. It would be hard, obviously, as I do not have a great deal of margin when it comes to my time in this stage of my life.

However, taking a 2 hour block of time each week sounds a lot more doable.

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<![CDATA[ Getting more from Ulysses ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/more-from-ulysses/ 5ea8a81d01e05a0039d14b9c Thu, 31 Aug 2017 16:44:00 -0700 Shawn Blanc his team have been working on a course for helping people get the most out of Ulysses. Seeing Shawn’s posts had me reviewing my own usage: he touches on a few items I was either not aware of or had never thought to try.

Once he shared that he’d be building this course, I finally took the time to dig into the features in Ulysses that have been peripheral to my usage. The biggest gap was my lack of understanding of the different methods for adding to your primary content. There are four content types to consider:

  • notes
  • comments
  • footnotes
  • annotations

The Ulysses team cover these in a couple posts. But neither of those sit down and list out a direct comparison of these items, nor state the best scenario for using each. Different from the last 3, notes are not stored inline, but in the attachments pane. They’re document-centric and give you a place to store thoughts about a sheet as a whole.

The last 3 are inline and serve related-yet-different purposes. Comments (and comment blocks) allow you to add your thoughts about a line or section of text. They’re great in that they stand out and do not count towards you word/character totals. As well, should you export your content, the comments are not included.

Footnotes and annotations are last and are the most similar. Both allow you to add ancillary information to a piece of text. I'll likely start using notes more often, but footnotes and annotations are overkill and not applicable to the kinds of writing I do.

Short story long, it’s been nice to get a better feel for Ulysses and what’s possible with it. If you haven’t yet, check out Learn Ulysses from Shawn and crew.

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<![CDATA[ Living with anxiety ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/anxiety/ 5ea8a5a701e05a0039d14b76 Thu, 24 Aug 2017 16:45:00 -0700 We don’t talk enough about mental illness. I say that in terms of society in general, as well to myself and the various social circles I’m a part of.

But it is getting better.

Many workplaces seem to be putting more emphasis on mental health. It’s more acceptable to take sick days for a mental break instead of a physical one. People are talking about it more openly. Counselling and therapy seems to carry less stigma.

I want to be a part of this change. Our family has been impacted by anxiety. My wife suffers from a general anxiety disorder. One of our children developed OCD this past year, which is an attempt to manage anxiety. And I myself have struggled with anxiety in past years.

My family’s stories are their own to share, but I’m happy to talk about my own.

What’s your foundation?

It started when I was running Fusion Ads. On the day that Michael and I heard that Twitter had purchased Atebits (the company of Loren Brichter, the developer behind Tweetie), the viability of our business came into question for the first time. Where I had a (somewhat naive) confidence before, I now worried about the impact of this change and the solidity of our business as a whole.

And although Fusion ran fine for the next 18 months until we sold it, my confidence was never the same. And anxiety was a new experience for me.

I was blessed not to suffer with more extreme symptoms, but my struggles manifested in some physical ways. Many nights, I struggled to fall asleep. I could go to bed exhausted from a day of hard work and raising 4 kids, only to almost drift off when — wham! A surge of adrenaline would courses through my veins. Some random thought about money would pop into my head and my mind would start to race. After some time, this process could start to play out during the day as well.

Looking back, I realize I was blessed that my symptoms were limited to a sour stomach and a racing heart. But it’s the mental side of anxiety that is hard to manage.

Mental “Health”

When someone has a broken leg, we would never tell them they just need to “shake it off”. But that is exactly the mentality we often take towards mental health. “You just need to change how you think about this” and similar statements are the kind of backwards thinking that can add so much stress to a home dealing with mental illness.

I’m not an expert in any way on this topic. But as someone who has fought some battles, please here this:

You cannot solve mental health issues with logic

Trying to explain to someone with OCD that their rituals do not make sense is at best a waste of time. At worst, it’s hurtful and compounds the issue. When dealing with anxiety, the sufferer is already aware it doesn’t make sense. That’s part of what makes it so hard to deal with.

Instead, let’s recognize that this broken world that suffers from the curse of sin is affected at the molecular level. If you are in the process of dying from the moment you're born, things can (and will) go wrong with your body and mind. Let’s get comfortable with the aspects of mental health issues and go about helping our friends and loved ones heal. The same way we would if they had cancer.

Blessing From Suffering

My anxiety still comes up from time to time. But I learned to manage it back in 2010-11. And I did so by changing how I think, to dig underneath the thoughts that would bring the adrenaline, the acid, and the sweaty palms.

My business is frail and I’m a failure! Ok, Chris … what’s the worst thing that can happen if your business fails? People will look down on me! Will they? All of them? And why are you so concerned about your reputation? It’s how I value myself. I don’t want to go back to being unknown!

On and on it goes. You have to dig deep to understand yourself, where your fears and insecurities truly lie.

Thankfully, I have a saviour who redeemed me so I don’t have to be a slave to thoughts like this. And who enables me to be transformed by the renewing of my mind. But I have to guard against this thinking every day. I can still be blindsided by negative thoughts that trigger a cycle of wrong thinking. That cause me to fear the future, rather than rest in the assurance that my future could be no more secure.

For my foundation is in him.

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<![CDATA[ Have smartphones destroyed a generation? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/a-destroyed-generation/ 5ea8a57401e05a0039d14b6c Thu, 24 Aug 2017 06:21:00 -0700 This article paints a scary picture. As a father of 4 young ones for whom “screen time” is a highlight of each day, I have a lot of trepidation on the entire topic. It’s a longer read, but the essence of it is that despite being safer during the teen years than most generations before them, teens today have a higher rate of mental illness.

I found the article well written, with the author eschewing the need to wax nostalgic:

To those of us who fondly recall a more analog adolescence, this may seem foreign and troubling. The aim of generational study, however, is not to succumb to nostalgia for the way things used to be; it’s to understand how they are now.

But even just a skim through the article will leave one feeling a little scared when understanding how things are now.

One of the ironies of iGen life is that despite spending far more time under the same roof as their parents, today’s teens can hardly be said to be closer to their mothers and fathers than their predecessors were.

I see the danger of this in my own home. It’s why we focus on a specific time set aside for screen use. And it’s why we have a family computer in a central location (rather than a child’s bedroom).

But I sometime succumb to the fear that these are just stopgap measures in a battle that cannot be won. Heck, I’m losing the battle myself — how can my children do better?

Related: Dave Caolo shares how his own home has changed thanks to our devices and constant connection.

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<![CDATA[ A framework for creating a robust onboarding workflow ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/onboarding-framework/ 5ea8a53a01e05a0039d14b66 Fri, 11 Aug 2017 15:56:00 -0700

This post was originally published on the Wildbit blog.

Onboarding is a word that has been around for some time, but has seen increased usage in the world of SaaS in the last 10–15 years. Not surprisingly, this has corresponded with the advent and maturation of customer success as a discipline. And the two are related.

What is onboarding? It’s the process of getting someone up to speed so they can be as effective as possible and achieve success. And you usually want that to happen as quickly as possible. The term can refer to new hires for your own company (employee onboarding). But for most SaaS products, we use the term to describe the process of getting new customers acclimated to our service.

I’d like to share the framework for how we've created some of the onboarding campaigns here at Wildbit.

First things first

Before I talk about some of the activities involved in creating an onboarding campaign, I’d like to step back and talk about onboarding at a high level. There are a couple of important aspects to keep in mind.

First up is one of the most crucial aspects of customer success as a discipline. I hold to the idea that customer success is just that: a focus on the customer. That means I only want a customer to become engaged with our product because it makes their life better. And so I purposefully choose to work for companies where that is the case. I can feel good about helping someone be as engaged as possible with our products because we’re helping people solve real problems.

As Kathy Sierra puts it in Badass: Making Users Awesome:

People aren’t using the app because they like the app or they like you. They’re doing it because they like themselves. What are you doing to enable more of that?

Second, your onboarding is not the first step in guaranteeing the success of your customers. The fanciest, nicest looking, most clever onboarding campaigns cannot help people who do not need your product. If there is no problem that your customer is trying to solve or if your product focuses on the wrong problem, new customers are not going to stick around. Building a successful product starts with understanding your market and your ideal customer, having good marketing, and doing your best to find those people.

Once you have identified the right group of people to help, it’s important to remember that your onboarding should focus on them, not on you. Keep this in mind as you complete the activities below. You should focus on how your product helps the new customer solve their problem. The last thing we all want when we check out a new tool is to see a long list of features or messages that focus on the product or company behind it.

Last, it’s important to remember that anyone in your company can build these campaigns. The responsibility will fall on different shoulders at different companies, but the best onboarding examples are from companies who put the customer at the centre of their entire product development process. Designers, product managers, and customer success teams should all understand the vision of your product and the problem it solves well enough to guide someone new to a successful adoption.

Now, let’s dig into what’s involved.

The Framework

Now, there are many different ways to implement onboarding for a product. Different approaches will work better for some companies than others. I’ll discuss various options below, but remember that there is no one perfect way to do this. The best onboarding is flexible and iterative.

However, there are several exercises you can go through that will help you gain a better understanding of how to guide new customers to success.

Define your levels of engagement

The purpose here is create a tool that allows you to gauge how integrated your product is into someone’s business (again, we can feel good about this when we believe in the value we provide). Think of it in this sense: how hard would it be for someone to switch from your service to a competitor? The harder it is to switch would indicate a higher level of engagement with your product.

Let me illustrate with one of our products at Wildbit. Beanstalk is a development workflow platform where you can host, review, and deploy your code as a team. If someone signs up to Beanstalk, creates a new Git repository, then makes some commits and pushes them to Beanstalk, this would be a low level of engagement with our product. At this point, they could very easily sign up for a Bitbucket or GitHub account, switch the remote URL in their Git config, then push those same commits to their new remote repo in this other service.

But if they had pushed their commits to Beanstalk, then used our deployments feature to update their live website (instead of manually updating their site via FTP), suddenly they gained value they did not previously have. And it’s value they cannot get from some of our competitors. If using this feature becomes sticky and they then considered switching to a different service, they now have to replace the value they get from using ours. They are more engaged.

And that is what we want to outline here: it’s a tool for measuring how engaged people are with our service.

This is not a complicated process at all. Here’s how to create one:

  • list out the possible activities a user can perform with your product
  • group those activities into tiers (the number of tiers doesn’t really matter, but I keep it simple and stick to three)
  • each tier is a level of user engagement

You can then take these tiers and tie them into your user journey. I like to picture an ideal user journey, where someone goes from signup to highly engaged. I document what that journey might look like, and envision where the different activities would occur in that journey.

This does not need to be an precise measurement, but something that gives you a rough idea of how engaged your customers are. It should be flexible as the events themselves may change over time, being more or less important to your customers. But it should help you to identify your core features and what you want to focus on with your onboarding materials.

Identify your Wow moment

Once you have an idea of what an ideal user journey would look like for a highly engaged customer who is getting as much value from your product as possible, you want to identify the Wow moment. If you're familiar at all with onboarding, you may have heard of this term. There are a few other terms that get at the same idea (golden motion, day zero, MVE (minimum viable effort), TTFV (time to first value)). They are all focused on one thing: what is the quickest path to your customer’s success.

David Skok defines it this way:

Wow! is the moment in a free trial where your buyer suddenly sees the benefit they get from using your product, and says to themselves “Wow! This is great!”.

Whether your product has a free trial doesn’t matter. What matters is your new customer experiencing that moment when they realize that your product can make them better at what they do.

That is your Wow moment: when the new customer likes how your product makes them feel.

Now, it’s not always easy to identify where this moment takes place in your product. You may have to take a few guesses to find it. So you take your ideal user journey that you mapped to your levels of engagment, and you make another best guess: where is that Wow moment?

Again, I’ll use Beanstalk as an illustration. Commits are great, but deployments are where people realize the benefit of our product. All our longest tenured, biggest fans tell us that our deployments are what makes the difference when compared with other options they’d considered.

Pushing changes to a remote repo is a good first step, but as mentioned above, it’s easily replicable. But when an agency developer signs up for Beanstalk, then configures their workflow so that they can commit changes to their staging branch, push those changes to Beanstalk, then when those changes are automatically deployed to their staging environment and they can test seconds later …

That’s a Wow moment.

Map out the steps to Wow … in reverse

Once you have chosen a wow moment to guide people towards, start to identify the different steps required to get there. Take your ideal user journey you mapped out in step 1, then work backwards.

Lincoln Murphy describes it this way:

You create a plan to get here by identifying “initial success” and backing out from that goal while identifying success milestones along the way.

And don’t be afraid to go deep on this analysis. When you're very familiar with a process (like using your product), it’s easy to take things for granted. You will want to view your product from the perspective of someone seeing it for the very first time. Where you see 3 or 4 steps, someone unfamiliar with your product may see far more.

As Samuel Hulick points out in Mind the Gap, even the most simple processes involve more than we first think of. He uses the example of listing the steps to create a peanut butter & jelly sandwich (a seemingly simple procedure) . When his grade school teacher followed the instructions given by the students, the results were not as intended:

Our instructions created crappy sandwiches because they failed to bridge the gap between what seemed obvious to us and what actually happened in reality.

What seems obvious to you is not at all obvious to someone new to your product. And it’s important to remember that you're so familiar with your product that you may have trouble identifying all the steps involved with getting started using your product. As Hulick points out in his book The Elements of User Onboarding:

Ironically enough, your product’s first few impressions are SO make-or-break that you simply can’t afford to evaluate them as the expert that you now are — you have to try to forget everything you know and come in with a totally fresh perspective.

Beanstalk also provides a good example here. I mentioned above that getting started with Beanstalk involves making commits in a local repo, then pushing changes to the remote repo in Beanstalk. That sounds like a couple of simple steps. But for someone brand new to Git, it’s actually a complex process.

First, you have to log into Beanstalk and create a new repo. From there, you can open a command line interface (CLI) to take the next step (the words ‘command line’ are scary enough on their own for even some novice developers) with the following commands:

git clone https://accountname.git.beanstalkapp.com/gitreponame.git -o beanstalk
cd gitreponame
echo "This is my new project on Beanstalk." > README
git add README
git commit -m "My first commit."
git push beanstalk master

And this is just one way to get started. Our team has to be ready to support people in many different scenarios. And our onboarding has to do the same and get them started on the right foot.

Map out a list of touchpoints to get them there

Once you have identified your Wow moment and what you believe are the steps required for someone to experience that moment, you can start to create your onboarding materials. This is where there can be a wide variety in onboarding experiences. The type of content, the medium used, and the timing of messages can vary greatly from one product to the next. And that’s how it should be: different products have different audiences and different needs.

Let’s review some of the options.

Types of touchpoints

Email has long been the medium of choice for SaaS products sending onboarding messaging and information to new customers. But with the rise of the mobile web and modern browser technologies, in-app messages and SMS are popular as well.

What works best? It depends.

Context is the key for many messages you may want to send to a new customer. And in-app messages, when well designed, can be delivered at just the right time. However, when overused, they can distract the user from the job at hand and worse, annoy them.

Email is still a great option as it can deliver the required information, but allows the customer to process it at a time that suits them best. However, it’s vital to remember that most people in 2017 suffer from too much email. Your messages need to be well written in order to stand out (that’s an entire subject for its own blog post).

Touchpoint triggers

Another aspect of your touchpoints is how they are triggered. The two basic options are timing and behavioral.

Messages that are triggered by timing are the standard type that have been used for a long time. They are easy to set up and can deliver the basic information about your product that each new customer can benefit from. They may resemble a flow like this:

Sign up > Day 1 > Day 3 > Day 7 > Day 21

However, with the tools we have available today, it’s more valuable to build campaigns based on what you new customers do with your product (or do not do). These are behavioral (aka contextual) messages.

Again, using Beanstalk as an example, if a new customer has not pushed any commits to a repo in their account by 3 days after signing up, we send an email that is focused on helping them get to that point.

Over the past 12 months, this email has had a 43% open rate and, even better, a 12.5% conversion rate. There are so many examples in this category, it could also be a post all on its own. I will stick to pointing you to some great resources:

A solid onboarding campaign that provides real value to your customers will likely involve a combination of message types initiated by different triggers.


To get you started, we’ve provided a collection of resources for your use. It includes an onboarding checklist, a BPI & user journey template, a nurture path template, and some message samples. Enjoy!

There is a lot involved in setting up a robust onboarding workflow. However, it’s (obviously) worth your time and attention. The more people you can help achieve success earlier on, the better you’ll feel. And your business benefits.

Once you have something like the above in place, the next step is to validate and iterate.

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<![CDATA[ A return to the disciplines: prayer ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/discipline-of-prayer/ 5ea8a4fd01e05a0039d14b5f Thu, 03 Aug 2017 15:43:00 -0700 On the topics of depth and disconnecting from the world (online or off, see more below), a Christian is someone who follows Christ. And further, a Christian is someone who communes with Christ.

His first disciples did it, following him from town to town, breaking bread and serving with him. And when he commanded those early disciples to go and make more disciples, he promised that he would be with them until the end.

And prayer is our primary means to communicating with God.

Caveat: I am the least qualified person to talk about prayer. Study and meditation, the two disciplines we’ve discussed recently, have been something I’ve always enjoyed. Since I first started to read the Bible in earnest, they have come fairly easily to me. But not prayer.

This is something that I have always wanted to improve. Why? Because it’s so vital to a life of being a disciple of Christ. Richard Foster puts it this way in Celebration of Discipline:

Of all the Spiritual Disciplines prayer is the most central because it ushers us into perpetual communion with the Father. Meditation introduces us into the inner life, fasting is an accompanying means, study transforms our minds, but it is the Discipline of prayer that brings us into the deepest and highest work of the human spirit.

Or, as Martin Luther put it:

I have so much business that I cannot get on without spending 3 hours daily in prayer.

Pray Without Ceasing?

Paul lays it down for us in several places. He often uses phrases like, “make mention of you always in our prayers” or “have not ceased praying for you”. It sounds like he’s a man who spent 12 hours per day in prayer. And it’s enough to get you feeling down about yourself because who can hold to that standard?

It took a long time for me to gain a better understanding of what prayer can (and perhaps should) look like.

First, it’s important to note that Paul’s language may not be completely literal. “Always” can mean, “always in my daily prayer session in the morning before I get to making tents”. Continuing to pray for others could mean that each day he would spend time petitioning on behalf of others and would be consistent in who he would pray for. But it does not necessarily mean that he spent each moment of each day in prayer.

Of course, he likely did devote more of his time to prayer than you or I. But when comparing ourselves to the heroes of the faith, it’s important to be encouraged. Not the other way around.

One way to be in prayer continually through your day is to change how you think of God. He’s not far off, he’s right with you as you go through your day. And the second thing that has helped me has been to stop thinking of prayer as formal sessions of petition where I’m on my knees with folded hands. That is a good way to pray and we need to do that, but that’s not praying without ceasing.

Prayer continually, being in his presence continually, is simply to have ongoing dialogue with him as you go about performing the good works he has prepared for you. Being with your family. Doing your job. Chores around your home. Those are all moments where you can commune with your creator.

Why We Need Prayer

Off the top of my head, here are several reasons why we should spend time in prayer:

  • to change
  • to seek guidance
  • to confess and ask forgiveness
  • to make requests, for ourselves and for others
  • to center ourselves
  • to relinquish control and submit
  • to praise him and overflow with thanksgiving

All of the above are vital to walking with God. Am I missing anything? Let me know!

So how does one get better at prayer? Again, I'm not the expert. But here are a few things that come to my mind.

Be bold

Matt 21:22

And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.

Mark 11:22–24

So Jesus answered and said to them, “ Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Word, that is a challenge. But look at examples in Scripture for “fervent, effective prayer”. Elijah praying for rain or no rain. Moses praying for mercy on hard hearted Israel. The apostles saying to people, “Walk”. There's a simplicity of faith implied in these descriptions.

I want to be more like a little child when I come to my father.

It takes time

Occasional joggers do not suddenly compete in a marathon. It’s the same with prayer; it takes practice.

Richard Foster:

To understand that the work of prayer involves a learning process saves us from arrogantly dismissing it as false or unreal. If we turn on the television and it does not work, we do not declare that there are no such things as electronic frequencies in the air the cable.

We can determine if we are praying correctly if the requests come to pass. If not, we look for the “block”; perhaps we are praying wrongly, perhaps there are new principles of prayer to be learned, perhaps patience and persistence are needed. We listen, make the necessary adjustments, and try again.

Expect failures or dryness … it’s a process.

Come to him regularly

We cannot expect to be able to hear God’s voice if we only seek Him occasionally. And if we’re not studying, meditating, and praying often, how can we expect to understand Him and His will?

Have compassion

Caring for others is another sure way to get us into prayer more regularly.

Matt 20:32–34

So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “ What do you want Me to do for you?” They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

Mark 5:18,19

And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon- possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “ Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.

Richard Foster sums it up well:

If we have God-given compassion and concern for others, our faith will grow and strengthen as we pray. In fact, if we genuinely love people, we desire for them far more than it is within our power to give, and that will cause us to pray.

That's a beautiful picture. And isn't it the same heart we see in the parables of the good Samaritan and the prodigal son? If it

Keep it simple

Remember that you are a child and God is your Father.

Prayer is such a vast topic, it’s almost a shame to say so little about it. Methods, styles, who to pray for, when to pray … the variety is as vast as the people who make up God’s church. But if I think about it in this way, it becomes daunting. And so I try to keep it simple.

  • Jesus taught His disciples to pray with few words (Matt 6:5–15)
  • he also taught them to pray in private
  • follow His example
  • never hesitate to bring the simplest requests to God … Children ask for anything and everything with an expectation their needs will be met
  • be persistent (think of the widow and the judge)

For me, things have improved in recent years. I still go through times where I fail to regularly bring petitions and the needs of others to my father. But I have gotten a lot better at communing with him through my days. More conversational, less formal times of just … talking to my Lord. As Foster stated above, it’s a “perpetual communion”.

And I love how Dallas Willard puts it to Christians in The Great Omission:

But you might wish to think about what your life amounts to before you die, about what kind of person you are becoming, and about whether you really would be comfortable for eternity in the presence of One whose company you have not found especially desirable for the few hours and days of your earthly existence.

I want to want to spend time with my Lord.

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<![CDATA[ The IRL fetish ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/irl-fetish/ 5ea8a45f01e05a0039d14b59 Thu, 03 Aug 2017 06:31:00 -0700 In another piece I can’t quite agree with, Nathan Jurgenson opines that we’ve turned being offline into a fetish. And a not-so-very-useful one. He starts by describing the current state of things:

Fueled by such insights into our lost “reality,” we’ve been told to resist technological intrusions and aspire to consume less information: turn off your phones, log off social media, and learn to reconnect offline. We should go out into the “real” world, lift our chins, and breathe deep the wonders of the offline …

But then he lists how this is a problem. We’ve made so much hoopla of going offline that we’re not even able to focus on the benefits of being disconnected:

But as the proliferation of such essays and books suggests, we are far from forgetting about the offline; rather we have become obsessed with being offline more than ever before. We have never appreciated a solitary stroll, a camping trip, a face-to-face chat with friends, or even our boredom better than we do now.

And:

What a ridiculous state of affairs this is. To obsess over the offline and deny all the ways we routinely remain disconnected is to fetishize this disconnection.

And so he claims the problem is that we treat this as a binary scenario: you are either online or offline. Jurgenson makes the case that we need to recognize it’s a spectrum and we’re always somewhere along the line between one and the other.

But this idea that we are trading the offline for the online, though it dominates how we think of the digital and the physical, is myopic. It fails to capture the plain fact that our lived reality is the result of the constant interpenetration of the online and offline. That is, we live in an augmented reality that exists at the intersection of materiality and information, physicality and digitality, bodies and technology, atoms and bits, the off and the online. It is wrong to say “IRL” to mean offline: Facebook is real life.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a thought provoking article. But I personally think he has minimized the affects of the addiction to the connection. Whether you define online as being on a social media network or checking email or looking up the score of the game or searching IMDB to get the name of that actor that’s on the tip of your tongue — it’s all fueled by the same desire.

Namely, the need to know something and to know it right away.

We don’t memorize facts any more, partly because there are so many of them available and partly because they’re right at our fingertips. And maybe the problem is not our desire to recall information or find stimulation, but that we’re still limited to accessing this information through clumsy fingers and glass screens. Perhaps once the information is wired through a neural network straight to our grey matter and the facts and details are accessible the second the thoughts come to our mind, this will be a non-issue. There will be no offline.

And maybe I’m just getting old and the world is passing me by.

Whatever the case, this guy will be working hard to overcome the habits to look things up immediately. Because that desire, the trigger and the resulting habit, have changed how I think and work and interact with others. And I know there’s depth out there waiting to be felt and experienced. Fetish or not, I’d like a life that’s a little more disconnected than the one I have now.

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<![CDATA[ Why you should quit reading paper books ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/stop-reading-paper/ 5ea8a01801e05a0039d14b52 Thu, 03 Aug 2017 06:23:00 -0700 Ok, this title had me disagreeing right from the start. But although I love paper books, I also understand and appreciate some of the benefits of digital books. As such, I was curious to hear what the author had to say. And whether he could change my mind.

Nope. Not even close.

Yes, the ability to add highlights to books I read on a Kindle (or in the Kindle app) are nice to have. But due to the closed nature of the Amazon e-book ecosystem, I would never recommend anyone rely solely on Kindle for storing their reading notes.

The other advantages of e-books are of value (they’re inexpensive and highly portable), but their drawbacks are at an equal level. Perhaps even higher. Notes are a pain. Scannability is non-existent. And searchabiity is not much better.

Those are the primary benefits the author is toting about e-books. But give me my paper books, some coloured Muji pens, and Day One to store my notes and I’m a happy man. When I’ve completed a book that challenged and inspired me, I can quickly and easily flip through its pages and find the highlighted, underlined words that caught my attention. And my scribbled notes!

Digital books cannot offer the total experience. And you do not have to lose your notes just because you use a paper book.

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<![CDATA[ Keynote is king ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/keynote-is-king/ 5ea4aa2a60f5d300384b6071 Mon, 31 Jul 2017 15:56:00 -0700 My past month has brought something new to my workday. I’m a big advocate of writing for any role involved in a SaaS product, but it’s imperative for customer success. And while I’ve had the privilege of writing onboarding campaigns, interacting with customers over email and live chat, sending marketing emails, and summarizing research results in my roles, there is one bit of work I have never done.

Write UI copy. And as it turns out, I freaking love it.

This past month, while our team polished up the first phase of Conveyor in preparation of our private beta, I’ve been reviewing and tweaking the copy for all areas of the product. This has been a big, challenging undertaking. And a fun one!

While I’d love to chatter on about the importance of micro-copy and looking for opportunities to delight in this type of writing, today I want to focus on how to organize an endeavour like this. If you have a product of any size, there is a lot to keep track of. And if there is one thing you want in the copy of your product, it’s consistency.

Once I started to dig in on just seeing what our current copy was and all the bit of the product that include copy, I realized I needed some structure to this work. I immediately read a handful of posts to get some insight here, including re-reading a lot of John Saito’s work, but did not find any in-depth tutorial that laid out a good foundation, toolset, or process.

And so I just reviewed my tools on hand. OmniOutliner and Ulysses got some consideration, but since I would need to share my copy suggestions with my teammates, I went with Paper.

Paper from Dropbox is one of our current favourite tools at Wildbit. We’ve been using it since it first debuted and it just continues to improve. People are using it for so many different types of work (see this example from Noah Stokes and the Creative Market team).

And it has been working fairly well, especially the auto-generated table of contents in the sidebar. Since Conveyor is a Mac client with a full set of cloud services and a web front end, there’s a lot of different places where I need to review copy (as the screenshot below indicates — it does not all fit in the small vertical height of my MacBook screen). I love the ability to work on a bit of copy for the web app, then hover over the sidebar to flip to a corresponding screen in the Mac client. Consistency, remember?

But as time has gone on, this Paper doc has begun to get a tad unwieldy. There have been a couple of times where I wondered if I had missed the best tool at my disposal. Keynote.

And this past weekend, I was reading through the transcript of the second episode of Craig Mod’s new podcast, On Margins (yes, I rarely listen to podcasts and am very thankful for people who publish a full transcript). He was interviewing Frank Chimero, two great minds of our generation, to discuss making books.

Of course, in a 45 minute conversation, a lot of sub-topics pop up and they touched on Keynote. And their dialogue well captured what I love about this app. They begin to talk about their creative process and large walls and putting up materials to meditate on, to move around as the creative juices do their thing. And Frank says this:

And then I buy blue painter tape, and I’ve got a bunch of index cards. And just stray print outs from my crappy little inkjet printer, and I just sort of go to town on it. And sometimes it’s up on the wall, other times I like spread it out on the floor on a table and I’m just trying to sort out these notecards.
Because I have this loosely, blurry idea on my head and I’m trying to find the patterns and all of these things that I’ve been collecting that seem like they’re related somehow. So, the meaning emerges out of that. So, after that, I actually, maybe write a little bit in just like a text editor but I actually go into Keynote. Because what it allows me to do is to get all the images and the quotes arranged in a specific order. And also, I can nest them, I can sort of create a little hierarchy.
So, it becomes almost like a visual outline for me instead of a text outline that you would do in Google Docs or Word or something like that. And that works really well for me, because I can just sort of push things around and type up a quote or I can do a speaker commentary. There’s presenter notes inside of Keynotes so I can just write a full paragraph.

Craig closes this part of the conversation this way:

Keynote really does kind of turn things into objects in a way that text editors don’t. That sort of invite you to move things around in a way that, even in like Google Docs for example can click and drag on images. But I hate doing it, (laughs) like it doesn’t feel good to do it. Keynote I’m constantly shuffling stuff. The nesting works so well with tabs and shift tabs to unnest stuff. Apple really nailed something about tactility in Keynote. To me it feels the closest to like having a wall on the computer, in the same way you can move notecards around on a blackboard or whatever.

I love the descriptions of their process and how Keynote fits into that. It really is one of the most enjoyable tools I work with.

A lot of my teaching material starts in Ulysses as a bunch of bullet points, quotes, and the occasional group of sentences. But it’s when I start fleshing out things in Keynote that it all comes together. One would think that it’s not conducive to the type of usage they describe above, but for some reason it works.

Back to my work with the copy for Conveyor. Paper has been working, but I wonder if Keynote would have been better. I could create the clean outline structure with nested slides, then add suggested copy changes in the speaker notes. It’s certainly not the use case its designers likely had in mind, but that’s the power of a well thought out app. And it’s nothing new for Keynote.

This is one my favourite apps in my tool belt and one I do not mention often enough.

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<![CDATA[ Singular focus ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/singular-focus/ 5ea4a9f460f5d300384b6067 Mon, 31 Jul 2017 06:56:00 -0700 I must confess that I’ve been slowly coming back around to the idea of using an iPad for serious work once again. I’ve only ever owned one iPad, I believe it was an iPad 3. Somewhere along the line I just stopped using it and it eventually became our daughters main device.

And although you can do a lot of things on an iPad, I was of the mind I might as well be on my laptop so I can do everything that pertains to my work. My apologies to Ben Brooks …

But since WWDC, with the new 10” iPad and the changes coming in iOS 11, I’ve been reconsidering once again. Will some things still be more of a pain to do on an iPad compared to my MacBook? Yes. But I’m coming to the place where the primary benefit of an iPad may outweigh all the inconveniences that come with it.

That benefit is a better ability to focus.

By that I mean a singular focus. A constraint forced on your by the design of combined hardware and software that make an iPad what it is.

That concept was articulated well by Justin Searls in his article Giving the iPad a full-time job:

As a result, I’ve come around to a more nuanced view of productivity: that of a tenuous balance between friction and focus. “Friction” is the necessary turning of knobs on my tools in order to do work. “Focus” is the intentional ommission of knobs from tools to foster clear thinking. Any knowledge worker must balance their own creative action with thoughtful attention, and every software interface crystallizes an attempt at striking such a balance.

He also does a bang up job describing the problem with using macOS:

As I mentioned above, I can no longer trust myself to not get bogged down in distraction when I have a full-blown windowing system at my disposal.

That is the feeling I’m battling as well. Although I believe in the idea of focused “deep work” and work on a team that supports it, and although I have days where I have success with longer periods of focus, there are still many days where I struggle. More days than not. The tools and 10+ years of ingrained habits work against me.

Is using an iPad and iOS a crutch when the real problem is my ability and desire? Am I choosing to sabotage myself most days by ensuring I’m available in Slack and checking Basecamp and email? Well, yes. But again, it’s been 10+ years of being always connected to get to this state. Maybe it’s going to take a little help and some forced constraints to see some improvements.

And so I’m leaning towards making my next work machine an iPad. I can use all the help I can get.

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<![CDATA[ My favorite “what should I try first” games by category ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/board-gamers/ 5ea4a9b660f5d300384b605f Mon, 31 Jul 2017 06:21:00 -0700 My friend and coworker Rian recently started a new blog (ok, it’s on Medium so I don’t want to call it a blog, but it’s essentially a blog and he’s my friend so I’ve kept the chastising to a minimum) where he and another friend review board games. And it’s pretty cool!

Titled Boardgame Realm, they describe the site this way:

Photos and reviews of family games, solo games, and heavier endeavors.

Being highly competitive, I enjoy games of any type. However, my spouse does not. And so for the last 14 years of our marriage, this has not been an area of focus for me. But I have a lot of fond memories of games of Monopoly has a kid, then later Axis and Allies and Risk when I was older. And I love a good game of Scrabble.

Now that our own kids are getting to an age where they can understand (and do well) at the games I enjoy, board games are on my radar again. And while Rian has been free with his recommendations at work, this is a nice resource to see what might be a good fit.

I’ve got a couple of games queued up on Amazon for the summer months.

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<![CDATA[ What am I doing in Uganda? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/uganda/ 5ea4a6ce60f5d300384b602d Sat, 15 Jul 2017 15:13:00 -0700 Pat Dryburgh has been a friend since … shoot, 2008 or so. He designed a lot of the ads for the Fusion Ads network, along with some of the other branding work for the business. And so I was excited when we met in person for the first time last summer.

During our visit, he mentioned he was leaving the agency he was working for to go on his own again. And this spring he took a huge step and left the comfy confines of the west coast of Canada to travel to Uganda. He wrote the post above in March this year and, if I’m not mistaken, he’s still there.

He took a chance to help on a product a friend and colleague was starting. Not surprising, right? If you work in the web/design/dev community, this is a familiar sounding story that we’ve all heard. Except, this one is different. And it starts with where it’s taking place:

All of this is simply to point out one simple truth: Uganda is unlike any country I’ve ever been. And as a designer that both excites and scares the shit out of me.

What I love about this story is that Pat was willing to forgo the regular road that so many of us take. He’s not working on the next photo sharing app. Instead, he’s willing to tackle a problem that will make a major impact on the lives of the people who may be able to use it.

As a product designer, it is my job to uncover the jobs for which a customer will “hire” a product. Through a discovery process that involves user interviews and discussions around business models and strategy, I try to help founders and product managers understand what their customers need and design solutions to bring that value to the customer. Perhaps I am a bit naive, but I believe a significant portion of our collective understanding comes from a familiarity with North American culture — people, for the most part, work roughly 40 hours a week and are looking for ways to save time and get more done, faster. Now two days into my time here in Kampala, I realize none of that familiarity applies.

I hope this a trend that grows, where more designers and developers have a desire to work on real problems rather than first world problems. This is the harder road to travel, even if compensation is good (admittedly, I have no idea what Pat is getting paid to work on this project. But it doesn’t matter). The problems people face in designing products in places other than North America are different. Bigger. Harder to overcome (in a later post, Pat gives a good example when conducting user research, with people who likely did not have Internet access at all).

Anyway, I’m excited for Pat and love to see him take this step.

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<![CDATA[ The fragility of the IoT ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/internet-of-things/ 5ea4a6f960f5d300384b6034 Sat, 15 Jul 2017 15:00:00 -0700 I’ve been thinking a lot about the IoT (Internet of Things) of late. If this is a new term to you, it’s simply a reference to all the connections between the devices we now use. Wikipedia puts it this way:

The Internet of things (IoT) is the inter-networking of physical devices, vehicles (also referred to as "connected devices" and "smart devices"), buildings, and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity which enable these objects to collect and exchange data.

I expand my own definition to also include the software services we string together. And most of the time, I feel like the entire thing is a just a jumbled up, tangled ball of yarn that has no hope of staying together.

I know, I know … get of my lawn, right?

I haven’t gotten into home automation to this point. But where I see the fragility is in the area of personal analytics. Strava and Fitbit are great examples. I use the former to track my runs, the latter to track a whole lot more. But do you think I could get the two to talk to each other? Nuh uh.

And my end goal is to get everything into Gyroscope. Why? This type of service is almost like a journal, showing future me what the days, weeks, and months for past me were like. The problem is I have very little confidence that Gyroscope (or Strava or Fitbit) will be around in 10 years. Or even 3 years.

How often do photo management services shut down? How hard is it to sync all your favourite services together? And if you happen to kludge together a workflow using Zapier, IFTTT, or several iOS apps, how long does it last?

In 2011, Cameron Koczon shared how in the future, rather than us gravitating around the sites/services we used, the content we create and share will gravitate around us. He nicely outlined the way things have been:

Most online content today is stuck. It has roots firmly planted in one of the many sites and applications around the web. Because content is rooted, we are forced to spend precious time recording its location in the hopes of navigating back. We bookmark websites. We favorite tweets. We create lists in text files.

And he opined about how things would be different in the future, where your content would be liberated and open:

The result is a user-controlled collection of content that is free (as in speech), distilled, open, personal, and—most importantly—useful. You do the work to assemble a collection of content from disparate sources, and apps do the work to make those collections useful. These orbital collections will push users to be more self-reliant and applications to be more innovative.

It was a great piece of writing and a lovely vision of how things should be. He described the software equivalent of the Internet of Things quite well, long before the term came into the public consciousness. Six years later, while each of the major social networks are doing their best to create their ideal walled garden, I’m still waiting for Koczon’s prediction to come true.

Until it does, I’ll be over here with the other old guys, smoking my pipe on the front porch and reminiscing about simpler days.

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<![CDATA[ How and why to keep a “commonplace book” ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/commonplace-books/ 5ea4a6a760f5d300384b6026 Sat, 15 Jul 2017 05:48:00 -0700 This is something my friend Patrick Rhone talked about often over at The Cramped (at least, before he went nonline). He linked to this very post in fact. And I love the idea, even if it is one I have not adopted myself.

What is a commonplace book? Holiday explains it this way:

A commonplace book is a central resource or depository for ideas, quotes, anecdotes, observations and information you come across during your life and didactic pursuits. The purpose of the book is to record and organize these gems for later use in your life, in your business, in your writing, speaking or whatever it is that you do.

It’s a popular concept these days as the analog/paper revolution continues to gain momentum. Austin Kleon advocates the practice. Shane Parrish has mentioned the term only a few times, but I believe his posts on becoming a better reader reflect some of the concepts. And Shawn Blanc is currently on the hunt for the best setup for a digital commonplace book.

Personally, I have not yet adopted a paper journal for this purpose. And I may never do so. However, I do a similar sort of practice with a combination of tools and Day One as the hub.

I have not taken the time to really nail down my setup, but it is a hodgepodge of saved items from Pinboard, Instapaper, and my RSS reader (Reeder on iOS, Readkit on macOS). IFTTT pulls highlights and likes from Pinboard and Instapaper (and Medium, before they shut down their IFTTT integration) and auto-generates journal entries. Other times, I use the share iOS extension to add items manually (which is still easier than hand writing).

My one area that needs improvement is reading paper books. I have started highlighting a lot more as I read and making an index in the back of the book. But most of those items of interest are locked away in the book itself. I should take pictures of the passages, or something. Room for improvement.

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<![CDATA[ The discipline of study ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/discipline-of-study/ 5ea4a67c60f5d300384b601e Fri, 07 Jul 2017 07:07:00 -0700 In God's Word, we are told to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul, mind, and strength. How have you differentiated between the heart, soul, and mind over your Christian walk?

For me, the mind is vital to my walk. For to be like God, I must think like God. Of course, His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts higher than our thoughts. But the "new man" can think more like God than could the "old man" that was nailed to the Cross.

But in order for that to happen, we must apply ourselves. That is where the disciplines of study and meditation come in. I talked about meditation earlier, so let’s consider the importance of the Christian discipline of study.

What it is

I like how Richard Foster puts it in Celebration of Discipline:

Study is a specific kind of experience in which through careful attention to reality the mind is enabled to move in certain direction. Remember, the mind will always take on an order conforming to the order upon which it concentrates.

What’s he saying here? Simply this: you will begin to resemble the things you spend your time and attention on. This is why Paul exhorts us to think on those things that are true, just, honourable, lovely, and pure. Today we might say, “Garbage in, garbage out” to reflect this idea (and to be clear, we want to minimize the garbage).

The Scriptures repeat the importance of purposefully directing our minds, even to the point where it’s a mark of who we are. We see this a few times in Romans 8, and elsewhere.

For those walk according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who walk according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

Paul also expresses this idea well in 1 Cor. In chapter 1, he contrasts the wisdom of the world with the wisdom that comes from God. In chapter 2, he builds on this by comparing the natural man with the spiritual man (very similar to his point in Romans 8). This is summed up in 1 Cor 2:12:

Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things that are freely given to us by God.

God has a purpose for his children and he equips us to be able to fulfill this purpose. And one part of our purpose is to join him in battle against the spiritual forces of darkness that currently rule this world. Paul covers this in Eph 6 when listing the armour of God. And what is the Christian’s only weapon in this battle?

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

His word is the weapon we use. But how can we fight this battle, both in the world and within ourselves, if we are not armed? Kent Hughes sums this up so very well in his book, Disciplines of a Godly Man:

You can never have a Christian mind without reading the Scriptures regularly because you cannot be profoundly influenced by that which you do not know.

As I mentioned last month, we cannot meditate on His word if we do not know it. Similarly, if we do not make regular study of the word a part of our everyday lives, we are essentially unarmed. Ineffective Christians. And we will think like the world and follow its patterns.

How can we think more like God?

We will have a worldly mindset if we do not study God’s word. We will think like the natural man, not the spiritual man. We will be conformed to the thinking of the world.

The church will look just like the rest of the world. And so we must come to the feet of Christ regularly and spend time in his word, learning all that he has revealed about himself to us.

Here are a few tips that have been helpful in my study over the years.

  • Listening to sermons and reading Christian authors are good uses of our time. But they cannot replace our own personal study of the Word.
  • Avail yourself to the entirety of Scripture. The gospels and epistles are lovely, but so to is the historical, poetical, and prophetic books of the OT.
  • Be consistent. Personal study is a habit.
  • Be systematic: this will make it easier to achieve both #2 and #3. A system of study, or following a reading plan, will ensure that you read all of the Bible and make it a habit.
  • Be spontaneous. In contrast to the last point, allow yourself to simply read as you're led from time to time. It's wonderful to have certain passages jump out at you.

As for how to go about studying the word, there are many options. Our own personal devotion time is one. I prefer to read through the Bible using a reading plan every second year. Every other year, I pick one book in the Bible and read through it 20 times in a row. Then move on to the next book.

Between those two options, my familiarity with Scripture has increased steadily in the 15+ years since I submitted to Christ.

But while those are a great start, an intimate and life changing relationship with God requires a little more effort. This is where times of purposeful study have helped me greatly.

As Cal Newport calls it, my times of “deliberate practice” have taken my understanding of the word to far greater levels than reading through a plan each day. How easy it is to just coast through our routines! I need to purposefully stretch myself at times.

For me, that has usually come through a small group Bible study or teaching adult Sunday school. Periods where my surface awareness & knowledge gained through daily reading was stretched and expanded as I dug deeper into a specific passage or Biblical concept.

And I so love those times!

And that is because the result is I'm better able to enjoy God for what he is. The deeper study results in a better view of him, a pulling back of the veil. As the old hymn puts it, "I in my saviour am happy and blest!

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<![CDATA[ Why you need “white space” in your daily routine ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/white-space/ 5ea4a63a60f5d300384b6014 Fri, 07 Jul 2017 06:56:00 -0700 On the topic of habits, Jocelyn K. Glei makes the case for ensuring your have whitespace in your day (aka margin). She’s drawing from the design principle and applying it to every day life.

We need white space in our daily lives just as much as we need it in our designs because the concept carries over: If our lives are over-cluttered and over-booked, we can’t focus properly on anything. What’s more, this way of working actually shrinks our ability to think creatively.

The older I get, the more of this I find myself needing margin. This is a short post, but I refer to it here because she includes a few good examples of what this can look like.

As Shawn Blanc writes in Day 37 of The Focus Course, boredom is hard to come by these days. And that’s a problem …

It’s not so easy to be bored anymore. You have to choose to be bored. It used to be that boredom chose you — you were somewhere and you were waiting and there was nothing to do and you were bored. Now, you’re never bored. You can see pictures of some stranger surfing on the other side of the world, or get a live video stream of someone’s hike over Tokyo. This stuff is amazing.
But it means we have to be proactive about our boredom and down time. It means we have to be intentional about creating margin for thought. If 100% of our down time is filled with passive entertainment and bits of information, then when does our mind have a chance to be calm? When do we have a moment to think without needing to think?

Amen to that!

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<![CDATA[ A better approach to managing tasks ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/things-3/ 5ea4a60360f5d300384b600c Thu, 22 Jun 2017 15:45:00 -0700 Before I say a word about Things 3, I’ll address the elephant in the room. I switch between productivity tools … a lot. Likely, too often. There is a cost to switching from one tool to another.

However, I will say that it’s become a fairly quick and easy switch these days. Like email or Twitter clients, I find that I can move from one task management tool to another in a short amount of time these days. That may be partly because I keep my life’s list of tasks and responsibilities pretty lean these days. Much of my home and non-professional areas of responsibility are comprised of a consistent set of recurring tasks.

And so this past year I gave Todoist a try because I was curious about the long term affect of their karma feature. It was an interesting addition to a task management tool, but Todoist itself never felt like a long term solution for me. Its spartan UI was not endearing (like most cross platform apps) and the feature set was similar to all the other options.

So when I got a first look at Things 3, it sufficiently got my attention.

Some history

If you're not familiar, I did not start using a Mac until a while after Mr. Jobs made his return to Apple. It was 2004 or so when I started paying attention to the company, but it was not until 2006 that I got my first used Mac. And one of the critical aspects that drew me in was the well designed software. And the original version of Things was one of the most appealing apps.

But that feels like a long time ago. Since then, my pattern of managing my work has looked a little like this:

Things > Basecamp/Highrise > OmniFocus > 2Do > Todoist > Things 3

There were a few others in there (anyone recall Remember The Milk?), but these were the major players. One of the main reasons that I moved away from Things was the lack of a good sync solution (this was before Dropbox and working from multiple devices was so common) and how slow they were at improving the app.

But one look at the new version of Things and I immediately thought there was a chance I would give it another shot. Why?

Let me explain.

Things I like about Things 3

The most important aspect of Things 3, the part that immediately grabbed my eye, was how projects are treated. They feel somewhat like a document.

In all the services I’ve used over the years, there has been a gap between managing the actual tasks and the information that is required to work on those tasks. There always needed to be a secondary piece of software required. That might be apps like Yojimbo or Evernote or Ulysses, or it might be parts of the macOS (files/folders in Finder).

Things 3 is the first tool that made me think there was a chance I could handle it all in one place. First, any project or area can have different content types. You can add comments to a project or a task, including smart links to content in other apps. You can add tasks, sections, and checklists to a project or area. And best of all, you can easily move stuff around.

This is a big improvement for me.

Here are a few of the other things I like about this app:

• you can have checklists within a task

• it’s super keyboard friendly

• multiple windows make daily/weekly planning real nice

• and one unexpected feature that got my attention right away, how dates are handled

◦ you can have dates or deadlines or both

◦ when you want to work on something is different than when you have a hard due date

▪ the first allows you to include intention in your task list, where as the second still gives you the ability to set a hard line for yourself

▪ and so, incomplete tasks (without a deadline) just move to the next day

• plus, you can set reminders (alarms) at specific times

This last note is such a breath of fresh air to this genre of tools. Previously, I would grow frustrated with my tools because my intentions would result in a growing list of overdue tasks. Now, the list just rolls over to the following day.

As Drew Coffman says:

In Things, repeating tasks placed in the Today menu simply move to the next day when unfinished. No angry overdue colors, no need to rearrange dates. The Today list simply moves forward, ready to be viewed and accomplished.

The treatment of dates and how projects or areas feel like a document are what caught my attention. But this is also one of the most well designed, delightful macOS apps I’ve used in a while. It gives me a similar feel to Ulysses … a feeling that gets me thinking it’ll be in my dock for a long while.

Things I don’t like about Things 3

It’s not perfect though. Some of the vertical spacing is funny (see the calendar entries compared to a task). And although projects and areas feel like a document, they’d feel even more so if it supported Markdown formatting in the notes.

Last, it’s limited in terms of creating custom views. However, Things has always been an opinionated tool with less functionality. The overall experience of the third version is so solid, it overcomes any lack that I’ve felt in my usage.

I’m solely onboard with it as my primary tool.

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<![CDATA[ Darwin was a slacker and you should be too ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/slackers/ 5ea4a5d060f5d300384b6006 Thu, 22 Jun 2017 15:15:00 -0700 This was a fun read (hat tip to my coworker, Eugene Federenko). The article covers the working habits of several well known thinkers from years past, and also digs in to the psychology and research that supports their tendencies. I came away from the post feeling like it was a page out of Deep Work.

But it is good to remind ourselves of some of these truths. And I love it when I am able to read about people like Darwin or Hemingway and get an accurate picture of their days, if only to compare it with my own. Like them, I feel I only have a good 4–5 hours of output in me on any given day. However, the contrast between the rest of their day(s) and my own, or our culture at large, is stark.

Where as they spent the rest of their time in healthy pursuits like walking, napping, or conversing with family and friends, we spend several more hours in our chairs, in front of the screen. Oh, they had their busy work, replying to correspondence and things of that nature. But reading articles like this leaves me with a sense that this time was … less frenetic than what we experience today. I would wager that they certainly experienced far less stimulation than we do now.

Even working for a company where focus is valued and time away from work is highly encouraged, I still struggle with the idea that 4–5 hours of my best work is better than x amount of time in chair. Silly, but true.

There was one other aspect to this article that had me thinking. These people experienced lives of privilege: not everyone has the opportunity to structure their days like this. Not then and not now. While Darwin enjoyed his afternoon nap after a morning of mental exertion, were the servants in his household doing the same? Likely not.

5 hours a day or 8, we’re very blessed to be thinking about these things. That’s something to keep in mind at 2pm on a Thursday afternoon when I don’t feel energized to do any hard work.

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<![CDATA[ Assume they have something to teach you ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/be-teachable/ 5ea35a5ea4fd530038e92a0b Thu, 25 May 2017 15:17:00 -0700 Rands shares a good piece of advice for how to get value out of all interactions. At the base of his advice is that, although not all interactions with all people will benefit you directly, it’s still worth your time to make investments in others.

He summarizes his advice this way:

Life isn’t short. It’s finite. As a leader with a finite set of minutes, it is your job to find the stories. They will teach you.

He’s describing that idea that although he is not hiring for a position, it can still be a good investment to talk to someone outside of your area of expertise. You cannot always see them at the time, but our small world brings a myriad of related connections. The different teams, departments, companies, and the humans that comprise them: it so often comes down to who you know.

But if you read the post, you may see another other benefit here. There’s value here for Cathy (the person he’s meeting with). In asking her some pointed questions, she gets the benefit of telling her story, of being validated herself.

Sometimes we all just need someone to listen to us.

I’m guessing “Cathy” remembers Michael Lopp because he gave of his time, showed genuine interest, and was a good listener. We all benefit from people like that. So when you cannot see the direct benefit and you're tight for time (because we’re all tight for time), Rands reminds us of the indirect benefits and how to best achieve them.

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<![CDATA[ The discipline of Christian meditation ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/meditation/ 5ea35a89a4fd530038e92a11 Thu, 25 May 2017 07:54:00 -0700 All the exhortations listed in Scriptures are focused on one thing: helping us persevere by keeping our focus in the right place. Namely, on Christ and his work. And the disciplines we see listed (explicitly or implicitly) in the New Testament are all beneficial.

However, I cannot help but put three above the rest.

The Inward Disciplines

I like the way Richard Foster breaks down the different disciplines in Celebration of Discipline. He lists them as the inward, outward, and corporate disciplines.

  • Inward: meditation, fasting, study, and prayer
  • Outward: simplicity, solitude, submission, and service
  • Corporate: confession, worship, guidance, and celebration

Again, these are all highly valuable to our walk (no matter how you categorize them). But I put special emphasis on the inward disciplines, and specifically on study, meditation, and prayer. I find the three are in many ways intertwined and, without them, I do not imagine we will do well at any of the remaining disciplines.

We must start with our minds, how we see and think about the world. As Paul points out in one of the pillar verses for my own walk (Romans 12:2 NET):

Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God - what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Where the mind spends its time, the heart follows.

Meditation

How do you describe meditation? I find it to be one of the most interesting, fascinating, and enjoyable of the disciplines, partly because it's difficult to practice, partly because it’s so interrelated with several other disciplines.

How do we define it? Most dictionaries will say something like this:

to think deeply or focus one's mind for a period of time

That may be the opposite of how many think of meditation. In eastern religions, meditation is often used as a means of clearing the mind, of removing all thoughts. Using the great app Headscape, you’ll get a sense of this as you listen to Andy’s soothing tones and he will at times guide you to an empty state.

However, this is the opposite of what the Bible gets at when it speaks of meditation. Christian meditation is the filling of the mind, an effort to completely focus on God. On his character and his works and his word. I cannot think of a better picture of this than the 1st Psalm (verses 1–2 ESV):

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

The Hebrew word used in Psalm 1:2 is to mutter. The same word describes the murmuring of kings in Psalm 2 and the chattering of doves in Isaiah 59. In Psalm 1, it's indicative of a muttering. It indicates a vocal aspect.

Let’s consider a few questions that may come to mind.

Is meditation easy? No, not for most people. Especially in our day and age. Kenneth Boa alludes to the work required in Conformed to His Image:

The discipline comes in the effort to deliberately choose that upon which we will set our minds and in the skill of gently returning to it when we find that we have wandered.

How is meditation related to the other disciplines? For one, it requires silence and solitude (at least at first … in time a person can get good enough that they can focus on a subject for a period of time even in chaotic, noisy environments).

Back to Psalm 1: how can the Psalmist meditate day and night without internalizing the Word? Memorization of Scripture is another related form of discipline, one I would put in an overlapping circle between study and meditation.

Most important, how can a person start meditating? First, it can take different forms. One may be the purposeful time of focusing on something intensely, like one line of Scripture, or a characteristic of God.

Other times, it might be a longer session of pondering a problem or application of Godly wisdom. Our pastor is fond of stating, “Here’s what I’ve been wrestling with this week” during a sermon. This “wrestling” is a form of meditation. I do this often as I take a walk. Those familiar with Deep Work may think of the section titled Meditate Productively: this is the idea I’m getting at here.

And so I would postulate that meditation is two sided. One is a time of focus, in solitude and silence, where you bring your mind to bear on the Word. The second comes later; you can meditate on that Word through your day as you go about your activities.

And so there are a few things required to get into this habit.

  • Desire: you can start with just a touch of this, but unless it grows over time, you’ll only be following a system. Ask for this desire by praying for it.
  • Whitespace (aka margin): this is needed in order to give yourself the opportunity just be still for a period of time
  • Silence: this also make the habit easier to adopt, and must be present both internally and externally. Internal silence is a result of the whitespace mentioned above: without any margin, your mind will struggle to be still. The same will be true if you do not create some external silence: this is not just audible noise, but input of all types (including all internet enabled input).
  • Solitude: there is so much value in creating a space in the home for quiet, inner activities. Another good option is quiet path to walk

Once you have all these in place, find a verse, a short passage of Scripture, a thought about God or one of his characteristics, and focus on that for a time. Over time, memorize a longer passage of Scripture so that you can meditate on it during different breaks in your day. Maybe that 15 minute walk to the café for your afternoon coffee is better spent going through the sermon on the mount or Romans 8 than reading Twitter.


How many of us faithfully read through our Bible each year, but it’s a speed reading 10–15 minute session each morning? We should not mistake familiarity with the Biblical narrative and themes as intimacy with our Father. His word is not spiritual fast food, to be gulped down between entries on our calendar. It’s meant to be chewed slowly, to be savoured.

Developing a habit of meditation helps us with just that.

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<![CDATA[ Can Coffee Help You Sleep? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/coffee-sleep/ 5ea35a3ea4fd530038e92a05 Thu, 18 May 2017 06:20:00 -0700 There are a couple of different coffee focused newsletters I’ve subscribed to over the years. The current one is from Roasty, a site dedicated to the enjoyment of coffee and those who are passionate about it. The man behind it, Matt, describes it this way:

This website, however, I built because I love coffee, and I wanted to share that love of coffee with you and everyone else who shares my passion. Through this, we can all enjoy the glory of thoughtfully made, mindfully prepared “slow” coffee together – even if we’re not in the same room. Hell, even if we’re not in the same country.

In a recent email, Matt asked the question about whether coffee can help you sleep. Sounds like a silly question, right? Well, he makes the case that this is true.

However, did you know that coffee can also be used to help you sleep?  While that may sound crazy, when you take a look at how our body reacts when we drink one cup of coffee or three, you can begin to understand exactly why it can actually ultimately have the opposite effect from what you might expect.  In fact, the more coffee you drink, the more tired you could ultimately feel as your body continues to react the endless supply of coffee you keep pouring into your system.

He gets into the physiology of caffeine and its effect on your adenosine function, the cycle that your body takes with caffeine, and even includes some practical tips on how to use caffeine to aid your sleep.

Personally, this entire idea sounds like a recipe for disaster. Any coffee after 4pm is likely to cause issues with my sleep. But we are all different and I personally am more sensitive to caffeine that many folks. I also know that my sleep is affected by the regularity of my coffee intake. If I have a long string of days with 2–3 cups of strong coffee, I will eventually increase in fatigue, irritability, and experience lower quality sleep (that is why I reset my system every 4 weeks or so).

However, I do agree with his case that coffee intake will result in drowsiness. Just as I would not use coffee as a sleep aid, I try not to rely on it for energy either. It truly is self-defeating in this regard. Nothing is worse than the energy crash after the post-lunch coffee. So many people struggle with energy and focus at the tail end of the work day and coffee/caffeine have a role in that issue.

At any rate, it’s an interesting topic. My advice is that good sleep is better aided by an overall healthy lifestyle. Eat well, all things in moderation, and physical activity will do a lot more good for getting proper sleep than a coffee at 7pm.

Next week: let’s discuss the coffee nap!

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<![CDATA[ How to manage up with your boss ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/managing-up/ 5ea35a15a4fd530038e929fe Thu, 18 May 2017 05:41:00 -0700 This article is interesting to me for two reasons. One, it well illustrates the different type of communication preferences people have. And how that can be hard when your boss communicates differently than you.

I once had a boss who would send me a series of two-word emails throughout the day, each one bearing the same message: “Call me.” Each time I received one of these emails, the hairs on the back of my neck would stiffen and my stomach would churn violently.

The author’s reaction was never justified:

When I did call my boss, our conversation was always friendly. It might be that he wanted to get an update on a project, or ask me a quick question, or even compliment me on a presentation. It was almost never bad news.

However, I call this lazy leadership. How much more effective could this person have been if she did not worry about these email “bombs”?

The second interesting aspect of this article was her solution to what she perceived as a problem.

Inspired by Grove and Drucker’s approaches, I created my own standardized, habitual communication with my boss. My goal was to make sure that we would always be in sync, and that he had an up-to-date understanding of all my projects—which meant that we could cut down on phone calls.

She would send him an email every Friday highlighting three things: what she had done that week, what she was currently working on, and what she was waiting on. This simple once a week activity that took 15 minutes solved her problem.

Now, the part that interests me is not so much her solution, but her initiative. I’m a good example of a reactive person, who often fails to come up with proactive solutions like this. I'm learning, but it can be a painful process.

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<![CDATA[ Deep prayer > deep work ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/deep-prayer/ 5ea359efa4fd530038e929f5 Thu, 11 May 2017 15:32:00 -0700 One thing I have come to appreciate about Cal Newport’s Deep Work is the focus on weaning yourself from stimulus. I say appreciate, not experience. I still struggle with habits that have been ingrained over the past 10 years.

But one area where I am coming to see the most benefit — and one where this ability to focus is most critical — is in communion with God. How can I expect to be changed by the word if I cannot read for more than a few minutes without doing something else? Or if I cannot pray with a sense of waiting? How long does it take for one to feel the presence of the Spirit? To hear the still, small voice of the Almighty creator of all things?

I dare say it takes more than 10 distracted minutes a day.

And this is more important to my life than career success.

Over the past 18 months since I read Deep Work, I’ve had varying degrees of success with focus in my work day. Each month, each week, and each day bring different projects, different areas of responsibility that require our attention. It is easier to achieve focus with some, less so with others.

But over and over, I come back to the fact that while Newport’s concept of increasing our ability to focus is crucial to a successful career, it’s even more crucial to a successful Christian life. One that is lived attuned to the Spirit. One that is carefully watching to see where God is working, then ready and willing to join him in it.

There Is Depth in Freedom

One of my goals for this year was “deeper times of devotion”. Now, that is a goal that does not meet the criteria of good goals. It’s general, not specific. Therefore, it’s not measurable. However, I purposefully left it somewhat ambiguous, for I do not want to simply adhere to a rule without seeking the true purpose (something I am prone to do).

And so I have a very general guideline. I leave the entire hour of 5–6am open for devotions. My reading plan only requires 10–15 mins each day, so I have a good amount of time to meditate, pray, or just sit in stillness. By not setting a list of rules for this time, I give myself the freedom to see where I’m led.

  • I allow myself to sleep in some days … if I get up at 5:20am, I still have a good amount of time left
  • I make my coffee as a part of this time
  • I have been reading one Psalm every day, on top of my regular Bible reading — this is a slower read, more meditation than “study”
  • I have started to practice praying the Psalm when it really resonates (not all do)
  • I have spent more time contemplatively praying the Lord’s prayer
  • I pray more often, for some regular items or persons

If there are days when something else comes up, like a deadline or this newsletter or I feel like a walk or run are a better choice, I allow myself to do that thing. Some weekends, I stay up later and skip devotions the next morning.

I can do that because I’ve set this goal for the year and that gets reviewed each and every week.


Depth of any sort takes time. For the Christian, this is especially true. For we not only have to fight off our internal struggles of boredom, distraction, and desires. But we also have external forces at work trying to impede intimacy with God at all costs.

So as I focus on improving my skills to achieve depth in my work, I’m beginning to realize how vital this is for all areas of my life. Especially that which is most important to me.

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<![CDATA[ Recovering entrepreneurs ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/recovering-entrepreneurs/ 5ea338dea4fd530038e929d9 Thu, 11 May 2017 13:00:00 -0700 My teammate Garrett Dimon shared some thoughts earlier this year on employment vs. self-employment. One part stuck out for me:

Being self-employed is great. And it’s not so great. Like anything, there are tradeoffs. For you, the tradeoffs may be worth it. Or, they might not. Or, they may not be the right tradeoffs at this point in your life. Just don’t put self-employment on a pedestal. There are plenty of other options that are darn near self-employment without the burdens.

There has been so much hustle and propaganda about “doing what you love” and life hacks and indiepreneurship in recent years that “having a job” has gotten a bad rep. But Garrett shares how his run as an entrepreneur needed to end (at least for a while). As someone who went through the same experience, I understand where he’s coming from.

Yes, I enjoyed a lot of flexibility when I ran my own company (as I do now at Wildbit). Yes, it’s nice being able to make decisions and have impact on the bottom line (which I do now in my customer facing role). And yes, it was nice to earn a great income (that has not changed either). And when I compare running my own business to my previous employment at a 10,000 healthcare company, the contract is striking.

But that does not mean employment is bad. It really does depend on where you work.

You know what else came from running my own business? Anxiety.

The pressure of knowing that your every decision directly impacted the needs of your family wears on you. That kind of pressure is not for everyone. Self-employment sounds really great when you're focused on the negatives of a job that you're not satisfied with, but working for your self will have that as well.

Don’t get me wrong — those were some great years for me. But I also experienced my first taste of anxiety and how it can impact every area of your life. By the time an offer to buy our business came around, I was ready for something else. And I have been blessed to work for some amazing companies since then, enjoying many of the same benefits that self-employment made possible.

And none of my stops has been better than where I am now. This comment from one of our co-founders says it all.

Garrett and I talked about this a bunch. I’m really proud @Wildbit has given several entrepreneurs a safe and fulfilling home.

That sounds nice, doesn’t it?

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<![CDATA[ An Introduction to the Christian disciplines ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/christian-disciplines-intro/ 5ea338a8a4fd530038e929d1 Thu, 04 May 2017 17:21:00 -0700 As I mentioned in January, a primary focus for my writing this year would be to review some of the answers I've found over the years to the following questions:

So If I’m going to pursue a life of depth, if I’m going to actively pursue God, to seek him and knock on the door, how will I go about it? How can I follow the exhortations I see in Scripture, to be holy as he is holy, without moving my focus from him to my works?

The answer is multifaceted, but it includes the disciplines we see exhorted in Scripture. From there, I talked about how the purpose of these disciplines is to seek his presence and the end result is a change in what we desire. But, like any good thing, it takes hard work to get to that point.

What That Work Looks Like

We see a lot of different terms in the Bible that speak to how to live a well ordered, God pleasing life. Again, we’re talking about working out our salvation, not working for. We have to beat this truth home again and again.

Christ’s work on the cross — and only his work — makes us right with God. But after this redemption, while we live in this world, we are soldiers at war, fighting against the powers of darkness as well as the selfish desires of our own heart. We rest in his grace, while at the same time dressing ourselves for battle each day.

And it’s the various disciplines that Christians have used for centuries that can help us prepare.

Here are a few words we see used in Scripture to exhort us in this battle: disciple, discipline, chasten, subdue, keep, diligence. Some of these terms we do not use in many modern contexts, so it may help to define them.

chasten (paideuó): to train up a child, educate, or discipline (by punishment), instruct, teach

train (gumnazó): to practice naked, i.e. train, exercise or training

keep (hypōpiazō, also often translated as discipline or subdue): to hit under the eye, buffet or disable an antagonist as a pugilist, subdue (one’s passions)

This last one sounds a little harsh, no? But rather than alluding to the sin of self-mortification, God is pointing out to us in his word just how serious we need to take things. Jesus did not humble himself, take on human flesh, and suffer the wrath of the Father only so we can live a life of comfort.

Justification is not a spiritual club Med

Rather, Christ is the “firstborn over many brethren” and we are to follow his example.

But we cannot do that with half measures.

Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

1 Cor 9:26,27

In his epistles, Paul illustrates how we’re to approach our life here using the examples of Olympic athletes and soldiers. In order to overcome our self-focused tendencies and selfish desires, we have to approach the battle as if each day is our last.

Where Is the Focus?

The primary way we do well in this battle is to keep our eyes on Christ. Like the bronze serpent Moses raised in the desert, we’ll only survive if we keep a laser focus on our saviour himself. And this is the purpose of the disciplines of the Christian faith.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

The disciplines we see in Scripture and in church history enable the diligence spoken of in Hebrews 11. And they are not a burden, but a blessing. Consistently seeking out God through fasting, prayer, meditation and the like will help us lose our taste for the things of this earth. Why?

Because we learn to enjoy Him more.

All of these writers are united in their view of the spiritual disciplines as crucial means to the pursuit of God.

Kenneth Boa, Conformed to His Image

So, what are these disciplines I keep talking about? We see many mentioned explicitly in the Bible. Others are implicit. Here are the ones I see: study, prayer, meditation, solitude, silence, fasting, worship, fellowship, submission, service, and confession.

I’ll close with this thought: apart from the last one, which of these did Christ not do? And if the son of God needed these in order to complete his work, how much more so do we?

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<![CDATA[ Why GitHub finally abandoned its bossless workplace ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/bossless/ 5ea3386fa4fd530038e929ca Thu, 04 May 2017 07:23:00 -0700 If there was ever a “well, duh” sub-title, this is it:

The software maker, which once prided itself on a flat corporate environment similar to Valve and Zappos, finds that workers can benefit from a little direction.

This article discusses the progress that GitHub has taken from a holocracy to its current structure. It includes some of the struggles the company has gone through over the past few years and their direction for the company.

I find the topic of leadership and company culture a fascinating one. Some of the most frustrating times in my career have been when there is no clear line of authority. Without this clarity, my experience has been that no one really feels free to make decisions that will have an impact beyond themselves. And talking to colleagues in the industry who have been in some of these types of environments in recent years, I’m not alone in this feeling.

On the flip side, I’ve also experienced frustration with leaders who held too much authority, or leaders who were incompetent. Simply having authority in place is not a guarantee of success. However, I would argue that a complete lack of authority or structure is a recipe for certain failure.

From this article, the following quote from the CBO stood out the most to me:

Without even a minimal layer of management, it was difficult to have some of those conversations and to get people feeling like they understood what was expected of them, and that they were getting the support that they needed in order to do the best work.

That feeling of uncertainty kills progress dead.

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<![CDATA[ Bluetooth & AirPods … who knew? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/airpods/ 5ea3384ca4fd530038e929c4 Thu, 27 Apr 2017 05:43:00 -0700 I confess, Bluetooth is one of those first world problems that sets my teeth on edge. It’s been a technology in the middle of my workday for what, 10 years now? And yet it’s the most maddening piece of tech known to man. Why is it still so bad after all this time?

I know, I know — first world problems. But let me share my pain with you.

On my newest Macbook (a 15 month old Pro), I went through a period of about 10 months where I would have to reboot my machine once every day. I would be typing away when suddenly my keystrokes on the wireless keyboard would not register. Everything pauses for 5–6 seconds, during which time you hammer on the keyboard a few more times wondering why there is no response, the move your finger across the track pad.

Suddenly, every keystroke appears in a mad dash on whatever application suddenly has focus. To resolve this, I would disable bluetooth, wait a few seconds, then enable it once more. This cycle would happen intermittently until I would finally go make a beverage and reboot. Until the next day.

Our new Honda Odyssey has a decent stereo that allows your phone to connect (via Bluetooth) to play your tunes and podcasts. That has been such an amazing improvement over our old Kia that was CD and radio only … and the CD player didn’t work. The only issue? Approximately every 3rd or 4th drive, the connection goes wonky. Music still plays, but trying to navigate through your music library via the van’s console results in a “no data” message. And I’m stuck listening to Bon Jovi, thanks to my three boys.

Last, the bluetooth powered Magic Mouse that I use on our family computer (where I tend to spend a lot of my workday when the kids are at school) disconnects every 20 minutes or so. It re-connects after a few seconds, but having this happen throughout t—there it goes again—he day results in a strong desire to flip tables.

Breathe …

Thanks for bearing with me there! All of that to say, my word the AirPods are bloody fantastic. And they’re powered by Bluetooth!

I finally got a pair of these and have used them exclusively over the past 2 weeks. The sound quality is likely nothing crazy, but I’m no audiophile. However, the experience is spot on. From the packaging, which Apple is always good at, to the onboarding experience, to daily use, these are special.

A couple of other notes.

Comfort. First, they fit well in my small ears. Wearing regular ear buds for a longer periods of time results in pain for me. But the AirPods are light and have yet to cause discomfort. Even when napping on my side. As well, I’ve worn them on runs of 5–10km and there is no issues with slippage (and I’m a heavy sweater when exercising). The AirPods are comfortable enough that you can forget they’re there.

Connectivity. Second, and most importantly, they … just … work. If you’ve read any reviews, you’ll likely have heard that the setup process and pairing is quick and painless. That was true for me. But what has impressed me more is switching between devices. I first paired them with my phone, but soon wanted to use them for a video call on my Macbook. Switching was just as easy as the first pairing!

If you’ve ever made the attempt at switching your wireless keyboard or mouse from one device to another, you’ll understand the gravity of that statement. I’ll pause for a moment to let it sink in


I have not purchased a pair of headphones in the last 7–8 years. Apple’s earbuds were enough for me. But the AirPods provide an experience that has been worth the cost for me. The fact that they use Bluetooth still amazes me — and it causes me to wonder what Apple has done here since their other devices (keyboards, mice, trackpads) are nowhere near as fluid as this.

Here’s hoping that changes.

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<![CDATA[ What’s in my Day One ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/in-my-day-one/ 5ea33822a4fd530038e929be Thu, 20 Apr 2017 20:55:00 -0700 I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Day One. It’s an app I use regularly, yet greatly underutilize.

This is partly because I lost my habit of regular journalling a few years back, the act of taking time every day to jot down some thoughts or the events of the day. Most of my Day One usage of late has been the automation of getting items in there from other sources plus tracking my Bible study. But I could do so much more with it, both with some actual, real writing, as well as some additional automated entries.

And so the timing of recent content from Shawn Blanc and Co was perfect for me. The post linked here is a good start, but they’ve had some others. Here is Shawn’s review of the app, which includes a call out to their updated e-book Day One In Depth. I purchased this right away and it’s the perfect way for someone unfamiliar with the app (or the habit of journalling) to get started.

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<![CDATA[ Alexa, make my kids more self-sufficient ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/alone-devices/ 5ea3374fa4fd530038e92995 Thu, 20 Apr 2017 13:15:00 -0700 Rian Van Der Merwe gets himself an Amazon Echo and shares his insights into the experience. But more importantly, as a father of two young girls, he shares some thoughts on the difficulties of raising kids with all this new technology available.

“Alexa, are we bad parents?” This is, of course, the big question when it comes to technology. Should we immerse our kids in it or should we shield them from it? We all find our own way when it comes to parenting, and even though we’re still working on what this technology balance looks like, my current feeling is that voice-activated UI doesn’t have many of the issues that are traditionally brought up as negatives about kids and technology.

Rian is a thoughtful guy, so this particular sentence caught my attention:

The Echo is not an “alone” device, and I think there’s something really powerful about that.

Interesting. As parents of four, we have an always evolving agreement with our kids about “screentime”. And one of our ideals is that we would like the usage of screens to be something other than 4 kids all on separate screens in 4 different locations on our house. We try to encourage a togetherness in this time each day. It’s not easy with an age range spanning 6 years, but so far it’s working out.

Any technology that supports this behaviour is a step ahead.

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<![CDATA[ Medium subscriptions ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/medium-subscriptions/ 5ea33778a4fd530038e9299e Thu, 20 Apr 2017 08:01:00 -0700 It’s appears to have been an interesting few months at Medium HQ. First they lay off a significant chunk of the team. Then they pitch their vision for content on the web (advertising is bad). Finally, they launch a membership service, offering premium content and and a handful of member only features.

And, of course, a promise to pay the writers who use the platform. Or, some of them.

It’s an interesting about face, moving away from ads & sponsorships to a pay-for-content service. The entire concept has some merit (and has been tried by other services). But if the NYT struggles to get enough paying subscribers, I’m skeptical that Medium will fare better.

So of course I had to sign up and see what they’re doing.

After a couple of weeks, my skepticism remains. There are several reasons that cause me to doubt the viability of this platform.

First, there is the issue of quality. While I like the idea of an affordable membership paying for the work of writers I enjoy, I have yet to see the quality reflected in the members only content. Perhaps time will see this improve, but there is a lot of fluff content on Medium. This was true before the membership plan, but it has not shown much improvement.

And so distribution is an issue as well. I have also enjoyed some great content on Medium (my Items of Note over the past year are comprised of about 50% Medium content). But I have no idea if my membership fee supports those people. I suspect not, as many of them are not full time writers. They have full time gigs and writing is just a part of their online activity & persona.

I would love to simply support these people. But $5 per month to my 20 favourite online writers gets a bit spendy. This is why I like the concept of micro-financing and what Medium is trying to do. If I could direct where some of the funds go to, this would be a win win situation.

Last, there is still the question of ownership. I continue to believe Medium only works as a social network, a place to syndicate my writing that primarily lives in a location where I am in full control. Premium, member only content only makes the ownership issue more of a problem. If an article I write on Medium is shared with members and I am paid for it, do I have the freedom to post that article on my blog, where it’s available to the world for no cost?

I have no conclusion to share here. But the changes are interesting and I’m very curious to see what the next couple of years have in store for this platform.

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<![CDATA[ Changing desires ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/changing-desires/ 5ea33722a4fd530038e9298f Mon, 10 Apr 2017 12:23:00 -0700 I’ve long struggled with putting people first, putting relationships ahead of the projects that are taking up my time and focus. As soon as I started writing online and learning about personal productivity, this theme was playing itself out in my life.

Almost 10 years ago, I was pondering how things were to fit together.

I started thinking again about what it really means to follow the concepts that make up GTD. And how that fits with being a christian. One is focused on tasks and the completion thereof (on the surface at least). The other is focused on relationships. My relationship with God, and my relationships with my fellow man. I started wondering if these two seeming opposites could be reconciled.

This is one reason I liked Matt Perman’s What’s Best Next. He states that God wants us to be productive, but the goal is so that we’re free to do good works that benefit others. We discipline ourselves and make the most of our time so that when unknown needs arise (someone else’s, not our own), we’re able to stop what we’re doing and lend a hand. But I find any time that you try to approach things systematically, I put my attention too much in the wrong place. The system itself.

Even my much younger self quickly realized the issue was not with the tools, but with me. I could tinker with software or productivity frameworks or notebooks all day long and it would not bring about the correct results. What is needed is a change of desire.

And this is also true for the Christian life.

The Chicken or The Egg?

For those of us who struggle to put the first things first, for whom the spiritual often gets swept aside by the things that seem more urgent, how do we make seeking him the top priority of our life?

Our current culture loves to discuss the systemization of life. “Life hacks” are a popular subject. This is why I mentioned GTD above — this is something I’ve struggled with for quite some time. And in the long run, discipline and productivity tricks and hacking your brain all fall short. The heart wants what the heart wants and you can only force a change in behaviours for so long before you “fall off the train”.

So while discipline has a role to play in this struggle, the actual goal is a change in our desires. We use the disciplines of the Christian faith to get us started, but the goal is to want communion with God so badly that discipline is no longer required.

Yet, Scripture calls us to work hard at working out our salvation (not working for). Discipline is the tool that can help us initiate a change in what we actually want. I often shake my head and wonder what comes first: my desire to change or my forcing myself to do what my head knows is right when my heart wants to be lazy?

This Applies to All Areas of Life

The funny thing is that this is not only applicable to our walk with Christ. It applies to all areas of life. Read any article about productivity and underneath it all the need to put routines and systems in place to enable and force us to do good work, rather than succumb to the siren call of busy work and social media.

But you first need the desire to change before that can happen. If you're going to learn to focus deeply rather than succumb to the desire to do the easy thing (check email, Twitter, or even take care of the minute, small duties of your job), you have to want it. If the desire is not there, change will not happen.

And when it comes to making the changes, whether in our work lives or in spiritual matters, the focus must be in the right place. The end product.

Again, I was thinking about these things 9 years ago. In analyzing a growing backlash against GTD, I stated:

GTD, or whatever your ‘system’ of choice, are merely tools to accomplish that which you want to achieve. When the tool becomes the focus — —the only focus— — then we've missed the mark of what GTD was intended to improve. Namely, completing work and our ability to do so … If you find yourself working on your system, rather than in your system (or better yet, your system working for you), then you probably know what I'm talking about.

And the recommendation I had at the time was that one has to change their priorities and habits in order to focus on what matters.

Back to The Christian Walk

This fits so well with the life of a Christian. In my work, I need to focus on the end result, to envision how I want to feel about my work and my career 10 years down the road. But as a Christian, I need to focus solely on Christ … for he is both my end goal and the means of achieving it.

The goal of the Christian life is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. And we glorify him when we do his will. What is his will for his children? For them to be conformed to the image of Christ, the firstborn over many brethren.

And this is a big reason why I always return to the classic disciplines of the Christian faith. They help me get my gaze pointed in the right direction. Yes, I can twist things to focus on the temporal, or on the tools themselves. But things improve over time. My study, prayer, meditation, and the like all get better as I get older. As I (slowly) lost my taste for the things of this world.

It’s a change of desires.

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<![CDATA[ The top 3 most effective ways to take notes while reading ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/taking-notes/ 5ea336eda4fd530038e92989 Mon, 10 Apr 2017 06:34:00 -0700 This is a bit of a repeat of late, but one I hope you’ll forgive me for. As I watch my goal for reading books week after week, I’ve been considering how to start a system similar to what Shane Parrish outlines in this article. Not to give myself something else to do, but simply to retain more and take what I’m reading and apply it to my every day life.

Related: Shawn Blanc shares his own system for taking notes when reading on The Focus Course blog.

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<![CDATA[ Tracking your progress or just gaming? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/progress-or-gaming-yourself/ 5ea336b0a4fd530038e92984 Thu, 16 Mar 2017 16:43:00 -0700 It’s been a while since I’ve considered other task management tools than 2Do. Well, except for Basecamp at work. And well, it’s been less than a year since I switched from OmniFocus to 2Do

Hey, that is a long time for some of us, ok?

Whatev

Anyway, over the past year I’ve had coworkers singing the praises of Todoist. But it was never of interest to me. 2Do is far more visually appealing and I tend to dislike apps that are cross platform.

But there was one feature that kept me coming back and reviewing the app every 3,4 weeks. Karma. That’s right, a scoreboard. I’d keep checking out the service to see how it was progressing, would compare the UI with 2Do, then walk away. But I finally decided to give it a test run.

Keeping Score

Jokes aside, I’m a big believer of one of the pillars of 4DX. Keep a compelling scoreboard. The premise is that people play differently when they’re keeping score. And while that may seem childish when it comes to our own productivity, I believe the concept has merit.

But how does the feature pan out? Is it a gimmick, or can it improve one’s focus? I wanted to find out.

How It Works

Overall, the app is well designed. It’s not the most aesthetically pleasing, but that is likely intentional and it appears to be focused on providing a similar experience on the multiple available platforms. But for getting tasks into Todoist, then actually doing them, it’s a good tool.

My intention here is not to write a full review of all the features. I’m focused solely on the Karma feature. How does the karma in Todoist work? Details are available on their support site.

You gain or lose points in the following way:

Gain points

  • adding and completing tasks
  • completing tasks on time
  • using labels, recurring due dates, and reminders
  • achieve your daily and weekly goals
  • keep a streak of meeting daily and weekly goals

Lose points

  • have tasks that are greater than 2 days overdue

Simply put, completing tasks and projects contribute the most to your score. And you are able to set goals for your weeks and days: I want to complete 5 tasks per day and 30 per week. Doing so gains you points, and so does keeping a streak of days and weeks going. You can see this in the screenshot above.

Using Todoist IRL

It’s clever in many ways. Here are my observations in a month of usage.

  • Let me start with my biggest complaint, a very obvious one. It would be good to be able to differentiate between busy work and tasks that actually move your most important work forward. Unfortunately, a reminder to take some meat out of the freezer for dinner carries the same weight as writing a new draft of an onboarding email for the product I’m working on … this makes the statistics of far less value.
  • Tracking progress is important though. Perhaps for some people, certain methods are more useful than others. You can use use a journal (pen and paper even), a spreadsheet, or a wall or desk calendar to achieve the same purpose. But having this done automatically for you by your task management app is valuable.
  • Back to my first point, if you were to manually track your successes, you would not write down the fact that you took out meat for your dinner. It would be great if the app could recognize the difference. I want a tool where I can remind myself of items like prepping dinner, but also track the things most important to my life goals. With 2Do, I used it to track the latter, and set reminders for myself with Fantastical and Reminders on macOS.
  • Karma is not a great measure of your true success (or lack thereof). Since feature usage is included in gaining karma, it’s also fundamentally more about Todoist’s success than yours. Why should using labels increase my score?

All said, it is a good way to measure your cumulative activities. The streaks feature is fantastic. There is power in the habit of tracking your habits (see James Clear for more on that). So an app that keeps this in the foremost of your mind is a good thing.

You have to work hard to force yourself not to game it. Go ahead and add the little administrative tasks that are a part of your day. That's a part of life as well.

But more importantly, it helps you to really take your most valuable work, break it into discrete, concrete tasks, then work on those. Every day. This helps you to build confidence that you're making real progress and not just busy work. And it adds incentive to keep those streaks alive.

It’s clever overall. I’m not sure I’ll stick with it, but I appreciate this feature. If it was included in 2Do, I’d be a very happy man.

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<![CDATA[ A new type of work schedule ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/new-type-of-schedule/ 5ea334faa4fd530038e92962 Thu, 16 Mar 2017 12:23:00 -0700 Related to my focus last week, Shawn Blanc and his team are experimenting with how they structure their work time in 2017. Taking cues from the Basecamp team, they’re trying an 8 week cycle, where focused work happens in weeks 1–6, followed by a buffer week, then finishes up with a week off.

It’s an interesting concept with a couple of benefits. One, the team members will take time off. That sounds a bit pedantic, but in environments like Shawn’s, with basically an open vacation policy, people end up taking far less time off than they should. As Shawn alludes to:

During those 20 months, I took roughly 3 weeks of vacation time, and that includes holidays. I was so locked in on a few huge projects I was working on that I kept pushing forward and took very little time off.

Second, the 6 week period of work should be very focused and productive. Since they know they have a buffer week to take care of all the little details, plus a week of rest, those first 6 weeks should be free from some of the regular concerns that take up a lot of our time.

Is this something everyone should do? I would not go so far as to say that. There are a couple of aspects of this schedule that would not sit well with me. First, the extreme focus of the 6 weeks of focus work may get boring. I like some variety, so I want to work on a couple of major initiatives at the same time. Second, I’d be curious to see if that one week of buffer is enough.

If you focus so hard for 6 weeks that some of the administrative responsibilities of your job are put aside that entire time, I’m not sure 1 week would be enough. On top of that, Shawn mentioned that buffer week is also intended as a time of review of the past 6 weeks, plus planning for the next 6 week cycle. That all sounds like a bit more than can be handled within 5 business days.

Concerns aside, it’s a curious approach. I’ll be interested to hear their results.

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<![CDATA[ What makes the perfect office? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/perfect-office/ 5ea33480a4fd530038e92957 Thu, 09 Mar 2017 12:00:00 -0800 Tim Harford takes a good look at what makes for the best productive work environment. Surprise — pristine, design focused spaces are not the answer.

He covers some history in this post, including the details of M.I.T.’s infamous Building 20 (also covered in detail in Deep Work) and the Pixar offices under Steve Jobs. Through the piece, Harford is making the case that so many great innovations come from spaces where the worker is in control of the environment. He refers to studies that prove just that:

Haslam and Knight have confirmed what other researchers have long suspected – that lack of control over one’s physical environment is stressful and distracting. But this perspective is in stark contrast to those who see office design as too important to be left to the people who work in offices.

So why has the trend of building elaborate buildings loaded with all the bells and whistles and free beer become a fixture in the Valley? Harford claims we put the emphasis in the incorrect order.

But we’re often guilty of confusing causation here, believing that great architecture underpins the success of great universities, or that Google flourishes because of the vibrancy of the helter skelters and ping pong tables in the Googleplex. A moment’s reflection reminds us that the innovation comes first, and the stunt architecture comes later.

For those of us who work from home, this is a good reminder. We’re in control. We do not have the budget to build a Googleplex, but we do have the ability to shape our space as see best fit. And that is something to be embraced.

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<![CDATA[ What is the perfect structure for a work week? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/perfect-week/ 5ea334d0a4fd530038e9295c Thu, 09 Mar 2017 07:23:00 -0800 This has been talked about a lot in the last 5–10 years. As the internet enabled the rise of remote work and distributed teams, we started to ask questions about our typical, expected, current ways of working. One specific question has been whether the amount of time for a week should remain as it has for the past century.

As companies in the SaaS and design world asked these questions, some have come to the realization that the maximum amount of time possible does not necessarily equate to the best end results. Sadly, others are still firmly buying into the idea of hustle, of working as many hours as physically possible each week. Simply because investors require a return on their investment and the clock is running (and the investors are not afraid to back teams making competing products).

So what is the best way for a team (small or large) to structure their week?

The answer is it depends.

Dave Martin from Help Scout makes a case for simply keeping things to their 40 hours. And he gives tips for doing just that. And for people in our industry, especially start ups, that’s an important message.

There are too many places putting the pressure on to work up in the range of 60 hours per week. There’s enough research out there now to make a strong argument that this is actually a detrimental approach — you’ll produce worse results rather accomplishing more. Even if some teams achieve success over the short term, our businesses should support us living a successful life, so we must measure the different approaches over the long term.

Mikael Cho from Crew takes it further and says that it’s time to get rid of the 40 hour work week. The de facto norm is a holdover from another time, when work was structured in different ways with people doing vastly different things. And while I agree with him in a sense, this is not the reality for some industries. For knowledge workers, that’s great. For tradespeople, not as much.

Some careers are seasonal; you’ll work more than 40 hours a week in some months, then no work at all for others. And some trades provide services in emergency situations and, as a result, some weeks will end up being longer. As long as it’s not the norm and workers are compensated, this is not necessarily an evil. There is no “one right way” to how we should work.

But for many of us, is the century old practice of putting in a solid 40 hours a good one? The team at Basecamp has experimented in this area and settled into the rhythm of 40 hour work weeks for most of the year, then switch to 4 day work weeks over the summer months (32 hour work week). Other teams have since followed suit and seem to do all right.

In his post, Mikael addresses a few more related points; this discussion is not merely about the total number of hours. If we’re going to consider changes, then we should also answer the question of what hours of each day make the sense. Is 8–4 or 9–5 the best time for everyone? And do they have to be consecutive hours, or does it ok to break your hours into chunks?

My opinion? Well, I certainly value that we’re blessed in this day and age to ask these questions. In most cases, our parents and grandparents were not having this type of discussion.

Overall, I also enjoy the flexibility and freedom provided by my employer, Wildbit. We’re firm on no more than 40 hours, but if you get your best work done in 32 hours and the remaining 8 would just be filler, no one will complain. In fact, I feel more driven to do my best because of the grace I’ve been given to guide my own efforts.

And in my own life, I’ve watched my habits and tendencies as my overall life changed. When our children were 5 and under, our days felt very different than what they feel like today (our youngest is 6). And so having a role that can shift with those needs feels like the best possible option. Exactly what hours of the day I do my best work will change over the season of life.

Hopefully, the nature of work is changing enough that we can adapt.

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<![CDATA[ Seeking his presence ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/seeking/ 5ea33455a4fd530038e92951 Thu, 02 Mar 2017 08:11:00 -0800 Last month, I shared my thoughts on what I see as the primary paradox of the Christian faith. Our faith is a gift, it is God’s work. First and foremost, he seeks us out. He did this with Adam and Eve in the garden and he hasn’t stopped since. And when he seeks us out and calls us, he works in us “to will and to do for his good pleasure” (Phil 2:13).

But in the Bible we find there’s also a focus on our work. What A.W. Tozer refers to as our “exercising of the gift” in order for it to achieve its purpose. This month, I’d like to focus on defining the end goal of exercising that gift.

I believe that is our seeking of his presence.

From the scriptures

It’s a marvellous truth that the Spirit of God uses different verses to speak to different people in different ways. The following have been pillar verses for me over the years, especially the first two.

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Hebrews 11:6 ESV

What a wonderful truth. Not only does faith involve our belief in his existence, but our belief in the idea that God rewards us when we seek him. I’m not preaching the prosperity Gospel here; the reward is not material or monetary. Rather, it’s being able to enter into his presence, to enjoy sweet communion with our Saviour and our Father.

The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.

Psalm 14:2 We see this exact theme repeated in Psalm 53:2 as well.

Interesting point made in the note from the NET on this verse:

Anyone who is wise and seeks God refers to the person who seeks to have a relationship with God by obeying and worshiping him.

Again, the focus of the seeking is relationship. The Psalmist(s) understand this and echo the call often.

Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!

Psalm 105:4

And Jesus spoke often of God’s kingdom and encouraged his audience that seeking it was more important than all our needs in this life, in this fallen world.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 6:33

God will take care of our material and physical needs, but our focus should be on him and his ways.

Seek and you will find

The good news in this truth is that if you seek his presence, you will find it. Indeed, the verses above show God’s attitude towards his creation; he keeps a watchful eye out for those who are searching. For something …

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Matt 7:7,8

And when Paul addressed the Areopagus in Athens, he alluded to this truth as well:

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’”

Acts 17:24–28

This is another marvellous truth. Although we cannot come into the presence of God’s glory without the redeeming work of Christ, God himself is not far off. He is not hidden in some secret place, only available once a person solves the right mystery. He is here, manifest in creation all around us.

Everything hinges on this

My goal here is to share the purpose of this newsletter for 2017. Based on comments of so many of you, this is a struggle. So many of us have a desire to seek his presence, but it gets drowned out in the noise. Or we recognize intellectually that we should desire his presence, but when the opportunity presents itself, we choose to fill our time with other things.

Here are some of the comments shared with me:

  • When I don't schedule then the spiritual side of things always loses out
  • Busy-ness … makes the spiritual aspects of life hard
  • The world constantly battles for my attention and I too easily choose it over the sweetness of my Savior
  • I struggle taking the time out of my super busy schedule to make room (for spiritual things), when it should be the opposite, that it empowers me and the rest of my life
  • The cares of life always are ready to crowd out what really matters

All the disciplines of the Christian faith, all the tips & tricks, are for this purpose. At the end of the day, we should want him … the exercise and disciplines are used to increase that desire. And that is the purpose of this newsletter (in 2017 and beyond). And, like knowledge workers who need to make small changes to their daily habits, so too do we children of God.

That will be a big focus for me and my writing in 2017. But before you get to the practical, I find it vital to focus on the end goal first.

As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

Psalm 42:1,2

That is how I want the thread of my days to look and feel!

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<![CDATA[ Sustained excellence ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/patriots/ 5ea33170a4fd530038e92928 Thu, 23 Feb 2017 08:01:00 -0800 I don’t talk much about sports around here. Truth is, I don’t watch much any more. My boys and I will catch some hockey and basketball highlights in the spring. And we play and/or coach basketball in the winter months. But apart from that, I do not play or watch sports at all. With one exception.

NFL football and my Patriots.

Like most Canadians, I grew up watching hockey and cheering on my local team. I’d spend evenings shooting a tennis ball against the wall in our basement while listening to the Canucks game on the radio. This was long before season subscriptions and every game of every major sport being televised. I’d stay up until the 11:40 Late News hoping for a couple of clips from the latest west coast game.

But that all changed in 1994.

I had been running a hockey pool (that’s like fantasy football, but calling it “fantasy” would get you a raised eyebrow or two) with my pals for 3–4 years when a new friend convinced us to try the same thing with the NFL. He’d grown up in Windsor, Ontario and spent his youth watching the Detroit Lions. Our crew had spent our younger years watching the occasional CFL game, but had no exposure to the NFL.

And so I headed into our first fantasy football draft with no clue that sports in my life would change forever.

I spent most of a 7 hour road trip reading a fantasy football magazine. I didn’t know any players, and barely knew the team names. But I ended up drafting Drew Bledsoe and Ben Coates from the New England Patriots. I came in first or second in the league, I can’t quite recall. But I knew one thing for sure: the Patriots were my team!

Three years later, they played in the franchise’s second Super Bowl appearance, losing to the Brett Favre led Green Bay Packers. But other than that, it wasn’t easy being a Patriots fan. There were some so-so seasons, and some terrible seasons (especially the Pete Carrol years, long before his time with USC and the Seahawks). But that too changed, thanks to the fateful Mo Lewis hit on Bledsoe that put Tom Brady into the role of our starting QB.

And, as the saying goes, the rest was history.

I tell you all that for one reason: although I don’t watch a lot of sports anymore, I can appreciate excellency. And we have the privilege of witnessing the greatest stretch of sustained excellence the world of professional sports has ever known. Sound superfluous? Perhaps, but I believe it to be true.

There have been other dynasties (the Yankees, the Bulls, the Oilers, plus the 49ers, Browns, Steelers, and Cowboys in the NFL), but none have been as consistent as the Patriots. Their run over the last 16 years is unprecedented. 12 division titles, 7 Super Bowl appearances (5 of them wins), 6 straight trips to the AFC championship, and a win/loss record that exceeds all dynasties before them.

That excellence is of course due in large part to two men: Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. If you follow the NFL at all, you’re familiar with all of this. And I can understand that many people do not like them. Despise them even. But you cannot deny their excellence.

But don’t take my word for it. Here are some other people’s thoughts on this topic.

I don’t even watch a lot of actual games any more. This year I took in one full regular season Pats game, as well as the playoffs. But the love for my team hasn’t diminished at all. It’s easy to hate on sports … there’s a lot that’s wrong with them, especially at the professional level.

But there’s also a lot that’s right. As I’ve been coaching my son’s grade 4/5 boys basketball team, I’ve been reminded of the good. It’s been a privilege to get to know 10 young guys just getting comfortable with their bodies and what they can do. Their different personalities and how they come to work together. We’ve got a really solid group with natural ability, but it’s their sportsmanship and willingness to dish out the pass as often as drive to the hoop that has impressed me most.

And that’s part of what has impressed me about the Patriots over the years. Their culture starts at the top and everyone buys in. The group works together, even when it means less for themselves (the Patriots are well known for not paying the mega dollars to players, to the point where players from other franchises who desire to win will take a smaller salary to play in New England).

Anyway, as I’ve savored the latest Super Bowl victory, it caused me to ponder how I’ve enjoyed something most sports fans can only imagine. Year after year after year of consistent excellence.

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<![CDATA[ Let’s stop calling them ‘soft skills’ ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/just-plain-skills/ 5ea33132a4fd530038e92923 Thu, 23 Feb 2017 07:12:00 -0800 I’m not a big reader of Seth Godin, despite how popular he is. But this post was great. Fair warning: it is a sales pitch at the end.

I love this quote:

Culture defeats strategy, every time.

Mr. Godin makes some great observations that the most important skills in the workplace are the ones that never get any attention. Not in our education, not in hiring practices, and not when recognizing good work. Why?

We underinvest in this training, fearful that these things are innate and can’t be taught.

He’s making the case that most “soft skills” are not innate, but are learned. The problem is that this learning is accidental.

Of course we learn them. We learn them accidentally, by osmosis, by the collisions we have with teachers, parents, bosses and the world. But just because they’re difficult to measure doesn’t mean we can’t improve them, can’t practice them, can’t change.

It’s a much longer read than most of his daily posts, but it’s worth taking 10 minutes to go through his list of skills at the end.

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<![CDATA[ The Pursuit of God: Book Review ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/pursuing-god/ 5ea330eca4fd530038e9291e Thu, 16 Feb 2017 08:45:00 -0800 The Pursuit of God is a book that I’ve heard of plenty of times before, but it did not jump out to me as “must read” for quite some time. When a friend of mine was moving away, he happened to have a copy (he previously ran his own Christian book store and had a lot of great material he couldn’t bring with him … I benefitted greatly) and I was happy to add it to my collection.

But it still wasn’t one I immediately thought I needed to get to right away. That is, until I started thinking about the core content of this newsletter and my goals for 2017. As I started to flesh out the content plan for 2017 and beyond, I realized I wanted to do more learning on the topics myself and started looking for materials. And Pursuit of God seemed to fit well, so I added it to the list.

And I’m so very glad to have made that decision.

Tozer reminds me a lot of C.S. Lewis (this book reminds me a lot of Lewis’s Mere Christianity). They both have a way with words; they can communicate massive concepts in simple fashion. Their writing is unlike how you are used to people speaking, yet it’s not hard to read or comprehend. At all. I started on Pursuit of God just after finishing the Confessions of St Augustine and there is a marked difference between the language used. Where as something like Confessions is hard to follow from one sentence to the next, Tozer’s writing flows and I found myself swept away in the ideas he was expressing.

What were those ideas? Chiefly, how each person in Christ can (and should) exercise the gift they’ve been given and deepen their relationship with God. Tozer helps the reader to better understand that God is not far off, he is all around, and is seeking communion with his children. And he does a lovely job of communicating that truth through this short book (126 pages of middling length).

To be sure, the author is also lamenting the spiritual state of the nation at the time. Set in the late 1940’s, he remarks often about the lack of fervour, the lack of the Spirit in the American church. I don’t think he’d be too pleased with things today either, so it was easy to imagine that he was writing to us here and now.

How does this all fit in with The Weekly Review? Going back to the thoughts I shared on the paradox of Christianity, how do our works contribute to our faith and our walk with God, I was glad to see Tozer contribute some fantastic thinking to this subject. Specifically, he makes a great point in the chapter titled The Universal Presence.

In this chapter, he remarks how there have been people throughout history, both in the Biblical account and in the centuries since, who have seemed to experience God in a deeper way than most. He asks the following questions:

Why do some persons “find” God in a way that others do not? Why does God manifest His presence to some and let multitudes of others struggle along in the half-light of imperfect Christian experience?

He goes on to answer the question by stating that the difference does not lie with God, but with us. He goes further, stating that these people, the likes of the apostle Paul, the prophets Elijah and Moses, but also Luther and St. Francis and Thomas a Kempis, all had something in a greater degree: spiritual receptivity.

Something in them was open to heaven, something which urged them Godward … They differed from the average person in that when they felt the inward longing they did something about it. They acquired the lifelong habit of spiritual response.

This begins to sound like shaky ground, putting more emphasis on our works than I am comfortable with. But Tozer immediately refutes that idea:

As with everything good in human life, back of this receptivity is God. The sovereignty of God is here, and is felt even by those who have not placed particular stress upon it theologically.

So if this spiritual receptivity originates with God, what are we to do ourselves? This comes back to the heart of my point in the piece I linked to above. And Tozer’s response is what caused my heart to soar, so glad to have found someone who has articulated the multi-faceted truth so well (emphasis mine):

Receptivity is not a single thing; it is a compound rather, a blending of several elements with the soul. It is an affinity for, a bent toward, a sympathetic response to, a desire to have. From this it may be gathered that it can be present in degrees, that we may have little or more or less, depending on the individual. It may be increased by exercise or destroyed by neglect … It is a gift of God, indeed, but one which must be recognized and cultivated as any gift if it is to realize the purpose for which it was given.

And this gets at the heart of my focus for 2017. Yes, our faith is a gift from God. And our receptivity to him also starts with him. But that gift, like a piece of art you receive from a friend, can be either displayed prominently in your home, or tucked away in the least used room in the basement.

We require godly exercise. This is only possible because of the work of Christ, but it also leads to the sharpening of our spirit, an increase of the receptivity Tozer speaks of.

And so I would heartily recommend The Pursuit of God. It’s the best book I’ve read in some time!

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<![CDATA[ Four reasons to slow down ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/reasons-to-slow-down/ 5ea33065a4fd530038e92913 Thu, 16 Feb 2017 07:34:00 -0800 This was a good reminder for me. Jon Bloom shares how he’s adapted his reading goals year over year. What really got my attention was the section titled “We are pursuing transformation, not information.”

God’s purpose in our learning is that we become Christlike (Romans 8:29), not that we become information databases.

Amen. And ouch — that hits home for me. I find it easy to get into the intellectual aspects of theology and study, but personal relationship? That’s another matter. I’ve been quickly working my way through A.W. Tozer’s The Pursuit of God and it has also hits home in a similar manner.

Men of the breaking hearts had a quality about them not known to or understood by common men. They had been in the Presence of God and they reported what they saw there. They were prophets, not scribes, for the scribe tells us what he has read, and the prophet tells us what he has seen.

Oof. Lord, let me be transformed, not merely knowledgable.

Back to Jon Bloom, his reading goal for 2017:

That’s why this year I’ve decided to set my reading goal by hours spent, rather than pages read. I want to stop aiming at volume so I’m freer to linger, meditate, memorize, and record what I need to press deeper into my soul.

It’s so easy to read in order to check off another notch in our reading belt. But we read in order to be changed and that does take time. For myself, my own reading goal was 18 books (up from 12 last year), but also to read better.

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<![CDATA[ Socks from Icebreaker ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/icebreaker-socks/ 5ea33016a4fd530038e9290d Thu, 09 Feb 2017 12:33:00 -0800 I have two short but seemingly contrasting convictions.

  1. Live simply
  2. Spend well when buying products

The first helps me to remember that life is not enjoyed through an abundance of things. Indeed, the older I get, the less I want the headache of managing more “things”.

The second may sound like a contrast, but in reality it supports the first. If you have a need, then make a purchase that will cost you more upfront, but save you time and energy in the long run. A good recent example for me is the socks from Icebreaker.

Now, I realize not everyone gets excited about socks. But I happen to be one who does: there are not many things more enjoyable than pulling on a good pair of socks. And I’ve never experienced better socks than the ones I’ve gotten from Icebreaker.

This is a company where you pay a premium price. I made my first purchase from Icebreaker 3+ years ago, a light jacket that cost over $300. That’s not an insignificant cost for a single income family of six. But it was a great investment: it’s the best jacket I’ve ever owned and is holding up very well.

Fast forward to Christmas 2015 and I receive a pair of Icebreaker socks from my wife. These are amazing socks. They lasted almost an entire year, which is far better than the average 10–12 weeks I might see from the kinds of socks you get in a pack of 6 at Costco. Not only that, but the socks from Icebreaker felt great all year. They begin to form themselves to your feet and, being a good part Merino wool, they rarely had to be washed and did not smell. At all.

So when it came to Christmas 2016, I insisted my wife get me another pair. She got me two, bless her soul. And I followed up on Boxing Day and purchased 3 more pairs. I’m tired of hunting through pairs of polyester bargain socks to find 2 with no holes in them. I’d rather pay $25 a pair than $15 for a six pack of junk that doesn’t last.

You get what you pay for.

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<![CDATA[ Why walking helps us think ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/walking-and-thinking/ 5e90d3f5fd34440038109f45 Thu, 09 Feb 2017 06:54:00 -0800 Walking is a subject dear to my heart. Ferris Jabr makes the case for walking above all other activities for doing our best work. He starts:

What is it about walking, in particular, that makes it so amenable to thinking and writing? The answer begins with changes to our chemistry. When we go for a walk, the heart pumps faster, circulating more blood and oxygen not just to the muscles but to all the organs—including the brain.

And where as some physical activities require our focus, walking does not:

Because we don’t have to devote much conscious effort to the act of walking, our attention is free to wander—to overlay the world before us with a parade of images from the mind’s theatre.

And the end benefit is a worthy one:

Perhaps the most profound relationship between walking, thinking, and writing reveals itself at the end of a stroll, back at the desk. There, it becomes apparent that writing and walking are extremely similar feats, equal parts physical and mental.

There are a few other activities I can add to walking for my own life. Shovelling snow and chopping wood offer the same benefits, allowing my mind to be free while my hands are busy.

And this all fits very well with the idea of meditating productively. I have learned to take these moments to set my mind on a specific problem and come up with a plan. It’s important to also give yourself time to let your mind simply wander, to allow your subconscious to come up with solutions while you ponder other things. But both meditating productively and subconscious thinking benefit from walking.

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<![CDATA[ The primary paradox of Christianity: faith & works ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/paradox/ 5e90d3c7fd34440038109f3e Thu, 02 Feb 2017 14:29:00 -0800 There is one aspect of Christianity that causes more confusion and uncertainty than any other. At least, that has been my experience. In my life, and from what I’ve seen in the lives of others.

How do my actions contribute to my faith?

This is a heavy concept and I realize it will be so easy for people from all different backgrounds to read some of these words and come away with a different idea than what’s kicking around in my head. But I’ll try my best to articulate it clearly and plainly.

The Bible is a big book and there are times when one verse can seem to contradict another. And that’s why I used the term “paradox” in the title. By definition, a paradox is:

a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true

The key word there is “seemingly”. For a good overview of what makes a paradox, as well as contradictions and mysteries, and how they’re involved in Scripture, see this bit from one of RC Sproul’s books.

And the paradox I’m referring to comes down to faith versus works. There are many verses in the Scriptures exhorting readers to do this or don’t do that. Many passages are practical advice on how to live your life and get along with others. But there are also many other verses that clearly state that salvation comes from faith alone … and that faith is a gift from God. It is not something we can earn, but a gift. And as faith cannot be earned, nor can our salvation.

And so there is a paradox where the Bible seems to be saying two different things. One, my standing with God is dependent wholly on him. Two, my standing with God is largely affected by my actions. Two big ideas that appear to be saying different things.

Let’s back it up just a little. Hopefully, we all agree that our justification (being saved from our sins and declared innocent by God) is not our work. However, the process laid out in Scripture shows that once justified, a person will be glorified by God.

As Romans 8:29–30 points out, our path looks like this:

Foreknown -> Called -> Justified -> Glorified

But before that happens, the process of sanctification takes place. So I find the important question to be “how do my actions contribute to my faith?” For Scripture seems clear that my faith itself starts with God and is a gift, but what after that? Can I lose my faith? Do my actions affect my standing with God?

So the process I mentioned above ends with justification turning to glorification (which is just mind blowing). But something happens in between those two pieces, that is spelled out in many other places in Scripture. Before we are glorified, we are sanctified.

What is sanctification? I like this definition:

Sanctification is the process of being set apart for God's work and being conformed to the image of Christ.

This is the contribution I’m referring to in my big question. The question then, is this: is our sanctification our work or God’s?

I would say both. There are plenty of verses that show God is involved.

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

But on the other hand, there are plenty of examples like this:

Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Throughout the writings of Paul, you cannot come away with a sense of his being lackadaisical. Far from it. While he strongly emphasizes the source of this faith (a free gift from God), he also clearly indicates that our very best efforts are required to make the most of this gift. To live for God, day by day.

Louis Berkhof sums this up well in his systematic theology, introducing the section on sanctification:

It is a work of God in which believers cooperate. When it is said that man takes part in the work of sanctification, this does not mean that man is an independent agent in the work, so as to make it partly the work of God and partly the work of man; but merely, that God effects the work in part through the instrumentality of man as a rational being, by requiring of him prayerful and intelligent co-operation with the Spirit. That man must co-operate with the Spirit of God follows: a) from the repeated warnings against evils and temptations, which clear imply that man must be active in avoiding the pitfalls of life; and b) from the constant exhortations to holy living. These imply that a believer must be diligent in the employment of the means at his command for the moral and spiritual improvements of his life.

Kenneth Boa, in Conformed to His Image, puts it this way:

The biblical balance is that the spiritual life is both human and divine … we are responsible to work out, not work for, our salvation. On the divine side, God gives us the desire and empowerment to accomplish his purposes.

That matches so well Philippians 2:12,13 (emphasis mine):

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

We’re to work out our salvation, but it is God who works in us to give us the desire to do so and to enable us to act on the desire.

But trouble comes when we begin to lose sight of the original gift and focus instead on our efforts. It’s easy to go from living and doing through the peace that comes from a right relationship, to bearing burdens we were never meant to carry. To be law-focused, rather than Spirit-led.

So If I’m going to pursue a life of depth, if I’m going to actively pursue God, to seek him and knock on the door, how will I go about it? How can I follow the exhortations I see in Scripture, to be holy as he is holy, without moving my focus from him to my works?

These are exact questions I’d like to answer in 2017.

For newer readers, I shared the direction of this newsletter and the results of a survey last fall. My focus here is to encourage depth & focus for Christians in the digital age and that starts with identifying exactly what role our efforts play in our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Our efforts do not save us from our sins. And they do not affect our legal standing with God. But they do have a part to play on our journey to joining Christ in the fullness of his kingdom and sharing in his glory.

Each month will have one newsletter that focuses on this primary theme. Where do we go from here? Find out next month.

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<![CDATA[ Designing your days ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/designing-your-days/ 5e90d39bfd34440038109f38 Thu, 02 Feb 2017 14:02:00 -0800 While I’m not crazy about the term “lifestyle design”, this post has some good tips. Srinivas Rao opens the piece by defining the problem of people wanting to “hack their lives”:

When people think of the words Lifestyle Design images of working from a laptop, location independence, The Four Hour Workweek and digital nomads pop into their head. What they don’t think about is the actual work that goes into those accomplishments, all of which are a byproduct of days and environments that have been deliberately designed.

As I shared recently, this quote from Shawn Blanc in Day 3 of The Focus Course nails it:

It’s one thing to be able to define what our most important tasks are; it’s another thing entirely to make the time and put forth the energy to do those tasks.

We’re all good at identifying the things we’d like to do. But having the discipline to sit down and do the work itself is another matter. In this article, Rao uses the term “design” to describe changing your life, but it’s more commonly discussed in terms of habits and routines.

The kind of stuff we care about ‘round these parts!

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<![CDATA[ Fitbit Charge 2 ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/fitbit-charge/ 5e90d378fd34440038109f32 Thu, 26 Jan 2017 14:10:00 -0800 I’ve been slowly getting into using more tools in the genre of “personal analytics”. Gyroscope has been my primary app for the past 6+ months. In combination with services like RescueTime, Moves, Strava, and Apple’s Health, this service gives me an interesting perspective on how I’m using my time.

As 2016 progressed, I started to consider getting an Apple Watch for the first time. The primary reason was that I had grown used to taking my iPhone everywhere I went … it was my step tracker. This was not a desirable long term scenario. I also wanted to leave the phone behind when I was on a run, something the latest version of the Apple Watch allows you to do.

The Apple Watch would be another potential cause for distraction however, so another option I considered was a FitBit. And that is what my wife picked up for me this Christmas. Since Dec. 25th, I’ve worn a FitBit Charge day and night. And I’m very happy with it!

Here are the things that have come to mind over the first 4 weeks of usage.

  • It has stopped me from carrying my phone around all the time. Thank God! For one thing, you don’t have to remember anything … the Fitbit is just on me. Second, I look at my phone a lot less, which is always a goal of mine.
  • It seems accurate so far. I haven’t had the time (or inclination) to measure my stride length and calibrate this thing, but it has seemed mostly accurate. There are times when I notice it adding steps when none were taken. But these times seem to be balanced by other situations where several steps are not immediately tallied. At the end of the day, I’m not that concerned about 100% accuracy. If it’s inaccurate, as long as it’s consistently accurate, it achieves its purpose.
  • The battery life is quite good, far better than what I would get with an Apple Watch. The charge gives round the clock tracking with a charge only every 5 days or so. And it fully charges in about 90 minutes. No complaints on this!
  • The heart rate tracking makes a big difference over what I was tracking previously. Even when I’m less active, like when I’m sitting at my desk for an hour or more, I can do somethings to get the heart rate up.
  • The Fitbit app does a good job of recognizing increased levels of activity and logging an event. If I go outside for my lunch break and shovel snow or chop some wood, it recognizes that an elevated heart rate and increase in steps indicates some type of exercise activity. I then just categorize the event that the app has already logged. And the event shows duration, calories burned etc
  • The sleep tracking has been far better than any other option I’ve used. Previously, my usage was solely using Apple’s Health and the Sleep AI feature in Gyroscope. Neither are very accurate. Contrastingly, the Fitbit really nails this by showing the correct total time, as well as the quality of the sleep. Times awake or being restless in bed are shown.

I’ve previously owned a Fitbit, one of the early versions. And I eventually put it in a drawer and never wore it again, so I recognize there is a possibility this string of events occurs once more. And really, do I need a device and an app to tell me I had a much more active day or a poor night of sleep? Not really.

However, I find it helps between the extremes. On the weekend, if I have a 25,000 step day because of all the family activities, I feel it. Or if I stay up late working on a Sunday school lesson, I’m well aware the next morning. But it’s the other days where I see the differences. If I’ve hit 8,500 steps and we’re sitting down to eat dinner, I’ll make sure I hit 10,000 for the day. Same for the other activities tracked (sleep, drinking water etc).

Overall, I still have the mindset that data is not helpful on its own. To be informative and useful, you have to put it to use. There is just enough benefit tracking this stuff that it has an affect on how I spend my time. It increases my mindfulness.

For now, it stays.

Tracking Habits

Related to the above, there are a few tweaks that I have made that have helped me focus on goals for creating habits for each week. This has been an emphasis for me since completing The Focus Course last spring, a habit that has been further reinforced since I started using a weekly setup in my journal. That’s right: a habit focused on habits …

The following are my tools for doing this each week.

  • my journal: as referenced above, this past summer I consolidated my weekly review practice with my notebook usage. Although I do not properly journal on paper (I use Day One for that), I do track my weeks and days in a Bullet Journal style. But I use a weekly plan that closely resembles the SELF Journal setup. The part that pertains to habits is that I add a section each week for habits, where I include a grid of days crossed by the habits I’m working on developing
  • Gyroscope: this service recently added Goals to the Pro plan, which have been a nice addition. I can automatically set goals for the week like how focused I am during the work day, how much sleep I get, the number of steps taken, etc. The nice part is that these things are already being tracked, but now I can set a goal and monitor whether I’m on pace to meet them. Sound cheesy? It is, a little. But there is power in keeping score … not all of these bring a change in habits. But if I’m focused on ensuring I have more sessions of focus work in my week, I am aware that if I open Twitter in browser, that is bringing down my score and reducing my chance to meet my goal of 95% productive time on the computer for the week. This is already something I want to do and track in my paper journal. But seeing it quantified can affect my behaviour. That should not be underestimated
  • Zero: a newer too, this is Kevin Rose’s new fasting app. I’ve been a big believer of fasting for some time, but I struggle to do it regularly. This app’s sole focus is on helping you attain that string of days, like Jerry Seinfeld’s calendar on the wall (Deep Work fans will recognize the reference).
  • Fitbit: last, the Fitbit is powering a lot of this. I don’t have much more to add to the above

There are a lot of apps focused on this now (Productive, Way of Life, Streaks for example). Journalling tools as well. As with all things, I’m striving for balance. Although I focus a lot on the person I want to be, I also do my best to foster contentment in the present.

But when I want to bring change, these tools have been a help.

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<![CDATA[ How I got my attention back ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/attention-back/ 5e90d343fd34440038109f28 Thu, 26 Jan 2017 14:01:00 -0800 Here’s another enjoyable essay from Craig Mod. He’s one of my very favourite writers and this article was no different. However, although I usually read Craig’s writing and feel like he’s ahead of the rest of us, that was not the case for this article. His experience reminds me of many others in the past year or two (example).

By the time I finished the post, I thought back to how Cal Newport opines that Internet sabbaticals are not a true fix for the modern knowledge worker. For those who want their attention back. And I agree.

If Craig, and the rest of us, wants to get back to a state of mind and being that he had before the Internet became what it is today, that will require more than the occassional respite from constant connection. He has the right desire:

Attention is a muscle. It must be exercised. Though, attention is duplicitous — it doesn’t feel like a muscle. And exercising it doesn’t result in an appreciably healthier looking body. But it does result in a sense of grounding, feeling rational, control of your emotions — a healthy mind.

His attempt to achieve this healthy mind? He quickly recognizes that coming back to the connection after a long absence brings a quick return of old habits.

And yet, the quietude of those disconnected days evaporated as soon as I came back online. It was a shock to feel my mind returning so quickly to where it was before — namely, away. Elsewhere. My attention so eager to latch onto whatever cleverly architected spaceship of dopamine was flying out from my consciousness. It was immediately clear that vigilance was required, some set of rules. And so here are mine:
The internet goes off before bed.
The internet doesn’t return until after lunch.

While I like the efforts, including no internet at all until after lunch (impressive if you get up at 5am, slightly less so if you rise around 9am … so this depends on Craig’s schedule), I feel like Cal Newport’s ideas are better suited to truly winning this battle. Not using Twitter or Facebook at all, or the internet for your entertainment, has to be more effective than trying to wean yourself of the dopamine, while simultaneously letting yourself go back to the firehose for a portion of each work day.

In the end, I believe it goes back to desire. What you want most, you will seek. And you will find. Bringing change, even getting back your attention, will be easier done with a change in what you want, rather than attempting to self-discipline yourself and control your urges.

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<![CDATA[ Baron Fig Squire ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/squire/ 5e90d1f2fd34440038109f09 Thu, 19 Jan 2017 06:06:00 -0800 Over the past 2 years, I’ve used a couple of Baron Fig products (the Confidant and the Planner). Both were solid products and I’ve come to love the cloth bound notebooks over other options. I’m currently on the official Bullet Journal notebook and the hard cover on the Leuchtturm produced product is less enjoyable.

Until recently, I had not tried any of the other options from Baron Fig. But I decided to give the Squire a try. I like a good pen as much as I do a good notebook. My current favourites are these rollerballs from Muji, but I was intrigued enough by the Squire and the overall quality of the Baron Fig products.

How is it?

I like it. The Squire is a smaller pen. It’s not as small as many pocket pens, say a Fisher Price space pen, but it’s significantly shorter than all the other pens I carry around. The package it comes in is lovely, so the overall experience is very much like what you receive when you purchase a new Apple product.

The casing is aluminum, so it’s cold to the touch at first. But it feels really good in your hand. It’s got a good weight and the balance is very nice. I could see this being the pen I used almost every day. Except for …

The pen itself is lovely, but the tip is too fat for me. I prefer a .38mm pen and this feels more like a .5mm. I can live with it on the right paper, but my writing would be chunkier and too blurry in many settings (my penmanship, or the lack thereof, does not help). Baron Fig chose to use refills that use the dimensions of a Schmidt P8126, so I may look for other options available.

Just looking for other options led me to stumble across the niche communities around pen hacks … this could be dangerous.

For now, I’ll be using my Muji’s and keeping an eye out for a thinner tipped option for the Squire.

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<![CDATA[ Renewing Medium’s focus ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/medium-focus/ 5e90d1c9fd34440038109f03 Thu, 19 Jan 2017 05:45:00 -0800 Interesting news from the Medium CEO. A large chunk of the Medium team has been let go and they’re trying to figure out how to make money.

On the one hand, I chuckle a little and think, “Here we go again.” Medium is Ev’s third company that he has built that has not made a profit while he’s in charge. And the news is not surprising at all.

On the other hand, I do admire them for being willing to attempt to monetize in some new fashion, rather than the tired model of current web publishing. Ev states:

We had started scaling up the teams to sell and support products that were, at best, incremental improvements on the ad-driven publishing model, not the transformative model we were aiming for.

And:

Upon further reflection, it’s clear that the broken system is ad-driven media on the internet. It simply doesn’t serve people. In fact, it’s not designed to.

That’s truth. But it’s sad that the CEO of a company that attempted to transform web publishing and has been around for 5 years is just coming to this conclusion. It makes me wonder: were sales just that bad? If they had been better, would this change of focus taken place, or would they have continued down the road they were on.

We’ll never know, but I have to wonder. This piece gives a good summary of the history of Medium and it sure seems like many VC funded services … they’re making it up as they go.

More commentary on this news:

  • DHH from Basecamp has some thoughts. I was very surprised when they made the move to use Medium wholesale, especially considering their stance on VC backed businesses. But I’m not surprised David posted his feelings here … I wonder how much they’re regretting the move.
  • David Kadavy, a writer earning income directly from Medium, shares his own unique thoughts on the news
  • This response to Ev’s post caught my attention. The writer was responding to Ev’s statement that Medium as a team will be focusing on rewarding writers for their work
The problem is, much of Medium’s best writing is being hidden, due to the link-bait titles and content being driven to the fore. New voices become disillusioned, and the circle continues.

I agree. Although the platform is very easy to use, provides a lovely reading environment, and has an active community, the content itself has seemed to go down. The content that is being driven to my own dashboard is definitely lacking in quality. And that was not the case even twelve months ago.

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<![CDATA[ Knowing vs. knowing about ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/knowing-vs-knowing-about/ 5e90d191fd34440038109efe Wed, 21 Dec 2016 14:56:00 -0800 It's maddeningly easy to spend a lot of time learning about God. He's left us his word. We have centuries worth of writing from people who followed him. We can go to church and hear all kinds of interesting facts about him.

And in all of that, we can come away not knowing him.

Christ adds some scary words at the end of the sermon on the mount (Matthew 7:21–23):

On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

These are clearly people who know of him. They participate in religious practices, consider themselves a part of a community. Yet Christ’s response will be that he did not know them (and the inverse is implied, they do not truly know him). How do we ensure we’re not in this camp of people?

He gives that answer in the preceding verse:

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

That’s a clear, concise answer. But it then causes us to ask, “What is the Father’s will?” I’ve always loved Jesus’s answer to this in John 6. After telling the crowd to stop working for food that perishes, but rather to work for the food that remains to eternal life, the people ask, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds God requires?”

He answers:

This is the deed God requires - to believe in the one whom he sent.

But this believing is more than an intellectual knowledge. After all, even demons believe in the existence and power of the son of God (Heb James 2:19). This believing is a recognition of our need for a saviour. In the passage in John 6, Christ goes on to claim to be the bread of God, and invites the people to eat of his flesh and drink of his blood. There’s a lot of different ways to take that, but we can (hopefully) agree this invitation institutes an intimate relationship.

And that’s my point here. As we quickly approach Christmas, I want to make sure I’m making time to spend with my Lord. In one on one, intimate, personal conversation. Not to merely read my Bible, sing familiar, loved carols, or engage in the pageantry of the event. All good things.

But I want to make time for the best thing. Christ himself.

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<![CDATA[ Leadership hacks from Rands ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/leadership-hacks/ 5e90d16efd34440038109ef8 Wed, 21 Dec 2016 14:21:00 -0800 I enjoy the more practical nature of these tips. Especially the advice to have three questions he wants answered from each meeting prepped ahead of time. If he can't come up with theee questions for a given meeting, the question then becomes, "Why is this on my calendar?"

And on the lost art of punctuality:

Two minutes early. For everything. This means I look at my calendar at the beginning of the day and account for transit time. This means I gracefully leave the prior meeting five minutes before the scheduled end. This means I profusely and honestly apologize for wasting people’s time when I walk in two minutes late and this means I don’t let this failure become a habit.

Amen. It's odd to see how meeting start times morph to be later in so many organizations. But it starts at the top (which is why this is a "leadership hack").

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<![CDATA[ SupConf ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/supconf/ 5e90d146fd34440038109ef3 Wed, 14 Dec 2016 14:38:00 -0800 Last month, I had the privilege of heading to the east coast to meet with our entire Customer Success team for a week. And a busy week it was. It included a stop in Georgetown (just oustide of Toronto) to visit my son, 4 days in Philly, and a quick 2 day trip to NYC.

The purpose of our train ride up the Big Apple was to take in SupConf, a relatively new event from the folks who run the Support Driven community. This was the second iteration of this event, this time run from the Digital Ocean office in Soho.

All images courtesy of the SupportDriven community.

Overall, this conference was a little less polished than most I’ve attended. Which is a compliment. Where many conferences focus on the talks given, SupConf seemed to have two primary focuses:

  • give informative content for each talk
  • get conference attendees talking to each other

What I appreciated about the first area of focus is that the team behind the event mixed in a few speakers who were further into their career and used to giving talks with people who had never done this type of thing before. And each speaker worked with a team to polish their talk. Each was required submit an outline, then their slides, and work with the team to improve the presentation as needed. This showed in that no talk was terrible.

I did state that the event was “less polished”. That showed in some talks, as some speakers were clearly doing this for the first time. However, that added to the charm and the mood in the room was encouraging, rather than embarrassed or condescending. Web events need more of this: encouraging and aiding people in all stages of their career to be involved. This added to the charm of SupConf.

The second area of focus was also a bonus. As each talk ended, a question would be put on screen that was related to the talk just given. The audience was encouraged to turn to their neighbour and discuss the question at hand. And the overall intention was to move around, so you would find new people to meet during the event.

Apart from that, there were breakout sessions where each speaker was located in a different spot in the room and attendees could ask questions about their presentation or experience.

Mr Patto doing his thing

There was also the usual conference stuff. Sponsors giving swag, good food, and a photo booth. But, like any conference, the value derived is from the conversations you have. I’ve been blessed to attend some fantastic events in the past (XOXO, Brooklyn Beta), as well as some less fantastic events. SupConf was a really cosy middle ground, smaller in size and focused on the right things.

As for the content itself, there was some good value. For our team, it was a great reminder of how good we have it at Wildbit. A good number of the talks were focused on how support teams can improve their standing in their company, something we never have to deal with. However, there were a couple of talks focused on how to use data and how to make compelling cases from that data that helped me think “big picture” … always a good thing.

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<![CDATA[ How I use notebooks ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/how-mv-uses-notebooks/ 5e90ac21fd34440038109ecc Wed, 14 Dec 2016 11:01:00 -0800 Mike Vardy talks a little about how he uses paper in conjunction with his overall digital productivity system. While his overall list of tasks is in an app, he uses paper for a few purposes. One stuck out to me:

There are times when I feel stuck, and that’s when I’ll bring some of the items in my task manager onto the larger paper pad/notebook. This gives me a good view at what I’ve got on tap for the day. Then I’ll evaluate those items in tandem with other factors (energy level, whether it is a heavy-lifting or a light-lifting day, etc.) just to give me a better chance to push through it.

This is similar to a link I shared a couple weeks ago, and I subscribe to this practice. And like Mike, my hybrid system uses paper to manage my day to day as well as to “clear the decks” from time to time.

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<![CDATA[ Focus for 2017 ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-focus-course-2017/ 5e90abfcfd34440038109ec5 Mon, 12 Dec 2016 11:45:00 -0800 Happy Monday, everyone!

I wanted to remind you that The Focus Course is open for registration as of today. Shawn and his team have refreshed the course and added new content (including the recent Focus Summit videos). For all those who sign up early on, there is also the chance to win some cool prizes.

Register here

Full disclosure: as a guest of the Focus Summit, I benefit from referring people to sign up for The Focus Course. I hope that you’ve been reading here long enough to know that I don’t recommend products & services because I benefit, but because I use them myself and am a fan. That is the same for The Focus Course. There will be no regular endorsements of this type, nor ads of any kind, included in The Weekly Review.

This is a special situation because I value how The Focus Course benefitted me. As I wrote in last week's issue of The Weekly Review:

As I’ve written about many times in the past, this course benefitted me greatly. As I worked through it over the better part of 2015, it really solidified my thinking on these topics. But even better, it helped me hone how I work. My routines and habits. Combined with Deep Work, nothing has changed how I approach my work more than this course.

If you dislike referral programs of any sort, please go to The Focus Course site directly: https://thefocuscourse.com. It’s worth your time — and money!

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<![CDATA[ Becoming better writers ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/becoming-better-writers/ 5e90abd3fd34440038109ec0 Thu, 08 Dec 2016 08:16:00 -0800 This one is an interesting link. It’s not to an article, but rather to a response to a response. Jason Fried wrote about why Basecamp does not conduct status meetings, then followed up on several responses to his post. This one stuck out to me, as he followed up to a person who stated, “Some of us just are not that good at writing stuff down.”

His reply:

It’s worth working on becoming a better writer. So much communication these days is written. It doesn’t matter if it’s chat or longform — if you can’t communicate through the written word you’re at a major disadvantage.

I couldn’t agree more. Working remotely for 7 years has taught me the importance of being able to articulate my thoughts in written form (and I still need so much improvement). The benefits of writing are myriad.

The sentiment expressed above is a form of laziness; whether in a remote team or not, most teams can benefit from team members taking some time to hone their thoughts. That’s part of the issue of meetings: it’s easy to throw out any thought that come to mind, regardless of how valuable or unformed it is. The process of putting these thoughts to “paper” results in better contributions.

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<![CDATA[ Life as a Christian ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/life-as-a-christian/ 5e90abb6fd34440038109eba Thu, 08 Dec 2016 07:31:00 -0800 From my 15 year or so years of being involved in a church, I’ve come to see two basic approaches to being a Christian. Our pastor summed this up really well recently, putting this way. One way seeks to answer the question, “How do I fit Christ into my life?” The other way understands that Christ is my life.

This is such a profound way to look at things. Let's contrast the two approaches.

How do I fit Christ into my life?

In this approach, life is full of responsibilities & commitments, joys & delights, and all the things that take up our time and attention. A Christian who takes this approach to life (whether consciously or unknowingly) feels the pressure of looking for spaces to fit in some time with God.

When that does not happen, there is a sense of guilt. There is a sense of should … as in, "I should spend more time reading my Bible and praying." With this mentality, it is easy for the relationship and the activities that should bring peace, clarity, and purpose to instead feel like a burden.

Christ is my life

In comparison, coming to understand the concept that your entire life is in Christ can bring significant change.

It flips the motivation. Rather than a feeling of should, there is more of a desire on our side. We want to spend time with the one who brings us peace and true comfort (not physical or material comfort, but comfort of the soul, the sense of blessedness and acceptance).

It's all encompassing. Instead of compartmentalizing your life and trying to create a space for God, you enjoy and fellowship him in every part of your life. If you miss your daily devotional time, you do not pile on guilt because he met you did your chores, hung out with friends, or spent your day at work.

This is part of why suffering is good for us. When we're hurting and vulnerable, it's far easier to remember how wholly dependent we are on him. When life is comfortable and pleasant, that is easy to forget.


Two approaches to how we think about life, to approach each day. Early in my walk with Christ, it was easy to slip into the first approach. My focus was on me. It still is many days, but over the years he has helped me gain some ground and shift my thinking.

To remember that my life is hidden in Christ and when Christ who is my life appears, then I also will appear with him in glory.

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<![CDATA[ Faith and the workplace: created for good works ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/faith-and-the-workplace/ 5e90aa9afd34440038109e8d Thu, 01 Dec 2016 08:23:00 -0800 It’s been 8 years since I developed the habit of getting up long before the rest of the house. There is something about those early morning hours; the blessed stillness before the bustle of a family of 6 begins their day. I’ve long treasured the opportunity that this time offers, the ability to get the day started in whatever way suits me best.

And it’s these times where I develop most as a person. Whether it’s time spent in prayer, meditation, studying the Word, or writing and creating in any capacity, these morning sessions have led to the person I am today. These moments provide the anvil where I shape my ideas and beliefs about what my life should look like, and how to get there.

The problem I have is how to meld these moments to the rest of my day. Once the caffeine kicks in, the household awakes and gets moving, how do I ensure the convictions of the quiet time are on the front of my mind when the whirlwind comes at me?

What were we created for?

If I look to the Bible to answer this question, I find one consistent theme: good works. If you're a Christian, God himself has chosen you and prepared you to do good works. To bear good fruit.

For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.

Eph 2:10 NET (emphasis mine)

This theme is stressed through the Bible in different ways. OT prophets (Micah 6:8) would state it simply, the Psalmist(s) would summarize the internal motivations required (Psalm 51), and Jesus himself used many illustrations to express the same idea (Matt 7:15–20 and 24:14–46, John 15:1–17).

The Westminster Shorter Catechism starts this way:

Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

But what is the result of this? How does man glorify God?

Good works

What are good works?

I confess that a big part of this issue for me is how I have defined “good works” in the past. What does this phrase entail? For me, I would read that and think good works entails serving as a missionary overseas, running a shelter for the homeless, or any other super spiritual acts of serving others. But is that truly what it means?

It’s only been the past 2 years that I’ve started to this in a different light. And it may be best summed up in this verse:

And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Col 3:17

Perhaps these good works entail all that we do.

My service in my church and any mission I support, for sure. But also taking care of my home. How I treat my wife and children. Welcoming the neighbourhood children into our home. All the way down to the mundane, things like chopping wood to keep our house warm, or helping with the dishes and housecleaning.

And even my job.

Matt Perman nicely outlines this concept in What’s Best Next. With chapters like “Does God Care about Getting Things Done?” and “Why the Things You Do Every Day Matter”, Perman builds a case for this mentality. And he starts with the words of Christ:

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matt 5:16 NKJV

And these good works include all that we do. Perman puts it this way:

The things that we are doing every day when we are being productive — answering emails, going to meetings, making supper for the family — are not just things we are doing. They are good works.

It's very easy to gloss over the mundane and focus on more overt forms of service. But that would contradict what we see in Scripture. And Perman goes on to state that these good works are for the benefit of all:

Hence, being productive is not just about getting things done. It's about being a useful person, making a contribution, and leaving things better than you found them.

Of course, I must stop to explicitly state the central idea of the Christian faith: these good works do not save us. Christ himself and his completed work is what saves me from my sin. Any good works I do, big or small, are a result of my salvation, not the cause.

But that’s a topic for another day :)

How to incorporate this to the every day

Back to the struggle. How do we tie this into our daily lives? I know that once I open the laptop, allow in the floodgates of communication (email, Slack, and the rest), all of the above starts to slip from my mind. And I don’t seem to be alone in this. Here are a few thoughts some of you shared in my reader survey earlier this fall, which well sum up the reality:

Busy-ness … makes the spiritual aspects of life hard

And:

I get so caught up with my daily tasks … I’ll forget to read my Bible

I must confess, this has been one of my biggest struggles as a believer. Not that I forget to read my Bible, do wrong things when working, or become a different person. It’s just … so easy to lose my kingdom perspective. To remember what is truly important when the flurry of activity that is my work day begins.

But, I have finally started to find some small victories. If you desire the same, I’d like to share a few ideas that have helped me, as well as some advice from those who have come before.

Practice “being still”

Stillness is the opposite of busyness. Being still means being centered, having the ability to focus.

There is every reason not to be still in our time. But that is not a new struggle. There’s a reason why we see exhortations in Scripture to do just this. Humans have struggled with keeping their eyes on God from the very beginning.

However, in our current time of “always on” connectedness, making time to seek stillness is going against the culture. How exactly does one achieve this stillness? Here’s a couple verses that come to mind.

Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah

Psalm 4:4 NKJV

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

Isa 26:3 NLT

Do note that stillness does not necessarily equate to (fn)inactivity. One can be still in the midst of performing any number of tasks. But attempting to do a number of tasks at the same time (the misnamed multitasking) is a sure way to achieve the opposite affect, to experience a lack of peace.

During the fall, I was preparing to teach a class on the “peace of God” and came across this great thought from Wayne Grudem:

Furthermore, although God is a God of peace, he is also the one who "will neither slumber nor sleep" (Ps. 121:4). He is the God who is continually working (John 5:17). And even though heaven is a place of peace, it is a place also of continual praise to God and service for him. Thus, God's peace can be defined as follows: God's peace means that in God's being and in his actions he is separate from all confusion and disorder, yet he is continually active in innumerable well-ordered, fully controlled, simultaneous actions.

Of course, we are not infinite, omnipresent, nor all powerful. So we cannot be continually active in simultaneous actions. However, I feel it is important to be mindful that stillness and our work can go hand in hand. We can enjoy the peace of God while giving our best to our vocation and the responsibilities of our lives.

Taking a little time each day to seek a stillness in mind and spirit goes a long way. And practice is required!

Give it your all, but with a different motivation

If we can remember, moment to moment, that we exist to glorify God rather than ourselves, then we’ll improve at keeping our faith in focus while we work. But that is so much easier to say than do.

But I can tell you this is an area that has improved in my time as a Christian. In my early years after recognizing my need for following God’s ways instead of my own, it was a natural tendency to focus on how I should live and act. That’s a mistake, with legalism the end result. But it’s an easy one to make and experienced by many of us.

But as I matured, through the work of the Spirit, I learned to focus less on what I should do and more on Christ himself. On what He did (not on what I try to do), on how wonderful and graceful and altogether lovely He is. In the Scriptures, verses speaking to the heart of God started to grab my attention, rather than exhortations on how to live. Both are important, but if you don’t start with the former, your focus is on the wrong person (you).

Now, my motivations are less from what I know I should do, and more from what I want to do.

Keep a record

As I’ve talked about recently, keeping a journal is a great habit to adopt. The record is good for reference in the moment, but you also keep yourself accountable when missing days.

Repetition

Like any new habit we try to form, if you're serious about it, you need to keep it in mind. And when it comes to following Christ, keeping his words close to you is a great way to ensure you bring about change.

In my heart I store up your words, so I might not sin against you.

Psalm 119:11

Finding verses that remind you of who are you in Christ and committing them to memory is one way to keep your focus amidst the busy. This is essentially the heart of Moses’s command about how God’s people should remind themselves in Deut 6:8,9:

You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm and fasten them as symbols on your forehead. Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and gates.

How can one keep what’s important close to heart and mind without revisiting what’s most important to you? When the busyness of the day comes, unless you frequently revisit the important, it will get lost in the shuffle.

This does not apply only to believers struggling to keep Christ in mind during their workdays. People of all walks and beliefs struggle with this type of mentality in our work. This is why Corbett Barr (from Fizzle) suggests the following technique for managing your time: reconnect with your why. In his words:

Sometimes we put our heads down and focus with such intensity that when we finally take a moment to look up and take in our surrounding, we discover we’ve gone way off track. It is in these moments, when you’re struggling with self-doubt and making decisions only to second guess them moments later that you should reconnect with your “why”.

As a child of God created for good works, this is an important truth.

Build good habits and routines

The end results of our lives are built on the little things we do with regularity. If you want to improve this aspect of your life, be sure that you’ve instilled a healthy set of activities that will enable it to occur.

You’re not going to develop a kingdom focus if you do not read scripture each day. You will not look to God for wisdom in making decisions each day if you rarely pray to him. And you will never pause in the whirlwind of your day to reflect on how you're using your time if you never learn to seek stillness.

If that last paragraph describes you, choose of the suggestions in this article — just one — and try it for a week. Then stop and reflect on how it changed your days. As Shawn Blanc states:

Doing a little bit on a regular basis is far more powerful than doing a whole lot at once. It’s also far more sustainable.

Or, as John Maxwell puts it:

You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.

Think of these habits and routines like building blocks. You won’t end up with anything grand in the end without doing well at the little things.

Pray

Last suggestion, one that could be applied to any issue a Christian struggles with. I almost hesitate to add it here, except that I know many of us feel that we don’t pray enough. And we don’t! I’m very guilty of this myself.

And this is a chicken and egg scenario. Do you pray first so that you can think kingdom-ly during your work day? Or do you build the habit of focusing on Christ, which then results in increased prayer? The truth is a little of both.

But a good start is to simply pray to God and ask him to help you focus on him through your day


Again, I confess this is an area where I’ve struggled, and where I struggle still. And it’s one where I desire to see growth. My aim is to say, as David does in Psalm 16:8, “I have set the Lord always before me.”

Sanctification is a journey, not a destination. Sharing in Christ’s glory is the destination, but the process here in this world is a long, tough slog. But it's also so very worth the struggle!

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<![CDATA[ Being busy doesn’t mean you're successful ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/busy-success/ 5e90ab95fd34440038109eb4 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 08:05:00 -0800 Chris Savage, co-founder of Wistia, shares a little about how he had to change how he approached his own work. As their business grew, his time became more scarce as more and more things filled it up. And that was a problem:

There comes a point when your effectiveness falters, though, when you’re no longer focusing on the right things or doing your best work. In fact, you may have already passed that point, but you didn’t realize because your busy schedule made you feel successful.

His solution? To go on a holiday. While there, he had the “a ha” moment that feels so good. As he was not in meetings or answering emails, his mind turned to the bigger questions for their team.

It began to dawn on me that in some strange way by not “working,” I was starting to do some of my best work again.

I’d suggest this applies to all knowledge workers, not only CEOs. We all need to step away from the desk to do our best work.

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<![CDATA[ The Focus Summit ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/focus-summit/ 5e90aa6bfd34440038109e87 Wed, 16 Nov 2016 07:54:00 -0800 It's no secret that I think a bit lot about how people work. That's one reason why I enjoyed Shawn Blanc's Focus Course so much and why I've talked about it so much over the last 18 months. And so I'm also excited for his upcoming Focus Summit.

What is it?

An online summit featuring candid and powerful video conversations with some of the world's best creative entrepreneurs.

I was flattered to have Shawn invite me to be involved. And now that it's almost here, I feel unworthy to be included with the likes of Jocelyn Glei, Mike Vardy, Paul Jarvis, and Jeff Sheldon. But if you're interested in hearing more about how I think about work and focus, sign up for the summit. For no cost!

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<![CDATA[ Basecamp 3 is rocking my socks ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/basecamp-3/ 5e90aa44fd34440038109e7f Wed, 16 Nov 2016 07:34:00 -0800 I’ve never been a big fan of Basecamp. There have been seasons where I’ve used it, with one team or another, or several projects on their own. And there have been times where I spent a couple of months using other apps from the company-previously-known-as-37signals. But Basecamp was never a huge part of my workday.

I think that may be changing.

At Wildbit, as a remote team, we’ve often struggled like so many others. Where do we store all of our stuff? And what goes where? Which pieces of information and which discussions need to be stored for the long term? Which do not? What is temporary and safe to be tossed away?

We have used a combination of tools for various purposes. And we have enjoyed some new tools (Dropbox Paper) and some we most definitely have not (Honey). But we have continued searching for the right mix to get everything just so.

The overall goal is to have a nicely organized collection of resources, one where a new team member could be pointed to and they would be able to spend their first week reading in order come away with familiarity of our collective organizational knowledge and a good sense of the culture of our team.

That’s a big goal!

Enter Basecamp 3

As the Basecamp team rolled out this new version, I watched with interest. Their focus on how teams work is second to none. The features they’ve built appear to be targeted at exactly what remote teams need, in ways that enable them to do their best work.

Examples would be understanding that a constant presence in live chat is not the best. Life away from work is just as important, if not more so, than life at work. And their focus is where so many teams struggle: keeping everyone in the loop at the right level with the right amount of information.

After a couple of weeks of using it, I’m very much enjoying the latest iteration of this service.

Communication

The biggest overall need we had as a remote team is “talking with each other”. Discussing ideas and efforts. Communicating.

If you’ve worked remotely, you know how hard this can be. At any given time, for any given piece of information or idea, there can be a hesitation of how to share it with others on your team.

Who needs to know this? How many people need to know this? Is this better in a group chat? Or a longer, more permanent discussion? If there will be some back and forth, will email fit the bill? Or should the discussion happen somewhere more permanent (email is not permanent on a group level) like a wiki? These are all the types of questions that go through your head.

Basecamp does a nice job in that it provides all the necessary message types in version 3. Projects or teams can have Messages, a place to have threaded discussion that is stored for the long term. You have all the necessary formatting tools for the original post and comments added afterwards.

As well, you can have the Chat tool included on any team or project. This allows discussions to happen at any time, but to be focused on the topic that fits where you're having it.

And last, Basecamp 3 has an account wide private message tool called Pings. You can include multiple people in these messages, so it’s like a private DM in Slack.

What has been great about this is the ability to search for a specific discussion all in one place. Using Basecamp to its fullness, I would never have to ask myself, “That comment so-and-so made … was that in Honey? Email? Slack?”

We haven’t fully jumped into all those options; we still use Slack as our primary chat service. However, I can see why Basecamp went in this direction (same with Metalab and Flow).

Last, what we liked about Honey was that individuals chose what groups they wanted to belong to. As the person publishing something, you had only to choose the groups that fit what you were talking about. You never had to worry about “who needs to know about this?” Basecamp has not quite solved that, but the benefits around communication have been worth any small pain we feel there.

Staying on top of things

The second most important aspect of Basecamp for me is awareness. Finding the right balance of being on top of what helps you do your job, yet without constant interruption, is hard. But vital.

Basecamp excels here as well. There are in-app notifications (using the native iOS and Mac apps), as well as emails. You can choose how often emails come your way. And when you need time to focus, snoozing notifications, or turning them off completely, is an easy step (same as DND in Slack).

Apart from that, another account wide feature is Hey. It lights up when there is something you should be notified about (replies to a message you posted, tasks assigned to you, the completion of tasks you assigned to someone else … these types of things).

Last, there is the “Latest activity” view for an account. Click there and you see everything that has happened, across all the teams and projects you belong to.

And Basecamp being the company they are, you have some great options. Work can wait is a setting that ensures you do not get any emails or notifications during the hours you specify.

So my setup is that I have notifications disabled on my Mac, and work can wait is set to 7am–4pm, Monday–Friday. When I want to see what’s going on, I watch for the Hey to light up or check Latest Activity.

It’s been peaceful!

Reports

This could also fall under “staying on top of things”. But for me, it’s an excellent way to stay on top of who’s doing things. As one who guides our Customer Success team on what we’re doing proactively, I’ve often struggled to get a clear picture of what everyone has on their plate.

We used Trello previously. And while I could filter cards based on people and labels, I never felt comfortable with the end picture. With Basecamp, I save a bookmark for the Reports page, one for each of our team members (myself included). If I have a new tasks to assign, I can quickly review who has a very full plate already and who does not.

There are several default reports, all well thought out.


Again, I’ve never been one of those people you know who have been using the different iterations of Basecamp over the past 10 years. But something clicked with this version. It’s very solid and well thought out … like the past 15 years honing the previous versions helped the Basecamp team identify exactly how Basecamp should have worked all along. And how remote teams get things done together.

Call me a happy (Base)camper.

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<![CDATA[ The best meditation app is no app at all ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-best-meditation-app/ 5e90aa08fd34440038109e76 Thu, 10 Nov 2016 23:21:00 -0800 Drew Coffman makes an excellent observation:

I have once or twice been caught in a situation where my Apple Watch is off my person or dead, and I have been discouraged to exercise, knowing that none of the data will be tracked.

When the tools become the focus, we’re off target. I have to be mindful of this myself; there is a balance with these types of tools. The past several months, I’ve used a combination of Gyroscope, Moves, Rescuetime, and Apple’s Health app to track a lot of things. I’ve recently started using Headspace as well (not to empty my mind, but to focus it on Christ).

All of these can be good tools that add insight. But it so very easy to give myself another reason to open my phone and check stats … the very opposite of why I use these tools in the first place.

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<![CDATA[ In it for the long haul: the habit of Bible journaling ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/bible-journalling/ 5e90a9cbfd34440038109e6f Thu, 10 Nov 2016 23:13:00 -0800 He was one of our regulars for leading the congregation in a time of prayer. After many years of service, some things become second nature. He’d get to the front, open his Bible, and share a passage and a few thoughts in his lilting Irish accent (still around decades after moving to Canada). Then, he prays.

This particular day, he made a passing reference that made me sit up a little straighter. As he shared about the passage he’d read (a Psalm, if memory serves), he casually mentioned it. His journal. That word always gets my attention, but even more so when it coincides with a time of prayer, devotion, and studying the word. This man, a lot thinner now and a little less hale than in years past, using a journal to record decades of time spent with his God.

I needed to know more.


I’ve only recently begun to fully appreciate the habit of journalling. Day One, like Timehop and Facebook, started to bring older journal entries to your attention each day. It’s been a pleasure to read through my thoughts from 3,4 years past. I went through a period of regular journalling, but it's not been a habit that stuck. I’ve long had a struggle with regularly keeping a journal, but this feature has sold me on the value. Enough to kickstart the habit once again.

The value of a journal (or diary) has been touted for a long time. Franz Kafka put it this way:

In the diary you find proof that in situations which today would seem unbearable, you lived, looked around and wrote down observations, that this right hand moved then as it does today, when we may be wiser because we are able to look back upon our former condition, and for that very reason have got to admit the courage of our earlier striving in which we persisted even in sheer ignorance.

But even more intriguing is the idea of having the same resource available for one’s personal Bible study and devotional time. My habits of study over the years have been very consistent, but I don’t have much to show for it. Ok, growth, maturity, and changes in my thinking are all results of consistency in my devotional time. But I want something I can dig into, to review and feel afresh how I’ve been changed by God’s Word.

And so the concept of Bible journalling is a fascinating one for me. And I don’t think I’m alone here.

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If there's a theme that is popular in recent years, it's reading the journals & diaries of famous people of the past. Many of us enjoy the insight we get from reading the private and personal thoughts of people like Anne Frank, C.S. Lewis, and Mozart. And for Christ-followers, the same is likely true for theologians of centuries past.

One great example is the diary of Jonathan Edwards. As one of the most influential theologians on the North American church, Edwards was a prolific writer. And one whose thoughts often started in his personal journal. His well known 70 resolutions were jotted down first in his diary, as a young man.

Reading through his entries, you can see the man forming on the page in front of you. His convictions, captured on paper, were honed and shaped as he let the thoughts come out through the pen. As Edwards steeped his days in Scripture and meditated on what he found, his journal captured the effects of his focus.

How sweet it must have been in his later years to look back on the most formative time of his life.

Let's define this thing

How do you actually adopt journalling into your devotional time? If you look online, a quick search will result in plenty of people who adopt the practice of sketching or drawing in their Bibles as a part of their devotional process. In fact, you can even purchase Bibles made for that express purpose.

However, although that can be a healthy practice for some and results in some beautiful artwork, I would not call it Bible journalling. If we look at the definition of journal, it's strictly used as a noun, not a verb. But the act of keeping a journal is this:

A daily record of news and events of a personal nature; a diary

As such, let's define the habit of Bible journalling as recording the thoughts and events of one's devotional time. Where as this current modern habit involves creating art, or at the very least, creating artful highlights of passages that resonate with the reader, I define Bible journalling as writing. Period.

Approaches

Even when you stick with the diaristic written form, there is room for variety. Let's consider a few different ways to approach this.

The simple diary

This would be the most basic form, the easiest to get started with. During your time of devotion, you could write down the passage(s) you're reading, note any verses that jumped out at you in your reading, record questions that come to your mind, and list out the things and people you're praying for.

I myself have adopted this practice in 2016. I tend to write my journal entry at the end of my devotion. For those who enjoy such things, here is my exact process:

  • I keep a separate journal in Day One titled Bible study
  • each new entry is stored there from my morning or evening devotions
  • I record the passage(s) of Scripture I read for the day
  • when a specific verse resonates, I add it as a blockquote, copying and pasting it directly from my Bible app if I'm reading on my phone, or using the iOS share sheet (even when I'm reading one of my physical Bibles, I'll tend to highlight important verses on my phone, then bring them over to Day One)
  • I'll note any topics that caused me to pause and meditate (while a lot will go on in my head, I merely make a note of the fact and list the bare details)
  • last, I'll often note specific prayers that came to mind, specific people or ministries that were on my mind

This is a very simple practice and, again, easy to get started. From here, one could build on the habit if desired.

Template questions

Another approach to take is to have some very high level questions to consider as one enters into the presence of the Divine. They may look like this:

  • what does this passage tell me about God Himself?
  • what does this passage tell me about myself?
  • how will this affect how I live today?
Fold in the every day

Combine the act of journalling your Bible study with your every day life. Record the events of your day(s) and what you're studying with the express purpose of identifying how the Word is shaping the way you live, the way you react to different situations and people in your life.

This approach could take more time. A lot more. But reflection is usually worth the effort.

Build a reference system as you go

Another great aspect of this habit is what you build when doing it. A journal for your devotional time could be a simple stream-of-consciousness diary. Or, it could be a reference system that build as you go, a resource for your studies.

Using a digital tool like Day One, a person could use tags to build up a reference system of notes based on passages of Scripture and various theological topics. Of course, if you're a pastor you would likely already use Logos or something of the like. But for many of us, that’s overkill.

As I mentioned before, I use the Bible Study app from Olive Tree. And while it’s great for reading, highlighting passages, and storing commentaries, dictionaries, and multiple translations, it’s system of notes and tags leaves a lot to be desired. I’ve thought more than once about using Day One for this use.

No matter the tool, a little planning and systematization added to your devotional time could result in a resource that you can continue to use as you walk with Christ.

Why would I do this?

John Calvin, in his preface to his tome Institutes of the Christian Religion, said this:

I count myself to be among those who write as they learn and learn as they write.

Dang.

That’s it right there. Writing is one of the highest forms of human effort. It shapes our thinking, sharpens our thoughts. It gives you a far greater awareness of self, which leads to a more successful life (a big statement, but a true one).

The benefits of writing are multifaceted and long lasting. As well, due to our nature, we tend to remember the best about the past rather than the worst. Nothing beats having deeply buried memories brought back to the surface. This is the highest value of any type of journal. How much more one that tracks our journey of faith?

It’s easy to get down about your relationship with God. We never do enough to be considered right and holy (thanks to Jesus, we don’t have to meet that unreachable standard) and we often focus on the lack of progress. But although the road of sanctification can be slow and painful, we do progress. Sometimes it’s nice to be reminded of where we were, so we can feel good about where we are, and even more so, where we’re going.

That’s the beauty of a journal.

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<![CDATA[ 10 productivity lessons I learned writing an 80,000-word book in 6 months ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/lessons-from-writing/ 5e8cea6af0dd2300382e3e6b Thu, 03 Nov 2016 15:11:00 -0700 Listicle alert! Not to worry, dear friend: this one is worth a read. Chris Bailey wrote a book and shares a lengthy list of tips as to how his approach(es) to productivity not only helped him write the book, but finish it significantly ahead of schedule.

The Coles Notes version:

Writing a book is a monster of a project, but projects like it become easier once you make a plan for how to tackle them. When you liberally disconnect from the internet when working on big projects, anticipate obstacles ahead of time, carve out space around them, and stay curious while working on them, they become much easier. And when you nurture your happiness and energy along the way—by scheduling time to let your brain wander, surrounding yourself with smart, supportive people, reflecting on your accomplishments, setting sub-goals, and working slower—you’ll level up that much more. Big projects can have costs, but they’re often worth it.

It’s important to note that he touches on some key items that are not the work itself. Schedule ample brain-wandering time is a good example. Similar to my thoughts on pacing or working with your hands, this kind of time is critical to shaping your thoughts.

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<![CDATA[ A process for consistent weekly reviews ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/consistent-weekly-reviews/ 5e8cea4af0dd2300382e3e65 Thu, 03 Nov 2016 05:45:00 -0700 One aspect of keeping on top of your tasks and projects (and life in general) is reviewing the current state of things. But if there’s any habit that seems to be difficult for people, it’s regular weekly reviews.

Whether this is due to the fact it can be a daunting task, or because it is given a low priority by people, or some people can get by with a lower frequency of reviews, I’m not sure. But I know I struggled with the habit myself for many years and I’ve heard many others complain of the same.

Now that I’ve been able to keep the habit more regularly, I want to share what has helped me.

It’s more than tasks

Previously, my weekly review would consist of combing through my task management app. And that is a big reason why it was a struggle for me. Your list of tasks is going to include a lot of stuff you should do, but don’t really want to. It likely also includes a lot of stuff you’d like to do, but don’t currently have the capacity for.

If you're review is just another chance to get frustrated, you’ll let it slide more often.

A good weekly review should less about what your overall list of responsibilities and more of a review of what you’ve just accomplished in the week past and how you're going to get closer to your most important goals in the week to come.

If you’re good at the capture aspect of productivity, you don’t have to spend your review poring over that big list. Instead, you should be getting excited at the progress you're making on the important stuff and identifying the next most important step forward.

That leads nicely to the next aspect of a good review.

Some structure

Although I just suggested your review should not consist entirely of reviewing your task list, that does not mean it’s unstructured. Just the opposite. Having a structure ensures you’ll get the review done consistently. Nothing kills the attempt to form habit more than uncertainty. Putting a format into place will go a long way to ensuring you make regular reviews a part of every week.

The exact structure can be highly varied from one person to the next. Personally, I enjoy using my own mash up of a few different tools. I essentially take the parts of the SELF journal that I like and adopt those in my own notebook. Here’s how it looks and the end of each week:

here's a sample from my journal

Here’s my entire process:

  1. Fill in the following sections Wins, Lessons learned, Things I’m grateful for.
  2. Sketch out a page for the upcoming week
  3. Evaluate the progress I made on the goals for the past week, then set the goals for the coming week
  4. Clean up any lingering tasks in my notebook (cancel them, or add them to 2Do)
  5. Take a picture of the current week’s page and add to Day One, tag the entry as Weekly Review
  6. Review my life vision document
  7. Review my annual goals
  8. Review my calendar
  9. Review 2Do
  10. Review Basecamp

That’s it. Now the key here is that some weeks, I do not go past step 5. As long as I have fairly regular monthly or quarterly reviews, I do not need to get to the bottom half of this each week. The magic happens in steps 1–5.


Previously, I would get frustrated with my weekly reviews as they would feel mostly useless. Now, I enjoy the process and look forward to the exercise.

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<![CDATA[ Focused on the grass ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/greener-grass/ 5e8ce9f3f0dd2300382e3e59 Fri, 09 Sep 2016 15:00:00 -0700 I've noticed an issue with our young industry. I’m not sure of the exact problem, but the symptom is this: people rarely stay at a job for long periods of time.

2 years is considered lengthy in the world of the Valley, the web, and SaaS companies. I’ve had this thought in past, but had it reinforced in a recent conversation.

Talking to a friend, he stated that he was still really happy with the new job he’d had for the past 3–4 months. To paraphrase, he stated, “It’s usually at one year in where I’ll get bored with my job and decide whether the company wants to make things work or not.” This is not a knock on him, or anyone else. I’m at my third job in just under 4 years.

What causes people to move on so quickly? Age? As a 40 year old, I’m not pointing fingers at millennials here (although that’s the current trend). Is it race or upbringing, a problem of pampered white folks?

Or is it just a simple pattern of discontent in our western culture, where we change apps like we change our clothes? If we can easily change aspects of our lives like spouses and churches and hobbies, why not our jobs too?

Is this even a problem?

I don’t have answers, but I’m pondering the question. For myself, I want Wildbit to be the last stop for a long time. Part of cultivating contentment is to keep your eyes off the grass.

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<![CDATA[ How to design words ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/design-with-words/ 5e8cea12f0dd2300382e3e5f Fri, 09 Sep 2016 14:42:00 -0700 John Saito writes for a living, but his is a unique application. The format he primarily writes for is user interfaces. It’s a format that necessitates a certain type of writing. As he puts it:

You see, I mostly write interface text for apps and websites. It’s a style of writing where brevity beats brilliance, and every character counts. Writing interface text is actually a lot like design—designing words for people who hate to read.

He then goes on to give some great tips for how to write copy for interfaces. However, these tips can be applied to a lot of different formats. Onboarding emails and help documentation come to mind.

In a similar vein, check out How to Design Better Websites by Writing Them First. What a great title there. You can take this title and change it to How to (Do Everything) Better by Writing First and insert your activity of choice. I know I’ve been talking a lot about writing, sketching, and working with your hands of late. But I’ll just keep preaching that message, cuz it works, yo!

It most certainly applies to websites. Under a section titled “Form follows function. Style follows everything.”, Stefan Rössler states:

When you want to write your website you need to be sure about its function. What’s the purpose of your site? Figure that out and you’ll be able to write it down. The form of your website should be defined by what you want to achieve, not how by you want it to look. Only after the writing was done properly, it’s time to start styling your website.

And the same is true for your email newsletter, your series of behaviour emails for your customers, a process document for how your team uses your CRM … and on and on.

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<![CDATA[ Is calendar based productivity a fad? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/making-the-time/ 5e8ce850f0dd2300382e3e4a Tue, 30 Aug 2016 16:57:00 -0700 You may have heard these terms of late: zero based calendaring or time blocking. This latest trend is being touted by a lot of smart people (and I've shared a good number of links on the subject). What is it exactly?

It’s the practice of breaking the day into evenly spaced increments and then filling each and every one.

Why is this becoming such a repeated theme? Because as the Internet continues to expand and grow and absorb, one hard fact is becoming clear to the public conscience: time is our most precious resource. And zero based calendaring is one method that addresses this reality and attempts to help you make the most of the time you have.

Here are a few examples of people preaching this type of approach:

Now, not everyone will go so far as to schedule out every minute of every day. Other people have made the same realization about time, and have started to treat their calendars differently. But not to the point of planning each minute.

Instead, they are treating the calendar as a place to put the priorities of their life. The big tasks. The things that move their life forward in the direction they desire. Drew Coffman shares his take on this topic.

As with anything online, there are those who oppose the opinion being voiced. Ben Brooks is one such. He says:

Time boxing — setting aside chunks of your day for a specific category of work — is one thing, and while it doesn’t work for me, the purpose is noble. But planning each task on your calendar only works for the few people who have complete control over their schedules — otherwise life (kids, bosses, spouses, coworkers, pooping, etc.) gets in your way … I think this trend is stupid, and your time is far better spent learning how to stop procrastinating than it is planning out every waking minute of your day.

Ben’s point is understandable, but I think he slightly misunderstands the point. Plenty of people keep a running list of tasks (categorized and structured in various different ways) and accomplish much. But I believe the problem that has been defined and shared in different articles does require a solution.

The problem? Treating your task management system like a wish list without proper consideration of your most precious resource (time).

The approaches that people are sharing promote one key concept: use your calendar as a visual aid to remind yourself that the amount of time limits the amount of tasks that can be accomplished. In other words, to plan better. Your to-do list captures your desires, but the solution many are suggesting is to use your calendar to capture your realistic intentions.

The next level up would be what the folks behind the SELF Journal call zero based calendaring (aka time blocking). The idea here is to fill all your time with something, to be as intentional as possible. Including recreation, rest, and time to simply think.

Cal Newport practices this approach on the daily level and talks about it in Deep Work. Matt Perman recommends the same in What's Best Next, but on the weekly level instead of daily. That is the Shawn Blanc suggests in The Focus Course.

In the end, people work differently … so none of these ideas will please or suit everyone. But the vital concept to take away is to map that gigantic list of ideas and tasks to the reality of your life.

To be intentional with the time.

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<![CDATA[ You’re meant to do what you’re good at ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/find-what-you-love/ 5e8ce9c2f0dd2300382e3e54 Tue, 30 Aug 2016 14:00:00 -0700 In a similar vein to Cal Newport’s 99u talk, Brianna West makes the case that focusing on what you love is misguided. The problem at the heart of this issue?

People usually can’t differentiate what they really love and what they love the idea of.

And this leads to:

Premeditating what we think we’d love to do without actually being in the thick of it is the beginning of the problem, and having too much ego to scrap it and start over is the end.

She finishes the article by focusing on how one should look for ways to give. And that’s a great point, one worthy of its own focus. But I’d like to highlight one other aspect of this topic. Wiest makes the following statement before turning to the idea of what you have to give:

There is only finding a job that suits you enough that the work doesn’t feel excruciating. There is only finding what you are skilled at, and then learning to be thankful.

I’d suggest that is one way to approach it. But there is also the idea of working on what you're good at, then that thing becoming something you love. Or, as you get good at something, the passion grows. Through focus and time and effort (as Newport calls it, deliberate practice), you can grow to love certain tasks.

An example for myself is gardening. I hated spending time out there as a kid, helping my mom weed. Now, I’ll relish my lunch breaks when I can go out my back door and putter around, pulling weeds, getting my hands dirty, and cultivating food for our family.

We change over time, so there’s always a chance that what we start doing is what we end up wanting to do long term.

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<![CDATA[ How many solopreneurs can a healthy economy support? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/how-many-solopreneurs/ 5e8ce645f0dd2300382e3e2c Thu, 25 Aug 2016 06:14:00 -0700 If the early web was all about sharing and connecting (first with blogs, then with social media), the adolescent sure seems to be all about “going out on your own”. It seems like everyone and their dog wants to start their own business and call their own shots. Entire businesses have sprung up to help people do just this.

And I’m not knocking that; I’ve done it myself. I’ve been in jobs where I was less than satisfied and there was this big ol’ internet encouraging me to start something on the side, so I could make it into my full time gig. And there are no ends of smart people doing crazy things to earn a living, finding what they’re passionate about and turning it into an income.

But I wonder if there’s a dark side to this as well.

For one, working a full time job and doing your own thing on your side is a serious commitment. It’s very doable for young people with little to no family to support, but it’s a bigger deal for folks raising children. And what about community involvement? Internet based side gigs often have community, but it’s not often the face to face kind.

And most important, I wonder about a state of general discontentment. If the moment your full time job becomes less appealing, a little dreary, or starts to feel like a chore, should you go looking for your own thing? Is there no value in perfecting the craft you're already a part of? I think there’s something to be said for working at enjoying your job, even when you don’t feel like it.

There’s no right or wrong here. People like Justin and the folks at Fizzle are crazy talented and I love their work (I’ve only recently gotten into the Fizzle podcast, but dang … Chase and Corbett are top notch). If you feel a burning itch that needs to be scratched, these are the type of people to pay attention to.

But count the cost. Burnout is a serious reality for people trying to juggle two professional focuses at once. And there’s nothing wrong with working towards someone else’s bottom line, if they treat you well and enable you to do your best work.

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<![CDATA[ The definitive guide to customer success ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/definitive-guide-to-cs/ 5e8ce673f0dd2300382e3e31 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 05:32:00 -0700 I talk a lot about customer success here, and that will likely only increase over time. It’s what I focus on every day, after all. If you're new to the “field” or are curious of what it entails, this guide from Lincoln Murphy is a great place to start.

It’s a longer piece of writing and covers his definition of customer success, several tangential thoughts about what it is and isn’t, then he gets to the practical. The end of the guide is broken into a list that covers “the role of customer success” in various activities of a business. How does customer success play a role:

  • customer development
  • technical support
  • customer and user onboarding

And on it goes. This is the part of the guide that I’ll refer to from time to time. Whenever I’ve been in the weeds, deep in the details of a given initiative, I’ll come up for air and start thinking strategy at a higher level. Then I’ll review this list and ask myself where our team could focus next.

I don’t agree with all of Murphy’s ideas (he focuses a lot on the sales/renewals aspects of SaaS), but this is a helpful resource for anyone who works in (or wants to work in) customer success.

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<![CDATA[ To-do lists are not the answer to getting things done ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/not-to-do-lists/ 5e8ce609f0dd2300382e3e26 Thu, 18 Aug 2016 14:31:00 -0700 I’ve resisted the idea that tasks should be added to your calendar. Something of a purist in me rejects the idea, but it may be that I’m coming around. Shane Parrish makes the case for the practice.

He starts with bravado:

SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE DON’T MAKE TO-DO LISTS.

His solution:

The real value in life comes from saying no. To help you say no you need some friction. The solution to the to-do list problem is actually pretty simple. You have to make one change: schedule it.

Anything you want to do, put it in your calendar. I’m not fully onboard with this yet, but I do appreciate the purpose.

Being more productive isn’t always about doing more, it’s about being more conscious about what you work on and putting your energy into the two or three things that will really make a difference.

Sounds familiar. Shawn Blanc routes the same concept in The Focus Course:

A schedule is meant to be a framework for how you intend to spend your time. It’s for helping you make sure you’re spending meaningful and consistent energy on the things of your work, life, relationships, and health that matter most to you.

This idea is growing on me. Not all tasks fit in the calendar, but some deserve that kind of investment.

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<![CDATA[ The merits of pacing ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/pacing/ 5e8ce5b8f0dd2300382e3e1a Thu, 18 Aug 2016 06:44:00 -0700 Related to the ideas regarding space, time, tools, and how we do our work and achieve peace, I do my best thinking when pacing. I alluded to this a few weeks back regarding my creative process:

As I begin writing, things begin to take shape. I write a little. I pace a lot. I meditate on the idea(s) I’m working on. I refer back to the books and resources I used, reading as I pace. I write a little more.

I would be remiss to gloss over the pacing; it’s vital to finding peace and clarity amongst the turmoil of competing thoughts. And it makes me think of C.S. Lewis, Jonathan Edwards, Ben Franklin. I know, everyone wants to review and mimic the daily rituals of a lot of old dead people. That’s not what I’m getting at here.

But one thing does stand out when I read about some of these great thinkers of the past. These guys jealously guarded their daily walks. I can understand why. Here’s a part of how Lewis described his ideal day (emphasis mine):

By two at the latest I would be on the road. Not, except at rare intervals, with a friend. Walking and talking are two very great pleasures, but it is a mistake to combine them. Our own noise blots out the sounds and silences of the outdoor world; and talking leads almost inevitably to smoking, and then farewell to nature as far as one of our senses is concerned. The only friend to walk with is one … who so exactly shares your taste for each mood of the countryside that a glance, a halt, or at most a nudge, is enough to assure us that the pleasure is shared.

Lovely!

It’s what our team at Wildbit lovingly refers to as the “daily constitutional” (a double entendre to be sure). And whether getting away from your desk brings you to the busy streets of a metropolitan centre, or the woods on your acreage, the value is there. The subconscious is free to work on your behalf, rather than you continuing to make the effort in vain while distractions aplenty flow across your screen.

I’m beginning to sound repetitive, but the best things take repetition. Habit takes repetition. And I for one need the constant reminder that all my work does not take place when in front of a computer.

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<![CDATA[ Finding your bliss station ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/bliss-station/ 5e8ce5e1f0dd2300382e3e20 Thu, 18 Aug 2016 05:45:00 -0700 Austin Kleon shares how he and wife try to cultivate a space and a time where one can get away from the world.

Kids, jobs, sleep, and a thousand other things will get in the way, but we have to find our own sacred space, our own sacred time.

I give this a hearty, “Amen!” As one who values some daily time away from all the activity and people of my life, I appreciate the idea. And I can understand the need for both a space and time. Oddly enough, I appreciate both.

During the workday, I appreciate the space, my office. It allows me to separate from the goings-on of our busy house of 6. But then, my digital space is crowded and busy as well. So I also enjoy my early morning or late evening times of reading, writing, and pondering (I’ve long been an early riser, but as the children get older and bed times get later, I find myself switching to the evening … which has the added benefit of less noise in my digital spaces).

The entire concept also fits well with Jack Cheng’s Habit Fields. Although my main workspace is down in my office, our family computer is where I tend to work when the house is quiet. It’s where I do most of my writing. It’s the same basic device in both locations, but the activities that take place tend to be different. One is more hectic, then other peaceful.

My bliss station — I like that.

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<![CDATA[ Getting value from wireframes ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/value-from-wireframes/ 5e8ce11ff0dd2300382e3df2 Thu, 11 Aug 2016 14:21:00 -0700 Dustin Senos shared how getting value from creating wireframes eluded him early in his career. Now, every bit of his work benefits from this practice. What changed? He started using paper.

I want to share a simple technique I now use to force myself to explore and validate multiple directions before I dive into visual design. For the rest of this article, a “wireframe” is a sketch on paper. Paper wireframes are quick to make and reinforce that ideas are cheap and safe to throw away. Paper, also allows anyone on the team to take part in wireframing.

His approach changed from sketching one solution and then adding fidelity, to sketching multiple potential solutions and finding the right one before moving on.

Not a designer? I think this idea works just as well for most anything. When I find myself stuck, staring blankly at the screen, I walk away and find either a whiteboard or a large piece of paper. The act of putting writing implement to writing surface (aka “pen to paper”) results in ideas. This has worked as well for me with writing or project planning as design.

Use your hands and wait for the magic to happen.

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<![CDATA[ From the brain, via the hands ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/from-the-brain/ 5e8ce0fcf0dd2300382e3dec Thu, 11 Aug 2016 14:10:00 -0700 I loved this piece from Craig Mod: Drawing the Calendar. Not only because he shares his practice of using an analog calendar, but because of why he does it. And how he expresses his thoughts.

The drawn calendar is not for minutiae, but for overview, for the ability to both understand the rhythm of coming weeks at a glance, and for the pleasure of ticking off time.

Not only is the purpose something I agree with, but it’s the act itself that brings so much benefit.

… the act of drawing itself becomes a meditation, and slowing down to feel the shape of days and weeks to come carries an inherent value not found in the already-made.

Last:

But most of all, the making of the drawn calendar becomes an act of reflection in and of itself.

I have found myself slipping into this practice increasingly in my work. I often find myself staring blankly at the screen, with swirling thoughts and the need to bring some clarity to a given situation. I may be stuck between two potential directions to take, a have a lack of certainty on how to communicate a need or an idea.

Nothing gets me that clarity more than writing with my hands.

It may be on a whiteboard. Or it can be a notebook (my Baron Fig 2016 Planner is just about out of space). But as long as I’m jotting down notes, breaking things into a hierarchical list, or sketching out a chart of some sort, I find the solution that escaped me as I was plunked at my computer.

Craig’s calendar reminds me a lot of my weekly review. There is peace to be found in planning my week (or weekly intentions) on paper. Yes, most of what is there exists in one digital locale or another. But again, it’s the act itself that brings the value.

I have a greater appreciation for why Patrick started The Cramped. Maybe it’s an thing about us old guys …

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<![CDATA[ Teams who share personal stories are more effective ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/sharing-teams-work-best/ 5e8ce0ccf0dd2300382e3de6 Fri, 05 Aug 2016 05:14:00 -0700 From the department of “Captain Obvious”, this article in HBR makes the case that teams who share about their lives are stronger for it. Of course they are. How many times have you made that first impression judgement of a person, only to later revise your opinion when you learned more about the person?

Sharing our lives allows us to see how our teammates are the same as us, to see where we have shared experiences. This results in increased empathy. Hearing about the details of our coworkers outside of the office also helps us better understand our differences. Both these factors lead to a more tightly knit team that works more effectively together.

What’s of real interest to me is how to foster those connections on a remote team. Without the benefits of sharing meals and getting coffees together at the team office, remote employees have to take purposeful steps to ensure this bonding happens. Annual retreats are a great way to cement those bonds, but they are not a replacement for the daily and weekly interactions that need to take place to foster the bonds in the first place.

As someone who naturally places focus on tasks over relationships, I have to force myself to close the notebook and any task lists and purposefully make time to chat. I try to do this at least a couple times a week; I might start a DM with a colleague who I have a question for, but take the time to ask some personal questions during the conversation. And when new team members start, I like to have a private conversation in the first couple of weeks to ask more about their family, interests, and what gets them excited each day. I feel this is vital for new hires, as this article alludes to:

Consider that when joining a team, people have a strong desire to feel accepted by the other members. This desire can lead individual members to prioritize “fitting in” over contributing unique information and adding maximum value to the team.

Getting a good team fit takes work, but it’s worth the investment. And it’s truly more enjoyable.

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<![CDATA[ Raising children in the age of distraction ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/raising-children/ 5e8ce09bf0dd2300382e3de0 Fri, 05 Aug 2016 05:02:00 -0700 Our eldest just turned twelve and all sorts of new challenges are on the horizon. My wife and I laugh at how things seemed to be so hard raising toddlers and newborns, where they needed your help with every little thing, every day. But now that all our kids are mostly self-sufficient, the help they require is so much more complex and far more time consuming.

Digital habits is one that is looking me straight in the eye. Our kids spend less time on a screen that many children do in our current times, but I’m less concerned with an exact quantity and more focused on the urges behind the desire to use our devices. On the habits that are being built. This is now a focus with our daughter.

We gave her an iPad for her birthday. Partly for school work and partly to stay in touch with friends, she now has a Google account and an iCloud account. She loves to chat with friends and send them emails. She loves to browse Pinterest and use Google to look up details about her favourite show and download images. But she also does not have a phone yet, so no texting so far, and she’s never heard of Snapchat or WhatsApp or the rest … I know, we’re a weird family.

Like most things in life, the current status and her “digital habits” have come into place organically. As more school assignments were completed on a computer, the desire to use the computer increased. Now I find myself wanting to teach her about the dangers of the desire to be connected. Yet, this is hard as I still struggle with it myself. I feel unqualified to caution her about how the Internet and its various distractions can harm our ability to focus and go deep, how tools like email and social media can be as addictive as slot machines, and why caution is appropriate.

My plan? To be honest and share my own struggles, how being connected as changed my habits, my brain itself, and how I attempt to be disciplined. From there, I’ll let her start to set her own boundaries and see how things go.

And I’ll pray!

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<![CDATA[ Product fit ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/product-fit/ 5e8ce063f0dd2300382e3ddb Thu, 28 Jul 2016 14:05:00 -0700 Justin Jackson makes the case that, while market fit is very important for anyone building a product, it’s not the only consideration. He states that one should first ensure the product fits the founder. If there is not fit there, the problem shows itself every day:

Serving an audience you don’t like is one of the worst feelings in the world. You have to show up every day and answer their emails, fix their bugs, reset their passwords. To do customer research you need hang out with them a lot. To get sales? You have to go to tradeshows, make contacts, call them on the phone.

That’s an interesting opinion, and one I’ve long subscribed to. After selling my own business, I was certain of one thing: I could only work on ideas that added something to this world (or work for companies that provided the same). I had plenty of ideas for new businesses, but not all ideas fit with my ethics or provided enough value to justify the required costs (to the environment, to people’s attention, etc).

So if one has an idea of a new venture to start, it is important to ensure you love the idea itself. You have to believe in it, so much that your conviction will get you through the moments when the feelings of excitement and passion have faded away.

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<![CDATA[ My favourite email newsletters ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/email-newsletters/ 5e8cdfcdf0dd2300382e3dce Thu, 28 Jul 2016 05:10:00 -0700 I would say RSS is still my primary tool for reading new content, but email is becoming a close second. This is due to a couple of excellent newsletters I receive each week. These newsletters are similar to this one you're reading, in that they each contain links to multiple articles that may catch my attention.

If you haven’t already, check out each of these

While RSS is still a reliable, convenient way to get new content, these newsletters are a slightly better method to send a curated list of content. So while I subscribe to more RSS feeds, each feed may result in 1 or 2 articles of interest over a week. But these newsletters can refer to 3–5 articles each week that may catch my interest.

I look forward to them every week.

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<![CDATA[ My creative process ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/my-creative-process/ 5e8cdf9cf0dd2300382e3dc9 Thu, 21 Jul 2016 14:16:00 -0700 Creating things is messy. Even for tidy, organized people with an iron fist of control, the act of making something new is usually anything by tidy. That’s certainly true for me.

I was thinking of my process a couple weeks back as I prepared for my last Sunday school class. I teach adult classes, always a 60 minute session. The topics vary greatly, but they all have the same starting place (the Scriptures). And I tend to use Keynote to present the information each time, so there is a regular rhythm to how I prepare to teach.

But it sure feels messy when you're in the thick of it.

Preparing

My preparation usually starts with a core idea. From there, I usually end up reading. Books, sermons, web articles. My concordance. I take notes and jot down quotes.

After taking the time to research, I sit down to start bringing everything together. And this is where things feel the most chaotic, with distinct bits of related information floating around in my head while I try to bring everything together to make a point and communicate effectively.

I start by writing a rough outline in Ulysses. All my notes and reference material are written here anyway. But I start creating this rough outline with a vague sense of an end goal, while being sensitive to the fact things could change. As I begin writing, things begin to take shape. I write a little. I pace a lot. I meditate on the idea(s) I’m working on. I refer back to the books and resources I used, reading as I pace. I write a little more.

This continues until I have a fleshed out plan of what I’m going to talk about. “Fleshed out” varies greatly though: sometimes it can be 200 words, sometimes 1,500. It just depends on the topic and how much homework was required. It also depends on how familiar I am with the topic and comfortable I am talking about it. The more familiar I am, the less I feel the need to write things down.

Keynoting

After this, in the week leading up to my class, I move to Keynote. I usually design my own themes for each session I teach, so when I’m to the point of preparing a class, I open up the new theme and start with a title slide (because there’s nothing worse than fiddling with styles when you’re intending to focus on your content). From there, I add slides in accordance with my outline.

Most slides have minimal text (although quotes and Scripture passages can be longer). But where most of the content goes in my Keynote file is the presenter notes. That’s where I put most of my thoughts I want to talk about.

The process is a little different than writing the outline, but shares many similarities. I will still pace about, meditating on a specific point. Shawn Blanc shared how he used index cards to build The Focus Course. My Keynote slides are similar for me. They’re the building blocks of my talk and an extension of the outline that started in Ulysses.

Hopefully, it all comes together to communicate the intended idea in an orderly fashion. But in the midst of it, things sure feel any but orderly.

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<![CDATA[ Entropy crushers ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/entropy/ 5e8276cbbf458d00383d59e0 Thu, 23 Jun 2016 16:04:00 -0700 It’s hard to know where to start with this piece. It’s classic Rands. But it also hits close to home after discussing the validity of product managers recently. There are so many quotable bits from this essay, but let me share those that caught my attention.

Image courtesy of the Wildbit blog.

First, he wisely takes the time to frame the discussion. What is the difference between project, product, and program managers?

A project manager is responsible for shipping a product, whereas a product manager is responsible for making sure the right product is shipped. A program manager is an uber-mutated combination of both that usually shows up to handle multiple interrelated projects like, say, an operating system.

Then he describes some qualities of a good project manager:

A good project manager is one who elegantly and deftly handles information. They know what structured meetings need to exist to gather information; they artfully understand how to gather additional essential information in the hallways; and they instinctively manage to move that gathered information to the right people and the right teams at the right time.

And:

Project managers don’t write code, they don’t test the use cases, and they’re not designing the interface. You know what a good project manager does? They are chaos destroying machines …

Lastly, he describes why a project/product/program manager is important to a team. It’s due to their focus, which is macro and micro at the same time.

Good project managers have a unique insight into the health of the project because it’s their job to have visibility into the entire machine.

If you work as an engineer, this article may help you understand what the people in these types of roles do every day, and how they can help you focus on your coding. A great read!

This article came up recently as Michael Lopp has been sharing older posts from his site on Medium. Although the Medium link came through my circles, I chose to link to the original. If you want to highlight quotes or write a response, the Medium version is here.

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<![CDATA[ The changing financial industry ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/finances/ 5e8276a0bf458d00383d59d7 Thu, 23 Jun 2016 16:00:00 -0700 It’s interesting to watch the finance industry attempt to catch up to the web and technology in general. In my experience of running a business and working on the web, no one struggles more with the shifting landscape than accountants, lawyers, and bankers. Most are firmly stuck in the brick and mortar world they grew up in.

One classic example of this was my US based business account for running Fusion Ads. If I wanted to send a wire transfer, I had to start up VMWare Fusion, load up my virtual install of Win XP, open the banking site in IE, then insert a USB key fob and log in. Painful! But that was the world in 2011–12 and things have improved.

Most banks now allow scanned cheques. And I’ve been impressed with my personal banking officer. He’s young, he understands that current generations want to do things differently and does what he can to enable that. And now we’re seeing new startups attempting to bridge the gap.

One that caught my eye a few months back was a Canadian based startup, Wealthsimple. With a focus on the overall experience, it’s clear that this team is putting good design at the forefront of a financially focused app. It currently exists as a web app, as well as being available on iOS and Android devices.

I signed up and adding a small bit of funds to check it out. So far, it’s more than decent in terms of the experience. Initially, the process is daunting because it’s far different than most SaaS tools or web apps. On signup, you have to start giving out some private details and signing papers. That is a scary first step and goes against the grain of current web products, where an email addy is usually enough to check things out.

But we’re talking finances here, a very regulated industry, so that’s to be expected. But once you complete all that and add some funds, things are very enjoyable.

Compared with traditional options, Wealthsimple is far superior. I’ve had a friend who runs a financial advisory firm who has handled our investments for years. And while I always enjoy chatting with him, I never log into the web portal they offer. It’s butt ugly, plain and simple. Wealthsimple makes the simple act of reviewing the status of your investments daily a pleasure.

It’s too good actually, as I’m a firm believer long term investments should be done with a bit of a “set and forget” mentality. A nice UI makes me want to check in more often, not a good thing in this are … and the screenshot above proves my point. It’s been a bad week for the markets :)

Another area that has impressed is personal banking. As mentioned above, the overall industry is improving. And although Simple is still US only, YNAB has been a joy to use the past couple of years. And that team has been hard at work making the newest version, which is completely web based.

No more Mac desktop app. And I couldn’t be happier. Why? Because now they can sync with my bank! For the past 18 months, I’ve been using YNAB by painstakingly adding in transactions manually, one by one. Along with that major improvement for this Canadian, they’ve improved a lot of the aspects of their app (the goals are great, as is the “age of your money”), as well as tightened up their overall approach to budgeting. It fits very well with modern spending habits.

It makes me happy to see design helping real problems. Let’s hope this trend continues to spread (healthcare, anyone?).

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<![CDATA[ The value of multi-typeface design ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/multiple-faces/ 5e8275dfbf458d00383d59b7 Thu, 16 Jun 2016 16:55:00 -0700 Bethany Heck gives a long, in-depth explanation of why it can be acceptable to go against the widely held opinion of “do not use too many fonts” in a design. She starts by recognizing there is a reason this specific guideline came to be:

We can all point to questionable designs that use an excessive number of typefaces. You can sense when a designer is trying to compensate for a deficiency by throwing more typefaces into a piece.

But she goes on to give good advice for this “rule” (which can be applied to any other guideline as well):

… don’t let one designer’s opinion affect how you approach solving a problem. Given the right content and the right faces, any number of typefaces can work in a design.

From there she goes on to give lovely, nuanced examples. It’s a long read, but a beautiful one that is worth the time. This is the best the web has to offer: someone with talent and experience takes the time to share their knowledge with painstakingly crafted examples that illustrate their point.

Be sure to check out Bethany’s project of love, The Ephesus League. What an example of a master at their craft.

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<![CDATA[ Diversification ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/diversification/ 5e8275b3bf458d00383d59b2 Thu, 16 Jun 2016 07:05:00 -0700 There’s a reason email is so addicting. Like a roulette wheel or a slot machine, there’s always a chance of something exciting coming your way. On the other hand, there’s also an equal chance that terrible news is coming your way in any given piece of electronic mail. The kind of email that makes it hard to sleep at night as your heart races and anxiety kicks into high gear.

That was the kind of email we received from Loren Brichter when he had decided to sell his company to Twitter.

In an interview with Indie.vc (published on Medium. natch), Matt Haughty gives some “lessons on lifestyle business”. As I read the piece, it brought me right back to the days of running Fusion Ads. Matt’s experience was very similar to our own.

For a year and a half, I waited. The revenues kept trickling down. It was this long terrible process, losing half overnight but then also roughly 3% a month for a year and a half after.

We didn’t not have a precipitous drop of this sort, but I do know the feeling of watching this slow decline. Matt summed it up perfectly:

Two weeks later traffic went back to how it was. But in those two years, the ad revenue market had changed. Even with the traffic, we were making half as much money because the market had kind of died in the interim.

That’s exactly what my experience was. We were blessed to get in the business in 2009. And having our ads in Tweetie for Mac (the ancestor of today’s official Twitter client for OS X) enabled our business to flourish. But, like MetaFilter, we had too much of our revenue generating traffic from one source. When that source went away, it was a punch to the gut.

Fusion Ads survived and went on for another two years before we sold it. But the writing was on the wall, the ad business was changing. We got out because it felt like a race to the bottom.

The important lesson I took away from my first business was what every investor learns about: diversification. When you run a business, you want revenue being generated from multiple sources. Hopefully, with multiple strong sources.

I vowed to never make this mistake again. And even further, I vowed to never run a business that was completely dependent on the work of others. Selling ads based on other people’s traffic worked, but it’s hard to run a business when you're 100% tied to other people’s success.

A freelancer wants clients of different sizes, with some retainers and a good mix of new work. A SaaS team wants a varied customer base with related, but slightly different needs (jobs to be done). It’s cliché, but there’s a lot of truth in the old saying. When it comes to eggs, it’s good to have a few different baskets.

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<![CDATA[ Customer-centric roles in SaaS ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/customer-centric-roles/ 5e827565bf458d00383d59a6 Thu, 09 Jun 2016 17:34:00 -0700 When you're not a full time designer and developer, how do you get started working in the web industry? For many, the way to get a “foot in the door” is to start in a customer facing role. For many, the question to then answer is:

What next?

But before looking at the various options available to those in customer-centric roles, let’s cover some verbiage. What type of roles am I referring to here? Well, if you work on a customer service, success, or support team, I’m talking about you. Customer experience? That can be more of a design focused role or team, so let’s stick with the 3 S’s for now.

As I’ve mentioned before, there is a growing focus on customers, period. And although different companies approach the idea differently, there is a trend towards focusing on the entire experience a customer has with a business/brand. The people who work in service, success, and support are there to ensure the needs of those customers are met.

A career unto itself

The first option is to stay where you are. Although traditionally treated as a stepping stone to other paths, customer-centric roles can make a satisfying career.

Unfortunately, many companies also see these roles as basic and less vital to their overall success. As such, they treat the employees in these roles accordingly. Backchannel published a recent piece that highlighted this fact amongst the “Valley elite”:

As unicorn startups send customer service gigs to the hinterland, is Silicon Valley exporting its prosperity, or just dead-end jobs?

So if you want a career in a customer facing role, it’s important to recognize that finding the right company is the key to your job satisfaction. A low salary combined with being treated as a lesser contributor to the company’s success is not usually a recipe for happiness in the workplace.

But if you can find the right company and enjoy solving people’s problems, a support or service role for the long term may be a great option.

And if you choose to make this a career, how should you focus your time? I would argue that even those who take great delight in solving people’s problems need to find proactive activities to focus on over the long haul. Answering questions over Twitter, email, and live chat all day long, every day is a recipe for burnout. So good teams give their support staff time away from the inboxes to work on other things.

Creating documentation, educational materials, or test projects can help you learn your product better and are some good ways support staff can spend their time. Some of the best SaaS support people I’ve seen were those who were good at support in general, but over time they developed a focus in one area of the product they supported and became the go-to expert in that “thing”.

How to move into other roles

I hear this question from people from time to time. If you start in a support or service role, how do you move on to something different?

Again, this often comes down to finding the right company. I prefer companies who do their best to hire from within and are willing to provide the environment and opportunity for team members to follow their desired career path. However, this is not always an easy task.

Despite being a great company, a primary reason for my leaving Campaign Monitor was because it became clear that there was a mentality of “once support, always support”. It was not easy to move on from the support team to other teams. When a new position was posted, the desire was to hire someone who was already performing that same role somewhere else, rather than groom someone who was already on the team.

That type of thinking is understandable, to a degree. A company cannot always afford to train people for a new position. And so if you're looking to shift from customer support or success, it’s good to give yourself the best chance by acquiring some of the skills required in your desired role.

Many technically strong customer support staff would love to transition to being developers. If that is the case, working on your own side projects is a great way to both get experience and showcase your skills. Contributing to open source projects is another. The same approach could be true for design, writing, or marketing.

The issue with this approach is that you have to carve time out of the rest of your life to achieve the new skillset. The same hustle that is required to be able to start your own lifestyle business may be required to switch roles in the SaaS world. If you're single or married with children, this switch may be easier to achieve. But for many people, time for side projects is in limited quantity. So if you choose to take this path, do so with wisdom and plenty of caution.

Otherwise, your hustle can lead to burnout as well.

You may have noticed I haven’t mentioned Customer Success as much as Support or Service. This is partly because it’s a role with a slightly different emphasis. I’d tie Success more closely with product management than anything else. It involves a lot of research, product strategy, and writing. And it’s the type of role that can vary greatly from one company to the next. How does one move from the reactive work to the proactive? Again, working in the right place will help. From there, show your willingness to identify opportunities to improve your customer’s journey.

Writing: have a blog

And that is my other point of focus. I’m a firm believer that any type of role on a SaaS team benefits from writing. It helps every person clarify and hone their opinions, as well as improve their ability in their specific role (designers, developers, and everyone else). But this is most especially true for product managers, customer success managers, and marketing types.

Where as a designer can have a portfolio showing their work, and a developer can share their GitHub profile, the rest of us can showcase our skills and expertise with our own blog. Getting words “to paper” is the best portfolio you have.

And so I’d put reading and writing high on the list of priorities if I was looking to switch from customer support to customer success or product management. Start a blog, join the right community, and start sharing your knowledge.


Working in the SaaS industry can be very enjoyable. Challenging, but enjoyable. Finding the role you enjoy the most can take some time, but persist. It’s worth it!

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<![CDATA[ Rethinking the work-life equation ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/redefining-work-life/ 5e827589bf458d00383d59ac Thu, 09 Jun 2016 14:04:00 -0700 Susan Dominus, writing for the NYT Magazine, writes about the importance of team culture over policy. The focus of the article is to illustrate the point that even when companies tout flexibility through corporate policy, it can take time for team members to feel comfortable allowing their personal life to encroach upon the boundaries of their professional life.

The article is a good one (part of an interesting series titled, “THE WORK ISSUE: REIMAGINING THE OFFICE”). Dominus states that making this type of shift has to start with the employers way of thinking and talking about this subject of work-life balance:

For years, employees and human-resources professionals spoke of the ubiquitous desire for ‘‘work-family balance.’ … at best, balance is perhaps an unrealistic goal: a state of grace in which all is aligned. ‘‘Balance is something you want but can never have,’’ says Cali Yost, whose specialty is helping businesses implement flexibility strategies. She started referring to ‘‘work-life fit’’ to capture the way workers try to piece the disparate parts of their lives together. (The American Psychological Association and the Society for Human Resource Management have started to use this term as well.)

The following point stands out as the most poignant aspect of work that people struggle with:

Workplace stress often is more accurately described as workplace guilt, an especially corrosive form of distress.

Which makes working for a company that includes guidelines such this so enjoyable:

We don’t babysit. Everyone is responsible and accountable for their contributions.

And:

We believe most things are not urgent. Be patient, stay calm, and go home.

I’ve worked in many different team environments and getting the right balance is hard. Our North American sense of self worth is tied to our vocation, so this entire subject is a delicate one. I’m glad to see it getting a lot of attention.

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<![CDATA[ Documentation needs, met ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/documentation-needs/ 5e8274babf458d00383d598b Fri, 03 Jun 2016 16:07:00 -0700 Notes have long been the hole in my digital setup. I’ve tried many different options over the years. Write, Notes, plain text files in Finder, Simplenote, and Yojimbo back in the day. When I first started using Ulysses, it seemed like a good option as well. But the lack of an iOS version kept me from adopting it fully. Finally, Day One was also a good option for certain things.

However, what resulted from all this was fragmentation. I could never remember where a specific note was. Did I jot this down in Ulysses? If so, where? Is it in Notes? Did I write an entry in Day One? Or am I imagining things and I never made a note of the item in question at all? There were too many moments where I spent too much time looking for something with no clear idea of where it might be.

That needed to change.

Like Ben Brooks, Ulysses on iOS was a big help for solidifying my notes usage. Today, together with Day One, these two apps meet 95% of my documentation needs. Before I talk about how I use them, let’s clarify exactly what I mean with the word “documentation”.

Notes of All Sorts

When we Mac users say “notes”, we tend to mean smaller bits of information that need to be remembered later. Like a grocery list for the store. Or our tax instalments for the year. Or maybe a couple of links to websites we’d like to refer to for a project at work. What we’re talking about is usually “information” rather than “files”.

This encompasses a lot of my “notes” usage. But I also include a few other types. Almost all writing starts in Ulysses for me. This newsletter. Blog posts for the Wildbit or Beanstalk blog. Posts to our internal company intranet. Bits of conversations with customers. It all goes into Ulysses. First drafts, reference materials, and conversations are get stored in one place.

The last the of documentation is activity based. What did I do? I create a daily log type of entry in Day One and add it to my Wildbit journal. This is where I jot down what I did each day and, when appropriate, note my thinking for certain decisions or record my findings for research efforts. I’ve also described the other types of things I put into Day One recently . But for work related items, it’s nice to be able to review my thinking for a particular decision weeks or months down the road.

Because of all the different types of details I’m storing, “reference material” might be a better term to use than “notes”. Regardless, Ulysses and Day One are my new jam.

Organization

Personally, I just have a long list of groups and sub-groups in Ulysses (aka folders). Each group can contain sub-groups and/or sheets (in this app, a sheet is like a “document”). Most of my writing and reference material is pertinent to one — and only one — area of my life, so the list of folders works well.

Ulysses also comes with the ability to add keywords to a sheet (aka tags). This would be the same as tags in OS X. And, like most applications that support tags, I’ve never used it. With a service like Pinboard, tags work great and make sense. But for a writing app, my brain wants to group together related materials. And so the tried and true method of hierarchical folders works for me, where tags do not.

Day One is a different beast due to its nature. It’s a chronological ordering of entries. That makes sense for my usage: I want to recall what I did at a certain point in time. However, it also support tags and this is an app where I use them abundantly.

My different entry types (TFC, home maintenance, brews etc) are tagged accordingly so I can filter the main timeline down to the list of entries I’m interested in at a given moment. As well, I use a separate journal for Wildbit, so I’m able to filter entries for only that to narrow down what I’m looking for.

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<![CDATA[ Medium takes aim at WordPress with a new way to power websites ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/medium-and-wordpress/ 5e827532bf458d00383d59a0 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 07:21:00 -0700 Another week, another article talking about Medium. I’m a sucker for this!

This time, I have some positive things to say. Medium is testing some new options, allowing publishers to use the Medium platform in all its glory, plus with two new options to earn income. The options? Promoted posts and paid memberships.

Now, promoted posts will be quite ad-like. Similar to a promotion in an RSS feed, the promoted post could be simply a longer, text based advertisement. Oh, there will be media involved, large images likely, but the posts are just that: posts. But at the end of the day, it’s an advertisement.

The paid memberships are more interesting. As I’ve written (many times) before, I’m happy to use Medium as an extension of my site. But I want to retain full control over my writing and hosting my own site gives me that. However, Medium has proven to be a place where the audience is. Reader participation is high — often higher than what writers see on their own site.

Running a membership program is not easy. I can see how Medium’s built-in audience would be tempting if one were trying to earn an income from one’s site. Although Ev & co are focused more on the big players, the option will be attractive to smaller publishers as well.

It’s a bold move … and a smart one!

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<![CDATA[ Is email the problem? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/is-email-the-problem/ 5e827433bf458d00383d597a Thu, 26 May 2016 16:00:00 -0700 Readers here are no doubt aware of my enjoyment of Cal Newport’s writing. I’ve certainly talked about his latest book and linked to his blog enough times. I’m doing so once more, but this time to voice my disagreement.

Cal’s on a war against email.He’s written a short series of posts on his own site. He was also featured in the Harvard Business Review with a piece titled A Modest Proposal: Eliminate Email. It’s obvious that I appreciate Cal’s focus on the important, the deep work. And while I understand his approach to social media in the book (quit it, don’t use it), I think he’s going too far with email itself.

Communication channels always bear the brunt of our complaints

Teams must communicate. This is especially true today with the dispersed nature of our teams. An asynchronous option like email seems best able to allow focus. Where as tools like Slack result in a sense of chaos, distraction, and immediacy, email allows you to get back to people on your time.

Now, in his piece for HBR, Cal summarizes the problem with email:

This unstructured workflow arose from the core properties of email technology — namely, the standard practice of associating addresses with individuals (and not, say, teams, or request type, or project), and the low marginal cost of sending a message. It spread for the simple reason that it’s easier in the moment. It takes significantly less effort to shoot off quick messages, for example, than it is to more carefully plan your work day, figuring out in advance what you need, from whom, and by when.

Agreed. But is eliminating email altogether the best answer to the problem above? I would strongly advocate the approach Cal takes in his book, (and repeats on his blog) that we write longer, more purposeful emails. Write what he calls process-centric emails. Here’s his description:

When sending or replying to an email, identify the goal this emerging email thread is trying to achieve. For example, perhaps its goal is to synchronize a plan for an upcoming meeting with a collaborator or to agree on a time to grab coffee. Next, come up with a process that gets you and your correspondent to this goal while minimizing the number of back and forth messages required. Explain this process in the email so that you and your recipient are on the same page.

If we all took this level of effort, email would be far less of a problem.

Email is a box to check. It does require discipline to not allow this box to be something you flit back to at the first moment of waiting for a web page to load or a thought to form when you're writing. However, I find it far less disturbing than other “tools” like social media or team chat.

Perhaps in academia, eliminating email is more feasible. For most of us, I find it to be a great method of communication. Especially when used well.

Communication channels always bear the brunt of our disgruntlement, but it's our habits that are the true problem, along with our work culture.

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<![CDATA[ The age of distraction ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/age-of-distraction/ 5e82747dbf458d00383d5985 Thu, 26 May 2016 06:13:00 -0700 Some articles open with a whimper, some with a bang. This one is in the latter camp:

Busy, distracted, inattentive? Everybody has been since at least 1710 and here are the philosophers to prove it

It’s an interesting read, where the author, Frank Furedi, is looking at the past in an attempt to address the concerns of the present. Concerns regarding attention, or the lack thereof. And he claims we’re not dealing with anything new, but with an issue that has been around for 300 years.

Those who suffer this debilitating condition have a particular name for the state of their feelings: ‘they have the fidgets’

What I find interesting is how he associates the problem of inattention with morality. And has plenty of sources who do the same. But is this truly a moral issue? Or an issue of inability?

One might argue that it’s not an issue at all, that a state of (nearly) permanent distraction is just a reality of the times and not a problem. Regular readers of this newsletter will know where I fall on this matter; our best work, of any type, is accomplished with focus. But is it an issue of morality or inability? Perhaps a mixture of both. I know one thing: the less you say “no” to yourself, the harder it is to achieve discipline.

How can one choose in any given moment to do the more important thing when new stimulus presents itself if we never practice self-discipline? And living in an age and culture where giving in to your desires is promoted around every corner, it’s no wonder we’re all struggling with the small, daily choices to cultivate good habits.

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<![CDATA[ How I use Day One ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/using-day-one/ 5e8272f0bf458d00383d5954 Thu, 19 May 2016 07:05:00 -0700 Day One is one of those applications where I’ve always known I was underutilizing it. For one, I’ve never had a consistent journalling habit. And secondly, it has a lot of functionality that I simply never put to use.

This has been true from day one (sorry, not sorry), but became even more pronounced with the launch of Day One 2. This version brought multiple journals, better support for images, and many other small touches. And to follow that up, they recently announced support for IFTTT. That option opens up a world of automated journal entries.

Now, automated journal entries sounds like a phrase that is ripe for misuse. One can picture a pipe of content that is never viewed or revisited, meeting no purpose. However, with some careful thought, I think this can be put to good use.

How I’m using Day One today

I’ve slowly been increasing my usage of this powerful app since Paul invited me to the beta of version 2. Here’s how …

A work journal

My first step was creating a second journal titled Wildbit. Every day where I’m working on long term initiatives, I open an entry and keep the app on the side of my screen (using Moom for precise widths and spacing, natch).

Tracking what I do each day

As I go through my day, I jot down what I’ve done and why certain decisions were made. This helps me for a couple of reasons. For one, your future self is always questioning why you took a certain approach. As will my team. So it’s nice to have a trail to review and recall why something was done.

Second, our teams shares monthly reports to the entire company. It’s a lot nicer writing those reports when I don’t have to scour through email, Slack, and Paper.

Good writing

Another way I’ve been using Day One of late is a reading journal. Although it’s possible to archive bookmarks here, I already do that in Pinboard. So I do not feel the need for that type of thing in Day One.

However, I have not had a good place to store all the highlights found in my reading. And so I created a Reading journal, hooked up the Day One IFTTT channel, and created some recipes. Now, any time I highlight text in Instapaper, the words and the details of the quote are stored in a Day One entry.

Tracking quotes

The last thing I did here was create a recipe to have article tagged with “like” in Pinboard to be added to a new entry in Day One. Sadly, news just arrived that IFTTT is removing Pinboard from their list of supported channels (here is Maciej’s response).

Beers

Last, one nice addition to my journaling habit has been recording all the great beers I’ve tried. Since I love the care put into the labels as well as each brew, Day One’s support of photos is helpful. Every time I try a new option, I take a picture of the bottle and tag the entry “brews”.

Mmmmm, beer

The nice touch here is that my wife doesn’t really care to see beer bottles mixed into the family pictures. And so I can choose to not have photos taken on my phone in the Day One app added to my Camera Roll.

98% of the photos taken on my phone are done so in the Camera app. And if I ever want to add a certain photo of a child or event, I can add it to Day One. But being able to take a photo directly in the app is helpful in that I can keep my iCloud Photos library in a more clean state.


That sums up my current usage. Have any great use cases yourself? I’d love to hear it!

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<![CDATA[ The outgoing introvert ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/outgoing-introverts/ 5e82731cbf458d00383d595a Thu, 19 May 2016 06:44:00 -0700 I’m currently 40,000 feet in the air as I write this. There’s nothing quite like 6 hours on a plane with no connectivity to allow one to meditate on and process the results of a 7 day team retreat. It also leads a long task list in one’s notebook!

What I found myself meditating this time around was the people. How we’re all so varied, so unique, and yet with striking similarities repeated across a group of individuals. After spending 7 full days in the same house with 22 other people, I’ve realized two things.

First, the topic of introversion vs. extroversion so quickly becomes silly and unproductive. It’s a spectrum, plain and simple. A broad one. We all fall somewhere on the line, with different characteristics displaying where we live along that spectrum. What may classify one person as introverted may be completely different for the next.

Second, in her article titled The Outgoing Introvert, Jenn Granneman poses the idea that some introverts are social and not shy, enjoying the spotlight on occasion and not fearful of meeting others. Yet, when the battery gets depleted, these people need time alone in order to recharge and be ready for the next event.

This is exactly how I found myself. The past week drove that home once more. I love the chance to have some face to face time with my teammates. Getting in front of the team to speak is fun, not intimidating. Voicing my opinions in a healthy team debate is not a problem. And I cherish spending time with the newer teammate I’ve met for the first time, getting to know them a little better (or a lot). The concept of a team retreat for remote workers is critical to my job satisfaction.

It’s also exhausting!

Our last night was a great illustration. As we finished our last dinner together, the topic turned to what we’d do for the rest of the night. When someone mentioned watching a movie, one of my colleagues leaned over and said, “How about talking? To people? That’s what we’re here for.” And he was right.

But after 7 days of being in the company of others from morning to night, as enjoyable as it was, talking was the last thing I wanted to do. My teammate clearly is energized by the interactions. I had nothing left and wanted to just shut down. Neither is wrong; it’s just how we work.

As I looked around my other overtly introverted teammates, I could see the same thing on their faces. And so I enjoyed a good movie with a couple of other folks. Once again, I came away feeling blessed for working on a team that values diversity and allows us to be ourselves. We push each other to do our best, but all while respecting and embracing our differences.

I like that.

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<![CDATA[ Are product managers a burden to productive teams? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/are-pms-needed/ 5e8272bbbf458d00383d594e Fri, 13 May 2016 07:00:00 -0700 The fine folks at Help Scout asked that question. And co-founder Nick Francis seems to indicate that the answer is yes. I quite enjoy the Help Scout blog, specifically the writing of Gregory Ciotti. But this particular piece didn’t sit well.

It starts with a somewhat inflammatory opening statement. The one in big bold text:

To build a great product, you need design and you need engineering. Somewhere along the way, and especially as companies grow, another mysterious role enters the fray: the Product Manager.

Take the work that someone does and add a drop of condescension and you're suddenly ruffling some feathers. Knowing the Help Scout team, this was not likely the intended purpose. But it does read a bit smug.

Again, I appreciate this team (we use their product, which I like a lot). And I appreciate Nick's overall point. But it's not well made and includes some generalizing statements. If he had taken the approach of explaining "this is what works best for our team", one could appreciate the insight and move on.

But he instead took the approach of attacking a role in our community.

But the Product Manager role introduces a couple disadvantages. It takes ownership away from the people doing the work. Designers and engineers become cogs executing a plan when they should be empowered to solve customer pain. Product Managers also add significant overhead to every project, albeit unintentionally.

To the point of designers and engineers being treated as cogs, it sounds like Nick has experience with bad product managers.

But his main point is that having no product managers is good for several reasons. It keeps the primary creators closer to the customer, is a more efficient process, and distributes some key functions to multiple people instead of just one. As he states:

A magical thing happens when there’s no Product Manager. All of the project planning and ancillary tasks become “everyone’s job.” Designers and engineers have to work together to understand customer pain and come up with a delightful solution.

And:

These “chores” become empowering, rather than a burden, because they give people a sense of ownership and responsibility that didn’t previously exist.

There’s truth here. It can be beneficial for designers and engineers to do these tasks. And it’s good to have people with those skillsets close to the front lines hearing directly from customers. The only issue is that when they’re doing these tasks, they’re not doing their primary tasks. Instead of designing and developing, they’re product managing.

But Nick is making the case that this is more efficient.

As a company grows, product development gets slower, takes more people and requires more effort. We often misunderstand those challenges and insert Product Managers to babysit and make the process more efficient … I’d argue that this role exacerbates the problem instead of solving it.

His entire point of reduced efficiency and increased overhead seems misguided. If a PM adds bloat to the overall process that gets a team to successful implementation, how does taking the important functions s/he performs and having designers and engineers do them make the overall process faster?

It doesn’t.

Every hour a designer spends doing user research is one hour they're not designing. Whether that is low fidelity idea generation or high fidelity iterations of the final solution, the designer is researching instead. The same is true for the developer.

There are certain functions that are vital to successful products. Who performs those functions isn’t terribly important in and of itself. If a team prefers to have designers and developers do user research, write technical specifications, and manage the overall development process, that process can work.

But so too does having one person own the responsibility of those functions. Someone whose sole purpose is to gather all the necessary information, get it into the hands of the creators, and manage communication as smoothly as possible. And most important, someone who spends their time ensuring the goals of the business are aligned with the needs of the customer.

Suggesting that you can take all of that and just add it to the role of designers and engineers is a fallacy. I'd tend to believe this approach often results in a mediocre end solution as people are wearing too many hats to be truly proficient at their primary craft.

An experienced, proficient product manager is an expert on those functions because it's all s/he does, every day. Having an expert in this area frees up designers and developers to do what they do best, as well as empowers them with the right information and focus.

Last, I wonder how the customer success/support staff at Help Scout feel about this statement:

At Help Scout designers always have the final say because they are closest to the customer.

​Really?

Update: Nick proves he's a class act. He's updated the post based on some feedback he's had with several folks, including yours truly with what you see above.

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<![CDATA[ Our generation ships will sink ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/sinking-ships/ 5e827283bf458d00383d5946 Thu, 05 May 2016 05:15:00 -0700 You may have come across this article from last fall at some point. It’s a long, well thought out piece by Kim Stanley Robinson exploring the actual potential for humans to be able to live on a planet other than this one. His prognosis? Not good!

As someone who spends a lot of time lamenting what we’re doing to this planet, I appreciate a science fiction writer taking the time to add a dose of reality to our consciousness. As he starts out, he reminds us that interplanetary travel is an idea that has been around for not all that long:

Humanity traveling to the stars is an ancient dream, and a late nineteenth and early twentieth century project, proposed quickly after the first developments in rocketry. The idea spread through world culture, mainly by way of science fiction

Since then, due to the explosion in popularity of science fiction, this idea has become a rather integral part of our culture. Not to simply travel to another planet (getting to Mars is obviously feasible), but to find one that could support human life and then begin to colonize it. It’s to the point where most of us believe it’s just a matter of time. Robinson basically takes a detailed approach to say, “Maybe not.”

If you spend much time at all reading about climate change, you may be concerned about timelines. On the one hand, the time it will take us to find and colonize a inhabitable planet has not shrunk much at all (perhaps it’s even expanded). On the other, the timeline where the earth’s environment becomes uninhabitable seems to shrink every time you read about it. We would appear to be running out of time.

Let’s hope a lot of the new science fiction is focused on renewing the state of this planet. It seems to be a far more likely chance of success. Personally, I try not to fret too much, for I have another hope. But I do want to make choices that reflect reality, not fiction!

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<![CDATA[ Moving from OmniFocus ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/moving-from-of/ 5e827241bf458d00383d5940 Wed, 04 May 2016 00:00:00 -0700 The last time I took an in-depth review of my needs regarding managing tasks and projects was almost two years ago.

My conclusion was that OmniFocus both fit my needs and was the most enjoyable option to use. So much so that when Stephen & Shawn asked me to write about “GTD apps” for The Sweet Setup, it was more an exercise of reviewing the capabilities of each option rather than having to choose a winner.

And that’s how it’s been for 2 years. Until Sven.

Over the past few months, I’ve seen Ben Brooks write about 2Do, some new kid on the Mac personal productivity block. And Ben mentioned that he gave it a look when Federico touted its features. But it wasn’t until I saw Sven give it a test run that I was sucked into giving 2Do a look.

I came away impressed.

Testing a new task management tool is usually more trouble than it’s worth. Moving tasks around is usually less useful than actually doing them! But I had just finished up Deep Work, What’s Best Next, and The Focus Course. I was going through the exercise of evaluating how I work and what I’m working on in all areas of my life. Taking a high level view, identifying my purpose, and listing my roles and responsibilities turned out to be a great chance to put all the small steps in place. Even in a different tool.

After 2 weeks of trialling the mobile and desktop app, I was sold.

What makes this app so good? First, it’s a joy to look at. The interface is clean and well designed; specific functionality of the application is hidden until needed.

As for the feature set, it as just as robust as OmniFocus. But the beauty of 2Do is that it combines the best of both worlds. It’s as functional as OmniFocus, but presents that functionality in a more enjoyable manner, more like Things. But where Things ends in what you can do with it, 2Do delivers all the customization you need.

I’ll use the organization of your tasks as a good example. In OmniFocus, you can add projects and folders. Now, most of us have many roles to play and have tasks related to each. Many OmniFocus users break their “Areas of Responsibility” into folders at the base of their system. You can then add projects under each of these folders. It also allows you to create “single action lists”, which represent those areas where you have things to do with no end date (whereas projects are intended to have an end date).

In contrast, 2Do allows you to create lists and groups to organize the areas of your life. In your lists, you can then add projects and checklists. Both of these can contain tasks. And you can break this down further to include sub-tasks.

At the heart of any task management tool lies how the app will allow you to categorize your core responsibilities. It truly is the flexibility that makes 2Do compare so well to the other options.

2Do Hits All the Sweet Spots

While most of the big players in the personal task management space for OS X are high quality, there are a couple of aspects of 2Do that drew me in.

Structure

First, the organizational baseline of 2Do was closer to Things than OmniFocus. Things was the first app I used in this category as a Mac user; it was part of what drew me to the platform. But where Things was rigid in its organization, OmniFocus allowed a little more fluidity. It enabled me to create custom views that fit my work days or contexts (common situations) better.

However, 2Do takes that customization to another level. Where OmniFocus allows you to create Perspectives based on limited options, 2Do’s smart lists are far more flexible and enabling. Where OmniFocus is rigid in terms of where a task can be assigned and located, 2Do adds a lovely method for storing tasks.

Let me give a concrete example. Since everything in 2Do is a list, when you're adding a new task, it can go under one of your main lists. But that list can also contain projects and checklists. Your new task can sit on its own under the parent list, or you can easily add it to any included project or checklist.

2Do has a good overall structure

Sounds obvious, right? But this is something that is not possible in OmniFocus … new tasks must be included in an existing project under a parent folder.

Aesthetics

At the same time, 2Do is nicer to look at than OmniFocus. I sure appreciate the work of the folks at OmniGroup, but their apps are not the most pleasing visually. There are no theming options with 2Do, but the UI is already very nice and customization comes with the colour of your lists and the size of the font.

It also boasts a pleasing UI

2Do is very thoughtfully designed. The layout of the information allows for differing densities, and even with all the details in view, there is never a sense of being overwhelmed. This is an especially nice touch on iOS.

Search & smart lists

One of the most powerful aspects of 2Do is the search. You can identify any criteria to create a custom view of what you want to see. Once you have created this view, you can save it as a smart list.

Search is powerful in this app

This is essentially the same as custom perspectives in OmniFocus. But there is a little more possibility and control here.

Odds & ends

There are a few other items that have gotten my attention over the weeks of using 2Do. One is the amazing keyboard support. Everything in the app can be done via the keyboard. The list of shortcut options is lengthy!

Key shortcuts aplenty

Another nice touch is the prioritization of tasks. You can set any task, project, or checklist to have one of five levels of priority. The default is none, the lowest level of priority. The highest is a star. It’s just one more way to allow you to mark and view tasks in ways that make sense to you.

Last is the support for tags. The ability to use tags in 2Do is much like any other application. But in a task management app, this allows you do view tasks across lists. So for GTD lovers, tags can be your contexts.

Where it lacks

Is there room for improvement? Of course. For one, syncing over Dropbox is a tad slow. There does not seem to be any option for background syncing like OmniFocus has. As well, some keyboard actions are counterintuitive and take time to become accustomed to.

The biggest issue could be considered not the lack of functionality, but the abundance of it. You could twiddle knobs all day with this app. Thankfully, 2Do has been designed well so that the functionality is there, but is not in your face and distracting one from focusing on the tasks more than the tool. As Kathy Sierra puts it in Making Users Awesome:

There’s a world of difference between having choices and have to make choices.

Indeed. 2Do strikes the right balance.


Would I advocate moving to this tool? Only if you have a good opportunity to do so and a need for change. OmniFocus, Things, and all the other options are great tools. Hey, pen & paper are a lovely option as well!

But if the opportunity presents itself, give 2Do a look.

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<![CDATA[ Newsletters are the new zines ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-new-zines/ 5e8270d2bf458d00383d5926 Thu, 28 Apr 2016 16:00:00 -0700 Back to the topic of why newsletters are a good choice for writers.

This piece by Simon Owens perfectly sums up my thoughts. In it, he opines that email newsletters are similar to the handmade zines of the 70s, 80s, and 90s. In contrast to carefully edited and displayed content of the web, newsletters are more haphazard:

Many newsletters feature a hodgepodge of unrelated sections, images, and GIFs, and they take a distinctly informal tone in their writing.

What makes this format work for both writer and reader?

It could be that, like those within the zine community, newsletter readers enjoy feeling like they’re in some sort of exclusive club. Sending a newsletter seems more like a private, intimate conversation compared to when you write for the open web.

But he finishes by stating that newsletters could suffer a potentially gloomy future:

Given our renewed obsession with Inbox Zero and the general feeling that we already receive too much email, it might soon become harder for new independent newsletters to break through the noise.

For now, it’s a fun tool to make use of!

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<![CDATA[ Oppression in our industry ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/oppression/ 5e8270a6bf458d00383d591e Wed, 27 Apr 2016 06:54:00 -0700 For the past 6 months, I’ve been studying and prepping a Sunday school class on oppression. One thing that jumps out right away on this subject is that very few of us in North America participate in what we would call direct oppression. In fact, we abhor forms of direct oppression and, in most cases, oppose them.

I wish I could say the same for indirect forms of oppression!

Sadly, most of us hurt others by some of the choices we make. Sometimes unknowingly. Other times we’re aware of it, but do not care enough. There are plenty of examples (non-fair trade chocolate or coffee, most clothing), many of which come from our purchasing power. We live in the most affluent society to have ever lived on earth and how we use those resources can result in indirect oppression.

Of late, some examples of this in our own industry have come to light. I think of Talia Jane, who wrote a letter to the CEO of the company where she was employed. Whether or not you believe her own decisions led to her situation, the culture and environment of the company is in no way healthy. The same can be said of Amélie.

We get a similar picture as Lauren Smiley outlines the Shut-In Economy. It’s not all bad; there is some good that comes from changes to how we do things. But the movement eschews human contact, even to the point where those giving the service are invisible. Purposefully.

Shutting people out is an important part of being a shut-in: When signing up, customers can choose the option of not seeing their Alfred, who will come in when they’re at work. Alfred’s messaging is aimed at sweeping aside any middle-class shame.

It’s these kinds of decisions, purposeful designs, that lead to oppression. If we are not even aware of the humans around us and how our decisions affect them, we’re prone to do nothing about a problem we don’t know exists. And the industry (the valley, the investors, and we, the consumers) seem to want to head down this road with one ultimate goal in mind: convenience.

Amazon is our chief example here. Why leave the house to get things you need when you can find and purchase them with a click of a button? That sounds great. And for many situations, it is great! But getting out and doing these things gets you into your community.

Convenience always comes with a cost. The sad thing is we usually do not have to pay it. We’re horrified at the actions of our colonial ancestors (those of us who have them) and how they treated people of different lands. Yet, our actions can lead to similar results. If you can buy a cheap electronic gadget for under $20, somewhere there’s a human putting it together for inhumane wages.

Sometimes the affects are closer to home as well. Back to Amazon, Mother Jones shed some light as to the costs that come in order to get us anything we want whenever we want it. The piece outlines the horrid conditions that workers face every day in these gigantic warehouses. Even if the situation is not true in all cases, human beings are being treated poorly and we have a part to play in it. But this was back in 2012 and now it’s 2016 and the shift to using these services continues to skyrocket.

Our industry plays a part. What are we going to do about it?

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<![CDATA[ The useless agony of going offline ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/going-offline/ 5e827022bf458d00383d5918 Fri, 08 Apr 2016 16:46:00 -0700 Interesting take on the “Internet Sabbatical” and its ilk. Matthew Malady found it was a waste of time. His reasoning is that giving up constant distractions the online life brings is not equal to the price of giving up the access to instant knowledge available online. His conclusion:

At the end of the experiment, I wasn’t dying to get my phone back or to access Facebook. I just wanted to get back to being better informed.

You’ll likely not be surprised at all to hear that I disagree with his take on this topic. From the account, it sounds like Malady is like most of us; distracted and (attempting) doing many things at once. And yet his experiment did not result in a desire to change.

What’s more, I don’t know that I learned any lessons about my tech usage that would make David M. Levy proud of my efforts, or that will help me use my devices more intelligently going forward.

Perhaps this can happen to people. But perhaps it’s due to how one spends the time offline. Malady confesses his own time may not have been spent in the wisest fashion:

Perhaps even worse, I also watched much more TV than I normally would.

This is a topic that’s going to be a focus for some time, as we learn the full extent how the Internet affects us. From physiology to social norms to environmental concerns, we’re still learning how this new connection and stimulus shapes our lives. To date, we’ve spent far more energy figuring out how to give everyone access than we have how that access will affect them (related).

Obviously, the Internet is enabling … that’s a good thing. A great thing. But it is also addicting, and much of what we’ve done with the connection to knowledge leads to surface living, flicking from one thing to the next. I’d suggest that the knowledge Malady claims to get from the Internet could be described largely as a useless collection of facts (much of which is likely not retained anyway), which is a far cry from wisdom.

Facts without wisdom are just data. Knowledge takes a little more work.

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<![CDATA[ First things first ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/first-things-first/ 5e7fc8bc77a1e90038143850 Fri, 08 Apr 2016 06:01:00 -0700 Fresh off my read of Deep Work, I dug right into Matt Perman’s What’s Best Next. Think of this one as a guide to productivity for those who believe the Gospel of Christ. It focuses a lot on the why, before getting into the how of things. It’s been another enjoyable read — I’ll give a full review in time.

But I’m currently about two thirds through it and was shocked to see one of this suggestions. In the chapter on Regular Routines, Perman advocates for a daily workflow. This workflow is something that should occur every day, regardless of all else that is going on. It’s the routine that ensures you're getting time every day to work on the things that you're the best at, that matter the most.

That’s good advice. He boils the workflow down to 4 core tasks. But what shocked me is the order of the tasks:

  1. Plan your day
  2. Execute your workflow (including processing your email to zero)
  3. Do you main daily activity
  4. Do some next actions or major project work

(emphasis mine)

Wow! That is such a stark contrast to the methods Cal Newport advocates in Deep Work. The same thing for Shawn Blanc in The Focus Course (and many, many other resources). I know personally the worst thing I can do is start the day with reactive work like email. Once you start down that path, it’s seem as if there is no return … others are dictating the course of your day and where your focus is spent.

I love the idea that there is a core ritual or routine that you get to each and every day (It should also not be your entire day. For if you're doing the things that are of the most importance daily, then you are more free to be available for others, or to allow spontaneity to occur as well). But my core routine would be in a far different order. Or perhaps broken into chunks, with some of the core tasks happening at different points of the day.

I could see a routine like this working for me:

Morning (beginning of workday)

  1. Do your main daily activity
  2. Do some next actions or major project work

Afternoon (end of workday)

  1. Execute your workflow (including processing your inbox to zero)
  2. Plan your day (except it’s the next day, similar to Shawn’s note)

For me, the main daily activity is what is going to push things forward. Whether a project, or planning and strategizing, or conducting research. That daily activity requires focus, a time of low stimulus. And since mornings are when I have the most energy available and tend to do my best work, there’s no chance I’m wasting those finite resources in reading and sending email.

Putting the first things first is too important.

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<![CDATA[ A family friendly culture ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/family-friendly-culture/ 5e7fc88b77a1e9003814384a Fri, 01 Apr 2016 15:03:00 -0700 Here’s a nice look at how several companies are learning to be family friendly. I’m especially happy with this one as the first two pictures are of the Wildbit office. One of our founders, Natalie, shares some of the thinking behind the space and the importance of children being welcomed in the space.

She followed up with an expanded post on our site. The paragraphs of mine were written weeks ago, but it's telling how my thoughts below match the outline of Natalie's post.)

What’s more, this is important for the remote team as well. How do companies make remote positions more welcoming to the family life? By allowing flexibility. I’m blessed to be able to adjust the hours of my day when the need arises (doctor appointments, school events, etc). On top of that, the team stresses firm 40 hour work weeks.

This is all possible because Wildbit has cultivated an environment that puts people first, tasks second. Both are important, but when employers forget the former, the latter is always heavily affected. This comes through in yet another post, Putting Unicorns Through the Meat Grinder:

Natalie told me recently that the real product of Wildbit is not Beanstalk, Postmark or DeployBot—it’s their team. The software they sell is just a byproduct of the team that they’ve compiled.

I can’t tell you how thankful I am for working for a company like this!

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<![CDATA[ Improving my habits ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/improving-these-habits/ 5e7fc86277a1e90038143844 Fri, 01 Apr 2016 06:07:00 -0700 Every so often, I try to examine my toolset for possible improvements. Not so much in terms of finding new apps (although that happens too), but in terms of improving how I use the apps already in my toolset.

And, as I’ve mentioned in the past, OmniFocus is always one where I see bad habits creep in. There are a few that consistently make my “system” less efficient and increase rather than decrease a sense of anxiety.

Arbitrary Due Dates

This is one that has been a problem for me since I started using GTD type apps. I outlined this problem in the link above:

In my old job, all side projects, life responsibilities, and the odd Campaign Monitor task were added to OmniFocus. I was a heavy user of due dates, but the reality was these dates were fictitious. It was more a case of when I’d like this task to be done or worked on. This could be a problem as some tasks truly were due on a specific day, but they would be mixed in with other tasks in the Forecast view that were more wishful thinking than anything else.

I recognize this is a problem, yet I still have a fallback habit of setting these dates.

And after my recent analysis of my habits, I realized that there is another cause of my problematic usage of due dates: fear. Although these specific tasks are not due at a particular time, I have a sense of when I want to attempt to deal with them. And so I set a due date because I fear that I’ll forget about the task entirely.

This is not an issue of the task itself, but another problem entirely.

Daily (and Weekly) Reviews

The problem above? My lack of regular reviews. My sub-conscious wants to set these dates to trigger my memory at a specific time. Since I’m bad at reviewing my projects regularly, I’ve developed this habit of setting a due date to bring a task back to my attention.

If I were conducting routine reviews, I would see these tasks and flag them at the appropriate time. So the due date is problematic, but it’s not the problem. It’s the symptom.

Solution: Plan, Regularly

Sven Fechner details a better overall routine using different perspectives.

Each day in the morning and sometimes even the night before I sit down and plan out my day. There are things I need to do and things I want to accomplish and more often than not they are more than I have time for.

He has a planning perspective that he uses daily to create a list of tasks appropriate for each day. Cal Newport has a similar process:

I take time blocking seriously, dedicating ten to twenty minutes every evening to building my schedule for the next day. During this planning process I consult my task lists and calendars, as well as my weekly and quarterly planning notes. My goal is to make sure progress is being made on the right things at the right  pace for the relevant deadlines.

I would do well to come up with a similar habit. Daily might be overkill, but weekly is not quite enough for me.

Recurring Numbness

One last issue to mention is the repetition of recurring tasks. There are several tasks that my past self has deemed important enough that they should recur every 1 or 2 weeks. However, my present self often finds that, in the moment, I don’t want to tackle the specific task. Or, it doesn’t feel like a priority. I can check it off and ignore it for now, because it’ll just come back next week!

Solution: Analyze

In some cases, this is not a terrible thing. We’re not slaves to these systems. But if I find myself ignoring this task for the third or fourth week in a row, I ask myself a couple of questions:

  • Is this still important? Perhaps I can delete this task from OmniFocus entirely.
  • Has it become a habit? In some cases, the task in question has become a regular part of my routine and I don’t need to see it in my task list any more.
  • Does it need to be so routine? Perhaps the item is still important enough it needs to be done, but perhaps it’s not needed so regularly as I originally thought when making it a recurring task.

Just recognizing the act of ignoring this task for several weeks in a row is usually enough to cause me to pause and ask these questions. The answers tell me whether it’s fine to continue on as is, or to make a change.

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<![CDATA[ Future reading ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/future-reading/ 5e7fc78b77a1e90038143828 Fri, 25 Mar 2016 06:54:00 -0700 By now, many of you have likely read this piece by Craig Mod for Aeon. He talks about how he jumped on to the Kindle train early on, only to see his reading habits shift back to print. Both options have their advantages and Craig gives a good overview of both.

The Kindle, or more truthfully, Amazon, brought easy access:

During my screen‑reading years, I found the Kindle to be most transformative in its ability to collapse the distance between wanting a book and owning it.

But the clincher was a sense of reading with an eye to the future:

Most importantly, using the device in these ways felt like an investment in the future of books and reading. Each Kindle book I bought was a vote with the wallet: yes – digital books! Every note I took, every underline I made was contributing to a vast lattice collection of reader knowledge that would someday manifest in ways beautiful or interesting or otherwise yet unknowable.

So what brought about the shift back to print? He lost the faith. While Amazon has excelled at the infrastructure to get books to the customer, they have done little to nothing for the reading experience itself:

So it’s no surprise that Amazon has built seamless, efficient plumbing for digital books. But after a book has made its way through the plumbing and onto the devices, the once-fresh experience now feels neglected.

And so he found himself subconsciously moving back to print. Which is not a bad thing in itself. But we’re left wondering when the potential of the digital book will be realized. Craig sums it up well:

But I do know that print has endured and continues to endure for good reason. Our relationships to our most meaningful books are long and textured. And until we can trust our digital reading platforms, until the value propositions of digital are made clearer, until the notes and data we produce within them is more accessible and malleable, physical books will remain at the core of our working libraries for a long time coming.

I appreciate both sides here. But the ecosystems around digital reading have some catching up to do.

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<![CDATA[ Long live the hyperlink ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/long-live-the-hyperlink/ 5e7fc71c77a1e90038143822 Thu, 24 Mar 2016 08:00:00 -0700 There’s a chance that you're growing weary of my focus on self publishing this year. How many times should someone voice their opinion that people should host their own blogs rather than use a service like Medium as the only vehicle for sharing their thoughts? You’ll have to decide that for yourself :)

But the underlying issue is one of vast import, far beyond a small blog here or there. It’s the shaping of the web itself; our actions now dictate the type of web we’ll have down the road. My wariness of a full embrace of funded platforms is shared by others, which is of some comfort.

Mandy Brown stated her own concerns eloquently (as usual) by starting with Twitter’s pending increase in character limits. The problem?

John Herrman locates the move inside his epic tale of how platforms are eating journalism; that is, how this is a move by Twitter to keep people on Twitter, rather than going somewhere else, which of course is about money. If Twitter keeps people on Twitter, it can grow engagement metrics, learn more about its users, and—theoretically at least—generally make more money, some of which it is even likely to share with publishers, although probably it won’t be enough.

And this is all about money, folks. But while that side of current Internet trends is of interest, it’s not the focus of Mandy’s article. Instead:

There’s another bit of this shift that I do want to explore, though, which is about storytelling and the nature of the web. Because what Twitter (or Facebook, or Apple, or whomever) is also doing when they bring the web to users’ feeds, rather than letting those feeds serve as maps to elsewhere, is diminish the hyperlink. You remember the hyperlink, right? It’s supposed to take you somewhere, to move you from one place to another.

Why is this so important? Mandy (and others) recognize the value of related pages being connected not only because of the end result, but largely because of the process for the reader. It’s the journey that’s in danger!

The hyperlink, with its super simple structure—a direction and some characters of description, which could be as straightforward or as subversive as you wanted—did get off the ground, and it is indeed marvelous. The ability to follow links down and around and through an idea, landing hours later on some random Wikipedia page about fungi you cannot recall how you discovered, is one of the great modes of the web. It is, I’ll go so far to propose, one of the great modes of human thinking.

And the current trend is the exact opposite:

If everything comes to your feed instead, will you never leave? Will this be like working in one of those startup buildings with their own coffee houses and cafeterias and laundry services, where the streets outside could flood and you wouldn’t notice for days?

Consider Twitter, Facebook, and Medium. Their design is intended for one thing only: to keep you there.

If you want to gain a fascinating perspective on this, consider the experience of Hossein Derakhshan. A popular Iranian blogger in the aughties, he spent six years in prison for the speaking his opinion. What shocked him was how the web had changed in those six years. When he went in, text was the focus:

The hyperlink was my currency six years ago. Stemming from the idea of the hypertext, the hyperlink provided a diversity and decentralisation that the real world lacked … Blogs gave form to that spirit of decentralization: They were windows into lives you’d rarely know much about; bridges that connected different lives to each other and thereby changed them. Blogs were cafes where people exchanged diverse ideas on any and every topic you could possibly be interested in. They were Tehran’s taxicabs writ large.

The difference 6 years later?

Since I got out of jail, though, I’ve realized how much the hyperlink has been devalued, almost made obsolete. Nearly every social network now treats a link as just the same as it treats any other object — the same as a photo, or a piece of text — instead of seeing it as a way to make that text richer.

If we look closely, we can all see the trend. For Derakhshan, the change is stark and abrupt. For us, like watching our children grow, perhaps the change has gone largely unnoticed. But one day we’ll wake up and realize twenty years have gone by and our child is grown up and gone. Will we have nurtured the kind of Internet that inspires us, challenges us, and makes us proud? Or will it be another empty wasteland of advertisements and low quality, mindless entertainment?

The answer will likely be a bit of both. But I’d love to see it lean further towards the independent than the corporate. And that’s exactly how the Mediums and Twitters of the world feel to me; clinical, sanitized, and easy. They make for a lazy web. Yes, they enable in some ways, but that enablement is with the investors best interests, not the the web itself.

I’ll take the quirky, personal, meandering web, a collection of connected hypertexts, any day. Even if it is more work.

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<![CDATA[ Employee benefits at Basecamp ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/more-than-benefits/ 5e7fc6f277a1e9003814381c Fri, 18 Mar 2016 06:05:00 -0700 Interesting insight into what Basecamp offers their employees. If you’ve worked for a SaaS company or are familiar with the industry, a lot of the benefits have become common. Free equipment, on-premise snacks and drinks, perhaps a gym allowance, in-house massages. All the books from Amazon you can ask for. Shares!

What’s clear in this article is that Basecamp offers quite a few more benefits than many established SaaS companies do. It’s certainly more than most startups. I’ve had the blessing of working for three SaaS companies, two of which come close to what’s listed here. But are benefits enough?

Well, they certainly help. But I’d venture to say that without finding meaning in your work, the benefits can be hollow (something I shared in this newsletter’s first run). Not everyone has to “do what you love”, but you’ll be far happier if you find meaning and fulfillment in your vocation.

The benefits can help keep you around, but it’s the work that should get you excited to get out of bed each day.

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<![CDATA[ The immediacy effect ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/immediacy/ 5e7fc6c177a1e90038143813 Wed, 16 Mar 2016 17:08:00 -0700 A big reason why Deep Work on writing in that vein resounds with me has been a shift in our work culture. We can throw terms like “work culture” around easily, but perhaps we don’t fully grasp the intended meaning with verbiage of this nature. Let me attempt to give some concrete examples.

There are various activities I participate in each week. I’m reading or writing to Honey, our team’s internal documentation tool (think Intranet). I might respond to customer’s over email, or in live chat. I spend time chatting with a group of teammates in Slack discussing new features or a targeted promotion. Or I may have a private conversation with a colleague where we discuss strategy. Add in a small bit of Twitter and email in general.

Any one of those activities on its own is fine. Pleasurable even. They give me satisfaction. But when I have those days where two or more of those activities are happening simultaneously, or in rapid fire succession, one after another … this is where the term “stress inducing” fits nicely.

I find two issues in my life because of our modern environment. First, all that discussion, thinking, and strategizing leads to one thing: the need to act. But how can I suddenly slip into a state where I can focus on a single task for an extended period of time?

Second, the type of interactions we have feel as if they require an immediate reaction on my part. I might be drafting an internal post to my team outlining the results of recent initiative, when suddenly a discussion begins on Slack that pertains to an area related to my responsibilities. Without my participation, the conversation could be missing some key context (not always true, but it always feels that way). Shortly after, a customer comes into chat needing help.

Before you know it, my breathing is shallow and I feel a keen sense of urgency as I try to keep up and contribute to multiple conversations. The little speech bubbles or Slack messages that so-and-so is typing turn this into a game, where I have to type faster, faster, or be left behind …

I may be exaggerating slightly, but I do have days like this. And all of the above is simply the regular pulse of conducting business as one small software team. And yet I see people mentioning they’re in 15 different Slack groups. I can’t help but ask myself if we’re shooting ourselves in the foot. Is replacing email with instant messaging the smart move?

I don’t think so. All these types of tools have their place, but with limits. And the backlash has begun. People are sharing their break up letters. People are asking why do you like Slack? As Cal Newport alludes to in Deep Work, it seems as if there’s a shift in thinking and people are beginning to address the issues of our connected society. And to desire to have the ability to focus on big things. Important things.

I’m not anti-Slack. I’ve been a staunch advocate helping my last two places of employment move to it from (what I consider) lesser options (Hipchat and Skype). But Slack is just a tool. What’s more important are the expectations you set as a team and the culture of communication.

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<![CDATA[ The growing emphasis on the customer ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-growing-emphasis-on-the-customer/ 5e7fc68a77a1e9003814380d Fri, 11 Mar 2016 07:56:00 -0800 Ian Golding takes the time to discuss the differences between the definitions of several approaches regarding customers. He uses customer experience, customer service, and customer-centric. It’s a good article on the subject and it culminates in his definition of a customer-centric organization:

Putting customer focus at the heart of everything you do, in order to achieve customer satisfaction and loyalty

I’d agree, and it’s essentially how I would define customer success. When customer success is a vital function of your business, your Success team is there is ensure that customer focus is at the heart of everything you do. Or, as I paraphrased Kathy Sierra:

Customer success is about a subtle shift from focusing on making excellent products to making excellent users.

When your focus is there, success for your own company will follow naturally.

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<![CDATA[ Best laid plans ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/best-laid-plans/ 5e7fc58f77a1e900381437f7 Wed, 09 Mar 2016 07:17:00 -0800 Now that we’re well into 2016, we can begin to evaluate some of the “areas of improvement” that we set for ourselves during the holidays (aka goals, resolutions). Although we’re still focused forward with the 3 quarters of the year left, we can start to measure how effective we’ve been in changing our behaviours. After all, a good plan, whether in battle or in daily life, lasts only until the first shot is fired.

Personally, I set a new weekly routine for myself as early as the beginning of December, 2015. My target was to start using this routine the first week back to work after the Christmas holidays. But by creating the schedule much earlier, I was able to meditate on the changes, and anticipate where issues may come up. Because they will; that’s a fact.

By Jan. 4th, I was all set to go. My new routine was created to ensure a few things: that I would be more consistent and find more depth in my meditation and times of studying the Bible, that I would pray more consistently for specific people or issues, and that I would write this newsletter week in, week out. As well, sufficient time would be given to meditating on the areas where I want to see growth in 2016.

Of course, my plan did not account for the 10cm of snow that came down Jan. 3rd and into the 4th. It’s those kinds of things press into the most well laid plans. That snow doesn’t move itself out of the driveway!

This is why Shawn talked about margin for the month of January. Without some in-betweens, some space to adjust on the fly, you’re creating a recipe for stress. Margin in your time is essential for many positives in life (boredom and play time among others), but especially for being able to handle the unplanned.

Here are a few ways I was prepped to handle this in 2016:

  • Be ready to adapt. The plan does not need to be thrown out the window the first time you have to alter from the schedule.
  • Be flexible. Your plan is not your master; it’s a flexible guideline. You are the master and the plan is in place to serve you.
  • Remember its purpose. Use your plan or schedule to focus yourself on what’s important to you. When the unplanned comes along and takes your attention for a time, the plan is what guides you back to the essential. An altered schedule for a few days, or even a week, should not end in guilt.

I’m no expert on military maneuvers, but it makes sense that a leader on the field of battle has to adjust on the fly, no matter how good the initial plan was. And a good leader keeps the focus on the goal, not the plan, and adjusts accordingly.

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<![CDATA[ When the coffee machine is just a human ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/coffee-human/ 5e7fc56177a1e900381437f2 Fri, 04 Mar 2016 15:21:00 -0800 Andrew Pilsch opines that the pour-over revolution is well under way. And that's a good thing!

But another revolution is—ahem—brewing. This one values deliberation, flavor, and quality, treating coffee as something to be savored rather than pure brain fuel.

It’s nice to see a piece like this in a publication like The Atlantic, where shots are fired at the cost and wastefulness of the Keurig and its ilk.

In fact, the relationship between coffee and coffee drinker couldn’t be more different with the pour-over than it is with the Keurig. With the latter, the coffee machine does all the work, and the human is merely an end user … By contrast, brewing pour-over coffee valorizes human labor. Pour-over shops sometimes even refer to their product as “craft coffee.”

But the main focus is on the ritual and steps required for a good pour over, as well as how coffee is a global effort. What we believe in!

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<![CDATA[ Writing an onboarding series ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/onboarding-series/ 5e7fc50877a1e900381437e5 Fri, 26 Feb 2016 07:00:00 -0800 There has been no greater exercise to improve my writing than to write a series of onboarding emails. I’ve done this at InVision and Wildbit and am so thankful for the experience.

Onboarding emails have a stringent set of requirements. They must be:

  • brief
  • friendly, with some personality
  • informative and helpful
  • engaging

A tall order!

You cannot write a series of emails like these without some forethought. Well, a lot of it truthfully. The entire series must have an overarching purpose; this purpose must match the vision for your product. As well, each individual email must also have a clear goal.

Here are a few tips that I’ve learned along the way.

  1. Identify your goal: For most onboarding series I’ve created, the goal is feature engagement. The more features a new customer uses, the more likely they are to actually use your product and stick around. This means you have to believe in your product, otherwise this is a sales-focused email, not a success-focused email. When you care about the success of your customer and making their life better, you can feel a lot better about getting them engaged in your product.
  2. Be terse: No one wants long winded welcome emails … the customer has a job to do, so every. word. counts. Do not include fluff.
  3. Start simple: Remembering that they have a job to do, the first email should be warm and welcoming, then get out of the way. Give the customer the important details they need, then allow them to explore. Subsequent emails can introduce features or educate on best practices.
  4. Be consistent: The tone of each email in a series should match.
  5. Serve without pestering: I liken a good onboarding series to a good waiter/waitress. A great restaurant experience comes when your server is available when needed, friendly and knowledgable, but is not interrupting your conversation. It can be a hard balance to find, but is vital.
  6. Cadence is crucial: Not only is the content and tone of each email important: so too is the timing of each message. Like in the example above, a good server knows just when to appear at your table. Your emails should not feel like a burden to the new customer, so sending 5 messages in the first 7 days is heavy handed. Alternately, waiting 3 weeks to send the 2nd or 3rd informative message may be too long. One trick in this area is to be visual. Write out all your messages on index cards and lay them on the floor. Arrange them in a sample journey to get a feel for the flow. A Trello board also works well in this regard.

A series of onboarding emails may be your first interaction as a company with a new or potential customer (I say potential because a signup is not the same as a conversion in our try-all-the-apps economy). Your emails are setting the tone for your relationship with this person. The “design” of these messages is as important as any other aspect of your product.

It deservers a proper amount of time and consideration.

Most of this applies to an onboarding set of in-app messages as well.

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<![CDATA[ 43 words to cut from your writing ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/forty-three-words/ 5e7fc53477a1e900381437ed Fri, 26 Feb 2016 06:54:00 -0800 If you write at all, bookmark this one. Better yet, print it off and slap it on the wall right beside your Strunk & White. I am guilty of many of the errors listed here, but am learning to love the act of stripping away needless words.

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<![CDATA[ Slack and the state of technology (2015) ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/state-of-tech-2015/ 5e7fc42d77a1e900381437c9 Fri, 19 Feb 2016 05:34:00 -0800 Ben Thompson gave his annual “state of the union” near the middle of December. As usual, it was filled with smart analysis and some great quotes. Like this:

The trend in every aspect of computing is higher and higher levels of abstraction, and that doesn’t apply just to things like programming languages. In the case of platforms, the operating system of the PC used to really matter, and then the Internet came along and it didn’t.

And this:

It turns out that “mobile” is not about devices, but rather, at a fundamental level, about computing anywhere; to differentiate between PCs or phones is an ultimately meaningless exercise. They are simply different form factors of effectively identical devices, the purpose of which is to connect us to the cloud (consumer or enterprise)

Sounds familiar. Well, it also sounds a tad obvious … but is truth nonetheless. My current usage consists of 2 MacBooks and 1 iPhone. One laptop is my primary work machine, sitting in my office and used when away from home. The other is a MBP with no working screen hooked up to an older ACD. It’s the family machine, sitting off the living room.

What is amazing is that I can switch between the two in the middle of my workday with no issues. iCloud syncs my browser details and history. Apps like Ulysses, OmniFocus, Fantastical, Mail, Notes, and DayOne make up my primary tool set and they all use Dropbox, iCloud, or their own syncing option so that everything from one machine is on the other by the time I walk upstairs.

And of course, there is Slack. Present on all three devices, the DMs and mentions I receive will notify me wherever I happen to be physically.

Ben closes with this sentiment:

What matters — what always matters! — is what actual users want to do, and what jobs they want to accomplish. And, whatever they want to do almost certainly involves communicating, which means Slack and its competitors are the best-placed to be the foundational platform of the cloud epoch.

Jobs to be done … what we believe in! I shared my setup and experience here because it illustrates Ben’s point. I move between devices, but the purpose is the same. I’m doing my job, which is comprised of various functions and requires certain tasks to be completed. And around it all is communication with others.

The device does not matter, only that I can do what I need to on each of them.

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<![CDATA[ Photos ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/photos/ 5e7fc40077a1e900381437c5 Tue, 16 Feb 2016 15:34:00 -0800 If there is one category of software that haunts me, it is photo applications. I am no power user … I rarely use my DSLR, have never moved to Aperture or Lightroom, and don’t know my shutter from a hole in the ground. Manual exposure? That’s taking a leak in the back yard, not photography!

But what I do want with my photos is one thing: protection. I want the pictures we’ve taken of our kids to be around in 50 years. In other words, longer than me.

Over the years, I’ve taken many steps to ensure this is the case. But I never feel confident in my “system” when it comes to photos. Works files? Not at a worry in the world. But our photos are a whole other bag.

If you peruse the archives of this site, or have subscribed to the newsletter in the past, you’ll know I was a fan of Picturelife. It did what only Timehop had done: it brought older photos to your attention in a way that no other app has done for us. Well, that and backed up your photos as well. But when that team was bought out, my photos anxiety flared up and I was starting to consider the available options once again.

Photos, the app

Not long after, the new Photos app from Apple was in beta and available for testing. I thought I’d give it a try as I trust Apple for the most part. In terms of privacy and quality desktop software. But there is some trepidation when it comes to cloud services and syncing of my files. Especially those most precious to me!

But after a couple of months of reading and waiting to see how many people complained, I took the jump. I was all in on Photos and iCloud for my photos “system”. The whole picture looked like this:

  • old photos from previous setups backed up to several drives, as well as Dropbox and my S3 account
  • newer photos uploaded automatically from 2 phones to iCloud
  • all of those uploaded to S3 via Picturelife (still in operation 6+ months after their acquisition)
  • the Photos system library is backed up to iCloud (obviously), but is also located in Dropbox … double redundancy

Bullet proof, right?

Not so much. Everything was fine until Christmas. This is when I do my annual task of creating a photo book for the grandparents. Suddenly, the issues with Photos.app started to make themselves known.

First, there is the difficulty of using Photos on multiple computers. Our older MBP is used as the family computer, but since it has a smaller SSD drive, our store all the originals on my work computer. Not a big problem, but it means processing photos from the DSLR is a manual process and can only be done on one computer. Nothing too major.

Second, there is the issue of storing the Photos library in Dropbox. Do not read me wrong: I don’t think Dropbox is an issue at all. The problem I’ve experienced is that although you tell Photos where the “default system library” is, the app will inexplicably choose another library to receive this designation from time to time. When? I’m not exactly sure as logic does not seem to be a part of the equation.

Third, I started creating a photo book and was ready to get this project completed in time to get some family members their Christmas gifts. After having gone though the process of choosing a book title, finding all the desired photos, then arranging them in a mostly chronological order, I discovered that although Photos includes thumbnails in the library on multiple machines, Books require the originals. Which are on the other machine. And that is how I found myself spending an hour one night before Christmas manually exporting/importing photos from one library to another.

Finally, once I had all the photos in one library (I think), I was ready to create my photo book. Again. Of course, this process takes time so I started a new Book project on one computer, figuring to finish it on the other. Oh, Photos does not store “Projects” in iCloud, resulting in the project not existing on the second computer. This discovery was followed by one even more fun: Photos does not save Projects when you close it. At least, not every time … mine was gone.

Frustration mounting. After completing a Book for the 4th time, I was ready to order. Sadly, Photos had issues with my address not being valid. It was so upset about my postal code that is crashed. Multiple times. Finally, hours later, I used my wife’s contact details successfully. Never mind that the address in both iCloud vCards is exactly the same.

The end result? The Books were ordered, arrived ahead of the estimated date, and were enjoyed by the grandparents. And my confidence in Apple, Photos, and iCloud took a serious dent. I believe everything is now in order … but my anxiety about our memories is very much alive and well!

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<![CDATA[ The real victims of climate change ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-real-victims/ 5e7fc3de77a1e900381437ba Wed, 10 Feb 2016 07:25:00 -0800 Signs seem to indicate that the ability to keep our heads in the sand when it comes to our environmental impact may soon disappear. Brooke Jarvis shares how things are already changing from one generation to another in some island cultures.

I decided to walk the islands perimeter, but found it difficult: Large sections of the trail around the island were missing, the land fallen into the waves.

For those who had been on these islands for more than 50 years:

Thomas, who was born here in 1952 and is the father of Kulenus’s current elected chairman, guesses that three-quarters of the island he remembers from childhood — including the land that people once used for gardens — is gone.

I fear stories like this are going to be commonplace in the years to come. What are we going to do about it? As someone living far inland between two mountain ranges, I have little to fear directly from rising sea levels. But that matters not! Just as the Megan describes how the villager explains “the seas are all connected”, so too are all the peoples of this planet.

We have to care. And we have to act. We can’t wait for politicians to come to agreement; each of us can make small decisions every day to make changes. In North America, our purchasing ability carries much power. Use it!

Here are a few resources to see how to make change:

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<![CDATA[ Deep Work: a book that can change you ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/deep-work/ 5e7fc39377a1e900381437b2 Tue, 09 Feb 2016 16:23:00 -0800 I received my copy of Deep Work on Jan. 11 and I finished it on a flight to Philadelphia on Jan. 24. I don’t share this to brag about my ability to read books; quite the opposite, I’m fairly slow to finish books due to a lack of time.

The difference here was that Deep Work is a great read and a topic that is timely and of great interest to me. It was easy to pick up the book in the spare moments instead of my phone (a nice change and one of my areas of focus for 2016).

How was the book overall? Fantastic. As mentioned above, the topic is a great interest to me at this time. But an author could write on this topic and end with a much less enjoyable book. I find Cal’s writing to be almost as engaging as it is informative, a nice combination. He does an excellent job of integrating stories and personal anecdotes into each chapter and referring to them throughout the book. Last, Deep Work is well laid out so that you never lose yourself in the overall outline when digging into the depths of a particular sub-topic.

But what about that title? Can this book truly change you? That’s a strong statement, but in the case of Deep Work, it fits. There are only so many books you’ll read in your life that will have a large impact on how you think and live your life. For me, that is probably once every 3–4 years.

But when it happens, it’s such a good feeling. When an author’s thinking resonates, aligns with your own, when s/he says something that takes thoughts that have been half-formed and rolling around in your head and verbalizes them far better than you have, when you have that “eureka” moment, when the ideas in the book challenge and inspire you … this is what makes reading so fun. This is the power of the written word.

I was so glad that Deep Work was one of those books for me!

The Purpose

If taken in the right light, one could read this book and come away with a sense that the purpose is solely to advance your career. That taking Cal’s ideas and techniques and applying will benefit you … and that’s all that matters. And since the application is akin to craftsmanship, it’s not a horrible impression to walk away with.

However, I personally don’t get inspired by books of that sort. And since I did come away inspired, I’ll make the case that the book is pointing to more than just personal gain, even if you have to look for it. Although he focuses on career advancement when making the case for deep work in the early chapters, the latter half of the book makes several allusions to how a focus on deep work and the changes Cal’s advocating will benefit in one’s personal life. That a deep life is a life well lived.

Our brains instead construct our worldview based on what we pay attention to.

This quote encapsulates for me what the books is all about. Training ourselves to put our attention that which is most important, will lead to our best work, in all areas of life.

And, as with any book, the reader must give their effort to both understand what the writer is saying, then decide how to apply it themselves. So whatever you purpose is in life, whether career advancement or something far more altruistic, Deep Work can help!

Application to the World of Tech

If there was one area of the book that was weak, it may have been to the world of design and technology. In opening the book, Newport uses David Heinemeier Hansson (or DHH) as an example of excelling through deep focus. For those of us more familiar with DHH and his strong opinions, how he’s portrayed in the book my seem ever so slightly off kilter.

And it was the same for most references to the world of design and tech, the startup culture. It becomes apparent that Cal Newport is aware of this world, but not overly familiar with it (perhaps due to his lack of use of social media). This does not detract from the book overall, but it did have me chuckling from time to time.

The Details

The book is broken into two primary sections. In the first, he makes the case for Deep Work itself; why it’s important and how it can benefit the modern knowledge worker. The second section is the meat, where he shares his ideas on how people can train themselves to consistently perform this kind of work. This is where I found the most enjoyment in reading the Deep Work.

Cal listed 4 rules that form the outline of his methods: Work Deeply, Embrace Boredom, Quit Social Media, and Drain the Shallows. But within each rule, there are several sub-topics (and some of those are further broken down). In the end, the book itself is both easy to read, but also easy to come back to.

Example of Deep Work's outline

This was a book that ended with me making outlines and re-reading many sections. That is exactly what I want from books; not reading, putting aside, then moving on, but truly digesting and meditating what I’ve read, then applying in my life if I concur with what the author had to say.

---

The content, the writing, and the format itself make Deep Work one of those books that can sit on your desk for months, fraying on the edges, close at hand to refer to at anytime. As you slowly adopt some of the practices in your own life, you can grab the book and open it to the desired topic quickly. Again, this was a non-fiction book I consumed in less than 3 weeks. I can’t make a recommendation stronger than that.

If topics like Drain the Shallows, Embrace Boredom, Meditate Productively, and Make Yourself Hard to Reach resonate with you and jiggle the pleasure centres of your grey matter, get yourself a copy of this book.

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<![CDATA[ Save for later ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/save-for-later/ 5e7fc27b77a1e90038143795 Wed, 03 Feb 2016 06:24:00 -0800 This post from Intercom is a little older (although you may not know it since they do not include a date). Diana Kimball takes a lovely foray into examining the allure and the psychology behind apps that allow us to save stuff for later. It’s a slightly longer read, but a good one that can be summed up here:

Bookmarking tools nominally exist to help people return to where they left off — or, at least, to reassure themselves that they will.

Ha, well said! I feel the truth of this statement keenly. Something gets our attention, we use our clever little tools that give us a glowing notification that this items has been saved, we feel the rush of a chemical reaction and are free to move on with our day. Only later do we face the guilt of a stuffed save-it-for-later inbox and the good intentions of our earlier selves.

Kimball not only makes clever observations; she expresses them with flair. Whether describing the cause:

Because the urge to enrich the Database of Intentions is irresistible.

Or the flimsy future of any given bookmark:

To wish is to “feel or express a strong desire or hope for something that cannot or probably will not happen.” To bookmark is a tentative act, verging on fatalistic; there are no guarantees.

Make sure you actually read this one!

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<![CDATA[ On standing ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/on-standing/ 5e7fc24877a1e90038143790 Fri, 29 Jan 2016 15:46:00 -0800 It’s been almost 3 years since I started standing at least half of my workday. Like so many, I’d often felt the result of too much sitting. After my first 5–8 years in the IT industry, I’d developed a bad habit of putting my left elbow on my desk while my right hand did all the work. This resulted in years of back discomfort and ribs constantly out of alignment.

Standing was one way to improve those poor ergonomics, as well as get me on my feet. After 3 years, I can say there are some great benefits. One, you do tend to move more when standing. I guess it must be because you’re more free to do so, but I will pace when thinking through a problem. At times, I might even dance around and do a little kick and stretch thanks to the coffee and music combination. Standing has lead to more movement in general. I recommend a good standing desk to anyone who works on a computer all day (as well as a good chair for when you do sit).

But is it enough? Signs point to no … imagine that. After these past three years, I can attest to the fact that standing vs. sitting is not the discussion we should be having. It’s inactivity, period. If you’re standing in front of a computer for 8 hours a day, you’re not moving enough. Your heart rate is too slow. While your brain is working away, your body is wasting away.

If you're a knowledge worker, your focus needs to be on how you spend the other 8 hours of your day away from the screen. Feeling tired after a day of standing should not lead to plopping down in front of another screen. And despite all the advice how to counter all the sitting all day, the fact is that our lives of convenience are simply too sedentary overall.

It’s about choices. If you’ve made the choice to have a vocation that involves using a computer for more than 6 hours per day, you should make other choices that coincide with decision. There are plenty of options, but I’ll illustrate with my own life.

We live on an acreage. We slowly moved from small town lots to larger pieces of property partly because we love gardening and yard work. But I soon discovered that I love the physical activity that was required. Now that we’re on an acreage, I can spend a good chunk of my non-work hours working my body as I “work the land”. Gardening and yard work in the summer, shovelling in the winter.

On top of that, we have an outdoor wood boiler and wood is our only source of heat. We could hook natural gas and simply supplement with wood, but I found that being required to provide 100% of the heat for our home ensures I do what is needed. I spend 20 days or so each year getting the wood to our house. Then all fall & winter, I spend time chopping and hauling wood around. Because of this, I was in far better shape in my 30’s than my 20’s (and happier for functional exercise, rather than paying money to lift weights or run in one spot).

Last, I need some cardio type of work. While hauling wood and shovelling can improve your cardiovascular capabilities, they’re not consistent enough. So I play basketball at the local YMCA. They key here is when: there are several options available for evenings, but I choose to play in the drop in lunch hour sessions. This is vital for it breaks up my workday into two sessions of physical inactivity. I’ve found that 8 hours of work with only a break for a meal (or rather, one meal with several snacking sessions) is what leads to my worst days in terms of overall health.

Returning to the my point, I’ve made choices in my life to reflect the reality of my chosen vocation. Not everyone can live on acreage and chop wood for exercise. But there are plenty of options available that can help us to a) break up our times of physical inactivity and b) spend time away from the computer being active. Sports and working out at the gym are obvious ones, but activities such as volunteering, acting, or playing music can improve our health. Even getting from one place to another gives you the opportunity to make choose between being active or inactive (walking vs. driving or transit).

I love my standing desk. But I need more than that and have to proactively make choices to ensure I’m countering the nature of my work.

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<![CDATA[ One size onboarding? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/one-size-onboarding/ 5e7fc21f77a1e90038143787 Thu, 28 Jan 2016 07:35:00 -0800 This post from Intercom is a little older (although you may not know it, seeing as they’ve removed dates from their posts), but highlights a lot of foundational concepts for someone focused on customer success.

One of the fundamental challenges of teaching is the fact that not every student learns in the same way or at the same pace.

There are not many things I enjoy more than coming up with a high level plan to educate customers and make them successful.

But it’s easy to read a post like this in 5 minutes and gloss over the amount of work. Creating screencasts takes a lot of time. Learning to nail a demo process requires repetition. And creating full blown, well written, detailed help material (help docs, guides etc) is a massive effort, involving writers, designers, and success/support staff.

All of this is worth the effort … but be realistic in your planning. A good success function can take months to put in place.

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<![CDATA[ Finding our way ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/finding-our-way/ 5e7fc1f177a1e9003814377f Mon, 18 Jan 2016 08:11:00 -0800 Ben Brooks recently voiced both his confusion about the popularity of email newsletters and his belief that anything you can do with a newsletter can be done on your blog instead. And he’s not alone in this opinion. As 2015 drew to a close, I’ve seen a number of statements from various people that suggests we’re still trying to find our way with online writing.

Ryan Van Der Merwe is believes we should double down on the self-hosted personal site:

2015 was the year of Medium and Newsletters, but I feel like we should use 2016 to Make The Personal Blog Great Again™.

Marcelo Somers agrees, but feels that Medium is a good secondary location for one’s content:

@RianVDM I’m rebuilding mine, but plan to cross post to Medium. The value there is insane, and I don’t know why.

Back to Ben, he is doubling down on the personal blog. But for him, the secondary location is email:

You told me newsletters are great, but all i see is a way to fragment my readership.

CJ Chivers responds that things are the exact opposite for him, but it’s dependent on the reader(s):

Interesting take on newsletters by @BenjaminBrooks. https://brooksreview.net/2015/12/newsletters/ … The opposite of what’s true for me, but…different audiences.

His point is that audiences who are not as technically savvy benefit more from an email subscription. I agree completely; RSS can be a pain (for the reader, not the publisher) and has gotten worse as browsers have put it more in the background.

But what is the common thread with all the shared opinions above? Each of these individuals have an online presence and write regularly. And have been doing so for years. It would seem that we’re still trying to figure out how to do this “online writing” thing; we’re still finding our way.

In terms of Medium, or any other free hosted platform (Tumbler, Facebook et al), I’m with Marcelo. It’s a great place to duplicate the content you publish to your own self-hosted site where you're in full control. Medium comes with a built in audience that does indeed seem eager to both share and respond. And although some big names are making the wholesale move to Medium, I’d not recommend that direction to anyone.

But email is another matter.

The case for the newsletter

Back to Ben’s point that anything you do in an email newsletter can be done on your blog: he’s right. And, he’s wrong.

It’s the purpose that makes a difference. For Ben, he seems to not have a purpose for a newsletter:

And since setting it up, almost 400 people have subscribed. I have no clue if that is good or not, but that’s the number. I’ve toyed with how and what I use the newsletter for and the best I’ve found is to pass most of my link lists posts off to it.

That’s sounds like getting a new table saw, but with no project in mind. You can cut up some old wood laying around, but there won’t be much satisfaction involved. I’d argue that email newsletters are fantastic, but they’re best used for specific purposes.

First is the conversion. If you have something to sell, email is still king. Nothing converts like a dedicated readership and for whatever reason, email converts to sales from those readers better than any other channel. If you're like Justin Jackson, Shawn Blanc, or Nathan Barry, growing your email list and sharing your opinions and your projects is a critical part of your marketing plan.

But that’s not the case for Ben. What does he have to sell? His writing. The same goes for me. So why would someone choose to put some content in a newsletter when it can be put on your site instead? Or if you simply duplicate the content from your blog in email, why bother with the extra step?

Well, let’s get that last point out of the way straight off … that’s what we’ve all been doing for the past decade with RSS. Most blog writers don’t give it much thought because most blogging tools (aka CMSes) provide a feed by default. But if the purpose of RSS is to make life easier for readers and update them when we have something new to say instead of making them visit our site manually, email can do that job as well.

So why use the email newsletter format at all? To me … it just feels right. When I started The Weekly Review in 2014, the format was a shameless copy of Peter King. If you're a football fan, you may know the name. Peter is featured on NBC’s Sunday Night Football in America, but long before that, he’s been a writer for Sports Illustrated.

After years of writing for print only, King started a weekly column on si.com titled Monday Morning Quarterback. After many years of growing an audience, SI finally spun the column into its own site. Why was the column so popular? I’d venture it’s the format.

Each MMQB weekly column included different categories of topics. A summary of the weekend’s games to kick things off, then various other blurbs on whatever topics caught King’s attention over the weekend. Along with that, each week has some regular categories: the fine fifteen (top 15 teams week by week), quotes of the week, an awards section, 10 things I think I think, coffeenerdness … on and on. All said and done, King pumped out this column week by week over the course of a year. During the season, that means Sunday night all-nighters and 5,000+ words published the next morning. And it’s something I’ve read without fail for over 5 years.

When I started my weekly newsletter, I knew this was a format that would work for me. Originally, it was intended as added content for a site membership. But even after stopping the membership, I knew if I ever wrote a newsletter again, it would keep on in the same style. The format allows me to share some content I wouldn’t publish on my site. Not because I have something to hide or because the content is offensive … it simply does not fit as a singular blog post.

Could I write one post every week titled The Weekly Review and include all the exact same content? Yes. But it doesn’t feel quite right.

The answer is … it depends.

There are positives and negatives to writing newsletters. Some of my writing is now on my site, some is in my Campaign Monitor account (and Ulysses). Some of my writing is searchable, but some is not. Ben starts his post on the topic stating that he’s not interested in fragmenting his readership. I don’t feel that is the case: each newsletter points back to my personal site. Anyone reading the email knows where to find me.

For those not subscribed to the newsletter, I post 2 items from each week previous to my site. And then to Medium. So I have little concern for breaking up my readership.

What does cause some concern is fragmented content. But for now, the advantage of a more intimate feel and the consistent rhythm of a weekly newsletter suit me well.

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It was at this point, dear reader, when my mind was nearly changed. It’s a lovely feeling when writing hones and clarifies your thoughts. Except for those times when writing shows you the flaws in your thinking and you have to go through the pain of indecision. I had to let this one site for a few weeks.

Ben’s concerns on this topic are well founded. There are some negatives to putting your content in email:

  • content is unsearchable
  • content is not exportable
  • content is hosted by a 3rd party platform (even if it’s one I trust, it’s still not great)
  • getting content into Campaign Monitor is more of a pain than publishing to my site (it doesn’t support markdown)
  • email is a pain to style, so less media is included in TWR

On the flip side, there are some positives as well:

  • I can include content that may not feel like it fits on my site
  • proofing via a test email has been more enjoyable and (hopefully) effective
  • the cadence feels right

That last point is filled with whimsy. Why not just publish a weekly column titled The Weekly Review on your site? The cadence is the same, all the content is on your site. After all, Peter King does just that, with much success.

My answer is that is simply feels right. One of Ben’s main points is that nobody likes reading email.

What is the biggest complaint that most people have? They hate email. They have too much of it. They never check it, etc, etc.

On that point, I disagree. Much of our email is junk, but I greatly enjoy some of the newsletters I’m subscribed to. This is likely the point that makes all the difference for our opinions: if someone dislikes receiving email newsletters, they’re not likely to find value in creating one.

For now, I’ll continue using email to deliver this content. It allows me to share some things I would tend not to put on my site, while still publishing the bigger pieces in both places. Readers can choose to follow one or the other, or both. As well, the rhythm of a weekly publication pushes me to write in order to meet the deadline. I like that!

And if intimacy can be a word applied to digital artifacts, then email feels more right in this type of usage.

This article was first published on The Weekly Review newsletter … so meta! Interested? Sign up!

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<![CDATA[ Book reviews: A Focus on Type ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/typographic-books/ 5e7cef7728526a00444eed6a Thu, 14 Jan 2016 06:44:00 -0800 I’ve long had a task sitting in OmniFocus: update Library page. This neglected section of my site is far too stale, so one aspect of this newsletter I’m looking forward to is summing up my thoughts on some of the books I’ve read over the past several years.

Today, the focus is on type. Over the past 2–3 years, I had the chance to pick up Robert Bringhurst’s Elements of Typographic Style. Even if you're not a type fan, it’s a wonderful piece of writing. And even if you're not into writing, you can come away from this book appreciating a master’s ardour for his craft.

Bringhurst, a Canadian I should note, wrote the book styled after the famous work of Strunk & White. It’s less of a read and more reference material, but you can still pick it up and go from beginning to end for your first time through. The end result is a good introduction to the craft of typography, plus more than enough advice to help any designer give words the attention and care their project deserves. It’s also fun!

This is best captured in Maurice Meilleur's review on Typographica:

Knowledge, experience, judgment, and enthusiasm are not always accompanied by writing skill, and like many academic and quasi-academic fields, typography is not flush with talented prose stylists. But the fact that Bringhurst came to book design and typography from poetry is evident on every page.

While I was in the middle of this book, I happened to attend TypeCamp in Vancouver and had the pleasure of seeing Stephen Cole give a talk. Afterwards, I picked up his own offering, The Anatomy of Type. More of a coffee table book, it’s also an introductory to type of a sort. Rather than explain with many words, the book takes an illustrated approach, including dozens of fonts from different families and educating the reader on the basics and some finer points of the craft.

Image source: From Mr. Coles himself

It’s definitely not a book to read, but it is a fantastic experience to flip through. And educational as well, a good conversation starter with those in your life who are less familiar with design, but perhaps open to learning more.

This article was first published on The Weekly Review newsletter. Interested? Sign up!

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<![CDATA[ Easy reading is damn hard writing ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/easy-reading/ 5e7cef4528526a00444eed64 Thu, 14 Jan 2016 06:38:00 -0800 Gregory Ciotti from Help Scout gives some solid tips for improving your writing. The goal in our craft should be producing a piece that is not work to consume:

… effective writing is lean, clean, and easy to read.

He takes several different methods and gives solid examples of how to put them to use. If you write at all, this is worth your time. There are a few links to books and resources that can help you with your craft.

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<![CDATA[ New beginnings ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/new-beginnings/ 5e7cee9528526a00444eed4e Wed, 06 Jan 2016 06:06:00 -0800 We've just passed the most wonderful time of the year! Long time readers will know my love of the week between Christmas and New Years. It’s that wonderful time when things are slowed down, we’re enjoying friends, family, and our favourite foods. And it’s that time we take a step back and reflect on the past, as well as look to the future.

For the end of 2015, I was blessed to enjoy 2 weeks away from the regular routine. That’s vital as it gives the time and opportunity to unwind, disconnect, and focus. Both on work and every other area of my life. It’s also the time of year where a lot of us are reviewing the tools we use, especially those we use to plan and track our priorities and how we’re expending our energies.

That’s right … let’s talk notebooks.

I’ve always been a hybrid planner, someone who uses a mix of digital and analog tools. For 2015, I used two notebooks in tandem: a Hobonichi Techo for planning/journalling and a Baron Fig Confidant for brainstorming and note taking. Both are excellent and I would recommend them to anyone. The Hobonichi is of especially good quality and has some of the best paper I’ve used in a planner. It’s infused with personality.

However, I’m trying a new option this year. While both are great to use, there were times when it was a pain to carry around two notebooks. Or, to forget one completely. And so this year I’m giving the Baron Fig 2016 Planner a go. It’s two notebooks in one; the front half is the planner, while the back half is the familiar dotted grid of the Confidant.

The Baron Fig 2016 Planner

It’ll be interesting to see if the notes section of the planner will last the entire year. I do not take a lot of notes, and I do a good job of making use of all the space on a page. So a notebook typically is only 75% full after a year. We’ll see how far the 192 total pages will take me.

One last thought: I’ve used the Techo cover for my Hobonichi and the difference between it and my Confidant are obvious. The muted white clothing covering of my Confidant is best described as “grungy” at this point, especially the corners. I’ve considered the Guardian, but have decided the darker cover for the planner should take the beating of the year with more grace than the Confidant.

What’s going to be in your bag for 2016? I’d love to hear what other people are using!

This article was first published on The Weekly Review newsletter. Interested? Sign up!

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<![CDATA[ Open arms ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/open-arms/ 5e7cee7228526a00444eed48 Wed, 23 Dec 2015 07:00:00 -0800 You’ve likely become familiar with the current state of the Syrian refugee crisis. Perhaps not all the details of what’s going on over the other side of the ocean, but the debate that’s happening here at home in both Canada and the United States.

In the US, Obama and his staff have promised to increase the number of refugees taken in to 10,000, with that number to increase to 100,000 per year by 2017. Up here in Canada, our newly elected Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, is sticking to his campaign promise of taking in 25,000 refugees by the end of 2015. I cannot imagine all the work and logistics that are required to bring these promises to pass.

As well, I’m not familiar enough with immigration or security processes to have an opinion on the safety of this action. But I do know this: it doesn’t matter.

The debate happening around us is whether we should take these people in, whether in a certain time frame, or even at all. Some people, politicians included, say we should not take any of them in for fear of bringing bad people into our countries. Rubbish!

Here’s a few reasons I feel this way:

  • I’m fairly certain determined terrorists can already get into our countries
  • we already have bad people in our midst (see police brutality and mass shootings)
  • for many, many of us, our own ancestors were the refugees at some point

What saddens me the most in all this is that many who call themselves Christians are speaking against helping these people. If they’ve read the words of Christ, they should be well aware of His heart in this area. I don’t recall any passages in the entire Bible telling us to shut our doors to those in need. The live the safe life. Quite the opposite!

Over the past year, I had the privilege of teaching an adult Sunday school class on Christian discipline. And I’m in the middle of preparing another class on oppression in our current day for early 2016. Two verses have stuck out to me in preparing for both classes.

In Isaiah 58, God is speaking (through Isaiah) to the people of Israel about their religious practices. The heart of the message is that empty rituals are not why He gave them the law. All of their religious observances were intended to focus their hearts, but had become empty and meaningless. God responds in this way in verses 5–8 (NET):

Is this really what you call a fast, a day that is pleasing to the Lord? No, this is the kind of fast I want. I want you to remove the sinful chains, to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke, to set free the oppressed, and to break every burdensome yoke. I want you to share your food with the hungry and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. When you see someone naked, clothe him! Donʼt turn your back on your own flesh and blood! Then your light will shine like the sunrise; your restoration will quickly arrive; your godly behavior will go before you, and the Lord ʼs splendor will be your rear guard.

And Christ gives a similar message in Matthew 25:34–40 (NET):

Then the king will say to those on his right, ʻCome, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me. ʼ Then the righteous will answer him, ʻLord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? ʼ And the king will answer them, ʻI tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me.’

I could go on, for the Scriptures are filled with God’s heart for the downtrodden (see Exo 3:9, Lev 19:10, Deut 10:12-22, Psalm 12, James 1:27 for a taste). The picture is clear: God’s way of doing things results in everyone being taken care of.

Let’s hope our leaders make the right decision!

This article was first published on The Weekly Review newsletter. Interested? Sign up!

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<![CDATA[ Contentment where we are ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/contentment-where-we-are/ 5e7cee2a28526a00444eed44 Wed, 16 Dec 2015 12:57:00 -0800 Have you noticed how so much of what people share online is what you should do and how you should do it? One of the greatest aspects of this Internet we’ve built is the sharing of knowledge.

But did you also know that you do not have to use the knowledge that someone shares with you? Despite how we all feel when reading about the success of others, it’s actually ok for us to appreciate their success without having to duplicate it ourselves.

I’ve been thinking a lot the last year about doing well at one thing. If you find that idea, that activity, that excites you and you have a full time job doing that one thing, that can (should?) be your one thing.

Now, I’m like the rest of you. I love my pals Justin Jackson and Shawn Blanc. I appreciate and admire guys like Paul Jarvis and Nathan Barry. They’re all talented, intelligent, and creating valuable things. They’re the cool kids.

And so it makes sense that people hear what they’re saying and then experience the urge: I want to do that. And if you have the time and capacity to create something from scratch, you have an audience with a need, or simply a passion to share, then get up and running!

But if trying to be like these guys puts undue stress in your life, or means you have to drop other important things (important to you, or your family or friends), then maybe you should take a step back and evaluate. If you’ve been online for the past 5–10 years, you’re likely familiar with the feeling. You know, that moment when you come across a photo, an article, or anything someone created, and this thought comes unbidden. “I can do that. I should do that!”

It’s the Idea. We all have ‘em. The wiser among us have learned to ride the feeling and make sure there’s real substance on the other side when the feeling passes. But how to handle the ideas that come to you is not the point I’m trying to make. Here’s the point:

If you have a full time job, give it your very best.

If you hate what you do for a living, then by all means and if at all possible, make a change. But if you have a good position, work with caring people at a good company, don’t take it for granted. It’s easy to see what others are creating and sharing online and feel the pull to do the same. Suddenly, your job can seem drab and dull. It doesn’t have be that way. It shouldn’t be that way.

Like everything with the Internet, when the Jeff Sheldon’s and Justin Jackson’s of the world launch something, you’re only getting a glimpse of their life. You do not know the full costs. And even when someone takes time to share the results of their creation, you still don’t get the full picture. People rarely share (or even count) the costs on relationships, personal improvement , or other responsibilities they hold.

So think twice. When that feeling comes and you feel the need to do more, or that your job is not good enough, stop and really compare. How are you blessed with you already have and what will it cost you to put your focus on something different? It may very well be worth your time and attention.

But do consider that it may not.

This article was first published on The Weekly Review newsletter. Interested? Sign up!

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<![CDATA[ Competing on customer journeys ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/customer-journeys/ 5e7cecdf28526a00444eed22 Tue, 15 Dec 2015 11:21:00 -0800 The HBR gives an interesting look into the changing landscape of pro-customer successeting (my own term coined as marketing, customer service, and product management slowly morph into an amorphous blob of goo before our very eyes). It gives fascinating insight into how successful companies are putting value, and therefore money, into the customer journey.

As a customer success professional, I can’t help but admire the scale and finesse achieved by Sungevity (a solar panel retailer) as described in this article. This is customer onboarding and marketing on steroids. Super steroids with a heavy dose of antibiotics thrown in, then fed methamphetamine … just for kicks. Seriously though, the tech and planning required to pull this type of thing off is impressive.

That said, the human in me says it’s creepy as all get out. A company I’ve never heard of sends me an email that includes a link to a site with images of my home …

I appreciate hubris as much as the next homo sapiens, but there is a line that should not be crossed. When I’m strategizing with my team on a new onboarding and education strategy, complete with behavioural touch points, I’m always sensitive to how much is too much.

Let’s leave the creepy to Google.

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<![CDATA[ Current publishing trends ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/current-publishing-trends/ 5e7cecbd28526a00444eed1c Thu, 10 Dec 2015 08:37:00 -0800 Lest I mislead you with this title, I’m focused mostly on personal sites here. I don’t care much for the trends of bigger publications; those with their overlaid ads or “enjoy 1 of 5 free articles” banners. But the trend I’m referring to for smaller, more personal and less corporate sites is a move away from the structure of the traditional blog towards a larger focus.

In talking about relevancy vs. recency, my pal Shawn Blanc discussed his own site. He was making the comparison between relevancy and recency, where the traditional blog style leans towards the new and perhaps the future is to focus on the best. The best any site has to offer.

To sum it up, he made this statement:

It pairs perfectly with another idea I’ve been chewing on: a business model that (surprise!) is based on providing the most amount of value to the most amount of people.

And make no mistake: when you write for a living, your own website is a business.

I appreciate Shawn’s desire to not succumb to the fast web and it’s never-ending hamster wheel mentality. Personal weblogs are not news publications and one should write their best, not simply write frequently. However, I came away from Shawn’s article lamenting a couple of things.

First, a bit of a tangent. A lot of sites (big or small) are starting to remove dates from articles. Whether it’s so the content appears to be evergreen or SEO tactics or other, it’s bad form. The date is an important piece of information about an article.

There’s nothing wrong with tweaking the architecture of a site to highlight the best or most relevant work. But leaving the date out completely is a bad practice.

Second, and more important, I hope the personal blog as a form of entertainment does not die. When I began blog reading (10 years ago or so), it completely replaced television for me. Reading blogs was entertainment. And they’re a great form of entertainment because you can also be informed, challenged, and inspired while you are entertained.

Shawn is a great example. I started reading his site because he wrote about topics I cared about. Software, design, and various other nerdy topics. Now that he’s focused completely on creativity and how people work, his site has become (almost) singularly focused. And while I still enjoy reading his work … I probably enjoy his site a little less than I did in the past. I miss his writing on other topics I care about.

The Internet, like most every human institution, is cyclical. The current trend is towards sites that have a singular focus. I’ll catch ya on the flip side!

This article was first published on The Weekly Review newsletter. Interested? Sign up!

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<![CDATA[ WorkingMemory.txt ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/working-memory/ 5e7cec9128526a00444eed16 Mon, 07 Dec 2015 23:03:00 -0800 Cal Newport advocates for a text file to “to augment your limited neuronal capacity with some digital help…”

Sounds familiar. Back in the day, productivity “experts” such as Patrick Rhone and myself were advocating the use of a personal log file (plain text, natch).

I’m enjoying Cal’s site (hat tip to Shawn Blanc). And while I’m not interested in returning to the ways of a navel gazing, card carrying GTDer, I appreciate Cal’s writing because he’s very focused on the deep work. Whereas GTD is all about setting up a system and processing items, from what I’ve seen, Cal’s blog focuses on clearing your head and getting to the important.

This post is a nice example. His text file is more than just a dumping ground, but a bit of a triage. As he processes his inboxes, he jots things down as they come to him. I know the feeling of being overwhelmed while you process, so I understand his intention here. Myself, I use Day One in a similar way. It’s become primarily a work log for me (see Shawn’s usage in this manner).

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<![CDATA[ Medium: for sharing ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/publishing-api/ 5e7cec2a28526a00444eed0a Fri, 23 Oct 2015 11:14:00 -0700 The release of a new Publishing API for Medium was of interest to me. It’s no secret that I believe in both the idea of owning your own content and am skeptical of Ev’s track record with his products. Who knows what the future holds for Medium when Blogger and Twitter never made any profit with Williams at the helm.

How long can services that bring people but not profit continue dominating? I would be much more confident in a Mandy Brown led team at Editorially then Ev leading the Medium team, where the product is built off of venture backed dollars and his reputation. Will the product change significantly when investors finally want a return on their dollars? Will your carefully crafted article feature a lovely pop out ad for Ford or Snickers at some point? See ads in your Twitter and Tumbler timeline if you're skeptical.

But …

This API points to a slightly different potential future. Whereas previously Medium could be alternate location of your content (by cross posting content you created and posted elsewhere first), now it can simply be an extension of your own site. Now, you can use it not less as a place to create content, but as a place to share content. Just another social network, albeit with far more characters allowed.

What are the benefits to this? For one, greater reach for many writers. While Ev struggles to build profitable businesses, you have to give him credit for building services that draw in people.

Jonnie Hallman stated this recently:

Forever frustrated by how much exposure my @cushionapp posts get on Medium compared to my own blog.

He later shared the exact numbers. I’ve wondered about this as I’ve not seen many people taking time to compare the reaction and then share the numbers. Is Jonnie’s experience unique because he has a large Twitter following, which can result in a lot of followers on Medium? Or is this indicative of the overall trend?

I can tell you my own posts on Medium have gotten little attention, less than my own site. But, I’ve not put any efforts into building an audience there.

But that’s the crux of my point. With the new API for Medium, a writer can work on building an audience on their own site where they are in full control. Then, with a flick of a switch (from IFTTT and its ilk, or right from a text editor like Ulysses), you can post your content to Medium, Twitter, and any other service. It takes only a little effort to have your content in two places (or more).

What will be interesting to watch is whether Medium’s commenting and highlighting features will then come into play.

Once you’ve decided to play along and post your content there, will an author have to shift focus to Medium because that’s where the conversations are taking place? Time will tell. We’ve had a long run of blog post reactions being taken to Twitter, or, if the respondent felt strongly enough, reactionary link posts on their own site. This functioned well.

So I write this from an app with Medium integrated and enabled to my own account. But as I’m leery of giving away content, I’m also leery of a free service owning the content surrounding my writing.

A writer does not own the reactions of others to their writing, but the conversation itself is of value. If Medium goes away, or becomes something it’s currently not and you want to leave, those conversations are tied to the platform.

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The web is about connections. The conversation is the vital piece to all we do here. Let’s be sure not to give it away.

Again.

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<![CDATA[ The Force Awakens ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/a-new-hope/ 5e7cce1528526a00444eecc3 Thu, 22 Oct 2015 09:00:00 -0700 Nerds everywhere have been gushing about Episode 7 since the first teaser was made available. With the release of the official trailer this week, the excitement builds to a pitch and the countdown to Dec. 18th is on.

This guy? I’m tempering my enthusiasm.

First, Hollywood has gotten very good at churning out trailers that are fun and exciting and full of promise, but end with movies that are all style and no substance. There are plenty of examples to choose from. And Disney is behind a lot of them. One of the greatest pleasures in this life is to be told a good story. But in 2015, those are rarely found in the cinema.

Apart from that, the Star Wars franchise has to prove itself to me after the failings of Episodes 1–3. Look, I was like many of you … my parents rented a VCR (that’s right) to watch Episode 4 at my 5th birthday party. One of my fondest childhood memories was seeing Imperial AT-ATs in the attack on Hoth for the first time on the big screen. I still consider the deep space dogfight in Return of the Jedi to be some of the best special affects of all time.

But George Lucas stabbed me in the back. After camping in line for 36 hours to see The Phantom Menace, in the rain, my faith in his ability to tell a story was lost. He’d clearly focused on effects and computers for so long that his ability to write and communicate a good story were gone.

And so the franchise has to win me back. I’ll admit, the trailers look good. But I’ve grown old and I appreciate storytelling far greater than CGI and lush landscapes. Is there a good story being told? I sure hope so.

I do know one thing: I enjoy the work of JJ Abrams. While some of his movies have been just entertaining (see Star Trek), others have been well told tales (see Super 8). And his greatest ability is to keep you guessing. There is always something in his stories that you’re not sure of, some puzzle to solve that keeps you coming back for more. Lost is the greatest example of this.

And so the Internet is buzzing about why Luke is not on the official Episode 7 poster and the real identity of Kylo Ren. It seems most are confident that Abrams can restore the Star Wars franchise to its 1980’s form. Me? I’m cautiously optimistic.

You might say I have … a new hope.

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<![CDATA[ Writing to think ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/writing-to-think/ 5e7ccd9f28526a00444eecba Wed, 07 Oct 2015 07:34:00 -0700 Susan Robertson makes the case for writing as a way to improve your thoughts. When you have an opinion, attempting to share that opinion with others in written form causes you to go through an important process.

As she describes it:

When I went to write up a rough post for the company blog about how I created the style guide we were using, it pushed me to think about how I define these tools. That rough post never ended up on the company blog, but it did get published as an A List Apart article. As I worked with an editor to shape that piece, my thoughts on style guides morphed and changed until I knew what I wanted to say about them.

That’s the beauty of writing. You either hone your thoughts, improving and refining the opinion you started with. Or, the process of articulating your thoughts results in a change of opinion. Both results make the exercise a good use of your time.

But she also alludes to a second benefit for writing your thoughts and sharing them with the world:

I continued to think more about mobile and shared my thoughts on my blog. Those posts were the beginning for me, they were how I realized that I had a voice, that my thoughts mattered, and that sharing them was a way to start a conversation with others who were thinking about the same topics.

The end result:

It was through writing that I connected virtually with many of the people in the industry that I’ve gone on to meet in-person at conferences.

My own experience is the same, as I’ve shared before. Every relationship I have online, every job I’ve had with Internet based companies, can be traced back to the writing I was doing on my own personal site.

I can think of no greater benefit the Internet brings than giving us the opportunity to create, share our work, and connect with likeminded people as a result.

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<![CDATA[ Some thoughts on solitude ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/pr-on-solitude/ 5e7ccd6b28526a00444eecb0 Tue, 06 Oct 2015 09:00:00 -0700 Patrick Rhone received an incredible gift for Christmas this past year. A friend gave him the opportunity to take a personal retreat. All he had to do was pick the time and place and everything was taken care of.

And although the act of getting away from everyone, everything, and most importantly, everything online are great on their own, his retreat came with a single room cabin, the wilderness, fresh baked bread, and artisanal cheese. That is some friend!

Patrick shared a few of the entries he made to his diary while on the retreat. Included was a vital question we should all ask ourselves:

Ask yourself, when was the last time your were alone. Not just alone in the sense of not having another person around but alone in the completest sense of having no distractions, obligations, tasks, next steps, “should be doings”, or “have to be doings”? Like me before this, I bet the answer was “never”.

He also lists some of the benefits of this type of aloneness:

One of the interesting things about being out in nature with nothing to do but listen, notice, and ponder, is that one’s attention becomes more acute.

And:

In many ways a solitary journey into the wilderness is, in equal measure, a journey into the wilderness of self. Just as the path into the woods draws us further away from civilization until all one can see in any direction is nature, so too is the truth of our own nature revealed.

I love it. And I would love this type of opportunity myself.

My wife and I have started our own ritual the past two years where we take a weekend off each summer, leave the kids at home, and spend the weekend at a local lake. Although it’s not completely out in the middle of nowhere, silence and solitude are easier to come by. And although we’re together and take the time to reconnect and enjoy long uninterrupted conversations, we also purposefully give each other the space to clear our own heads.

As the years go by, this is becoming a priority in my life. Thanks for sharing, Pat!

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<![CDATA[ Tenure means trust ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/tenure-means-trust/ 5e7ccd1728526a00444eecaa Fri, 25 Sep 2015 09:46:00 -0700 Allison Wagner touches on an aspect of our industry that is problematic. She gives it a clever title: the two year itch:

Some people seek professional growth where the grass appears greener and the chairs more ergonomic.

Just a generation ago, many of our parents worked for the same organization for their entire working life. My dad worked for himself for many years, but he eventually sold his business and started working for another company. And he's still there. How many people under 40 do you know of that have this kind of history?

Allison counters this reality with the other side of the coin. Tenure. What does it look like to stick around for a while? Her examples ring true for me:

Tenure means you’ve grown to know your colleague’s strengths and weaknesses, their quirks and compulsions— and they know yours. You’ve developed a rapport that only time, laughter, and shared experiences can bring.

That sounds like a good thing! Her last point: tenure results in trust.

Most of us are never going to work where we are for the rest of our life. That's okay. But maybe we should cultivate a little more of a contentment mentality. It might help to look around and quickly count our blessings, rather than compare job postings and office pics weekly. A great job is far more than the perks.

Full disclosure: I say this as a guy who's at his 3rd company in a calendar year. Which was a learning experience in itself. When you're at a tech/SaaS company where there are long tenured employees, take note. And when you're at a company where half the team has been there less than 6 months, take note. Here at Wildbit, half the team has been on for 5 or more years.

I hope to say the same down the road.

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<![CDATA[ Customer Success as a function of your business ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-cs-function/ 5e7cccf228526a00444eeca4 Wed, 23 Sep 2015 16:16:00 -0700

This post was originally published on the Wildbit blog and started as a Basecamp post to our team.

There are many opinions on how to define “customer success”. I come from the school of thought that this means the success of your customers. Not the success of your company, not a sales team focused on renewals and upsells. Not even customer support, which is reactive and should be a last resort.

When you aim for true customer success, you’re pouring yourself into making more skillful, educated users.

To paraphrase Kathy Sierra:

We’re not trying to make our customers be better Beanstalk users, we’re trying to make them better developers.

Customer success is about a subtle shift from focusing on making excellent products to making excellent users. And it’s a mindset everyone on your team should have.

In the long run, if you focus on making excellent users, your company will benefit. And everyone can feel great about it!

What Customer Success Looks Like, Day to Day

The following graphic is an illustration of Customer Success as a function of your business.

Customer success activity

There are 3 main activities that drive the team members who focus on customer success (a close relative to product management):

Research, nurturing, and validation.

Research

This is where you dig in to the data. You review the activity of your users. Where’s the churn, the drop off points? What is the path to attrition? What are people complaining about in support? What does the path of a successful customer look like? How can you help more people find that path?

The research portion

A person can fall into the trap of analysis paralysis and research endlessly. But a healthy Customer Success team should spend a hefty portion of their time digging in to understand customer's needs and behaviors.

Nurture

It’s a bit of a cheesy term, but nurturing is the activity you take to help your customers get better at what they do. A lot of us are parents, so I hope the term makes sense. We care about our children and we do everything we can to equip them to have a long, happy life. They’ll also piss you off at times, but that doesn’t mean you stop caring about their success. :)

It can be the same with our customers.

The nurture portion

Nurturing can be a lot of things. Onboarding emails and welcome messages. Behavioral triggers that get them the right information at the right time. Educational materials that help them learn. It also means just talking to them and hearing what they have to say.

Validation

Of course, you need to take time to evaluate whether your assumptions from your research were accurate. Was your nurturing activity and content successful in solving problems or meeting the needs of your customer?

The validation of your assumptions

The activity here is a lot like research. But it’s a slightly different focus and can involve a lot of conversation. Each email you send during onboarding or with behavioral email can result in a reply. Validation involves reviewing the activity data, nurturing results, and talking to the customers.

Side Notes

The chart here includes a couple of other items …

  • It’s cyclical (hence the arrows): there’s no end to this stuff! If you start with an assumption from your research, then move to creating a plan to nurture & educate, you eventually validate your assumption (which is just research with a different focus). From there, you start over again … you improve the current plan if you can, or move on to another improvement, another initiative, another pain point. It can always be better!
  • Content is crucial: it’s the background to all your success initiatives. Whether you’re creating onboarding emails, targeted campaigns, blog posts, or educational guides, you’re creating content to help better equip your customers (and potential customers).
  • The feedback loop: the outer circle here with the people represents the rest of the team. Whatever the success/support staff are doing, they’re the ones most often in contact with the customer. They know the pain points, where your product or service is not meeting a need. Every initiative, day to day support, should involve consistent updates to the rest of the team.

Whatever your product or service, you’ll do well when you focus on your customers. Again, when you empower people through knowledge and tools, your own success is an inevitable byproduct. And we can all feel good about making other people’s lives better.

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<![CDATA[ Upon this wrist ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/upon-this-wrist/ 5e7ccba228526a00444eec88 Thu, 17 Sep 2015 07:22:00 -0700 Personally, I don’t believe I’ve even seen an Apple Watch with my own eyes. Partly because of where I live, but partly because I’ve had no interest in it from day one.

I love my old fashioned time piece and I’ve slowly been migrating to having less devices to distract me from my family, not more. Subsequently, I haven’t read a lot of opinion pieces on the Apple Watch. But one that did cross my Instapaper was from Craig Mod.

He (as usual) summed things up oh-so-nicely and confirmed some hunches I had.

Once they see it they say, Oh is that the thing? And I say, Yes it is the thing. And they ask, Has it changed your life? And I shrug. And they are so disappointed. They want me to say, Yes. Yes it has changed my life. The wrist thing. It’s made me a better man, a stronger man, a more thoughtful man. But, no.

We long for technology to make us better, faster, to make life easier and more convenient. The wisest among us seem to recognize that steps have to be taken to master the tech … otherwise the opposite occurs and we’re left with emptiness.

Still, like most things, it’s the dose that makes the poison. Just as technology cannot solve our problems for us (the innermost problems that is), neither is it inherently evil. I’m sure the Watch can become something more at some point down the road.

The potential is there. But not now. It is still a baby. And so for now, into it we mash our noses. We are optimistic doofuses. It is black like the ocean on a moonless night. It pings softly from the future and says: It is time to stand up. You are a lazy man. I feel your beating heart

Until then, I’ll happily keep my nose and timepiece at arms length from one another.

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<![CDATA[ The rise in phone reading ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/phone-reading/ 5e7ccb4128526a00444eec79 Fri, 04 Sep 2015 09:17:00 -0700 The details of this report match my own habits. My iPad usage had declined significantly over the past two years. Once I made the upgrade to the bigger screen of the iPhone 6, I was more than ready to get rid of the awkward middle child of my digital setup.

And it looks like a lot of people are on the same path.

But what has captured publishers’ attention is the increase in the number of people reading their phones.

More telling:

Some 45% of iBooks purchases are now downloaded onto iPhones, an Apple spokeswoman said. Before that, only 28% were downloaded onto phones, with most of the remainder downloaded onto iPads and a small percentage onto computers.

My 3rd gen iPad has never been a comfortable reading device. What was unexpected to me at first, was in fact what took place. I had desired to replace the iPad with an iPad mini, but that desire died over time and I started to look for the bigger phone to take that place.

And it has. It's far more comfortable to read on and I do most of my "consumption" type of activity on the phone.

What about writing? That was the only activity I regularly used my iPad for that is not quite comfortable on the phone. In most cases, I'm quite happy just writing with Ulysses on my Mac. But I'd also be interested in an external keyboard and stand of some type to try writing on the phone. That doesn't quite seem to be a market that's matured yet (unless you know something I don't, let me know).

End result: I'm a happy two device user.

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<![CDATA[ Finding iPad's future ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/future-of-ipad/ 5e7ccb6e28526a00444eec81 Fri, 04 Sep 2015 06:43:00 -0700 Related to the last link, Neil Cybart gives a smart analysis on the iPad (and tablets in general).

It's a good read with a lot of quote worthy statements! But here's the one that resounds most and sums up the discussion for me.

A product category with a use case summed up by Netflix watching is quite problematic since it is that much harder to sell a differentiated product, leading to a rush to the bottom in terms of pricing, quality, and features.

I'm not terribly interested in the economics here. But the usage patterns and trends of how humans use computers is fascinating. I'm curious to see how this all turns out …

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<![CDATA[ The problem with calories ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/calories/ 5e7ccb0b28526a00444eec6f Thu, 16 Jul 2015 08:11:00 -0700 Conor McClure writes an excellent post that debunks much of the nutritional advice of my childhood. The focus of his post is on calories, but there's a lot of goodness.

It is absolute silliness to suggest to someone to avoid fruit, nuts, or coconuts because of their calorie content alone—they are some of the most healthful foods one can find.

We couldn't agree more in our home. We eat a lot of high fat foods here … it's just a matter of what type of fat. Real, raw food is the aim.

He also hits another nail on the head when discussing weight loss:

Changing nothing else while eliminating all sugar consumption, “simple” carbohydrates like bread and pasta, sweeter fruits and juices, and reducing overall carbohydrate intake will result in fat loss.

Another truth we've experienced in our home. Weight melts away when you stop the carbs. You literally cannot not lose weight when you take this step.

A few thoughts that came to mind while reading this:

  • sadly, the lack of expertise that mainstream medical professionals have in this area is glaringly obvious
  • eating right costs more; in our home we spend greater than 20% of our income on food, simply because organic, local foods cost more; getting stuff on the cheap at Walmart is not sustainable, so we consider the money we spend on food our investment, in our children and in this planet
  • a sedentary life leads to poor health … this concerns me when I think of our profession; a standing desk is better than sitting all day, but it's not enough to overcome the lack of exertion 8 hours in front of a screen requires
  • related to the last point, as I quickly approach the end of my 4th decade of life(!), I realize I have to make the most of my time off screen if I'm going to continue in this industry; it's why we live on a small acreage, haul our own firewood, and grow a garden … my time away from work needs to be physically demanding

My wife often repeats this mantra she heard from The Omnivore's Dilemma:

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Good advice!

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<![CDATA[ Steve Martin: wild and crazy introvert ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/steve-martin/ 5e7cca9c28526a00444eec5c Mon, 13 Jul 2015 07:01:00 -0700 Quiet Revolution has an interesting profile on the life and personality of Steve Martin. Despite how he — and many other comedians — appears in character, he's a quiet introvert. It goes to show how far one will go when one who is serious about their craft. Doing the things he's done in front of an audience causes this introvert to cringe.

He was completely focused on working and learning to be a performer, and all his enjoyment seemed to be derived from making headway on those fronts. Interacting with his peers was mostly a distraction that he cheerfully tolerated between practicing magic, juggling, and playing banjo.

Friends were cheerfully tolerated. What a great way to put it! I imagine a lot of introverts might nod their heads when reading that. Friends are a blessing and human interaction a necessity to a good life … but in just the right amounts!

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<![CDATA[ Sin no more ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/sin-no-more/ 5e7bbcdf187916003867d72a Thu, 02 Jul 2015 22:15:00 -0700 Last week, the news of the Supreme Court's decision to make gay marriage legal in all 50 states resulted in a lot of cheers. Many of the folks I follow on Twitter expressed that this is a positive sign: America is finally making some necessary changes.

But what about the conservative side? How do many people who believe in the God of the Bible feel about the change? At a glance, I saw a lot of mixed reactions myself. Some were thrilled, others less so. Thankfully, no one I associate with reacted with the hatred or venom that many have come to expect from those who call themselves Christians.

Rian van der Merwe explains his own stance by answering a question he hears often. How can you be Christian and support gay marriage? I admire Rian, both for his experience and wisdom in all things product management, as well as for how he carries himself online and places high priority on his family life. And he has a pretty nice beard, too!

So I appreciate him putting himself out there and talking about his stance on this topic. Any time you voice your opinion on a politically charged topic, you open yourself to criticism. The topic of gay marriage has been on the forefront of our culture for a while now.

Holding to a Christian point of view is usually not popular and when so much of our day to day is spent communicating over text rather than face to face … well, these kinds of conversations can go wrong so easily that many times it's easier to just keep quiet.

Kudos to Rian for putting his thoughts out to be shared.

The Authority of Scripture

I admit that I wish he had gone into more detail. For I left his post wondering what exactly does he believe? The content of the post leaves room to infer that while he believes that homosexuality is wrong, he's most concerned with how Christians treat people. Which is of the utmost importance.

But the title of the post indicates otherwise. That he in fact believes gay marriage can be something Christians support. In this light, I was left with a desire to hear more, to how he feels the Bible supports his thinking.

Why is that important? Simply because for a Christian, the Bible is the key to life. It is God revealing Himself, His character and His ways, to humankind. It also includes His instructions on how we should conduct ourselves in regards to him and to other humans. In short, how to live our lives.

For those who believe God does not exist and religion is a fool's errand, following the instructions of an old, dusty book is nonsensical. I get that. But if you've read the what is says and had your heart changed as a result, those words become your life. And they come from God Himself, regardless of what human was used to put words to paper.

No matter the topic, I have to start with Scripture to ensure I'm aligned with God's ways.

The Compassion of Christ

In his post, Rian points out the activity and attitude of Christ:

Jesus spent most of his time with the marginalized, assuring them of their worth as human beings, and using acts of kindness to show them why he is who he says he is.

Amen.

Jesus spent time with the those in the lowest social circles of his time. His birth was proclaimed to shepards, a group ostracized from their communities, sent to care for the flocks because they were not suited for any other jobs. He regularly hung out with tax collectors, those who were despised and rejected by their own Jewish brethren for selling out to the hated Roman empire.

Last, Jesus spent much time in the company of women of low repute. He not only spent time with prostitutes, but He spoke with them, spent time fellowshipping with them. In the minds of the religious leaders, this was sacrilegious and would even have made Jesus ceremonially unclean.

It was to these religious leaders that, when asked why He spent so much time with sinners, Jesus replied:

Those who are healthy donʼt need a physician, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.

He spent time with those who needed healing, who needed what only He could offer. Namely, sinners.

Sin No More

This is where I would differ from Rian's thinking in how Christian's should respond when it comes to gay marriage. If Christ were to come today rather than some 2,000 years ago, would He be eating with homosexuals? Absolutely, I believe He would. But what would He be doing in His time with them?

The best example to use in answering that question may come from John 8. Here we see a story where the religious leaders bring to Jesus a woman who was caught in the act of adultery. By Jewish law, the law handed down by God Himself to Moses in the OT, she would be deserving of death. To be stoned by the people in her community.

The leaders come to Jesus, reminding Him of the law, and ask Him, "What then do you say?" His response:

Whoever among you is guiltless may be the first to throw a stone at her.

Here we see the heart of God, the compassion of the Christ. The leaders slowly leave the scene, one by one, as they each consider the sin within their own hearts. After all are gone and He's left alone with the woman, Jesus asks her if anyone has condemned her. When she says no one, he replies:

I do not condemn you either.

I believe this is the heart of what Rian gets at:

We were told not to condemn. We were told to love God and our neighbors.

Again, amen. But …

This only gives a partial answer. Jesus had one more thing to say to the woman:

Go, and from now on do not sin any more.

Is He compassionate? Yes. But does He refrain from calling a spade, a spade? Not at all. Although he offered mercy to the woman, he did not approve of her actions.

In the passage quoted earlier, Jesus stated His purpose was to bring healing to those who were sick. He spent time with those who were marginalized, but He also taught them about their sins and commanded them to, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near".

Rian makes an excellent point: Christians must love their neighbours. Whatever their sexual orientation. But that does not mean that we cannot at the same time echo the truths of Scripture.

A Different Question

Rian was giving his answer to this question — how can he be a Christian and support gay marriage? I would answer a different question:

How can I be a Christian and support gay people?

Because of what the Bible has to say about homosexual behaviour, I cannot support gay marriage. Like lying, adultery, witchcraft, and divination, homosexual relationships are called out as a sin and we are told not to take part in these activities. The Bible tells us that it goes against the “natural use” of human bodies.

For the majority of the general population, I realize that will sound extremely offensive. I love my gay friends and neighbours, but I hold to the belief that homosexuality is a sin. For many who believe it's perfectly right, natural, and beautiful, my opinion will cause anger, regardless of how much compassion or grace I show.


Those living in our culture will have to decide how to treat people like myself. Someone who disagrees with the practice of homosexuality and believes that marriage was instituted by God for a man and a woman, but who treats gay people with love and respect. Someone who understands that, no matter what race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation, all humans are created in the image of God and should be treated accordingly.

I certainly don't have all the answers. But I'm encouraged to see Christians, of all different backgrounds and preferences, thinking about this entire topic in new ways. All I can do is live my life in accordance to what I believe is right, and love my neighbour as myself while I do it.

Which, in this case, means treating people with love and respect, even when we disagree.

Special thanks to Christian Ross and Shawn Blanc for proofing and suggestions.

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<![CDATA[ The Focus Course ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/focus-course/ 5e7bbcb7187916003867d724 Sun, 28 Jun 2015 06:06:00 -0700 My good friend and all around smart chap, Shawn Blanc, has been working on a new product titled The Focus Course. One could assume that due to my relationship with Shawn, I'd be promoting his newest offering regardless of what's involved. And you'd probably be right.

But there are two caveats to that thought.

One: Shawn is an excellent writer, a thoughtful thinker, and puts his everything into all his projects. So it's easy to promote his launches even when lacking familiarity. I would feel no guilt in doing that.

Second: more importantly, I can attest for the contents of The Focus Course. I had the privilege of being on the pilot and was able to slowly take in what Shawn was pitching. And I can say it's worth far more than what he's offering it for.

Take Your Time

Honestly, I teased Shawn on The Focus Course forums. He's calls it a 40 day course, but truthfully, I'm calling it a 40 week course.

Each day's reading on its own is intensive. But the exercises that go with each day can take far more time than I've been able to complete in one day. In fact, the time needed to reflect deeply on the questions Shawn is asking has been a serious investment for me. The content of The Focus Course calls for meditative reflection, the kind of thinking you do when taking long walks or shovelling the drive way.

Yes, you could do it in 40 days. I recommend taking longer.

And I'll go as far to say that I disagree with some of the thoughts Shawn shares. But it doesn't matter … what matters is that he gets you thinking about the right things and thinking about how you can structure your time and thoughts to ensure you're making the most of what you have.

I went in to the pilot thinking this wouldn't benefit me too greatly. I'm already an organized, fairly focused person. Shawn proved me wrong, way wrong!


The great news is that once you're a member, you have access to the content forever. You can take as long as you require or desire.

Sign up today: it's the last day of the launch pricing.

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<![CDATA[ Embracing contexts and perspectives in OmniFocus ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/embracing-contexts-and-perspectives/ 5e7bbc56187916003867d718 Wed, 17 Jun 2015 06:12:00 -0700 Seth Clifford shares an interesting approach to managing tasks with OmniFocus. Rather than the traditional contexts such as "phone", "Mac", "iPad", or "Errands", he uses time.

First, I created three new contexts: “9am-5pm”, “5pm-9am”, and “Weekend”.

Not a bad idea. As one who uses only 3 main contexts (Errands, Home, and Mac), I concur with Seth's opinion here:

Location is a modifier on time.

It's the time of the day that dictates what I will be working on, not my location. This is part of the beauty of OmniFocus; it's so incredibly flexible!

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<![CDATA[ Return to philosophy ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/return-to-philosophy/ 5e7bbab9187916003867d6ea Tue, 16 Jun 2015 20:00:00 -0700 How's your learning going this week? Have all the articles you've read on your phone improved your life? It's vital that we remember empty knowledge is useless, whereas wisdom leads to improved life. For us, and others.

That seems to be at the heart of Ryan Holiday's point in this post.

No matter how much learning or work or thinking we do, none of it matters unless it happens against the backstop of exhortative analysis.

We live in an interesting time: we can drink from the firehose all day long. But great thinking requires time, a period of pondering rather than processing. We're all getting quite good at processing.

Giving yourself a space to ponder today.

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<![CDATA[ Ben Brooks on negativity ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-real-ben-brooks/ 5e7bbc33187916003867d713 Tue, 16 Jun 2015 06:00:00 -0700 If you're familiar with the writing of Ben Brooks, you may have come to expect a certain … tone from him. Ben's never been one to mince words and shares his thoughts about products and services whether they're good or bad.

In this post (yes, it's audio, but I'll still call these a post), Ben shares how this voice was not his natural way of talking or treating others. Rather, it was an online persona that grew over time. But he openly shares how he wants this to change.

This is exactly what's attractive about the personal blog. We follow people, not sites. When we get to see them for what they are, the connection we have with them and their work is better for it. Kudos to Ben for being open about his work … and his self.

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<![CDATA[ The hand on the purse strings ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/purse-strings/ 5e7bba92187916003867d6e4 Fri, 12 Jun 2015 06:56:00 -0700 I've had the pleasure and privilege of working in many different types of environments. From government organizations to my own bootstrapped startup, from funded companies to profitable businesses that took investment 10 years in. And I've worked on partnerships where one side was self reliant and the other had investors to answer to.

The difference in the environments is palpable.

How so? My experience has been that accountability to investors results in a less than ideal work environment and questionable decision making.

Pressure

First, when you've taken investment, there is a need to hussle. To provide a return in a certain time frame. The effects of this pressure trickle down from leadership to the rest of the team.

And when your team consists of leaders of a certain personality type, the resulting culture can be toxic. We’re all familiar with the startup culture: long hours, perks used to cover up the lack of a healthy lifestyle, and growth for growth’s sake. That type of culture exists when the focus is on a fictional future … it’s almost a game for those who grew up playing with fake colored money.

Andrew Wilkinson put it well:

When you take venture money, you work for your investors, not yourself.

Unfortunately, the stakes are real for those who work for these companies.

The Motivation Behind Any Decision

While running my own self-funded company, we took part in a partnership with another company that had taken investment. The promotion we collaborated on turned out terribly, barely breaking even. And that happens … you roll with the punches.

But the reaction from my team was significantly different from the other team. We were disappointed, but they were fearful. This promotion was intended to bring some financial gain, gain that would reduce the pressure they were facing. When that didn’t happen, when we barely made up the costs we put into the promotion, my team chalked it up as a learning experience and their team was cursing and sweating.

The problem here was twofold. The pressure these folks were feeling to bring some return on the investment they’d taken caused them to make poor decisions. The entire promotion was rushed. This led to comprimising on some quality, rather than taking extra time to get the details right. And in the end, that showed in the results … which only compounded the pressure they were facing from the start.

The entire experience shaped my opinion that I never wanted to work with or for funded companies again. I would steer clear of any such scenarios. For four years, that held true before vivid memories faded and I took a position at a funded company.

The Flipside

On the other hand, when working in self-funded situations, the experience has been mostly pleasant. The pressure is internal rather than external, which is a world of difference. Leadership and teammates encourage everyone to do their best, to grow, but the motivation is entirely different.

Sure, when you're the boss who has to ensure that there’s enough coming to pay all the bills, that’s a significant pressure. After running Fusion for 3 years, I was happy to have a break from that aspect of entrepreneurship.

But the teams I’ve been a part of in self-funded environments have been the best I’ve ever worked with. There’s been a healthy balance of work and life. Best of all, everyone works hard together to create the best work of their career!


There are very few absolutes in this life. This is certainly true for work environments. It's likely possible to take funding and have a healthy, positive work environment. It's possible (perhaps even common) to work for an overly demanding boss in a self-funded company.

All of my points above are my experience and not a sweeping statement about all companies. Having said that, my personal opinion is that these statements are true more often than not.

When someone else has their hands on your purse strings, it results in a culture that is less than ideal.

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<![CDATA[ When explosive growth hurts a product ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/explosive-growth-can-hurt/ 5e7bba62187916003867d6db Thu, 11 Jun 2015 07:07:00 -0700 Rian nicely sums up a growing sentiment. Namely, that there is an anti-Slack backlash growing.

What made Slack so inviting is a reduction. But we're simply using it to replace everything (every.other.thing), which is just moving a mess, rather than cleaning it up.

Slack is a great communication tool, with integrations that make it possible to reduce the amount of time spent on other services. But once you have multiple accounts and multiple rooms to contend with every day, it has the potential to become worse than that technology we all love to hate—email.

Well said. The reality is, if used unwisely, Slack can actually be worse than email:

At least with email there’s an assumption of asynchronous communication. With Slack there’s always an expectation to get an answer immediately, so the stress it induces can really skyrocket out of control.

We're always looking for tech to solve problems, but sometimes the problem is just us. Discipline and a focus on what's important is going to be required, whatever the communication tool is the flavour of the day.

At Wildbit, we have a policy that if anyone needs to focus, they can log out of HipChat. No one is required to be there 100% of the time. Email and Basecamp (or tool of choice) are where the details that must be shared are supposed to go.

Besides all that, I'm hesitant to support companies that are built on play money. Hard to believe that's the same guy who doesn't want to sell saddles

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<![CDATA[ Hybrid — Shawn Blanc ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/hybrid/ 5e7bba2f187916003867d6d5 Wed, 10 Jun 2015 14:00:00 -0700 Shawn Blanc shares how he mixes pen & paper with his digital task management system. OmniFocus is where everything goes, but it's the paper where the most important things go, both as a reminder and as a focus.

There is something concrete to the act of using a pen to write down my most important tasks onto a piece of paper. And there’s something ever-so-slightly less distracting about coming downstairs and having a notebook open and waiting, listing out in my own handwriting what it is I need to get to straight away.

I love what Shawn does here. It's very similar to my own process. This has changed slightly for me over the years, but I still write down the most important things on paper. I use it less for capturing tasks these days, but when I'm too far into the weeds, nothing clears my head better than brainstorming or outlining on paper. Attempting to gain clarity in front of the screen is a futile endeavour.

As Justin Jackson put it:

Nobody does their best thinking sitting at their desk. Your desk is for executing; do your thinking elsewhere.

My desk works just fine … but it's the keyboard where things get messed up. That's when my screensaver goes on and I revert to the pen and paper.

For the nerds who care, the current toolset is OmniFocus, a Confidant, a Hobinichi Planner, and a Muji Gel Ink pen.

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<![CDATA[ Why can’t we read anymore? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/why-we-cannot-read-anymore/ 5e7bba12187916003867d6d0 Wed, 03 Jun 2015 14:34:00 -0700 Hugh McGuire describes the problem that has resulted from our always on stream of updates. For him, reading 4 books in one year was a struggle and a sign that the issue is serious.

His description of the nature of the problem may resonate with a lot of us:

I’ve been finding it harder and harder to concentrate on words, sentences, paragraphs. Let alone chapters. Chapters often have page after page of paragraphs. It just seems such an awful lot of words to concentrate on, on their own, without something else happening.

His, and others, premise is that this is a chemical reaction, one that results in a change of habits:

So, every new email you get gives you a little flood of dopamine. Every little flood of dopamine reinforces your brain’s memory that checking email gives a flood of dopamine. And our brains are programmed to seek out things that will give us little floods of dopamine. Further, these patterns of behaviour start creating neural pathways, so that they become unconscious habits: Work on something important, brain itch, check email, dopamine, refresh, dopamine, check Twitter, dopamine, back to work. Over and over, and each time the habit becomes more ingrained in the actual structures of our brains.

Last, he moves on to describe why books are important.

There is a slowness, a forced reflection required by the medium that is unique.

I concur in large part. I've gotten to the place where Twitter and other digital forms of consumption have taken more of a back seat in my life. But reading books is sadly not filling in the gap. My life is busy and opportunities to read are few. Yet, when the time comes, I do find it difficult to concentrate for longer stretches.

I'm just finishing up teaching a six week class on Christian disciplines. On the discipline of study, I shared Richard Foster's thoughts on how to study books (from his book Celebration of Discipline):

  • understand: what is the author saying
  • interpret: what does the author mean
  • evaluate: is the author right or wrong

That's what I love about books (good ones anyway). The entire process takes time. There's no secondary stream of content to peruse when you finish reading. Rather, you have the opportunity to ponder what you've read, how you've thought about the subject in the past, and how what you've read might change how you live going forward.

But you have to create those opportunities. Read with intention.

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<![CDATA[ Version control for writers ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/version-control-for-writers/ 5e7bb87e187916003867d6a3 Fri, 29 May 2015 14:00:00 -0700 I recently shared my setup for publishing content to my site. The combination of IFTTT, Hazel, and Ulysses has worked well for me. Not long after perfecting this setup, I took a position with the team at Wildbit.

Now I spend my days helping developers use Beanstalk and a robust development workflow. While I was getting acclimated to the nuances of this great tool, I realized this was an area where learning would best happen by doing. Not being a full time developer and never having jumped into Git or version control in general, my knowledge in this area was surface at best.

Once I saw what was possible with Git & Beanstalk, especially regarding deployments, I realized version control could help my writing process.

Updating the Process

My process is still quite similar to the previous iteration. The only change is that the directory where my entire site structure is stored locally now also includes a Git repository. When I’m finished writing a post in Ulysses, I use its great export functions to get a new file into the correct folder location.

The last step is the only addition to the actual workflow. I open Tower, review the changes to the local Git repo, then commit and push to the remote repo hosted on Beanstalk. My repo on Beanstalk is configured to deploy automatically to my Media Temple server.

Tower for Mac is a slick Git client

So the process of completing a commit and a push in Tower is like pushing Send to Blog in Mars Edit. At Wildbit, we do a similar process for a lot of our different written content types.

Not Just Writing

Since I run a personal site, version control helps in other ways. Not only does the site include blog or journal type content; there are various other pages mixed. As well, there are the HTML, CSS, & JS files to deal with. I choose to run a site I designed and developed over a blogging platform like Tumblr or Medium because I care about the entire experience.

And developing and maintaining a site of this nature takes time and attention. Keeping everything stored in a hosted version control sustem ensures I’m protected against data loss and my own mistakes.

Maybe next year I want to add a new section to the site, or tweak one portion of the design. I can simply create a new branch and start designing & developing the changes. The site that readers see is not affected at all as I work on the new thing. When I’m ready to put the change live, a simple merge to the master branch, along with a deployment (manual or automatic), and it’s up and running.

If there are issues, I simply rollback to the previous version.

I hear what you're thinking: overkill!

A full version control setup does sound a little daunting at first, and more than many writers might need. But after the initial setup, my writing process is exactly the same apart from the last step of committing and merging.

I’ve lost a couple years of writing in an old SQL database at some point. I also have no backups of many of the previous designs of my site. A full back up of my content and design gives me more peace of mind of the future versions of my site. I can move forward with changes without fear of losing track of where it all came from.

Version control … it’s not only for developers!

Give it a try. Beanstalk has a free plan allowing for 1 user, 1 repo, and the ability to create a deployment Environment with 1 server. Free peace of mind!

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<![CDATA[ Be kind ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/be-kind/ 5e7bb84b187916003867d69e Wed, 20 May 2015 08:17:00 -0700 Andrew Bosworth shares his experience that was his wake up call. After having his job changed and team feedback given to him, he reflected on his attitudes and made changes.

Not only is this a great story because he had the wisdom to look within and own up to his failings. It's also encouraging to see a friend (and boss) be willing to gently admonish and promote the change. That's true friendship!

I love that he includes a caveat in the last paragraph:

I’m still not as good as I’d like to be at any of this. When I’m under stress I can sometimes fall back into my old habits. But believing deeply that I am responsible for how I make others feel has been life changing for me.

Changing who we are doesn't come overnight. There are no life hacks, shortcuts, or 4 hour work weeks that make us change who we are and how we live. That takes energy, purpose, and determination.

And time!

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<![CDATA[ Tales of a non-unicorn ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/non-unicorn/ 5e7bb817187916003867d698 Tue, 19 May 2015 13:00:00 -0700 Laura Shenck shares a personal anecdote about the issues she faced regarding job titles. Her story includes applying for a role that was titled one way, then being tested in a manner befitting a role of another type.

Why do we seem to struggle so much with titles in our industry? I suspect it's due partly to the rapid pace at which the Internet has evolved, the underlying technologies, tools, and frameworks shifting constantly so that those who build things for the web are ever learning. While that change occurs, it's difficult to even find consistency and agreement as to what our roles and duties are. What is UX? UI design? Front end development? It depends who you talk to.

In Laura's case, it's likely that the person writing the job posting was not working closely with the interviewer. As she mentions:

I smell someone listing buzzwords.

Here at Wildbit, we've had a similar struggle. As a team, we've completed the exercise of defining the guidelines of our various roles. What makes a good designer vs. a bad one. Same for developers, sys admins etc. And we've done the same for the Customer Success team (of which I'm a part of).

But what is our Customer Success role called? Customer Success … person? Engineer? Advocate? It's a familiar problem for anyone who works in the support/success field. And some ask whether the title even matters? They certainly matter less than the work and goals that define your role, but having a title to refer people to does help.

We decided, perhaps lamely, on Customer Success Champion. But, like Laura, our focus is more on what we do and less on the title. As it should be.

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<![CDATA[ Are you just LARPing your job? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/larping/ 5e7bb7e9187916003867d692 Fri, 01 May 2015 13:56:00 -0700 John Herman has some astute observations about Slack and how it's changing office culture. As people migrate to it from other options, there's no denying it feels better. But that may not necessarily be healthy.

As Mr. Herman states

But the thing about Slack that gives you that low dread of unstoppable acceleration is how fully it encompasses how you talk to coworkers …

And the problem with this:

Slack allows, in the most extreme cases, for a full performance of work—the clocking in, the ambient noise, the watercooler discussions, the instant availability and accordant impression of responsiveness—without the accomplishment anything external.

I'll admit, I prefer Slack to Hipchat, Campfire, and most certainly Skype. But I'm hesitant to support a company that takes funding just 'cuz … and while it's an innovative tool compared to the industry standards, it's not making my life better. John eloquently articulates the danger of being busy rather than productive and how Slack contributes to the illusion.

But hey, some think it's just another chat tool, but with nicer colors and a good logo. This too, shall pass.

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<![CDATA[ Why startups should train their people ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/train-your-people/ 5e7bb7b3187916003867d68c Fri, 01 May 2015 10:02:00 -0700 Ben Horowitz talks about both the importance of training your team and how to set up a training plan. This is such a vital part of building an effective team, yet it blows the mind to see how little thought many companies put into it. Big and small.

Ben nails it:

Almost everyone who builds a technology company knows that people are the most important asset.

And:

Training is, quite simply, one of the highest-leverage activities a manager can perform.

Well said. Who should be doing this training? The leaders (aka managers) on the team. How can new team members fully understand how your team works and what's expected of them without a proper onboarding and training plan? Beyond that, how does your team improve over time if your team members are not growing their skills? Invest in your people, both with time and money.

He closes with this:

Keep in mind, that there is no investment that you can make that will do more to improve productivity in your company. Therefore, being too busy to train is the moral equivalent of being too hungry to eat.

Gold.

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<![CDATA[ The full-stack employee ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-full-stack/ 5e7bb785187916003867d686 Thu, 30 Apr 2015 13:31:00 -0700 Elea Chang makes the case for focusing less on any new titles for workers, especially tech workers. Her thoughts are a response to Chris Messina’s glorification of the employee who gets it all, from ideation, to strategy, to the technology that enables it all to happen.

I love Elea’s point here:

Unfortunately, the continuous pursuit of professional skillsets tends to diminish the boundaries between work and everything else, leaving you with less and less time to actually grow as a human being.

Generalize or specialize, the most talented people I’ve worked with have had one consistent trait: interests outside of their job. I’m fully on board with the idea that the best employees are those who have a full breadth of interests and passions and seek time to learn and grow.

I appreciate a jack of all trades, but one with the abilities go beyond the full stack of web components.

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<![CDATA[ Blogging tools ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/blogging-tools/ 5e7b7b70187916003867d65b Thu, 23 Apr 2015 07:34:00 -0700 It feels like a long time since I posted my first entry to my first WordPress via Mars Edit. That was early in 2008 and I still remember the sinking yet thrilling feeling I had when Shawn Blanc first linked to one of my articles. Blogging tools have come a long way since then.

Back then, I used MarsEdit and only MarsEdit to publish to my WP run blog, The Weekly Review. Now days, I use a set of web based and desktop tools to share my thoughts on my Kirby run blog.

I realize many folks consider talking about your blogging toolset is akin to talking about your relationship issues in public. Loudly. But I appreciate hearing how the writers I respect get content on their site and hopefully someone can benefit from hearing about my own. Rian shared his own use of Pinboard lately, so he’s truly to fault for this post.

Here’s how I do it in 2015.

On the Mac

As mentioned above, I use a collection of tools to get content published to my flat file Kirby install on my Media Temple server. The full list:

The full process is for writing link posts. I start by finding something I want to share and add commentary. I save the article to Pinboard and add a tag titled “link”. Like Rian, this is picked up by IFTTT and the linked article is saved to a text file in Dropbox. IFTTT uses my link article template to populate the text file.

IFTTT Template

So far, pretty simple. The real action happens on OS X after that. I have Hazel watching the writing folder in Dropbox for various activies. I use 4 rules to prep my articles for writing, to remind me to write, to actually publish to my site, and to keep my Dropbox folder in sync with my journal folder on my server.

Hazel rules

This may sound complex, but each rule is fairly simple.

Prepping

The first thing to do is get the new text file created by the IFTTT recipe to match the structure of my Kirby install. Because Kirby is a flat file CMS, each post lives in a folder with a certain name and number. As well, each text file within the folder has a general file name of article.txt or article.link.txt (depending on the article type).

I wanted Hazel to do most of the manual work for me.

1st rule in Hazel

What does this do?

  • it watches for the matching file
  • creates a folder with the same name as the text file
  • takes the file and moves it into the folder
  • renames the text file to article.link.txt
  • sets a yellow label on the file itself

That’s it. If you step back and ignore all those details, the process is simply this: I find an article of interest, add it to Pinboard, and the minutes later the file and folder are sitting on my Mac and are ready for me to add commentary.

Reminding Myself

Sometimes I get busy or am away and have little time for writing. The 2nd rule is in place to simply remind when I have some older link article files ready for publishing.

2nd rule in Hazel

After a week, I’ll get the Hazel notification that some items should get attention.

Publishing

The most important step here is publishing. Before this setup, I would simply connect to my site in Coda and add the new file directly. Now, when the article is filled in, edited, and ready to go, I just make a few changes in OS X.

3rd rule in Hazel

I simply add a green label to the article folder. That’s it. Hazel then uses the Upload command to connect to my server and add the folder and file. The article is then fully published.

What is not shown in this rule is my change to the folder title. Usually, the title that IFTTT pulls from the original source is long and cumbersome. So I change the folder name before publishing, giving it a shorter, more sensical name along with the proper number to be the newest article on my site.

N’Sync

The last step is simply to mirror the content of my server on my desktop. Why? Simply because I can then make sure my folder names (and the number that is included) for new articles are ordered correctly.

Kirby structure

Because Kirby is flat filed, the order of posts on your blog is dictated by the number in the folder name. And so the 4th rule in Hazel makes sure I never forget the most current number on the server. It’s a rule that is run once daily to sync from server to desktop.

4th rule in Hazel

As you can see, the rule does little. The details are in Automator. It simply runs Transmit and uses the Sync option available in that app. I filled in the server details, path included, and when the rule runs, Transmit launches and syncs away.

Sync options

It would be nice if this part of the process happened in the background, rather than have Transmit pop up and interrupt whatever I’m doing (I’m open to suggestions!).

---

My process is slightly different for writing full articles. They start in Ulysses and are simply put into the correct folder with the green label. The Publish rule takes care of the rest. So my Mac workflow is automated and about as easy and frictionless as it can be. Which is great as most of my writing takes place on the desktop.

iOS

But what about iOS? I do write on my iPad frequently. And if inspiration strikes, I will simply fire up Ulysses and write away. Dropbox is available, so the full folder structure that is synced thanks to Hazel is available to me.

The only downfall is that I can't set the OS X color label on a file or folder on iOS (that I’m aware of). This means I either finish up on my Mac at some point, or use Transmit or Diet Coda on my iPad to publish an article manually.

I’m guessing that more automation would be possible. If I could just sit down long enough to finish one of Federico’s articles, I could probably get inspired on how to improve this. However, the last 12–18 months have proven that I spend far more of my writing time on OS X than iOS (perhaps because iOS 8 runs like crud on my iPad 3) so this set up fits my current habits well.

---

Whether on OS X or iOS, the 3rd party tools like Hazel and IFTTT are incredibly enabling. And the result is that self publishing involves little friction, helping me spend the majority of my publishing time actually writing.

That’s a good thing.

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<![CDATA[ Tools for formatting your ebook ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/formatting-your-ebook/ 5e7b7b46187916003867d655 Wed, 15 Apr 2015 09:23:00 -0700 Gumroad has published a guide for self publishing. Who isn’t interested in self publishing in 2015?

If you publish your own writing of any sort online, there’s a good chance that you’ve entertained the idea of putting out a book. This guide from the Gumroad team covers formats, then the tools that you can use to produce your book.

Sadly, the list is a little lacking. Many writing apps today, such as Ulysses, do a nice job of preparing your content for export. And there are plenty of new services targeted at this need as well. A more detailed article may be more useful.

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<![CDATA[ The ideal relationship between you and your boss ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/you-and-your-boss/ 5e7b7b1a187916003867d650 Wed, 15 Apr 2015 09:21:00 -0700 Such a good topic to consider. If you’re running a company and you want employees to believe yours is the best they’ve ever worked for, how will you make that a reality? If you’re hoping perks are the answer …

I strongly believe you hire people for who they can be, not who they are. This should permeate your thinking as you write job postings, review applicants, and talk with potential (and current) employees. It’s not enough to offer unlimited books or conference budgets, massages and an in house chef.

A team leader will empower her/his team to do their best work and, more importantly, grow. Without growth, in skills and as a person, people will stagnate. All the free stuff in the world won’t satisfy once that happens.

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<![CDATA[ Make it boring ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/choose-boring/ 5e7b7aed187916003867d64a Wed, 15 Apr 2015 09:16:00 -0700 Joshua Platt shares his own thoughts on owning your own content. He agrees with my sentiments, but adds that this type of thing can also lead to more tinkering than actual writing.

That's an excellent point. I've tended to stick to a cycle of a refresh of my site every 2 years. I deviate occasionally, but the desire to tinker with the design occurs far more frequently than that. But I force myself to leave things as they are when that happens.

I admire those like Shawn Blanc, who write far more than they tinker. Others, like John Gruber, could make things a little easier to read. But in those cases, as well as those who change more frequently like myself, I simply appreciate the care they put into creating their own home.

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<![CDATA[ Build your morning habits first ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-right-start/ 5e7b7ac2187916003867d644 Fri, 10 Apr 2015 09:00:00 -0700 Scott Young talks about the cult of the early risers and the romanticism around a morning routine. But he finishes with a slight twist on the usual take on this subject.

Rather than preach about the early bird or similar sentiments, he talks about the importance of the routine to start your day. Regardless of the time, he makes the case that your first actions set the tone for the day.

I think this grouping effect, of having one virtuous habit priming you to make the next easier to execute, is a reason why it seems easy to build a fairly complicated morning ritual in one go.

Wise words there. This thinking reminds me a lot of what my bud Mr. Blanc has been preaching in his newsletter as he finishes off his next book. Good habits and personal integrity are built by small steps!

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<![CDATA[ The best UI typeface goes unnoticed ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/ui-typeface-unnoticed/ 5e7a8b55577e300038e4b455 Tue, 07 Apr 2015 16:21:00 -0700 Similar to the post I wrote for the InVision blog, Thomas Byttebier covers the essential traits of typefaces suited for use in a UI.

His main points are well put and similar to those I made. But he takes it a step further and covers a list of good typefaces for potential use. And the verdict:

All these typefaces definitely don’t burst with personality or creativity, yet they’re crammed with clarity. And in user interface design, that’s only a good thing.

Well put.

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<![CDATA[ A guide to using Medium ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/guide-to-medium/ 5e7a8b36577e300038e4b44f Tue, 07 Apr 2015 06:54:00 -0700 The folks at Buffer posted an in-depth guide on how to use Medium to your advantage. If your goal is to get focus on your product or service, there are some great tips included in this resource.

As I mentioned recently, owning your content is the best step for a writer (I'd include designers and developers as well). After all, your personal website is your résumé in 2015. But if your purpose for writing is traffic and attention to something you've created, Medium can be a solid tool.

As Kevan from Buffer puts it at the top of the article:

It’s slick and snappy and could very well be worth a deeper look for digital marketers and first-time bloggers.

Indeed, for many purposes, Medium offers a lot of benefit. And if you choose to use it, the Buffer team give some solid tips for putting it to use. My favourite bit talks about how to use it to improve and grow your other offerings.

Medium gives you huge amounts of creative liberties with the way you create your posts. One interesting method that I’ve seen used a lot is to leverage the end of your post as a place to link back and share a call-to-action or a referral to your blog.

Paul Jarvis puts this practice to good use.

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<![CDATA[ Type in UI design ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/type-in-ui-design/ 5e7a8af7577e300038e4b449 Tue, 07 Apr 2015 06:34:00 -0700 I had the pleasure of getting down some thoughts on how type plays a vital role in UI design. It was one of my last tasks with the InVision team. And one dear to my heart!

Of course, on a subject like this, I'm merely standing on the shoulders of those who laid such a solid foundation. Thanks to the likes of Robert Bringhurst, Cameron Moll, and Oliver Reichenstein for sharing their own thoughts as they've perfected their craft.

If you craft interfaces, do give this a look!

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<![CDATA[ The importance of the 1-on-1 ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/one-on-one/ 5e7a8ad3577e300038e4b440 Fri, 03 Apr 2015 16:45:00 -0700 Josh Pigford shares his thoughts and experiences with having a 1-on-1 with each of his team members. The takeaway? They're vital, especially with remote teams. From my own experience, I can echo the sentiment.

I've been on amazing teams where the 1-on-1's were hit and miss. Sometimes we'd have them, other times not. My manager would often let the employee choose to skip the meeting if they felt there was nothing to discuss. That's a huge mistake as it shows that, as a leader, you have plenty of other things to be doing and you do not highly value the time set aside to focus on this individual. In this example, the manager was stellar in all other ways, so it did not overly damage the team, but it was an area needing improvement.

On another team, I had a regular weekly 1-on-1 booked with my direct report. But I could count the number of times he showed up on time (or at all) on one hand over a 6 month period. That's failing as a leader. You're making a strong statement in that scenario.

Rands, as usual, nails it:

Consistently landing your 1:1s at the same time on the same day is a weekly reminder that you are here for them — no matter how busy.

And again:

… each time you bail on a 1:1 they hear, “You don’t matter”.

Lastly:

The cliché is “People are your most valuable resource”. I would argue they are your only resource. Computers, desks, building, data centers… Whatever. All of those other tools only support your one and only resource: your people.

Nailed it, indeed. It's all about the people.

Leadership in our connected world is still about being a servant, to teach and mentor. To help your team find what they love to do and help them do it.

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<![CDATA[ Building a typographic foundation with style sheets ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/type-foundations-css/ 5e7a8722577e300038e4b41a Thu, 02 Apr 2015 07:07:00 -0700 Jason Tselentis makes the case for designing “type first”, then outlines a process for doing just that.

His premise is good:

Today, mobile first has become second nature, but in order to ensure the design works well on small to medium to large screens, you have to think “type first.”

My own habits have changed slightly over the years, but as I don't tend to design large scale sites or applications, a robust process has not been necessary. But if I were to create one, I can't see myself using Markdown or the preview modes in various Markdown editors as a starting point. Even Typecast never felt right to me … I appreciate the concept, but every time I gave it a try, it felt clunkier than my existing tools.

Instead, I could see myself creating a small barebones boilerplate to focus on type. Then I'd use Sass variables to test the various fonts in consideration for a project.

Further to that, although I love all things type, starting a project content first makes more sense than type first. For the content should dictate your type choices.

As Butterick puts it:

Good ty­pog­ra­phy is mea­sured by how well it re­in­forces the mean­ing of the text, not by some ab­stract scale of merit.
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<![CDATA[ Still blogging ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/blogging/ 5e7a86f8577e300038e4b413 Wed, 01 Apr 2015 16:48:00 -0700 My family travelled out of town for 2 weeks in February. I had the pleasure of working for the entire time from the great cowork space at the Kamloops Innovation Center. A small incubator space, the KIC is filled with small startups and agencies. The director asked if I was open for giving a presentation, a short talk telling my story.

I was happy to oblige. My talk focused mostly on how we all have a story tell, whether you're selling a product or a service. But in my preperation, I came away with one realization. Although many forces and events have played a role in my career on the web, there have been two constants through it all: Twitter and my website.

It’s how my first business came into being. It’s how I had the good fortune to work for amazing companies like Campaign Monitor. And I’m betting it’s what leads to the next stage of my career (whatever that might be).

It’s not what you know, but who you know

This adage has played out in my life.

Owning Your Opinions

That said, the personal website (let’s just call it a blog, ok) is more than just a tool for connecting with others. Self publishing allows you to voice your thoughts. And it’s when others read your thoughts and share your opinions that the connection tends to take place.

As I’ve watched Medium grow, specifically in the last couple months, I’ve been thinking about the positive aspects of self publishing. As well as the ownership and control of your content. I’ve long been a proponent of taking the time to create your own space and owning your writing.

But I must admit Medium has been intriguing of late. As an experience, both for reading or writing, it’s pleasant. With the ability to highlight passages and bookmark entire articles, it’s great for readers. The attention to typography is endearing. Recent additions of custom domains and text shots add to the feature set, but without cluttering the experience.

Medium gives the writer who has no desire create their own online home a fantastic platform to share their thoughts.

But it's not a platform I'd use on its own.

Ownership & Your Space

My appreciation for Medium as a publishing tool is surpassed by my distaste for Medium as a storage tool for my writing. The lack of revenue and the inevitable placement of advertising aside, you're not in full control of your work saved there and only there.

This control does not include just your written thoughts. It's also the environment from which they're presented. You know what drew me to the web and the design world? Personal weblogs where the authors cared for the words the shared, but also how they looked, how they were presented, how the entire site was structured. It's been said before, but it's worth repeating:

The personal website/blog is like inviting the Internet into your living room, sharing a bit of who you are

That's exactly what got me hooked on the web … getting to know the people whose writing I enjoyed. And, as Matthew Butterick put it:

On the other hand, a nec­es­sary side ef­fect of Medium’s ho­mo­ge­neous de­sign is that every story looks the same.

Where's the fun in that? I see myself putting Medium to use as a syndicate for my own content, published first on my site. But on its own? Not a chance.

Sharing Your Opinions

As I’ve been mulling over the positives and negatives of a platform like Medium, it’s been a natural progression to reviewing the way I run my own site. To mull on the effect my own site has had on my career. And just how beneficial it is to have an online home.

As Frank Chimero put it at the end of 2013:

So, I’m doubling down on my personal site in 2014. In light of the noisy, fragmented internet, I want a unified place for myself—the internet version of a quiet, cluttered cottage in the country. I’ll have you over for a visit when it’s finished.

That’s exactly what I’ve always longed for my site to be to readers. It’s how I view the sites of my friends. Friends I’ve made over the years since I started writing online.

And one thing I stopped doing in the past years was sharing links. I made that decision early in 2013, but, like Frank, I feel like I’ve been spreading myself across several services rather than making a comfortable home. I’m not alone in going back and forth on how exactly to format a personal weblog. And like others, I feel the desire to bring things back under one roof.

It's been 7 years since I posted my first blog post to my WordPress install. It's been a great ride!


I was glad for the opportunity to give a talk and tell my story. It’s always good to look back and where you’ve come from and recognize what got you to where you are. This space is mine and I love taking care of it. And sharing it with you.

Welcome!

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<![CDATA[ Random House ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/random-house/ 5e7a86d2577e300038e4b40a Tue, 31 Mar 2015 08:29:00 -0700 In a similar vein to the previous post, Random House recently launched an update to their site. It's responsive and the type is well set.

Ordering books online can be a risky proposition. But the Random House site gives each book a thorough summary. It's the most pleasurable experience I've had previewing potential books to purchase (apart from Amazon reviews, natch). Whether you're looking for a new book or not, the site itself is worth a look.

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<![CDATA[ How to showcase your wares ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/benton-modern/ 5e7a86ab577e300038e4b404 Tue, 31 Mar 2015 08:21:00 -0700 The folks at Webtype are all kinds of smart. If you've subscribed to their newsletter, you'll know what I'm referring to.

Now they're at it again. This page is an example of how you can put their offerings to use. In this case, they showcase one particular typeface and how to use it well. Be sure to click the alternate style in the header (Expressive).

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<![CDATA[ The consistency of Paul Jarvis ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/paul-jarvis-is-the-consistent/ 5e7a867f577e300038e4b3fe Fri, 27 Mar 2015 16:33:00 -0700 What do you get from a strict, consistent writing schedule? Results.

Noted.

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<![CDATA[ The best icon is a text label ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/text-labels/ 5e7a8579577e300038e4b3d6 Wed, 25 Mar 2015 16:27:00 -0700 Thomas Byttebier makes a great case for using text labels over icons. I've been thinking on this of late, largely thanks to Rian van der Merwe. Once you start looking for this issue, you see it everywhere (like the footer of this site).

How often do designers add an icon because it makes perfect sense to them, unknowingly causing confusion? But if we can't agree on a universal icon to represent Save, perhaps sticking with text truly is the best option. Thomas sums it up:

users will avoid interface elements they cannot understand

Give the entire article a read. He includes some poignant examples from apps and sites we all use every day. Mail … a perfect culprit.

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<![CDATA[ Know your content ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/preparing-to-present/ 5e7a8534577e300038e4b3cd Mon, 23 Mar 2015 16:20:00 -0700 My old boss, Mathew Patterson, shares his process for preparing for a talk. He gives details on everything from choosing a topic, to writing the outline, to going through several drafts.

My own process is similar. I tend to start in a text editor (iA Writer on my iPad, Ulysses on my Mac) to capture the main points. The flow of my talk then comes into shape in Keynote. The slides are minimal, but details are included in my speaker’s notes.

The key through the whole process is that you become so familiar with your content that you do not need extensive notes. There is no need to read during your talk. I rarely need the speaker’s notes because each slide is itself a trigger for what I plan to say. When you know your content thoroughly, things can go wrong and you’ll still deliver a good talk.

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<![CDATA[ The billionaire’s typewriter ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/butte-rick-on-medium/ 5e7a84ff577e300038e4b3c3 Mon, 23 Mar 2015 16:13:00 -0700 I’ve been fascinated with the changes to Medium of late; they’re doing some great work that makes it an attractive platform (for reading and writing). But it’s not attractive enough to give up the control of my content.

Matthew Butterick sums up the points more excellently than I have to date. There are some fantastic pull quotes in his article!

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<![CDATA[ The Sunday Edition ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-sunday-edition/ 5e67c00f3e859300383e01db Sat, 21 Mar 2015 10:34:00 -0700 Source

Josh Ginter's The Newsprint has become one of my favourite reads in my RSS reader. And his Sunday Edition posts never fail to give me one solid read each week (this past week: the heart stopping free soloist).

This is exactly what drew me to the world of blogging. Personal sites where a writer takes extra care to craft a welcoming environment, then writes about things that matter to them.

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<![CDATA[ Time, spent wisely ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/time-spent-wisely/ 5e66a29ee2fe230038bf1edb Tue, 03 Mar 2015 15:03:00 -0800

Why do we have such a fascination with systematizing the every day, the mundane? We seem to be in a societal shift where we all fall into a caffeinated haze and ponder how we can trick our brains into doing something it doesn’t want to (your’s truly included).

And although it sounds trite, there is validity to the idea. Welcome to the life well hacked.

Finding time

Brian Lovin is experimenting with what’s possible in terms of sleep. He’s shooting for 4 hours a day. This is a perfect example of this shift in thinking in our comfortable western culture. In the abundance of more things to do than time to do them, people are looking for more time. In this case, we gain time by cutting out sleep.

Again, I’m also guilty of this. A few years back, after the birth of our 4th child, I experimented with my sleep as well. How much does someone actually need? For me, it turns out more than 5 hours a night … go figure!

I highly doubt my ability to get by on 4 hours of sleep as Mr. Lovin is attempting. But I could see myself adopting a biphasic pattern where my sleep occurs in two large chunks. Something like this would fit well with my current habits:

  • in bed at 9-9:30pm (we’re already early to bed, early to rise people)
  • up at 2:30am
  • get in some writing, reading, and meditation
  • back to bed for a long nap, 4-6am

As described in the myth of the eight hour sleep, this type of pattern can be common and fighting it in order to sleep normally may actually be causing problems for some:

The idea that we must sleep in a consolidated block could be damaging, he says, if it makes people who wake up at night anxious, as this anxiety can itself prohibit sleeps and is likely to seep into waking life too.

The article discusses the possibilities of how people passed the nights in centuries past. Although there is a lack of references in high volume, there is enough to suggest that a period of wakefulness in the night was the norm:

Countless prayer manuals from the late 15th Century offered special prayers for the hours in between sleeps.

Looking back even further, there may be more evidence. I’ve often thought of how the habits listed in many of the Psalms could be real. King David himself often wrote about the night watches

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches

Similarly:

I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons

I’m purely speculating here, but I’ve wondered what these phrases indicated about the culture of David’s time.

Overall, this type of pattern I listed above would still result in 7 hours of sleep and is not such a stretch from the habits of most people. Besides, I often find myself awaking in the hours of 2-4am and it takes a while to get back to sleep.

Might as well put some of that time to good use.

The routines: making the most of the time

A second aspect of our culture’s fascination with time is the systematizing of how we use it. We love to think about how to best structure our time, schedule our days, build habits, and essentially, hack our brains.

This is the reason why sites like My Morning Routine exist.

But once again, although it can be tempting to poke fun at our collective navel gazing, there is good reason for our fascination. Primarily because mindfulness can bring change. Shawn Blanc sums this up well as he describes how a couple of small changes resulted in a huge increase in his primary creative outlet.

Before I made this habit change, I was usually writing 500 to 1,000 words every day. But I didn’t have an exact time for when I’d do my writing, nor did I have a clear idea for what I’d be writing about. It was hit or miss, honestly. Some days I didn’t write at all. And I certainly wasn’t making daily, iterative progress on my long-term writing goals.
However, since I made this change a month ago I’ve written over 40,000 words.

His change? Write for 30 minutes at the beginning of every day. Every day.

Sounds simple, right? But he — and you and I — have built up other habits that have to be replaced with the new one. For Shawn, that meant not checking stats, Twitter, and the like until the writing was completed.

Weeks later, the effects of the change are evident. So while it’s certainly true that we can waste the time away constantly reviewing our workflow, this does not mean reflection is not helpful. A healthy, balanced amount of reflection, when paired with intention and discipline, can be a good thing.

GTD: the beginning?

As someone who once focused his energies on productivity and the systemization of how we work (enter in the dreaded three letter acronym from hell aka GTD), I can’t help but wonder if this all started because Merlin Mann shared all his hacks about his hipster PDA on 43 Folders. Those of us in the apple, design, blogging world have been thinking about this type of topic for quite some time.

Was our desire to tinker with notebooks and applications the gateway drug to bigger things? Now instead of folders, pens, and egg timers, we’re prone to tinker with the essentials (sleep now, food next, then what? Oxygen intake?).

And although I spend far less time writing and thinking about productivity, and relatedly, tinkering, I'm still prone to snap my head around whenever someone mutters the word, "System". Is this focus a problem of how we view our self worth? Is our identity so tied to what we accomplish that it leads to a focus on how to do more? Some think so, especially after spending time in other cultures.


So the question to ask is not whether this is all useful. Rather, the question to ask yourself is this: how much of all this is useful for me? Like most things, it’s a matter of moderation. The dose is the poison. If you find yourself spending more time reading about life hacks than making change, you’ve gone too far.

As alluded to at the top, a part of this fascination is simple luxury. We have so much extra time and resources that we’ve constructed a society that teaches you to fill each waking hour. So much so that we all feel the strain of more to do than time to do it. In other cultures, survival can be where humans put all their energy … and people in these situations often strike me as more content and satisfied with life than us life hackers.

Nevertheless, I find myself pondering the question: can I put my time to better use? We all have the same amount of time each day, but whether we spend it creating, sleeping, or meditating on deep things is up to each of us. Whatever hacks or tricks we employ, if they result in a wiser use of the great equalizer, time, we’re better off for it.

As long as action is a result.

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<![CDATA[ The iterative life ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-iterative-life/ 5e66a249e2fe230038bf1ed6 Fri, 20 Feb 2015 06:40:00 -0800

In design circles, iteration is our mantra. Start small, start now, learn as you go. Rinse and repeat. Tis better to start with imperfection than to never start at all. And this thinking often leads to success, so it’s popular for good reason.

But this approach should not be restricted only to the products and experiences we build for others. Indeed, it’s a good approach to life in general.

Failure repeats itself, often

I fail daily. I’d even venture to say hourly. I fail my children by being short tempered at the end of the day. I fail my spouse when I care more about getting time to read that book on my shelf than checking in with her at the end of the week.

And relationships are just one aspect of life. We can fail in our work, with the project that is unsuccessful (or, in many cases, never completed), or the job that didn’t go as planned. We fail when we choose to try something new; no one crafts a masterpiece with a new habit.

But it doesn’t matter. We’re humans … we will hurt others and ourselves. We’ll fall short of our goals. Failure. It’s like death; inevitable. The important question to ask is this:

What are you going to do about it?

Again, we talk about this aplenty in the design industry. Startups pivot, corporations kill planned features, and plenty of designs never see the light of day. With the right mindset, we understand this is a vital part of the process. As Sean Sperte recently stated:

Designing is deciding

Learning requires failure. And I love to learn.

I spent the past week on a workation, spending my days in a cowork space filled with small startups and agencies. The following list is on the wall in the front room:

  • Make
  • Measure
  • Fail
  • Learn
  • Make
  • Fail harder
  • Learn even more
  • Make again
  • Succeed
  • Change everything
  • Repeat

This is my life as a parent, as a spouse. This is your life as a friend, a neighbour, and a coworker. The question is not whether you’ll fall — you will. The question is your attitude after the fall.

Learn, everyday.

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<![CDATA[ Defining customer success ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/defining-customer-success/ 5e66a1c0e2fe230038bf1ec3 Wed, 04 Feb 2015 14:11:00 -0800 What does it look like for you to have a successful customer? The answer often looks different from one business to the next, but you need to know the answer as soon as possible. For if your customers are successful, most often so is your business.

An updated and expanded version is available on the Wildbit blog. While I originally wrote this post while working at InVision, it's at Wildbit where I've spent most of my time honing my definition of customer success and treating it as a function of a business.

How does this affect your company?

Your goal as a business should be to make your customer look as good as possible.

That’s it. It’s as true for web design and software development as it is for many other industries. Kathy Sierra says it best:

People aren’t using the app because they like the app or they like you. They’re doing it because they like themselves. What are you doing to enable more of that?

So, exactly what is customer success for you?

A definition

The most obvious literal meaning? Your customer is successful in their business or work. For many of us who run design agencies or software companies, the method with which you enable your customer’s success may be different, but the goal should be the same.

At Harvest, helping their customers create beautiful invoices for their clients can enable success. For Wistia, enabling their customers to quickly add closed captioning to existing videos in their library makes the customer look badass. For each Saas company, the means may be different, but you should be helping your customer do their job better.

What this means for you

But what does this look like as a function of your business? For 4 months on the job as Director of Customer Success at InVision, I’ve been mulling on this and watching the approach of other companies. There seems to be a wide variety.

Customer success can often be tangled in with customer support. But truly, one is proactive (success) while the other is reactive (support). Both are necessary, but the focus is different.

In many organizations, success is tied closely to marketing and sales. Marketings draws ‘em in, Sales converts ‘em, then it’s up to the Success team to keep 'em happy. While I can understand that approach, the focus is on your success, not that of your customers. The Success team in companies fashioned in this manner are often focused on renewals and upselling.

We have a slightly different approach at InVision, for which I am very glad. On my first day, Clark introduced me and my position to the team in this way:

My job is to make sure each person who signs up for InVision gets the most out of the platform

That is something I can get excited about each day!

When you combine this mentality with a tool or service that can truly better someone’s ability or experience, it’s a powerful thing!

What does this involve?

How do you help people “get the most out of your platform”? That’s the fun part … it can look like many different things. You’re only limited by your imagination.

Here, my team focuses a lot on education. This can include webinars, private demos, tutorial videos, and some aspects of the onboarding experience. We focus on relationships. Caring about the people who use your tool takes you a long way, gives you motivation.

It also involves understanding your customers. What are the different personas (types of users) who make up your customer base? What are their needs and how do they differ from one persona to the next? What features are the most important to them?

Most importantly, our focus is on helping our customers grasp the full extent of how our platform can enhance their design process. Nothing beats the days where I get to talk to a customer, find out where they experience pain or frustration in their current process, then show them how they can remove that pain with InVision.

When we walk away from that conversation, I want to feel confident that this person will look smart and capable to their clients, their team, their executives. Badass (as Kathy puts it).


We talk a lot in our industry about user experience. Customer success (and support) are vital in this regard. The experience is much more than an intuitive UI, a clever, cheeky onboarding process, or a robust feature set. For the customer, it’s about how they feel when using your product or service … and it’s about how they feel about themselves.

Customer Success is focused on just that.

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<![CDATA[ Are you ready to teach? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/are-you-ready-to-teach/ 5e66a16de2fe230038bf1ebd Wed, 07 Jan 2015 06:00:00 -0800 Like many others, I’ve spent the past couple of weeks in reflection. On the year past, plus what’s to come. Or rather, what I hope is to come as I plan for the coming year.

The week between Christmas and New Year’s is a special one. It’s the afterglow, the time when the preparations for celebration are over, your visiting starts to subside, and you don’t have to cook because you're eating leftovers for the 5th day in a row. And yet the New Year is not yet rung in, so you have this golden opportunity to sit back, savour the specialty coffee and double chocolate stouts you received for Christmas, and ponder how your past will shape your future.

This is not a new thing. In fact, the name of the current month is steeped in this mentality. In our Julian calendar, January gets its name from the Roman god Janus, the god of beginnings and transitions. His name is based on the Latin word ianua, which indicates a double door, one that opens both ways. Janus was often depicted as having two faces, one looking forward and one looking back.

With that mindset, I’d like to share something I’ve been pondering the past two weeks.

The web is about learning

The rise of the Web brought about many opportunities, but none so great as the increase in knowledge. Pre-Web, a person interested in an unfamiliar topic had to talk to an expert, visit a library, own an encyclopedia set, or buy a book to increase their knowledge. Today, a couple of keystrokes will get you the basics of a topic in seconds (this type of knowledge is often surface level, leading to an increase in generalists who know a little about a lot of things … craftsmanship is another topic entirely).

And that availability of knowledge, of published facts, was just the beginning. Now you can enroll in online classrooms, join online communities, sign up for email courses … the options for education are vast and growing every day. When I have a problem around the house with an appliance, my first resource is YouTube. Chances are, someone somewhere has created a video showing how to the change the auger belt on the model of snowblower I own …

What started as personal blogs with people sharing ideas or how they solved a particular problems has blossomed into dozens of different formats.

The Web is about learning.

The flip side

Conversely then, it’s also about teaching. There is a person (or team of persons) creating the online classroom, the community, the email course. People are keen to share their knowledge.

Here’s the crux of what I’ve been thinking about: we’re all teachers. Do you think this doesn’t apply to you? If you're creating something and putting it online, chances are you're a teacher. Whether your educate people on the top products in a certain category, or you help them get the most from your favourite piece of software, or you simply share what you're learning as you increase your own knowledge, you are in essence, teaching.

I consider myself a teacher. When I worked in IT for a healthcare organization, I tended to help people understand the issue they were having rather than just fix it for them. When I started Fusion Ads, it was a way to let people know about the great products and services available to them. At Campaign Monitor, I helped designers and marketers understand how to get the best results from their email campaigns.

And now at InVision, teaching is the heart of what I do. Focused on customer success, my purpose is to help designers understand how to make design the heart of their product development, and how to reduce the friction that inevitably comes.

If you work for a Saas company, you are most definitely a teacher: it doesn’t matter what team you're on. Design, engineering, customer support, marketing — all need to be teaching the customer how your tool/service can help them complete the job they need to get done. They have a need and your job is to show them how you can enable them to meet it.


The question to be asking yourself as you stare down 2015 is this: how well am I teaching? Again, if you are creating content and sharing it on the web, you're teaching. If you look at what you do through that lens, you may find ways to improve your work, as well the benefit your audience gets from it.

Happy teaching!

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<![CDATA[ Back to The Weekly Review ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/two-relaunch/ 5e7cec6428526a00444eed10 Thu, 04 Dec 2014 07:24:00 -0800 It’s been exactly one year since I stopped writing my weekly newsletter, The Weekly Review.

This time last year, I was neck deep in a new job that required far more than 40 hours per week. Writing a 1,500–2,000 word newsletter each and every week was not something I could sustain when my early mornings required catch up time from the day previous.

This was a really hard move for me. I’ve loved writing since I started my first blog in 2008. But there was something special about the weekly routine. Whether it was the format (a mix of consistent themes), the more intimate readership (who email back their thoughts), or something else, I enjoyed putting out the newsletter each week far more than a usual post to the blog.

Fast forward to the end of 2015, I’m at a new job and the founders are smart folks. They understand the importance of a balanced life and we have a firm 40 hour work week. This has allowed me to spend more time writing once again. And so I’m happy to say that The Weekly Review is ready to go for 2016, with the first copy going out this morning.

This was originally part of a membership plan for the site. Not this time. The newsletter is available to all.

Interested? Sign yourself up.

(function () { var e = document.createElement('script'); e.type = 'text/javascript'; e.async = true; e.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https' : 'http') + '://btn.createsend1.com/js/sb.min.js?v=3'; e.className = 'createsend-script'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(e, s); })();

What’s Included

What do you get each week? As mentioned above, it’s a mixed bag. But there are usually two longer pieces, about the length of your average blog post. Then there are a smattering of shorter items from the following categories:

  • tweets of the week (from my favourite tweeters)
  • items of note (links to fun, insightful articles with commentary included)
  • my latest coffee or beer review
  • also book & software reviews
  • and short podcasts from time to time

In short, it’s intended to entertain, inform, and inspire. Most of all, to be fun and give you something to look forward to reading each week.

Expectations

How about that every week part? As anyone who writes knows, being consistent is hard. I’m consistently inconsistent on my site; writing always comes second to my family and my job. That will remain true.

However, my goal with the newsletter is to hit around 40–45 newsletters in 2016. The first 2 months worth are ready to go. There will be holidays and a few other weeks where I take a break, but it will be a mostly routine delivery every Friday morning.

I’d love to have you along!

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<![CDATA[ Ulysses ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/ulysses/ 5e66a10ce2fe230038bf1eb6 Mon, 10 Nov 2014 20:17:00 -0800 It’s been quite a while since a new writing tool has found its way onto my devices. Writer has been my tool of choice for quite some time (unless you include my dalliance with Writer Pro … but that was short lived and I almost lump the two together). Happily. It always met my needs and I was never tempted to try the favourites of other people (Byword for example).

However, I finally took the plunge on Ulysses. And I’m glad for it!

What’s good about it?

A lot!

This is not a full fledged app review, but a collection of things I like about the app. First, as mentioned above, it’s very flexible, yet also very powerful. You can easily configure it to be a very sparse writing environment by hiding the additional panes.

Or, you can use the full screen view for an even more immersive experience.

Beyond that, the way you manage your articles appeals to me. Where as Write (the Notes app I’ve mentioned lately) keeps everything available in a sidebar, but truly never feels like a comfortable Mac app, Ulysses seems to get the details just write.

Even as I typed that, I recognize it’s hard to describe why one feels right while the other does not. For me, it’s most likely because the sidebar approach in a Notes app needs to allow me to see the details of each note, otherwise I end up clicking around to try and find the correct entry. Whereas with a writing app, I don’t need to see the details, usually just the title, and I can find what I’m looking for.

I am able to save files locally, or in iCloud. I can group articles in the sidebar, but that grouping is not reflected in the OS X file system. At least, not that I could find. This means I can organize my writings for my blog, plus my notes for work, in their own groupings. If one were to write a book, this would also make a great way to organize your chapters and research easily. Flexibility!

One thing: Ulysses calls each “article” or “file” a sheet. Sheets can be stored under a parent group.

What about writing?

Now, an app like this has to nail one thing: the writing experience. Ulysses does, whether in full screen or not. Like iA Writer, Ulysses does a great job of highlighting Markdown items.

The colors look great and allow you to easily distinguish different content. Links are nicely highlighted and the URLs hidden. The spacing of the text is spot on and you can choose the font you desire. Full screen mode takes the current sheet and displays it full screen with a dark background. The nice touch here is that you do necessarily not need to exit full screen mode to navigate to another sheet. You can scroll to the top of bottom to move to the previous or next sheet in the current group.

All in all, there is a lot to like!

Desktop only?

My first thought was to try this on my iPad as well. But it turns out there is no Ulysses for iOS. Instead, they have an app called Daedelus Touch. I haven’t heard much about this, nor have I given it a try yet. I may though — it would put the iCloud Drive aspects to the test (I’m not sure I trust Apple with this yet, not like Dropbox).

Currently, if I were to start an article on my iPad, I would have to create it in Writer, then copy and paste the content from a Dropbox file into Ulysses on my Mac. But honestly, my iPad continues to evolve into a device most used by children. I rarely put it to use myself these days.

Update: I was kindly informed that you can add External Sources in the Ulysses sidebar. Fantastic — articles started on my iPad are available for editing at a later time.

The kitchen sink

Apart from the primary features, there are some other interesting options available for this app. Again, these are not features everyone would need … but they can add value.

One item I like is the easy access to the stats for a given sheet. You get a nice overview of the characters and words in the sheet, as well as an estimated reading time. Beside the button for stats is a button that allows you to quickly move from section to section in your sheet. A great option for longer pieces.

As well, there is a sharing button that makes it easy to perform various actions with other apps on your computer. For me, setting Droplr as the default app or service makes it easy to share a piece I’m working on. Truthfully, the Export options for this app are the best I’ve seen. Ulysses seems to have been created with the understanding that your words are your words and getting them into another app, service, or location should be as easy and as painless as possible. Smart move!


To finish, what would make me switch from using one writing app to another? Look and feel are important to me when writing. Ulysses and iA Writer both do this well. But I must admit I like that Ulysses allows me to organize my writing, as well as write. Where iA Writer has to be used in tandem with Finder, Ulysses works on its own.

Scrivener has long been the tool that people recommend for writing long content on the Mac. We’re talking novel length work. But seeing as Scrivener is a bit odd in terms of UI and seems to be updated infrequently, I can see Ulysses challenging in this arena. Ulysses nails the Markdown experience and gives a very solid document management toolset as well.

Although I switch tools far less often than I used to, it still happens. In this case, it feels like a change for the right reasons.

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<![CDATA[ Hard work is hard ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/hard-work-is-hard/ 5e66a0cee2fe230038bf1eb0 Fri, 01 Aug 2014 14:36:00 -0700 There are so many things to take up our time, so it can be very tempting to do the tasks that are easier. More well known. Things that keep us busy, but do not directly get us closer to meeting our goals.

This article is an expanded version from my weekly newsletter.

Why do we default to this kind of activity? Simply because doing the hard work is hard.

Doing something difficult requires us to hit the wall that feels uncomfortable, causes uncertainty, and makes the sweat pop out on our forehead. Sometimes the hard work requires us to do something we haven't done before. Other times we’re using skills we already have, but the nature of the work requires decisions to be made as you build, and decisions are hard (what if I make the wrong one!). Having to make many decisions even harder.

Whatever it involves, a part of our brain kicks in and tries to distract, tempts us to do busy work. “I don't have enough time to dig in to this, so let's answer those emails instead.” Suddenly, a couple of weeks have gone by and you have made no progress. Discipline is required to get past those moments.

It can be hard to accurately recognize these habits we form, or to articulate them to ourselves and others. Oliver Reichenstein does as an admirable job:

Life and work would be so easy if a lack of quality could be explained in a sentence, and fixed with a better technique.

When asking the question, why do web projects fail, he rhetorically states the answer:

Or is it because we have 22 drawers full of of comfortable tools, fantasies and excuses to avoid the pain of sitting down and thinking?

Add the Internet, with the new things for you to think about every .027 seconds, and his list is complete. This is it — the thinking is hard.

Over time, we can learn to enjoy the process of fighting through that discomfort and coming out with something worthwhile on the other side. When you are able to see those results, you can even come to embrace the hard stuff … because the results are so very satisfying. But that is something to be learned.

I'm reminded of this every week with our homeschooled children. As young people, they face much more often than us adults. It might be learning to read, doing algebra for the first time, or finally riding without training wheels. But each skill is essentially learning to solve a specific problem. And once they have that experience, the next challenge is a little easier because they know they've come through before.

It should be the same for us adults. Sadly, we have built up these habits around busy work that we allow to distract us from the important things. Guilty as charged, right here. But I'm learning.

As I've spent time learning my tendencies and how to deal with them, several practices have stood out. Friction is involved. The less friction between myself and my work, the better. The easier it is to get up and running (whether it's reading, writing, designing, or developing), the more I'll complete in the limited time I have available. And the more friction I add to the distractions, the less likely I am to waste time on the activities that do not get me closer to my goal.

Desires is another. Truthfully, it goes hand in hand with the friction. If I focus enough on my goals, entertainment loses it's flavour.

Watching a movie or show at the end of the day is too easy when you have a Netflix account, a huge collection of DVDs, and a cable TV subscription. So I removed those options from my life. Over time, my wife and I have both come to highly value our evening time for reading (together and apart). Our desire to learn is greater than our desire to be entertained.

Habits, whether removing bad ones or adding good ones, come from small decisions, consistently made.

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<![CDATA[ A beginning ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/a-beginning/ 5e668930e2fe230038bf1ea1 Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:25:00 -0700 After several weeks of kicking an idea around, I decided to take the plunge. It's time for this guy to learn how to build apps.

The reason for the hesitancy is reality; this will be no easy feat. When starting anything new, there is a level of naivety … you don't yet know what you don't know. But I hope I have no disillusions here. Developing apps for OS X or iOS is an arduous task, a craft to be learned.

Nonetheless, this is a step I want to take. I simply have to take a high level, long term approach. This is a new skill I'm learning and it could be years before it bears any fruit. With that in mind, I decided I would journal the experience and share it with others. the greatest aspect the Internet has given us is access to knowledge. Education. I hope to share with others for the purpose of helping them learn along with me.

To do this, I created a new site. I could have simply included the content as a section here on my Kirby install. But I decided to give it a bit of separation and I've been looking for an excuse to kick the tires on Siteleaf.

If you're at all interested in developing for a Mac, or seeing what's involved, please follow along. You can subscribe to the updates here. I'll be sharing what I'm working on, where I'm struggling, the resources I'm using to learn as I go, and hopefully, some tips from the amazing community of developers out there.

I'd love to share with you!

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<![CDATA[ Persona ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/persona/ 5e66890ee2fe230038bf1e9b Sat, 28 Jun 2014 11:23:00 -0700 Celebrity is a funny thing. Wanted or unwanted, it changes the life of the person who has it. And it often changes the person as well.

Internet celebrity is fairly new to our culture … I think many of us are still unsure how to approach it. This seems to be true whether it's our own celebrity, or someone else's.

Just like you

When I was younger, it was easy to put people I looked up to on a pedestal. Bosses at work, pastors at church, my favourite bands. That is easy to do from afar, but the closer you get to people, the more you see the real person; the flaws, the hurting, and the mess as much as the good things.

As you age (I'd say mature, but the two do not always come hand in hand), you learn from these past experiences with people. But even though you learn that people are not always what the appear from the distance, it's still very easy to put them on that pedestal.

But if there's anything my career on the web has taught, it's that we're all regular Joe's. Man or woman, 150, 1,500, or 150,000 followers — we're all regular people. We have strengths, but we have weaknesses. We're all working our backsides off to pay bills, support our families, and create good things.

I had a chance to spend a day with Justin Jackson this week. Over lunch, we talked about this new type of celebrity. And Justin is the perfect example of this: he has thousands of followers, a reading list even bigger, has sold successful books, and regularly chats with the bigger names in the Saas world. And yet, he's a humble, down-to-earth dude who seems just as happy talking to local tech minded folks about the blog they should start …

He's real people.

The first conference I went to where I could meet some of the celebrities I look up to, I was nervous. Thankfully, once I met a couple, what I already knew was confirmed … we work in an industry of good, solid, and (mostly) humble people.

And we're all on a level playing field.

Getting past the persona

I remember my first company wide get together at Campaign Monitor. I was really looking forward to seeing my North American teammates for the first time. And despite working side by side five days a week, that first face-to-face meeting is always a little bit of a shock.

It's because the avatar we look at every day is only a two dimensional, shallow representation of the fully fleshed human being it represents.

And although we all tend to present only one side of our lives online, the attractive bits and bobs, I prefer the real person. Truth is, we're all annoying and unattractive at times, but I'll take real over polish any day.

When our team gets together, the conversations and fun times that happen are what carry me through the chat room for the rest of the year.


I've really enjoyed getting a glimpse of the lives of so many people in the past 6 years. But as good as the persona can be, I much prefer to get to know the person. That's why nonferencing is so popular now — the conversations trump the content. They are the content.

I'll be at the last Brooklyn Beta this year. Please come and say, “Hi!”

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<![CDATA[ Faith requires more than intellect ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/change-of-heart/ 5e668872e2fe230038bf1e8b Thu, 19 Jun 2014 12:00:00 -0700 Recently, Paul Boag shared how he came to a belief in God and His Son, Christ Jesus. He gave his story in response to those who often react in surprise when discovering his faith; those who do not believe in God cannot understand how a rational, intelligent person could believe such things. Paul’s article was built around the idea that believing in God and the person of Jesus Christ is intellectually sound.

I was thankful to see Paul write and share this article. He's a very well known and well respected member of the design community. And if there’s been one aspect of being involved in the web that has surprised and delighted me the most, it's been in discovering that I have so many brothers and sisters in the faith. Paul's article was another reminder of that.

However, after reading the piece, something didn't sit quite well with me for the rest of the afternoon. While taking this analytical, logical approach to defend having faith in the Bible and the claims it makes about God can be helpful, it's not enough.

Faith is not wholly intellectual

In order for a human being to believe that there is a God and that He has revealed Himself to us through His Word and in the person of Jesus Christ, there has to be more of a change. A sound, convincing logical argument is not sufficient to make this change. Because we’re not talking about changing the mind, but rather changing the heart.

The Bible is filled with language about the heart of a man. What is it referring to? Certainly not the muscle and tissue that pumps blood through the body. I'm no expert theologian with a Masters of Divinity, but I'll attempt my own definition … when the Bible talks of the heart, it's referring to the essence of a human. It's a combination of what he/she believes and how she/he acts.

Christ alluded to this when the religious leaders of His time were so concerned about what people put into their bodies, or if they ate with unwashed hands. Their premise was that unclean food or hands would make the people themselves unclean. Christ responded in Matt 15 and explained it this way:

Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

Christ knew it's the heart of a man that directs how a person acts and behaves.

Who’s in control?

My slight discomfort with Paul’s article is that, if read the wrong way, it could come across as if he has made this decision based on his intellect, based purely on sound rationale. There is no need for God to help him in this decision, because it’s perfectly rational. I don't believe that to be true.

In order for a human being to have faith in God, God Himself has to get things started. He changes the heart, then everything else follows. Here are a few statements that lead me to make this claim.

Romans 8:7

… because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so.

Eph 2:8,9

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Ezekiel 11:19,20

Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

Only after this change of heart occurs can the mind follow. And it is God who works to make this change.


I have no idea how Paul Boag feels about all this. It's certainly possible he agrees. I simply walked away from his article feeling like credit needs to be given to God … for me personally, my faith comes from Him. Before my thinking could change, my heart needed to change. Big time!

I am incredibly thankful that He did that for me.

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<![CDATA[ New tools: Launchbar 6 and Flat Tomato ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/lb6-happy-tomato/ 5e668839e2fe230038bf1e82 Thu, 12 Jun 2014 11:18:00 -0700 Tools do not make the craftsman, but they can make the job more enjoyable. And the availability of good tools for OS X has always been a draw for me, and a favourite subject for my writing. Here are a couple of apps that I've been enjoying of late.

LaunchBar 6

I've been using LaunchBar as my main app launcher and digital Swiss Army knife for quite a few years. It's already been 4 years since I did an extensive comparison of all the options and concluded that LaunchBar was the best of the bunch. I haven't even considered the alternatives since then.

The good news is that the most recent version of LaunchBar, available yesterday, takes a good tool and improves on it. I've been beta testing this version for the past two months and love it. The funny thing is, functionality aside, LaunchBar 6 looks right at home with the aesthetics of the upcoming Yosemite.

And the change I enjoy the most with this version is the UI. LaunchBar is bigger, bolder, and uses larger text, making the contents of the window much easier to see. Look and feel aside, there are some functional improvements to the app as well. Most important are the updates that coincide with OS X, allowing you to index Finder tags and the like as well as fully manage your Contacts and Calendar without having to open those applications.

But truthfully, my usage with the new version is exactly as it was with the previous. My custom shortcuts all work with version 6 and so I've continued on as normal, with a modified interface. Reading through the launch page has been a good reminder that I'm only using LaunchBar at a fraction of what's possible!

Flat Tomato

I chuckle every time I see the name of this app. The backstory: I enjoy the Pomodoro technique. It's not for everyone, but it works well for someone who does support for a Saas product. If you're not familiar with Pomodoro, check it out.

I need that reminder to walk away from the desk and stretch, as well as to focus on something other than solving people’s problems. Sometimes reading internal documentation or working on a team project for five minutes is essential for shifting gears and getting your head into a different space.

I would do that in the past, but the end of the day would approach out of nowhere and I realized I didn't accomplish a couple of tasks I had set down, or my steps for the day would be alarmingly low. So I've been looking for a decent timer to track this a little better.

Two sad truths were revealed to me.

First, searching in the App Store is a fruitless endeavour. Usually, that's not an issue as the apps I'm interested in are brought to my attention via Twitter or blog posts. But egg timers and Pomodoro apps don’t seem to be all that popular in the circles I travel.

Second, there are far too many egg timer/pomodoro apps. Many of poor quality. But I finally found one I'm enjoying; Flat Tomato. If you're able to live with the flat-design-and-long-shadows look, you might enjoy this as well.

What I like about this app is the way the sessions are displayed. The clock shows the current time, but also displays your current session with the following session in a muted color and dashed border. A quick glance can tell me that I've just started a 25 minute work session and that a quick 5 minute break is to follow.

And it works in the other way as well. If I'm in the middle of a 15 minute break, the next working session is shown in the same fashion.

As you progress through the day, you can see your completed sessions around the edge of the clock. Each session also sees a shift in the background color, a nice visual indicator to remind you of the change. You can assign various tasks to assign to a session; I do not use that feature myself, but I can see that it could be useful.

This is one of those categories of apps where App store quantity surely trumps quality, so it's good to find an option that I enjoy. The functionality of a Pomodoro app should be sparse. If it looks good as well, that's a bonus. Flat Tomato does the trick.


Two good tools, check them out. It's these kind of utilities that make being a Mac user so great. If you're into software that delights, I've been writing on this subject in my weekly newsletter. Sign up if you'd like to hear more each week!

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<![CDATA[ Reading with intention ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/lecto-divina/ 5e6687b5e2fe230038bf1e76 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 06:34:00 -0700 Several weeks ago, I read an article from Nathan Hale on how to do a better job of hearing from God when reading the Bible. It's a short read, but putting it into practice has given me a lot of benefit. And not only in my devotional time.

Nathan's main thrust was something known as Lectio Divina, a Latin term for Divine Reading. It involves four steps; reading, meditation, response, and contemplation. Each step is taking carefully and with consideration; please use the link above to read about the idea in more detail (a relatively short read).

Intellectual reading vs. something deeper

Regular Bible reading has never been a problem for me. I enjoy it! But it's so very easy to read something intellectually, giving it little thought apart from the immediate context of the text. This process helps you to slow down. During the meditation of the text, you consider what the text is saying and what it would have meant to the author, the original readers, and to yourself thousands of years later. Let the text speak back to you.

Taking the time to slowly ponder the text has been a wonderful shift in my reading. Unless I was preparing a Bible study or Sunday school class, my reading did not look like this. How much better it is to take the time to allow God to speak to me through His word.

Not only for those who believe in God

Of course, not everyone who reads this site holds to the same beliefs that I do. But I would say this concept is not only helpful for reading the Bible for the purpose of hearing from God.

How often do we read a book or article, only to cross it off our long reading list? When you read a book, do you take time to meditate on the text, to consider how it might change your thinking or the way you live your life?

Putting this idea into practice has helped me to be more mindful of all my reading. Now when I do my devotional time, I keep a journal of what I'm reading or praying. Similarly, I'm journaling the items (books or blog posts) I read that cause me to think. Highlighting certain passages is a good practice period, but even without that, the simple act of reading slowly and digesting the words is something I would recommend to anyone.

Jack Cheng nails this (as he often does). He outlines the problem:

When things are packaged into a list, we have a habit of reading one thing, nodding and moving on. When the next bit of juicy advice is just a few lines down the page, it’s effortless to tilt our eyeballs the extra millimeter. In our quick-fix culture, lists are the Taco Bell of knowledge.

And also shares his solution:

When you find yourself saying “that’s a really great idea, I should try that,” stop reading. Pick one thing from that list of fifteen. Don’t worry about finishing the rest of the book. Try it. Practice it, repeat it, until it becomes routine. Remind yourself to consciously think about it on a regular basis. When you make that one item a habit, you can come back to the source and learn something else.

I feel this fits well with Lectio Divina. Take time to read, re-read, and meditate on this piece of human thought you've chosen to ingest. Truly ingest it; if it resonates with you, allow it to change you. This is what I want to do with Scripture, but also any topic that I enjoy; web design, typography, woodworking … you name it.


This means not learning or reading something that is of interest to you. But in order to have the time to change, this is a necessary step.

Our culture fights that very idea. Make the time!

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<![CDATA[ Being a leader ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/leadership/ 5e668748e2fe230038bf1e69 Thu, 22 May 2014 11:13:00 -0700 It can be hard to define the characteristics of a leader in our modern age. Many in leadership positions are corrupt, giving a bad example to follow. In younger generations (mine included), we often struggle to lead at all. Frozen by indecision, or worse, distraction, is a regular occurrence for many of us in the 20 to 40 age range.

We struggle to even identify what makes a good leader. And yet, there are those who just lead. We know it when we see it, although it can be difficult to articulate why. A true leader simply leads; it's part of what they do.

And there are different styles of leadership. The one that has been praised and sought after in the corporate arena in recent years is that of a servant leader.

For good reason!

What is servant leadership?

Simply put, it's seeking the best for those you manage. Wikipedia says it well:

Servant leadership is both a leadership philosophy and set of leadership practices. Traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid.” By comparison, the servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.

That last statement is a key component of the servant leader, especially in the area of a career. The leader (manager, supervisor etc.) wants to see the employees that he/she manages succeed, to have a fulfilling, satisfactory employment that challenges their abilities and allows them to put their gifts to use while at the same time learning new skills. This type of leader takes a protective stance towards those he/she watches over, defending their needs, championing their causes, and being their voice at different levels of the organization.

In my experience, it's far easier to sing the praises of this approach than it is to live them out.

So what makes a good manager? Rich Armstrong, who has been writing on this topic recently, sums it up perfectly:

… they should first want to help people.

Imagine that … going through life helping others is the way to lead.

This is not a new idea in any sense. The wikipedia article linked above mentions that this concept of servant leadership has been around for thousands of years. My thinking was the same; I know of no greater example of servant leadership than that of Christ.

When His own disciples were following their natural inclinations and striving for position, this was His response:

But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “ You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.

His willingness to serve for the better of others led to the grave. Which fits well with His teaching overall. As the apostle Paul stated:

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

This is the heart of servant leadership; if you love your charges as you love yourself, you naturally seek out what is best for them.

Leading from within

But what if you're not in a position of leadership? Personally, this is a situation I find myself in currently when it comes to my career. I've led teams in customer support, in application support, with large implementation projects. I've run a small team when owning my own business. And I'm in leadership positions elsewhere; my home and my church are excellent places to constantly improve as a servant leader.

But at Campaign Monitor, I'm a member of support team in a fairly flat organization. So how does servant leadership apply when you're not in a leadership position?

Exactly the same way as when you are in a leadership position.

It's taken me a bit to fully wrap my head around that. Working for CM has been an amazing time and great experience, but it's also been a change for me personally. After years of progressing through an increasing amount of responsibility, I came to a position where I had no vision to set or people to direct. That was a big change.

But the truth is, you (and I) can adopt a servant leader mentality no matter what position we're in. Doing everything you can to ensure your coworkers succeed is the best habit we can all adopt. You may not be setting the vision for your company or assigning work, but you can put energy into making your teammates the best they can be.

And if a leadership position comes your way one day, you're already practicing the most important aspect of being a good leader.


Truth be told, servant leadership is hard. We're selfish. I have often been a bad leader, whether it's at home, at work, or in other areas of my life. Putting the needs of others first, loving others as much as we love ourselves, is hard work.

But so worth it.

Hat tip to my own supervisor Mathew Patterson, a good servant leader himself, for the links to Rich Armstrong's writing.

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<![CDATA[ The Twitter web interface ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/twitter-web/ 5e6686d4e2fe230038bf1e5b Wed, 14 May 2014 07:12:00 -0700 Things change as you get older. I've been using Twitter for over 7 years now (7!) and my love for the service is the same. I don't put a lot of value in how the company is run, but the service itself has thankfully remained the same over the years.

The below was written originally for my weekly newsletter. Enjoy items like this each week for less than one coffee a month.

And up until very recently, I considered Tweetbot to be the ultimate Twitter experience. It took that mantle from the original Tweetie apps (back when they were Loren's and only Loren's). Simple, clean, easy to use and even a little fun. Over time, the Tweetie apps got worse and the web interface was a mostly terrible experience.

That has changed recently. I'm probably partly affected by the changes from iOS7. Tweetbot on my phone is still a very lovely (especially once they gave List support it's proper place) experience. But most days I find myself spending most of my time with the web interface.

It's clean, attractive, and for the most part, doesn't have issues. I like the inclusion of follows, RTs, and faves in the Notifications panel, where as Tweetbot only shows replies. It comes with the bonus of being in my browser, so any links or media I want to view is done in the ideal environment. On my phone, I often send items to Reading List simply to view them when I'm on my laptop.

In short, it's pleasurable.

This is not a change I would have predicted. I'm not sure how much of the credit should go to Doug Bowman, but my guess is heaps. The web interface has improved in functionality, looks, and performance in the last year. On the desktop, my launching of a 3rd party client are increasingly rare.

Kudos to the design team at Twitter for delighting unexpectedly.

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<![CDATA[ My favourite typographic resources ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/typographic-resources/ 5e6685d8e2fe230038bf1e43 Thu, 08 May 2014 07:11:00 -0700 Nothing gets me quite as excited as when I come across a type related link in Twitter or a published article in my RSS reader from a type focused site. I like to read about typography, see how others are mixing typeface, and learn about how to use the newer techniques that are making typography on the web better.

Over the years, I've saved bookmarks to various resources and tutorials. And below is the best of the best, resources I find myself using often. Peruse at your leisure! This list will also live on and be updated here.

If you have a favourite tutorial or type resource that would fit on this list, give me a shout.

Typographic principles

Curated resources

Curated examples

Resources for finding fonts

Targeted tutorials


Have a suggestion to add? Please let me know!

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<![CDATA[ Hoban Cards ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/hoban-cards/ 5e668583e2fe230038bf1e3d Thu, 24 Apr 2014 20:16:00 -0700 It's been a long time since I had a business card. Since I moved from the world of corporate IT to writing and design work online, I've had no need for them. When you're separated by a large chunk of geography, face to face meetings are few and far between.

My first blog and my Twitter account were my calling cards once I started getting involved in the Internet community. From those came Fusion Ads and a change in my career. In the 6 years since, I've never needed a card until this past year.

It wasn't until my wife and I started considering a move to another town that the need arose. Once I started to connect with locals who were remote workers or involved in the startup community, I realized having something to hand out with my contact details would be useful.

That's where Hoban Cards comes in.

Do it right

If you're going to carry around several pieces of dead tree with your name and details on them, they should look good. Evan Calkins has been doing that for people for several years now over at hobancards.com. I've long wanted to put in an order, but the lack of actual need had always kept me from pulling the trigger.

I'm glad for that.

The cards are printed on a sturdy stock of paper that gives a feel of quality. Of course, the nice type and letterpress print lend to that feel as well. Handing these out to people will be a pleasure.

And while the end product is a quality item, the process of putting in your order is also a good experience. Evan is fast to respond to any questions or modifications and pleasant to interact with. He's a swell guy!

His service is genius. If you're a designer and want to craft your own unique look, he’s your printer who can make your design sing. Just send him your design and he’ll get you the cards. But if you're not endowed with Illustrator skills, he's got you covered as well with the templates listed on the Hoban Cards home page. Anyone can have a well designed, attractive calling card for a good price.

I can't recommend the service enough.

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<![CDATA[ For the love of pen and paper ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/pen-and-paper/ 5e6684eee2fe230038bf1e31 Thu, 17 Apr 2014 11:08:00 -0700 As I have moved from one digital task management tool to another over the years, one habit has stuck with me consistently. That is the use of pen and paper in conjunction with my current app of choice. No matter what piece of software is saving, archiving, and (in modern times) syncing my projects, my day to day tasks have been scratched out on paper.

Why? If the tasks are captured in my digital tool, why repeat myself on paper? Why take the time, a longer amount of it as I type much faster than write by hand, to copy them down on a dead tree? Simply put, because I like it.

Here's why.

Time to process

A large reason I've kept up this practice is because I appreciate the time it requires. Especially the way I keep this habit. It's a sort of weekly review.

For me, the key is to take 30 minutes on Sunday afternoon or evening and plan my week. I start with a new page in my notebook and draw the days of the week out vertically (Saturday and Sunday share the last row). Then I start to review; first my calendar, then the page from last week, then OmniFocus.

For each day, I find two or three big rocks (Most Important Tasks) and write them on the left with a number beside it. Then, I add a couple of less intensive tasks, administrative type things, to the right. Each of those has a letter next to it.

This is my prioritization, but also gives me things to do in all moods and energy levels. There are never more than 3 MITs for a day (usually no more than 2 these days) because more will simply result in frustration as I know they will not be completed.

Now, I realize this could all be done in OmniFocus. I could tinker with perspectives and get a view that is very similar. But I cherish the exercise and taking the time causes me to closely consider each task and whether it's a good use of my time. Sometimes the slow way is the better way.

A good filter

Another benefit is that every task considered and captured in the moment is not necessarily a good idea. Ideas will come, but not all are ones I want to act on. Some are triggered by caffeine, some from outside influences. Not all are worth my time and energy.

At the end of the day, I like to capture all my ideas … but I also greatly enjoy scratching some of with an X on the side. Paper is a good filter in that I take that 30 minutes on Sunday and contemplate each item. It's at my most unplugged time of the week, which means I've been able to walk away from the firehose and remember where my priorities lie.

My tasks should mirror those priorities.

Manual labour is good for you

Writing with pen and paper is obviously not quite manual labour. The actual physical work and energy burned is probably the same as typing these tasks out. But still, there's something about the act of using your hands with physical objects.

I take pleasure in writing with a nice fine tipped pen on a quality piece of paper.

Fetish much?

On a similar note to the last point, I like notebooks! Finding a new brand of book with the right kind of paper and a nice grid is always a pleasure. And cracking open a new notebook is much more pleasing than starting a list or project in a digital tool like OmniFocus.

Each new book is filled with promise. Each new page has so much potential and can take a bad week and make the next that much better.


My “system” is truly hybrid. My day to day task management, for a large part, is done on paper. I'm not simply writing out tasks that I plan to work on, I'm also capturing smaller subtasks that arise from the work I'm doing. I love what OmniFocus does for me, but even planning out a larger project, I tend to brainstorm and sketch and get my ideas out on paper.

The digital tool keeps me up to date and synced across devices. But it's my manual tools that keep me going.

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<![CDATA[ Singular focus ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/single-focus/ 5e668499e2fe230038bf1e2a Thu, 10 Apr 2014 11:04:00 -0700 With the recent announcements made by the Dropbox team yesterday, I wonder if the file storage genius has lost its way a little. As a user of the service who has been paying for an account for 3-4 years, I've been a free evangelist since I started using it. I still am today.

But as the news hit , I started to wonder if Drew Houston and his team have started to shift their gaze as they've grown. And whether or not that's good news for the company and their customers.

Too much choice?

The primary cause for my thinking is the options that are now available. When I signed up for this service in 2009, there was one option. Just sign up. Your only choice was to use the free account with limited storage, or pay a monthly fee for a lot more storage. Today? My teammate Tim Swan summed it up well in our chat room yesterday:

Dropbox, Dropbox for business, Dropbox teams, Dropbox for personal and work... I'm getting awfully confused by Dropbox.

If a savvy designer who's been using the service for years feels this way, how will Joe User feel with all the options. Maybe some of the options are not targeted at Joe User, but if Drew Houston wants to compete with Apple as a digital hub for consumers, they'll have to focus on Joe and his kind.

Maybe it doesn't matter. As a happy user of the service, whose needs have been met by the original, simple option, I haven't paid a lot of attention to the newer options that have come available the past two years. But if I were to try to explain to someone the differences between Dropbox for Business and Dropbox for Teams, I'd be at a loss.

Perhaps that's not an issue at all. Certainly, people who've used Dropbox in a team environment have felt the pain points, which is the driving force behind these options being available. But, like a man in a grocery store looking for that one option his wife sent him for, I feel a small bit of pain at the number of choices Dropbox now offers.

Creating a separate app for viewing the photos you already store in your account is a no brainer for current users, simply giving them another way to view what's there (I love that icon). And it's a potential incentive for those free users, the ones on the 2GB plan, to sign up and pay and move all those photos to a backed up location.

But if you do not use Dropbox to store your photos, I wonder how Dropbox thinks this app will work. Of the three announcements they made yesterday, carousel was most focused on Joe User. The blog post from Drew yesterday was titled, A Home for Life, a clear indicator that the focus is on making the digital lives of the common American easier.

But what if you use Dropbox for work purposes? If you were to add your family photos to your Dropbox account, are they mixed in amongst photoshop comps and design assets for your website? Screenshots you made for that blog post? I guess this is where the Dropbox for Business option comes in handy, allowing you to use the service for both purposes, but with intermixing the two.

But that seems a tad complicated. Personally, I currently store my photo files in Dropbox as a part of iPhoto libraries. But I use Picturelife as a way to have another backup of those files, as well as a way to view the view photos themselves. Will Dropbox and Carousel make options like Picturelife redundant? Perhaps.

But I suspect that in time, many people will feel that mixing their file storage needs with their usage of consumable items (photos, movies, music) leaves a bad taste. This might be an example where two separate apps(services) might make more sense. Two options has the appearance of more complexity than one, but that can be an illusion when the one option requires complexity to attempt to meet multiple needs.

Mailbox for OS X

Last, they announced two additional versions of Mailbox. It's available now for Android, and a long anticipated version for OS X is in the works. If tackling file storage can be considered boring and un-sexy, email is the next logical thing to tackle. And a desktop version is the next step.

Email clients are easily interchangeable as most of us user services that sit behind the client, accessed via IMAP (do people still use POP3?). For this reason, I've been looking forward to trying Mailbox on my desktop.

Although mobile email usage is king of the hill, I personally do most of my email work on the desktop, simply using my phone for reading and some triaging. It'll be interesting to see if the features that made Mailbox popular will have the same effect on the desktop. Or, maybe the Mailbox team has some new ideas for the desktop.


As things currently stand, this utility application is the backbone of my computing setup and works like a charm. The changes yesterday can be a part of a larger focus; to be the hub of your computing setup. And if Dropbox has a vision to be a hub of all your computer usage, tackling file storage and email is a brilliant strategy.

But whenever I become uncertain of how the available options apply to me, I wonder about the overall focus or vision of the company behind them. But if there's a team other than Apple or Facebook that has my confidence, it's Dropbox. I have faith.

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<![CDATA[ The right mix ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-right-mix/ 5e668456e2fe230038bf1e23 Thu, 03 Apr 2014 12:32:00 -0700 When I first began to write online, I focused mostly on software and personal task management. Both topics fit well on a site titled The Weekly Review. Over the years, I've settled into my own comfort zone in regards to managing my tasks and haven't dedicated a lot of time to writing on this topic.

But during this last year, I have to admit I've been searching once again for a task management tool that better suits how I work. While I've experimented with a few options, I've kept some notes on both how these types of tools are designed and how we try to mould them to our personal habits.

Here are a few of my observations.

Making the switch

First, changing from one task management tool to another isn't quite as simple as switching Twitter or email clients. Those categories of software tie into a central source and simply display the same information in slightly different ways. It's slightly more complicated than that, but not by much. I can easily switch from Tweetbot to Twitterific, or from Apple Mail to Airmail at the drop of a hat.

Task management tools take a little more work. But if, like me, you have a fairly lean way of managing your responsibilities, it's an exercise that can take less than an hour.

Uniqueness

One thing that has caused me to try the many different options available (besides my fetish with software and a lack of discipline) is that none of them feel quite right. Why is it so hard to find tools that fit our personal needs?

Partly because the everyone is a little different and no developer or team can meet the needs of each individual. I would imagine that many developers write apps for themselves first, believing that others will have the same needs as them. Some teams build the tools to adhere strictly to a particular philosophy. Whatever the reason, it means that many tools will fit 80–90% of your needs.

But it's that 10% that keeps you looking at the other options.

Include your vision

It can be easy to fit your concrete projects and their small steps into a task based tool. But what about your larger goals? Items like "Teach the children to be critical thinkers" or "Pursue my wife like we're not yet married" are the kinds of things we think about at New Years, but they should really be meditated on over the year if you want to see progress. Why not include them in your tool of choice?

This recent video from Paul Boag discussing the OmniFocus 2 beta struck a chord with me (the pertinent bit starts at 7:15 into the video). He keeps his high level goals as the top most folders in OmniFocus. If a project comes his way and doesn't fit into one of those folders, he asks himself whether he should really be spending time and energy on it.

Which is always a wonderful question to be asking of anything. Time and energy are limited; we have to choose where to spend it.

The candidates

When I first became interested in this category of software, fresh off of reading Getting Things Done, the options were less plentiful. Much so. At the time, I was working in IT for a large corporation, meaning Windows was my daily OS … the options were almost nonexistent.

So when Things came along, it was love at first sight.

Over time, I tried all the options as the editor of a site focused on web software. Finally, I settled into OmniFocus and found the tool that best suited my workflow and habits. The iPad version especially; it's the best task management tools I've ever used.

However, if found myself once again seeking other options last year. There were two causes of this and I hope I'm mature enough now to say that an itchy finger and curiosity were not included.

The first was that I now lead a team of men at my church in taking care of the building and grounds itself, as well as various legal and tax related responsibilities. OmniFocus (and most desktop based options in this category) is not well suited for sharing tasks with others. The second is that I am a little slower to update to the newest version of a piece of software these days. And with the entire lineup of OmniFocus apps due for a major version change and hence, a new transaction required, I knew I'd be paying more money to stay up to date.

And so I was back to looking for a better tool.

Teuxdeux

Late last year, I made the switch to using Teuxdeux as my primary tool for managing tasks. Coming from OmnFocus to Teuxdeux is a little like switching from a Swiss Army Knife, one with all the bells and whistles and toothpicks and nail clippers, to a simple pocket knife. Albeit a very well designed, quality pocket knife.

This is an application that has been designed purposefully. It's intended to be minimal. It sports a clean design and the layout encourages you to only include the things you want or have to do each day. It fits my needs really well in one aspect. I tend to keep all my tasks and responsibilities in my tool of choice, but I work day to day off of paper. I always have. Teuxdeux fits nicely into that way of working.

Where it breaks down for me was the totality of everything I need to track. I really appreciate the design and if I had less going on in my life, it might have been the tool of choice for me. Here's what I like about it:

  • it sports a very clean interface and UX
  • ever since Jonnie Hallman got involved, the speed and performance have improved nicely
  • it comes with a very fast iPhone app that includes some slick animations and a pleasant to use UI
  • with this tool, the focus is on today … I love that
  • if something doesn't get completed today, there's no worry of losing it because it simply slides over into the next today (tomorrow)

Here's what didn't work for me:

  • there is no ability to share tasks with others and I like to keep everything in one tool rather than have half my tasks in my own tool and the other half in Basecamp or the like
  • it has recurring tasks, but the functionality is not like what's available in a tool such as OmniFocus
  • the last, and most important, issue was volume … Teuxdeux couldn't quite handle all my stuff

To get into that last point a little further, I have several majors areas of responsibility in my life. Each of those has recurring tasks I have to remember (I used a single items project in OmniFocus to manage these) as well as various other projects that have a specific end goal. Teuxdeux includes lists at the bottom half of he interface that can be used for specific projects. That works somewhat well, but once the number of those lists grows large enough, the usage becomes problematic.

Overall, this is a great tool that I enjoyed. But the points of friction were enough to keep me looking.

Asana

Truth be told, I started to use Asana while still using OmniFocus and Teuxdeux last year. Why? It works very well with teams.

I gave Asana a look when it was first available, but no more than a glance. Over time, it matured quite nicely and being web based on focused on teams, it was a solid option for me to assign tasks to my guys at church. When I decided that Teuxdeux was not quite going to fit, I decided to try keeping everything in one place. Since I was using Asana for some of my church projects, trying it for everything was a logical choice.

Again, this is another well designed service that has been built purposefully. It's intended for teams, completely.

Likes:

  • the ability for a small team to use it at no cost
  • each of these guys can use email to interact with me without having to log in to the app itself
  • the little touches like color coding on a task assigned to a teammate
  • the well done help documentation

Dislikes:

  • the iOS app is slow and cumbersome
  • the inability to view all your tasks across workspaces
  • being web based, getting tasks into the app has more friction that the desktop based options

On this last point, I found Asana less than ideal. I don't keep a browser open at all times, so having to open Safari, type Asa, then add a task to the correct workspace was more cumbersome than other options. Asana does allow for emailing tasks, but it comes with problems. Each workspace requires a different email address to specify which workspace to put the task. If you forget to specify the correct from address in the email, the task can end up in the workspace. To make it worse, you cannot drag and drop a task from one workspace to another in Asana.

At the end of it all, the ability to quickly dump something from my head into my Inbox was vital. Any friction at all in that process was problematic … I hate needless tasks being in my task list, but it's better than missing important tasks because they didn't end up in the right spot. A good review will take care of tasks that don't belong in there or aren't worth my time and energy.

Again, this is another nice tool that works well for 80% of my needs. I'd recommend it to anyone who works in a team environment and it's a nice alternative to Basecamp.

Full circle

Here I am today, back to OmniFocus as my tool of choice. It's ease of use on the desktop are top notch. And if it's overkill for my needs, it's designed well enough that the features I don't need do not get in the way. And the improvements in the desktop version make it an even better choice.

The sync between versions (and online backup) and easy entry alone make OmniFocus great. But the Forecast and Review features of the iPad and desktop beta versions are fantastic. I've yet to see another GTD type of tool that incorporates these concepts into the UI. I live in the Forecast view about 90% of the time I'm using this tool.

You could look at all this as a waste of time, but I consider it time well spent as it causes me to evaluate how I process my work and ideas.


I'm convinced that unless we all build tools for ourselves, we'll never find ones that fit perfectly. That's okay.

There's always going to be a little elbow grease involved to mold our tools to how we work rather than the other way around. And as long as I'm seeing progress in my work, I'm happy to check out new options from time to time. I'll get to the right mix one way or another.

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<![CDATA[ Memberships, newsletters, and hot sauce ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/hot-sauce/ 5e668404e2fe230038bf1e19 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 11:00:00 -0700 It's been just over a year since I added a support page to this site and made it possible for readers to become members. In return, members would receive updates on my personal projects and the site newsletter. It's pretty typical of site memberships — nothing radical.

Why earn anything at all off writing? Anyone who has run a site consistently knows the time and effort involved. It's not mandatory — the content will still be published here. But if readers want to help out and feel the content is worth something, it's nice to have the option available. So for the price of a coffee each month, you can support this site and my writing. I personally like to support the writers I enjoy when I can.

In year one, I was hoping to replace what I earned from having an ad on my site. And it did just that. This year, I'd like to make a more serious commitment.

The newsletter

Last year, my newsletter was consistent. For about 6 months. It was monthly and I shared various items of note, plus the progress on various personal projects.

This year, it will be a weekly publication. I made the decision early in 2013 to remove link list style posts from my site, simply because those entries didn't seem to have a lot of lasting value in that format.

However, I really enjoy pointing out various articles or resources and sharing short pieces of opinion with my online acquaintances. That's part of what this newsletter will be. In addition to sharing items of interest to me, the newsletter will continue to give insight to my other work, as well as how to cultivate creativity in the midst of our busy lifestyles. As a father in a home with 4 homeschooled children, I hope I have some helpful tidbits to share.

So if you're interested in a lovely email coming your way each Saturday to enjoy with your weekend coffee, here's your chance!

The giveaway

Another common tactic for promoting site memberships is to have some prizes. I like this approach for two reasons. First, as a reader, it gives me a chance to win a prize I'm probably going to enjoy. Since the people I read tend to have similar tastes to me, the prizes usually align with that.

Second, and more importantly, it gives me a chance as a writer to promote some of the services I enjoy or admire. It's the community that drew me to using a Mac and becoming involved in the web & design world. So having a chance to point readers to the products and services built by great people is something I enjoy. And giving stuff away is even better.

So here are the prizes available for all existing members and anyone who signs up by midnight, PDT on April 16th:

  • 3 messenger bags from Behance (made by Rickshaw bags). These aren't even available any longer … collector's pieces. I use one personally every day and love them!
  • 1 mStand from rain design
  • 2 hard cover copies of The Shape of Design by Frank Chimero
  • 5 copies of Delight is in the Details by Shawn Blanc (audio version)
  • 1 order from Hoban Cards (design of your choice). I ordered my own cards from Evan and love everything about his service!
  • 3 licenses for LaunchBar (upgradeable to version 6 when it's available), my favourite digital swiss army knife
  • 3 licenses for Kirby, the CMS I use to run this site. If you like simplicity & flexibility, Kirby is the jam!
  • 3 winners will get 1 year free with TeuxDeux, the task management service for people who just want to get stuff done
  • 3 winners will get 1 month free on the Memberful Pro plan ($25). This service powers the site memberships and I can't recommend it enough!
  • 3 winners will get 2 months free on the Red Pen Pro plan. Built in part by my ex-teammate Matthew Farag, Red Pen is the slickest way to get feedback on your ideas and projects.
  • 1 copy of everyone's favourite magazine, Offscreen
  • 2 packages of my favourite notebooks (a mix from Rhodia, Behance, and Moleskine)

A huge thank you to all my friends who were willing to support me by making these great prizes available. Hugs & kisses all around!


The fact that we live in a time where small, independent creators can be supported is wonderful. For all who've supported my writing over the years, I thank you. I'll continue to do my best to honour the attention you give this space!

Join now: monthly or annual plans available

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<![CDATA[ Winning the lottery ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-lottery/ 5e6557875f45ba003827a6a6 Thu, 27 Mar 2014 15:56:00 -0700 Driving to an appointment recently, I felt the familiar urge to check my email while waiting for a light to change. Ignoring for now the aspects of looking at our small screens while driving, there is a danger in this urge all on its own. The need to be up to date at all times is a lie. A myth. And it's one that should be removed, ruthlessly, from your thinking.

This is not really a new idea. In 2014, most of us are self aware and recognize that the incoming stream of "updates" are probably not healthy. But how many of us have taken concrete steps to stop the habit? Judging by the rise if mobile when it comes to metrics such as online payments, email opens, and page views … not many. Most of us need some help.

A change in perception is needed.

The problem

As many studies are showing, the updates we receive stimulate our brains in ways similar to playing the lottery. Dopamine is involved and seeking pleasure is the name of the game. Each new email or Twitter reply holds the potential for something exciting. A win!

Now that we've had the Internet ingrained into most of what we do, we're experts at seeking out this potential. What's wrong with all this seeking? The reasons are plentiful; overstimulation, poor sleep, lack of engagement, and inability to focus are a few. The last really hits home for me. Making anything of value takes time and mastering a craft requires deep concentration.

But the real problem here is not the technology itself, but our perception of value. We've elevated the mundane to the top of our priority list and allowed the possibility of news from someone else to take precedence over our own work. That scares me.

To change our habits, we have to change our values.

This is not a hack

There's a reason the title of this article is not "5 Ways to Hack Your Brain". The solution to this problem isn't to trick your brain, as if it were an animal that needed training.

Instead, we need to believe that the value we receive from completing a piece of complicated, hard work is more valuable to us than the latest update. Or that a prolonged period of no stimulus is something to be enjoyed and savoured. That a lengthy deliberate conversation with a friend, neighbour, or child is worth our energy.

And if changing what we value more is the goal, the tool to make this change is not found in a list of bullet points. It's self discipline, nothing more.

As adults, we learn to appreciate many acquired tastes. How many of us enjoyed that first cup of black coffee, or the first beer? Appreciating silence, purposeful periods of being unplugged, or deep concentration is something that can be learned. But it usually requires discipline at first to make yourself create the opportunity.

So give that to yourself. Take half a Sunday to unplug and take a walk. Or read a book. Or write something several thousand words long. Whatever you enjoy. Just be sure that you give yourself a long enough period of time that your mind says, “What's next?” And you answer, “Nothing … we're staying right here!”

Once you acquire the taste for depth, your perception of what is shallow will change accordingly.


I'm as bad as the next guy, but I'm learning. I do my best to squash that urge that comes when I'm waiting for the light to change, the line to move, or every time I have two spare minutes in my house. And batch email processing, scheduling social media breaks, and turning off the router at night all help.

But most of all I desire to have higher values.

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<![CDATA[ Publish with Day One ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/publish-with-day-one/ 5e6557485f45ba003827a69f Thu, 20 Mar 2014 10:46:00 -0700 Last week brought the launch of Publish from the folks at Day One. It’s not a new app, but simply a new feature of their existing app. And although I haven't used it yet, I must admit it feels like a potential big change, one that could move this fantastic tool in a new direction. Or, allow it to be used in a completely different way.

I've known it was coming and liked the potential of it. It's had me thinking about the implications of a personal journaling tool that allows for the creation of public entries. Is it good? Bad? Something I would never use? Will this type of thing take the focus of this team off the original purpose of this app?

I don't have those answers yet. But many users have now stated that this feature is something that will get them writing more, or using Day One as a blogging tool. This gets me thinking about the purpose of the app itself.

Everything buckets

As I have begun to use Day One for an increasing number of different types of writing, I'm hesitant to make it an everything bucket. I do love the flexibility of the tool, but I've learned over time that I prefer to use the best tool for each job, rather than use a tool that serves multiple purposes decently well.

To date, I'm using Day One for personal journal entries, logging home maintenance tasks, and for tracking progress (the lack thereof) of personal projects. I've considered using it for other purposes, such as writing draft blog posts, because Day One is a good writing environment.

But haven't taken that step to this point. Partly this is due to my hesitancy, but it's also partly due to the fact that I already have great software applications that are more specifically suited to those tasks. I still write mostly in iA Writer. And although I can see the utility of sharing personal journal entries with just family members, I already do that with Notabli.

A blogging app

Shawn Blanc mentions that it's been an impetus for him to journal a little more often, in order to share entries. But what about just writing and publishing those items on your blog? Does adding a second place to write and store your shared thoughts add value or complexity?

I admit, when word of Publish first came out, I was excited about the potential. Time has caused my excitement to wane. But there are both positives and negatives to using Day One in this way.

Positives
  • convenience: you're already writing in this tool and turning an entry into a shareable item is dead simple
  • simple: you don't have to pay for hosting or fiddle with servers
  • markdown: baked write into the writing environment
  • the folks who make this app are good people and have the right vision … I believe they'll get this right
Negatives
  • control: there's less of it … you have full control over the journal entry, but the published piece is owned and controlled by the Day One team (my assumption) and I'm a firm believer of running your own site so that you have full control over your content
  • editing: how useful and easy is it to go back and edit a piece that had been published
  • findability: if you share a number of items using Publish, how easy is it for readers to go back an deferent an entry from several months back? A year back?

I'm hesitant to use it as a full blogging tool, but I can see myself sharing the occasional entry for now.


Full disclosure: these are all thoughts from one who has not even used the feature to this point. My mind my change, but I'm confident I'll stick to keeping personal stuff in Day One and keep posting items I wish to share right here or on Twitter.

But imagine if Day One ever included the ability to push content to other services (WP, tumblr, etc) à la Mars Edit. That would definitely push this tool in a new direction.

Day One is one of my favorite apps and I will continue to use it every day. How I use it is where I'm less sure.

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<![CDATA[ Remote(ly) working ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/remote-working/ 5e6556465f45ba003827a695 Thu, 13 Mar 2014 14:34:00 -0700 Remote working has become so familiar that even more traditional and conservative entities like banking and government agencies are starting to pay attention. But despite all the talk about how to run a successful remote team, there's a lack of focus on what it takes to be a good remote employee.

What does it take to be a good remote worker? Like most things, the answers are varied and flavoured with a healthy dose of 'it depends'. But my experience as a business owner with a small remote team and as a remote employee have led me to a few conclusions.

Overcommunicate

This is a no brainer, for sure. And every article on remote working will mention this idea. That said, it does bear repeating.

When it comes to digital communication, every point, idea, or decision needs to be repeated.

The statement deserves its own paragraph. The reasoning for this repetition is twofold; visibility and spirit. The former is critical for there is no communication when one party has not received, seen, or heard the message. The second is only slightly less vital to a successful exchange; it's what ensures that the receiving party correctly interprets the intention of the message as well as the message itself. And because remote working out of necessity uses digital communication as the default, the spirit of the message is that much more important. The likelihood of miscommunication is that much greater when 95% of the cues in communication are not present.

And so I'll say it again. Communicating is the hinge pin of a remote team. If you're a remote employee, both your employer(s) and your teammates will need to communicate with you. Whether it's water cooler talk and animated GIFs in the chat room, design comps to your creative director, or weekly summaries to the CEO, you're better off sending each message more than once.

Overreaction is a killer

Due to the possibility of communication going pear shaped, overreaction is one of the primary hazards of a remote team. All it takes is to read one email or one sentence in the chat room in the wrong tone and your entire day is shot.

In these circumstances, assume the best. If you're not sure of what a person's saying, ask. Reacting negatively (with anger, or hurt) when you've misunderstood is a waste of energy. Be sure that what you think you heard is indeed what they said.

And if in fact what they have to say is hurtful or makes you angry, you're still better off underreacting and overcommunicating. Talk it through.

Participate

Another issue with remote teams is the ease with which a team member can slip away. Not in the "gone-to-the-bathroom" sense during the day, but a slow removal and of themselves from the team over weeks, a gradual switch from engaged and participatory to silent and isolated.

It's not a secret or surprise that mental health issues are a concern in the design and development industry (and every other industry). But with the increase in online connections, it's easier now for humans to slowly detach from face to face relationships. We know this is unhealthy and damaging — human touch and looking others in the eye are essential to a happy life. But the transition can be slow and largely unnoticeable from up close.

In remote teams, we need to watch for signs that this is happening. In the busyness of the day with emails, support tickets, tweets, and IM, this can be hard to do. If you work on a remote team, you can help by making sure you participate in the team's activities.

You don't have to join in every session of GIF bombing or each linkfest, but be sure to chime in at least a couple of times through the day. Take time from the queue to comment on the latest feedback request on the company intranet. Or just share one improvement you were happy to see with one or more of the team members who were responsible.

And going beyond your own participation, watch for teammates who've gone silent. Give them a private message, ask them about their lives, or just say hi. Because we're separated by space and time, we often have little insight into what's going on in the lives of our teammates. One word of encouragement can be just what the doctor ordered to brighten up that person's day and stop the downward spiral.

Iterate on your environment

Another danger with remote teams can be what you do with your time. Because your team and your supervisors are not in the same space, it's easy to get away with blowing away the time. It doesn't even have to be watching the last episode of Game of Thrones or trolling Reddit … working on your own side projects can be a temptation when you're on the company dime.

One way to battle that temptation is to be constantly looking for side projects that can improve your team’s ability to create a better experience for your customer. And the options are so various that you can find a piece of work that suits your interests. On our support team at Campaign Monitor, we have this opportunity and the activities can range from writing a post for the company blog, mocking up an improvement to the application, improving your internal documentation, or taking a course on using APIs. The opportunities are there — a good remote employee is looking for them.

You can most likely do an adequate job all while keeping one eye on Buzzfeed all day. But to excel as a remote employee, find something that enables your teammates to do their own jobs better.


Again, there are probably a multitude of other ways to be a great remote teammate and employee. These are the ones I've observed in running a completely remote company as well as working as a part of a larger, hybrid team. The benefits of this type of job situation are so very amazing that I personally have a desire to make it as good as possible.

For me, that starts by recognizing what I can do as an employee and keeping those points in mind throughout my week.

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<![CDATA[ Using iCloud for file storage ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/icloud-storage/ 5e6554c75f45ba003827a685 Fri, 07 Mar 2014 20:23:00 -0800 As a long time paying Dropbox customer, I'm quite accustomed to not having to to think much about saving my files in the cloud. It just happens. And so when I find myself in a situation where I have to use iCloud instead, I notice the differences.

It would seem that Apple has plans for iCloud to be the type of service customers depend on for their every day storage needs. From my experience, it's not yet at a place where I can make it a major part of my computing setup.

Application focused, not documents

iCloud is configured to fit Apple’s vision of simplified computer usage. So the file system is something not easily accessed by the user. Where as Dropbox is a complete sync of your file and folder structure, iCloud simply stores files by application and the user is not presented with the file system at all when saving or opening files.

I can admit that there are certain scenarios where this would work for me. And there are many people for whom this is adequate. But when I'm working on something that requires multiple files in different applications, I find myself wanting the “old way” to be available.

App specific

Two recent scenarios have been a trigger for me thinking about this subject again. I've been teaching adult Sunday school classes since January, so I've been using Keynote a lot. And this was about the same time that I started using Writer Pro on my iPad. The latter does not yet support Dropbox (it's coming). And while the former can make use of Dropbox and the file system on OS X, the iOS version does not.

This really hit home for me when I was at TypeCamp in January. I really wanted to go over my slides on the plane ride home using my iPad. Being able to do so was great, but the steps required to get it there were onerous.

You have to save the file to iCloud within the desktop version. Then, on your iPad, refresh the list of iCloud files. Once you see the one you're working on, open it on the iPad. Not, now only is the process less than ideal, but you lose any sort of special formatting with your slide deck. Typography being the big area where you lose out.

All of this could be overcome if the benefit of reviewing and editing my slides were beneficial enough to be done on the iPad. But because it would cause me more work in the long run, I've not made the step.

Of course, this is only one application. And as slide shows are very personalized (or, they should be), perhaps it's a poor example to use. But it's simply one of the tasks where I've actually had the desire to use the iPad as a content creation device. And the experience was lacking overall.

The example is also more on the subject of creating with an iPad rather than iCloud storage. But without the one, the other is not required at all. I've simply continued using Dropbox with my slide decks rather than iCloud. There are no benefits to do so, only drawbacks at this point.


I certainly appreciate iCloud and the amalgamation of OS X and iOS. It's made certain areas of my computing life much more lacking in friction. But the improvements have come at the same time as Dropbox (and other web services like Rdio), so it can be hard to differentiate between the improvements overall.

In the end, computing for a Mac user has been simplified. That's a good great thing.

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<![CDATA[ Keep it simple ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/web-animations/ 5e6554665f45ba003827a67e Fri, 21 Feb 2014 13:30:00 -0800 A few recent trends in web design get under my skin. Any site that employs a heavy use of parallax, animations, or hijacks the natural scroll behaviour drives me batty. Although this is partially my own preference, these tactics can take away from the experience of the site visitor (user).

But is there still a place for animation and other enhancements in web design? I have been to the point where if I see any of these items employed, I would simply close the tab. But I've seen a few compelling arguments and examples lately that have me reconsidering my distaste for anything animated.

A firm foundation

Fundamentally, a web page should be created on good writing and a well thought out architecture. It should be easy on the person reading the site; no difficult decisions should have to be made.

But once the foundation is in place (good writing, solid typography, a clean & sensible architecture, plus supplemental media like photos and video), what then? Is there a way to add a few flourishes with animations or other tactics? Maybe there is.

A good example goes a long way

Although I see a lot of bad examples in the course of a week, there are some good ones out there. The Pencil site developed by Jonnie Hallman for Paper is a great one (no, not that Paper, the first one).

The design is very clean and attractive, it scrolls like butter (very important), and towards the end there's a small bit of animation with the Pencil. It's a small addition that adds to the core message of the page, rather than take away.


A List Apart recently featured a couple of articles that also made the case for this type of treatment to a site design. I think Val Head summed up this topic perfectly:

When used as more than just a subtle design detail, animation can provide cues, guide the eye, and soften the sometimes-hard edges of web interactions.

When the goal is to add to the experience, I think there's a place for these tools (the on boarding experience with the recently launched Slack is another good example). But when they're employed for the sake of using a fun piece of technology, it's painfully obvious that your core message is lacking.

If I never see another copycat parallax site again, I'll be a happier man. But with a slightly more open mind, I'll be keeping my eye open for good applications of these tools in order to improve my own work.

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<![CDATA[ 6 weeks with Writer Pro ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/writer-pro/ 5e6553bf5f45ba003827a669 Thu, 13 Feb 2014 08:45:00 -0800 It's been 6 weeks since I purchased Writer Pro for my iPad. As a very happy iA Writer user, I was eager to give it's successor a try. The concept of a writing workflow definitely appealed to me, albeit with a large grain of salt.

All comments and opinions below are based on my time with Writer Pro for the iPad. I've not used the desktop version to this point.

The feature set and announcement for this application excited me. Having firsthand experience with the previous version left me with a confidence in the people behind it. If anyone could take an already great writing experience and improve on it, it's the team at iA.

Early feedback

I admit that it took me a while to jump in and make the purchase. After all, I've grown tired of paying for upgrades to apps I already own. On top of that, early reviews were a little scathing, despite what the App Store blurb and iA's site had to say about it.

Without quoting anyone specific, the general sense was this:

What a waste of money! The various states of each document are just a change of font and colour! You lose your notes.

The basic complaint was this: Writer Pro took what iA Writer offered and added 4 different fonts and shades of colour to differentiate what phase of the writing workflow you were on, as well as syntax highlighting. And since the workflow seemed to not fit the needs of people, customers were dissatisfied.

Add to this the fact that Writer Pro was lacking two features of its predecessor (Dropbox integration and Markdown preview), early adopters seemed to feel like this was a bad $20 decision.

And I must admit I was a little skeptical that it would fit as well. As anyone who writes is aware, we all get to the end destination (a published piece of writing) in different ways. Software that claims to fit your workflow rather than forcing you to mold to its interface should usually be taken with a dose of skepticism. But again, my time with iA Writer allowed me to give the folks at iA the benefit of the doubt.

I can count the number of times I used App Store comments to evaluate a potential purchase on one hand. But this was one of them.

In practice

Near the end of December, I made the purchase and immediately started to use Writer Pro in place of Writer. I did so even though it had been confirmed that a document started in Notes mode would simply be in the exact same state when converted to Write mode. The font and colour of the icons change, but your content is exactly the same.

I wrote several blog posts and Sunday school lessons in Writer Pro. My flow was like this: create a new document, start plugging away, then get close to a finished product. Nowhere in there was changing the status of the document useful. I tend to take my close to finished product and put it into the environment it will live in. My site for blog posts, Keynote slides for adult Sunday school. I prefer to see how it looks in the end destination. Any tweaks are made there.

Suffice to say, my experience was like many others. Nothing in Writer Pro improved my writing experience. And the lack of Dropbox support and Markdown preview actually meant Writer Pro was a worse tool for me than Writer. To be fair, I expected this. A tool with a specific workflow will always take getting used to. You do have to evaluate your workflow, then adapt to the tool (hopefully only a slight adaptation).

The overall reaction to this aspect of the service seems to have taken iA a little aback. They've since changed their marketing of the app on their site, stating that the workflow is intended to be document based. What does that mean exactly? Simply this: you create a document for your notes & research, then a new one when you're ready to write.

Fair enough, but it only raises more questions for me. How do you refer to your notes when writing? Did they intend users to create yet another version of the same document for editing? Reading? The more I think of the vision, I can only assume the intention was that people would buy versions for each device. You refer to your notes on your iPhone or iPad while you write on the desktop. The application seems not to have been intended as a purchase for only one device. Their introductory blog post indicates this may be the case:

Mostly, the iPhone was used for taking notes. In direct opposition to that popular “consumption device” claim, the iPad is a relentless drafting machine. Editing functionality like Syntax Control will prove most useful on a Mac.

So, having time to use Writer Pro (on one device) and read through the documentation again, I come away with the feeling that the application was intended for a particular type of writing. The vision is for long form pieces, books and papers perhaps. The workflow certainly seems a little lacking when it comes to blog posts or other types of shorter content.

What about syntax highlighting?

I'll be straight up; I've not even used this once. Not that it couldn't be useful … I think it could. But it hasn't been a part of my workflow in the past and I haven't yet made myself change my writing habits.

My focus when considering purchasing Writer Pro for use as my primary writing environment was the workflow aspect. In time, my opinion may change as I (slowly) put this part of the application to use. There are others who feel this aspect of Writer Pro does not actually improve your writing.

But I'm going to give it a chance. It doesn't hurt to have this type of information available.


To be perfectly honest, I have hopes that this app will be a part of my toolset in the future. My time using iA Writer assures me that the talented folks at iA know what they're about. Writer Pro will improve and I can imagine it being my main writing tool at some point.

Just not yet.

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<![CDATA[ Reading vs. processing ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/unread/ 5e6553765f45ba003827a662 Tue, 11 Feb 2014 08:00:00 -0800 I've observed developer Jared Sinclair via his blog over the past several months. Like many things online, I can't quite recall what took me there the first time, but I subscribed and have enjoyed reading his site. He has a passion for good software and this comes through in his writing.

Over the months, he's been posting about his then-to-be-upcoming RSS reader. That app, Unread, was available last week. Although happy with Reeder, I was interested to see what Jared had come up with.

My disappointment

Upon seeing Jared's announcement that it was available, I checked the app out. I was surprised to see that it was for the iPhone only. Jared posted shortly after his design decisions for Unread … you read that and I get the impression that he's the type of developer that creates apps I would enjoy.

But as a reader, I only use my phone to read when I'm in between places. And that reading is very shallow, a cursory look at items that would be consumed in more depth at some later time. So I had hoped that there would be an iPad version as well.

My other thought when first looking through the screenshots and reading the app description was that Unread was intended for articles to be read in-app. When I say this, I mean that this particular feed reader is designed in a way where you consume the content in the application. And while I love Whitney and the design is lovely, I've long been of the opinion that an author's works should be viewed in the environment that he/she created.

And so I closed the app store link and went on my way.

What changed

8 days later, I must say that I purchased Unread and have been very happy with that decision. What led to this change of mind? First, there was the review of my buddy Shawn Blanc. I respect his opinion when it comes to software and he made a few points that kept me thinking about Unread.

It’s not that there’s anything in particular. There’s just a simple elegance to it. The app is well designed and nice to use.

When I finally purchased the app, the first few minutes proved Shawn's points to be true. The app is clean and easy to use. It's a very pleasing experience overall.

But what caught my attention the most was the lack of stress I felt when reading with Unread. Let's be honest; when it comes to reading blog articles, stress seems like an odd word. A feeling that should not apply. But I believe it is a symptom of the environment. In many of my RSS apps, it feels like an inbox, one I need to prune every so often. This amidst the busyness of my work queue, my task manager, Twitter, and IM notifications. I need to get through that list of unread items quickly.

Because of the design, Unread does not have the same feeling. Why? Because Jared understands modern apps and computing environments and did not want to repeat it. In his design decisions article, he alluded to this point:

I think it’s important to reiterate what I wanted Unread to be. I didn’t make it to be a feature-for-feature replacement for an app you may already be using. That would make Unread merely a thin coat of paint on old ideas.

But before that, months earlier, he shared his vision for the app while he was still building it.

Most RSS apps are patterned after email. Noisy parades of dots, dates, and tags trample over their screens. Their source lists look like overflowing inboxes instead of stately tables of contents. Toolbars bristling with options obscure the text. Putting it bluntly, using these apps feels like work.

Well said. And his solution:

I made Unread because I wanted to get back to a more deliberate style of reading. I designed it for times of quiet focus. With warm typography and a sparse interface, it invites me to return to the way I used to read before I fell into the bad habit of skimming and forgetting.

Not quite right

In my initial trial of Unread, I was enjoying what Jared was describing (although I had forgotten his words above until I started writing this post). But something still felt off. There was a slight discomfort, like a t-shirt that has a great design, but doesn't fit quite right.

I examined this closely. I had to look at my RSS habits to understand why I felt uncomfortable (beyond the regular discomfort of trying a new app). It became obvious quickly. My RSS feeds have three different types of content; articles to read, items to process, and items of an educational purpose, to be archived for later reference.

The first type work perfectly in Unread, which is, as Jared intended, a lovely reading environment. The second type do not fit well in this app. I'm talking about my Dribbble feed, my office porn, and font examples in the wild. These are items that are, for lack of a better word, processed. They are not read at all and I realized are best handled on my desktop.

The third tend to go to my read-it-later service to collect dust and die … but they simply also need to be processed and handled differently than my articles to read.

Once I recognized the different types of items that I had collected via RSS over the years, the solution was obvious.


And so I now use Unread to enjoy good reading from authors I admire. I will sometimes read the article in Whitney in Unread, sometimes in the built-in browser with the owner's intended environment. Both are enjoyable in the app and I recommend it to anyone.

Just remember Jared's vision if you decide to the $2.99 plunge:

The point of Unread is to give you an opportunity to change the way you read. Its design can only take you halfway there. I urge you to prune your subscriptions down to the writers you care about most.

That's basically what I did. I unsubscribed from items that I was processing in RSS. I still do that, but I simply use a group Bookmark in Safari to run through those every day. And if while using Unread I come across an item I want to refer to at a later date, I add it to Reading List (an in-app option — thanks, Jared!).

Reading in Unread is a joy. I'm glad I gave it a chance.

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<![CDATA[ Web Type West ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/web-type-west/ 5e6553255f45ba003827a65c Thu, 06 Feb 2014 14:00:00 -0800 I had the privilege of attending the most recent edition of Type Camp, lovingly titled Web Type West. The simple fact of being at a conference can be enjoyable on its own. Being at one where the entire focus is a topic you're very passionate about … the enjoyment is greatly magnified.

There were four speakers I was familiar with and was looking forward to the most. But others were also entertaining and informative. Here are some highlights!

Grant Hutchinson: can you see me now?

With a focus on accessibility, splorp displayed his love for the base on which the web was built and viewing sites in Netscape 4. Seriously.

In the first days of the web, text came first.

And now?

Current processes involve adding layers of additions to your primary content.

Grant gave some great examples of non-semantic, meaningless HTML from sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Text marked as bold in the HTML, yet is not bold. Empty tags.

On using Netscape for his evaluation of sites:

Netscape 4 understands JavaScript, but it's old, sipping-lemonade-on-the-porch JavaScript.

He summed up his talk with his tips on building for the web:

  • Be semantic
  • Use a logical flow of content
  • Make CSS and JS enhancement optional

And finally:

The web is text!

Zara Vasquez-Evans: Typography for Interactive Design

An interactive designer I was not familiar with, Zara made some good points in her talk.

Clarity in the organization of content is often ignored.

Amen! Further to that point:

Typography is the invisible workhorse of interface design.

She also listed her thoughts on the basic tools that any kind of designer has at his/her disposal. These are:

  • Contrast
  • Scale
  • Space
  • Hierarchy

Of course, using the first three well will result in a decent hierarchy. She also discussed the three modes of interaction that users or readers will have with content:

  • Glance
  • Scan
  • Read

She focused on how the tools we have available can be used in different ways depending on the user's needs in different contexts. These three modes of interaction will require that the four tools be used accordingly.

Her talk could be summed in one of her final statements:

A strong hierarchy is a critical element in creating content.

Brian Warren - thinking typographically

Brian gave one of my two favourite talks for the day. I summed it up in this tweet. He made a lot of good points and his passion came through. This statement is a good overview of his point:

Typography is an opportunity to care.

It was clear from the start that Brian was sharing something he has a passion for. Along with his children and beer, typography is what "gets him up in the morning".

Logic & whimsey. Head & heart. They give us an opportunity.

I enjoyed Brian's talk the most because he was coming from the perspective a front end developer.

A highlight in my design career was rediscovering my love for the baseline grid.

His talk started with Part I Scales, Modular, and Otherwise … topics that made my heart flutter. The good news is that there was no Part II, leaving him talking about grids, scales, and how to use Sass to make this all easier.

And the purpose of it all:

Having a grid in place can enable the designer and developer to talk more about principles than pixels.

Solid gold, right there! Fibonacci and the Lost numbers also made appearances in his slides, so he walked away with the best talk of the day award in my mind.

Stephen Coles: how to select the right web font for your project

The talented stewf started off with some definitions. What is a typeface? A font? And why are there so many and why should I care? His answer could be summed up as such:

Typography can immediately evoke feelings, emotions, and cultural attitudes.

And so, making the right choice for each and every project is vital. He spent a good bit of time in his talk using the analogy of a typeface being like a chair.

A page is like a room. Type is the furniture.

It's a good analogy and he interspersed examples of lovely type with examples of lovely chairs throughout the talk. He focused on how form and function must be balanced and this is important for both typefaces and furniture. Gridbutts were also mentioned.

And so, how do you choose the right type?

It depends on the user. It depends on the context.

He also discussed how we still need new designs in type because new uses are being discovered. And as classic chair designs are being improved upon, so are classic typefaces. A great talk from an expert in his craft and my other favourite for the day.

André Mora: line height, just right

Last, André Mora spoke about he importance of well laid type on the web. He's passionate enough about this that he does not use Read It Later services or Reader modes. If a site does not look good or read well on its own, he does not visit it.

I don't have any take away quotes from his talk, but I appreciated his recipe for a successful web project:

  • Know your story
  • Understand the context
  • Know your screen size (trim)
  • Select your typefaces
  • Set your font size
  • Decide on your line height

The whole is better than the parts when all the above are carefully considered and done well. And last, André finished his talk with one of the best points of the day, encouraging designers to:

Read what you design!

Nuff said.


There were two other speakers I was able to take in. One was Kevin Larson, a member of Microsoft's Advanced Reading Technologies team. I must admit, this was one talk that had not piqued my interest. But Mr. Larson did a fantastic job describing the process they went through creating a font that was as readable as possible — the content was fascinating. If you care about words, language, and we process it, check out his essay here.

Sadly, due to a lack of flight options and a Sunday morning teaching engagement, I had to duck out before the last two speakers were finished. One was Luke Dorny and I was very sorry to miss his talk. It sounded like a winner!

If you have any interest in typography, Type Camp is an event I highly recommend. Even you're not passionate about it, bringing good typography to the web and understanding this fundamental aspect of design is vital for anyone working on the web.

And so I give a big thank you to Shelley and her team for bringing Type Camp to Vancouver and for a great event!

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<![CDATA[ Face to face ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/irl/ 5e6552bb5f45ba003827a655 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 07:20:00 -0800 As mentioned last week, the Campaign Monitor team got together recently for our annual meet up. As the team grows, having a meet up like this becomes increasingly expensive, both financially and administratively. It's also absolutely vital.

Although we live in an incredible time from a technological perspective, there is still no replacement for face to face discussion. Full on interaction between two (or more) human beings requires being present in the same physical space. So while having remote positions allows you to hire the best people regardless of location, being able to get the best work from those people is only possible though the best interaction possible.

I'm so very blessed to work for a team that understands this.

Converting the chat voice

In the past year, our team has grown a good bit. And even though I've worked along side many of these people for chunks of each day for months, there is no price you can put on having a real voice to go with someone's "chat voice".

That moment when you meet in person and then spend an hour in conversation is essential. Suddenly, you realize that the person who seems so lively and animated in the chat room is actually pretty mellow. And maybe a little shy. It changes your perception. It's not good or bad, just … different.

You are able to understand that person more fully. To know them. IRL.

Best of both?

Mandy Brown recently talked about this subject in Making Remote Teams Work. Having contributed my thoughts to her research, I was glad to see that, as a whole, people are mostly in agreement on the strengths and weaknesses of remote working.

One item that most interested me was her point that in a hybrid team, it's best if everyone spends at least some time in the remote role. She states:

It’s necessary for everyone on a team to adapt to remote work, even those who continue to commute to a traditional office each day.

So, so true. At Campaign Monitor, we are a mixed team, with the majority of our designers, developers, and sys admins in the Sydney head office. Basically, those who contribute most to the application are in the same place. This has been an area where we've needed to improve. And I'm glad to see that during the 18 months I've been there, the team (our leadership specifically) has strived to improve. And improve we have.

As Mandy states, overcommunicating is essential. Or, said more simply, communicate as if you were remote, even if you're not. The entire team will benefit from it.

Behind the avatar

Since joining Twitter in 2007, nothing has become more clear than the fact that we only see a part of the person online. When I meet coworkers or Twitter friends in person, I'm always struck by the fact that the avatar I look at every day is a two dimensional view. Their real face, in its three dimensional beauty, is the same, yet so very different at the same time.

This reality goes beyond the physical, obviously. As mentioned above, the way a person carries themselves in the chat room can be vastly different from how they speak in a crowded room or on a quiet bus ride. The non-verbal bits of communication, the idiosyncrasies of each of us, add to the overall picture. Suddenly, the avatar becomes a much more clear version of this person in your life.

It's so true for those you look up to as well. I love coming up to those who've admired from afar, saying hello, and then being hit with the realization that they're so very real and less intimidating than expected. Being very good at what you do does not equate to looking down on others, on me specifically. It took some face to face meetings for me to realize that.

I'm so glad I did!


I can say that the Internet and Twitter relationships altered the path of my career. For that I am thankful. And now that I can work from anywhere, I'll be doing my best to make sure those people become more real to me through meeting in person.

I want the whole picture.

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<![CDATA[ On the court ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/on-the-court/ 5e6551fa5f45ba003827a63f Wed, 29 Jan 2014 14:34:00 -0800 During my high school and college years, I learned quickly that there were kids who were much better basketball players that I was. Playing with them was often an exercise in humility and frustration. And I took every chance I could to make sure I was included in the games with people better than me.

Why? Because it made me a better player. And fast.

Although our nature can be to run from situations like this, we can all learn to relish them as well. The moments of frustration are the catalyst to improvement. And while humility is a trait you want to stick around, the frustration will disappear over time.

Our annual Campaign Monitor took place just over a week ago on Oahu. I was once again reminded of this fact of life over the course of the weekend, talking with teammates and during a couple of meetings. For a small team (< 75), we have a ridiculous amount of talent! And when I look at the work of my teammates and what they've accomplished, I feel like I'm back on the court again, playing with people who are miles ahead of me.

I wouldn't have it any other way!

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<![CDATA[ Getting to half full ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/getting-to-half-full/ 5e6551cb5f45ba003827a636 Fri, 03 Jan 2014 20:32:00 -0800 You don't have to live to long in this life to see that the mind is a powerful thing. Never mind the science, trillions of neurones and synapses and all the rest. No, think instead of state of mind. The ability to influence outcomes purely from how you perceive them.

I've spent most of my 38 years as a glass half empty kind of guy. I'm not talking a donkey Eeyore level of negativity, but complaints have always tended bubble up from within and then proceed to roll off my tongue.

I was thinking this last night as I shovelled another 15 CM of heavy, wet snow for the seeming umpteenth time this year. How easy it is to look at what's wrong with a situation instead of what's right. Thinking of how time consuming snow removal is comes immediately rather than recognizing how the exercise has benefitted this old body, how beneficial this time is to a mostly sedate lifestyle.

That's just one easy example; sadly, it has a lot of siblings.

A new intention

Clearing snow to begin the New Year was a great opportunity to reflect (another benefit of clearing snow is it's like taking a shower … the mind is free to roam) on this reality. I've noticed it a lot in our children — complaining is a habit that comes naturally for humans. A factory default, if you will. As I've begun teaching them, correcting and guiding, it's helped me to recognize the weakness in myself. And so I intend to make a change this year.

And I definitely want to see this change occur in my children, but I have selfish motivations as well. I know I'll be better off and more joyful with a proper mind set. And the benefits of a consistent positive outlook are multitude. Here's a couple that come to mind.

Misery loves company

Complaining makes it easier for others to be negative as well. I've seen this in previous work places, as well as my home. When one person starts to complain, it can encourage complaining or a negative attitude of the other people around.

I'd like to be the person who's consistently buoying people's spirits instead.

The lizard brain loves a good gripe

Seth Godin coined the term Lizard Brain.

The resistance grows in strength as we get closer to shipping, as we get closer to an insight, as we get closer to the truth of what we really want. That's because the lizard hates change and achievement and risk.

Complaining makes never launching more of a possibility. This is negativity at its finest. I've let a few projects go in recent years, taking longer than I should to get them out into the open. Part of that is due to simply not believing in them enough.

2014 is a year that will change!

Life is blessed

Although this world can be terribly painful and heart wrenching at times, there's so much to be thankful for each and every day. I know that's easy to say from the comfort of my North American life, but I do believe that life itself is a gift. Being created in the first place is a blessing in and of itself.

Every day affords me the opportunity to praise my Creator for His work, including my own existence. Complaining is saying to Him, “Your work is not that great.”


If I want to see change in my children, to see a positive mental outlook in their lives, it starts with me. I hope that 2014 is the year I stop complaining by default.

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<![CDATA[ Getting started with Sass, part II ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/sass-2/ 5e6551755f45ba003827a630 Thu, 19 Dec 2013 07:43:00 -0800 A few months back, I wrote an introduction to Sass. Targeted at beginners, it was focused on how a person can quickly start using Sass with just a few of the features available. The premise was (and still is) that you can add it to your workflow and then expand your knowledge and usage over time.

This article is covering the basics of Sass and is targeted to the novice web developer.

Today, like most of us, I can't imagine ever going back to writing vanilla CSS. Variables alone are so very worth using Sass. And as I've begun to use a few more of the tools Sass provides, a follow up post seems appropriate. With the new year around the corner, here are a few other ways you can make your more readable and more efficient.

Nesting

Sounds pretty obvious, right? Perhaps this should have been included in my first article. But at the time, I was focused on using Sass to eliminate repeated chunks of code (variables and mixins). Since then, the power of nesting has become more clear and is another way to reduce your typing.

Instead of this:

nav {
	margin-top: 2em;
	padding: 2em 0;
}

nav li { display: inline-block; }

You can shorten this up like so:

nav {
	margin-top: 2em;
	padding: 2em 0;
	li { display: inline-block; }
}

What is really nice is that nesting in Sass is very readable. In fact, I'd make the case that it's more readable than naked CSS in this regard.

Nesting properties

Hat tip to Dan Cedarholm on this one. I had never noticed previously, but you are able to nest several properties that start with the same namespace. So if you have an element where you are specifying various text styles, you can write it like this:

nav {
	margin-top: 2em;
	padding: 2em 0;
	text: {
		align: center;
		transform: uppercase;
	}
}

I have to tell you, my OCD is off the charts with this one. I write all my styles alphabetically … to be able to nest several of those styles together. Fantastic!

Referencing parent selectors

Another way to reduce typing and the number of lines in your files is to reference parents in Sass. The most basic example is the hover state for an element.

.button {
	@include rounded-corners;
	color: $coffee;
	padding: 1em;
	
	&:hover {
		color: $tea;
	}
}

Rather than repeat the .button class name in another declaration with the :hover, I can simply include it in the styles for the element itself. This is pretty straight forward.

But there is room for confusion with this one as the syntax is not quite as straightforward. You can use the & to undo styles that were specified elsewhere in your document. What if we wanted all our buttons to be coffee colored except for one in our search form? We can do this:

.button {
	@include rounded-corners;
	color: $coffee;
	padding: 1em;
	
	&:hover {
		color: $tea;
	}
	
	.search & {
		color: #FF4400;
	}
}

Now, instead of the coffee color being applied, any element with a class of button within an element with a class of search will be a lovely bright orange.

There are a few options available. So use with caution and don't go overboard as you're learning.

Mixins, revisited

One area I've found myself looking to improve is mixins. It's easy to find yourself wanting to use an existing mixin on an element, except that you have one property that you'd like to be different. What should you do? Create a completely new mixin? Override that one property with a messy, overly specific declaration? Thankfully, no.

Mixins can accept arguments, something not mentioned in my original article. The syntax is straightforward.

In the example, I've not included all the prefixes for the border-radius property. That would be another good use of a mixin. Or, you can use a tool like Grunt to add those before deploying to production.

// First declare your mixin with an argument specified
@mixin rounder-corners($degree) {
	border-radius: $degree;
}

// Now use your mixin for an element and pass the argument
.button {
	@include rounded-corners(4px);
}

I've specified that my button element should have rounded corners and the radius should be 4 px. This is great way to use a repeatable chunk of code in various places while still allowing for unique characteristics to the element in question.


These are just 4 more examples of how useful Sass can be. And again, once you have Sass set up, you only need to incorporate a couple of these into a workflow at a time. It allows you to grow at your own pace.

Enjoy it!

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<![CDATA[ Apple's office applications ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/iwork/ 5e65512d5f45ba003827a629 Thu, 12 Dec 2013 05:13:00 -0800 Sometimes, in order to move forward, you have to take a step backward. This can be a hard step to take, especially when others will be affected. But if the end result hits the mark, the temporary pain can be worth it.

That's what Apple did this year with its three “office productivity” flagship applications. The suite formerly known as iWork. Along with the overhaul of iOS and release of OS X Mavericks (10.9), the iconic hardware company made major change to Pages, Numbers, and Keynote.

The changes made could be categorized in three ways:

  • a paring back to a core feature set
  • a refinement of the UI
  • an applied consistency across OS X and iOS

The branding of these apps could be included here as well. Gone is almost all mention of iWork from the Apple site. Older support documentation still mentions the name, but most references are the three separate application names.

People are still searching for the name, but Apple is removing it from their marketing.

Just the basics

I have to start by mentioning that I am no power user when it comes to these types of applications. I do not create large spreadsheets performing complicated calculations. Nor do I create a lot of presentations. I mostly create several spreadsheets a year for things like budgeting and personal accounting, along with a good number of Pages documents for church related activities.

Because of this, the changes that Apple made to the features available in these three applications was barely noticeable for me. A power user would be much more affected. And from the complaints voiced this fall, it's clear there are some people out there for which this was an inconvenience. But I wonder if those numbers were relatively small.

Apple has made similar moves with some of their other software, even their "Pro" applications. They are a company who are not afraid to make some moves that bring short term criticism, but (hopefully) result in profits over the long haul. So far, despite missteps like Ping, they've been more right than wrong.

The changes to their productivity applications will bring the same results. Just as most normal people are flocking to iPads because they don't need a lot of the abilities (and complexities) that a laptop provides, I'm guessing most people won't notice the lack of power features in Pages, Numbers, and Keynote.

UI refinement

What has struck me the most is the improvement of the interface. The changes are indeed refined. Overall, it's a similar look and feel, but a more enjoyable experience.

Specifically, gone are the annoying modal windows, replaced by a nicer Format drawer within the primary document window. The tool bar is consistent across all three applications for OS X, aside from a couple of application specific options.

Although I only use a couple of Numbers documents per year, I use them a lot. The small changes to the interface here have added up to more enjoyable, efficient experience. It's hard to put the change into words … polish is the best description I can use.

When it comes to software, I like polish. A lot!

Consistency across platforms

If you take the look of Pages, Numbers and Keynote on iOS versus OS X, they look different. And with the different hardware devices in use, that makes sense.

But what is consistent across the two operating system is the consistency of the three apps themselves. The toolbar for each application on iOS is the same. The colour is different, but the locations of buttons, the buttons themselves, and the features they provide are similar.

As well, the location of the buttons on both OS X and iOS are mostly consistent. The Format button, represented by a paintbrush icon in all nine versions (desktop, iPhone, iPad), is located on the right side of the toolbar.

The user will not mistake a desktop version of these applications for the mobile version. But neither will they find themselves confused when switching between the versions of the applications. The consistency in the structure and the interface are enough for that be a non-issue.


I'm calling these changes a success for Apple. I felt that way moments after opening the new version and almost two months later, that feeling has not changed. I know well the frustration of having a feature you rely on be removed by a developer, so others may not agree with my assessment. Hopefully Apple follows through on the promise to bring back some of the removed features over time.

Either way though, the improvements to these three applications will have mass appeal and meet the needs of the average person, something that Apple has excelled at.

]]>
<![CDATA[ Abundance ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/water/ 5e6550dd5f45ba003827a624 Sat, 30 Nov 2013 14:32:00 -0800 As you age, you begin to understand the truth in the old adage “you don’t miss something until it's gone”. This past week, another similar phrase has rung true in the Bowler household: “you don't miss the water until the well runs dry”.

We’ve been having some issues with our water for the past couple of months. Mostly a low amount of pressure. After a lot of consultation and investigating, it all came to a head this week when our well pump died completely. Such is the way of things when you live in the country. A 30 year old electric motor 300 feet underground only lasts so long.

4 long days later, and several thousand dollars, we have running water again. Yay!

Taken for granted

So many truths in our lives are ones we can appreciate from afar, but do not truly understand until we experience them. For me, this week has shown me the importance of having water available on demand and just how much I've taken that for granted all my life. Hardly an earth shattering realization, but it's been profound regardless. Here in Canada, clean, fresh water is in such abundance that we can use 300 gallons a day without a blink.

But once you are forced to live on a limited supply, your appreciation grows. This has been illustrated multiple times over the past three days. Melting snow in the bathtub. Brushing the teeth of our four children with half a glass of water. Heating water to wash dishes in water three inches deep.

What then?

I despise myself when I experience a situation like this and fail to make change. So I'm focusing on two ways to live differently going forward. One is to use less water (and to be more mindful of consumption overall), an obvious change. The second is to give more support to those who are focused on bringing clean, accessible water to those who are living without it.

An example of this second change is organizations like Charity:Water. Cameron Moll has worked a lot with them over the past few years and I've donated to an occasional campaign. But many times I've let it pass by and our family has focused on other missions. Going forward, clean water will be a bigger focus of where we put our dollars to work.


In North America, we are blessed in so many ways. I have to remind myself to make use of these blessings in such a way that people with less can also benefit from the wealth of our countries. I encourage you to do the same!

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<![CDATA[ The maturation of Safari ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/all-grown-up/ 5e62ba4083ba3f0038452fc4 Thu, 21 Nov 2013 14:44:00 -0800 Since it's introduction in 2003, Apple’s Safari has changed a good bit over the years. It's a web browser, obviously, but it's grown to be more than that. It's actually an application for which browsing the web is the primary feature. But it's the secondary features that keep me using Safari as my main browser, and enjoy using it.

Of course, all the major web browsers are now applications that allow you to browse the web as well as many other things. But what makes Safari most attractive to me is the overall design of these secondary features. For me it started last year when Instapaper was sold and I gave Reading List my first look. And after several weeks of using Mavericks, I noticed that I'd begun to use — and quite enjoy — some of the new additions as well.

Evolution of the Bookmarks Bar

It starts with the Bookmarks Bar. Or, what used to be the Bookmarks bar. Now simply referred to as the Safari Sidebar, this is where you can access your saved bookmarks, Reading List articles, and browse links that have been shared by those you follow on Twitter.

What I quite like about this change in the Mavericks version of Safari is that it's now very consistent across devices. The design is more aligned with iOS and the consistency gives a pleasing experience … familiarity is something that should not be underestimated!

Cohesion

To expand that last point, one of the main draws of Safari is that I'm a loyal Apple fanboy. And with 3 devices that are all used in slightly different contexts, having all my information available one application that is consistent across the devices is an advantage over other options.

Of course, this is not exclusive to Safari. Chrome and Firefox offer bookmark syncing as well. The advantage for Safari is that as a part of the operating system, it can tie many other items together with iCloud syncing. Passwords via Keychain, Twitter & Facebook accounts, and contacts all make sharing and other tasks easier with Safari.

Shared Items & Automatic Updates

When Mavericks was introduced at WWDC earlier this year, the ability to have automatic updates from websites in the notification center caught my attention. With Google Reader shutting down, I wondered if there was potential to replace it with this new feature in OS X.

It's still early, but both the lack of web sites using this feature and the fact that I dislike notifications overall have left me not using this at all. But to my surprise, the Shared Links option in Safari has really grown on me.

With no intention of ever using it, I found that several times opening the sidebar would result in the Shared Links being in view rather than the Reading List. And it turns out that it's a fairly pleasant way to find new items to read. Of course, I can do the same in my Twitter client of choice. But I find Shared Links is a quieter, more peaceful way to look for a good article. It gives you the discovery aspect of Twitter, but with less noise.

Now I find myself accessing Twitter in two different ways. If I want to engage in conversation, or even simply read along conversations and see what people are up to, I open Tweetbot. But if I have a few spare minutes, I find myself opening Safari and perusing through the Shared Links to find a good read. As a discovery mechanism, Shared Links has been a great addition, one I did not expect, nor was even looking for.

The mechanics of the feature may need some tweaking over time. If you click a link in the sidebar, it opens in a tab, but includes a header on the top with the details of the tweet. You can also read the article, then continue scrolling to automatically visit the next item in the Shared Link.

I'm not sure yet if I like this treatment, or would simply prefer the link to be opened in a new tab with the details left in the sidebar. But I'll admit, being able to click the person's avatar, which then opens a page to their Twitter account, is a nice tough.

Overall, Shared Links has been a welcome addition to my browsing toolset.

A little more on Reading List

One nice thing that has changed since I posted my thoughts on Reading List in May is the adoption it has seen in other applications. One item of friction was that apps like Reeder and Tweetbot did not include Reading List in their Read Later services.

But now Tweetbot has Add to Reading List baked right in. I assume other apps will follow as Reading List gains popularity and this simply makes it all that more attractive to me.


At it's core, Safari is still a web browser, a tool for viewing content available on the web. But having other aspects packaged in with this viewing tool is ideal; saving items to read at your convenience, storing items you want save permanently, and finding new items of interest are perfect uses for a tool that can view them all.

Viewing. Saving. Discovering. And all available in a well designed application … a sign of maturity.

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<![CDATA[ Cultivating contentment ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/expectations/ 5e62ba0783ba3f0038452fba Mon, 11 Nov 2013 14:11:00 -0800 In the past several years, I have worked on several side projects that have never seen the light of day. For those who are not familiar with my story, I cofounded Fusion Ads and ran that business for several years before selling it late in 2011. While I was running Fusion, I launched several other projects … some to mediocre success, some to no success at all.

When you start a business that does well, then move on, there is a constant internal pressure to repeat your success. The purpose of the business can be a completely different direction, but you have this expectation that you will make it work.

For me, the pressure is partly from my own expectations, but also partly because there is a following of people who you still want to impress. We could debate the whether that's a valid motivation, but to deny its existence would be foolish. We all like to be at least a little Internet famous.

But what happens when a couple years pass and you still haven't launched the next thing? Here's what I've been learning.

Silent side projects have value

It was November 2011 that I completed the six figure sale of a successful business that I helped start from the ground up. Two years later, it's so very easy to look back and say to myself, “What have you accomplished since then?” In terms of replacing a business that made more than $30,000 each month, the answer is, “Not much!”

But I have worked on several ideas that were eventually scrapped, put on pause, or are still in progress. I've learned to take some satisfaction in these, even the cancelled ideas, because of one truth: my skills have grown by working on these ideas. I'm reminded of this importance every time I start a new project. My skills in design, UX, typography, and front end code would be much weaker were it not for spending the time on these projects.

Some great scenes end up on the cutting room floor. Some photos never make the spread. And some projects never see the light of day.

Pivoting hurts

Our current state of business in web circles is still very focused on the startup mentality and business plan. And while this has a lot of problems, there are some things to learn from it. One key lesson I've learned from watching the start up culture is that a lack of clear direction and a valid business plan from the start is a great way to have an unsuccessful idea!

The lack of a valid business plan can lead to a successfully launched product or service that will fail due to a lack of profit. A lack of clear direction can lead to jumping around from one project to another. Knee deep into the hard work of one project is exactly when inspiration for another idea will strike. The temptation to change focus or to “pivot” is always strong at this point. Starting a new idea is very often more exciting than completing the last 20% of the current project.

How does this apply to a one man team? Simply this: I only have so much time to allocate to my own projects, so I'd better have clarity with what I'm doing. Otherwise, hours are wasted and side projects remains just that … projects rather than businesses.

Side projects are not the end all

Last, I've also learned to take comfort in the idea that side projects are not the most important part of my life. There is much more to life, something I've talked about before. There are too many books I want to read, experiences I want to share with my children, and skills I want to learn that don't involve a computer … these each have to compete for the time I've always given for side projects.

To explain this, I have to back up to the time before Fusion Ads when I was working in corporate IT. I was tired of the politics and glacial progress found when working for a large, faceless entity. I knew that if my situation was ever to change, I needed to make this happen outside of my regular work hours. And so early mornings and writing became my normal method of operating.

Even when the change was complete and I worked for myself running a successful business, I still kept up with this habit. Early mornings were most often spent on work, tinkering away on client work or side projects that were not related to my main income stream. A habit that has been in place for more than five years is a habit that is hard to break!

Now that I'm a position where I don't necessarily have to do this, I'm trying to be at peace with where I am. It's so easy to always be looking to the future rather than being thankful for what you have now. And for the entrepreneurial type, it's hard not to focus on when you'll be running the show once again.

What I'm finding is that having a great job can help so much. If you're in a place where you earn a good living, are empowered, and have the opportunity to work on projects that grow your skills in areas that interest you, this internal pressure starts to lessen. Maybe I can just relax and work a normal work day, rather than always putting in those extra two hours in the morning.


Side projects are still in my future. I have a very clear focus on what kinds of products and services I'm willing to work on. And progress is being made, slow though it is.

I'm okay with that.

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<![CDATA[ App fatigue ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/app-fatigue/ 5e62936283ba3f0038452f7f Mon, 04 Nov 2013 11:23:00 -0800 A major factor that drew me to the Apple and OS X (pre-iOS) was the strong community of independent developers. The applications and utilities that were available because of these devs were so far from what I was used to in corporate IT and the Microsoft dominated, locked-in-licensing environment. Making the change in my career was partly due to my desire to pick my own tools.

And so I have always believed in the idea of paying for these wonderful tools made available by 3rd party developers in the Apple community. Paying for great tools is a no brainer, especially in light of the way free web services treat their users (the currency). I am happy to pay for good software. And iOS coming on the scene did not change that.

At least, not at first.

How many versions?

I must admit, I've felt a bit of what I term app fatigue in the past year. What is this? Simply the lack of desire to either a) pay for another version of an app I already own or b) go through the steps required to update this app and become accustomed to the changes.

It could be that this (slight) change of heart on my part arose because of iOS7. Since Apple made the biggest change the operating system since its inception, many developers decided to do the same. And rather than just update their apps and keep them at the current version, they have mostly embraced the opportunity to launch a new version, one that is in line with the conventions of iOS7, and charge for it.

And the developers should not be blamed for this, not in most cases. A few examples of great apps from talented people whom I enjoy supporting are examples of this upgrade: Tweetbot 3, OmniFocus for iPhone, Fantastical, and 1Password4 on OS X.

On the flip side, there were a handful of great apps that were updated but only made the update available to current customers rather than charging for a new version. Day One on the iPhone is a good example here.

For me, the desire to upgrade a tool I use does depend on who is making the offering. I have no trouble spending $2.99 on a new version of Tweetbot. But some companies have shown less regard and proper planning over the years and this keeps me from upgrading and continuing to use their products. The entire history of Littlesnapper/Ember from RealMac software is the freshest example for me.

The cycle

The cyclical pattern of Apple’s refinement of current products is certainly astounding. Only the most hardcore Apple hating tech pundits with their head in the sand cannot see this. Even if you don't like Apple, you have to appreciate their operational efficiency. And their balance sheet.

But if there's one thing I do not appreciate about Apple, it is their drive – and ability – to promote perceived obsolescence. My Twitter feed is a testament to this during and after each Apple event in the year. People are happily buying a brand new phone every year despite the fact that their current phone should last at least five. At least!

And this cycle has spilled over in to the software side, where indie developers treat each new version as an opportunity to refine their own product up the version number, and charge for it again. Not that this is wrong; in order for them to continue their business, they have to.

But as the consumer, I have to admit I grow tired of paying for the same app three or four times.

Not just coffee

Before you tear in to me hard, please hear me out. There are some apps for which this makes sense. And the cup of coffee argument we have heard so often does stand up to these types of apps. Like Fantistical or Tweetbot … paying $2.99 every year or two is obviously not a big deal.

Where I noticed my fatigue kicking in however, was with OmniFocus. Search through the archives here and you'll see I'm a big fan of OmniGroup. But when I first heard that even though I've already paid over $100 to have a version of OmniFocus on all of my devices, I would have to purchase all three again to keep up to date, I definitely started to question this cycle.

Not everyone is rolling in disposable income. So even with cheap applications, we each have a limit for how many apps we can purchase each month.

Other choices?

One positive from this change in development cycle is that the previous versions of many of these tools work alongside the new version. When Tweetbot 3 was available on the App Store, you could purchase it and have it living beside Tweetbot 2. So if you have no desire to change it, you can just keep using the old version.

Don't use it at all

Another option is to stop using the app, completely. Does that sound foolish? Perhaps. But I'm always looking for opportunities to untie myself from my devices and this is one way to do it. Put a little more pen and paper time back in my life!

Dance with the one that brought you

The best option for me, one I have been moving towards the past couple of years, is to use the tools you already have. I mentioned at the top that the indie dev community was a major factor in my move to using Apple products. But the biggest factor, one that should not be overlooked, is that OS X is the most enjoyable, refined operating system available.

Although OS X was a lot rougher around the edges in 2006, that was still a true statement. And even more so today. Every time I find myself experiencing friction or frustration with a software choice, or notice a lack in my toolset, I start looking for options with Apple's free software that I already have in my possession. This strategy has served me well.


The common refrain is to compare these complaints with coffee purchases … then to stop complaining. And for a $2.99 app, this holds water. But for some cases, not so much. I love OmniFocus, but I have no plans to upgrade the iPhone version anytime soon. It also has me reconsidering how I manage tasks and whether or not OS X (or pen and paper) can meet my needs.

I hold nothing against OmniGroup or other developers for their choices. From the sounds of things, it appears that running a profitable business via Apple's App Stores is getting harder all the time (maybe 7 billion apps available isn't such a good thing after all?).

I'm simply trying to be honest about how I'm feeling as a consumer. The current cycle of software availability and updates has me considering how I can simplify my toolset and use what Apple gives me on my devices. There will always be those holes to fill and I'm still happy to pay for a good tool. But I'm starting to be a little more discerning of where my app dollars will go.

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<![CDATA[ Good support is vital to your business ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/good-support/ 5e62930b83ba3f0038452f78 Thu, 24 Oct 2013 11:21:00 -0700 Along with a handful of coworkers, I spent the past week in San Francisco. Our primary reason for being there was to attend Userconf, a one day track focused on support. Admittedly, I had very little expectation for this event. Not low expectations, but simply no expectations at all as my attention is usually on conferences that focus on design, development, and creativity.

But as someone who provides support for a SaaS product, I must say I was pleasantly surprised.

Support in our industry

Providing support for a SaaS product, especially one that offers complex features, is an interesting thing. It's entirely possible to staff your front line support with the typical call centre staff, people who can read from a script and pass you through a gauntlet of options. But you may not stay in business for long with type of support.

If you want to show your customers that you care, it starts with your support team. And giving good support for a SaaS product means you need talented, intelligent, and experienced people doing the support. To illustrate this, my own teammates are the perfect example. The following are some of the problems we help customers solve every day:

  • why images in an HTML email are cutting off text in Outlook 2013
  • why AOL bounced emails to 450 subscribers and how to get better results with email campaigns
  • how to configure custom authentication in the DNS settings of your web server
  • how to use web fonts in HTML emails
  • why engagement and clean lists are so important with email marketing
  • help customers solve basic problems when using our API, in various programming languages

This is just a small sample of the issues we deal with at Campaign Monitor. On top of this, you have your typical password resets, "how does this feature work" questions, and lengthy sales inquiries. Oh yeah — we offer our service as a white label opportunity as well. Variety is the way of life for a Campaign Monitor support team member.

Further, knowledge is not the only requisite for the job. You have to be able to be a good listener (reader) and ensure you understand what the customer is asking. And of course, you have to effectively communicate with the person who needs the help … and so the ability to write with empathy and clarity is the most important skill in this type of role.

It takes a unique individual with a varied background to have the right skill set for working in support in the current state of the web.

Keeping them around

And yet, despite having a unique skill set, support staff are rarely viewed in the same light as the creators: designers and developers who build SaaS products and services. You don't usually see the same type of respect afforded to these people. And even in an industry where service is given a little more attention, you only need to look at the average salary for a support member to see that most companies do not value this role as highly as others.

And yet, the case could be made that these people will have the biggest impact on the success or failure of a SaaS product. They interact with the customer. Every. Day. They're the first interaction most customers have with your brand after the sign up process.

So many support teams see members come and go. It's the stepping stone for "more respectable" jobs. This can be okay in certain organizations, but most of the time it simply results in lower quality of support for the customer. High turnover means training, re-training, and undocumented processes … your customers suffer, and usually the bottom line does as well. Keeping support members who are good at the job is vital.

So how do you ensure this happens? From my experience, three things help a lot. First, pay them accordingly. If the support team is vital to the success of your business, then make sure they are paid well for what they do. Specialists, like designers and developers, are paid for their depth of knowledge in several key areas. But a support team member should be compensated for their required breadth of knowledge … they are the purposeful generalist who has to have a good level of understanding of a lot of different things.

Second, give them ownership in your team. Make support a part of the process of building your product. By the nature of their role, they have a great understanding of the pain points in your software, the areas where customers are feeling a lack. Each team’s process might vary, but include your support team in it so that they feel validated in their contributions to the company and that they have a hand in the final product. They'll want to give the best support possible when they've had a hand in the creation of what you offer.

Last, give them autonomy. This happens a little bit by default in a remote team, but treat your support team (your entire team) like responsible adults. Give them direction on how to do their job, certainly. But then just get out of the way.

I'm very thankful to work for a company with founders who understand the importance of support to the customer experience. There's always room for improvement and we can always do better, but our support team is paid well, treated well, and have insight into the future of our product. I am blessed in this job!

Userconf

Back to the subject at hand, Userconf. Created by Sarah Hatter, founder of CoSupport and former member of 37 signals, and the folks at UserVoice, this is a conference that is focused on the people who grease the wheels of most SaaS companies and startups. The repeated refrain of the conference was, “You are awesome!” And they believe it.

It's good to have people recognize the importance of the role of support workers. You simply have to think back to the support you've received from large organization like your bank or ISP. There's nothing good to say about those experiences and no one wants to have them. A good support experience stands out!


After one year at Campaign Monitor, I've been pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed my time here in support. Primarily, this is due to the enjoyment I get from working with this team. Quality people with talent and a passion to do the job well makes for an infectious work environment.

I hope you all have (or give) leadership that allows this type of team to grow and thrive.

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<![CDATA[ Take control of desktop applications ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/moom/ 5e6292ac83ba3f0038452f6d Fri, 11 Oct 2013 08:04:00 -0700 Whether you work from an office, home, or a co-work space, web workers tend to spend time both using an external display and the display on a laptop. And so most of us are familiar with the “transition” … all the fiddling that is required to get your workspace setup when you move from one spot to another.

A good number of utilities have popped up in recent years to meet some of these needs. The one that stuck for me is Moom.

What it is

With different sized screens, and now different types of displays (retina and non), moving from an external screen to the laptop display can be an exercise in futility. How many times has that switch left you with an open Finder window on the side of the screen with only 10 pixels showing?

Moom, from Many Tricks, is a small menubar application for OS X that is great for controlling the size and placement of your applications on the desktop. It solves a lot of those needs for me.

How it works

You create window snapshots that are saved in the application. There are two basic types: basic and application specific. The first is simply a determined size and location on the screen and you can use it to take the currently active application and apply these dimensions to its window.

The second takes the specified app (or apps) and fits it into the determined location and sets the size. These sounds similar, but they are not quite. The second option will do nothing if the specified application has no windows open.

Here's how I use them. For the first, I often do front end development on my laptop and open the CSS files on the left, the HTML files on the right. Moom comes with a couple of defaults that work well for me, easily allowing me to make each file take up half the screen, one on each side of the screen (if I'm working on the ACD, the browser goes in the middle).

The second option is great for my work with Campaign Monitor. Doing support for a service like this requires doing a lot of different things each day, but there are several apps that are always running and on screen. And so I have a Moom snapshot for placing Chrome, HipChat, and Evernote in a specific layout. As well, I have one for the ACD and one for the laptop.

Before

After

Triggers

There are four methods to trigger a layout to be applied. The first is to use the green traffic light on any OS X window. When Moom is running, hovering the mouse over the green circle at the top left of the window brings up a menu, shown below. This comes with 4 defaults that can be applied.

The second method is to use the Moom menubar icon, which then displays all your custom snapshots. Simply click on the one you want applied. And for keyboard lovers, you can create a custom shortcut for any custom snapshot. The last option is to specify an automatic trigger, shown below.

Creating the snapshots

You are able to specify the size of the grid you want to use to create your layouts. Then you simply create your custom shortcuts by dragging your mouse over the blocks in the grid that you want the snapshot to apply to (bottom option).

It's a clever method of giving the user control.

Also note in the screenshot above that you can specify different triggers to have the layout take effect. In this instance, I have it match a particular dimension of screen … meaning it's applied when I move to my desk and connect the ACD.

An example

One great example of a problem this solves for me is moving files. Finder can be a stubborn curmudgeon at times, but Moom can help. Below is how Finder likes to place the windows when you open two in quick succession.

When I need to move files around (and forget that I can easily do that with LaunchBar and the keyboard), I have a Moom snapshot that takes two Finder windows and places them side by side and makes them exactly the same size.

Easy drag and drop.


For $10, this is a small tool that removes some of the friction of my day. Well worth the price!

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<![CDATA[ Getting started with Sass ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/sass/ 5e6291a583ba3f0038452f5e Fri, 04 Oct 2013 05:24:00 -0700 The pace of change with web technologies can be staggering. Over the years I've learned to focus on the basics (focus on meaningful content, typography, and clean styles) and to try new techniques and tools as time allows.

Two areas where I've long wanted to get up to speed on are Sass and Git. With my most recent project, I finally made myself get started with Sass until the point where I felt comfortable. Not proficient, simply comfortable.

This article is covering the basics of Sass and is targeted to the novice web developer.

I've looked at several tutorials over the years, but many were written with a certain assumption for the level of knowledge on the other end. Many can be a struggle for the beginner because you may not even have the tools to be able to use Sass. Because of this, I wanted to write a handful of tips on what helped me get on board.

So, without getting too technical, here's a look at what Sass is. Described as "style with attitude", Sass is short for syntactically awesome style sheets. What does that mean? Here's how the Sass site defines it:

Sass is a meta-language on top of CSS that’s used to describe the style of a document cleanly and structurally, with more power than flat CSS allows. Sass both provides a simpler, more elegant syntax for CSS and implements various features that are useful for creating manageable stylesheets.

With that out of the way, here's what has helped me get up and running.

The tools

To start, open Terminal … wait, command line? No thanks. I wanted to find a tool that supports Sass without a lot of messing around. And as I already love Hammer & Anvil, it was great to see that Hammer already supports several preprocessing languages.

Sadly, Espresso, my text editor of choice, does not support the .scss file extension. Thankfully, some kind soul put together an Espresso sugar to support Sass. Sublime Text supports both Sass syntaxes out of the box, so it's a good option as well. Do people still use Textmate? I'm sure it supports Sass as well. Codekit is a tool similar to Hammer that a lot of people seem to like and it compiles Sass files.

When I first looked into giving Sass a try a couple years back, every tutorial seemed to start with installing packages via the command line. But if you've waited a while to try it yourself, smart developers have made it easier to do so now. With very little work, you can be up and running with Sass!

Multiple style sheets

One thing I enjoyed about Sass right off the start was the ability to break your styles up in to different files. This is a bit tedious at first, or for a one page or small site. But if you have a design with multiple pages and several elements per page, one CSS file can start to become unwieldily. There's only so much scrolling I want to do.

With Sass, you can break your elements into multiple files. After processing, all the styles are saved into one file.

Variables & mixins

The easiest way to take advantage of Sass is right here. If you do nothing else, creating a few variables is a great way to save time, saving you from having to retype colours or use the Find & Replace numerous times.

Here are a few of the variables I used in my latest project:

$fcolor: 		#555;
$fstack:		'Ideal Sans SSm A', 'Ideal Sans SSm B', 'Helvetica',< sans-serif;
$scaps:			'Ideal Sans SSm SmallCaps A', 'Ideal Sans SSm SmallCaps B','Helvetica', sans-serif;
$fsize:			18px;
$lheight:		34px;
$vbase:			1.666666667em;
$vbase2:		2.083333333em;

As mentioned above, colours are one of the best ways to put variable to use:

/*** Color Scheme A ***/

$link:			#FFB29F;
$link-h:		#FF4400;
$note:			#B5EAAD;
$note-h:		#27AF22;
$quote:			#CEE1F0;
$quote-h:		#3489EC;
$bookmark:		#EEA4B2;
$bookmark-h:	#EE5851;

Using these in your declarations is also straightforward. Just use them in place of your normal CSS value:

.entry blockquote {
	font-size: 1.25em;
	font-style: italic;
	font-weight: 300;
	line-height: $vbase2;
}

Mixins are slightly different. You can add several CSS declarations to a mixin, making it great for reducing the need to type vendor prefixes. As well, it's good for creating a few characteristics that might apply to multiple modules/elements.

Here are some of mine, most of which could apply across multiple projects:

@mixin rounded-corners {
  $rounded-corner-radius: 4px;
  -webkit-border-radius: $rounded-corner-radius;
  -moz-border-radius: $rounded-corner-radius;
  -ms-border-radius: $rounded-corner-radius;
  border-radius: $rounded-corner-radius;
}

@mixin quick-transition {
	$transition: all .25s ease-in-out;
	-webkit-transition: $transition;
	-moz-transition: $transition;
	transition: $transition;
}

@mixin thin-white-line {
	-webkit-box-shadow: 1px 1px 0px #FFF;
	-moz-box-shadow: 1px 1px 0px #FFF;
	box-shadow: 1px 1px 0px #FFF;
}

And to use a mixin, you just use the @include statement the name:

.entry {
	@include rounded-corners;
	@include thin-white-line;
	
	background: #FFF;
	border: 1px solid #EEE;
	margin: 2em 0;
	padding: 2em 0 5em;
	position: relative;
}

Find an example

Now, reading about the various bits of functionality in Sass is straightforward. But what helped me more than anything else was to view someone else's project. This allows you to see how someone with more experience with Sass structures their files, uses variables and mixins, as well other

I used the default theme for my Memberful account as a place to start. Drew and his team are talented folks, and poking around in the theme proved this to be true. Find yourself something similar, an open source project or similar, and see how smart people are putting Sass to use.

From there, just pick a few things to get started, like the items I've listed here. Once you get into your project, you'll constantly be thinking, “How can I save myself time?” That's exactly what Sass was created for.

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<![CDATA[ Random musings From XOXO ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/xoxo/ 5e62914a83ba3f0038452f52 Wed, 25 Sep 2013 11:12:00 -0700 For people who work on the web, we are blessed with a flexibility that has rarely been available to men and women throughout the ages. We can work from anywhere. Live anywhere. And work with and talk to people from anywhere. This flexibility also allows us to meet in person those people that inspire us in our work.

For me, my situation is slightly less flexible than many. I have a good sized family and live far from the larger cities where most events take place. And so my first web focused conference has been a long time coming. I was very excited to get down to Portland for XOXO last week, along with my amazing wife.

Here are some of the things that caught my attention.

Washington and Oregon are amazing

We flew from in to Vancouver, but decided to drive to Portland. It was reminiscent of our honeymoon, our first and last holiday without children until last weekend. A long drive with no one asking for crackers or cheese from the back seat was fantastic!

And if you're from the US and have never taken the time to check out the northwest, you're missing out. Thursday was clear and sunny, around 80° F. The foliage was just starting to turn and the views were as good as it gets. I especially enjoyed the Olympia area.

Portland is great, Portland is weird

If you like food, coffee, or beer, you'll like what Portland has to offer. I did not have a bad meal there … not even close. We went to high end restaurants, little dives with 3 tables, and food carts and every meal was top notch.

Portland is also the city of dietary restrictions. My wife doesn't eat eggs or gluten, which means she doesn't eat out much. On this trip, no one blinks an eye. It's also a beautiful city in many ways, albeit nowhere near as nice as Vancouver.

Portland is also different. We watched a guy polish off three bloody Mary's over breakfast at 8 AM on Saturday morning. Looking around we noticed we were the only ones not consuming alcohol. This is not normal where we com from, but you can be sure the people of Portlandia are relaxed!

Last, be careful which doors you use around there. I experienced this when I discovered the restaurant we were eating at shared a washroom with a very small strip club. Thankfully, the nice lady on the stage directed me to the correct door once I recovered from my surprise.

Conference talks

There was a pretty good lineup for the Saturday and Sunday sessions. There were a small handful of speakers I wanted to hear, plus a bunch of others I was not familiar with. In the end, I ended up missing most of the ones I had planned to see. But for good reason; the talks I did catch were so very good that I took time out to contemplate what I had heard.

I found that I could only sit through 3 or 4 talks in a day. There was so much to take in, I felt that if I didn't walk away, none of it would stick. I don't know how some of you can listen to 6 or 8 people in a day and retain anything at all. I'll be waiting for the conference videos to be available to pick up the gold I've already forgotten.

A few highlights:
  • Val Hart: wow, what a lively gal. A funny presenter who can roll with the punches. Her presentation froze at one point and she just asked for Andy Baio to bring her his guitar. My roommate ended up being a human capo for the lack of the real thing
  • Jack Cheng: one of the speakers I was most excited about, he’s as thoughtful a presenter as he is a writer
  • Molly Crabapple: a great writer (see her recent piece on Guantanamo Bay), Molly read her speech on stage, almost a performance in itself
  • Ev Williams: a few interesting things to say, but not the most dynamic speaker
  • Jay Smooth: the highlight of the conference started on Sunday afternoon with Jay Smooth, one of three most polished, sincere, and authentic people on the stage. Through telling some of the history of hip hop, Jay encouraged the audience to make the most of the connections we make. One of his main themes struck a chord with me (paraphrased), “Challenge people while being respectful of the connection you share.”
  • Christina Xu: another dynamic stage presence, she was focused on encouraging us to build platforms or systems that reduce friction for creatives. Amen
  • Mike Rugnetta: … I'm not sure what to say. Mike was very intelligent, but he seemed to fit 45 minutes of content into his 20 minutes on stage. Another watch of this talk will be required for more reflection, but his focus on community is worth it

Seeing people speak in a venue was a great reminder that even though many of us have good thoughts, and can communicate those in writing, it doesn't mean we're all great speakers. This is an obvious thought, but I found it refreshing. And humbling. Everyone here was real.

The speakers who I found the most dynamic were those who have active video blogs. Practice makes perfect in live action!

And although I missed hearing Marco and Cabel speak, I'm glad for it in a sense. As I've followed them for years online, I've heard their thoughts plenty of times. It was great to hear some new voices and be challenged by what I heard.

Festival

XOXO is more than just a conference. There were a lot of other interesting activities, including live music, a film night, and table top sessions for playing games (some times with the game creators).

I'm not much of a gamer, but I enjoyed seeing creators and fans playing, watching, and listening in the same place. Jonathan Coulton and Anamanaguchi put on a good show on Friday night. Holocene is a small venue, which made for an intimate show!

The people

Without ever being to a web focused conference of the past, I've read enough about them to know I'm more interested in the newer types of events. Like Brooklyn Beta and Greenville Grok, I believe XOXO is more about the times in between events than the events themselves.

That was the case for me. It was a pleasure to finally meet in person some folks I have followed online for a while. People like Josh Bryant, Kai Brach, Aaron Draplin, Sean Sperte, Matthew Buchanan, and Mike Myers. As a bonus, I was able to meet new people I had no familiarity with: Chelsea Otakan, our housemate and aforementioned human capo being a great example.

There were also many other talented folks I would have liked to have met up with, but I never recognized their faces. Avatars are limiting!

Ros & Nathan

The highlight of this trip for me was getting to know these two people a little better. A lot better. Ros is a co-worker and we chat each week. And we've even hung out together in Fiji. But for this quiet introvert, nothing beats good conversation over good food with a small number of people.

Erica and I had the chance to spend a lot of time with Ros and Nathan over the weekend. Sharing meals, [Powell's books], and the Portland fair were made all the better while talking with these two. A weekend with two thoughtful, intelligent, and talented Australians makes for a very good time. Thanks for the memories, you two!


Next up for me is Userconf in San Francisco next month, where I'll finally get to meet Garret St John and Noah Stokes in person. I'd love to see other folks as well: if you're available, let me know.

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<![CDATA[ Slipping through the cracks ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/follow-ups/ 5e628b2783ba3f0038452f3e Thu, 12 Sep 2013 10:00:00 -0700 There has been a gap in how I manage my work for a long time. It's a little thing and is no bother most of the time. But when things get crazy, or if I'm not careful, some important task falls through the cracks of my system. I'm referring to the follow up email.

This is a straight forward concept. I have a task or project that is my responsibility, but depends on others to do some work. I email them, asking for information or for work to be done. Down the road, I will need to check up on that person and currently I depend on my brain to remember this (huge opportunity for failure!) or to catch it when I do a review of all my projects.

This lack of a more automated approach bit me in the butt recently, so I set out to improve my workflow. Here's what I found.

The options

This will not be an exhaustive list; I'm a Mac user, so the options are (almost) endless. Since I use OmniFocus and Mail.app, that's where I focused my research. Here are the various options I've considered:

  • OmniFocus mail drop
  • OmniFocus clippings via the Clip-o-tron 3000
  • Mail.app flags or smart folders
  • Reminders app
  • IFTTT
  • AppleScript

Sadly, although I consider this a fairly straight forward problem to solve, it proved more difficult than I had thought. Each potential solution is lacking at least one aspect of my ideal solution. Here's what I was hoping for:

  1. a reminder of some kind; whether it was a visual indicator in Mail.app, a due task in OmniFocus, or a reminder with a due date in Reminders app did not matter
  2. to initiate the full creation of this reminder at the time I was writing the email; having to switch applications or do more work to the email after sending was not my ideal solution
  3. bonus points would be awarded to a solution that included a link back to the original email

That is my criteria, not the tallest of orders. Here's what I found with each option.

Maildrop

This service from the OmniGroup was intended as an improvement over the clippings functionality in OmniFocus. Managed by the great OmniSync service, it works very well. Simply send any email to your assigned Maildrop email address and a new task is created in your OmniFocus inbox.

Positives

This is a very tidy option. It is easy to use; you can simply BCC your Maildrop address when creating the email. The result is a task that is created straight to your inbox in OmniFocus, so there's not necessarily any remaining work to be done with the task. Last, thanks to the OmniSync service, it’s a task that exists on all your devices.

But it's not a perfect solution.

Negatives

The issue with this option is all on the OmniFocus side. A task sitting in my inbox is not ideal. I would prefer that it be assigned to the correct project, as well as be assigned a context and a due date. The due date is especially important as I always want to follow up on the email within a set time frame. There will be manual work required to massage this task into its final form.

Last, the Maildrop feature only copies the content of the email and adds it as a note to the task, rather than linking back to the original email. Overall, it's a good option, but it only fully meets 1 of my criteria (number 1). I'll give it a half point for number 2 as well, since the task is created at the time of writing the email.

1.5 out of 3

OmniFocus Mail Clipping

This is another solid option. OmniFocus comes with a system wide service that allows you to select content in any application and send it to OmniFocus when you choose the Services sub-menu > OmniFocus: Send to Inbox. You can also create a keyboard shortcut to do the same thing in the OF preferences, as well choose whether the creation of the task opens the OmniFocus Quick Entry panel or is added to the Inbox immediately.

Positives

I like this option because it gives you the ability to add metadata to the task if you set it to open the Quick Entry panel first. I can then assign the project, context and due date if desired.

Negatives

The issue is that you cannot use this service while composing the message. This makes sense as it's not yet a message that is saved to the database and cannot be linked to in the task. And so, like many other options, more work is required after the message is sent.

Another issue here is that there is uncertainty of whether it will be supported down the road. OmniGroup has stated the issue with the OF Mail Rule and Clip-o-tron features:

Each time the OS has been updated recently, we have had to do a significant amount of work to keep basic functionality working, and in some cases have not been able to restore features. While Mail Drop’s functionality is currently basic, we plan on using the time saved to add more features so that it has the best of all of the previous solutions.

There is no guarantee that this option will be around in the future.

2 out of 3

Mail.app

The older I get, the more simple I want my solutions to be. And so I gave the idea of not involving OmniFocus at all a long look. As long as there was an quick easy way to find the necessary emails in Mail.app, that would probably suffice. And so I looked at various options for setting flags or moving emails into folders in Mail.app itself.

At first glance, I would have thought this would be the easiest solution, seeing as there was no involvement of a second application. This was not the case. The issue with only using Mail.app is that there is no way (that I've found) to initiate this process while creating the email. Here's what I found.

Positives

There's a lot of ways to organize a collection of emails in Mail. Folders, flags, and smart folders specifically. And since Mail is available on all devices, one should be able to initiate the addition of a new email to this collection from your iPad or iPhone. Reviewing the collection should also be possible.

Mail, as well as iCloud itself, also come with rules (filters for you Gmail users) that should make this process possible.

Negatives

The biggest I found is that it seems impossible to initiate the process from the compose window. You cannot flag an email while it’s being composed, nor can you specify that it goes to a folder. So the workflow would look like this:

  • create your email
  • navigate to the Sent message folder
  • move email to ideal folder

Not ideal at all.

Back to rules. Unfortunately, there are some issues with rules overall. The rules available in the iCloud service itself are very limited and do not provide enough options to make this possible. And the rules in Mail.app for OS X will only be run on that client, meaning emails created on the iPad or iPhone may not make it into your collection.

So overall, Mail.app itself only meets two of my three criteria; I'm left with a reminder in the form of a flagged email or collection of emails for review, which includes the entire email itself.

2 out of 3

Update The talented Michael Shechter reminds me that Keyboard Maestro could fix all of this. I've yet to fall into the KM wormhole, but it would surely do the job.

Reminders

Another option for Mac users is the Reminders app. I'm perfectly happy to have certain items in Reminders rather than OmniFocus. After all, I have items in my Calendar that need remembering as well, and I create them so that an alarm is used. Same goes for any item I log in Reminders.

Positives

I like Reminders for certain things as it's synced through iCloud and present on all devices. An alarm goes off on each when a Reminder is due.

Negatives

Unfortunately, Reminders is limited out of the box for this particular workflow. Adding a link to the email itself is not possible (that I'm aware of). You're left with a Reminder with a note at best, and the notes in a Reminders task is not all that usable.

It is possible to create the task via LaunchBar, but the end result is once again not exactly what I was hoping for.

1.5 out of 3

Update Here are a couple of good suggestions or tips:

  • the talented crew behind LaunchBar (my favourite OS X swiss army knife) pass on this AppleScript for creating a Reminder with a link to a selected email
  • @abstractpenquin sent over the tip that you can do the same thing as this AppleScript by simply dragging an email onto the Reminders icon

IFTTT

Scratch this option of the list. Email is a great option for the THAT coming out of IFTTT, but is less stellar when using it for the THIS (i.e. the trigger). It makes sense; IFTTT is a service more for web services and has no access to your desktop applications like OmniFocus.

But being such a great service, it was worth a look.

0 out of 3

Update A few folks mentioned other web services that meet this need. Some cost, some don't:

AppleScript

With OS X, the good news is that most anything is possible with AppleScript.

Uh oh, red flag. Once I hit this option, I realized how old I'm getting. I did not have much desire to step into the esoteric world of AppleScript to create my own solution, something I would have relished even 5 years ago.

The bad news is that AppleScript solutions come with a few barriers, opportunities for friction. First, if you don't work with it all the time, it takes a while to gain familiarity and just get something working.

Second, it's an opportunity for endless tinkering. I look back at some of the scripts I've worked on in the past, and I realize that somewhere along the line of machine upgrades, I stopped using those scripts. There are a couple that are still in use, but many have proven to simply be unneeded over time.

And last, this is one more thing to remember when it comes to upgrading to a new machine. The older I get, the less I want to do when I set up a new Mac. Less 3rd party applications, less preferences, less tinkering. What a boring old chap!

0 out of 3

AppleScript would do the job here, of that I am sure. But I had no desire to dive in and solve this issue with it.


In the end, I'm going with the OmniFocus mail clipping for now. The simple fact that it's gives me all the pertinent info without having to navigate to OmniFocus itself is enough for now. If support for it drops, then I'll repeat the exercise.

It was surprising that this is not a simple need that is easily met without some manual work. If you've got a solution I'm not aware of, I'd love to hear about it.

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<![CDATA[ Chasing the unattainable? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/holy-grail/ 5e628a0583ba3f0038452f37 Sat, 31 Aug 2013 10:45:00 -0700 It would seem that life consistently affords one opportunities to look back at the path you've walked. I do my best to embrace these opportunities, but I've often found my self slightly discouraged in the past when doing so. I would tend to review the goals I had at a period in time, then measure the progress or lack thereof and feel as if I did not make the most of the time I had.

And yet in the big picture, things have gone very well. My family has had its needs met, I've enjoyed my work, and I've created. So as I get older — and wiser — I've learned to not give in to the temptation to be discouraged and focused on what has been accomplished. And not just in my work, but life in general.

The Holy Grail

But I find that our industry has a problem. Success is most often measured in metrics like dollars, followers, readers, users, apps sold, or books published. And in order to achieve the metrics that equate to success, there is required a rigorous adherence to the golden egg that is the creative routine.

Since Jack Cheng published his first novel, he's published a weekly newsletter where he gives glimpses of his life. This past week he shared a link to an interview he did for The Sunday Routine, a site that gives insight into the “The weekend routines of interesting people”. After reading Jack's entry, I was intrigued , having enjoyed the piece. But I came away with one thought louder than all the others: he must be so lonely!

You'd have to read the article to understand my reaction. And I am fascinated with reading this type of content; getting a glimpse into the life of another and seeing how they create. What they create doesn't always matter, but I find the process a fascinating subject. I've long admired Jack's thinking, writing, and his work, but reading that piece reminded me that being inspired by the doings of another does not mean I need to do it like them. A routine that quiet, that lonely, that devoid of others would drive me crazy. And I consider myself a loner, one who greatly prefers time alone or with a couple of friends over a crowd of any sort.

I treasure the quiet moments in my life, but without the contrast of a busier, noisier time each day, those moments of quiet would turn into a feeling of loneliness and potentially, despair.

My knowledge of Jack Cheng is remote and I'm sure he's not lonely; like all of us, he's made many decisions to shape a life that he desires. But this type of lifestyle seems common and I can't help but wonder if we have collectively created a Holy Grail for creative routines. This has been highlighted in recent years with the fascination of Ben Franklin and his well known daily schedule. I've read many a blogger mention his routine and voice their admiration for his dedication. And certainly, there is much to be admired in the person of Ben Franklin and his ability to focus.

Yet I can't help but see this at the same time.

I know very little about the details of Ben Franklin's life, including whether he was married or had children. That schedule suggests that he did not, however. And when I see so many touting the virtues of Franklin's schedule and discipline, people who live with a family, I can't help but think we're setting ourselves up for failure. A spouse and children make that type of day impossible. And we should not begrudge them for that fact.

Incremental progress

One change I have made in my thinking is that any progress at all should be recognized. In my situation, there are days where I have 30-60 minutes to work on my personal creative projects. If I am able to write 400 words on my book, that is 400 words that were not written the day before. It’s slow progress, but progress nonetheless.

With a busy life and a larger family, interruptions are a part of my day. So with all my work, whether it’s writing a book, building a woodshed, or washing the truck, learning to be patient and recognize that any progress is a success was a necessity. I have to think incrementally.


There is value in discipline … this is very true for me. As an early riser who has done much of my creative work in the hours before breakfast for five years, I hold discipline in high regard. But I must give voice to the sense of caution that has been growing; to recognize the potential to hold too tightly to the sacred schedule. To keep the goal so firmly in sight that you miss many of the things that make life worth living.

Being disciplined with our time is not a problem. Comparing ourselves to those with much more time for themselves is. And so is having goals for your creative work, but none for your family. When I find myself resenting the lack of time in my life for my personal pursuits, I picture Ben Franklin eating alone at the end of the day. I'd rather be slow to produce in a home filled with interruptions and noise.

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<![CDATA[ Congestion ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/congestion/ 5e6289c283ba3f0038452f31 Mon, 19 Aug 2013 07:58:00 -0700 All the changes that have been introduced over the past decade via the Internet have been focused on one thing. Sharing.

Sharing thoughts, sharing photos, sharing work. Sharing experiences … well, just the attractive parts, but hey, that's still sharing. Above all else, I appreciate the ability for anyone, almost anywhere, to share their thinking or experience or knowledge by writing and publishing on the Internet. Being unshackled from some of the barriers of times past is perhaps the greatest benefit of our online connections. But there’s a real big problem.

There's way too much of it.

My bucket overfloweth

Whatever tool you use to collect this writing, your “read later” list, your bookmarks, your animated GIFs, it's most likely full. Full to the point you'll never read everything carefully stored within. Full to the point you stress over it, at least a little. You have guilt.

For several years, many people have declared email bankruptcy. Now such a thing as Instapaper bankruptcy exists. As if there were some third party out there, watching your count grow, keeping track of the number within that red circle, waiting for some unknown-yet-still-sensed threshold to be broken, ready to pounce.

Be ready, because if you blink, you might miss it. Miss what? Something good!

Can we all agree to just let go? To stop caring that we might miss something big, something important? Reality is, we are all missing something important in front of us every day, while we carefully scan our feeds, our feeds, our FEEDS, missing the suffering, the joy, the simple state of being all around us. Our families and friends, our neighbours, our complete strangers.

Let’s let go together. The output is not going to stop, to lessen, anytime soon. We can never read it all, study it all, or even skim it all. We certainly shouldn't Fave it all.

Don't buy the lie

A few common themes, perhaps subconsciously, have become popular of late (guilty as charged, right here):

  • In the years ahead, those who can separate the chaff from the wheat will have the power.
  • To curate will be more valuable than to create.

Capital B, capital S. Here's a few themes that run counter to this, for the better:

  • To create is better than to consume.
  • But create for the few, not for the many.
  • Create for those you can see face to face.
  • Consume, but remember that the dose makes the poison.
  • When you consume something that is good, great, transcendent, consume it over and over … meditate on it, then act on it, be changed by it.

Go deep!

Because the problem is deep

Trent Walton wrote recently on how we, as an industry, need to be designing in order to create meaningful relationships. Amen!

But I think he underestimates the problem. Trent refers to and quotes Farhad Manjoo writing for Slate magazine, then offers his solution:

In my mind, if users leave they’re just doing what the design told them to do because all the crufty noise linking elsewhere is the most engaging thing on the page.

While I agree with Trent that Slate and so many other media sources (and blogs) treat content and the reader in the wrong way, creating a user friendly, content focused design is not enough.

It's not enough because we're so used to searching for the new, that even when served up well presented content that's of interest to us, we still often do not read it. We'd rather just keep looking for NEW stuff to read, rather than read anything.

Until that changes, until we change ourselves as readers, then all the smart design in the world won't make a difference.


Of course, I'm being slightly hyperbolic here. We still read. A little. But the article in Slate hits home … the shift is still leaning farther towards not reading than to reading. I want that to change for my life.

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<![CDATA[ Creating effective type pairings ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/good-type-pairings/ 5e62896883ba3f0038452f2b Fri, 09 Aug 2013 09:21:00 -0700 When designing a document, whether it be a web page, email, invoice, or book, I have an order of events I like to follow. I start with content, sketch out a layout, then move on to typography.

In my mind, this process ensures that priority is given where it should be. The content is king, the architecture (or layout) of that content is second, and the typography provides the foundation that the design sits upon.

I'm no expert in this stuff; I'm learning with every project I work on. But over time, thanks to practice and the preaching of others, this process has helped my work to improve. And the area where I've been focusing on of late is typography. I sincerely believe that the web is first and foremost about words, and if that's true, then design should be focused on typography.

In his magnum opus, Robert Bringhurst, under the heading 1.1.1 Typography exists to honour content, says this:

Typography is a craft by which the meanings of a text (or absence of meaning) can be clarified, honored, and shared, or knowingly disguised.

And so I'd like to focus on how I'm learning to ensure a put a typographical foundation in place to ensure that the content of any project is clarified and honored. First up: learning to pair typefaces.

Creating effective type pairings

There are different techniques, different approaches, plus a lot of good resources available on the subject. I'll simply share my own approach, illustrated in this demo page. My approach can differ slightly for any given project, as the content dictates. But in general, each of the following steps are included.

Choose a base font

I start with the paragraph. If the web is about words, the words are found most often in the confines of the everyman paragraph. After writing one or two drafts of the content, then sketching a rough layout, I get to work looking for a body font. Often, the purpose of the site, the message intended to convey, will narrow whether the body font is serif or sans-serif.

But I simply start viewing the content in a handful of options for each. How to choose which is the best option? I'm sure there are some very good guidelines out there, but it honestly ends with a gut feeling for me. As long as the chosen font does not detract from the message, then I go with how I feel when choosing between two (or more) good options. In his article, “Narrowing the Field: How To Bring Great Type Into Focus”, Robbie Manson says it this way:

What am I trying to reveal about the text or subject with my choice of typeface? Conversely, do I want to deliberately juxtapose meaning and visual form in order to achieve a particular effect?

How does it feel? I like this approach.

But this is one side only. The primary font must also perform all that the design requires of it, and as Mr Manson lays out in that article, the feel must be balanced with the function.

In the demo, I chose Whitney. This is a recipe, which involves a series of practical steps that must be taken. Whitney is a wonderfully legible and adaptable font. It's soft, yet concise and simply gets out of the way.

Choose an accentuating complimentary font

First, is must be pointed out that you don't need, necessarily, to use another type. A lot can be achieved with one font, especially one with a robust character set (such as Whitney).

If you do use more than one font in a design, I do my very best to never go over three. That's no strict guideline (if the internet teaches us anything, it's that there are no strict guidelines, but rather general rules of thumb). I have no idea if an expert typographer would recommend this limit, but I find three is enough to manage … anymore and I inevitably draw attention away from the content and message.

But when a secondary type is helpful and in no way detracting, I try to find a font that accentuates. That is, it draws attention back to the content, to the words. I want a sub-heading that communicates a break or shift in thought, then sends the reader on her way, encouraging a dive back into the message.

Because the secondary font choice is most often used with headings or titles, I again refer to Bringhurst's wisdom. In Choosing and Combining Type under 6.5.4 choose titling and display faces that reinforce the structure of the text face, he says this:

Incestuous similarity is rarely a necessity, but empathy and compatibility usually are.

So how does one find a font that displays empathy or compatibility with the primary text face? Again, I do rely somewhat on feel. But I also am doing my best to educate myself on the fine points of the craft. Using my own site as an example, pairing Verlag for headings was not my first choice. But over time, even though there are many similarities, I found the contrast was just enough that is was a complimentary choice.

For many, the temptation is often to pair serif and san-serif (or slab with a sans). If the body text is set on one, the seemingly obvious choice is to set headings in the other. This can work, but I'm learning to do so with more care. When making pairings between the various types of fonts, be sure to choose fonts with similar structures.

Bringhurst speaks to this in 6.5.5 Pair serifed and unserifed faces on the basis of their inner structure, but I'll refer you to the recommendation of H&FJ. Under “A Palette with dignity”, they state:

Mix typefaces with similar proportions and give each a different role.

Do not simply choose any serif to go with your sans-serif body font. Learn the different terms associated with type: aperture, stroke, serif, axis. Learn how a typeface is constructed and when creating pairs, look for options that match in structure and proportion.

In the demo page, h1 and h3 elements are set in Gotham Narrow.

Look for opportunities to delight

Last, I try to find places where delight can be added to the text. Depending on the context, I find this is the part that can most easily go wrong. It's too easy to add a flourish that draws attention to itself without keeping the focus on the content or message. Especially when adding that third font.

But this is where I rely most on feel and intuition. For the demo, I wanted to make the measurements of the ingredients easy to pick out, without being superfluous. To do this, I chose Sentinel (as well as a different color). Because of the context (picture someone cooking this recipe and reading from a tablet or mobile device), this feels right to me.


Again, this is all a learning process. What works for me may not for you. But I'd love to hear feedback, suggestions, or how others go about creating type pairings.

But my primary recommendation stands true: study and practice will bring improvement. On that note, here are some places to help with the first.

Wonderful Resources

Ask H&FJ — Combining Fonts: still one of my favourite web pages. ever.

Typedia: “a community website to classify typefaces and educate people about them”.

John Boardley: Go forth and pair.

How to bring great type into focus: Ask the right questions.

Hat tip to Andrew Austin and Tim Swan for their feedback and suggestions!

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<![CDATA[ xScope: A designer's Swiss Army Knife ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/xscope/ 5e62864783ba3f0038452f0a Thu, 01 Aug 2013 08:16:00 -0700 In every field, workers will have their preference for what is the best tool to do any job. Often times the tool is actually the same, but the preference comes down to brand. Designers are no different.

When it comes to working on a site design, newsletter template, or a book cover, the tools can all be different for me. Text editors, graphics tools (Sketch is great), or iBooks Author are all used for varying projects. But I do have one tool that seems to be used regardless of the project. That is xScope by the Iconfactory.

This is one of those tools that can be hard to describe. It's not an application, but more of a utility. But a more useful utility would be hard to find. It consists of a group of 8 tools that would each make a handy utility on their own.

Here's a quick look at my favourite tools in xScope and how I use them (using the lovely Process Type Foundry site for our examples).

Rulers

A fairly obvious feature, the Rulers tool gives you the ability to measure elements on your screen. I use this one when testing where to place breakpoints in a design, for using in media queries.

Rulers

And as great software goes, xScope adds nice little touches. With the rulers, moving your mouse around will bring up the red position indicators that show you exactly how far along the measurement is (if you have them selected).

Measurements here are in pixels, but you can change a preference to use Window points instead.

Dimensions

This would probably be my most oft used tool in the package. Dimensions brings up a crosshair, two red lines, on the screen. You can use these to measure the distance between any two elements on the screen. Not just web pages, but any aspect of the operating system or specific application.

Dimensions

I use this primarily on websites, but it would be helpful to any type of designer, app designers included. It can be slightly finicky, but a small adjustments, extremely small movements of the mouse, tend to give you the measurement you're looking for.

Loupe

Another handy tool in xScope, the Loupe allows you to magnify what you're looking at in the screen. You can set it to examine what's beneath the small Loupe modal (shown below), or you can have it display what's under the mouse pointer.

Loupe

What I like to use it for is building a colour palette. You can use the loupe to examine the sites you enjoy, then copy the underlying colour of any elements. Just press control+c and the current colour in view is copied to the clipboard. And you can choose what kind of value you want copied (hex, RGB, HSL, etc.)

And for accessibility, it gives you options to view how things look for people with various type of vision (normal, presbyopia, protanopia, etc.).

Crosshair

Last, I love using the Crosshair when aligning objects in a design. It's probably the simplest tool in the suite, but very handy. It displays two lines on the screen, spanning the entire screen (even multiple displays) and shows the exact pixel placement at the intersection of the two lines.

Crosshair

When I'm lining up elements horizontally, I pop this up to ensure everything is perfect.


If there is one annoyance with xScope in general, is that there is no way to close all the tools in the utility. With the loupe, you can simply hit Escape and it is removed from the screen. The same is true for the rulers, but not for the dimensions and cross hair. I would love the same to be true for each tool.

But this is a small critique and the tool is a joy to use.

You'll notice there are several tools in xScope that I haven't mentioned. My usage of the utility is barely scratching the surface and there is no doubt a lot of ways I can still improve my workflow with what's available. Have some tips? Let me know.

Every act of creation involves friction. Any tool that removes some of the friction from the process endears itself to me. xScope is high on my list of tools that I've grown to love with usage.

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<![CDATA[ The basics of Safari's Web Inspector ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/web-inspector/ 5e62861e83ba3f0038452f03 Thu, 25 Jul 2013 07:43:00 -0700 When I first became interested in web design, Firefox was the browser pushing web standards forward. And as a Windows user, I was very happy to take advantage of something new and fresh. And one of the best parts of using Firefox was Firebug.

This article covers basic functionality and is targeted to the novice designer/developer.

This was an add-on that enhanced the browser, allowing the user to monitor and tweak the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript that was used for a given web page. It was a fantastic tool to testing your designs, or learning from the designs of others.

Once I made the switch to OS X, my Firefox usage died over time (as did it's relevance). I've dabbled with Chrome from time to time, but for the most part, I've been more than happy with Safari as my primary browser. And in the same vein as Firebug, I've grown to love the Safari Web Inspector. Here's why.

User agents

The Develop menu comes with a fair number of available functions. One of my favourites is the ability to change the user agent while viewing a page. This is helpful when troubleshooting how a site/page is working on a particular device or browser.

A good example came last week when I launched a landing page for Idea Cafe. I discovered that the subscribe button was not working on the iPad. A quick check of the site on my desktop with the user agent set to Safari iOS 5.1 - iPad showed this to be true. It's not going to replace proper browser testing, but it is handy in a pinch, especially for mobile testing.

Inspect connected devices

Have you ever looked at a site on your iPhone or iPad and had the desire to have the web inspector available? The next feature builds on the functionality. You have the ability to inspect a page on a connected iOS device; all that is required is to connect the device via a cable, then the Develop menu will change accordingly.

Back to my example from last week. Once I realized that two bits of JavaScript were not working (Typekit & a Campaign Monitor subscribe button), I connected my iPad and used the inspector to see if the JS snippets were loaded and whether there were any errors. Being able to see that there were no errors was very helpful and allowed me to narrow down the possible cause of the problems and move on.

Timelines

One feature I like the most is the timeline, the ability to see how long it takes a page to load. The great part is that the web inspector breaks down the various components and shows the load time for each (Network requests, layout & rendering, JavaScript & events). In the age of mobile, every extra request and asset comes with a cost and this a great way to see where you can make improvements.

This can be triggered within the inspector window by clicking the timeline icon (the stopwatch), then reloading the page. Or you can do it directly from the Develop menu in the menubar, then reloading the page.

Modify or add on the fly

The features above are ones I've personally come across over time. But the basics of the inspector should be mentioned. You are able to inspect any specific element on a page and see the properties applied to it.

In addition, you can edit the styles to see how different property values would affect an element.

As well, you can directly edit the HTML itself and see how a change would affect your layout and design. This does not change the actual HTML in the destination file, just what Safari has downloaded and rendered.


Experienced developers make use of the web inspector and similar tools every day. If you're just getting started in this field, poke around. When you find a site you dig, open up the web inspector and start poking around.

And if you have some features of the web inspector that weren't covered here, let me know.

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<![CDATA[ Cloud.typography vs. Typekit ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/cloud-vs-typekit/ 5e6285e283ba3f0038452efd Tue, 16 Jul 2013 11:32:00 -0700 Typekit has been around for just under 4 years now and is a staple in my web design toolkit. Veen and the team there led the way in improving the delivery of web fonts, providing good or better features and results than all the other options available.

Add to that a great selection of fonts and it's a pretty easy decision to make use of the service.

Only now there's a new option.

Cloud.typography from H&FJ

Hoefler and Frere-Jones have also been a pillar in the design industry for some time and their fonts are some of the most popular and frequently used out there. Designers have long wanted to have the H&FJ collection available as webfonts. It was rumoured that they were working on such a service, with many popular web all stars being the beta testers.

At the beginning of the month, the service launched. The question to ask is which service is better? There may not be a straight forward answer, but the exercise of comparison is a good one regardless.

Price

At initial glance, Typekit takes the lead here. Cloud.typography starts at $99 per year, giving you 250,000 pageviews per month. Typekit's lowest plan is $24.99 per year, but it comes with a much lower volume at 50,000 pageviews per month.

However, Typekit's next tier allows for 500,000 pageviews per month, and at half the price of Cloud.typography's lowest tier, coming in at $49.99. For the same price, Typekit allows for 1 million hits per month, 4 times that of their newest competitor.

But forget pie in the sky numbers for a moment. It's clear that most small designers, plus bloggers and writers, don't require volumes in the millions each month. So it would seem that Typekit has positioned themselves to be the option for the everyman, whereas H&FJ are looking at the bigger players, digital agencies and big brands.

On the other hand, $99 per year isn't going to break anyone's bank and it's a bit like arguing that your favourite iOS app is a little steep at $4.99. So it terms of pricing overall, both services are good, no great, value to the customer.

Update: Jonathan Nichol makes a great point when it comes to the pricing of Cloud.typography. The cost of using the service is $99, which gets you five font families for free. More than that and you have to purchase the font. You can then purchase for the desktop and the webfont comes free. Or you can just purchase a webfont version. Shame on me for not recognizing that distinction and thank you to Jonathan for bringing that up.

Advantage: Typekit

Variety

Again, Typekit would appear to have the advantage. A clear advantage. Cloud.typography supports but one foundry, that of its creators. Typekit supports many foundries, many of whom are almost as popular as H&FJ. Not only that, but once Typekit was bought out by Adobe, the entire collection of Adobe fonts was added.

Now, we are talking about H&FJ here. Offerings such as Gotham, Sentinel, Tungsten, Whitney, and Archer are among the most beloved fonts available today. Designers with a serious crush on this foundry will no doubt pay the $99 in a heartbeat … or already have.

It's simply a matter of what font you're looking to use in your designs. But if there is some flexibility in your choices, than Typekit gives you a lot more to choose from.

Advantage: Typekit

Ease of use

Price and availability of fonts are the most important factors when choosing a service of this type. But a good tool is also one that is easy to use. Do both services work simply, with little fuss and configuration? Let's look at the most minimal process involved for each that is required to get fonts displayed on a live web site:

Typekit:

Add fonts to kit > Publish kit > Paste script tags to HTML > Add CSS declarations > Enjoy

Cloud.typography

Brandon Durham, front end dev for H&FJ, pointed out that the minimal requirment to get started with their service is this: Add fonts to project > Add CSS link to HTML > Add CSS declarations > Enjoy. While this is true, I wanted to capture the entire process. I used the term “live web site”, where perhaps “production” would have been a better term.

Add fonts to project > Add CSS link to HTML > Switch project from Development mode to Production mode > Specify location of production server > Download webfont folder > Add unarchived webfont folder to web server > Validate location of webfont folder in Cloud.typography Dashboard > Enjoy

As you can see, Typekit has a slightly simpler process and Cloud.typography takes a bit of work. Nothing too serious for a web developer, but it again appears that the two services are targeting a slightly different clientele.

Font quality

Updated: Shortly after publishing this piece, I received an (unexpected) email from Jonathan Hoefler. He politely thanked me for trying out the service and writing my thoughts. But he also had this to say:

The one thing I'd hoped you might touch upon is the quality of the fonts. One of the things that absorbed so much of our attention over the past four years has been designing and engineering fonts that are reliable all the time: so much of what other services offer aren't really webfonts, they're "fonts in a browser," which behave unpredictably on Windows, terribly at small sizes, and in other places where people do a lot of reading. I think that the effort we've put into our library — especially the ScreenSmart fonts, described here — is really one of the most important things that distinguishes Cloud.typography from other solutions.

I appreciate his point. As the end user, and even more so as a reader, it's easy to focus on the simple aspect of availability. Quality is another aspect entirely. I haven't yet had the chance to test the quality of Whitney on IE8, but I'm glad Jonathan raised the point. The fact that he and his team sweated over these details is excellent news for the rest of us.

And Typekit? While I can understand Mr. Hoefler's confidence in his own team, my experience has been that the team at Typekit has also worked hard to ensure fonts are delivered correctly for all users on all devices.

During my years using Typekit, I've subscribed to their blog as well. Posts such as Type rendering: the design of fonts for the web were insightful and gave this customer the impression that experts in the field were focused down to the last detail. Their entire series on font rendering is worth your time.

Advantage: Draw

Culture

Adobe, H&FJ. In design circles, those are big names. And for the past decade, Adobe has been a name that designers often used in conjunction with expletives. But that may may changing …

In recent months, Adobe has made changes and released a tools that seem to be adopting a new strategy. One that embraces the web and the changes to how designers and developers work, rather than clutching to past methods and insisting designers change with them. All right — Photoshop is a still a pain to deal with, but several new tools are encouraging.

H&FJ can do no wrong, however. Their offerings are among the best and they are widely respected as master of their craft.

Advantage: H&FJ

Working locally

Hammer & Anvil are the tools I use for developing a site locally and they work great with Typekit. Is it the same case for H&FJ's new service?

And indeed it is. Just as with Typekit, you simply add your Anvil URL (something like hfj.dev) into the list of domains in your Cloud.typography Dashboard and you're up and running!

Advantage: Draw

HTML Email

Sadly, no dice. I've long wanted to be able to use Typekit for email campaigns (and for our customers, but the JS delivery mechanism means email clients won't support it.

But it is possible to use Google Webfonts in your email campaigns, due to a different delivery mechanism. Seeing as Cloud.typography is CSS based, I had hoped that it would be usable in this scenario. Sadly, it does not seem to be the case. My testing proved fruitless and the support team at H&FJ confirms that it is not possible (yet).

Advantage: Draw

Verdict

Overall, Typekit is a slightly easier to use service. Both offer great fonts, decent pricing, and are technically sound. The primary reason a designer would use Cloud.typography is when he/she absolutely needs to use a H&FJ font in a design. Otherwise, the options lean toward Typekit.

I personally will continue to go to Typekit first, but am glad to have the option of using H&FJ fonts in my designs.

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<![CDATA[ Caring for craft ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/caring-for-craft/ 5e62853c83ba3f0038452ef7 Sat, 13 Jul 2013 10:43:00 -0700 If a lovely photograph is taken in the forest, but no one is there to appreciate it, is it still lovely? I would argue yes. Good work, work that is the result of careful, painstaking time and attention, is good whether or not it's enjoyed by others. But it seems that the activity we partake of online has trained us to seek after the Fave/Star/Like more than is necessary.

Shawn Blanc wrote about his photography workflows and how the different community aspects of Flickr and Instagram is what gives him more enjoyment with the latter over the former. And I agree — my own usage of the two services mimics his.

In regards to Flickr, Shawn had this to say:

And I want to share these photographs with people. I am proud of them and I enjoy looking at them, and I want others to see them and appreciate them as well. But unless one of my Flickr images makes it onto Explore (which has happened twice), I get very little feedback or activity.

The former giant of all photography services is very quiet these days. But perhaps that's not such a bad thing. This was the thrust of what I attempted to get across in 140 characters yesterday (and failed). I'll try again: it saddens me a little that we require this instant feedback to feel like our efforts are worth something.

While not everyone does so, many people add content without much thought or attention, simply because they crave that interaction (guilty as charged). Because, “it's been a while”.

Maybe a little less focus on the reaction we'll receive would help us to focus more on craft and taking our time, enjoying the process of creating as much as the process of posting. Shawn Blanc is a talented guy and I have always appreciated how purposeful he is with what he does, so he might have a good handle on this. I know I at times do not, and I suspect the Internet has negatively affected the general population in this area.

Naz Hamid wrote on this very subject just over a year ago:

Our current view of social media mimics our current state of attention-deficient, buffet-style appetites for digesting it — a constant cacophony of rapid short-burst content, anytime and anywhere.

He postulates that this is why services like Flickr have “slowly lost their occupants”. And despite the improvements to the service in the past year, his opinion looks to be prescient.

Naz then examined his own use of these services, recognizing that just as people can post content willy nilly, liking things can be treated the same. His takeaway? To engage in slow liking:

This is the core of what I’m considering in my own behavior — not that I disagree with liking things. Rather, I should stop to reflect and appreciate the content that someone has shared with me, ultimately deciding it’s worth my time. After all, I followed them in the first place, and I’ve looked at/read about/experienced their creation.

Maybe Likes would be more valuable if there were less of them to go around.


I struggled to get my thought across on Twitter yesterday … I'm still unsure of exactly how to put it into words today. After over a year away from Instagram, I've enjoyed getting back into it. But there is a pull each day to post something, even if I haven't had the opportunity to take a really good photo.

This week Charlie Pratt quit Twitter (which saddens me and makes me proud of him at the same time). I believe his quitting had much to do with the ideas referenced above and he ended so well, I'll let him wrap things up here:

I hesitate to speak in universals, so to be safe I’ll say it like so: 99.99% percent of all the things in my life that I love took time, needed care, endured struggle, and weren’t universally loved. Things of value take stands, choose sides, and realize they can’t serve everyone and everything.
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<![CDATA[ Different measures of success ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/measuring-success/ 5e62850483ba3f0038452eeb Mon, 08 Jul 2013 05:54:00 -0700 The ability to share information and experiences is one of the pillars the Internet was built upon upon. But this ability also leads to a misleading perception at times.

I recently had lunch with a new acquaintance, Justin Jackson. Our streams overlap somewhat, in terms of who we follow on Twitter. It was a comment that Justin made that reinforced for me the fact that how we measure success is important.

We discussed a mutual acquaintance, someone who has achieved a significant amount of online success. This success had been in terms of exposure and attention, which is great. However, neither attention or exposure has resulted in financial success for this individual. Upon hearing this, I had to chuckle, realizing I had once again fallen into the trap of comparing myself to others.

And while I recognize it’s best to focus on our own craft, the reality is that comparing ourselves or our work to others is inevitable. So when that happens, we should have a clear vision of what we consider success.

Twitter followers and email subscribers may be considered a success for some, but for this provider of a family of 8, a project has to result in income. That might sound greedy, but in reality it’s not about getting more and more, it's simply a fact that time is limited and any work related endeavour must have the potential for income at this stage in my life.

Why care about how we measure success? Because seeing others have success in attention can cause us to question our own approaches and consider following the example set before us. If you're going to do that, you want to be sure that the person(s) you model yourself after, or the strategies or techniques that you adopt, will result in the type of success you seek.

With that in mind, here's how yours truly defines success for a project:

  • the purpose or content of the project is a benefit to others
  • it results in income, and requires no future responsibility that does not result in income
  • it requires a growth in my skills and knowledge
  • I have fun while working on and launching the project

While I've used the term “project” here, you can take this list and apply it to anything you do. Whether I'm writing a blog post or launching an online business, I try to keep this ideals in mind.

How do you measure success? Let me know, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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<![CDATA[ Waiting for the dust to settle ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/canada-day/ 5e6284cd83ba3f0038452ee1 Sat, 29 Jun 2013 16:00:00 -0700 As we head to the weekend, I'm looking forward to sun, temperatures north of 30 C, and fun in the water. We’re on a much needed holiday and a family reunion is the perfect opportunity. The fact that is takes place on the Canada Day long weekend and the weather looks to be the best of the year is icing on the cake.

We’ve got an incredibly spotty Internet connection here, which is wonderful. And so I head into the weekend with no concrete plans on how I'm going to replace Google Reader. I'm cool with that.

Earlier in the year, right after the news hit, I reviewed the great iPad options available. Those are still there (Pulse, Feedly, and Flipboard being my three). The developer community has pulled out some great stops and now there are several other feed syncing services available (Feedbin and FeedWrangler being the main contenders). And let's not forget the bigger names stepping to the plate (AOL and Digg).

Some of these looks like G Reader clones, some bring a little ingenuity to the RSS space, and others are buckets of a different sort, including other steams of content into the mix. Oh, and emails … those are an option for many sites that offer RSS feeds. So what's a reader to do?

For now, I step away from the hose and just wait it out. I know I'll return in 12 days and see what the other nerds are saying. I’ll want to dip my toes back into the stream of updates again. But I have a strong suspicion my reading habits will take on a slight change, altering to fit the new services available. Maybe reading news will finally be one of those things I no longer do at my desk!

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<![CDATA[ Familiarity for users ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/familiarity/ 5e62848483ba3f0038452edb Fri, 21 Jun 2013 20:23:00 -0700 Iterative development has been touted as the way to operate, whether you're developing web sites or applications. Instead of perfect, you shoot for a good start, launch, then slowly improve over time. There are blog posts aplenty dedicated to this topic.

And there is wisdom in this idea. Yaron Schoen said it well:

I have a lot more respect for designers that have the same excitement after shipping a product as they did before shipping it. Because, at least in my mind, real designers nurture.

We all know the allure of the new project. It's exciting, fresh, and you're not 100% of what the end goal looks like. But it's so easy to get distracted with the new, that many people neglect a product or service shortly after launch. Heck, I've abandoned ideas for something new before I was even able to launch.

This concept of nurturing your ideas sits well with me.

But balance is needed

But there has to be a balance. The changing landscape in software and design has lent itself to fatigue, a tiring of so much NEW. I'm not referring to the abundance of choice, new apps and services being created, offered, and forgotten each and every week. That's another problem entirely.

No, I'm talking about app fatigue caused by those I already own. The tiresome red notification bubble that several apps on my iPad, iPhone, or Mac have been updated.

Look, iteration! Please update now!

Amidst all the criticism of iOS7, there seems to have been universal agreement that automatic updates for iOS updates is a gift from heaven. Not having to manually update each app will be an improvement. But what about the changes introduced?

The application that has me asking this question is one I enjoy. A lot. Rdio is a fantastic service, so very well designed, and I've been a paying customer for a couple years now. But good gosh, I've almost come to cringe every time I see another update is ready.

Why? Because I never know if the actions I use with the app, the way I use it, will be changed. Will selecting an album to listen to be the same as it was yesterday? How about finding the little rdio.com link to share a song with my coworkers? Or adding songs to a playlist.

It's odd to have this apprehension because Rdio is a fantastic service and the changes are almost always improvements. But there are so flipping many of them that I feel this anxiety of never knowing what to expect. A little voice in the back of my head wonders if some of the experimenting and iteration could be saved for a select few members of the Rdio team rather than the entire user base.


There's a reason so many people stick with using bad software. In user interfaces, familiarity very often does not breed contempt. Rather, it brings comfort. I'd like a little more familiarity and a little less iteration with Rdio.

Lest I give the wrong impression, let me be clear. Rdio is one of my favourite services and I love the apps for each device I use. Ryan Sims is a mad genius. I just wish they'd slow the pace a little, let me get used to things before improving the product …

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<![CDATA[ The iterations of OS X ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/great-balls-of-fire/ 5e62845183ba3f0038452ed4 Thu, 13 Jun 2013 08:32:00 -0700 What a week. The WWDC keynote generated a lot of discussion, ranting, and much hullabaloo. Whether you liked what you saw or not, there's no doubt this series of announcements was a bigger deal than the last few years have given us.

iOS 7 has garnered most of the attention, for good reason. But it's Apple starting from a clean slate and because of this I'd withhold my judgement for now. I like the overall direction and look forward to diving in next fall.

The Mac Pro was an announcement that excited me. Despite the fact that it's a machine I will never purchase, being too powerful to be justified in any way, it was a sign that Apple is not focusing completely on the iOS lineup. The design of the computer alone shows they are willing to work in their labs on whatever they think will interest customers and give a great experience. This bodes well for the Apple TV, iWatch, and whatever else is still more conceptual at this point.

But what caught my attention most was the continual refinement of the OS X. This is what drew me to Apple as a company and it's been so enjoyable to use this platform as it's matured. This is also why concern over the visual aspects of iOS 7 are unwarranted. iOS will mature over time the same way OS X has.

Here are the updates that I'm looking forward to in Mavericks (apart from the name, which is awkward):

  • iBooks on the desktop is not something I see myself using a lot, except when testing iBooks Author. But keeping mark of your spot in a particular book with iCloud is great.
  • Maps on the desktop however, that is a fantastic addition. I love to get a lay of the land before travelling somewhere new and doing this on my laptop will be a great way to research and plan. The send to iOS aspect is also helpful, as well as the ability to bookmark specific maps.
  • The new look of the Calendar is a good change … we don't even need to say that. But continuous scrolling in the Calendar month view is worth the upgrade alone (I did find it odd that Contacts was not mentioned, but I will assume it has also improved).
  • The Safari sidebar will be a much nicer way to handle bookmarks and Reading List. This is a place where OS X is taking cues from what we're learning from mobile and iOS. This particular change to Safari on the desktop is taking queues from Safari on the iPad. There were complaints of incongruence across apps in iOS 7, but Safari is proof to me that Apple has no sacred cows and the best experiences across devices will make their way to the others.
  • The usefulness of 1password is surpassed only by its oddities. Keychain might be a good replacement … I usually hate to see a good 3rd party developer gets rolled over by Apple, but having my passwords accessible in Safari on my iPad, rather than in another app, is worth it for the end user. I'm looking forward to this change.
  • Tags in the Finder … I'm not sure if I'll use this. It will make finding documents in iCloud easier, but Apple needs to ensure the process of adding tags to documents is dead simple. The screenshots of the Save dialogue looks like this will be the case.
  • Tabs in finder will be lovely. Period.

Notification Center: updates from websites

Could this be an RSS solution, a viable replacement for Google Reader? The functionality sounds a little different: updates from sites can be displayed in the NC, but there is no mention if RSS is the mechanism used.

There is also a mention of these updates being displayed even if Safari is not open. Does this mean the functionality is tied to Safari? And there's a note on this feature, mentioning that this only works for sites that utilize the functionality:

Requires adoption by third-party websites.

This feature intrigues me the most out of all the updates. But it's a bit odd since Apple killed RSS from Safari not too long ago.


Another lovely touch by Apple is the iterative improvements to their website. Apple.com features some of the slickest design around. All in all, it was a good week for Apple fans and I'm looking forward to the fall.

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<![CDATA[ Using Flickr for stock photography ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/flickr-stock/ 5e62842283ba3f0038452ece Thu, 06 Jun 2013 07:42:00 -0700 With the additions of services like 500px, many have predicted the demise of Flickr. Yet it is still here. And it has received more attention in terms of development and design in the last couple of years than the five previous. I'd suggest that the Yahoo leadership has some sort of vision for the service and community … finally!

The recent new redesign of the service, as well as a great iOS app, has people reconsidering it once again. I've never used it as a primary backup location for my photos (I have a Dropbox Pro account for that), but there is another usage for Flickr. It has been my go to resource for photos when I'm working on site designs. Stock photography if you will. Even when it was languishing in its aging 2004 skin, it was still more useful in this capacity than many other services.

Here's why I like it:

Some sites have search functionality that boggles rather than enables. Not so with Flickr. The various options work as you expect, making it easier to narrow down the items you have to look through to get what you need.

Creative Commons licensing

One of the advanced search options is in regards to licensing. This ensures I can search for items that I can actually use in a project.

Large sizes

Of course, Flickr has long had the All Sizes link when viewing a photo. But unlike crappy stock photography site, photographers on Flickr often include the larger, original resolutions of an image. This means you have more control for cropping or resizing an image to use on your site or project.

New design

The recent changes to the web version of the service are enjoyable. Browsing through a photostream is a pleasure, and reviewing search results is greatly improved by the larger images and layout. The previous versions had smaller thumbnails in a rigid grid — I find the new design much improved.

New Flickr Design

Closing: Even with many new services available, I still turn to Flickr when I need an image for a site design. The new design only improves its usefulness in this regard.

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<![CDATA[ iPad first ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/ipad-first/ 5e6283e883ba3f0038452ec7 Thu, 30 May 2013 10:21:00 -0700 On the subject of creating with an iPad, I'm a bit of a Johnny-come-lately. Yes, creating on the iPad has been possible since the day it launched. And yes, I’ve used it for a bit of writing. But I never embraced it like many others have. I was of the opinion that my more powerful and functional laptop was always the better option.

Until recently.

I've been working on a side project for the last five months. Like many of you, I've a full time job to take up most of my time. And so my early mornings have been dedicated to working on this idea, a major chunk of the work has been writing. All of which has been done on the iPad.

But as the work shifted to design and other tasks, I noticed a change. My early morning work sessions that took place with my laptop were both less productive and less enjoyable. Trying to identify just why this was has given me some ideas, but no firm answers. What makes me reach for the iPad first?

Less distractions?

My first thought is that time spent writing or working on the iPad was simply more productive due to the lack of distractions. On the laptop, I have Notification Centre, emails, usually a Twitter client, muscle memory that seems to open Safari and “check” things if any task takes longer than 3-4 seconds … the list goes on.

Yet, the iPad has distractions as well. NC (Notification Centre) is also present on iOS. There is email, Twitter, and RSS. But overall, the distractions are somehow less … distracting. The bunny trails are fewer and shorter in duration. All the apps are out of sight and must be activated on their own.

I'm left with this conclusion: with or without the external display, my laptop has a screen size that is rife with potential distraction. The act of simply flicking my eye away from the task at hand to another part of the screen is enough to move my attention from what I'm trying to accomplish to something less important. And so, my work sessions on the iPad resulted in more progress towards my end goal than the ones on my MBP.

Is touch that intimate?

Another aspect of these iPad work sessions is they were more enjoyable. A difficult thing to measure, for sure. But I have to admit there is a certain fondness I have for working on the iPad, which makes me wonder if the reason, at least in portion, is due to the touch interface.

This project is sitting somewhere in the range of 30 to 40,000 words. All of which have been typed out on the iPad’s on-screen keyboard. An exercise in futility, right? I would have thought so myself. But I've never gotten around to picking up one of those iPad-external keyboard combo kits that Shawn Blanc and the like all use. Thousands of words later, I can say its not really needed (although it may have resulted in far less typos and made me faster).

So is the touch screen that enjoyable over our traditional interfaces? I love to work with my hands! But the cynic in me says tapping on glass doesn't really count in that regard. Nonetheless, the feeling is there … I love to work on my iPad.

Caffeine?

One last thought occurred to me. I treasure my 5:00 AM work sessions. The house is silent. The coffee is hot and it's the best cup of the day! Every idea seems golden in these moments, every typed out paragraph full of lustre.

Perhaps these iPad work sessions seem ideal due to the circumstances of the day. How would I feel about the device as my primary tool for creating after a long day of work using only it to perform my regular tasks? Would the feeling be the same if I used it for creating after the caffeine has worn off and I'm more prone to irritation? These are questions I can't answer because I've never used the iPad in such a manner.

In the name of research, I will be giving it a try in the coming weeks. But for now, the fact remains that I prefer to write and work on the device that I assumed would be best left for consumption.

Habit fields, reversed

Jack Cheng’s ALA article Habit Fields comes to mind when thinking of this subject. I love his idea, that the iPad is the place where he’ll have an RSS app to check feeds or a Twitter client, rather than his laptop. Or that a particular chair is where this activity will occur. This idea still makes sense to me, but I wonder if the activities should be reversed.

Jack hits the distraction nail right on the head:

Thanks to the computer’s ability to multitask, sometimes these habit fields actually become oriented around the act of switching programs! If you’re conditioned to alternate between different modes of working every few seconds, it’s no wonder you have a tough time staying focused on one thing.

That describes my habits on my laptop. The constraints of the iPad shine through when it comes time to create.


In the past, I've tired of listening to writers & bloggers talk about how great the iPad is for creation. For writers, sure … what about everyone else? But good software enables.

It was good software that drew me to Apple early this century and it’s good software that is the major factor in the enjoyment of using an iPad. I include third party software in that statement, but the majority of the praise has to go to Apple.

In terms of sheer power, my MacBook Pro greatly exceeds my iPad. The smaller device is simply less capable, but maybe that’s the point.

Apple has been focused on the overall experience in their rise in the last decade and a half. I suggest that the success of the iPad proves their direction to be true. I base that partly on market numbers, but more so on my own usage and how I feel about the Apple products I own. It's somewhat unexplainable, like trying to describe to my kids why I'm fond of my splitting maul or my impact drill.

It's something you just have to experience for yourself.

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<![CDATA[ Choosing the right type ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-right-type/ 5e61ebe44aafb80038b3bebe Thu, 23 May 2013 08:44:00 -0700 I have an affection for type that cannot be simply described or explained. I'm not a professional designer, writer, or editor, yet when I see words set on a page or screen, there is a feeling that comes over me.

If the type is well set, then it’s a surge of appreciation. If it’s obvious that very little thought has been given to the layout and character of the text itself, then I have an unbidden disdain for the content within. And most often, I have the desire to design something, anything and to start with typography.

A good example is reading my Bible. It's decently well done, but often when reading I'll have the urge to design a Bible related web app. I have no vision for what this app would do (some kind of a study & notes app), but I want to take the words I care so much about and make them sing.

I've been (finally) working my way through Robert Bringhurst’s The Elements of Typographic Style. In section 1.2.4, sub-titled Choose a typeface or a group of faces that will honour and elucidate the character of the text, he says this:

This is the beginning, middle and end of the practice of typography: choose and use the type with sensitivity and intelligence.

Oh, how that resonates with me. Yet I can't help but wonder, how does the apprentice or novice designer make that choice? If you've had little to no training in the art of typography and want to start a blog, how can you possibly choose your type with sensitivity and intelligence? I'm not sure that you can.

Obviously, you could read a book like this. But not everyone will take such a step, so how can we make typography a little less daunting? How can we reduce it to the basics so that people with little understanding or awareness of typography can make better choices?

I don’t have the answers to these questions, at least not whole ones, fully fleshed and ready to be acted on. But it’s something I’ve been thinking on a lot lately. Thankfully, this is a subject that has already received a lot of attention in the blogging world, so there are some great resources for getting started. Here's a few of my favourites:

Hack design emails

These emails are design focused in general, but they had a good series on typography. Be sure to check out the archived versions of the newsletter.

The Typecast blog

A good read in general, the folks at Typecast had designer Robbie Manson write a couple of good posts on this very subject. Check out How to Bring Great Type Into Focus and A Practical Look at Choosing Type.

This is a fantastic resource as you get both theory and the practical advice on how a real designer works.

The Elements of Typographic Style Applied to the Web

If you can't take the time to read Bringhurst's book, this is the next best thing. It takes the principles from the book and applies it to the web, complete with example code.


Like anything, getting started is the best way to improve. Only time and practice will most likely give someone the ability to choose type with sensitivity and intelligence. But I think there's still room for a tool or resource that teaches newcomers the basics of this art.

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<![CDATA[ Where the people are ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/where-the-people-are/ 5e61eba04aafb80038b3beb9 Thu, 16 May 2013 23:45:00 -0700 For anyone who's followed along here over the years, you'll know that yours truly does not have much confidence or trust for services that are free. Twitter most definitely falls into the category of services where I believe the user is the currency, not the customer.

Yet, although I've transitioned away from other services like Google for my Internet based tools, I've had a hard time doing the same for Twitter. Why? Because the people are still there.

People over ideals?

I've backed App.net (ADN) since it first started with it's Kickstarter-esque campaign. I've been a user since the beginning. I believe in the ideas behind the service, plus I appreciate the vision Dalton Caldwell and team have for where to take it. I'm a paid user and treated as the customer. In short, I trust the service.

But I barely use it.

Simply put, I find the conversations I see there of little interest to me. The majority of the people I follow on Twitter are not present on ADN. Many have accounts, but very few are active. I would love to see that change.

You've no doubt seen these types of posts from others, but I have 100 free invites to give out. Come join me on a platform where the focus is on what's good for the community, not the investment team. I would love to see the design community grow here.

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<![CDATA[ Every day ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/every-day/ 5e61eb744aafb80038b3beb3 Thu, 09 May 2013 06:12:00 -0700 Being a parent brings many different challenges. Daily. Yet, it also results in so many rewards that are hard to describe to those without children. Whatever issues arise, by the end of the day there’s no question that being a parent is worth whatever trouble may come.

But I still struggle to remember that fact in the moment. When my children frustrate me, my irritation always seems justifiable. They have disobeyed, or done something contrary to the instructions they’ve been given many times before. In the moment, I can only think of the inconvenience that the disobedience, foolishness, or just plain loudness has caused.

As a Christian parent, I'm thankful that He reminds me of the truth of the situation once I've cooled down and the irritation has gone. When clear thinking returns, I'm reminded that my irritation is only because I've been inconvenienced … which is never a good cause for punishment or harsh words. It's a selfish reaction.

I remember that each time my child disobeys, or sins through their own selfishness, my job is not the protect myself or my time, but to point them to God. Each infraction is an opportunity to point them to the cross, to preach the good news of the Gospel.

Parenting is one of the best opportunities to practice daily the laying down of self and picking up the cross. His will be done, not mine. All glory to Him, not myself.

Parents, if you're a believer, please remember that your mission field is right in your home. Making disciples is the call for all of us and we don't have to go anywhere to do it. They're always watching, so through the power of the Spirit that dwells within us, let's be the salt and light that draws them to the Father.

A I get older, I get better at remembering all this. Even in the moment. Boy oh boy, there are days when I don't want to! But seeing the lights start to come on in their eyes is worth it.

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<![CDATA[ Reading list ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/reading-list/ 5e61ea874aafb80038b3be9c Thu, 02 May 2013 06:54:00 -0700 Like many other geeks, I'm constantly evaluating my tool set. With Google Reader’s imminent shutdown, I've been considering the alternatives for RSS, as well as the options for getting news in other ways.

And in the category of bookmarking and read-it-later services, I've moved back and forth between different services over the years. The news of Instapaper’s sale got me considering the options once again.

I've tried the big ones. I used Instapaper fairly early on and it's a wonderful app. However, it’s never been the most lovely service to look at. The iOS apps are decent, but the web service could use some love.

At some point I gave Readability a long look. It was also a good service, much more nicely designed than Instapaper. But the model was not — there’s been a lot of controversy over how they handle content. Next up for me, after a switch back to Instapaper, was Pocket. Yet another well designed free service with complementary apps. But it also left me wondering when the service would simply disappear, bought out because they never figured out a way to earn income.

Most recently, I've given Flipboard's magazine option a try. The Flip It bookmarklet has done the job and Readability is a wonderfully designed app with a lot of little details that delight. But again, it's a free service.

My confidence and trust in free services is at an all time low. Like many other geeks and early adopters, I'm focused on using services that I've paid for and for whom I am the customer and not the commodity (except Twitter … I love the idea of app.net, but most of the people I follow are still slinging the tweets). So in the arena of read-it-later services, I've been thinking about options where I would be considered the customer.

I realized that one company that I do trust, for whom I am the customer, offers such a service. But it's one I never gave any consideration since it launched, I suppose because I was already enjoying some other service at the time. This company is Apple and the tool is Reading List.

Right there under my nose

Reading List has been my tool for saving items for several weeks now and there's a lot to like. It's nowhere near these other tools in terms of features … but that is not a detriment! Here's what I like about it:

  • it's fast; there is no waiting for a javascript bookmarklet to “finish” it's thing
  • it's always there, no matter what device I'm using
  • it includes absolutely zero social features, which I never used in any of the other services listed above
  • I paid for it when I purchased an Apple computer or iOS device

There are a few negatives. It's not the most visually stunning feature. But it doesn't need to be. It's simply a list of pages with a few bits of data stored for each. One other negative is there is no way to group, categorize, or tag the items in this tool. That can be an issue for some.

The genius of Reading List is that it’s included in Safari, a great web browser. So while Reading List itself does not have a strip-out-everything-but-the-content feature like Instapaper, Safari does (Reader). There are no options for typography choices like Readability and Instapaper with Reader, but it's a tradeoff I can handle.

And while Reading List has no social sharing functionality, Safari does.

Did I mention it’s fast? Adding a web page to Reading List on the Mac is a short CMD+Shift+D away. If you decide that you want to bookmark the page more permanently, CMD+D adds it to your bookmarks. And it’s baked into the OS, so any application can add support to put items in Reading List as well (please Silvio!).

Last, Reading List separates unread items and all items.


The more I consider the idea, the more I realize it’s Safari that is a fantastic tool. And unless I feel the need to share my bookmarks and items I'm reading, using Reading List and Safari’s bookmarks is a perfect solution.

A good example is the negative I mentioned above: organizing and categorizing is something you can do in a service like Instapaper, but not Reading List. However, I can organize my bookmarks in Safari to my heart’s content. Leaving my read-it-later items in one long list is perfect, the organization should happen after I've read it and decide it’s important enough to reference in the future.

Using Reading List has worked well for me. It’s only been a couple of weeks, and I'm a self admitted switcher, but for now, this is my setup.

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<![CDATA[ Selling your hard work ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/focus-on-creating/ 5e61ea4f4aafb80038b3be97 Fri, 26 Apr 2013 21:36:00 -0700 For anyone who has used PayPal to collect payments online, I have felt your pain. When it comes to trusting services to help you run your business, most web focused entrepreneurs have little desire to let PayPal keep their finances in order.

PayPal does have its advantages. It's accessible in most countries, does not require a credit card, and is straightforward to use for the consumer. However, as the one making a sale, its detractions far outweigh the benefits. The fees are significant enough to get your attention, the UI is a dog’s breakfast, and we’ve all heard stories of mysteriously locked down accounts and extremely poor customer support processes.

Because of this, I'd much rather use another option if possible. We ran Fusion Ads for three years on PayPal, but I was always looking for other options. Today, it's nice to see that new businesses can start collecting payments with much more friendly solutions.

Stripe is the one that gets a lot of attention. And for good reason. It’s well designed and was created with developers in mind. But as a non-developer, what I've been pleased to see is plenty of services that make getting set up with Stripe more friendly for those without coding skills.

I've been keeping my eyes open for alternatives in preparation for a new business of my own. Here’s a list of what has caught my attention so far.

Bitsy

Gumroad

Helium

Memberful

MoonClerk

Ribbon

Space Box

TransferWise

All of these options look good. Some require the customer to create accounts, others simply add an overlay to your web page for one step payments. Some add a transactional fee, others simply are a front end to Stripe and add no extra fees. Not all are purely payment gateways … they simply make it easy for creative people to sell products, services, or memberships.

And that's what is so great. Creative people can easily earn an income for their work and focus on doing what they love instead of mucking around with code.

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<![CDATA[ Jack ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/jack/ 5e61ea0b4aafb80038b3be91 Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:54:00 -0700 With a slightly furrowed brow, his deep brown eyes flicked back and forth, following the passing scenery as we sped down the highway. Like any four year old boy, his hat was turned backwards and slightly to the side.

As he peered out the window, I couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind. Was he reflecting on the events of the day, remembering the the perfect blue sky filled with hot sunshine, the time spent in the water, or the delicious and extravagant summer food? I wonder if he realizes how blessed his existence is, if he knows how he lives like a king of old times, more comfortable than 90% of the people in this world will ever experience.

But of course he doesn't. We do our best to ensure that he and his siblings realize their blessedness, but I know too well how I fail in this area myself. How can I expect a four year old who has never known anything else to grasp this perspective? Yet we will continue to try and teach our children what they have and how they are called to share, to care for those in need and distress.

After all, that's what my Father did for me. And I long to follow in His footsteps.

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<![CDATA[ 50 minutes ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/fifty-minutes/ 5e61e9e54aafb80038b3be8b Fri, 19 Apr 2013 05:26:00 -0700 There seems to be a growing dissatisfaction in some circles of the design world. Many people, especially those getting a little older, seem to want the community to move the focus from aesthetically pleasing baubles to solving real problems.

I couldn't agree more. If we could have a few more start ups focused on clean water, healthcare, or food shortages and a few less that are focused on helping us read everything or recommending movies to our friends, the rest of the world might join us in saying that technology and design can make a difference.

But solving real problems requires time. Downtime. Thinking time. And silence. I hope there are a whack of designers and developers out there — young and old — who are looking to break free from the cycle of social media updates so they can find inspiration and vision to solve bigger issues.

One such designer is Jason VanLue. He and Sean McCabe are writing a book that will tackle these issues. I think our industry should be thinking and reading about this subject. So go back this project.

Then spend 50 minutes in silence, thinking of a problem you'd like to see solved.

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<![CDATA[ Little bits of words ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/little-bits-of-words/ 5e61e8fe4aafb80038b3be85 Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:41:00 -0700 Finding words can be hard. Finding the just perfect words even harder. But given enough space and time, experience has taught me that I can find them. But what about when the space is extremely limited?

That's the situation I currently find myself in. I'm working on the marketing site for a new personal project. Marketing sites are tricky.

First, I personally have to feel really good about the product or service … I have no desire to shill needless items on people in order to earn an income. But if I've identified a real need, then I can feel good about offering my solution for sale. The next step then is making the sale.

And so the hard part. A marketing site has to articulate the problem and why your solution meets the need of the potential buyer. And do so quickly and succinctly. Joshua Porter summed this up well:

Ironically, the smallest bits of copy, microcopy, can have the biggest impact.

And so I find myself with the time (relatively speaking), but not the space. I'm still looking for the perfect words, little bits of words put together just right. Microcopy.

Unlike the blog post or help document, microcopy doesn't come after a long flow of paragraphs. In a piece of long form writing, you often form or hone your thought during the writing. Not so with microcopy.

Instead, you write, then throw away. You write again. Nothing ever seems quite right, so you rub it all away and start again. There's no flow to help you find the answer, just scattershot words and verbiage. A mess.

The words will come, but the process is not what I'm used to. That frustrates me.

I need to go take a shower.

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<![CDATA[ Crisis management ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/crisis-management/ 5e61e8c34aafb80038b3be7f Thu, 11 Apr 2013 07:01:00 -0700 The tell tale buzzing started again, for the third time that day. It’s not like a smoke detector or air raid siren, but it’s enough to get your attention from anywhere in the house. And it sent shivers down my spine the first time I realized what it was.

That buzzing is caused by the high water alarm on my septic system. 27 year old Chris Bowler would be visibly upset at this sound. It would cause him to stress a bit, to be a little short with kids. He’d think thoughts like, “Why did I buy a house in the country? I don’t know how to deal with septic tanks and wells!” He’d have a hard time enjoying anything else while this emergency loomed.

At 37, I’m thankful for age, most days. I can recognize past situations where I’ve faced these kinds of things and gotten through them just fine. Most importantly, I’ve learned the very important concept that the unknown becomes known … and does so fairly quickly. There’s nothing like tackling the unknown in the past to help you deal with the unknown in the now.

Recognizing this fact helps me in all areas of life. I can confidently take on projects that are beyond my ability because I know I will learn what I need on the way. Being a father is another good example … I was totally lost the first time around, but the kid has turned out very nicely.

Having never done something in the past does not gaurantee future failure. Sometimes, you just get out your tool kit, open things up, and take a look around. Amidst the muck and the poop, you learn a few tricks and fix the problem.

Turns out the crisis isn’t always much of a crisis at all.

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<![CDATA[ Content ownership ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/ownership/ 5e61e7544aafb80038b3be56 Thu, 04 Apr 2013 23:11:00 -0700 A lot of folks I admire have posted content on Medium in recent months. Medium is a nice looking tool, another creation of the wonder pairing of Ev Williams and Biz Stone. The focus of this service is on sharing ideas, a publishing tool that houses your content and enables better interaction.

Mr Williams describes it this way:

More concretely, Medium is a system for reading and writing.

Sounds nice. It also sounds a lot like the Internet in general …

The question that must be asked then, is this: “Should I give someone else control of my writing?”

Control

Here’s what I don't like about Medium. I'm putting my hard work, my words, into someone else’s hands. Ev and Biz have shown they can build amazing services, but they haven't proven to build services that are profitable.

This criticism is not only directed at Medium. Svbtle and other networks (platforms?) like it are the same. Services like Twitter and Tumblr fit this idea as well. I use both, but one is used more for content consumption and the other is simply a mirror of the content I publish on my blog that I have full control over.

In 2013, it’s now very evident that when your content resides within a free service, you're ceding control and ownership to someone else. Is using a service like Medium better than publishing your own content on a site you control?

I believe the answer is no, but let’s consider a few factors.

Quality

Tools do not make the writer. But it appears that Medium has this goal in mind. Ev has this to say on his Welcome to Medium post:

Lots of services have successfully lowered the bar for sharing information, but there’s been less progress toward raising the quality of what’s produced.

I appreciate the idea of tools that make collaboration in writing more simple. That’s why I'm excited for Editorially. The difference there is that when completed, you put your work, your content, somewhere else. That's not how Medium works.

Perhaps there is some editorial aspect to the service. Without having used it, I can't say for sure (I have seen some poor writing there, along with some good). But even if there is something that aids in improving the quality of one’s writing, is that worth the price of giving control of the content to someone else?

And the big question is what happens to your content when Medium is sold to some larger entity. That's been the model of Ev and Biz, so until they show differently, that is what I'll expect in Medium’s future.

Complexity

Many have turned to hosted publishing options because of the ease of use. Services like Tumblr make it very easy to post (or repost) content, but they also take care of the technical details like databases and web servers. This is an attractive aspect for people who need less complexity in their lives, not more.

But the question is the same. Is this is enough of an advantage to put years of content into a service someone else controls?

Bigger audience

Last, I've heard some acquaintances mention that part of the allure of using Medium is getting a piece of writing in front of a larger group of people than using their own blog would. Without seeing statistics, it’s difficult to know if this is accurate.

And when considering investing in a service, you have to think long term. If Medium has success, with thousands, or even millions of users, will this advantage exist? Does using a Blogger site give someone a bigger audience to start?

I see this as factor not even worth consideration when deciding whether or not to use a service like Medium. It's the shiny and new right now, but that fades.


Overall, the value is not there. There are other ways of improving the quality of your writing that allow you to still maintain control of your work. We should all be leery of using free services and expecting to have that control, or to be anything other than the commodity being sold in such a service.

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<![CDATA[ Early ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/early/ 5e61e70c4aafb80038b3be4f Thu, 28 Mar 2013 23:00:00 -0700 For many, building a product or service is something that has to be done on the side. Having a full time job means that your primary day time hours are spent on someone else's baby. If you want to create your own baby, it's going to take some sacrifice.

With this in mind, it’s important to establish, daily, an attitude for the long haul. Apart from the occasional long, late night work session, progress on your baby is going to be slow. Glacial even. You have to have the right mindset in place to bring this idea to fruition. We all have ideas, but successful people stick with them while regular people quit when progress stalls.

Establish your vision early

It’s vital to have a clear picture of where you're going. That way, in the minute details of the work of any particular day, you can pause to reflect on how this task meets the needs of the vision. If the finish line is fuzzy, you’ll always be questioning whether the task can be considered progress or not.

That results in frustration. Have a firm image of the finished product from the beginning.

Think incrementally

If you're going to see this thing through, adapt an incremental mindset. Recognize that 500 words written in a day is progress. Completing the design of one section of a page is as well. Same for researching and choosing a payment processor.

If you don’t focus on what you get done each day, each week, you'll focus on what’s left. That can be daunting, and depressing, and it's why so many people give up and stick with their own 9-5 situation. Recognize that small steps forward are steps forward nonetheless.

This also requires a clear set of actions to bring the idea to life. When time is in short supply, there’s nothing worse than the feeling of “what now?”. With the vision firmly in mind, accurately list out the required steps.

Be an early riser

Learn to enjoy watching the sun come up after you. Embrace the quiet periods when no one else is around to distract. Nothing beats a hot cup, a quiet house, and a clear vision of what’s to be done next.


Life is busy in 2013. Bringing an idea to life takes sacrifice and clear vision. Getting the vision in place early is vital.

I’ve written about this in the newsletter to my members, where I share about what I'm working on. Consider supporting this site to receive thsese updates.

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<![CDATA[ The race is on ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-race/ 5e61e6c24aafb80038b3be48 Wed, 20 Mar 2013 08:31:00 -0700 There are times when the changes that the Internet has wrought in my life over the past 10-12 years simply amaze me. One of those areas can be simply summed up as content. It's a lump of items that can be hard to define, but I believe content is applicable.

Consider everything the Internet brings us these days. News and events. Sports. Entertainment. Knowledge and research, information (and speculation) on a subject of interest. All of these come mixed together now on one medium. Often from the same channel. Television was similar, but it was set to someone else's schedule and only brought one type of content at a time. Not so with the Internet.

One container to rule them all

In a recent article, Levi Mills covered the upcoming changes to Facebook’s interface. While this new look is partly to reduce visual clutter (greatly needed), it’s primarily intended to reflect Facebook’s changing focus:

Content is now the center of the Facebook experience, not relationships … the network that was built to connect people is transforming from a communication platform with sharing ability into a content platform with communication ability.

Mills is spot on. Every company that is a major player in the current tech space is racing to be the place where people consume content. It's what the Internet has been driving towards and for good reason. Mills sums it up early in his piece:

They want to change Facebook’s purpose, because the race is on to be the container for all of your consumption.

The race is indeed on. Google, Apple, Twitter, and Facebook all want to be the hub of where you find, consume, and share this content with others. Companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Netflix are all in the mix as well, but with slightly different approaches.

This race is where Steve Jobs was so ahead of the rest of the industry. He saw Apple devices as the hub of the home, the entertainment system of the early 21st century. Even if people choose another software alternative like Facebook or Twitter to find and consume content, if they’re doing it on Apple devices, Apple wins. The fact that Apple also creates great software is icing on the cake, but much of their software is completely focused on ensuring using multiple Apple devices is as smooth of an experience as possible.

It’s a strategy that's working very well. It's not surprising that so many rumours of a Facebook phone have persisted, or that Google has entered into the hardware arena. These companies are recognizing the genius of Jobs’ vision and are racing to catch up.

Curating? Not really

In his article, Mills moves on to discuss the importance of good curation to whatever tool becomes the hub of this content. For the love of all that is well defined, can we please stop misusing this word?

Curation: the act of curating, of organizing and maintaining a collection of artworks or artifacts.

Wikipedia even includes a definition of digital curation, which still does not fit the activity Mills details in his post:

Curating is how we've dealt with the incredible amount of content on the web.

No, it clearly isn't. Simply try looking for content that is more than 3,4 years old and it becomes very clear that almost no one is ensuring we have well put together collections of past content. Twitter and Facebook streams are full and fast flowing. If you want an item of content to get attention, you know that attention won’t last more than a few minutes.

So can we start using a more apt word? Filtering is a good fit. Sharing is as well, although it’s used so much that it makes some of us ill to hear it. Disseminate? Too long, and not catchy enough for social media experts, I suppose.

Whatever word we decide on eventually, Mills is right in that curation (filtering) well done will win out. There's simply too much to consume, so choices must be made. Like the man staring at a wall of salad dressing options at the supermarket, we’d appreciate some help in making a choice. Can I get a little help from my friends?

This social filtering of all these heterogeneous streams of content will be a focus as we figure this stuff out.

The end of Reader

News of Google Reader's coming demise brought out a lot of opinions. In light of the content race outlined above, it may seem like a surprising move for Google to make. Not really though; they’ve been pushing Google+ on users for a while now and are willing to sacrifice a product of their own that competes with it.

Personally, I take it as good news. Reader was the last Google service I still use and I'll be happy to move to — and pay for — an alternative.

Aside from complaints or shouts of joy, some folks have suggested it's a good time to consider replacing RSS. Twitter has done this for many people. Some suggest simply manually visiting the sites you enjoy most as part of your daily routine.

Having been on a fast of both Twitter and RSS since Lent began, I'm looking forward to considering any and all alternatives. This is a much easier exercise to undertake when you're not busy consuming the deluge of input (as of this writing, my RSS count sits at 1,415 … this is an issue in and of itself). Having 40 days away from the constant input has been a great opportunity to reflect on my consumption of content, and how it may change.

The alternatives

I've considered the Twitter only option, as well as visiting sites manually. Email subscriptions! There's also Fever, Feedly, Pulse, and Flipboard. Plenty of apps like Feeds In fact, it seems like each week brings another option, various web based or tablet apps that collect updates from various sources you plug in.

The issue is that Google Reader has been the source itself, so these apps will have to either allow you to drop in a batch of feeds (an OPML file etc) or offer some solution of their own.

Just stop

Another alternative is to cut it all out. Before my fast, I wouldn't have given that option much thought. But over the past 4 weeks, I've missed this content a lot less than I would have guessed (remember books?). Partially this is due to the enjoyment I've had in more time, and realizing that I don't actually feel like I'm missing out on much. I'm missing out, there's no doubt of that, but I realize I'm not missing out on anything of enough substance to make me long to return to my old habits. At least not exactly as before.

This is partly due to the fact that I’ve gotten some content coming my way during my work day. Coworkers share items in the chat room. I signed up for News.me a few months back, a service that scans your Twitter stream for every 24 hour period and sends you the top 15 links of the day. So I'm getting just enough to satisfy, but not overwhelm. There's less of a desire to ’check’ things when during non-work hours.

Overall, my fast has been a great exercise, leading to a few solid conclusions.

The divide between processing and consumption

Not only has my fast allowed me to consider my consumption, but it has led to considering the various alternatives in greater depth than the past. I've known about a lot of the iPad apps that have surfaced in the past couple of years, apps like Pulse and Flipboard. Now I've been able to check them out and step back and appreciate the design and usage they encourage without getting caught up in my content.

This has led to two observations. One is that these apps are good. Really, really good. The design is so very well thought out.

The second is this: they are built more for processing than consumption. At least for this guy. Tiled items, streams of content … the design allows the user to quickly move through items, picking out items of particular interest. Bite sized morsels can be taken in, but I find that anything of longer form longs to be moved somewhere else.

Because the stream beckons me back. There's more to look at!

There is a gap between processing these inboxes, these containers of content. Whether it's Facebook or Twitter, a pure RSS reader or a new fangled tablet app, they all feed the desire for more … more updates, more consumption, ‘more checking in’. My time away has resulted in more long form reading and I'm loath to give that up.


The race is on. For our attention. Whatever bucket or inbox you choose to receive, filter, or consume this content, recognize the effects it has on you. Go deep. Processing is not consumption, let alone digestion.

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<![CDATA[ A new kind of craftsmen, same as the old one ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/craftsmanship/ 5e61e6534aafb80038b3be3f Wed, 13 Mar 2013 13:13:00 -0700 The term craftsmanship brings to mind skills of yesteryear. Woodworking, textiles, cobbling, and smithery all come with the connotation of years of honing one’s ability, of apprenticeship. And, in our modern world where most of us don’t know how items for purchase come into existence, I often mourn the loss of the careful consideration men would give to their craft in these professions.

But my sense of loss also comes with hope. The reason is twofold: we're seeing a resurgence in young people picking up some of the old crafts, and at the same time, craftsmanship is being applied to new professions. Even though senior web workers have only worked in this medium for a short period of time, 10-15 years at most, there are those among us who have given the meticulous time and attention required to becoming a craftsmen.

So craftsmanship is not dead. It has waned in certain areas, but that is changing. And new frontiers and technologies are being introduced every day, and men and women are building expertise in these areas as well.

But what about Jack?

In times past there have been those who have not been focused on one thing. Their area of knowledge ran deep, but not so deep as the master craftsmen. Rather, the jack of all trades was good at many things. His knowledge had depth, but that depth was spread across many different crafts.

The same can be said for today. Indeed, the web is such a convoluted mix of technologies, tools, and processes that it is essential for a web based worker to have a wide base of knowledge to build on. And while some people build on that base to focus on one specialty, many others purposefully choose to keep their fingers in many pots.

Just as in years passed, a craftsmen of one specialty will reap financially for his or her expertise. People will seek out those with an elevated level of knowledge.

But what of jack? Can a person make a living in our modern time by being pretty good at a lot of things, rather than extremely proficient at one?

Yes, indeed.

A way of thinking

There is a place, and always will be, for those who can bridge the gaps between deep levels of knowledge on different subjects. Because when one’s knowledge goes extremely deep, the person wielding that knowledge can have difficulty communicating with others of lesser knowledge. Or, two experts cannot speak each other’s language. That is where Jack can come in (often called a project manager in today’s world).

Wikipedia says this about a jack of all trades:

Such a Jack of all trades may be a master of integration, as such an individual knows enough from many learned trades and skills to be able to bring their disciplines together in a practical manner.

To this I say, “Amen!”

In order to become proficient at many things, Jack has to have a certain way of thinking. He's a problem solver. I suspect this is as true for years past as it is today.

I'm talking about an ability to step back, to view a problem from all sides, then isolate the next step. Indeed, a master craftsmen also has to have this mindset, but because Jack works across multiple disciplines, this way of thinking, of approaching problems or projects, is ingrained. Each tool has its own syntax, methodology and techniques, but the process for attacking a problem can be consistent regardless of the tool, or the field of discipline.

And because a Jack of all trades switches between fields, the process becomes that much more important, and that much more efficient.

But is Jack a craftsmen?

In today's world, yes. Although the term craftsmanship intimates the mastering of a craft, the deep knowledge we've discussed, I must make the case for a purposeful generalist.

Indeed, how many front end developers do you know that can wield Photoshop with a deft touch? I know plenty. Or javascript wizards who are adept at HTML and CSS. UX designers who are fantastic photographers. Writers who can bend a CMS to their will. Illustrators who are perfectly comfortable building out a flexible CSS grid.

Applying oneself across multiple disciplines results in a lack of time to be an expert in one. But you can consider the ability to mix and intertwine various technologies and techniques worthy of the description 'craftsmanship'. I've focused on the web professional, but the idea applies to all areas of vocation.


The modern web enables and necessitates this kind of mixed skill set. And those who are competent at many of these will find themselves rewarded; both financially and in regards to job satisfaction. Jack enjoys going deep, but also strongly feels that variety is the spice of life.

He's not a man to be pinned down.

This article was originally published in the R&T magazine.

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<![CDATA[ Hammers are sucking the soul from carpentry ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/words-matter/ 5e61e5dc4aafb80038b3be38 Mon, 04 Mar 2013 07:17:00 -0800 Imagine someone using a headline or statement like that? As if a hammer, or any other tool used by a craftsmen of wood products, would be given so much credit that it greatly affected the usefulness and quality of the end product.

Let’s use an example that’s closer to home. Copywriting is taking the life out of web design! Right. As if well written, carefully crafted words that evoke the right tone and cleverly communicate the nature of the business or service contained within a web site will ruin it.

Can we all agree that any end product is more greatly influenced by the one wielding the tools, rather than the tools themselves. It's 2013. There are a whole lot of tools and techniques required to make a website turn out well, and a whole lot of ways one can go wrong. Just as blaming publishing tools for bad writing is misguided, so too is blaming frameworks or methodologies for a design that is lacking.

But that’s what Noah Stokes did last week:

I feel like responsive design has sucked the soul out of website design. Everything is boxes and grids. Where has the creativity gone?

One result of this statement was a good discussion on the topic. Unfortunately, the discussion spent half its life defining exactly what Noah actually meant with his statement.

Words matter

Noah followed up this thoughts in a long form blog post later on. It turns out that he doesn't actually believe that RWD is sucking the soul from web design. Rather:

I did however want to elaborate a bit more on my thoughts, as I think they are not about RWD as a methodology but more about the visual trends/aesthetics that are dominating our industry right now …

That's better. I understand his tweet though. We’ve all seen something during our work day, then spat out a short, caffeine fuelled tweet that never fully communicated our thinking. I'm so, so guilty of this! The problem is, we can use tools like twitter to make these statements without fully working out the problem or solution in our mind.

That’s why I love the long(er) form blog post. It gives you time to clarify your thoughts, to hone your thinking on the subject. How many times I've started out a post with one conclusion intended, to only change my thinking during the writing of my thoughts. Or, more often, to more clearly identify the problem.

Noah is right. There is a lot of copying in web design (there always has been). Every time I come across a new site with a fixed nav bar and multiple sections of content on a long vertical page I feel like it’s time for something new. I can imagine exactly how he felt when he crafted his tweet.

But his answers to the folks in the Branch discussion and his blog post prove that he actually thinks differently than his original statement indicated. He hadn't taken the time to flesh out that thought fully.

Words matter. Whether it copy for a site, a blog post, or a tweet, we'd all do well to carefully consider our words before throwing them out to the world.

Opinions are subjective

Some opinions are just preference. One man’s soulful design is another woman’s soulless wasteland. Noah was asked for some examples of sites that exude ’soul’. His answer listed several sites that I would definitely consider to be well done, but I wouldn't associate then with the word soul.

We’re all different, so of course, certain words will evoke different emotions or associations for each of us.


Noah Stokes is a craftsman, one I greatly respect. Please don't read my words above to believe otherwise. Reading the Branch conversation last week simply got my brain churning along these lines.

RWD or any other tool are simply one more thing we can use to meet our intended goal. But in the end, words are the primary tool of the web designer, for with them we communicate our purpose to the audience. And it's the same for Twitter, this blog, or any form of conversation.

Words matter … we have to use them with care.

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<![CDATA[ Why you should write things down: experience and information ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/writing-things-down/ 5ea33427a4fd530038e9294a Sat, 02 Mar 2013 07:45:00 -0800 Jesse Day shared this interesting piece on the value of writing things down.

The purpose of writing is not to store facts for later. Well, it can be, if you’re writing down an address or phone number. But the purpose of writing down ideas is to document a thought process. When you go back and read what you wrote before, you are transported back to that experience of thought. You are able to pick up where you left off, and continue whatever journey you had embarked upon.

He makes his case by defining the difference between experience and information and how the latter can help us recall the former. I love this concept, but golly gee, thanks for the added pressure, Jesse!

One of my maybe goals for the year has been journalling. It’s habit that feel by the wayside several years back for me. Sure, I journal my Bible reading. And I have several different types of content piped into my journal. But plain old fashioned writing down the events of my life and how they affect me? Not happening (unless you count this newsletter, which could be considered a journal of a sort — it requires almost daily writing and includes many things that are top of mind for me … but I digress).

I believe in the power and value of keeping a journal. But I struggle to find the time. This post was a good reminder of the value and caused me to consider once again a change here.

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<![CDATA[ Greater joy through fasting ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/greater-joy/ 5e61e5924aafb80038b3be2f Mon, 25 Feb 2013 08:01:00 -0800 Growing up in an agnostic home, I was unfamiliar with the idea of Lent. Of fasting in general. But as I've matured, I've come to appreciate the idea of denying yourself for a period of time. It takes practice, but there is much to be gained by the act of withholding from yourself.

In the most recent issue of Offscreen Mag, I was hitting on this idea.

Thanks to the good writing of others, I've been thinking a lot about contrast of late. How a good coffee is better enjoyed after a bitterly cold morning of chopping wood. A hot shower is best when the muscles are fatigued, the body covered in dirt.

You appreciate things more when you don't partake in them constantly. Working on a computer brings me a lot of joy, but not if I put it above everything else in my life and spend more time on it than is healthy. I love, love Chapman's Vanilla Frozen Yoghurt drizzled with Adam's Peanut Butter. But if I eat it 3–4 times a week, it loses the allure, some of the enjoyment.

“Familiarity breeds contempt” is a phrase that rings true. We come to value things less when we're not reminded of how good they are and how blessed we are to have them. Good food, work we love, spouses, children, healthcare, friends … the list goes on. We take a lot for granted in North America.

And so choosing to deny yourself is not a matter of discipline, although discipline is required. It's actually a matter of self-interest, a seeking of greater joy. I'll be better off for holding back for a while, gaining appreciation for the blessings in my life.

Back to Lent. This year my wife and I are taking part in this observance. There are many ways to observe it, many things to fast from. My wife and I are off of the Internet: no blogs, no RSS, no Twitter or Facebook for 40 days. I'm abstaining from food one day each week. Breakfast on Sunday morning has new meaning these past few weeks!

Again, this is not an exercise in self-will. It's good for me.

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<![CDATA[ Housekeeping ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/some-housekeeping/ 5e61e5244aafb80038b3be29 Thu, 21 Feb 2013 23:13:00 -0800 Once upon a lifetime, I enjoyed conducting interviews with people I followed online. Over time, those interviews have sat in the corner of an abandoned SQL database. No longer! They've been taken outside, beaten with a stick, and are ready for a fresh set of eyes.

If you enjoy a long conversation with various internet celebrities, give this a look:

As well, this style of interview continued with my first (and only) podcast, Creatiplicity.


In another vein, I finally migrated my list of tweaks and modifications I use whenever moving to a new computer. You can see that here.

Subscription options

The feed from the last iteration from the site still works, but who knows how longer Feedburner will be alive. You can use it still, but there's a direct URL as well:

Again, thank you for reading.

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<![CDATA[ Good teams, good processes ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/good-processes/ 5e61e4b34aafb80038b3be20 Thu, 14 Feb 2013 07:08:00 -0800 One benefit of being slightly older in the web field is that I've had the chance to work with a lot of different teams. You learn what works well and what doesn't with teams of various sizes. And a key factor that always comes into play is processes.

Processes are a part of work that many folks would rather not think about. The term can sound much too formal, or corporate. The problem is even if you don't think about processes, they exist. Reality is that you have processes, whether you've thought them over and given them attention or not.

Whether you're creating a new product or supporting an existing one, nothing is worse than an undocumented, rogue process. Uncertainty is acceptable and expected when you have a brand new team coming together, or you're entering into a new field or industry, but not when you have a team that's been through a few battles together.

A process does not have to be formal, stuffy, or restrictive. It's simply a recognition of how your team works. Analyzing each process, at least a little, goes a long way towards ensuring your team and your customers are happy. And documenting each process is a necessity, especially as your team grows. Nothing brings comfort and validation for a decision well made to a new team member than a clear indicator that their new employer has got it together.

Julie Zhuo says it well in The Manager’s Manifesto:

Making the best decision is not as important as putting in the right processes to ensure that the best decisions get made.

Indeed.

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<![CDATA[ Apprenticeship vs discipleship ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/discipleship/ 5e61e43a4aafb80038b3be17 Mon, 11 Feb 2013 10:21:00 -0800 The difference between these two roles is slim, yet vast. Both are to learn from a master, to pick up the skills required to do what the teacher does. Both learn from observing and being in the presence of the one who has experience and wisdom. Both are focused on become craftsmen in the field in which the master is well known.

But an apprentice does it with the focus on earning wages. The time spent in apprenticeship leads to knowledge and wisdom in all facets of the trade. Not only must he understand how to build the finished product, whether a chair, a hydraulic pipeline, or a website, but he must understand all the factors leading to it. An apprentice also knows how to obtain materials, care for his tools, and run the business.

But discipleship goes further. Not only does the disciple focus on what the master or teacher does. Rather, much time is devoted to why, to beliefs.

Our modern view of education can focus merely on collecting knowledge. But this has not always been the case. Christ's discipleship meant that the student became like the master. Not simply in knowledge or awareness, but rather in thinking, in character. And most importantly, in action.

Christ had strong words for those who had knowledge that resulted in no action. Hypokritēs … hypocrite. Knowledge without action is empty, hollow.

Let each of us learn with the end goal of applying our knowledge so that others benefit from our expertise.

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<![CDATA[ Local development with Hammer & Anvil ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/hammer-and-anvil/ 5e61e40b4aafb80038b3be11 Thu, 07 Feb 2013 22:14:00 -0800 Front end web development gives me a lot of joy, but it's not without its frustrations. And so I'm always looking out for any tool that improves my processes and reduces friction. Espresso is a good example of a tool that does just enough without offering too much, and it's a permanent fixture in my tool belt.

Another tool I've come to love is Hammer. The slogan for the app says it all:

Build out static HTML sites quickly and easily. No fuss, no mess, no PHP.

No mess is what I like. MAMP is handy, but it's overkill for me and often resulted in frustration. Hammer is slick and has a handful of small features that add up to a big improvement in local development.

The small things

My favorite is the auto refresh. I've expended way too many Command+R's to refresh a design. Having the work in progress refresh itself in the browser is a lovely thing. This is something that's been available for a while with tools like LiveReload, but most I've seen have been one trick ponies. Hammer combines the auto refresh with these other great items:

  • includes: simply embed other files in the project without having to type a URL, similar to a snippet or template within a CMS
  • paths: reference your assets (CSS, JS, or images) without having to worry about the URL path
  • variables: just like they sound, set a value to be used on multiple pages of your site design
  • preprocessors welcome: works with SASS, SCSS, and CoffeeScript files
  • publish: Hammer will also create a testable, reviewable version of your in-development site which you can share with clients or dot comrades

On their own, each item is not terribly significant. But put them all together in one application and the result is a tool that becomes indispensable.

Typekit

When working on a site design, I like to start with typography as early as possible. Simply because the spacing, alignment and 'feel' of the design is affected so much by your type choices and because your content should be the focus of the design. And since I tend not to splurge on fonts all that often, I like to add Typekit to my in-progress design early on in the process.

In the past, that often meant using a clients folder on my web host and refreshing the browser twice to see changes. Not so with Hammer. It's possible to get Typekit working locally, which gives you the advantage of using Hammer's automatic reload functionality.

To get this working, you'll also need Riot's tool Anvil. This handy, free utility allows you to manage local sites and creates a unique dev URL for each project. You can simply add this URL to your kit on Typekit (build.dev in my case).

Add a URL like build.dev to your kit

Now you can test your early iterations with various type choices.

Customizations

The default configuration comes with a few things I don't want or need. An example is the normalize.css file. To change this, you can update the application package for Hammer. Simply browse to your Application folder and find Hammer, then right click and choose Open Package Contents. From there, simply browse to Resources > Sample App. Within that folder are assets and includes, with various content in each. Here is where you can modify what is included with each new project you generate with Hammer.

I add my CSS resets to the main CSS file rather than a separate one, add an images folder under assets, and remove the app.'s file. Customize to your preference and note that you'll need to authenticate to admin privileges to make these changes.


Again, on their own, each little improvement to your workflow is not what makes Hammer such a pleasure. But the combination smooths out the local development process in a handful of ways. Even better, every time I've had a question for the team, I get a response within hours.

I heartily recommend you try it out.

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<![CDATA[ Good software delights ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/good-software-delights/ 5e5fe755c40b1c003776027e Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:33:00 -0800 Redefining yourself is never easy. The same is true for your business. This is part of the reason I admire the folks at OmniGroup. When the iPad became available, they immediately set out to bring all of their apps to this new device (platform might be a better term).

I respected this team before. My first exposure to their applications was OmniOutliner on OS X, a lovely tool. But my usage of various Omni-iOS apps has increased my respect tenfold. For they did not take their desktop applications and simply attempt to recreate them on a smaller screen. Rather, they took a step back and imagined what could be done on a personal, handheld, touchscreen device.

How many people have made the mistake of trying to replicate their desktop offering across three very different hardware devices (desktop, phone, and tablet)? This is where OmniGroup shines — OmniFocus for iPhone is focused on how you would work on that device, putting much focus on easy capture and context or location. The iPad version is so, so well done, focusing on review and planning. Both are significantly different from the OS X version, for good reason. We use these devices in different ways … the software should reflect that.

The OmniGroup applications I own have delighted me over time. It's hard to describe — using the tools is the best way to experience what I'm referring to. I'll come to a point where I'm not sure how I can perform an action. A few moments of exploring the UI and I find what I'm looking for. This sounds like it could be a cause of frustration, yet the effect has been the opposite. The applications have just the right level of intuitiveness, actions being not quite obvious, but never too hard to find. I have to put behind my years of desktop computer use and allow myself to explore what's in front of me.

Examples

Two apps have a place on my iPad home screen, OmniFocus and OmniGraffle.

I was planning a new project this week, using the early morning quiet and coffee to dream big. The project had some tasks that needed to be grouped together. On OS X, my muscle memory knows that to move a task under the preceding task, I press Command+[. But I'd never done this on the iPad. My initial reaction was to tap and hold the task, expecting it to 'pop out' after a few moments or display the 'burger' icon meaning the list item could be rearranged. But no, tapping the task simply invokes the task's modal window.

OmniFocus list  view

Instead, in the task's modal, there is a Move button. Tap this and you can move the task into another task, creating the grouping I was looking for.

Tasl modal dialogue

Another good example is OmniGraffle. How does one take a complex stencilling and drawing tool, stuff its complex UI into a smaller screen and still make it usable? Very carefully and thoughtfully, I suppose. That's what OmniGroup has done.

When you use the tapping of an object to select it, how does one select multiple objects on a canvas? In the case of OmniGraffle, you can't pinch and swipe to select (pinch zooms in on the canvas). Instead, they added a modal dialogue for offering different selection options. It's slick in usage.

Clever Selection modal

Another good example is aligning objects. With no mouse to use for an accurate drag and placement of an object, how does the user align objects? The finger placement simply isn't accurate enough. Again, another modal along the menu gives this control.

Geometry modal gives accurate control over object placement

Like Apple, Ken Case and his team at OmniGroup appear to have no sacred cows. They've been willing to rethink their work and took the opportunity of a new platform to improve. With this in mind, I'm very excited for the impending arrival of OmniFocus 2 for OS X. Ken has already announced that the desktop version will be taking on many of the characteristics of the iPad version, clearly the best of the three options.

I'm not sure what that will look like on the desktop, but I look forward to be delighted.

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<![CDATA[ Migrating from ExpressionEngine to Kirby ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/using-kirby/ 5e5fe728c40b1c0037760276 Mon, 28 Jan 2013 22:01:00 -0800 This latest iteration of my site is powered by Kirby, a lovely CMS created by Bastian Allgeier. Kirby has no database and is folder based, so its simplicity is felt in managing the site and, more importantly, in publishing your content.

EE is a wonderful tool, powerful and wonderfully flexible. It's perfect for running my church’s website. But it was more than I needed for my own site and had two bits of friction that got old quickly. Getting your content in requires logging in to the web based administration panel.

Secondly, the update process is cumbersome, at least compared to tools like WordPress. And every time I would log in to publish an article, there was my reminder that an update was available. And when it comes to writing, any friction at all is a serious problem.

Enter Kirby. I’ve had my eye on the tool for some time and had heard good things from some dot comrades. The migration from EE went very smoothly, partly because Kirby is straight forward, but also largely due to the good documentation that Bastian has created.

If you're considering using or moving to Kirby, be sure to read through the available documentation. Specifically, the tutorial on building a blog. This will give a good overview of how Kirby is structured and how you can adapt it to work for you.

Map out your structure first

My first step was to decide on the content for my site (and that should be the first step of any web project). Then I could read the documentation and evaluate how Kirby would provide the structure to build out my content. For my needs, Bastian’s example of building a blog fit perfectly.

I wanted to ensure that older incoming links still worked and to do so without any .htaccess skulduggery. This meant that I had to ensure that the URLs were the same as the previous iteration. With Kirby, I simply created a structure of pages, plus a journal. With the folder based structure, it looks like this:

Site structure

And that is the basic structure of my content. Pages get a folder, and all articles are contained within the Journal folder. Each new article is a text file within a sub-folder. Simple.

The structure of Kirby itself

Once you’ve established your content and how you think it will fit within Kirby, you really dig into the CMS itself. Again, pretty simple. It's also fairly similar to ExpressionEngine, making use of templates and snippets. The basic structure:

Kirby structure

I haven't touched the Kirby folder itself. You’ll spend most of your time in these folders:

  • assets (CSS, images, and JavaScript files)
  • content (described above)
  • site (how you build your site’s structure)

The site folder has subfolders, specifically templates and snippets. There's also the plugins and config folders, which you'll use slightly less.

Templates are just that. They are the building blocks for the various types of content structures you'll need. You can see from my setup that most pages have their own template:

Templates

Snippets are pieces of code that are shared throughout the site. In the default setup, Kirby comes with snippets for the header, footer and nav (titled menu). I simply use one for the header and footer.

At the end of the day, you could create a blog, portfolio, or e-commerce site with Kirby. It's flexible enough to meet various needs and the template structure allows you to build in a manner that fits for you.

Some miscellany

As mentioned above, the documentation was quite helpful and the migration smoother for it. Whenever I hit a snag, a read through the tutorials or a bit of searching in the Kirby forum resulted in an answer.

A good example was the archives page. I simply wanted a page that offered the reader some of the more popular pieces, then a nicely styled list of all articles in reverse chronological order. A my PHP knowledge is sorely lacking, it took me a bit of digging to find the solution.

Archives code

Another example is the pagination. There's a tutorial on how to add pagination to a list of posts, but not for adding pagination to a single post. The two code snippets are very similar. For pagination on a list of posts:

Page pagination

And for adding pagination to a single article:

Article pagination

And while the first snippet was detailed in a tutorial on the site, the second snippet was available on github, linked to by Bastian in a comment on the Kirby site. So the documentation and knowledge are all there, but you will have to search for an answer on occasion.

Publishing

The most important piece of this transition for me was how easy was publishing. Friction or complication not welcome. Here's how I've been posting articles in the first several weeks.

On OS X

On my MBP, I use Transmit almost every day. With posting my articles, I launch a Transmit drive to my server, create a new folder, then drop in my article.txt file that I created when writing the content. That's it.

On iOS

I do most of my writing on my iPad.

Content structure in Diet Coda

So my drafts are sitting in iA Writer, ready for posting on either my iPad or my MBP. To publish, I use Diet Coda. Opening my site, I again simply create the folder, then add a new text file (article.txt). I then copy and paste the contents of the draft from iA Writer.

Publishing on iOS

Migration

As I mentioned recently, migrating the content from one CMS to another can be tedious. In my case, there was no database queries or other technical work to pull content from ExpressionEngine. Rather, I reviewed all my articles one at a time and moved them to the new structure.

This is not a piece of work that everyone would care to take on. But I enjoy it and embrace the opportunity to review the writing. In this case, I decided that my link list style of posts are needless noise, content that I can share on Twitter rather than my personal site. So simple copy and paste of each article, plus a review and formatting tweak, were the totality of my migration. It took several days, but I consider it time well spent.

Issues

Although relatively few, the migration was not without issues. The primary issue I found was with the formatting of content. Because Kirby is intended to be used with Markdown, there are a few consequences to how the CMS parses and displays your content.

Kirby will automatically detect line breaks and paragraphs, then wrap the content in the appropriate tags. Most of the time this is not an issue, but some of your CSS styles may be affected. A good example for me was post images. All the content in an article has a left margin of 200px, in order to create room for the aside element. But I wanted post images to take up the full width.

However, Kirby sees the images in the article and wraps them in a paragraph. That means the left margin is applied to the paragraph, while the max-width: 100% declaration on the image results in the image taking the full width of the paragraph rather than the .article parent div.

In this situation, I simply wrap the image in a div tag. When Kirby sees this, the paragraph element is not applied.

Overall, this is a minor issue to deal with. Before you make the move to Kirby, be sure to understand how the tool formats the content. Read the formatting text document as well as the text formatting 101 tutorial.


Kirby came with a lot less hassle than any other CMS I've used in the past. It offers the ease of use of Tumblr while giving your control over your content, similar to WordPress or ExpressionEngine.

To this point, the performance of Kirby has been excellent as well. However, you may want to give this consideration if you have an extremely large site with a lot of content. With no database, there is less configuration hassles, but there is also no indexing or other methods of enhancing performance. Kirby will parse through all your content with various queries.

For writing and publishing though, the move was very much worth it. I heartily recommend it.

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<![CDATA[ Soft mixtures ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/soft-mixtures/ 5e5fe6e3c40b1c003776026f Thu, 24 Jan 2013 08:11:00 -0800 It's been a truly beautiful winter in these parts. A lot of snowfall combined with temperatures low enough that the snow stays around, covering every tree you can see, has made for many stunning sunsets.

Northern sunset

What I love most is going out in the afternoon as the sun is beginning to fade. As it creeps to the horizon, it's light glances off the scattered clouds, turning the sky to a wonderful mixture of deep blue and bright oranges and pinks. In between the bold colours is the key, the soft subtle shades of in-between, greys and yellows and soft whites. These are what make the picture, what holds the entire spectre together and gives it such beauty.

This past week, I had the privilege of flying half way across the world to visit with my amazing coworkers. Our destination was Fiji and it was unlike anywhere I've ever visited, a paradise of crystal clear water, white sand beaches, and cheerful, welcoming people.

Southern waters

And in this remote place so far from home, it was the combinations that again gave me pause. The organic mixture of deep green, clear blue, and light and dark patches of coral make the waters here unlike anything I've seen. And when the sun goes down … as I said, it's the colours in between that emphasize the whole over the parts and elicit delight.

It's a blessing to see such beauty in this creation. And it's these landscapes, varied and far apart as they are, that bring joy, humility, and praise for the One that made them.

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<![CDATA[ Set goals that benefit others ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/goals-for-others/ 5e5fe646c40b1c003776025a Wed, 16 Jan 2013 07:08:00 -0800 Here January is half over and I have not written once about the excitement and promise that a new year holds. This is unusual for me because of my fondness for the period between Christmas and New Year's Day. I look forward to that one week every year, a time to reflect and to plan.

The week flew by particularly fast in 2012. There was flu in our house of six, Christmas Day, a litter of eleven pups … the quiet moments were few in number and short in duration. Still, when I did have time to simply stop and think, my mind attempted to focus on the projects underway or about to begin. Things I want to complete and bring to light in 2013 (to 'ship' as the kids like to say these days). But I struggled a little to focus, mostly because of all the other needs that were going on in our home.

And it hit me. Every year I focus on my goals, on my projects. I plan for things that will benefit me. And it all seemed a little selfish. What if we each spent at least some of our time meditating on meeting a goal that benefitted someone else? A goal that in no way benefited us, but rather took some of resources (time & energy) away from our me projects. A lot of good things could be done if we just added one project or goal of this type to our list each year.

I realize my own projects benefit others. They bring in income (hopefully), which provides for my family. And I've deliberately filtered out specific projects from my never ending list of ideas that align with my beliefs, choosing ideas that I believe are good for others, and not detrimental to this world or to others. But still, I aim to choose one thing this year that benefits someone else, where I willingly serve the needs of another. At the very least, it's good practice in denying self, which is always a good thing, if counter cultural.

And reality is this: I will reap benefits in this type of situation. It seems unintuitive, but serving the needs of others over our own brings a lot of joy in the end. I wish I could say this from a lot of experience, but it has been against my nature.

But I've been changed from the inside out and am willing to learn.

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<![CDATA[ Consider your eulogy ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/your-eulogy/ 5e5fe608c40b1c0037760254 Tue, 15 Jan 2013 06:25:00 -0800 Our family attended a funeral recently. It's interesting how differently people can respond to death, some mourning the life that was lost, others celebrating the life that had been lived. This particular funeral had a mix of both.

The man who passed away, fairly unexpectedly, had been a Christian for 12 years. His best friend, who was not a Christian, gave the eulogy. He spent time sharing their experiences, describing a life of enjoyment and comfort.

The son-in-law of the deceased, a former youth pastor, closed the service and painted a picture in stark contrast to that of the eulogy. He shared that in his last days, his father-in-law expressed deep regret for wasting so much of his life. He repented of all the time he had spent on himself, rather than on others and serving his Lord.

Patrick Rhone wrote recently in Don't Wait for the Eulogy:

Why wait for the eulogy to state what someone means to you? If someone’s life and accomplishments have great meaning the day after they are gone, my bet is they had even greater meaning the day before.

That's a great sentiment. I would also suggest the reverse: don't wait until your last day to live the life you want someone describing in your eulogy. Live today in such a way that if you were suddenly gone, those who loved you most would give the eulogy you would want to hear.

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<![CDATA[ Creating value that lasts ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/lasting-value/ 5e5fe5d5c40b1c003776024c Mon, 14 Jan 2013 10:00:00 -0800 If one waits long enough, time will prove your routine. This has proven true for me and my writing and my personal website. A daily morning routine has given place for my writing, but on a larger scale, I tend to evaluate the entire site on a yearly basis.

Looking back to my first blog in 2008, I can see that I have two routines for the site. It gets a visual refresh once a year. And the CMS changes just less than every second year. I started with WordPress, moved to Tumblr, made the leap to ExpressionEngine, and now Kirby is running the show.

Each of those tools has its positives and negatives. I made the move to Kirby for one reason: simplicity. It's a reason I've made many changes over the past couple of years; I desire to focus more on the work than the tool. Kirby is mostly frictionless.

I must admit, changing a CMS can be a lot of tedious work. No matter how well planned out, there will still be some manual work, some scrubbing of content. But I tend to embrace this task because it gives the opportunity to review your body of work. I re-read every article on my site in the process of moving it over.

When you perform an exercise like this, whether you plan to or not (and I do), you will think about your overall goal with your writing. Why am I writing? Who am I writing for? Why am I writing articles of this sort? When all was said and done, I had one question to answer: why do I continue to write link posts?

Ben Brooks has made similar changes in the past year. He first vowed to discontinue linking to other articles with very little commentary:

Linking to a post and commenting “cool” is now against my own rules. If I can’t add value to a link with thoughtful analysis and opinion, then that post isn’t getting a link on this site.

Later, he discontinued the act of using links as the title of his posts, moving from a John Gruber style of linking to a style of commentary used by Jason Kottke:

That is, everything is an “article”, but some articles are specifically about a linked item. That which is being linked to is no longer done in the title, but instead in the first paragraph of the article — and linked to prominently.

When I read those posts, I appreciated Ben’s thoughtfulness. He desires to create lasting content. I desire the same. And a review of your writing helps you to see where you've done that and where you haven't.

In my migration to Kirby, I started by reviewing all my articles. They were moved over, tidied up a bit, and when required, formatted for the new design. I then moved to my linked items, of which there were quite a few more. If you've written a DF-style blog for several years, the number of linked-list style posts can really add up. But do they have lasting value?

Sadly, no.

A quick review of Mint proved this to be true. Linked items are not the top sources of traffic, nowhere near it even. This makes perfect sense - other writers will not link to links of original work. Instead, they link to the end destination.

I wrote linked posts for two reasons. To share what interests me and to bring attention to the work of others. It's clear that my Twitter account is a much better place for this sort of sharing, while my own site is a place for content created by me. Content that, God willing, brings value that is more lasting.

I did end up finding a few nuggets in my linked items. Those were migrated over and turned into articles with a prominent link, similar to Ben’s method. The rest are now archived to a dusty hard drive. Again, hits to the 404 page of this site are proving that no one is sad to see them go.

One last change is included in this iteration. The (link: https://chrisbowler.memberful.com/checkout?plan=63 text: support) plan. I love that the Internet is changing the world of publishing and enjoy supporting writers that have brought much entertainment and value to me. I would be flattered when anyone feels the same about my own writing. Thank you for reading.

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<![CDATA[ Define writing ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/define-writing/ 5e5fe4c3c40b1c0037760237 Mon, 10 Dec 2012 10:00:00 -0800 Federico Viticci, in a response to my thoughts about the iOS keyboard:

I think the discussion on the iOS keyboard often mixes writing with editing. Personally, I believe the iOS keyboard is great for writing, because it’s just a normal keyboard, but iOS text selection is in serious need of an update, because it feels outdated.

He makes a good point, if you only consider one type of writing. But the act of writing can come in many different forms. It would depend on how the individual defines writing.

Perhaps Viticci would have made his point better if the verb typing replaced his use of writing. Certainly, the iOS keyboard allows one to simply type. But write? Only if your definition of writing is dump everything out of your head in a stream-of-consciousness with no care for fixing grammatical errors, typos or modifying something you said.

That type of writing may be a focus for blog writers like Viticci. But I would doubt that's the only type or writing he performs on his iPad. Personally, I perform 4 types of writing on my iPad: emails, journal entries, blog posts, and Bible study notes. Two of the four activities take place in iA Writer, one in Mail and one in Day One. There are times when I simply want to perform a brain dump — journal entries for example. But even they would benefit from the improvements the iA Writer keyboard brings.

The truth is that typing on a digital keyboard results in more errors, despite how clever the autocorrect functionality is. Even a brain dump requires some modification when iOS makes a correction and the result is nothing like what you intended to type. And much of my writing requires swapping between apps — grabbing verses from my Bible app for example. Selecting text, copying and pasting, and typing would comprise what I call writing on my iPad. I'm creating a document that is made up of words to be used in a certain context. I'm not sure you can define that as anything but writing.

In linking to Viticci's piece, Gruber has this to add:

As Viticci goes on to say, the answer is not adding more rows to the keyboard

I couldn't agree with that thought less. Every time I type in Mail or Day One on my iPad, I miss the extra line that exists on the iA Writer keyboard. And if stream-of-consciousness writing is the thrust of Viticci's point, then an additional line on the keyboard is not a problem at all. That extra line means you see less of what you've already written, making editing less of a distraction (similar to IA Writer's focus mode).

I stand by my original point. The iOS keyboard could be significantly improved with that additional line. Gruber and Viticci may be right that text selection itself could be improved. But for this writer, personal usage has shown that cursor placement is a key to making writing on my iPad more enjoyable. And iA Writer is where I've experienced that improvement.

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<![CDATA[ iOS keyboard has room for improvement ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/ios-keyboard-has-room-for-improvement/ 5e5fe49ec40b1c003776022f Tue, 04 Dec 2012 10:54:00 -0800 The more I write on my iPad, the more I appreciate the device for this type of creation. It's portable, easily accessible, and I'm less prone to distraction. And with writing applications making great use of iCloud and Dropbox, my data is always there and always in sync with my Macbook Pro.

The negative with writing on the iPad is typing. It's a bit of a mixed bag experience — the iOS autocorrection is (at times) brilliant and I can fly along with confidence, knowing the OS is going to correct my typos. But when mistakes are made and are either not autocorrected, or autocorrected incorrectly, then the iPad becomes a less comfortable environment.

Now, using a physical keyboard goes a long way to improving the experience. Being able to use the arrow keys one character or one word at a time is a must have. Same for being able to use the Command key with the arrows to move to the beginning or end of a line, or select and entire chunk of text. The various conventions of iOS are well designed; the Loupe for placing the cursor in text, the pop up menu for Select, Copy, Paste, Define etc … these are clever designs solving a real problem for working with text in a touch environment.

But overall, as clever as these items are, their usage is still less than ideal. Working with a keyboard is preferred. The problem for me is I've never purchased a keyboard specifically for my iPad. I have one Apple bluetooth keyboard and it's paired with my MBP. I could switch between the iPad and MBP, but as most of us know, pairing bluetooth devices on any Apple product can be a serious chore. Once connected, I tend to leave them as they are.

And so to the point of this longwinded article. Because I tend to type on the virtual keyboard, I'd love to see the iOS keyboard improve. Thankfully, Apple already has a well thought out example to rip off follow. The more time I spend in iA Writer, the more I admire the ingenuity of Oliver Reichenstein and crew.

Compare the two keyboard layouts:

Mail app

Mail app's keyboard layout

iA Writer

iA Writer keyboard layout

The top line on the keyboard adds the functionality that make working with a virtual keyboard more comfortable, removing friction. The two arrows on the right side move the cursor between characters. The two on the left move the cursor between words. Each of these makes navigating your text more efficient than tapping away on the screen.


Every time I type out an email on my iPad, I'm reminded of what iOS is missing. Using Mail's keyboard is a significant reduction of efficiency compared with writing in iA Writer. Here's hoping Apple recognizes the better design and embraces the approach.

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<![CDATA[ The (un)obviousness of iCloud ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-unobviousness-of-icloud/ 5e5fe472c40b1c0037760225 Tue, 04 Dec 2012 06:04:00 -0800 In 2011, I made the move to using iCloud full time. This change was due mostly to the fact that I no longer trusted Google with my data (or any service where the user is the currency, not the customer). And while the change was primarily focused on Mail, Contacts and Calendars, over time I've really come to appreciate the iCloud experience in unexpected ways.

I say unexpected, because even though Apple gave a lot of PR attention to some of the iCloud features, they weren't important to me. Simply because I didn't use them before, or consider them as important in my usage. But over time I've come to enjoy other aspects of my Apple-centric computing set up: Reminders, Safari Bookmarks and Tabs, iCloud documents, and iOS device syncing.

Reminders

A tool I never used in the past, Reminders are fantastic for time or location based items I don't want to forget. Playing with preferences in OmniFocus was an early attempt at this sort of thing, but iCloud made that unnecessary. Extreme hackity-hack power users may claim that Reminders aren't powerful enough, but for regular folks, and this guy, they do what what's needed and nothing more.

Reminders would be more of a novelty to me on only one device. But the fact that I can create one and forget it, because I know I will be notified by whatever device I have on hand, is a thing of beauty.

Bookmarks and tabs

Another feature that became useful unexpectedly; having my browser setup synced across devices.

Okay, synced bookmarks are nothing new. But, like Shawn Blanc, I've come to realize that my usage of Yojimbo has really decreased. I keep a list of resources and items to read on Kippt. But I still require a certain set of bookmarks for work related items in my browser — and having those on all my devices is pure gold.

More so, I've found the tab syncing to be a fantastic addition. Throughout the day I keep Safari open in a non-work related Space, with numerous tabs open to articles I want to read later in the day. It's great that I can walk away (go to the bathroom) and have those articles queued up on my iOS device.

iCloud documents

The majority of my writing now occurs on an iPad. And although the apps I use support Dropbox, it seems like iCloud has been the easier, more intuitive option. iA Writer on the iPad, plus the addition of the Mobile Documents folder (where iCloud documents live in OS X) to my Finder sidebar, have been another improvement to my setup.

iOS device syncing

This didn't really hit me until a call from a friend. He had a new iPhone 5, but it would not sync with iTunes on his Macbook at home. Why? Because iOS 6 wouldn't sync with the older versions of iTunes, running his version of OS X (10.5 or 6). He asked how to fix it and we came up with two solutions. He could upgrade his OS and iTunes, ordering the DVD for one version, then upgrading the rest of the way through the MAS.

But the second option came with a realization for me. It's been several iterations of OS X since I actually synced my iOS devices to iTunes. With iCloud, it's not needed. I pointed him to iCloud.com and told to sign up immediately.

For the past couple of years, I've slowly added various settings to my iPhone and iPad; settings like backing up to iCloud and the syncing of purchases. I never paid a lot of attention to these changes — they simply made sense. When I walked back in my head, I realized that my last two computer upgrades did not involve syncing my iPhone and iPad.

iCloud had made that step unnecessary.


And so it has gone with iCloud overall. I never really set out to use it to its fullness, but it has become integral to my computing experience. It should have been an obvious transition, but instead it was subtle. This past year came with migrations to two new laptops. The ease of setting up each blew me away both times. The combination of Dropbox (my data), Rdio (my music) and iCloud (preferences, OS X integrations, applications and everything else) is a powerful one and a testament to the time we live in.

Dropbox and Rdio are the primary cogs of my machine, but iCloud is the grease that keeps them running. And I think that's how Steve would have wanted it.

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<![CDATA[ Subcompact publishing ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/subcompact-publishing/ 5e5fe42fc40b1c003776021e Mon, 03 Dec 2012 09:28:00 -0800 What else is there to say about the latest essay from Craig Mod? Everyone I follow seems to have read it, loved it and linked to it. If you haven't yet read it yourself, do so at your first available time slot.

All I'll add to this conversation is this: the solution Craig believes is coming is something I need. I've been working on a new project, one that requires a way to do two things — deliver content and charge for access. Sadly, there are not a lot of solid options … a surprise considering it's 2012 and self publishing has been on the rise for several years.

Tools like Gumroad are a pleasant change to the landscape, but while they work well for digital creations, less so for writing. iBooks Author is the answer for longform writing, but not so much for periodicals or subscription based writing. And, as Craig mentions in the article, Newsstand is a mechanism that delivers both criteria I'm looking for, but requires a level of technical proficiency that most writers do not have.

And so I'm looking for the right tool. If you know of some better options, I'd love to hear about it.

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<![CDATA[ Are frameworks the new cookie cutters? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/are-frameworks-the-new-cookie-cutters/ 5e5f25c62148dc003824db16 Tue, 27 Nov 2012 06:14:00 -0800 Mark Dixon asks a great question — one I've been asking myself.

I've used Dave Gamache's excellent Skeleton framework for my past few projects, and it has made the aspect of responsive design quite a bit easier. But I've also had to pare it down, stripping out all the bits I don't need. I've wondered about using something more lightweight, but the reality is, I'd be better off creating something of my own.

Like jQuery plugins, it can be easy to use a CSS framework without fully understanding the fundamental concepts that it employs. That's where I feel I need to create my own starting point for website projects — it's one of the best learning opportunities I have.

Like most things, there is no hard line that works for everyone. Like many commenters on this post suggest, each project will have its own needs. Use frameworks where they make sense. But don't be afraid to spend some time making something to suit your own needs.

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<![CDATA[ Surreal ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/surreal/ 5e5f25fc2148dc003824db1d Tue, 20 Nov 2012 20:00:00 -0800 We all have those days. Where one bad thing piles on another, until you ask yourself, “Is this really happening?” That was our weekend.

Friday was a busy day at the office, a short staffed kind of day. In the middle of that, my wife started to have chest pains. Several hours later, she was headed to emergency while I stayed at home with our four children. That night, our beloved dog Nacho never came home. Saturday morning, our son started throwing up. The proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, you know?

And that's the moment where the temptation to give in comes. As I rolled my eyes upward, the thought comes; “What now, Lord? What else have you got for me?”.

Thankfully, I've been through hard times. I've experienced this moment before. And I've heard Him answer and He has guided me to new life. The truth is, all good gifts come from above. This is my reality. We benefit from mercies we don't even see, mercies we overlook.

By Sunday, my son was recovered. My wife was home and feeling much better. Sadly, Nacho was found lying in the middle of the road, a victim of her failing eyesight and early winter nights. But, as we buried her body on Sunday morning, even that was an opportunity to teach our children about death. How it wasn't a part of His design and how it has no place in the world to come.

And so when these moments come, I'm so thankful He's taught me to sing with the hymn writers of old.

When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.

Amen.

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<![CDATA[ Grasping at straws ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/grasping-at-straws/ 5e5f258f2148dc003824db10 Thu, 15 Nov 2012 08:13:00 -0800 I recently read a recent article (you read that right) on a 'tech news' site that waxed on about Apple growing stale. That their software is “showing its age". That was the moment my browsing session came to an end.

Marco and Gruber recently had a blog-to-blog discussion about the merits — or lack of merits — of linking to this type of writing. I'll go one further; don't read it. I usually don't. This article was a random click of a tweet from someone I follow. It wasn't until the bile reached the back of my throat that I realized I had lost my way.

Does Apple have room to improve? Yes. That was true in 2002 and it's still true today. But a rapid rise to the position of the world's most profitable company is proof that regular folks like a well designed experience over all else. OS X and iOS could be better, but it's clear they're both satisfying to consumers. It's tech pundits who are searching for another story who seem to feel the need to make this stuff up.

The busyness of my day is better spent elsewhere.

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<![CDATA[ Less ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/less/ 5e5f255c2148dc003824db08 Wed, 14 Nov 2012 20:00:00 -0800 Judging from the number of links I've seen to The Best, Dustin Curtis obviously touched on an idea that resounded with many folks. If you haven't read it, he makes a great case for buying the absolute best with every purchase.

I also agree with this idea — purchases where I've followed suit have always lasted and their usage increases the enjoyment as they age. You even develop a fondness for these items (and their brands, usually) over time.

However, I can't help but add two thoughts for making purchases in such a manner. First, the reason is not elitism. I am not what I consume (and neither are you). I hate to think that I used to purchase things so I would be perceived in a certain light. And I hope I'm past that now.

Second, purchasing in such a manner should mean less purchasing, over time. It's easy to succumb to the thinking that getting the best is too expensive. It is expensive in the moment, but not in the long term. The reason is twofold; I'll take more time to make a decision, and sometimes that means not making a purchase at all. And of course, if you buy quality, it lasts. Both factors reduce your consumption.

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<![CDATA[ Having motivation at your disposal ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/harnessing-creativity/ 5e5f25212148dc003824dafe Fri, 09 Nov 2012 20:00:00 -0800 Kevin Richardson describes the issue of matching your times of creativity with your life's schedule. As a father of many youngsters, this resonates with me — I know exactly what he means.

As a result, this impromptu late night motivation is essentially wasted. If only I could bottle it and save it for the morning… While I occasionally indulge myself by working a late night just to scratch my creative itch, I know it’s not practical to work that into my routine.

I love his conclusion as well, but I also have a few methods of actually capturing the inspiration. When an idea or a creative direction strike me in the late evening, I do one thing: write it down. I get a big pad if I need to sketch, or a separate piece of paper that captures the project or idea. I get it all out of my head.

Then, when time allows, I knock off as many little pieces of the task as possible. The key for me is remembering not to buy into the guilt. Rather, I remind myself that even a small bit of progress is just that — progress. And so I do my best to break that idea, that inspiration, into pieces as small as possible, then move them forward. It's slow, but at least the idea isn't lost in the business of the workday and its minutiae.

For me, the key is knowing that the creativity may not be there in the morning, but the motivation is. So if I can capture enough of the creativity when it strikes, the motivation will keep me moving forward.

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<![CDATA[ A daily choice ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/a-daily-choice/ 5e5f24b12148dc003824daf1 Mon, 05 Nov 2012 20:00:00 -0800 I'm reminded that every day brings me one essential choice. I can make the most of what the day brings, or I can choose to despair.

Despair is a strong word, but it's at the end of the road that starts with a complaint. Last week, after returning home from a week abroad, we found that winter had arrived while we were gone. A week away from home results in a lot of catch up work on its own; throw in 2 feet of snow to the mix, and suddenly I easily find reason to complain. Instead of spending my evenings working on a side project or prepping Bible study, I'm dealing with snow for 2 hours.

And those are the moments where I'm faced with the choice. I can grumble inside, allowing myself to be stressed by the mounting task list. Or, I can take a deep breath, look up into the moonlight heavens, recognize the majesty around me, and remember that I'm incredibly blessed to be warm, to have a home and family to care for, and rest in the knowledge that the work will never be done. Not in this world.

I struggle with this choice every day. But with age comes wisdom, and I'm learning.

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<![CDATA[ Not the iPad Mini. The iPad ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/not-the-ipad-mini-the-ipad/ 5e5f24792148dc003824daeb Sat, 03 Nov 2012 20:00:00 -0700 Kyle Baxter answers some of the questions I've had about the iPad Mini. Initially, I had no interest in the device, preferring to wait until it was retina capable. But screen resolution aside, it's been intriguing to see so many folks — people who's opinions I trust — echo the thought that this is the best sized iPad.

My question was this: is it still highly usable as a creation device? Consumption is no question; every article I read on my iPad is a reminder that the device is too heavy to be comfortable for such consumption, especially long term. But does this new form factor negate its benefits as a writing device?

I'm still of the mind that creating is simply easier and more enjoyable on my laptop. But the past years has seen my iPad take first spot as a writing tool. Blog posts, small group Bible studies, my Day One journal entries — all are more enjoyable on my iPad. Not because typing is easy — it's still a lesser experience. I can't describe exactly why writing on the iPad is enjoyable, but it is nonetheless. So, I look forward to the smaller size of the Mini for reading, emails and Twitter activity. But I can't help but wonder if writing on a 7" tablet is the nuisance that I imagine it to be.

Kyle almost addresses my question:

Whereas the full-size iPad is something that you bring with you and set up to use, whether that’s on a desk or on your lap, the iPad Mini is a device you can use while sitting or standing, because you can comfortably hold it in your hands.

Comfortably hold, check. Comfortably type? That's a question I think only experience with the device can answer.

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<![CDATA[ Creating reminders with LaunchBar ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/creating-reminders-with-launchbar/ 5e5f1eaf2148dc003824dade Wed, 31 Oct 2012 07:45:00 -0700 LaunchBar enthusiasts may already be aware of this, but I stumbled upon the ability to add reminders to … Reminders (I now have visions of Austin Powers running through my head). It's quite slick.

Adding reminders via LaunchBar

The key to remember is that the Reminders application from Apple uses lists. If you've never modified from the default, then your list is called Reminders, as shown in the image here. Simply type the name of your list into LaunchBar, then press enter to open the dialogue you see here. Add the description for your reminder, then a due date if desired. The due date comes after the right angle bracket (>), which can be created by pressing tab if you're a lazy typist like me.

Little things like this were what drew me to using a Mac years ago, and they continue to delight me today.

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<![CDATA[ How to start ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/how-to-start/ 5e5f1e832148dc003824dad9 Wed, 24 Oct 2012 20:17:00 -0700 As I've matured, I've learned a lot about myself, especially in the area of leadership. As I became more self-aware, I realized that in circumstances where I was unsure of the next step, I would ignore the situation. If I wasn't sure what to do, of the next action, I would subconsciously not give the area of need any attention. Not a helpful approach!

What I've learned to do is just get started. Do something, anything. It doesn't matter if it was a plumbing issue I'd never handled before, or the design of an element on a website, or a writing a blog post. Just doing something helped with one thing: better defining the actual problem. And once you know the actual problem, you can start identifying the solution. But you have to get started to do that.

This post from Cap Watkins on getting started takes the idea a bit further and is chock full of good advice for getting moving when you've encountered some friction. Here's a few other posts along the same lines:

A Hard Thing is Done by Figuring Out How to Start

A Quick Way to Get Back on Focus

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<![CDATA[ Overcoming project guilt ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/overcoming-project-guilt/ 5e5f1c2a2148dc003824dab6 Thu, 18 Oct 2012 05:44:00 -0700 Sacha Greif wrote about side projects in his last newsletter, making some good points about the benefits of such things. He mentions that these side projects allow us to exercise creative muscle we might not otherwise get to and build up our resume. And I agree.

He also defines a side project fairly broadly and recommends keeping them to 10 hours in duration, start to finish.The issue though, is this: for some, even 10 hours are hard to come by. Personally, I don't have 10 extra hours a week. He talks of the need to make sacrifices elsewhere:

I suggest committing a block of time that you usually spend on something else. For example, stop going to the gym or eat a sandwich at lunch for a week (or even call in sick for a day, or, as I like to call it, "self-initiated 20% time").

I'm stretched and don't have time in my life for going to the gym (I exercise by doing work on my land, something my kids can be involved in). If I'm going to squeeze in 10 more hours of work in a week, sleep is the only thing left to sacrifice.

Sacha makes some good points, but I don't believe he has any children. And that makes a difference.

Your family is not a side project

Over time, there can be a sense of guilt, or being left behind. I haven't had time to learn SASS, or use GitHub enough. I haven't redesigned my online store yet. These are all things Chris Bowler would like to do. And I hope to at some point.

But my purpose here is to simply encourage those with families. Please do not spend your time endlessly comparing your accomplishments or progress with those who have no family. Your setting yourself up for guilt at best, and resenting your family at worst.

Do not confuse this advice with a good work ethic. There is a place for working hard, for being focused, and for sacrificing things like social media and RSS so you can meet a target. So you can create more than consume.

But people who do not have a family to care for don't even realize how much free time they have. They can even afford to waste some, because they have it in such abundance.

Not so with the family man (or woman). I have a wife, six kids, a full time job, a decent sized house, 1.5 acres of land, and lead a small group bible study. I cannot possibly pump out side projects at the pace of a single 20-something living in an apartment in San Francisco. The sooner I realized that, the sooner I could let things go and be at peace.

Priorities

In all of this, you will have to decide where your priorities lie. Is launching a new application, store, blog more important than building up your children? Do you find yourself watching the clock between 5 and 8 PM, waiting for the kids to go to bed so you can get in a few more hours of sketching, coding or PhotoShop?

I'm not proud to say that has been an accurate description for a lot of my days in years past. And I still struggle with focusing too hard on one project or another. But what I've stopped doing is comparing myself with others. And that has led to more peace.

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<![CDATA[ Using Hazel with folder contents ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/using-hazel-with-folder-contents/ 5e5f1d922148dc003824dad2 Tue, 16 Oct 2012 20:00:00 -0700 I've played with Hazel in years past, but never looked at it too seriously. It's definitely a powerful tool! But I found one aspect of the utility very unintuitive. For extra nerdy Mac nerds, this may be either underwhelming or very obvious.

I was looking for an a solution for a coworker yesterday, who had a fairly simple issue. She has her pictures folder filled with subfolders. These sub-folders have more sub-folders or images (Picasa puts the folders there). She simply wanted her Pictures folder to be filled with images, no folders. She was hoping for some kind of automated solution to move all the images into one location, minus all the subfolders.

My answer: Hazel should take care of that, no problem. And it did. But getting there was less intuitive than I expected.

The problem was this: no where could I find an explanation that when you choose to create rules for a given folder, you have to first specify that your rule(s) be applied to the contents of the folder. In my head, I had this assumption that this was implicit and did not need to be specified. I get it now — you may want to act on the folder itself, not its contents, so it has be explicitly set. But it took a good bit of testing (and a little guidance from Garrett St John) before I had the solution.

Rule to move the files

The obvious rule to move the files

I looked through many a blog post, from authors such as David Sparks, Shawn Blanc and Ben Brooks, but never found any mention of this. Same for the Noodlesoft site (not the best source of documentation!). I realize this could simply because it's obvious to most folks and I'm just a little dense.

But in the event that others have been tried out this tool and been confused, I thought I would share this tip. If you want to have rules that apply to the contents of a folder, you must add this rule at the top of your list of rules.

Rule to specify applying of rules to folder contents

The necessary rule to come first

Time well spent.

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<![CDATA[ Curation & discovery ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/curation-discovery/ 5e5f1bf42148dc003824daaa Sat, 13 Oct 2012 08:17:00 -0700 The past week saw another project that I find very intriguing. Linked to by half the western world, it's The Magazine from Marco Arment.

What's intriguing about it? It's another small, targeted publication. 2012 has seen many a publication like this and I love the trend. Even further, The Magazine is also a curated effort of sorts, with Marco doing the work of coordinating writers and ensuring the content fits the audience.

I've spent a lot of thought on those two subjects this year, and I'm very excited where the world of publishing is headed. There are two main factors involved.

The curation is about discovery. RSS & Twitter has been my bread and butter for 5+ years when it comes to discovery things of interest to me. I follow people I like, people who interest me, and people who have proven themselves to produce or find, or in the best cases, both, great content. This year I've started to enjoy email newsletters of a similar vein, With Links being a great example (the fact that I now work for a company powering email newsletters has only heightened my interest in this format). What I like most about this trend is my decreased time with Twitter, and smaller amounts of discovery. If the quality is there, I'm thrilled to be weaned down on my quantity.

As well, many online acquaintances have created publications this year (books, e-books, iBooks, PDF — the format matters not). The focus here is usually a deeper look into a particular subject, with an emphasis on quality writing. Again, these are people who have proven themselves in the past, usually in the format of a blog. Taking their writing to a slightly different format excites me.

The Magazine is a nice package of both aspects. Marco's curation leads to my discovery. What's not to like?

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<![CDATA[ Dick moves ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/dick-moves/ 5e5f1bb22148dc003824daa4 Thu, 04 Oct 2012 20:00:00 -0700 Despite the fact that I've been unhappy with Twitter's business strategy and various "Dick" moves, the end result has been great. The main effect on me has been a reduce usage of their service. And although I signed on for App.net early on, my Twitter usage was not merely replaced by the new service.

There are various reasons for this. Moving to a new house, a new job, and a long trip. But mostly, it's been a continual desire to use Twitter less. I'm thankful for their helping me do what I proved unsuccessful with on my own.

As for App.net, having a client from the Tapbots crew makes it more desirable. But not enough to overcome the desire to change my habits. In a recent post on discipline, Joshua Blankenship stated a truth I have felt for years now:

Disciplining my body not to get Coca-Cola Classic at every meal is not all that different than discipling my mind not to visit Twitter at every mental break.

I don't know how my Twitter/App.net usage will go from here. But I know I'm enjoying the quiet and will take it day by day.

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<![CDATA[ A clash of cultures ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/a-clash-of-cultures/ 5e5f1b922148dc003824da9c Fri, 21 Sep 2012 06:23:00 -0700 As I mentioned, I love the process of familiarizing yourself with a place or people. Sydney has been an easy transition due to the many similarities with Canadian life. But there can be different expectations and norms between even relatively close people groups, so it was only a matter of time.

And one area when Australia differs greatly is coffee.

OZ Coffee

It can be somewhat summed up in a conversation I had with a barista this morning.

Him: G'day, what'll it be?

Me: A large coffee please.

Him: Yeah, a cappuccino?

Me: No, just coffee please.

Him: Yeah right, a long black then. Cheers.


It took me a couple of days, but I've discovered that coffee in Australia means any kind of beverage for which coffee beans are included. It might be a latte, a cappuccino, or the very popular flat white.

You know what coffee never means down here? Brewed coffee. Apparently no one likes it, so you can't get it. Every beverage is a shot of espresso with something else mixed in. A long black has been my drink of choice then, but unfortunately the results have been weaker than expected. And so coffee has been the one negative aspect of my time down under.

Thankfully, the beer has been fantastic!

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<![CDATA[ Three things ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/3-things/ 5e5f1b542148dc003824da96 Thu, 20 Sep 2012 08:13:00 -0700 As I've worked with and observed online businesses, there are three concepts that have become the pillars of how I believe companies should conduct themselves. They are: 1) charge for your product or service 2) give amazing customer service and 3) invest in and empower your team.

Charging for your product or service seems overly obvious in most markets, but not so with the web. Sadly, build first and (try to) profit later is the norm in a bourgeoning industry. There are a few shining examples amidst the many free services available to us, but they are too few and that will need to change. Free only lasts so long.

Giving your customers amazing experiences breeds brand loyalty. Apple is ample proof in that regard. Only head-in-the-sand tech writers still attempt to convince you otherwise, but market numbers state the truth. Apple crafted more than devices in the past 15 years — they were building experiences, from the product packaging right down to the support and sales staff. That has translated into sales and a loyal user base.

Good companies are built on good people. And good people tend not to work for a pay check. Smart business owners know they cannot do everything themselves. And so the best thing to do is replicate yourself. And like loyal users, loyal employees are developed over time. You do this by giving them good experiences and the freedom to make decisions.


After my first three days of training with Campaign Monitor, it's clear that this is a company that operates with those beliefs as well. Dave Greiner was a customer of Fusion Ads, and over the years I had enough interactions with him to see that he and Ben believe in the points above.

It's an honour — and a pleasure — to now be a part of this team.

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<![CDATA[ New spaces ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/new-spaces/ 5e5f1b2b2148dc003824da87 Sun, 16 Sep 2012 20:23:00 -0700 What is about about new spaces that are exhilarating? For me, it's the intrigue. When I travel to a new city, I love to simply wander, to get a feel for the people, the smells, the layout. Most of all, I want to learn of the history. What has happened that contributed to making the city what it is.

early morning sun and sand

Sydney has not disappointed. It has much in common with Vancouver, a city I have much familiarity with. And so, exploring Sydney has been an experience of peaceful curiosity, allowing me to dally my way through various streets without worrying much about the logistics of train schedules and the like.

Sydney Opera House

Actually, it's almost eerie how similar these two cities are to one another. Good transit, preserved historical locations mixed with the new, and stunningly beautiful views of the downtown core perched on the edge of the sea. Sydney is Vancouver without all the cloud and rain (at least, that's what my two days of experience have proven).

Sydney Harbor Bridge

There are differences. Cheesy upside down jokes aside, everything is backwards down here. It took two days for my inner boy scout to get re-oriented. Having the sun at my back when looking south is something that my 36 years in the northern hemisphere did not prepare me for.

And I've angered more than a handful of Sydney drivers as I've attempted to cross the street, looking left first, then hearing the sounds of a quickly approaching vehicle to my right. Yes, yes — I was taught to look both way when crossing the street, but you have to look one way first before the other. It's merely that my first look is always to the left, which is dangerous down here.

Rocks

But apart from those two differences (and the terra cotta roof shingles, strange birds and palm trees), Sydney is a lot like most Canadian cities. Friendly people, roots in the British Commonwealth, colourful money, and plenty of good beer on tap.

Good Beer

Which makes for a fun trip. Hat tip to Campaign Monitor for making it possible.

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<![CDATA[ Writers gonna write ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/writers-gonna-write/ 5e5ec17b2148dc003824da6a Wed, 22 Aug 2012 05:13:00 -0700 The availability of new publishing platforms is good news. Truly. But a comment I made yesterday could be taken in a manner I did not intend. I said:

Publishing platforms are fine, tools lacking friction even better, but the platform/tool does not make the writer.

A few friends called out my thinking (always a good thing) and presented their beliefs that platforms can be enablers, giving people an ability they previously did not have. And in that sense, I agree. One of these friends is working on a new service that aims to improve communications. I applaud their efforts and look forward to seeing the fruit of their work.

What I disagree with are absolutist statements. Ones that place too much credit for good or bad on the platform itself. I'll pick on my buddy, Jared Erondu, editor of The Industry. He had this to say about Dustin Curtis's Svbtle network:

read @SvbtleNetwork. That is all.

His sentiment isn't surprising. Curtis started Svbtle to help people get the focus back on quality writing. And, as I stated in my tweet, tools that remove friction are a positive. And that's an understatement from a guy who loves well designed software.

But tools can only go so far. In the end, it comes down the writer. In writing, the friction that has to be dealt with the most is that which takes place in your head. Not from your tools. A good writer can change thoughts, opinions and even worlds, regardless of the tool or platform used.

The reverse is true. A few years back, there was a vein of thought that Tumblr and like tools made it too easy for people to publish content, and most of it is mindless drivel. And for some reason, people want to blame the platform. I refuted that idea in like manner:

With a current emphasis on minimalist computing and devices that remove friction, placing the blame of bad content on the publishing tool is misguided at best. The onus is on the content producer — period.

Again, the tool is only as good or bad as the hand wielding it. Good writing can certainly be found on the Svbtle network, but many articles there could use some quality editing as well. The same will be true for Medium, Branch or any other tool that comes available.

Articulating thoughts into the written word in a straightforward and pleasing way is hard work. Good tools can help, but only so much.

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<![CDATA[ Out of focus ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/out-of-focus/ 5e5ec1412148dc003824da64 Tue, 21 Aug 2012 08:21:00 -0700 I find a strange dichotomy with the direction of iOS, and correspondingly, with OS X. The push for focus, for embracing the constraints of iOS, where you can only work in one application at a time, has been a welcome change for me. Having this direction partially come over to OS X has also been positive (I say partially because full screen mode doesn't stop me from swiping between spaces, but only slightly alters my perception of my work environment).

The contradiction comes with the Notification Center. It's sole purpose is to distract, to disrupt the focus that the OS has given you. I find the difference between the two concepts striking.

It makes sense that this comes to me now, after having used Mountain Lion. One would think I would have seen the difference previously, on iOS. But on my phone, Notification Center makes a lot more sense. The device is a satellite, not my primary tool for work. And some of the notifications are instant messages or phone calls, which indeed often deserve the attention required to break my focus. My phone is often also a consumption device. So the opportunity to distract is at worst a very minor nuisance and at times, a necessity.

On my Macbook Air, the same is not true. Notifications have proven to be nothing but a nuisance. Anyone found a way to disable it completely? Let me know.


Update: thanks to @atestu for the tip on how to disable Notification Center in Mountain Lion.

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<![CDATA[ The hand that feeds ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-hand-that-feeds/ 5e5ec10c2148dc003824da5e Fri, 17 Aug 2012 06:46:00 -0700 My life changed on April 9, 2010. At least, my work life did. And when you own your own business, your work life tends to bleed — heavily — into every aspect of your life. So when I received the announcement early on a Friday evening that Twitter had purchased atebits, it was a punch to the gut.

Backstory

Let me go back one year, to April of 2009. Tweetie on the iPhone was a smashing success. I'd read the likes of Gruber sing its praises, but hadn't gotten around to trying it. I think I was using Twitterrific most of the time (which included ads from the Deck).

Meanwhile, Michael Mistretta and I were doing everything we could to build up Fusion Ads, our relatively young (5 months) boutique advertising service. When we received an email from Loren Brichter asking if we'd be interested in putting our ads in his soon to be released Tweetie for Mac, we were excited. It was then that I finally picked up Tweetie on the iPhone and realized the genius that it was (which is what makes it so hard to watch Twitter flush that genius down the investor-backed toilet).

Tweetie for Mac was released in May 2009, for free. It came with some pretty ads. In the space of 2-3 months, our little ad service went from a couple hundred thousand of impressions per month to millions. And revenue rose accordingly.

Hindsight is a beautiful thing

Truly, every first time business owner learns a lot with their first venture. Looking back, there are many things I would have done differently. The most important lesson was allowing my company's health to be so closely tied to someone else's business. Twitter, via Tweetie for Mac, was such a large component of our ability to earn an income that when the news hit, I felt my feet coming out from under me.

As for Fusion, after that day, I vowed to never let our company depend so heavily on one source of traffic. If we survived.

Survive we did, and it's still a profitable business today. But it was never the same once Twitter took control and our ads were removed from Tweetie on the desktop.


I can only imagine how much money Loren was earning from the iPhone client. He never seemed overly concerned about the revenue coming in from the Mac client. Even though we paid him what would be a respectable full time income over the course of a year, I believe it was a drop in the bucket to what the iPhone client brought in. He certainly never warmed up to our idea of offering a free iPhone client that included Fusion's ads. That would compete directly with his fire hose of cash.

But I respected all his decisions — to keep our ads out of the iPhone client, to sell his business to Twitter — all of them. He treated us well and our business took off because of his talent. I'll always be grateful for the opportunity that came from our partnership with his hard work. It allowed us to build a business, a profitable business that enabled writers, designers and developers to earn some income for sharing their thoughts and work with the world.

I have nothing but respect for Loren Brichter.

I can't say the same for Twitter

I share my story because it singles the beginning of how my view of Twitter began to change. Our few interactions with them, consisting mostly of a few brief emails after the acquisition, made it quite clear that they were not concerned about the health of the various other entities that contributed to the Twitter ecosystem. They were concerned about Twitter, period.

We never truly expected them to adopt our ads or make Fusion somehow a part of their service. But there was a lack of clear communication — a simple, direct attempt to make clear their intentions would have gone a long way. We never received that.

My experience with Twitter as a company, coupled with my experience as a user of their service, has only soured over time. Watching their decisions become increasingly hostile to their early adopters and developer community, along with the most recent API announcement, only further cements the fact that my time as a user of their service is soon coming to an end.

A tale of two services

In 2007, I quit Facebook (at least, I stopped using it — my account is still taking up resources somewhere). Partially because of their clear disdain for privacy, but also because it was becoming so mainstream. I have to admit my penchant for exclusiveness — when my parents and non-tech friends start using something I do, I feel the itch to find something new.

That issue arose with Twitter — it's mainstream now. Has been for a while. But the experience is different due to the mechanics of the service. I control who I follow, what content comes into my stream. If someone talks too much, or posts content I don't care for, I can unfollow them. For the most part, even if I disagree with Twitter's decisions, the experience hasn't suffered.

Sadly, Twitter is so forced to pander to investors, so set on earning ad revenue, that its users are the commodity. As it is with most free services. And it now looks all to likely that their intentions will in fact cause the experience, my experience, to suffer.

Clearly, the early adopters and 3rd party client developers are not the hand that feeds Twitter. We were at one point, but no longer. They are not biting the hand that feeds, but rather the one that helped them get to where they are.

They've long moved on, focusing on the hand that feeds now.

Illusionists

One other aspect of all this really bugs me. Twitter founders Ev Williams and Biz Stone garner a lot of praise, are credited for changing the world. And in a sense, their creations have. Blogger and Twitter have both had a significant effect for how people communicate online. So credit where credit is due.

But now that they've moved on from Twitter and are now launching and backing new services, here's what I'd like to see from them: the ability to earn a profit. They're clearly savvy creatives — they have the ability to put a team together, build a product or service, then market it successfully.

But earn revenue, period? Not so much.


What now? It's too early to tell if app.net will be successful. If it does, it most likely won't be a success of the scale of Twitter or Facebook. Or, maybe we need to redefine success. Dalton Caldwell's vision is a service that earns revenue from its users, not because of them.

If the service manages to bring in the kind of people that originally drew me to Twitter, then it will be a success for me. I'll happily pay for such a thing.

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<![CDATA[ Obedience ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/obedience/ 5e5ec0bf2148dc003824da55 Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:00:00 -0700 Most parents recognize that there has to be some semblance of discipline in the home in order for it to run smoothly, for its occupants to enjoy living in it and with each other. When you're a family six, this is even more true.

And while what is in our children's heart is the most crucial, my wife and I do our best to teach them how to obey while they are very young. Once they've learned to obey, then we can move on to conversations and teaching that helps them recognize issue of the heart and (hopefully) how to resolve them.

In our house, there are three characteristics to true obedience:

  1. Right away
  2. All the way
  3. A cheerful attitude

Obedience without all three of these characteristics is not truly obeying. If I have to ask a child to do something more than once, that is not obedience. If they obey immediately, but give a half hearted effort and do a poor job, that is not obedience. And even if they act immediately and do a good job, but complain all the while, that also is not true obedience.

It's a good list. And although I sometimes fail to do my job, patiently and gently ensuring that all three characteristics are upheld, all in all it works for us.

Yesterday I was struck by my own hypocrisy though. How often do I fail my heavenly Father in one of these three ways? There are promptings throughout my day, of which I often ignore. It might be as simple as picking up someone's garbage as I ride to work, or smiling and nodding at the homeless person on the street. Even worse, I sometimes, many times, fail to give my most to all my duties, the dreary, less-than-glorious tasks I'm responsible for.

It's easy to shrug these off — they're small things. But isn't that how it starts:

He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.

Luke 16:10

I long to hear those words from my Father, that I have been faithful in little things. As I teach my children the same principles, I pray that they will be teaching me to act the same.

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<![CDATA[ webkit-tap-highlight-color ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/webkit-tap-highlight-color/ 5e5ec0932148dc003824da4b Mon, 13 Aug 2012 19:34:00 -0700 There are a lot of helpful CSS properties out there, available for use, that I am simply not aware of. I came across one recently while reading a post from Sacha Grief on my iPad. When I tapped on a link, there was a nice highlight colour applied. When designing a site, I know I've struggled at times to pick appropriate styles to indicate both a link, plus the state of the link when tapped.

Enter -webkit-tap-highlight-color.

I checked out Sacha's site on my Macbook and discovered this nice entry. He uses a different colour for this property than what is used with his :hover declarations for links. It's a helpful property in that it gives a visual indicator that you're tapping a link on an iOS-based version of webkit. Good to know!

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<![CDATA[ The confusion of working with files in Mountain Lion ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-confusion-of-working-with-files-in-mountain-lion/ 5e5ec06d2148dc003824da44 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 22:23:00 -0700 If there's one thing the last two versions of OS X, Lion and Mountain Lion, have shown us, it's that the iOS-ification of a desktop operating system comes with a few bumps along the road. Having worked on Mountain Lion for several weeks now, it's clear that working with files is an area of confusion. Something that Apple has largely removed from the mobile computing experience is still somewhat awkward in the desktop arena.

I like Mountain Lion, I do. As I did Lion. Each had their issues at the time of launch, but overall, they both brought refinement to OS X. File management underwent a few changes in Lion, and again in Mountain Lion. One item that was removed in Lion, the option to make a new document from an existing one using the File > Save As command, was purportedly coming back in Mountain Lion. And the users rejoiced.

But the last week brought reports that Save As actually didn't work as expected. In fact, it saved changes to both the original file, plus the new copy you created. That was a surprise — I hand't noticed this is my own usage when I upgraded. This got me poking around, documenting a few things that I had noticed while working, but hadn't investigated further (Half way through writing this post, I came across Matt Nueburg's summary of this topic. He's an expert, so go read his findings).

There are four aspects of Mountain Lion that made me pause:

iCloud Integration

It's no surprise that iCloud has evolved on the desktop. In Lion, it started with the syncing of contacts, calendars and email accounts. With Mountain Lion, it made sense to move on to files. After all, it's available in iOS, right? Apple's focus on cloud computing means iCloud is the centre of your digital universe, and even though they started this path focused on media (photos, music, movies), hindsight shows us that Steve & co were focused on meeting all your needs from the beginning.

The opportunity for confusion here comes with the underlying concept. On iOS, there is no file system — not from the user's perspective anyway. But with OS X, the file system is very much a key aspect of the user experience. At least, it has been up to now.

For more technical users, there may not be any issues at all. We understand the concepts and we can navigate the interface even when it's unfamiliar. But what about the normals? I know my parents will experience some confusing moments, because I had a few myself. The first time I saved a Pages document to iCloud, I couldn't find it when I wanted to work on it the second time. Why? Because my habit is to open the Finder or use LaunchBar to open a file, not the application itself. Since iCloud file storage is not treated like a folder in OS X, I couldn't find it. Once I remembered I had saved it in iCloud, I opened the app, used the new file dialogue and got to work.

This is not necessarily a problem with Mountain Lion itself. It's just that years of working with a file system have resulted in habitual usage. And this is not only true for me, but for my less technical parents. And so I predict some confusion as people adjust to the changes.

The New File Location Dialogue

Another area of potential confusion is the new dialogue box introduced in Mountain Lion. It opens up when you launch an iCloud-integrated application like Pages or Numbers, giving you the option to open an existing file from either iCloud or the local file system.

The new file location dialogue in Mountain Lion

In and of itself, this is not confusing if you know the file you're looking for and where it's located. But what about new files? There's button on the bottom left titled New Document. Click this and a file opens. So far, so good. The confusion comes when you hit command+S to save for this first time. From there you're giving another dialogue, but this time it's not the iCloud-focused dialogue. Rather, it's the more familiar Save dialogue box, which allows you to name the file and choose a location to save it.

Save Dialogue

And regardless of the location that was displayed with the previous dialogue box, the second one defaults to iCloud, but with an available drop down that allows you to choose another destination.

Dropdown options with Save

If you have decided to work completely with iCloud, this may not cause confusion for you. But if you prefer the local file system, having two dialogues that present different locations can be slightly jarring.

Varying Application Behaviour

These new behaviours can be further confused when mixed it with varying applications. Many popular apps are not iCloud compatible. And so the behaviours displayed by an iCloud integrated application are not available with a non-iCloud app. A good example is Microsoft Word. When working with a Word document, typing Command+Shift+S brings up the old, familiar save dialogue, operating exactly as Save As did back in Snow Leopard.

Old Save As dialogue

This will be an issue for a less technically inclined user regularly using apps of each variety, switching back and forth between the two behaviours.

The New Save As Behaviour

As mentioned above, Save As is back, but it's a little different than it's predecessor. For one, it isn't visible in the File menu unless you hold down option. Secondly, as mentioned above, the original file will be altered when Save As is invoked in certain scenarios. Please note the distinction I make, which is different from the statement that got me looking into these behaviours in the first place.

The original statement was that the Save As option always modified the original document as well as the new version that is created with the Save As command. Funny thing was, I could not recreate the issue when I tried to. The reason why is because of my process — when I get to a point where I realize I need a new document, I tend to save manually, a habit created and enforced over years. Once I decide to create a new copy, I invoke Save As immediately. I do it before I add any additional changes, meaning that on the next Save of my new document, those changes are not included in the original version.

I can only assume that Apple's developers had good intentions and this workflow seemed logical:

Blue = Original File, Orange = New File

  • Original file
  • Add content
  • Both files updated on Save As
  • Add content
  • New file updated on Save

The issue is that people expect the following workflow and anything else seems illogical:

  • Original file
  • Add content
  • new file updated on Save As
  • Add content
  • New file updated on every consequent Save

It's a small difference, and one dependant on a users workflow. Overall, I agree with the criticism; the behaviour is not intuitive and will only cause confusion.

One other aspect that can confuse the less savvy user is that the keyboard shortcut for Duplicate is CMD+Shift+S. That's the same keyboard that used to trigger the Save As functionality in versions of OS X before Lion and I even fell for it. With my first few tests, habit kicked in and hit the familiar keyboard combination (familiar because I still use apps that use this combo for Save As). It took me a moment to realize the resulting animation and behaviour was from the Duplicate option, not Save As.

Speaking of animations, I find many included in Mountain Lion (and Lion) to be extraneous and unnecessary. But in the case of Duplicate, it makes sense. You hit that keyboard command and a new copy of the file pops out of the original. Even if the keyboard shortcut mnemonics don't add up, the visual indicators do.


Overall, I like the changes in the past two iterations of OS X. I need to tweak my habits slightly, but the overall benefits of a full-blown iCloud integration have been fantastic for me. Notes & Reminders, Contacts & Calendar, and email are essential to this set up. But I have also been pleasantly surprised by the amount I've used the file storage aspect.

Despite the issues listed above, I feel the advantages outweigh the confusion. If you haven't made the upgrade yet, go and get it.

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<![CDATA[ Day One is just right ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/day-one-is-just-right/ 5e5ec0322148dc003824da3f Thu, 02 Aug 2012 13:15:00 -0700 As I mentioned recently, I've been journalling almost daily in 2012. This has been an analog, pen and paper activity. Partly because I don't want my journalling time to be fraught with the distractions a connected device brings. But it was also partly due to the fact that I hadn't found an application that suited me well.

Today, that changed. And Shawn Blanc explains those changes, as well as why it works for him, in his review of the newest version of Day One.

My story is eerily similar to Shawn's:

  • We both like pen and paper.
  • I write down the weather in my journal every day.
  • I started using Path late in 2011. But my usage was as a social tool, and I only have place in my life for one social network. So I stopped using it as a social tool, removed all my contacts, and used it as an infrequent journalling tool. Path is a beautiful tool, and fun to use. But I never invested myself fully because it was free (always a concern these days) and I couldn't get my data back out.
  • Day One is another aesthetically pleasing and well designed app. But until today, it was text only. So I've been using it as a work log, but nothing more.

Now that Day One includes photos, plus weather and location data on iOS, it's just the right combination. And, as any application should, it treats your data as yours.

Short story long, go read Shawn's piece. Then buy Day One if journalling is a habit you keep, or want to develop.

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<![CDATA[ Is email broken? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/is-email-broken/ 5e5ea08f2148dc003824da19 Tue, 31 Jul 2012 11:00:00 -0700 Tobias van Schneider thinks so. He shared his thoughts on the subject, including his idea for fixing email. I've read his post several times, but, apart from appreciating the thought he's put into it, his solution is lacking.

.Mail?

He's trying to solve the wrong problem. Email clients are not broken. True, there has been no real innovation around email clients since the inception of the platform. But that doesn't mean our current tools are not doing their job.

The problem is what we do with email. We communicate, for sure. But many people use email as storage, not for communications. They store documents in their email client. They store things they need to do in their email client. They store reference information in their email client. And, like iTunes, once an application has to meet more than 2,3 vital tasks, it becomes cumbersome in and of itself.

When an application needs to be managed, you have a problem.

Patrick Rhone beat me to the punch on this idea. He states:

… it is (obviously) really, really, hard to divorce oneself from 20+ years of re-enforsement and habit. I certainly don’t have my ideas completely fleshed out. What I do know is that the picture in my head looks nothing like those boxes above and behaves like no email client I’m aware of.

The habits he references are what make this exercise hard. Do we really need new email clients? Maybe. But what if we used the ones we have for communicating, and moved all the content within our messages to tools better suited for managing information and tasks?

My feeling is we'd loathe our email clients a lot less.

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<![CDATA[ A digital symbiosis ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/a-digital-symbiosis/ 5e5ea0522148dc003824da14 Tue, 24 Jul 2012 07:02:00 -0700 The following article is my most recent contribution to the weekly Read & Trust newsletter. If you've looked at this publication in the past, but haven't made the step to subscribing, this is the type of content you're missing from a great bunch of writers with a whole lot more talent than this guy. Check it out now.


Best read with accompaniment, something ambient and light. May I suggest a fine This Will Destroy You or St Germain?

I've said this many times before: certain things are better together. The sum of the parts is greater than the individual pieces. Apple pie and vanilla ice cream for example. Or, a sunrise and a strong, hot cup of coffee. Popcorn and a good movie.

For me, music and working on a computer are on this list.

Get off my lawn

Compared to the majority of web workers, I'm a fairly old guy. I can remember carrying around jewel cases filled with my favourite CDs. Even further back, I remember listening to America's Top 40 on the radio with my best friend, taping the songs. On cassette tapes! We'd sit there for 2 hours, hitting record when a song started, pausing for all the commentary and commercials.

Later in life, I vividly remember when a friend bought his first CD burner. I rushed to his house, collection of CDs in hand, and proceeded to rip all the songs to his hard drive (ripping … it sounded cool). From there I could mix songs from various artists, create mix CDs to listen to at any time. I was back to my childhood, finally given the flexibility of cassette tapes and a red button, but this time on a compact disc.

To say that music has always been important to me would be an understatement.

One without the other

In the year 2000, I returned to college for a second stint. This time I was enrolled in Computer Information Systems. In no time at all, the aforementioned jewel cases stuffed with my favourite CDs were a staple on my list of vital equipment for time spent in the computer lab.

iTunes became available in 2001, I was a Windows user and WinAmp was my digital music player of choice. During my first summer as a co-op student getting paid to defrag hard drives and administer Lotus Notes, I purchased my first Dell PC, complete with a CD burner.

Playlists were my new mix tape.


Fast forward to 2012. I don't make many playlists anymore, preferring to listen to an album at a time. But the importance of music is still the same. I can't really work on a computer without it.

For the twelve years I've spent working in front of a screen, music has been intertwined. My music application is one of the first things I install when putting together a new machine (for those keeping score, it's Rdio these days, not iTunes).

A symbiosis of sorts

It's interesting how differently we humans do things. My wife cannot do any serious work or thinking with music playing. The lyrics catch her attention, distracting her from the task at hand. I'm just the opposite — the words blend with the notes, moving to the background of my consciousness.

A symbiotic relationship is defined as one that is mutually beneficial to both organisms. And while digital artifacts do not fall into this category, I cannot separate the music from the computer usage. Twelve years is a span of time that builds strong habits, and this one is completely second nature. I sit down to work, then start up the music (and sip the coffee, but that's an article for another day). One activity flows into the other.

The type of music comes into play depending on the type of work to be done. Sometimes, in my over-caffeinated state of being, some fast paced music will make me feel stressed, especially if I'm busy. That's when I bring out the Miles Davis or the Tchaikovsky. Other times, I crave the fast paced, dancing as I work at my standing desk.

The point of all this? That the music enhances my work, my entire work environment. It melds itself to my workflows and processes.

And the end result is better for it.

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<![CDATA[ Self publishing ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/self-publishing/ 5e5ea0142148dc003824da0a Thu, 12 Jul 2012 08:11:00 -0700 It's term that has changed a lot in the past ten years ago. Even five years. One way to approach self publishing is to host a personal blog, like this site or Shawnblanc.net. This type of setup is fun because it's so flexible. Running a site under your own name allows you to write on any topic that interests you.

Another approach is to be focused. Take one subject that you're passionate about and stick to that. I like this concept as well because, if the publisher follows the general rule-of-thumb, you know what you're going to get as a reader. As well, the publisher knows that his regular audience is indeed interested in the topic.

But a third option is emerging. It's almost a blend of the two — a personal site (perhaps stream is a better word) where the content is focused on one thing only. A perfect recent example is Coffman Camera, a photoblog from Method & Craft creator Phil Coffman. It's a beautiful project — a minimalist but stylish site with large, tasteful photographs. The focus is on the images and art direction Phil takes with his tools, but all wrapped up in a stylish package.

A sample from Coffman by Camera

Not only that, but the tools we have available make a process like this both easy and fun. Phil is using VSCO CAM on his iPhone to take his photos and Tumblr to publish them. I don't know the exact details of his setup, but it's not difficult to guess. A few minutes of tinkering and I was up and running with the same setup to post images from my iPhone camera app of choice (Path), posting images to my Tumblr account.

We can share these moments, these artifacts of our creativity with such ease in 2012. It amazes me. At the same time, it causes me dwell for a moment on curation (a subject dear to me). Not only do we need to sharpen our focus with our input, but with the frictionless of today's self-publishing, we also need to rein in our own desire to share. That is something this guy admittedly struggles with and spends a lot of time thinking about.

But I know this — our output needs a sharpened focus as well.

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<![CDATA[ Offscreen Magazine ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/offscreen-magazine/ 5e5e9fe82148dc003824da04 Wed, 11 Jul 2012 11:31:00 -0700 Having just finished the second edition of Offscreen, self-described as a "new, collectible print magazine about the human side of websites and apps", a couple of thoughts come to mind.

Offscreen gives a nice selection of photos

First, this is a well executed publication. The quality of the paper and binding are excellent. As well, the photography is very well done and the amount of images makes flipping through the magazine as enjoyable as sitting down and reading through one of the interviews.

Second, some of the content of the magazine made me stop and think (once again) about the current trends in our culture. Specifically, the habits of the younger generations.

One section, the Logbook, is sub-titled "A Day in the Life Of" and includes excerpts of a typical day in the lives of five young individuals whose work is focused on the web. I looked forward to reading the piece, but came away feeling empty.

Offscreen gives a nice selection of photos

The days of each of these five were alarmingly similar, and each started and ended the day staring into a screen of one kind or another. The lack of variety and interests in other fields was a little disconcerting. This is not a statement about the lives of these specific five people, but our generation as a whole.

Overall, I really enjoyed the magazine and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the web/design community. But I do hope that Kai Brach — the man behind the publication — would take care to include a better variety of folks for the Logbook feature.

If the intention of the magazine is to highlight people away from the screen — as the name indicates — then it should do just that. The designers and writers I admire most are those whose life and interests do in fact extend offscreen. Let's see some more of that.

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<![CDATA[ Tracking with Day One ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/tracking-with-day-one/ 5e5e9fbc2148dc003824d9f9 Thu, 05 Jul 2012 14:08:00 -0700 July is here and the year is half over. The past few weeks have felt a little like the week between Christmas and New Year's. That's always an enjoyable period of reflection and goal setting. This year I've been more aware of the passing of time (my hair blows in the wind as the weeks fly by at breakneck speed. At least it would if I had long hair …) and as the end of June approached I found myself reviewing my progress, or the lack thereof.

On that note, one new habit I'm happy to say has stuck this year is journalling. At the close of 2011, I decided I was going to give this a real go. And it's worked — I write every day. Most days it's drivel, hardly anything worth looking back on. I note the weather, the time I wrote, and a little of the previous day's activities.

It's not the content that I was focused on though, just picking up a new habit. In December, I looked through a few tools and purchased Day One for the Mac. I played with it a little, then promptly never looked at it again and chose pen and paper as my journalling tools of choice.

But when reading The Slow Web by Jack Cheng, the notion of using I Done This to track my daily work related doings struck a chord with me. The web app is a nice tool, but I hesitate to add another monthly bill to my budget. Luckily, I have Day One installed on my machine. It sports a lovely interface and is able to remind me to jot things down each day. Because I have to track time for my consulting work, this was something I needed to do anyways. Day One is a nice way to go about it.

Day One

I use the app to track the major activities of my work day. As well, I use it to track the time I spend on any personal project that I want to see progress on. This ensures I get my minimum of 30 minutes per day. All in all, this type of journalling has helped me keep myself accountable.

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<![CDATA[ The busy trap ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-busy-trap/ 5e5e9f752148dc003824d9ee Mon, 02 Jul 2012 13:32:00 -0700 I’ve seen a number of folks link to this piece recently, which means many of us identify with the problem outlined within. I agree with the author that using ‘busy’ as a badge of honour is a sign of misaligned priorities in our culture.

But his conclusion is disturbingly myopic. The idea that everyone should work 4–5 hours per day and then relax and socialize the rest of their day shows a severely limited worldview. I hope Tim Kreider realizes that when he’s sitting down to a nice lunch with a friend, in order for them to enjoy those pomme frites, somewhere down the line there is a person who has to work more than 4–5 hours per day. Many lines of work simply require more time.

Most importantly, this type of thinking is only possible in an affluent location. The majority of the world’s population has to work extremely long hours simply to exist. So let’s not be busy for busy’s sake, but let’s also work hard to make things better for others, not only ourselves.

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<![CDATA[ DIY standing desk ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/diy-standing-desk/ 5e5e9f392148dc003824d9e7 Thu, 21 Jun 2012 06:56:00 -0700 Ben Brooks recently linked to a few folks who've built their own desk, including my own. He mentioned to me that he had looked for a post about the experience and I realized I never wrote one. Here it is (sadly, with poor quality images).

Rough draft

I've been using a standing desk for a couple of years now. But each iteration has been a hack of a regular, cheap fiber board desk. This time I wanted real wood and something of a good size. I picked up a solid wood door from a local Ace Hardware for $20.

My early calculations were a bit off, simply because I underestimated the weight of the desk and the support required. I eventually settled on 3" legs, as shown below.

Desk legs

The legs are further supported by 2 cedar 2by4's, plus an additional 3" post cut in half and used as cross beams. The desk is 81 1/2" wide, 42 1/4" high, and 36 1/4" deep. It weights roughly 150 lbs.

The door was a great way to go about this, being pre-drilled with a hole where the doorknob would go. My Ergotron desk arm fit nicely over the hole with just enough space to put the ACD cable through. Which leaves me with a cable free desk (the Air sits under the desk on wooden shelf).

It's not perfect. But having a work environment that brings you pleasure is important. And when you built the major piece of furniture in that environment with your own hands, the satisfaction I get is increased greatly. And the good news is that it's not all that hard.

Give it a try.

Finished product
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<![CDATA[ Built to not last ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/built-to-not-last/ 5e5e9eb32148dc003824d9de Mon, 18 Jun 2012 11:00:00 -0700 Interesting read — and follow up — from Khoi Vinh. I agree completely.

The two concepts at play here are planned and perceived obsolescence. The former is defined as creating items that are designed to malfunction after a certain period of time, forcing the consumer to make another purchase. The second is the idea that the producer will create new models or options that initiate dissatisfaction in the user who already owns an older model or version of the producer's product(s).

I'm a big fan of Apple, as most regular readers will know. But if I have an issue with the company, it's how proficient they are with perceived obsolescence. Their product design, marketing, and lifecycle have perfected the environment where many people are unsatisfied with their currently owned device after a period of 18-24 months (no science or stats to back this up, it's my own guess). Apple plays on this and, as Khoi says, it's good business. I simply happen to think it's morally the wrong direction.

If Apple wants an environmentally conscious person like me to take their green efforts seriously, they would encourage users to use the same device for years, rather than simply make recyclable, chemical-free computers. In my utopian vision, Apple still has plenty of market share remaining to keep growing. They could continue to build insanely great hardware products, ones that last for a decade, and amazing software that makes those devices a pleasure to use. Then they grow by converting those who do not own Apple products into new customers.


Of course, the real issue is not Apple. It's you. It's me. It's our culture — Apple is only one company taking advantage of our desire for more. I'm writing this entire piece as an owner of an iPhone 4S, an iPad 3 and a spring 2012 Macbook Air.

I can't really speak to whether Apple designs their products to purposefully not last, which seems to be Khoi's main point. I sadly never keep the devices around long enough to find out.

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<![CDATA[ A Time of transition ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/a-time-of-transition/ 5e5e9e912148dc003824d9d8 Tue, 12 Jun 2012 11:55:00 -0700 Josh Bryant posted a couple of pieces outlining his concerns about the problems presented by the new Retina Macbook Pro. His concerns are well founded, especially for interface designers. The main question that has to be answered, in Josh's words:

So, how do you go about designing 1x resources on a 2x screen?

He gives a few options, none of which he's happy with. The web community is still trying to find the best methods to deliver responsive images and assets that look good on 1x devices as well as 2x devices like the iPhone 4/4S and iPad 3. Now this new device adds to the puzzle, with more certainly to come from Apple (and maybe, in 5-10 years, other electronics manufacturers). We are in a time of transition. Or, as Trent Walton puts it, a time of flux.

In that article, Trent describes how he approached the new iPad:

For the first time, I saw the Internet for what it really is—a tall, lanky junior high kid who is pissed at the world because he just got done being a short, fat grade schooler. It’s never just right. Rather than grow proportionally and gradually, it hits terribly awkward spurts that throw everything off balance.

Indeed, is this situation anything new? Designers and developers are constantly have to educate themselves, evaluate new approaches, and do their best to simply keep up. Are retina displays more concerning than tables-to-CSS, XHTML to HTML5, or learning javascript? If you work in this industry, you have to embrace learning … it's part of what makes our work so maddening and exciting at the same time. I empathize with Josh's concerns, but I'm optimistic we'll figure things out as we go.

By the end of his article, Trent expresses this idea eloquently:

So, that panic button? It gets to go back into the drawer for another occasion. Sure, the internet’s clothes are going to fit funny for a while as it figures out how & where to put all those extra image KBs, but we’re going to be okay. These are awkward times, but rejoice. We all get to play the role of the guidance counselor: having discussions, writing specs, and building tools that continually reshape the web into its full potential.

Onward we march.

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<![CDATA[ Information buckets ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/information-buckets/ 5e5e9e542148dc003824d9d2 Mon, 23 Apr 2012 05:12:00 -0700 After my post on Pocket as a save-anything-for-later bucket, a distinction is needed. I received a few questions about whether Pocket would replace Gimme Bar for me. The answer: an emphatic no. Pocket is to save for later, Gimme Bar is to save forever.

Forever being a relative term aside, I see Gimme Bar as my permanent archive location for things on the web. It has been designed and developed with this purpose in mind (as described in Orbital Content). When you save items to Gimme Bar, the app does its best to save the content itself, rather than just a pointer to a web page. With the life span of internet items being brief, a tool that can save items for longevity is needed.

Pocket makes a great inbox due to its inclusion in so many apps on iOS, but the items saved there are meant to be processed. Pocket and Gimme Bar may work well side by side.

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<![CDATA[ Content everywhere ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/content-everywhere/ 5e5e9e262148dc003824d9ca Mon, 09 Apr 2012 11:24:00 -0700 This week's news of the launch of Pocket — a compelling rebrand and slight change-of-focus of Read It Later — caught my attention. Like all the recent chatter on Instapaper and Readability, Pocket touches on a subject dear to my heart. It's not surprising that these tools generate a lot of opinion and discussion — services like Pocket give us more control and access to the content we consume and share via the Internet. And we care about that content.

Regarding Pocket, there was plenty of both discussion and opinion on launch day. Federico gave a good overview of the redesigned service. Ben Brooks lamented that we see another free service trying to get users first and profit second (and this one changed from charging to not charging). Marcelo Somers and Kyle Baxter also chimed in.

What excited me about the news was not the monetizing strategy or the overall execution of the design, although I'm not yet sold on the former and the latter was well done. Rather, I was very impressed with the focus on the save-anything-for-later concept. This is an idea that has been on my mind the past year, as there has been a gap in the services available to us.

I also saw a few comments yesterday that don't make a lot of sense. Ben Brooks couldn't see how he needed a service like Pocket. Ian Hines felt it was targeted completely at women (á la Pinterest). Ian is just off base — having women in the video doesn't mean they are excluding the tech-savvy nerd-centric folks from their target audience. As for Ben's opinion, this could not be less true for myself.

Some backstory

The lack of a service like Pocket is one I've felt for some time. Because of the rise of iOS, plus services that allow me to find new content, I've needed an anything bucket for the cloud. There are several requirements that a service like this needs to fulfill:

  • easy capture
  • items are capture-able from multiple sources (Twitter, RSS, Safari, email etc)
  • ubiquity, meaning access from multiple services, apps and devices
  • logical organization structure

There are a few other items that would be nice to have, but are not necessary:

  • a nicely designed view of your content
  • an optimized reading layout for text

Services have come that fit many of these criteria. Instapaper is a good example. It allows for easy capture. It has a good reach across the iOS landscape (what I mean by ubiquity) — I can save items from all the best iOS apps like Reeder, Tweetbot and Flipboard. It has a nice structure, gives a decent interaction with saved items and of course, and gives a lovely view for reading your saved articles.

The issue is that none of the services I've seen fit all my requirements. Instapaper is primarily a tool for reading later. Same for Readability. But I come across items on my iOS devices that require another look when I get back to my Mac. Items to archive (whether in Yojimbo, Pinboard or my bucket of choice, Gimme Bar). Designs to explore further. Videos to watch. Technical resources to investigate, then archive. Apps to purchase.

The internet brings me many forms of content, and they do not all require the same action from me. So an anything bucket that lived on the web, with the potential for native interfaces, gets me really excited.

Then, Pinbox

I believed in this idea so much that I took steps towards building my own service. Titled Pinbox, it was an anything bucket that would pull in items from your various streams and services. Likes or faves from the services you specified would show up, as would emailed items or items viewed in Safari and triggered with the Pinboxes bookmarklet.

Pinbox Home page

The most difficult aspect of this project was deciding how to start. There were so many services that come close: Gimme Bar, Stellar.io by Jason Kottke, as well as Instapaper and Readability. The aspect of having so many similar services, combined with the knowledge that that's a very good chance that someone else is currently working on a solution like this, can be daunting when starting out. But none fit my needs exactly, so I moved forward.

Pinbox Archive page

I eventually decided to actually build the service on top of Gimme Bar. After a discussion with Cameron Koczon, I started working on my idea, building out some rough browser mockups to flesh out the concept further.

Pinbox Account page

The overall idea of Pinbox was this: it was a place to capture items from various sources, then to process them. It was not intend to be a permanent storage location. It was an inbox, and inboxes are meant to be cleared out, at some point.


I'm excited about Pocket. Something nicely designed and backed by real money — with a plan for earning revenue as well — will fit nicely in my tool belt.

As I mentioned above, a service of this type needs to be accessible everywhere you access content. With Pinbox, because a brand new app like this would not start out with deep integration in the iOS landscape, I chose the route of pulling in Faves/Likes. But Read-It-Later already had the traction of being included in the major iOS apps. Pocket has a great head start on any newcomers to this space and makes a compelling case for using the service.

As for Pinbox, it's not going anywhere. Despite having API access to Gimme Bar and a developer friend ready and available to build it out, I decided to shelve the project before Christmas. After the sale of Fusion, I had to decide which projects to pursue. And friends, like many of you, I have way more ideas than time to allot to them all.

At the end of the day, I wanted to spend time making something that aligns tightly with the priorities in my life. A tool that keeps people connected and online more doesn't quite fit. It's still a need, and I'm happy to see something like Pocket become available.

I'll happily use the service while I work on projects that are even closer to my heart.

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<![CDATA[ A young problem ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/a-young-problem/ 5e5c980bfca22d0038f12c9b Tue, 03 Apr 2012 22:01:00 -0700 All the recent hubbub around Readability is fascinating. And exciting.

So many insanely talented folks are chiming in on this discussion, I have little to add, other than this: I'm a bit surprised that more people haven't brought up the fact that Marco Arment also profits from the creation of other content producers. When you talk about Readability, it's almost impossible not to bring up Instapaper (I'm also surprised I haven't seen Read It Later mentioned at all in the discussion). One started as a tool like Safari's Reader functionality, one as an archive of items to be consumed later. The former then morphed to be more like the latter, but with the added aspect of attempting to create a model where they profit, and can then pass those profits on to the content creators.

That is the claim of Readability, and so far I give them the benefit of the doubt that their intentions are pure. The model is not perfect, but calling them scumbags is harsh (and obviously from the reaction, inflammatory).

Both Marco and the folks behind Readability profit from the writing of writers and the reading of readers. Marco uses ads and paid applications, Readability a subscription model similar to Apple's app stores (Of course, the glaring difference between Apple and Readability is that Apple does not collect money from developers whose work is not in the app store). But Marco does profit from the work of others. Instapaper itself is his work, a great service, and I believe he should be compensated for it. But reality is, if there was no demand to read the good work of writers at a time and place convenient to the reader, Instapaper would not be what it is today.

Personally, I have paid for both services and want both to succeed. I prefer Readability for reading, but am not a paid subscriber. Yet. The model does need improvement, but I'm confident they'll get it right. Or, someone else will.


I no longer subscribe to a television service. Haven't for about six years. I rarely watch movies. Instead, I spend a portion of each day reading the thoughts of others online. This is my entertainment.

That's why all this discussion is exciting. It signals the crucial fact that people care about compensating those whose work they admire. We want to support writers who have used the Internet to hone their craft and broadcast their thoughts. This is our entertainment, and it's much more personal and intimate that the entertainment forms of the 20th century.

And it's just the beginning — the space is still so young, the problem new to us. We'll be seeing other smart people attempt to fill this need. And I'm betting sooner than later.

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<![CDATA[ The importance of touch ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-importance-of-touch/ 5e5c97d8fca22d0038f12c92 Wed, 14 Mar 2012 05:43:00 -0700 Although this is not new news for anyone, I've been reminded of the importance of touch when working on iOS. I'm not of the mind that one should go out of the way to create or work on an iPad. It's possible, but much less frictionless than working on my Macbook.

Still there are certain activities I prefer the iPad for. A weekly review is one, partially due to the complete embracing of the platform that the folks at OmniGroup have undertaken. OmniFocus on the iPad is a pleasure to use.

I've been moving the small team of five I work with to Basecamp. It's an improvement over their prior setup. This means I'm now using two task inboxes, one for personal projects, one for work. That's cool with me.

But my weekly reviews on the iPad have shown me the importance of the touch factor. Yes, I can use Basecamp on my iPad, but it's no where near as comfortable — or pleasurable — than OmniFocus. Simply because OmniFocus was designed for the device.

If I'm the founder of a web based application, I'm looking for any resources possible to give iPad users a native front end to my service. Anything less adds friction and reduces the likelihood of customers sticking around.

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<![CDATA[ In the end, creation always trumps curation ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/in-the-end-creation-always-trumps-curation/ 5e5c97a1fca22d0038f12c89 Mon, 12 Mar 2012 07:57:00 -0700 Marco Arment opines that Curator's Code is solving the wrong problem. I'm a fan of Maria Popova and confident that she's put a lot more thought into this subject than I have, so I'm hesitant to add any of my own criticism to Marco's.

Giving credit where it's due is a good thing. I applaud those who make an effort to point people to those who are good at finding interesting things to read. And I agree with Popova's sentiment that current and upcoming generations will suffer with information overload and reward those who excel at filtering out the good from the commonplace. Indeed, she holds fast to the idea that content discovery is a work of labor and should be rewarded.

Marco obviously disagrees and places all the importance on creation. I have to agree that creation is greater than curation every time, but I do place high value in the work of an individual who excels at filtering and finding. The success of Jason Kottke and John Gruber proves that other folks value this as well.

So it seems everyone involved agrees on the value of curation, but not on how to document the attribution. Marco's point that the link itself on a DF linked list post is the best model is well made. But coming up with a system — one that is confusing to boot — that uses unicode characters doesn't seem like a solution that is destined for widespread adoption.

There are two issues with Curator's Code: First, the site is confusing. There's no clear, obvious answer to the purpose of the site when the reader lands on the page. Second, even if an author, a curator, decides to adopt the standard, it's not something that will be embraced by normals. The web is already arcane enough — there's no need to add confusion via symbology. Popova states that this is a need, but this solution only further adds to the often confusing landscape of the web.


Being overly concerned with the semantics of attribution is misplaced focus. If you are good at sharing, you will be rewarded with attention. I read John Gruber, not because I care a lot about his content, but because even when he's writing about other people's writing, he does it so well. I pay him with my attention.

In this case, like interface design, simplicity seems the best route.

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<![CDATA[ Why French parents are superior ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/why-french-parents-are-superior/ 5e5c95fefca22d0038f12c81 Tue, 28 Feb 2012 08:34:00 -0800 In a piece titled Why French Parents are Superior, Pamela Druckerman surmises that the French have some inside knowledge that results in better behaved children and happier, more relaxed parents. I read the posts weeks ago and wanted to share it, but overall, found it too troublesome and frustrating.

It’s not link bait, but the title itself is misleading. I’d suggest that the author has some good observations, but her conclusions are a bit off. It’s not that French parents are better than their American (or Canadian — I’ll lump the US and Canada together here, as our cultures are so similar) counterparts. Not all anyways. France probably has some great parents. So does Germany, South Africa, and Papa New Guinea. As does the US.

She identifies the problem well: parents do not enjoy spending time with their own children. Druckerman points to research to indicate that this is indeed the case for American parents. And while it’s obviously not true en masse, it does show a trend. And if your children are very poorly behaved, then spending time with them is a chore. And not an enjoyable one at that.

My frustration with the post is that there is no depth as to what the cause of the problem is. From my observations in life, it’s simply because so many now treat “having kids” as a hobby. This aspect of life is another notch in the belt. A career, various material items like the right house or car, retirement … kids. These all get lumped into the category of “successful life”.

The analogy makes some sense. If I pick up a hobby like building model planes, even without any prior experience, I can hone skills over time and become successful at creating miniature airplanes. The issue here is that a model airplane doesn’t bite the other model airplanes in the workshop. It won’t throw its food on the floor or raise its voice to get its way.

There are two issues I see with modern parenting that, if addressed, would bring us all a lot closer to the more relaxed, holistic atmosphere that Druckerman observed amongst the French.

One is that we have become a generation of parents who react to the child, rather than having a premeditated, proactive goal in mind. I see so many parents who (like Druckerman, I’m generalizing — there are plenty of good parents, but the overall trend is as described here) have children, put minimal effort into raising them thoughtfully, then simply hope they will turn out in the end. There is no end goal in mind, no vision.

Think of any area of your life where you have no plan, you simply take what comes. In some areas, that’s a fine way to live. But with children, you need a vision that defines your success and spend time thinking how you can achieve that success. That sounds business-y, I know. But it’s simply a way of thinking that applies to child rearing.

Here’s an example. I want to have children who are mindful of how their choices affect other human beings and the creation around them. Children who are thoughtful and considerate. Gentle, and at the same time, childishly enthusiastic. Curious and creative. Loving and compassionate. I cannot encourage all those characteristics if I do not take time to consider my children and their needs.

That’s not to say that your child(ren) won’t choose to ignore your teachings. It also doesn’t mean you plan every step of their day, every activity they’ll partake in. Rather, it means waking up every day with that end goal in mind, looking for opportunities to teach, and being proactive.

The second issue is that we focus on behaviour, rather than character. You can promote, encourage or force good behaviour, but still have impure motives stemming from a poor character. Assisting your child in building character will automatically result in good behaviour. Sadly, too many parents focus on correcting behaviour without getting to the root of the problem.

Understandably so. Digging to the root of the issue is hard, time consuming work. You have to be willing to drop what you’re doing in order to address the issue, to help your child see within themselves where their fault lies. Many parents, in our world of daycare, pre-school, and all day kindergarten, are simply not willing to take the time.

And of course, that is the real issue with poor parenting. The selfishness of the adult.


Raising children is a lifelong commitment. Thankfully, it’s also an extremely rewarding blessing as well. But it takes work to ensure that the (overall) experience is pleasant for everyone, both the parents and the children.

The answer is not in one country as opposed to another, or one culture over another. The answer lies in the parent being willing to make the shaping of the child more important that all their other endeavours. This has to be a daily activity.

If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
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<![CDATA[ Doing what you (don't) love ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/doing-what-you-dont-love/ 5e5c95cefca22d0038f12c7c Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:21:00 -0800 Four years ago, I started down the path of moving from working in IT to doing something I loved. Web design was where my heart was, but I started writing a blog first because I felt there was a better opportunity to earn an income there. I had no design experience. And so I started The Weekly Review

That year was amazing. I wrote a lot, met new people online, and eventually, started Fusion Ads with Michael Mistretta. 18 months after publishing my first blog post, I was able to quit my job and work for myself full time.

Full circle

Last November, after we sold Fusion, I was at a crossroads and unsure of what was next. There were a few options available, but I wanted to make sure that I was moving down the path to doing what I loved (front end web design). My time at Fusion was amazing, and I enjoyed a lot of my tasks and responsibilities, but it wasn't what I loved. Now that there was some money in the bank, I wanted to start on the 'next thing'.

One of my available options came out of nowhere. Some of my former employers heard I had sold my company and may be available for work. A day later, I had three offers come across my desk. This was completely unexpected and they certainly weren't options I would have pursued. Go back to working around the corporate environment? Get involved in the politics of government funded healthcare? Work on Windows powered equipment? No thanks.

A funny thing happened though. It turns out the opportunities were contracts, not positions. Working for myself rather than working for the man. Since November, I had been praying and asking my Father to help me be open to whatever He might have in store for me. And so I couldn't ignore any opportunity, including one that wasn't my first choice.

The cost

The benefits of doing what you love are widely touted. It's the golden carrot of our web-enabled age. But when you consider what to do for a living, you also have to weigh the cost of doing what you love, every day.

To clarify, doing what you love doesn't mean you love every single aspect of a profession. Every job has drudgery. When I say doing what you love, I mean you wake up in the morning looking forward to going to do whatever it is you do to provide for yourself [and your family]. And you feel that way 9 days out of 10.

Back to the cost then. It's simply this: when you do what you love, it can often lead to being all that you do. It's what you think about when you wake up, when you're in the shower, in the moments of peace and quiet, and as you close your eyes at the end of the day.

As far as work is concerned, that's not a bad thing. But you have to realize that other areas of your life will pay the cost. There may be hobbies like woodworking, gardening or cycling that interest you, but you never get around to picking up. There are the missed family events. Or, even worse, you're present in body only, your mind on the 'thing you love'.

Being a spouse, a parent, a congregrant — these things all take time and energy. Doing what you love for a job so easily takes over your thought life, everything else can get lip service only.

Both

So I'm spending the next year working part time on what I enjoy, but not love (project management), and working part time building the next dumb idea (which involves doing what I love). This scenario comes with two benefits: a) it pays the bills and b) it's a bit of an experiment to see if I can stop paying lip service to certain priorities and actually treat them like the priorities they are.

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<![CDATA[ Configuring your mail setup to use iCloud email with different sending addresses ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/configuring-your-mail-setup-to-use-icloud-email-with-different-sending-addr/ 5e5c949bfca22d0038f12c6a Tue, 15 Nov 2011 22:00:00 -0800 Since Apple announced that iCloud would bring free email, calendar and contact syncing, I started counting down to when I could cut my ties with Gmail. I don’t trust Google with my data, haven’t for quite some time. I considered a few other options like Fastmail and Atmail, but the simplicity that Apple offers in both cost and setup kept me waiting.

When it comes to trust, Apple has earned mine, simply because I am the customer, not the commodity.

The problem

With MobileMe, as with Gmail, you have had the ability to configure your account to use aliases as the sending address. Not so with iCloud. For whatever reason, Apple chose not to make this possible, instead allowing you to use multiple aliases that all end in me.com. (Learn more about aliases in iCloud here)

I was ready to drop my personal Gmail address and point it to my iCloud account, but I still want to use my addresses from my various domains like chrisbowler.com and ideacaf.es. All from one email account. If this wasn’t possible, moving to iCloud for my email usage might not be worth it.

The solution

Thankfully, it is possible. Kind of.

I ended up configuring my Macbook, iPad and iPhone to use iCloud as IMAP accounts in conjunction with using Media Temple as the SMTP server. Here’s how to configure it with Mail.app on any Apple device.

In System Preferences, set up iCloud as Apple instructs you to. Then simply turn off the Mail toggle switch under the iCloud preference pane. You can see here how I’ve set up iCloud for contacts and calendars, but not email.

Then add a new mail account and simply enter in the values manually. Apple’s servers for iCloud use the following for the incoming Mail Server: p03-imap.mail.me.com. For the outgoing, or SMTP server, use another provider. If you personally host your website with a service provider like Media Temple, then you have the ability to configure email accounts with your domain.

Last, you simply add the various aliases you wish to use with each account within your email client. In Mail, you simply add the aliases with a comma after your address, then the desired alias.

Any you add will be available for use when composing a message.

I’ve done this successfully with Apple’s Mail, Postbox and Sparrow. It may take a little fiddling, but it is possible.

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<![CDATA[ How important is the source? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/how-important-is-the-source/ 5e5c9418fca22d0038f12c65 Mon, 24 Oct 2011 05:31:00 -0700 I was intrigued when I first heard of Ethical Coffee Chain (ECC). I was just getting to know the writing and work of Adam King when Pat Dryburgh mentioned this project based on social entrepreneurship. And hey, it involves coffee … that's enough to pique my interest on its own.

Months later, I was glad to see Adam and the team at ECC get this project up and running. And because I believe in what they're doing, I signed up immediately.

Why?

What's important about ECC? Knowing the source, period.

My wife and I are big on the idea of buying local. Support the industry and people around you, and know as much as possible about where the products and services you are consuming come from. It's a concept that our culture, with all its Walmart's and big box retailers, needs to embrace. When I hear the term global economy, this verse from Amos always comes to mind:

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, Who oppress the poor, Who crush the needy, Who say to your husbands, “Bring wine, let us drink!”

Without digging into all the context (always dangerous when quoting Scripture, I know), these words speak to me. How do my purchasing decisions affect the lives of others? Are people being oppressed when I buy even the simplest of goods, such as chocolate?

The more I know about the product and the process of getting it to my door, the better.

Of course, buying coffee from a farmer in Nicaragua isn't exactly "buying local". The fact is, coffee can only be grown in the climates of the bean belt. But I love coffee. So if I'm going to continue to partake in the beverage, I'm awfully glad there are companies like ECC enabling me to make better decisions — and to feel good about it.

How does it compare?

All right, sermon over. How does the Gus's coffee taste? I must admit, there was a slight worry that I would be supporting a good cause, but drinking sub par coffee. After the first pound, I'm happy to say this is not the case. These beans are on par with what I would buy from Starbucks or Kicking Horse Coffee.

For context, I've tasted this coffee in an Aeropress, a French Press and a run-of-the-mill drip brewer. A clean, bold cup is the result in each. I sadly still use a cheap blade grinder, so getting a great cup of coffee with this setup speaks to how good the beans are.

Also, ECC shows their passion in the whole package. My first shipment came with a nice handwritten note, telling me how much they appreciate my decision. I was also one of the first ten subscribers, the first from BC and the furthest away customer. The note included a personal email address and phone number to send in any suggestions or feedback.

This is a business run by people.


If you care about how your choices as a consumer affect our world, you're already on the look out for companies like Ethical Coffee Chain. If you buy your Starbucks beverage without much thought, then I encourage you to take some time to stare into your cup and think about every step, every ingredient that was required for you to enjoy this drink.

Remember that there are people behind each step, and they deserve our time and attention.

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<![CDATA[ Embracing white space ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/embracing-white-space/ 5e5c9384fca22d0038f12c5f Thu, 06 Oct 2011 22:23:00 -0700 I love October. Up here, the air is crisp and almost all the leaves have turned. Winter's not here, but it's not far off either. I'm fond of all four seasons, and I especially enjoy the transitions between. In October, the year is coming to a close and with Canadian Thanksgiving, I start to remind myself of how I blessed I am.

We recently moved — again. The last few years have been a search, the type of restlessness you feel when your clothes don't fit quite right. We've been looking for the right mix of country and urban living, the type of place that will allow us to cultivate an environment for raising a family that fits some our beliefs, while still being close to our community of friends and family. Growing and preserving food, learning some of the older crafts, connecting yourself to dirt and earth; these are things more easily done on the right piece of land.

Now we're on one acre, located at the very end of a quiet street. Where we just moved from, we had to worry about the kids getting run over due to the heavy, fast, loud traffic on a very busy street. Here we only have to teach them to respect the neighbors. The distant hum of traffic and industry can still be heard, but it has to compete with sounds of squirrels chittering and wind blowing the leaves.

I think we've found our home.

Between the lines

When you're working with your hands, your mind is free. That's how it goes for me at least. The first month of living here passed quickly, but there was a lot to enjoy. Sweeping the chimney, processing compost, cutting wood — there's something magical about working a chainsaw, you know? — planting raspberries … my perspective and ability to keep the big picture, the important things in view are greatly enhanced when I spend more time doing these things. Time away from this screen is a necessity.

In a recent post, Jon Gruber made mention of his enjoyment of working with a computer:

When I’m away from my computer for days, I’m happy when I sit down in front of it. There’s a certain feeling I get when I use any computer — a Mac, an iPhone, an iPad, my TiVo, even an ATM or the credit card slider at the supermarket. Cool, a computer.

I empathize with his sentiment. But the key part of that statement is the beginning — getting away from the computer heightens the enjoyment I get when working. Eight hours a day is even a stretch, at least consecutively. Especially when that eight hours is spent ingesting digitally. I can be a slow learner, but the structure of my day is starting to reflect these ideas.

It's a weird thing. Being outside, working with my hands and physical exertion all allow me to somehow, at the same time, both read between the lines and see the big picture better than I can when down in the trenches. The right words, good ideas, solutions to problems — they seem to present themselves in a clearer light in these moments.

The white space

Being exposed to great design has helped me to not only appreciate white space, but to be able to identify it more clearly. And it's a concept that applies to areas other than web, print or product design. I may just be getting to a place in my life where I'm not merely giving these 'priorities' lip service. The desire is enough that the end of the work day comes with a smile as I put on my workboots and plaid jacket and head outdoors.

The spaces between the work give shape to the work.

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<![CDATA[ AeroPress by Aerobie ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/aeropress-by-aerobie/ 5e5c92befca22d0038f12c46 Mon, 26 Sep 2011 07:21:00 -0700 With my morning coffee, there are several criteria that have to be met in order for me to be satisfied. The coffee must be hot. Bold. Fresh, relatively. And last, it must be consistent. This last item relies heavily on the “setup”, or your equipment and environment you use to make your joe.

If you listen to the Minimal Mac podcast, Enough, you may have heard me and a few others discussing our own setups. I mentioned that I've just recently lost a dear friend, the espresso machine my family gave me for Father's Day in 2010. I say dear with my tongue-in-cheek, but there's some truth to the description. This machine — when used correctly — delivered the criteria I listed above. When it broke, I had to find a replacement, and wanted one that was considerably less expensive. And I've found it with the AeroPress.

pre

This piece of equipment has been on my radar for a couple of years, but I never made the purchase because my needs were met. I was happy to grab one now due to the low cost of $25 and the great reputation they have. I trust the opinions of other coffee nerds like Shawn Blanc, Marco Arment and Brett Kelly, who've all gone on the record to praise the AeroPress. If you've never used one, here's my impressions and how it compared to my mid-range espresso machine.

Short and sweet

Quality of the end result aside, there's a lot to like about using the AeroPress. It's quick — from start to finish, the process takes me around 5 minutes. You use a small amount of hot water, so the boiling doesn't take long. Once the water is at the right temp, the brewing process is less than one minute. Then the clean up, which essentially consists of rinsing everything off, takes another minute.

soak

If you refuse to embrace the opportunity of enjoying the moment when crafting a beverage, then you'll love this device.

Quality

What about the end result? I'd have to say, fantastic. It's definitely on par with the espresso I'd pour from my old machine. Even better, it's easier to get the same results every time. With an espresso machine, there's a lot more room for error.

results

I see why the AeroPress has become so popular — the cost, ease of use and consistency are hard to beat. My beloved espresso machine was also great, but the usage and silence of the AeroPress, not to mention the lower cost, make this a better purchase if you prefer your coffee strong and without foamed milk etc.

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<![CDATA[ Putting the focus on the conversation ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/putting-the-focus-on-the-conversation/ 5e5c916ffca22d0038f12c42 Sat, 27 Aug 2011 21:57:00 -0700 Starting a podcast teaches you a lot. After 13 episodes, I have a greater appreciation for those have had a lot of podcasting success. There's a lot of time and little details that go into making a good show, in terms of content and quality.

New Recording Setup

Photo by Ben Brooks

I have no vision of being the next Dan Benjamin or Leo Laporte, but I do want to give people something enjoyable to listen to. So there is pain every time I edit an episode and hear all the stupid things I say or poor sound quality. Here's a few lessons I've learned.

  • Don't say um so much (obvious one).
  • Try out a few more adjectives to describe things you like instead of, “Cool.”
  • Prepare your guest. Give them some tips on how to make themselves sound as good as possible, but without making it sound like work.
  • Preparation is everything. Everything. When I used to do a lot of interviews on my site, I took every effort to do a lot of digging on my interviewees. If you're doing an interview show, do the same. It's harder to do on a weekly basis, but make the effort (I'm giving myself this advice as well). The audience will be that much better off when you uncover unknown gems about your fascinating guests.
  • Respect your listeners time. I have no idea how anyone can find time to listen to one 90 minute show, let alone listen to them regularly. Commuters excluded, I guess. But Shawn and I try our best to keep the show to 30 minutes and have yet to go over 45.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. I could go into technical details, but if the content is great, the audio details are less important. And there are great resources already available on the subject. As the title suggests, I put the majority of my time into preparing to talk to the guest. The purpose of Creatiplicity is to highlight the amazing people who make up the Fusion Ads network. I simply think of all the things about that person that interest me and try to have the conversation I would have with them if I were meeting them face to face.

With all that said, having a sharp dressed co-host is the best way to get your show off the ground.

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<![CDATA[ Work to live ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/work-to-live/ 5e5c9149fca22d0038f12c36 Thu, 25 Aug 2011 05:14:00 -0700 The last 24 hours have given us a lot of insight into how Steve Jobs, armed with his singular focus and vision, has affected the lives of so many people. Personally, I can speak to how he's affected me. He created the atmosphere and, as many have pointed out, the culture, to create a new type of operating system, one that a designer recently described to me as “design sensitive”.

It drew me to the platform. From there he helped me to identify the value in simplicity, that good design is so much more than how something looks, as well as doing what you believe, even if others tell you you're crazy.

Most of us — most definitely 99.9% of us — have no clue about the exact status of Steve's health. But whether he passes on tomorrow or ten years from now, he's obviously in a time of transition. And despite all he's done as the CEO of Apple, I can't help but wonder how he's feeling right now. Emotionally.

As he looks back, I assume that there is some pride about what he did for Apple as a company. What he's done for those who use personal computing devices. How's helped to make mundane tasks fun. But what about his personal life? I hope there's very little to regret, that he's been able to invest himself as much into his family as he did into his business. You and I can't know whether that's the case, but I pray it's true.

Thinking of the news last night, I couldn't help but think of King Solomon. You may or may have not heard the name before. He was the son of David, the little shepard who killed the giant Goliath (kind of like Steve/Apple have done, or are doing, to Bill/Microsoft). Solomon created the temple that was the center of worship for an entire nation, was renowned for his wisdom and ended up being the most wealthy king of Biblical times.

But as he neared the end of his days, he shared a lot of somber thoughts in the book of Ecclesiastes. Looking back on his life's work, he says this:

So I said in my heart, “As it happens to the fool, It also happens to me, And why was I then more wise?” Then I said in my heart, “This also is vanity.” For there is no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever, Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come. And how does a wise man die? As the fool!

Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind. Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity.

Please don't misunderstand my point — I don't mean to diminish the accomplishments of Steve Jobs at all. Again, I appreciate what he has done for the industry of personal computing and personally enjoy all the Apple products I own. But when we get to the end of our days, it becomes more clear that life is more than just work. It's my hope that Steve worked to live, not the other way around.

I wish him and his family all the best.

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<![CDATA[ Cinnamon? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/cinnamon/ 5e5c9127fca22d0038f12c2f Mon, 08 Aug 2011 08:18:00 -0700 I really enjoy reading about how other people prepare and drink their coffee. One particular piece that sticks in my mind was Shawn Blanc's write up on how he prepares his coffee with a French Press. It's just the kind of blog post that I enjoy — a good subject and gained insight into the author's life.

On the details, I've always thought it was interesting that he put cinnamon into his coffee. As someone who loves strong coffee and takes it black, that was something I would never try. And for eight months, I didn't.

But a recent change in my coffee setup demanded a change. My espresso machine died (if you want, take a moment to pour some of your joe on the ground in honor of my close friend) and I've yet to replace it. I'm considering an Aeropress, but I need to time to grieve properly first.

Back to the point of the story. My current coffee setup does not include a conical burr grinder, and with no espresso machine, I've been drinking my coffee via drip or French Press. The bad part is that without a proper grinder, the flavor can often fall short. So, I tried Shawn's tip with the cinnamon. And the results are fantastic. The slight flavor of cinnamon seems to negate the slightly bland flavor of the coffee. So, the mornings are a little brighter once more.

yum

Now, this is not a proper fix, but a temporary solution. Once the Aeropress and grinder are in the house, the cinnamon will be moved back to the spice cupboard. But for now, hat tip to Mr. Blanc.

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<![CDATA[ Intake, creative output and habit fields ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/intake-creative-output-and-habit-fields/ 5e5c910afca22d0038f12c26 Mon, 27 Jun 2011 21:00:00 -0700 The web is the backbone of so much of what we do, the pipeline, but how we access it changes so quickly. The various services that make use of this pipeline offer us a myriad of choices to ‘plug in’, and it can be hard to find the right balance that enables us to partake, yet not be inundated.

The intake

Shawn Blanc recently posted an article comparing RSS and Twitter that resonated with me. Through a series of good points, he illustrates how the newer service may have changed the way we use RSS, but it has not supplanted the former in its entirety.

His conclusion:

… people are subscribed to websites in RSS and following the author on Twitter.

My usage fits with his conclusion, but it's finding the right balance that has been a struggle for me. The people I follow on Twitter are intelligent, dynamic individuals who all share items of interest to them. This increases my intake.

This subject always reminds me of another piece that Shawn wrote last year. In this article, he speculated the need for a universally accessible (i.e. web based) service that could be used to collect the various bits of information of interest to us, that we see from various sources while on various devices.

Almost a year later, I still feel that need.

Let's review the problem. As I mentioned earlier this year, we use Twitter is two different ways:

One fact that I do my best to keep in mind is this: there are two very different ways to use Twitter. Option A is as a social tool to interact and joke around with others, to connect. Option B is to use it as a source of sharing information, usually in the form of links to content or pithy blurbs of opinion.

The first aspect is easy to manage; you reply to — or message with — the people who interest you, those you follow, or those who follow you. But it's that second part, Twitter as a source of information, that has become difficult to manage. Not on its own, but when combined with RSS feeds and when accessed from different devices, different actions are required. And sadly, these different actions are not always possible, especially from an iOS device.

Let's look at some examples. I'm standing in line at the bank and take a moment to check Tweetbot for a DM I'm waiting for. While I'm doing this, I take a quick dip into ‘the stream’. I see:

  • someone has shared a link to a wonderfully designed web site
  • another person links to a newly launched Mac app I've been curious about
  • yet someone else links to a blog post they found inspiring and resourceful

In the space of 10 tweets, I see three sources of information I would like to take action on. So, what do I do? I technically can look at them all on my iPhone, but that is less than ideal. The screen won't let me see that new design in its glory, I want to view the app in the MAS, and it's almost my turn in line so I can't read the blog post right now.

What do I do? Now, I can save all these links to Instapaper. As Shawn mentions in the link I shared above:

Since Instapaper is basically a long list of items which can be added to from so many other apps, it would seem to be a great interim solution.

But there are problems and it certainly wasn't designed with this purpose in mind. So I'm still looking for a better way to manage my intake.

The creative output

If one can understand the problem I outline here — and let's be honest, this is a trivial, first world type of problem, but it's one that I face daily and so spend time thinking on — then you can understand the temptation to simply create another bucket to process when at your primary computer. See stuff that interests you when reading RSS or Twitter, whether on your Mac or an iOS device, then process and organize, or act on, later at your Mac.

The problem: your Mac is where you do your work.

Even if your work is writing about all these types of things full time, you still have to turn off the stream and do some creating of your own. And for the rest of us, as useful as these sources of information are, they are also simultaneously a distraction that inhibit us from creating ourselves. Or worse, they take our attention away from more important things like our friends and family.

But I haven't spent 700 words only to complain about the problem. I'd also like to share how I feel I'm getting closer to the right balance. Two things are always under scrutiny for me: my habits in these areas and the tools I employ. I do believe there is the right mixture that will allow me to still partake, but also create.

Let's start with habits. Patrick Rhone talked about this himself recently. He shares how he's changing the flow, which basically translates to how he makes use of Twitter and how he batch processes items like email. Why the change? He says:

My intention is not to be aloof, condescending, or out of touch. My intention is to try this on for a while and see if it improves the value and quality for all involved. Most of all, it allows me to turn my focus to what I feel is my mission here on this rock, writing and curating.

Why? Because as satisfying as the intake can be (or the socializing), it's no where near the level of satisfaction of putting your everything into something you create. Patrick wants to get some writing done!

And for me, batch processing is very attractive. Whether it's emails, or Twitter, RSS, or administrative tasks like invoicing and accounting, rather than doing here and there, I'd rather have a weekly routine that includes one chunk of time to get them done. Just one.

As for the tools, two additions to my tool belt have helped tremendously. One is brand new, a Twitter client that only lets you post tweets. It's called Wren and I love the idea. At first I didn't. But only a couple days of usage have changed my opinion.

Wren

The app was created with a purpose: to help you focus on your work without distraction, while still being able to share thoughts, resources, or funny tidbits on Twitter. I'd say the app is a smashing success (for me anyways) in two ways. One, it definitely reduces distraction. Secondly, it also increases your tweet quality.

That's another area I've been thinking on and another aspect Patrick alluded to in the quote above. I do like to use Twitter for the social aspects, but I'd also like to be a better contributor, sharing resources that inspire me or have been very useful. Wren has helped in that way, primarily because I'm not reacting to what's in my timeline, I'm merely creating tweets of my own.

The second tool I've really come to appreciate is Flipboard. It's an iPad app, one I've had installed for months, but have not used at all until recently. After looking at it again, with only my Google Reader and Twitter account piped in, I've been blown away. The app allows me to do two things: comfortably consume on a device that is not my Mac, and it allows me to see the content shared in my Twitter timeline in a better light.

How so? The links that are shared in my timeline via tweets or RTs are so much more likely to get my attention in Flipboard than in a Twitter client. Consider the two images:

Twitterific

Twitterific

Flipboard

Flipboard

In Flipboard, the content stands out in a way that allows me to better judge whether it is of interest to me. Even further, once I tap on a piece of content, the application nicely displays the tweet it originates from, including any commentary from the tweeter, while nicely displaying the linked page below. Swipe up and the content fills the page and the referring tweet disappears.

Flipboard focus

Elegant.

The habit fields

Jack Cheng's piece on ALA last year resonated with people. So many of us are struggling with the distraction that is offered by a device that can be used for both work and play and the lines between each have blurred significantly. Jack illustrated this in his piece:

Some objects come with more ambiguous habit fields … Let’s go back to your office desk. Say for example, every time you sat down in front of it, instead of doing your work, you checked e-mail, clicked on Twitter links and played Facebook games. Even if you have the most powerful processor, work-ready desk, and posture-supporting task chair, these items will absorb your behaviors and over time, their habit fields will shift in an unproductive direction.

and

Thanks to the computer’s ability to multitask, sometimes these habit fields actually become oriented around the act of switching programs! If you’re conditioned to alternate between different modes of working every few seconds, it’s no wonder you have a tough time staying focused on one thing.

But with the arrival of the iPad, we had a new, more intimate way to consume some of our intake. With my iPad, my natural inclination has been to use it for consumption, not creation (yes, creation is possible, but it's still so much more work that I simply wait until I'm at my Macbook). And so I've been attempting to allow my natural tendencies to build specific habit fields around my two devices so that certain activities take place on only one and not the other.

With Wren and Flipboard in my tool belt, this has become an easier, more natural fit. When I'm working, I can focus more on my tasks and when inspiration strikes, tweet (share) something without getting distracted by more links, @replies and DMs.

Then at some point in the day, I take my iPad and open up Flipboard. There I can consume the various inbound content that is of interest to me. The problem I started this piece of with, the lack of a web based syncing tool, is still not solved. I currently send a lot of items to Instapaper and use various folders to triage (to post, to archive, to process) where applicable.

It's not ideal, but I realize it's just another habit I need to create. Another bucket that needs to be processed. But overall, regarding the big picture of balancing input with creating quality output, I'm getting closer to where I want to be.

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<![CDATA[ The Case against the EM dash ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-case-against-the-em-dash/ 5e5bde34fca22d0038f12c12 Mon, 06 Jun 2011 05:44:00 -0700 “You can pry Shift+Alt-Hyphen from my cold, dead hands!” That was the thought going through my mind when this article entered my flow of information. I've long had a bit of an infatuation with the EM dash. And so, firm in my convictions, I read the article confident in an unwavering stance.

Dang … Noreen Malone argues her point well. I know that I've grown too fond of this nice, long dash, giving it preference over the period, comma and semi-colon. I mean, semicolons are not even nice to look at. Okay, odd fetishes aside, this article convinced me that I've been using the dash as a crutch and that interrupting my own thoughts is probably a sign of our over-stimulated culture.

So back to Strunk and White I go, to improve my sentence construction. And don't look now — two full paragraphs with no dash. Huzzah!

[ via Shawn Blanc ]

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<![CDATA[ Paper, or not ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/paper-or-not/ 5e5bddf5fca22d0038f12c0a Fri, 27 May 2011 07:11:00 -0700 Adam King recently wrote a great post on his paper based “stay-on-top” set up, titled The Daily Rind. It's the kind of post I've always enjoyed ever since this topic started to replace actual real work.

I say that with tongue in cheek, and I'm laughing at myself, not Adam. I always enjoy getting a look at how the people I admire process things and complete their work. The difference for me now is that I quickly recognize the pull to adapt my own habits because their's seem a lot coolor in the flush of caffeine-fueled excitement. Call it what you like, but I'm going to call it maturity.

Adam's process of scheduling out his day is great. But it doesn't work for me. In fact, scheduling out my days in a digital format doesn't work for me either. I've come to realize that putting goals down in a calendar format is useless, because my habits tend towards working on what seems more enjoyable at any given moment. Not to say that I don't put my head down and do the menial tasks when needed. But apart from what must get done, I spend my time working on what I most want to see completed on a given day.

My process is a little like this. All projects in all their minutiae are captured and fleshed out in OmniFocus. Smaller, less vital reminders are often thrown in Alarms. But truthfully, I'm rarely using either app throughout my days (except when reviewing or processing things in OF, usually on my iPad). When things get moving really fast, I'll scratch a quick list of tasks out on my larger notebook, which is basically a scratch pad. Whatever doesn't get completed in that session gets filed or forgotten, depending on how it feels at the end.

But what I've learned works best for me is a small list of the tasks that are required to move a project to completion. Call them big rocks, MIT's (most important tasks), or whatever else makes you happy. This list follows me around all week, and whenever I find myself lost in a Twitter-induced fog or staring out the window blankly wondering, “What next?”, I glance at my Action Runner and remember what the priorities for the week are.

photo

We all work differently, so take my description with a grain of salt. It might not be right for you.

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<![CDATA[ The purpose varies ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-purpose-varies/ 5e5bddc8fca22d0038f12c04 Wed, 11 May 2011 21:34:00 -0700 Like Ben Brooks, I've long had some thoughts about Twittiquette rolling around in my head. Ben expressed some thoughts this morning on the service and how he thinks people should react when they are followed or unfollowed by others.

It's an interesting subject as we all react towards these actions differently. But I try to keep a few things on my mind.

Don't take it personally

At some point, you're going to find out that someone you admired or respected doesn't find your stream of tweets attractive enough to keep listening in. This has happened to me, and I've done it to others. I do my very best to not be offended, and when I unfollow someone, it's my hope that they do the same.

Sometimes, even if you respect someone's skills and abilities, that doesn't mean you'll click in the format Twitter gives you. That's where the personal blog comes in. I still want to hear what you have to say, just on a bigger scale.

A vs. B

One fact that I do my best to keep in mind is this: there are two very different ways to use Twitter. Option A is as a social tool to interact and joke around with others, to connect. Option B is to use it as a source of sharing information, usually in the form of links to content or pithy blurbs of opinion.

Some people like the service for one, but not the other. Some people manage to strike a lovely, harmonious balance between the two.

The catch is that — in my opinion — we mostly want to follow folks who use the service in the same way we do. If I lean more to the social aspects and you only ever post links to technical info, I probably won't feel a connection. On the other side, if I've abandoned RSS for Twitter and you post about your workout every morning, there's a good chance I'm not interested in that ‘news’.

Personally, I shoot for the balance, but often fall more on the side of option A.

Everyone has a limit

For the longest time, I kept the number of people I followed on Twitter right around 50. If I added someone new, there was a good chance that I would remove someone else. The simple fact is that I can only take in so much input. I only want to take in so much input. My follow count is higher now, but only with people or accounts who tweet at a low pace.

If you tweet 20-30 times a day, there's a good chance I won't want to follow you. You would dominate my stream. Not that it's wrong for you to tweet at that pace, it's just wrong for me. I have my limit and although it may be much lower than yours, I have to respect my time. It does not mean I don't respect you, I'm just protecting myself.

This is something Patrick Rhone touched on early on Practical Opacity. Check out this video, specifically from 1:00 to 2:30. He hits on my exact feelings for this subject.

[Update] One last important factor with limits is personality. Some people can comfortably follow 400 people, because when they open up their Twitter client, they can simply jump into the flow. Some people, like this guy, have to go back and read every. single. tweet. I can only do that if my the number of tweets is reasonable. I don't believe there's wrong or right here, we're just wired differently.


In the end, I think my first point is the most important. I recently found that someone I had been connecting with on Twitter for over two years had at some point stop following me. I admit, it stings a little. But I let it go.

You're going to make a lot of great connections on Twitter, but don't feel the need to make every connection.

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<![CDATA[ Pulling stumps ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/pulling-stumps/ 5e5bdd91fca22d0038f12c00 Tue, 03 May 2011 09:21:00 -0700 Due to the fact that I work in front of a computer all day, I love doing yard work on the weekends. There's nothing that feels more natural, or more manly, then working up a sweat and getting dirty.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to clear a few stumps from our garden. I love pulling out stumps. It's a combination of physical power and cunning strategy. While I was going about my business on Saturday, I got to thinking that all my projects are like pulling stumps.

The prep

First off, you can't just simply start hacking away. A successful, efficient stump removal requires a little digging around the problem area, to get a better idea at what the job requires. And what kind of design or informational project doesn't require the same treatment?

Identify the roots

If you've pulled out a stump before, you know that the key is the roots. If you've done a little digging around the stump and just start reefing away, push and pull the stump all you will, you will not find success. You have to get under and around the stump, to identify its sources of strength. Then you attack.

Pushing and pulling from the beginning is treating the symptom, not the problem. Find the roots in your projects and make sure you're solving the right problem.

Don't be afraid to get dirty

Or sweaty. Or looking funny while you're at work. Produce great results and people won't care how you looked in the process. Once you've cut off the roots, you've solved the issue but a lot of clean up remains. A tree stump is a little like an iceberg — some of those roots go a lot further down or further across the ground than you would think. This is where the sweat and dirt really start to build up.

Get your hands dirty and follow those roots all the way.

Be thorough

When you pull out a stump, most trees will be good and dead at this point. But there are a few varieties that can regrow from a small bit of root you missed in the process. Be diligent in making sure you've gotten the bits and pieces you've dug about and spread around the yard in your enthusiasm as you connect with nature.

The same goes for your digital projects. Some times it's so easy to get over the main hurdle of a project and then want to move on to the next project. I mean, working on the same item for a period of time gets boring. The urge to work on something new is strong. But sometimes the difference between getting a project finished and actually nailing the project is made in cleaning up the little bits and pieces near the end.

Be thorough. A lesson I'm still learning.

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<![CDATA[ Rdio is clever ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/rdio-is-clever/ 5e5bdd60fca22d0038f12bf9 Tue, 12 Apr 2011 09:17:00 -0700 A well designed application, whether native or web based, will have clever UI elements that make the usage more pleasant. Some are obvious from the start, others are delightful surprises that you come across during your usage. Rdio is an application that gets you on both ends.

I love the service since it has given me access to so much new content that I could never afford to purchase on iTunes. And in the course of finding all this great new music, there are often times when I forget about new albums or bands that I wanted to listen to. But Rdio has me covered.

Recently added

You can view your collection by album, then sort by Recently Added. It's a small thing, but it's the small things that make something so good.

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<![CDATA[ A bag of marbles ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/a-bag-of-marbles/ 5e5b02af8080ab003861509b Thu, 07 Apr 2011 05:33:00 -0700 There was a chunk of time in my childhood — maybe as long as two years — where every kid at school was completely focused on marbles. Having first persuaded our parents to buy us each a large bag of them, the school yard was daily transformed into a huge marble tournament.

I can't remember all the specifics of the games (dropsies rings a bell), but the overall sense of building a collection is still vivid. Every game in which you bested your opponent, you got to keep his or her marble. You saved your favorites at the bottom of the bag, always being careful not to use the ones where the color combination or swirly bits of glass pleased you the most. But the idea of building up your collection, making your bag bigger forced you to keep playing, even risking the loss of your own marbles.

Then one day, for reasons still unknown to me, I yelled, “Freebie!” and tossed one of my bigger marbles into the crowd. The resulting attention was a huge rush, having all the kids clamoring and fighting for this marble which came at no cost, apart from the potential bloodied nose. So I did it again.

The fever of commanding the crowd took over. I kept the biggest and best marbles for last, throwing the smaller, less attractive ones first. Sometimes I threw a handful all at once. I kept this up until the last marble was gone from my bag, exultant at the process.

Until it was all over.

Suddenly the excitement was completely gone, and a large feeling of deflated emptiness filled the void where the thrill had been. The realization that I had passed up future happiness for a short — extremely short — moment of pleasure was fairly horrifying for this eight year old.

I wish I could say it was a lesson I only had to learn once.


While I was recollecting this experience recently, two aspects resonated with my current occupation and the culture of the web:

We all like to build

Whether it's building a readership via a blog, or building a business as an entrepreneur, there's at the very least a little bit of a creative type in all of us. It's why I like fantasy football — it's the closest I'll ever get to the real thing and building up history is a vast source of enjoyment for me.

I can say the same for building a business with a brand. Thankfully, we live in a time where it's never been more possible than now.

Attention does not equate to success

Sadly, this lesson is one I still have to review from time to time. Apparently, so too does the entire tech industry. So many startups focus on the thrill of the buzz, but the buzz doesn't last long, does it? If you give your product away for free or treat readers as a commodity rather than a community, the end result is a lot like the kid going home with an empty bag of marbles.

And if your company has taken investment, your investors are going to be a lot like the mom and dad asking where all the marbles they paid for have gone. Like them or leave them, the crew at 37 Signals has one thing right — charging for a product is a much more satisfactory strategy than getting the attention and then trying to figure out how to profit from it.

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<![CDATA[ Beginning to end: a tale of good support ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/beginning-to-end-a-tale-of-good-support/ 5e5b02778080ab003861508f Fri, 25 Mar 2011 09:16:00 -0700 There are a few reasons I like Apple and use their products and services. A primary one is the experience: beginning to end, Apple has crafted a culture that makes for a positive interaction between them and the customer, whether it's online or in a retail store.

They seem to understand that our culture offers too much choice and gives little regard for how you get to the end point (taking out your wallet).

Here's a recent sequence of events in our home:

  • Thursday, March 17 6:30 PM — my wife leaves her water bottle in her purse while teaching class. Our iPhone is also in the purse. Murphy comes a callin', and the phone is soaked.
  • Thursday, March 17 9:30 PM — I place the iPhone in a bag of rice.
  • Friday, March 18 8:00 AM — the device is a brick.
  • Saturday, March 19 10:00 AM — I head to the mall to speak to the kind folks at Bell, my mobile carrier of choice. The options don't look that good, but they give me an HTC Legend (Android) to use, no charge.
  • Monday, March 21 2:00 PM — I use the Apple support pages on their site. Without much poking around, I see that this water damage is not covered in my AppleCare warranty. I book a call with Apple's support … they phone within 20 seconds.

A moment of reflection, if you will. We've all been on the phone with some company or another, cursing the automated voice that is giving us poor options or not understanding what we are saying. This was a completely different experience. The options were clear on Apple's site and I scheduled a call. Before the confirmation email hits my inbox, my phone rings.

When I pickup, it's an automated voice. I think to myself, “Here's where it goes bad …” I'm given one choice to make, then I'm routed to a real, live human being. We converse. This is real support, what we all crave when something goes wrong.

My choices

I am 13 months into a 36 month contract — I'm confident I know what my options are now. I can buy an iPhone 4 for full price, pay $199 for a one time replacement of my iPhone 3GS, purchase a slightly cheaper smart phone from another company, or pay for a dead cheap non-smart phone.

At this point I'm giving the simple cell phone idea serious consideration. I hate seeing people walking down the street, eyes glued to their phone. I don't want to add to that — getting a simpler phone is a good way to make sure I don't.

Back to the sequence of events.

  • Monday, March 21 2:07 PM — On the call with the knowledgable Apple support dude, I verify my options and get confirmation that my warranty isn't going to get me a free phone.
  • Tuesday, March 22 9:40 AM — Back to the mall: I check in with my carrier again and see what the costs are like for some of the options listed above. I also ask for a power adapter for the HTC Legend because the phone died after 3 days.
  • Tuesday, March 22 9:55 AM — I leave the mall, a little surprised-but-not-really that my three year contract is for smart phones only and is not transferable to a simple cell phone. My options now are 1) pay $100 or higher for another smart phone that I will resent owning 2) pay big dollars for an iPhone 4 or 3) order the one time replacement of my 3GS from Apple for $199. Easy choice (#3)
  • Tuesday, March 22 11:30 AM — I plug the power adapter into the HTC Legend. Nothing. It doesn't work. People pay money for these?
  • Tuesday, March 22 1:00 PM — I book a call with Apple Support again. The phone rings within 20 seconds. I order my one time replacement.
  • Tuesday, March 22 6:30 PM — I get a confirmation email that my phone has shipped. From Middleton, PA.
  • Thursday, March 24 10:45 AM — Less than 48 hours from when I called, the new phone is delivered to my house. Serious!? Google Maps tells me I live about 3454 KM from Middleton, PA.
  • Thursday, March 24 4:40 PM — I've transferred the SIM card, installed iOS 4.3 on the new phone, restored from a backup and tested my phone. It's exactly like it was less than one week ago, but shinier and smoother. The box the replacement arrived in comes with a small booklet with clear, concise instructions for how to get the replacement phone up and running. It then instructs you what to do with the old, unresponsive phone, including how to tear the top of the shipping label off of the box the replacement phone came in. Under this label is a prepaid label for return shipment … the phrase “no leaf unturned” comes to my mind.

Where are the copycats?

At this moment I sit back and wonder two things: how does a large corporation like Apple do such a great job at getting the little things right. And so consistently. More importantly, for the love of all that is good in this world, why are other companies not writing this all down and emulating what Apple does?

Really. We all have horror stories of outrageous support phone calls, red tape, and discombobulated internal processes where it hardly seems that one department of a company knows anything the other departments do. Corporate America — please make note of what is happening here.


I've always felt slightly at a disadvantage as an Apple customer living in a small town with no Apple retail location. But the web and phone support has always been such a positive experience that my situation has never caused me issues. I'm sure a Genius Bar would be an even better option, but compared to my alternatives, Apple is serving me just fine.

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<![CDATA[ A solid option ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/a-solid-option/ 5e5b02428080ab0038615084 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 05:17:00 -0700 I've seen a lot of people talk about Alfred in the past year. I don't use it — apart from a quick download/launch/delete I have no experience at all with it. Not because it isn't a great tool, but simply because I already have a better option in my tool belt. But whenever I see someone writing or tweeting about it, I wonder why more folks don't give LaunchBar a try.

So many of us started out with Quicksilver. But, until quite recently, it appeared to be abandonware. Apart from that, there is always a risk when using free tools. Ben Brooks recently wrote about the Fragility of Free and used Quicksilver as an illustration:

When Quicksilver went away I paid for a version of LaunchBar and moved on with my life. 2 It’s not cheap, at $35, but that money gives the developer a reason to stick with development — it becomes a real business instead of just an elaborate hobby

I don't understand why more folks don't keep this concept in mind when it comes to the app launcher/utility knife category of applications. To me, there is no more important piece of software on my Mac (email clients come close, but email really runs on protocols, which makes switching clients mostly frictionless). Whenever I use a machine other than my own, this type of tool is the one I miss the most.

Like Ben, I was more than happy to pay for LaunchBar, replace the functionality I had in Quicksilver, and move on. Sure, it took some learning, but it more than does the job and saves me time in the general usage of my computer.

Before I made this choice though, I did fairly extensive comparison of three options in this category. You can read my post on this subject from last year. And although I had the following conclusion:

The point here is that you pick one that works for you. Then spend some time learning it — there are inevitably some other features included that can save you some of your time.

I was remiss in not adding this point: the fact that LaunchBar was actively in development played a role in my choice. Alfred may also be a good option, but the fact that the basic functionality comes for free would worry me slightly. As well, it doesn't appear to have the full feature set that LaunchBar does.

All this rambling is intended merely for this purpose: if you're giving some consideration to using a tool like Alfred, Quicksilver or the Google QSB, do yourself a favor and give LaunchBar a look as well.

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<![CDATA[ Alternate CSS files ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/alternate-css-files/ 5e5b020d8080ab003861507e Wed, 16 Mar 2011 20:07:00 -0700 Ever since Liz Danzico offered a separate version of her site in the latter hours, titled The Evening Edition, I've wanted to do the same on my own blog. A new design and a move to a new CMS was the perfect opportunity. I had no idea how to achieve this, but the solution was just a touch of javascript.

There are a number of ways to attack this, but I went simple and created three separate CSS files. One for the global stuff, layout and all that. The other two contained color and background settings — one for the day theme and one for the night. Then it was just a touch of javascript in the header to grab the user's local time and choose what two files to serve.

Here's how it looks:

I imagine there might be a better/cleaner way to do this. Comments always welcome.

Update

I had a couple of great suggestions to improve the code here. The first comes from a personal hero, Nathan Smith. Here's his suggestion:

Nathan's suggestion

How is this an improvement? Here's what he had to say:

This way, there's at least a default present, and you override it only if it's night time :)

Another great suggestion came from Adam J. Spooner, one of the true gentleman of the Internet (seriously, Adam is one of the most kind, helpful guys I've had the pleasure to meet. He also plays a nasty game of Scrabble). Adam's suggestion was probably more optimal:

1. Put all styles in one stylesheet. 2. Use EE to add a class on the body tag when it's night time. Something like this should work:
adam's suggestion
Why this way? I'm glad you asked. Putting all styles in one stylesheet makes for fewer calls to your server. So, the pages will load faster, ostensibly. Also, computing the day/night time before the page loads is faster than calculating it with JavaScript after the page has started to load. So, users won't have to wait for that calculation after the page has started to load. It will already be there when the page loads. Let me know if any of this is confusing.

I really like this idea, mostly because all the CSS is in one file. The only caveat here is that the javascript solution uses the reader's local time, rather than the time on my server. I'll probably stick with the javascript — the experience is better for the reader, despite being less optimal.

Either way, both suggestions were much appreciated.

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<![CDATA[ Community ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/community/ 5e5b017a8080ab0038615075 Mon, 07 Mar 2011 05:56:00 -0800 Aaron Mahnke shared some thoughts on how the Internet and social media have improved our relationships, rather than causing people to become increasingly isolated. I'm giving his piece a large dose of summarization in saying that, but it's the essence of what I took away the post.

But then something happened. People started to question technology. They started pushing it in a new direction. And for all the snake oil salesmen and plethora of “gurus”, the advent of social media brought a bit of the soul back into the online world. All of a sudden, people were interacting with people on a deeper level again. We moved beyond being users of our devices, and became people again. Humanity clawed its’ way back into the Internet.

I like Aaron's thinking, but I wouldn't be so quick to make a case for social media improving our relationships. Overall, at least.

I do agree with Aaron that tools like Twitter have given us opportunities to connect with folks we never would have without the tool in question. I wouldn't do what I do for a living without it. I've communicated with amazing people from all over the planet, spoken with great people across this continent, and even developed a few deeper relationships with a select few. This has been blessing.

But I worry about the cost. Where have I missed opportunities to more deeply connect with those in my own community. You know — the real one outside my window. What chances to connect with my children have I missed because I was throwing tweets back and forth with people I've not yet met in person.

Aaron gets this as well:

… [it] still cannot hold a candle to good conversation over a cup of coffee. I’m ashamed to admit that my friend Dave Caolo lives only two hours away from me, but we haven’t yet met in person.

It's not my intent here to completely dismiss Aaron's point. I see the benefit in these tools and greatly value the relationships I've had the privilege to build in the past years. But I count that blessing in one hand while I count the cost in the other.

And there are days when I look at the balance at wonder, despite the good that comes, whether the cost is too high.

Aaron finishes with this:

I sit down at my desk each morning intent on nurturing those friendships.

Great point. Let's make it an even higher priority to nurture the relationships that don't come across the desk, but across the hall or across the street.

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<![CDATA[ Beyond OmniFocus: you ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/beyond-omnifocus-you/ 5e5b00998080ab003861506e Thu, 03 Mar 2011 15:31:00 -0800 If you're an OmniFocus user, you need to give two posts from J. Eddie Smith IV a read. He's sharing his setup and usage of the application, but the real essence of his message is that OmniFocus is just a tool. And like any tool, it's usage is only as good as the execution of the one yielding the tool.

I know that OmniFocus has a lot of power that I'm not using. But that's okay because I've (finally) reached a place in my life where I'm more concerned with doing the work instead of whether the work is organized in the absolutely most efficient manner possible. But I will also gradually improve my usage over time — it's impossible not to self-examine in this way.

Mr. Smith does a fantastic job of looking beyond due and start dates, flags, and contexts. He attempts to use OmniFocus to help him do the nearly impossible task of letting him know exactly what tasks are the most suitable at any given moment.

He eloquently describes the problem with any system, even one that is well organized:

But how do you decide what to do when 5 tasks are overdue, 14 are due now, and 34 are due in the next 24 hours? What about heart-palpating tasks that come due when there’s nothing you can do about them?

And the reality:

Ultimately, you still have to tell you what to do. And ideally, each successive action you take on will lie at the intersection of the three fundamental dimensions of productivity: time, priority, and context.

A big part of his solution is regular reviews. It hits my particular nail on the head:

Reviews also make it less likely that you’ll abuse your future self by setting meaningless due dates or stacking due dates on top of each other.

Due dates are my way of letting myself know I'd like to work on a task at a given point of time. But of course that emotion may be completely blown away when the time comes, the task gets ignored, as does my 'system'. All because I'd rather be working on something else in the moment.

Whether you like a good description of another nerd's setup, or your really looking at how OmniFocus' flexibility can better serve you, these posts are for you.

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<![CDATA[ On file browsing ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/on-file-browsing/ 5e5aff278080ab0038615042 Sat, 12 Feb 2011 05:33:00 -0800 It’s been interesting to see so many different approaches to improving Finder in OS X. There have been complete separate apps to give additional functionality, as well as utilities that add features to Finder itself. Nothing has ever stuck for me, and I’ve learned to live with a combination of Finder and LaunchBar to do most things.

Lately though, in the spirit of Minimal Mac, I’ve taken to using Transmit for a lot of file related activities. Because it has two panes, each of which can be used for local or remote locations, it’s perfect for moving files from one folder to another. This is certainly faster than using 2 Finder windows.

It’s an application that I almost always have open, I just had to stop thinking of it as a tool to use only for remote file management. It has a lot of the goodness of the Finder included, is lightning quick, and has the lovely breadcrumb trail along the top that gives you a nice visual indication of where you are in your file structure.

To make a short story long, it’s nice option for working with your files and folders.

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<![CDATA[ Out of sight, out of mind ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/out-of-sight-out-of-mind/ 5e5aff9e8080ab0038615051 Sat, 12 Feb 2011 05:11:00 -0800 The title of this post reflects my state mind and current relationship with Time Machine. But first, a few thoughts on backups in general.

Go back a generation and backing up involved a rearview mirror in your vehicle. Today it denotes the need for an overall strategy to preserve the memories that are dearest to you, as well as archiving your business if you have one. And since we — or, I — like to focus on the life of a creative professional, that’s where my mind goes when I think about backing up my data.

Recently, Frank Chimero listed his archiving strategy when describing his digital setup. In a follow up, Antonio Carusone describes how he moved from a process of backing up when he “remembered to do so” to a redundant solution using 6 locations (with a lovely diagram to illustrate it, a great way to keep your overall setup easily memorable). And lastly, I cannot talk about backing up without linking to Patrick Rhone’s post on his 3-2-1 strategy.

My own process is similar, making use of a 1 TB external drive for weekly clones of my hard drive and video storage, a 750 GB external drive for Time Machine backups, a 120 GB external drive for monthly clones of my hard drive, and Dropbox for everything that is important (even my music and photos).

The part of the process that has really gotten on my nerves in the past has been Time Machine. Not that the technology was bad, but merely slow. I used it with a 500 GB Time Capsule for almost two years. The issue with that configuration is that the backup process took too long via a wireless connection, even to the point where the performance of my Macbook was affected. I started to dread seeing Time Machine start up in my menubar, often canceling the scheduled backup.

Which is not a very good way to ensure an up-to-date copy of your work.

A new plan was needed. Today, I’m much happier having Time Machine in use throughout the day. Here’s what I changed:

Updated the schedule — I used a small utility called TimeMachineEditor to schedule my backups every 4 hours instead of two. With all my data being synced to Dropbox as well, every two hours is overkill.

Changed the drive — I’ve decided that backing up via wireless — at least regularly — is just a bad idea. I now point Time Machine to a tiny, small, very quiet external drive. At 750 GB, it’s more than enough space for my needs.

Changed my preferences — in the Time Machine Preference Pane, I unchecked the option to display the status of Time Machine in the menubar.

The change has been great, because the old setup had become a point of irritation and stress. Now I don’t even know that a backup is taking place. The combinations of a quiet drive on a faster connection and having no visual notification that a backup is in progress has put the entire process out of my mind.

Which is where it should be.

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<![CDATA[ Bad form, Twitter ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/bad-form-twitter/ 5e5affd08080ab003861505d Fri, 11 Feb 2011 21:43:00 -0800 When it comes to Twitter, 2010 personally left me with a bad taste in my mouth. When the company purchased Loren Brichter's atebits — and programming skills — I was probably affected more than most people because of our ads in Tweetie for Mac. Other 3rd party Twitter client developers aside.

I could certainly understand Loren's decision and hold no hard feelings towards him. But the few communications I had with the team at Twitter left me wishing there was a little more competition on this space. Why? Because I was left with this general feeling: Twitter spent the early years building up as many users as possible — due in large part to the third party apps that accessed the service — and decided to put off figuring out how to make money from of their service until later. Now that they have the users, they seem to have no remorse about commoditizing those users and cutting out the very people that helped Twitter become what it is. The third party client app developers.

The latest changes to the official Twitter clients for the iPhone and iPad were a beginning down a road I hate to see Loren's work associated with. Both unwanted and tasteless, if this is where the service is going, it makes me wonder if I want to partake in it.

I stopped using Facebook three years ago, just when it was becoming extremely popular. I'm starting to have the same feelings for Twitter that I felt towards Facebook at that time. The masses may be happy with the service, just as they are happy with Facebook. But every time I hit the Twitter home page and see the trending topics rolling across the page, I get the feeling that maybe it's time for this guy to move on.

Ryan Sarver's post to the Twitter Google Group on Friday shows how far the company is willing to go to be the sole beneficiary of its user base. That doesn't sound unreasonable at all, does it? I simply wish they had made these intentions clear from the beginning rather than climb their to this position on the backs of small, independent developers.

The sole aspect that Twitter offered that Facebook did not was that I had control of the experience. I followed who I wanted. I received the updates I cared about. But if Twitter is going to start forcing content in my direction in the form of promoted tweets that lack relevancy, and at the same time force out developers who helped build the community …

Bad form.

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<![CDATA[ Frictionless publishing: it's just text, except that it's not ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/frictionless-publishing/ 5e5afeff8080ab003861503a Sat, 10 Apr 2010 05:13:00 -0700 Over the past couple of weeks, there has been a decent amount of discussion on the subject of Tumblr, Posterous and the rise of the micro-blog. Without recapping all the details, the general feeling of many is this: these services make it so easy to post that the quality of the content produced by the users of these services is very low.

And with the rise of blogs like “f*&%yeahwelshcorgis”, many would agree. But as a Tumblr user and a proponent of the service, I feel this point is a little off the mark.

The myth: the tool is the problem

The gist of the complaint can be summed up in this comment from Leon Paternoster:

It’s a shame when bloggers switch from standard blog software like WordPress to Tumblr (Cameron Moll, for example). Before, we benefited from an expert’s opinion and/or good writing, now we just get a stream of links and disconnected commentary. It’s a more passive experience: writer points to x and reader dutifully follows.

In a follow up post, Jonathan Christopher — a man I admire and whose writing I regularly link to — had this to add:

Of course it’s a limited case scenario, and there are numerous Tumblr blogs I’ve subscribed to for longer than I can remember. Even though rockstars are now moving platforms, I can agree with the sentiment that the overall experience is limited by the platform.

The “experience is limited by the platform”? Strong words, easily written I imagine, but, in the end, incorrect.

There are plenty of people regurgitating content using WordPress and there are no shortage of bad sites run on the Blogger platform. How exactly does WordPress — or any other platform — make one a better writer? The problem with these types of statements is this: just as the goaltender who looks at his glove immediately after being scored on, blaming easy-to-use systems like Tumblr is propagating a scapegoat mentality.

With a current emphasis on minimalist computing and devices that remove friction, placing the blame of bad content on the publishing tool is misguided at best. The onus is on the content producer — period.

Same as it ever was.

Reality: publishing quality content is work

The truth: good writing is hard. Very hard.

With the rise of blogging and self-publishing this past decade, there is no doubt that many people have jumped right in without much thought, posting pictures and linking to other people's content with abandon. But there has also been a large proportion of people who looked at this opportunity to improve their writing and promote their thoughts and ideas.

Shawn Blanc is one such person, a writer widely respected, not for short blurbs and links, but lengthy, in-depth reviews of software. In a partial interview recently published, when asked whether his writing was better when spontaneous or when carefully edited over a longer period of time, Shawn had this to say:

I guess it depends on the definition of writing better. If I have an idea that just pours out then yes, the initial foundation for what I’m writing is certainly much stronger than an idea I’m unclear on and trying to winkle through. But a piece that I were to write quickly and then publish would not nearly be as well written as one I took the time to write, edit, re-write, and then edit some more.

In my opinion, my strongest articles are ones which I spend a significant amount of time on (sometimes several weeks) before publishing. Some of those articles started as an idea that just “poured out”, but some of them didn’t.

A great point, and one many of us could take to heart. And I count myself squarely among the sinners. Many times I have posted something just because, “It's been a few days.” I rarely take sufficient time to review and edit my own posts. I've often allowed the desire to be heard outweigh the desire to write well, which is self-defeating in the end. Quality trumps quantity every time.

This is something I want to change, because I want to improve as a writer. As we all should.

But Mr. Paternoster and Mr. Christopher do have a legitimate issue — there’s a lot of crap being published these days. And it’s easy for writers — even great ones — to slip into a lazy habit of linking to the content of others rather than producing their own work.

But the blame should not be placed on the tool.

The problem: our internet is a consumer culture

The Internet has permeated our lives — it's wound its way into our homes, our workplace, our places of worship. Everywhere. It's changing the way we work and the way we consume. And many of the tools we use have been designed to make it easy for us to consume massive amounts of everything.

In addition, many of these tools have been designed to allow us to share — in one way or another — the items we've consumed that entertained, challenged, or inspired us. And yes, it is easy to pass these items on to our “friends” or followers with little to no thought.

But quality writing — whether creating long articles or posts, or sharing links to items of interest — takes careful time and attention.

The truth is, writers like Kottke and Gruber are not common. Despite the tremendous amount of consuming they do, they share and filter with high quality. They are really a breed unto themselves, and their success is proof of that. But they are also what other writers should aspire to — not to be the next John Gruber or to sound just like him though.

Rather, like them, we should all be making every effort to ensure that each sentence, each word, each character we publish, is done with the utmost care and thought. Each link, each photo, each small piece of Internet miscellany we pass on to our readers is done so with the understanding that the attention of our readers is not a resource to be squandered or taken lightly.

There is one other troubling aspect of our current culture: busyness and “doing” are not conducive to this level of quality. We have to turn off the firehose at times to allow our brains to be creative. To stop consuming in order to enable ourselves to roam free in the vast expanse of our own minds.

Liz Danzico spoke of this in a post titled, “In Praise of Nothingness”:

What I didn’t mention to this person was that I need idle time in equal proportion to planned time; leaving time for the unplanned, and making sure there’s enough time for a bit of nothing. It’s this space that makes the planned more worthwhile.

This is why I do all of my best writing in the shower. My mind just gets going, thoughts careen and words tumble out … it's also why my wife complains about my 30 minute showers. But regardless of where and when this creativity happens for each of us, we should structure our schedules to ensure that we get at least a small bit of this type of time each and every day.

And so, whatever tool we choose to use is not the issue at hand. It's more a matter of purpose: why do we hit the Publish button? What sort of standard do we hold ourselves to? And most important, who are we trying to please?

If we can correctly answer those questions, the tool becomes irrelevant.

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<![CDATA[ Imitating the swiss ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-swiss/ 5e5afdba8080ab003861502a Sun, 10 Jan 2010 07:23:00 -0800 I have many memories of my dad working around the house on various renovations or working on a vehicle in the driveway. He had a workshop full of tools and a large toolbox filled to overflowing. Many of the tools within were mysterious to me as I had no idea what their intended purpose was.

But whatever the job, there were a few tools that were always included. One in particular stands out in my mind — an orange screwdriver with a cap on the end. You could unscrew this cap and inside were 10-15 different bits which could inserted in to the tip of the screwdriver. That’s old hat now, but in the early 80’s, having one screwdriver for any type of screw was a novel concept.

There is something to be said for a tool that performs multiple functions. The Swiss Army Knife has long been the epitome of this concept. Through clever design, a tool intended for one purpose was adapted so that additional functions could be performed, but without interfering with the original purpose.

Software tools are no different. The Wikipedia entry for the Swiss Army Knife alludes to this:

The term “Swiss Army knife” is sometimes used metaphorically to describe usefulness, such as a software tool that is a collection of special-purpose tools.

On OS X, there are an array of tools that fit into this category. Applications such as Butler, LaunchBar, and Quicksilver are great examples. Each of these tools has its fanatical group of users that touts one over the other, but in reality, they all attempt to fill in some of the gaps left in the operating system.

And they do a pretty good job of it.

Quicksilver

Ever since I bought my first Mac, Quicksilver was a tool that always intrigued me. My initial uses of the tool were to use it as a glorified application launcher. Spend a little time reading about this tool around the Internet and you’ll find that the same is true for a lot of people.

But one day I needed to find a faster way to work with images and I was shown how Quicksilver could do what I needed — and much faster than I could manually in one of my graphics applications.

What is Quicksilver? Many have attempted to slap a label on this piece of software over the years. The truth is simply this — it is many things to many different people. Developed originally by Nicholas Jitkoff under the umbrella of his company Blacktree, the developers describe the application as so:

A unified, extensible interface for working with applications, contacts, music, and other data.

If you read that and think to yourself, “Yes, but what does that mean?”, fear not. It’s difficult to fully understand the tool at first. In fact, the only way to gain a good understanding is to simply use it.

From the moment I found that I could resize and convert a group of images with a few keystrokes, I looked for more ways to make use of the power of Quicksilver. Over the course of a 12 months, it became a regular part of many of my routine activities. It does such an excellent job of extending the capabilities of OS X that it saved me hours over the course of a year.

So I was dismayed when rumours that started to surface that Quicksilver would not work with Snow Leopard. It turned out that with a new version it did indeed work, but I made the decision to take a thorough look at a couple of other options. The tools I chose to look at were LaunchBar and the Google Quick Search Box.

Released by the Google Mac team last year, the Quick Search Box is a little behind the other offerings in this category. It has nowhere near the features that LaunchBar and Quicksilver offer, but it’s such a new release that it only makes sense that the feature set will grow.

The important bit about the QSB (Quick Search Bar) is that Jitkoff — the original mind behind Quicksilver — is now employed at Google and is working on this product. So while Quicksilver is firmly in the hands of open source developers, its creator is working on a similar product for Google themselves. And while it’s not anywhere as complex as its predecessor, QSB has already replaced Quicksilver for a lot of people.

The issue is that those people are the ones who used Quicksilver primarily as an application launcher. Those of us who used the more robust features will most likely find QSB a bit lacking.

LaunchBar

Developed by Objective Development, LaunchBar has also been around for some time and has a lengthy set of features as well. In addition, it has been touted by some of the more well known bloggers in the Mac community.

In all my findings, LaunchBar and Quicksilver are very comparable. In the end, the only major difference I found was in the area of graphics that I mention in above.

An example: I could pass a group of images to Quicksilver, specify an exact width for resizing each, and then change the file type — all in one step. This was not quite possible with LaunchBar as it only supported resizing images to a specific percentage.

Apart from that, both tools met my needs just fine. The usage was different, but both can do what I need. Here’s a few of the comparison’s I made between each tool for the categories important to me.

Images
Clipboard
Miscellaneous

It depends on you

Despite the fact that many people will argue which of these tools is better than all the others, I know from experience that it simply depends on your needs and preferences. If you are used to one over the others, stick with it. If you have a need that only one can fill, use it.

In my case, I no longer regularly perform the particular piece of work that required me to resize large groups of images to a specific size and file format. So when I got around to installing Snow Leopard and my install of Quicksilver promptly crashed, I purchased LaunchBar. And never looked back.

This is partly due to the fact that LaunchBar fits my needs, partly because I like to support Mac developers, and partly because I didn’t want to wait for a new version of Quicksilver every time Apple upgrades to a new kitty.


For those curious, here are the main areas where LaunchBar saves me time:

  • Navigation and launching: launching applications, switching to running applications, and opening or moving files or folders of course. Touch the mouse as little as possible.
  • Clipboard history: whether with Quicksilver or LaunchBar, this feature is essential to me. To be able to type a shortcut and have access to the last 40 items that were copied to the Clipboard … I couldn’t work without this.
  • Email: rather than invoke the Mail.app window, I start a new message from wherever I am with LaunchBar.
  • Calculator: lastly, similar to Spotlight, LaunchBar is a quick and easy way to perform small calculations from within any application.

This list is not exhaustive — but it’s my list.

There is no point on writing how one of these tools is better than the others — and it’s not the point of this post. Because it depends on the needs of the user. Just like the Swiss Army Knife, which comes in many versions, you may use the tool for one or two particular extensions, but the guy next to you needs something completely different.

The point here is that you pick one that works for you. Then spend some time learning it — there are inevitably some other features included that can save you some of your time.

And with all you’ve got going on these days, more time is a good thing.

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<![CDATA[ Multi-faceted: an interview with Garrett Murray ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/interview-with-gm/ 5e5afd828080ab0038615024 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:12:00 -0800

In my various interviews over the past year, a common theme of mine has been the relationship between design and development on the web. I am curious to hear Garrett's thoughts on this as well.

The interview

As someone who dabbles in the creation of web sites as a hobby and follows the true professionals online, it appears that there are not a lot of people who are highly skilled on both sides of this fence. It seems like most folks tend to spend more time on one side over the other and their career sticks on that path.

That seems to be changing somewhat in recent times, but overall I think the sentiment still holds true. As someone who has worked in the industry for more than nine years, do you agree with this? Is it hard for a person to be highly competent at design and development when it comes to the web?

For the most part, I agree. I know a few people here and there who are truly fantastic at both designing and developing for the web, but most people tend to be in at least a 60/40 situation. I think this probably comes from the amount of time it takes to master each skill-set and that they're sort of different parts of the brain. Someone who is a very talented designer, regardless of the medium, might be very good at writing, say, JavaScript, but might not find it interesting enough to become an expert. The reverse is also true. There are definitely exceptions to the rule, but for the most part people tend to focus on their speciality.

From a quick reading of garrettmurray.net and looking at your portfolio, it might be easy to assume that you are a more of a developer yourself. What would you call yourself? Where are your strengths?

Oh, I'm definitely a developer, yes. I have been saying for years that I'm not a designer, but it gets harder and harder to say that with a straight face when you look at how many times I've redesigned my personal weblog (maniacalrage.net) or the various other sites and projects I've done recently. That being said, I still don't consider myself a designer in professional terms, because I never design for clients.

All my design work is for my own projects--things like Ego, my sites, other web applications--I'm the client and I'm not forced to work on a deadline. I could never be a designer by trade because I'm not particularly good at it in regular intervals. I get inspiration, I sit down, I knock out a design. But then I might not design again for two months. If I had to do it every day, I would be a horrible failure.

When it comes to development, however, I am able to focus and work harder on a regular basis. It's interesting that of all my interests and hobbies (design, filmmaking, comedy, writing), development is the least creative in a general sense. There are times when I will go several weeks only writing code and not doing anything creative and I start to feel it. I'll suddenly have the urge to redesign my site or write something. And it works the other way too--after a while without developing applications and purely being creative I will have a very strong urge to sit down and write code. They actually compliment each other very well.

It's interesting to see how you break down the different types of work you do. I think it's safe to say that the burn out some people feel in more traditional roles could be attributed to the lack of opportunity to flex their creative muscles. Your situation seems ideal as you get a good mix of both.

But back to the subject of designers and developers. As a platform, It looks like designing and developing iPhone apps is a popular move for many who worked primarily with the web.

How about you — what made you want to create Ego?

Like most of the other applications I've written, Ego was written first and foremost because I needed it. I was sick of checking Mint, FeedBurner and Twitter with several accounts from my phone. It required too many logins, too many tabs, too much time. So I just needed a simple place to look at all my stats in one glance. From that, Ego was born.

In addition, I enjoy learning new technologies and designing for new platforms or constraints. I love the iPhone and the new life it gave to mobile design and development and I was excited to give it a shot. And, of course, it would be nice to make a little money here and there.

Hmm, there are two interesting items you mention there. First, How difficult was it to pick up Cocoa (or Cocoa touch) and develop this application? What kind of timeframe did it take for you to finish learning and start building the application?

I had learned Objective-C (or at least a working knowledge of it) years ago when I wrote xPad. Back then it took me many, many months to learn and develop the app. This time around, I decided to go the smart route and read/learn BEFORE jumping into code. I get so excited about making something that I often jump in too deep and end up struggling to solve problems because I'm not as knowledgeable about things as I should be. So when I decided to write Ego, I bought Learn Objective-C on the Mac (Dalrymple & Knaster) and Beginning iPhone Development (Mark & LaMarche) and read them cover-to-cover over the course of two weeks. During that time, I never touched my computer. I just read and digested. By the time I started working in Xcode, I was much more comfortable with the idea of writing an iPhone app.

Start to finish, I think I spent about a month and a half designing and developing Ego version 1.0. If I hadn't refreshed my knowledge of ObjC and read the iPhone dev book, I think it would have been a lot longer.

Wow — very cool. It must have been hard, taking out two weeks and not earning any revenue during that time. Which brings me to the other point you mentioned above:

“And, of course, it would be nice to make a little money here and there.”

Sharing only what you're comfortable with, how is that going? Do you feel that the iPhone is a viable way for developers to earn a living?

Luckily, those two weeks were during a vacation, so it didn't impact me too much. Whether or not it's normal for someone to read ObjC and iPhone dev books while on vacation is another issue, but we'll ignore that one for now.

Ego hasn't sold as many copies as I would like, but it was never meant to be a breadwinner. I'm happy that I've sold as many copies as I have to date, and while I would love to wake up one morning and see 1,000 sales from the last day, that's not realistic given how niche the application is. That being said, there is clearly a viable way to make a living through the app store, but I think it is becoming saturated and over time it looks that games might be the only way to get rich doing it. That being said, if I had 5 applications all selling as much as Ego is, I would be pretty comfortable from it. So if you want to send over 4 great ideas, that'd be fine by me.

Ha — they're on the way.

You mentioned XPad previously, a text editor for OS X that is now freeware. You also mentioned that it took months to make. How hard was it to make the decision to release your hard work for free?

Actually, xPad is freeware because it's old. It wasn't free when it first came out. It was $9.99, if I remember correctly. It didn't sell too many copies, but people seemed to love it (I still hear from people all the time that they use it to this day). Then there was an incident when I sold the IP to someone who then backed out of the contract. It's a long and pointless story. When I got it back after a few months, I decided to just make it freeware (I also gave refunds to people who had bought it within the few months before I made it free).

By the time it became freeware it had been out for a few years and wasn't really selling anymore so it didn't bother me (and, like I said, people still seemed to like it). When I first released it, I definitely wanted to try to make some money from it, since I had spent about 9 months learning ObjC/Cocoa and developing it.

That being said, since xPad I have released other free applications, such as SimpleLog, which was a Ruby on Rails content management system. I've since stopped working on it, but did spend about a year building/designing it which was a lot of fun.

Well, I'm glad you brought up SimpleLog as well. I'm curious to hear why, after taking the time to develop your own CMS, you would then switch to a tool like Tumblr?

There were several reasons. Initially, it was because the content I was writing for my site had slowed to a trickle. I didn't have as much time to write so I wasn't posting as much. But I would constantly find photos or videos or other things I enjoyed and wanted to post with little bits of thought. SimpleLog was designed for writers. When I created it, I specifically set out to make a CMS that was simple (oy) and efficient for someone to use when writing on their site. I used to write a lot more fiction and such and it worked really well for that. But it wasn't designed for short posts, multimedia posts, or so-called micro-blogging.

When Tumblr first came out I started an account and posted little things on the side but didn't link to it anywhere. After a month or two I realized I had posted loads of content there and nothing to my primary site. So it seemed logical to switch.

On top of all that, I love the like and reblog functionality Tumblr provides. It makes it easy to find great content and also to get your content circulated around. Plus, the Tumblr folks are nice (and pretty damn smart, too).

I hear you there — I'm loving the service and the community. And seeing the whole story, I can see why you moved on in regards to each of these projects.

Back to Tumblr. I've been following Prettify since you joined as a member on Fusion. One thing I've always wondered though: why do you write in plural form?

“One of the more unique icon sets we’ve seen in a while. Includes two version of folders in white and red.”

Hah. It's amazing how many times I've been asked that. Honestly, I don't know why I did that. I just wrote the first few in plural and it stuck. I guess I imagined in the beginning I would eventually have other people adding content to the site as well, but after a short time I realized (after looking at submissions) that I don't trust anyone else's taste enough to give out control over posting. I thought about switching to singular, but it was already the style of the site.

I actually did the same thing in the first few posts of another side-project called That's Not Art, but quickly corrected it.

Well, it just adds to the charm of the site.

Garrett in Forever's Not So Long

All right, that's enough of Garrett Murray the developer and web savant. Let's talk about your cinematic side. “Forever's Not So Long” was really good. Can you describe the overall experience making the movie was?

Filmmaking and acting are my primary passion. Web development is fun and it pays the bills but my real interests lie in film and television. I've been working with my long-time friend Shawn Morrison since we met in college on various comedy vehicles and short films, of which Forever's Not So Long is the latest. When we started talking about making FNSL, we decided for the first time to make a film specifically to send to festivals. We had talked briefly about submitting past films but it was never one of the primary goals until this one.

Shawn had written the core of FNSL a few years back when we had talked about another idea that involved it and when we started talking about what to work on in late October, 2008 we both agreed this story was interesting and would make for a nice short. He finalized the script and we shot and edited it during the month of November.

Forever's Not So Long was different for us in that it was the first time we shot a short in high definition, and on film lenses. That presented new challenges (very heavy camera that Shawn had to hold, sometimes for a very long time, very precise focusing, et cetera) but ultimately gave us the best visual work we'd done to date. Especially when you consider how wonderfully Shawn shot it. It was also the first film we'd made in which music played a large role. Our friend Robert Andersen wrote a fantastic song called Emperor Norton, which is played over the last few moments of the film and really adds such an amazing amount of weight to the final scene. When I first heard that song a few years back, I knew immediately I'd use it in a film at some point and was thrilled we could use it for this one.

FNSL was also an interesting experience for me because it was the first film or content we'd made that I didn't co-direct or co-write. I gave Shawn feedback on the script while he was working on it and a few suggestions during shooting but my role in this project was focused purely on acting. It was, quite honestly, fantastic to have someone else managing those other aspects and to focus on the character and story. Granted, I produced the film so that involved a lot of work, but luckily that was mostly before and after we actually shot it.

Coming from someone who knows very little about cinema in general, I have to say that when watching the film, the cinematography and the music definitely added to the feel. And the focus on everyday things.

On a side note, I have to ask this: when your character is outside talking to the girl on the street, a guy runs by. You grab him and say, “You're dead already!”

He’s not listed in the credits … was this planned or is he some random New Yorker?

Actually, he is in the credits--his name is Jeff Beebe. He's listed along with other people who run by on the street, including Amanda Crater, Sara Zarbo and my kid sister, Ashley Murray (who also did the makeup for the film). You can also find a full list of credits on the IMDB page for the film.

Ah, I stand corrected. Thanks for clarifying. Great work by everyone involved.

We've touched on your many facets: developer, actor, filmmaker, blogger, podcaster … let's talk about Garrett Murray the entrepreneur. There has been a move towards self employment on the internet the past 4-5 years in which people are actually selling themselves. It sounds somewhat funny to say that, but in essence it's true.

Many people want to be the next John Gruber or Merlin Mann. As someone who works for himself, what do you think of this trend?

It seems perfectly logical to me. I don't begrudge anyone who is good at self-marketing, especially when they're talented at something (or multiple things). I do get frustrated when people become famous and/or successful when they have no inherent skills other than networking--what's the point of being well known for being useless?

The internet has made it very easy to create and broadcast your own brand, but it's still immensely difficult to be successful with it. If your goal is to want to be the next John Gruber, that seems like a waste of time. John's goal when he started writing Daring Fireball was to be a great technology writer. There's a big difference there.

I definitely fall into the category of selling myself. Between my primary income (web development) coming from referrals and leads based on past work I've done, to building an audience for the sketch show and short films, to the little things like Prettify and That's Not Art, everything is branded with my style and persona.

When did you make the move to working for yourself? Have you ever had a more traditional job working for someone else?

Oh, I've worked for loads of companies. Just before I started pinch/zoom I worked for a small Seattle-based agency called Blue Flavor. That's where I met Brian Fling, who I work with now. In the past 10 years I've worked for many companies, both large and small.

When I left Blue Flavor I decided to make a very serious go of working for myself. Frankly, working in an office, working 9 to 5 … it's just not for me. I like working late at night, I like working in solitude quite a bit, and I enjoy the flexibility of working from my home office. My cats seem to enjoy it too, since they have someone to bother during the day.

Blue Flavor — I hadn't realized that. All right then, since you've made the move to self-employment, do you have any “professional” tips for the gads of aspiring entrepreneurs that are looking to go on their own?

I could probably list hundreds of them, but I'll stick to what I feel are the big ones I've learned the last few years:

  1. Always set aside at least 30% of your income for taxes. If you don't, you're screwed come April 15. It's also a good idea to pay the quarterly estimates, although I always forget to.
  2. If you need to be around people for most of the day, you're going to have a hard time working for yourself. Most days I don't see people for the majority of the daylight hours. I talk to a lot of people through IM, email and Twitter, but face-to-face contact is rare. If you can't handle it, things won't go well for you.
  3. Consider each project carefully before taking them on. What sounds worth the cash in April sometimes feels like a horrible mistake in August. Tons of money isn't a good reason to take a project.
  4. Exercise. Since you're not going to be out and about, walking around, you'll gain lots of weight. I gained about 20 pounds my first year. I felt terrible and had to work it all back off. Do yourself a favor and don't let it become an issue by exercising regularly. After all, you set your own schedule so you can run in the middle of the day.
  5. Keep every receipt for everything you spend that's related to your business. Meals with clients, travel, everything. You can write it all off, and you'll need to since you're going to be paying self employment taxes.

Nice tips, especially regarding taxes. That's something I'm learning here — glad to hear you back it up.

All right, I have a bit of a fetish for software and how experts use their tools, as well as personal productivity (I won't use the GTD word). Can you share how you make sure you stay organized and productive? And tell us about some of your favourite software tools that you use?

I'm pretty simple about how I stay organized and productive. When it comes to email, I archive what I'm not going to reply to and try to keep my inboxes empty. I file important things into named folders.

For files and such, I use a simple system of an inbox for downloads, a pending folder for things that I'm working on temporarily and an archive folder (with many subfolders) for things I'm done with but want to keep around. I also use Dropbox for all my business-related files (sharing with colleagues has never been easier) and filmmaking-related non-video files. I use a Drobo to store all my permanent content (video, older photos, et cetera).

For task management, I use Things on the desktop and iPhone. I use Tweetie for managing the various Twitter accounts I run (@garrettmurray, @egoapp and a few others) on the desktop and Birdfeed on the iPhone. I use NetNewsWire for feeds in combination with Google Reader.

I do nearly all my work with TextMate, Photoshop CS4 and CSSEdit. MAMP Pro for all my test server configurations for things like PHP and MySQL. I write iPhone apps in Xcode, of course. And I keep all my code (personal and business-wise) in git repositories and host them on GitHub.

I try to keep my desktop, inbox and filesystem neat and tidy as frequently as possible, which is just the digital extension of how I keep my apartment. I'm a bit of a neat freak.


Thanks to Garrett for sharing his thoughts on the subjects above over the past months. As always, it was a pleasure to get inside the mind of an expert and see things from a more intimate perspective.

If you enjoyed this interview, here are a few others:

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<![CDATA[ Two sides of the same coin: an interview with Sam Brown ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/interview-sam-brown/ 5e5afd2d8080ab003861501b Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:23:00 -0700 sam.jpg

Sam Brown is a freelance Web Designer and Developer from Edinburgh, Scotland who specializes in usability and web standards, is a geek, and loves all things technology. Besides his own blog, Sam runs some very cool sites such as Posh CSS and We Love TXP.

I've been reading Sam's blog for a couple of years now and have come to appreciate his work during that time. After my discussion with another famous web developer early last year, I had wanted to interview Sam because of his unique skill set. He seems to be one of those rare people with a great talent for both design and development and I wanted to dig a little deeper. So last October I approached Sam and the interview began.

Well, here we are in March and a lot has changed. During this time, Fusion was launched and Sam and his aptly named blog have been an integral part of our network. I got to know him a little better over the past six months and now know what many others already did—he's one swell dude.

So without further ado, here is the culmination of our five month conversation.

The interview

Designing vs developing—I talked about this in the past in an interview with Dan Benjamin. He and I touched on how there are not a lot of people who are really good at both aspects of the web industry. Shaun Inman was referenced as an example of someone who has good skills in both.

First, do you agree with the sentiment that most people in this business are good at one or the other, but not usually both?

I believe there are always going to be people that are good at both. It would not be uncommon for someone to be an avid developer but have a passion for design, especially related to our industry where both are so very tightly integrated. It's not often you get people _great_ at both though.

Designers need to know some development skills, such as how certain design elements will translate into HTML & CSS, as well as the obvious things such as font choice which can be a cross skill-set nightmare. Likewise, developers need to be able to bring the designers vision to life without insulting the designer or disturbing the artwork.

People like Shaun Inman are a rare breed, being an exceptional designer and a sensational developer. Everybody knows the success and accolades that Mint has generated and I believe the nay-sayers will be even more impressed with what he has in the pipeline.

Creating your own independent software or products from start to finish thrusts you into the realms of both design and development. Past little web projects that I have created have been completely designed and developed by myself solely as tools that I needed or wanted that were not readily available. I am a firm believer in software that has a sole purpose and does that one thing really well. It's not often you get software that is great at lots of different aspects, just like it's not often you get an equally great designer and developer rolled into one package.

I definitely agree with you on the point that a piece of software that does one thing and does it well is good design. And on that note, I'm glad you mentioned your own projects.

My initial desire to conduct an interview with you was due in large part to the fact that you have some really interesting and varied projects that indicate you have strong skills in both design and development. I know this can be a hard thing to respond to, but self-deprecation aside and with all honesty, where would you consider your skill level to be?

I am for the most part a self-taught designer and developer. I've been interested in both for the longest time since my school days, and after getting half way through my University degree in Multimedia Design I got fed up with 'learning', talking and writing lengthy essays about it that I wanted to get out there and actually do it.

Front end design and coding has always been my main interest, what the visitors see and what is beneath that pretty dress but in recent years I have come to a place where I want to build things of my own. Teaching myself how to code was solely for my own benefit at first and was no doubt born out of my solo freelance attitude that I've only ever known. I have always been my own boss, so getting a project off the ground to completion has always been done by a team of one. Of late I've been working on small projects with fellow freelancers and find this has allowed me to focus on only one part of a project, and that has unanimously been the front-end side.

Back end, proper development is still really new to me. I know how to go about getting the result I want, but it may not always be the proper or best way to do it, and I am definitely no coder extraordinaire. I prefer to leave that to those that specialise in it.

It's interesting that you took this path—it seems to be a common theme in recent years. Do you think that formal education has seriously fallen behind when it comes to the world of web design? Do you consider it to be a waste of a person's time?

Formal education is definitely not a waste of time. I learnt a lot from what I studied, especially the theory, but I do think they have fallen behind the times. The problem is that it's easy enough for someone to teach you Photoshop, Flash and Dreamweaver in a classroom but being able to put those tools to good use on the modern day web is very different.

I think a good student of web design will learn more outside of the classroom, making sure they are abreast of all of the latest techniques and technologies available to them. Our industry is a new and fast paced one which doesn't cater to old school teaching methods. A 'teacher' of web design may know how to use the applications and implement things but if they are not doing it themselves on a daily basis in the real world their students aren't going to be able to keep on top of our ever changing industry.

Yeah, it's definitely an industry that seems to change week to week. What you say here echoes the words of Aaron Walter in a recent A List Apart article regarding this subject:

Our young medium is still ironing out a few kinks—perhaps the biggest of which is the way budding web professionals are being educated. Schools that teach web design struggle to keep pace with our industry, and those just starting their curricula often set off in the wrong direction because the breadth and depth of our medium can be daunting.

So armed with your experience, what kind of advice would you give to aspiring young designers/developers looking to get started in this field?

Get involved—the majority of your time might be spent learning in a classroom but you will have to spend an equal amount of time within the community. Subscribe to influential designers and developers that you aspire to, comment and participate in discussions on sites or in forums.

I would highly recommend starting out with some light freelance work while still learning, there is no better type of learning than actually doing it. Working on small jobs with clients willing to trust you in creating something for them will arm you with a wealth of knowledge that no classroom can easily teach.

Work with friends and colleagues on personal projects. It might be a small blog about a topic you all like, or an app you think you could build in your spare time. Working on actual projects outside of the classroom will inevitably benefit you down the road with real world experience.

On the subject of personal projects, when can we expect Remindness to be available for use?

Hah, the dreaded question.

It's a interesting situation to be honest, especially seeing as I built the very first version of Remindness in a single day. It has come a long way since then, through many design iterations and complete re-codes but it still essentially does exactly the same thing as version 1.

Most of my side projects/apps are built because I have a need for them and there currently isn't a good enough solution out there to cater for that need. Remindness is the same, and I use it on a daily basis.

Sadly though I've been super busy with client work over the past few months, writing articles for magazines and now preparing to speak at a couple of conferences later this year … time really is in short supply. I believe Remindness will see the light of day in the not too distant future but I really would not want to pin myself to a specific date.

Well, it was a somewhat unfair question as well. Thanks for replyering with such aplomb!

As someone who has as interest in web design and has followed the personal blogs of various web designers for several years, I find there seems to be a great sense of community among the folks employed in this industry. And the design community in the UK appears to even more tightly knit.

Do you feel this is true?

I agree, I think there are different levels of community now though. Twitter has been a great influencer in creating tightly knit groups of people and has been especially good for people like myself who work from home and sadly do not have that face-to-face communication with colleagues.

The UK web community I feel is really quite strong, granted distance isn't as big an issue as you have over the pond. But in general we make a pretty good effort to turn up to conferences & events and make ourselves known. Certainly down in England; Bath, Brighton, Oxford and London in general all have a good bunch of people that are mighty popular, influential and contribute to the community at large.

Up here in Scotland we are making a deserved effort to meet up once a month with fellow like minded internet folks to partake in the great past time of beer swigging and friendly banter related to our industry. I think it is the small informal events such as these that help strengthen the backbone to our online communities and certainly with events such as the FOWA road trip and other planned mini-conferences being help up and down the country, these can only continue to benefit the community at large.

While we're on the topic, what is everyday life like in Edinburgh, Scotland?

Being a freelancer and working from home I have a pretty set routine that helps me stay focused as if I was working in an office in town. I have had many a discussion with people in similar situations, some keep their shoes on whilst in the home-office and only take them off once their day is over and it's time to relax. I've even heard stories of people walking around the block one way before work and walking the opposite direction after work, but my routine isn't quite that strict!

My day is quite similar to that of anyone else to be honest, although time is a constraint I happily live without. I wake when I wake, I shower, dress and have breakfast, occasionally visiting the gym in the morning when it's nice and quiet (sitting in a chair at a desk all day is simply no good for you, exercise frequently!). Foraying into my office after breakfast, my morning is dedicated to checking emails, reading RSS feeds, managing the multitude of sites I run and generally keeping abreast of industry related news and discussions. Late morning I will spend several hours working on client work before lunch, after which will see me back in the office keeping my clients happy for a few more hours. My day usually finishes around 4 or 5pm after spending some quality time working on the vast array of personal projects I like keeping myself busy with!

4 day work weeks are a great idea but in reality we all know that this isn't always possible. I don't work a 4 day work week but I also do not spend 7, 8, 9, 10 or more hours per day slaving away on projects. I split my time between client and personal projects and I try not to take on more than 2 client projects at a time and always leave space between projects just in case they overrun. Weekends are for relaxing and socialising and I try my best to keep them as free as possible from work.

That sounds like a very comfortable routine. I'm sure a lot of folks would be envious of your situation.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of downsides to working comfortably at home. Phone calls, visitors, and the big TV with Xbox in the lounge name a few, but if you are serious about what you do it's something you have to overcome. I've been tempted to look further into shared office space of late as working from home on your own is not ideal when you could do with a friend or colleague to bounce ideas off.

Spending an afternoon in a coffee shop is a welcome break from the home office every now and again, but a couple of days a week in a creative environment would be the perfect situation for me.

As a writer who focuses a good bit personal productivity, I have to ask this—what is your take on this sub-culture? What do you think about GTD and content of that sort?

I try and leave my thoughts on GTD and its sub-culture to the experts, like yourself. I admire what you write and the effort you go to to divulge the worthwhile info and applications from the useless.

To be frank though, I think the majority of people need to stop harping on about GTD, which apps they are trying out today and why they feel the need to tell us all about them. Then, and only then might they actually get some ----ing things done! All one needs are pen and paper.

Ha, fair enough. And a lot of people share your opinions on this matter.

Let me approach it this way then ... you somewhat replyed this a couple questions back, but what do you do as an independent freelancer to ensure you are an efficient and effective worker?

The key is organisation, have set goals and deadlines and make sure these are adhered to by both parties. Explicitly state what the repercussions are in your contract—if a client is late getting content to you the deadline is no longer going to be easily achieved. Being open, honest and up front with clients during the whole process will give your clients confidence that you do know what you are doing.

I also always try and have one communication medium with only one individual, if there are multiple people in their team you need to set them a team leader if you will that will be your only point of contact. Fielding multiple emails from multiple sources on multiple topics is a nightmare! Basecamp and the like are great applications for keeping all of your project data in one place, messages, todos, deadlines and comments.

Keep track of everything, hours you have spent on a project (log each and every one), expenses you have incurred, meetings, phone calls especially, jot the time, date and a summary of these and follow up with clients afterwards via email and make sure nothing that was said was misunderstood. A papertrail is something you will only notice is missing when you need it most!

Being an efficient and effective freelancer will take time, everyone makes mistakes and while this is the harshest way to learn them, it is the best way. Be vigilant and work hard and you will reap the benefits.

Great reply—I would love to one day have a work life more like your own! Thank you for being a good sport and answering these questions. As always, it was good fun.

No problem at all, it was a blast. Thanks Chris.


If you enjoyed this interview, here are a few others:

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<![CDATA[ Productivity in academia : an interview with Dezene Huber ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/interview-dezene-huber/ 5e5afb028080ab003861500b Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:12:00 -0700 I never intended for interviews to be a regular feature here. But after my discussion with Dan Benjamin, I realized how informing it can be conducting an interview—and enjoyable. It seems the easiest way to really gain insight into a person and the subjects they specialize in.

So here is the second ever interview in this space, and a third is in the works as we speak. There has been some discussion lately on the merits of interviews, and how a lot of bloggers use them as a tool to drive traffic.

And while increasing traffic is always in the back of a blogger's mind, I initiate an interview for a different reason. Mostly to satisfy a curiosity. The interviewee is an expert on some subject, or has had an experience in some area that I want to know more about. He/she doesn't have to be famous at all—they simply have some knowledge/experience in a certain area.

So without further explanation, I'd you like to introduce you, dear reader, to Dezene Huber. I've known Dezene for several years now as we attend the same church. More accurately, I've known of him—we met, but had never really interacted at all. Until Twitter.

Dezene joined Twitter early this year, and for the past six months, I've gotten to know him via this digital tool. He's crazy funny and very intelligent. And I quickly discovered we share some interests, mostly around productivity and tools one can employ in that regard.

He also works at our local university. I was curious about the presence of GTD-mania in an academic setting—do professors and students know of this whole sub-culture? Do they make use of it in some form or another?

So I went straight to the source. Here's what I found.

The interview

So to start, I was curious about your email signature:

Canada Research Chair in Forest Entomology and Chemical Ecology & Assistant Professor

It appears you do research and some teaching. But can you give me some more details about your position at the University? And what exactly is it that you do?

I am a professor in the Ecosystem Science and Management Program at the University of Northern British Columbia and I teach mainly into the biology and the biochemistry and molecular biology degrees. "Assistant Professor" is my specific academic rank. During the course of their careers, professors typically transition from Assistant to Associate (that transition usually coincides with being granted tenure) to Full Professor.

I am also a Canada Research Chair. The Canada Research Chairs program is a federally funded program that provides for bringing new professors into the academic stream and also retaining current professors. Is specifically allows Chairs to apply more focus to research at their institution. My research involves interactions between forest insects (forest entomology) and the plants that they eat as well as communication and information gathering by insects via chemical messages (chemical ecology).

My research program at UNBC involves – among other things – studies into the evolution and heritability of tree defenses against mountain pine beetle, detoxification of resin compounds by another bark beetle, cold tolerance for winter survival in mountain pine beetle, naturally derived repellents for western pine beetle, and genomic studies of a couple of bark beetles. Several excellent graduate and undergraduate students work out of my lab, and they are the real boots on the ground in terms of research activities.

I also teach a number of undergraduate and graduate courses during the regular semesters. And, like any faculty member, I work on several committees and pursue research funding opportunities as they arise.

Cool. It sounds like you would be very busy with varying tasks from day to day. What is your overall opinion on the whole GTD sub-culture?

Productive people have been implementing ideas like these for years. It just took someone to codify them in the popular literature to turn "being productive" into GTD.

So, if longevity is any indicator, the basic aspects are very sound - very tried-and-true. Define your inputs. Write things down. Process things as you get them. Prioritize. Review. Etc. All of that makes great sense. And chances are, our great-grandparents were using these techniques without having a nifty acronym to apply to them.

What really amazes me, though, is the cottage industry of gadgets, software, and even stationary that has grown up around the concept. I have tried many of the software packages and for the most part I found that the effort that I had to invest to use them reduced my actual productivity. I was working at using them more than they were working to serve me. I've looked at many of the paper-based solutions, and they just seem like a pain to implement compared to a good old-fashioned list and whatever note-taking method fits your learning style. Admittedly many of those products must work for others' particular systems, because people buy them. They just don't seem relevant to my system. Which brings up another point.

It's very tempting, in the current GTD atmosphere, to try out every new thing that zips into your RSS feed in the morning. And, of course, there is an element of geeky fun to that, which probably serves to propagate the industry to some extent. Every now and again one of those ideas or products will actually fit into your routine. If so, use it. But, if you can judge within five minutes that Acme GTD System is just not your thing, ditch it. Don't try to make it work. It's not likely to be useful for you anytime soon.

And, since Grandpa successfully used a pen and paper for much of his "GTD" system, that is still the most important part of any system today.

Ha. Well said.

In the same vein then, do you find that GTD has propagated to the academic environment—do you find other professors or students using GTD? And if yes, do they struggle with the same propensity to 'fidget with their 'system' rather than actually get things done?

I don't think that I've ever heard that acronym uttered in the halls of the academy. I do know that other profs - and students - each have their own way of doing things. Some methods are obviously more successful than others. And some will settle in on something similar to GTD, because it is an obvious solution to proper time management.

My first GTD-esque experience in the Ivory Tower was during my Ph.D. My senior supervisor - who is a very successful scientist - told me about his grid, which consisted of the standard two-by-two table of urgent/non-urgent by important/non-important. He prioritized by:

  1. Urgent/important
  2. Non-urgent/important
  3. Urgent/non-important (so why is it urgent??)
  4. Non-urgent/non-important (so why is it on my desk?)

He also kept a meticulous work area and had a careful filing system. I try to emulate both of those, although my filing system is my computer and backup hard drive, rather than cabinets.

As for the grid, I believe that that could be taken as being the basis for the GTD system of today.

So, a shorter answer to that longer ramble is: "yes, some people do use it, but I doubt too many people call it by its current acronym."

It's cool that you had a someone to model, a mentor so to speak, in the area of organizationproductivity. Can you describe your own system in a bit more detail?

Tools (in no particular order of importance):

  • An actual inbox on my desk as an inbox. Black. Plastic. Boring. But it works. (with email and people appearing at my office door being the other main inputs)
  • Sarasa Zebra pens, sometimes Pilot G2
  • Mirado (Papermate) pencils, mainly
  • Mead spiral or Rhodia small pad as my to-do list next to my computer
  • Rhodia larger pad as my on-the-go note pad in my MEC sling pack
  • Moleskine reporter as my journal (also in sling pack)
  • Nikon Coolpix L10 is the cheapo digicam in my sling pack (Sonly DSC-H2 for better, planned shots, but too big to lug around). Good for recording stuff, or if I just feel creative
  • Honkin' hugest possible iMac at work, MacBook at home, small iBook G4 for traveling
  • Mail.app for work email
  • Gmail for personal email
  • iGoogle as start page
  • gCal as work and home calendar, because my wife and I can easily share access and put work and home events in different categories. She can see what I'm up to at work and can know when I'll be home or if she and the little guy can come up for lunch, etc.
  • gReader for RSS (Yes, I'm fixated on Google. It's just easy and works)
  • iWeb for my personal webpage
  • iWork, in general. Though I do fire up the MS Office on occasion as well (particularly Excel). Gdocs is getting better. I imagine that I'll eventually shift more that way
  • My favorite all-time app, Papers, by Mekentosj. Freakishly fantastic. Keeps all of my zillions of PDFs in an organized, searchable, citable state.
  • Favorite scientific databases/search engines, Google Scholar and Web of Science

Questions that I pose to incoming stuff:

  1. Is it urgent?
  2. Is it important?
  3. Can it be done easily and quickly?

If yes to 1, is it urgent because you forgot about it until the last minute? If so, I'll need copious help from you to do it.

If yes to any, then it gets priority. The more yeses, the higher the priority.

If no to all three, it'll go on my to-do list, and may languish there for awhile. Sorry. That's the way that it goes.

Office ambiance, to keep me sane:

  • No windows in my office. I put up lots of my photos of our garden or our trips to various scenic locales to attempt to substitute for real sky and trees.
  • iTunes classical CDs or Classical Minnesota Public Radio (I don't know why I'm fixated on that station, probably because their weather reports remind me of ours here in Prince George)
  • A kettle for boiling water, a travel mug (DNA-themed, of course), and Rooibos, peppermint, or chamomile tea, depending upon my mood at the time. No caffeine for me. I don't want to be THAT productive.
  • If my work space isn't tidy, it drives me nuts.

Other:

My most important work assets are the great students in my lab and collegial atmosphere in the department. Both help me in ways to numerous to detail.

My biggest rule — no work-related email when I'm at home (unless working from home during the day). If it's that important, phone me. You have my home and cell number. If it's not important enough for **a phone call**, we can deal with it in the morning.

I think that that about sums it up.

We've talked a little about your tools and process. What does an average day in the life of Dezene look like? What's your routine?

Wake up. Eat breakfast with my family. Commute by bus to work, usually listening to a podcast on the way.

My podcasts vary, but they run the gambit of politics, religion, science, and literature. I've recently discovered iTunesU which offers lectures from interesting professors on myriad topics. Listening to those gives me teaching ideas as well as allows me to broaden my horizons to subjects that I find interesting, but which don't specifically relate to my own research.

When I get to work, I brew a cup of herbal tea and deal with my morning email onslaught. After that, things are extemely variable. As a professor I have teaching, research, and committee responsibilities, so it depends what's on my plate at the time. The trick is balancing things so that zillions of small distractions (a form to sign, an exam to remark, etc.) don't overwhelm. You need to find time on occasion to get large blocks of work done. One tactic that I use is to (mainly) not check my email more than a few times a day. I don't have an automatic "ping" every time something comes in, and my email window is usually behind other windows, so I can forget about it. That tactic alone reduces interruptions dramatically.

Of course, there are times when frequent email checking is required. If I am drafting a manuscript or proposal with a colleague at another institution, email tends to fly back and forth rapidly. But, generally I like to adhere to minimal email interruptions. By slowing my response time, I also find that I slow the counter-responses. I often make the analogy of a hockey team consciously slowing down the pace of the game for strategic reasons. The other team may try to speed things back up again ("hey, have you seen that email from me?"), but consistency in this tack eventually wins out.

During the day I like to take some sort of short break at least once. I often eat lunch at my desk (I know that that's bad!), so writing in a journal can be a break, as can a short walk around campus.

At the end of the day, I take the bus home (with my iPod) and have dinner with my family. I am a firm believer in eating together as a family.

I also generally do not check my work email at home. We have a separate home email account for family and friends. The only time that I might break this rule is if there is a large project that is coming up to a hard deadline. Otherwise, nothing is so urgent that it can't wait until the morning, so I don't need to know about it now. And, if it is extremely urgent, my name is in the phone book and my cell number is in my email signature. Call. If it's not urgent enough to warrant a voice call, then it can wait.

Cool. You've stated that pen and paper work for a productivity tool. What about your Macs—do you feel that using an Apple computer makes you more productive?

Well, just like the choice of other parts of a system, the choice of computers is a fairly personal thing (although I do realize that sometimes that choice is foisted upon people by their organization). I have used Windows PCs and Macs at various times in my life. I have only ever owned Macs, though. And, I began using Apples back when I was in high school (which is getting to be so long ago now that it's frightening to think about). So, while I'm familiar with both systems, I sort of grew up with Apples and feel most comfortable on them.

With so many web apps coming on stream these days, I am beginning to wonder if we'll even worry much about one operating system or another in years to come. About ten years ago, when the first iMacs started showing up (with no floppy drive!! Gasp!!!) I would use my Bondi blue iMac at home at the PCs in my lab when I was at school. Even though I was more than able to transfer files from one system to the other with ease, without the use of floppies, none of my Windows-using friends seemed to believe that my choice was actually a viable option. In the intervening ten years, things have gotten even better than that, and I've seen more people convert to the Apple cult because they don't perceive the need to worry as much about file transfer and compatibility. I'm sure that web apps are going to simply accelerate the trend of people understanding that they are free to choose the operating system that they like the best.

So, what do I personally like about Macs? I'm sure that most of these items have been covered elsewhere, so, at the risk of being boring, here's a partial list:

  • Less crashes, more robust system
  • I prefer the GUI
  • Spaces
  • Time Machine
  • I'm not as much of a UNIX geek as I once had to be, but I still like the fact that I can tweak things in Terminal
  • Less viruses
  • iWork is less crash-prone than similar Office applications (though I do need to do a lot of exporting to .doc, .xls, .ppt, or .pdf files for sending files to colleagues)
  • I generally feel that I am working "smoother" in an OSX environment compared to when I occasionally fire up my Windows laptop

You've mentioned in the past via Twitter that you are or could be considered a Luddite—in jest by the tone. All kidding aside, would you ever consider a more simplistic, AmishMennonite lifestyle seriously? Is life in North America more complicated than it needs to be?

Life in North America is absolutely more complicated than it needs to be. Granted, there is a great deal of technological complexity that makes our lives better. I would not want to do away with that. What I would like to see an end of, though, is the I-gotta-have-that-now culture. And that culture is what is getting us into trouble economically and environmentally. People borrow and spend well beyond their means and to support all of the purchasing, corporations are allowed to run rampant over the environment and produce products that do the same. And while there is much lip service to cleaning things up, most people are likely very unwilling to make the lifestyle changes that will see that happen.

Mark Twain once said, "Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising." He lived in the 19th century. Two centuries later, and we still succumb to to slick advertising. I'm not enough of a historian to know what people got riled up about in Twain's day, but we all know the scenes in this era, which the media love to play up to push even more hype, of people camping out for days for the latest gaming console or doll or whatever. And, of course the corporations selling those things aren't dumb. They work the hype for weeks prior to the release and then make sure that there is a shortage of the item to really get the rabid masses foaming at the mouth.

My family believes in simplicity and satisfaction with what we have. Simplicity and satisfaction mean that we are able to adhere to another family rule - that of living well within our means. By doing so, we can avoid - as much as possible, barring extremely dire circumstances - using up others resources to take care of our emergencies. And, even better, we can give from our excess to those who are really in need. Many needy folks live right around us here in North America. But just the fact that we live in this country means that we are in something like the 95% percentile in the world for wealth. Even the poorest person in Canada is much better off than the majority of people in our world. So, along with local charity, we also send a good portion beyond Canada.

Now, simplicity does not mean that we live some sort of unabomber lifestyle in a log cabin. I am typing this in GMail on a 2.4 GHz Apple, for heaven's sake. What it means for us is that we live in a modest house, that we try to grow at least some of our own food, that we don't buy next great thing as soon as it hits the market, that our last iBook lasted eight years and was only retired after the computer world completely passed it by, that we own one car that we rarely drive, and that we make conscious decisions about what we consume.

Satisfaction means that we don't try to make material possessions the source of our joy. Rather, the things that we already have and that mainly cannot be priced - God, family, friends, nature, and experiences - represent the true foundation of our lives. Beyond that, we live in thankfulness for food, shelter, and clothing and our good fortune to live in a free country of opportunity. If every gizmo and gadget that we own would suddenly be taken away, our lives would be a bit more challenging and a bit quieter - but, would that be such a bad thing?

Could I be Mennonite? That is a funny question on a number of levels. First, because I do have Mennonite heritage. My second middle name is a Mennonite surname derived from my mother's side of the family. I suppose that that may be part of the influence on my personal ethic. Second, because I've often half-jokingly said that I'd be happy just moving out into such a situation, to which my wife always replies, "you just want to do that because you want to wear a uniform." While I am not in agreement with some of the more extreme expressions of Anabaptism - that is, the attempt by some branches of the movement to completely separate themselves from the rest of the world - I do agree with many of the basic tenets of the mainstream Anabaptist movement. I've covered the ideas of simplicity and satisfaction, above. Beyond that I believe in community, sustainable living, and shalom, or peace (sometimes termed non-resistance). Like many others', however, I believe that this expression of Christianity can be lived out in the modern world, and my family and I try to be intentional about pursuing that ethic.

Wow. Interesting comments. I agree on our lifestyle and how rich we Canadians are—and I think it's important to recognize that some of the choices we make with our wealth harms those who are not in that 95th percentile.

Your response also leads nicely into my next question. As a person of faith and a person of science, how do you balance the two?

Short answer: I do not see a need to balance the two, because they are not in conflict.

Long answer: Science represents a way of knowing. Hypothesis, experiment, observe, revise hypothesis, continue. It seems to be a particularly good way of figuring things out, because with it we have done things like cure (and prevent) diseases and improve supplies of food and safe drinking water. And because of it we no longer live in fear of unknown "demons" that haunt the corners of a world that we do not understand (referencing a book titled, "Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark" by Carl Sagan).

On the other hand, some pretty horrible things have stemmed from science as well. The classic example is nuclear weapons. But, I'd be hard-pressed to say that Einstein should have just kept his mouth shut about relativity. His theories have been put to great, peaceful uses. And further developments in physics, thanks to his contributions, may someday give us workable quantum computers (an Apple G12?) or clean fusion energy. However, people have taken what he learned and have put it to an evil purpose. He simply discovered something about the world that was as true as could be understood at the time (which is as true as anything in science can be) and told us about it. It is up to those who then apply those results to think about the application.

I do not believe that ethical dilemmas occur at the discovery stage, but at the application stage. Scientists have a responsibility to openly discuss the ethical implications of applications that may arise from their discoveries. And they also must be careful of the applications that they pursue in the name of pursuing new truth. But, the sheer pursuit of truth in the natural realm (or what seems to be truth at the time) is a noble activity, and people of faith should desire to be a part of it.

Fair enough. Do you feel that the majority of your academic colleagues agree with that sentiment? Or, to put it more plainly, do you experience persecution from your peers at the university because you are a Christian?

Of course I can't speak for my colleagues, but if I had to guess, I would say that yes, many would mainly agree with something along those lines. And, no, I do not experience persecution, nor do I expect to. Our department - our university in general - intentionally maintains a very open, free, and respectful working environment.

The motto of UNBC is drawn from the Carrier language. It is 'En cha huná which roughly translated means "he/she also lives." The saying is attributed to the Carrier elders who use it to remind others that each person has a view point and perspective that is worth listening to. I am glad to say that that motto really does exemplify the atmosphere of respect found within this university. For more on the motto, and UNBC in general, see here.


As always, interviewing someone was a lot of fun. Thanks to Dezene—his answers were insightful and show what an intelligent guy he is.

It's great to see how people in other professions get things done (lower case).

If you enjoyed this interview, here are a few others:

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<![CDATA[ Software A.D.D ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/software-add/ 5e5af9998080ab0038614fda Sat, 09 May 2009 15:55:00 -0700 We live in a time where it has become extremely difficult to be focused on any one thing at a time. If we are able to achieve this proper focus, lack of proper environment and our own abilities are not able to sustain this focus for long. The disciplines of simplicity and solitude are not practiced by many and I fear we are slowly losing the ability to do so even when a chance presents itself.

“Where shall the world be found, where will the word resound? Not here, there is not enough silence.”

The enemies of this focus are many. In previous decades, people still seeking quiet spaces complained of noisy telephones, always on radios, and blaring televisions. We still have those today. But now we can add over-burdened inboxes, filled-to-the-brim feed readers, IM's, tweets, and noisy ringtones to the mix.

But the intent here is not to focus on life in general. Not today. Today the emphasis is on our digital lives. In the list above, a lot of the new ‘noise’, the stimulus that we receive, is present only when we are in front of a computer. Since so many of us spend a lot of time in front of a computer, we are affected by these forms of stimuli.

And there is another item we can add to this list: software. Not just software in general, but newly released software. Betas and 1.0s, the software that drives us away from the perfectly good tool we are using now, to try the newly released, shinier application. Software that looks so good we simply have to try it out, even if we have no need for a tool of that type.

The latest edition of MacHeist really got me to thinking on this. Specifically, some of the commentary and controversy surrounding the highly publicized event helped me to solidify my thoughts on this subject. In particular, Lukas Mathis made some astute observations that hit at the heart of the issue. On the weighing the pros and cons of MacHeist in general, he says this:

Rather than arguing about whether MacHeist is good for the participating developers, or whether it’s good for MacHeist’s customers, or whether it’s a nice experience, or whether the participating developers are getting great marketing, I would be interested in knowing how it affects the Mac software market as a whole

That is the question

How does it affect the Mac software market as a whole? Great question. My feeling: it doesn't help in the long run. Compare the past two MacHeist bundles and you see similar apps from year to year. The second bundle included Pixelmator while the third bundle included Acorn. It's highly likely there are a lot of Mac users who own a license of each.

And MacHeist is simply some shrewd marketers capitalizing on this truth: —current day computer users have software A.D.D.

Our fast paced society and our penchant for ingesting more input than we can handle has affected the way we use software. Many of us seem eager to try whatever is the newest, despite the cost of moving from one tool to another. (( The GTD craze of the past couple years is perfect evidence of this mentality.)) No longer are we experts in our favorite applications, simply because we do not use our applications often enough or long enough. Giant software bundle sales take advantage of this fact.

We can change

The Mac community seems more vulnerable to this mentality. ((Possibly due to the fact that the Mac platform has a virtual cornucopia of good software available compared to the Windows community.)) But it's not the entire community. There are the power users out there, experts in their field who use certain applications every day in plying their trade. Take John Gruber for example—any regular reader of his site knows he's been using BBEdit for years. It's safe to say that he knows the application inside and out.

I want to become an expert in my favorite software applications. That only happens when you focus on doing your job—whatever that is—and forget about the applications themselves.

And we are back to focus.

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<![CDATA[ Spring disconnections ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/spring-disconnections/ 5e5afa2e8080ab0038614ff2 Sat, 09 May 2009 06:11:00 -0700 The snow is gone. Grass shoots are poking through. The pleasant gifts from your neighbour's dog have almost dissipated.

Spring has arrived, and with it comes the desire to get off the computer and go outside. Two things I really love about spring: yard work and sitting on the deck with a nicely brewed local beer.

And it's this time of year when I start to remember all the projects I thought about doing at New Years. Four or five months later, the improving weather reminds me that once again all my digital projects have taken precedence and I've neglected most others.

This year I've determined to maintain a healthier balance— — it's good to get away from the RSS, email and tweets for a while. And today I was happy to complete a project I've had in the wings for two years. I thought I would share some pictures of the result.

My new work bench

I really enjoy working with wood and have made it a goal to do more projects of this nature. A first good step was to make myself a good work area. So here I found a plan and built this bench.

Here's how it looked at various stages:

Workbench
Workbench
Workbench

And here's the final result. it was fun and I hope there will be more of this to come.

TWR Screens
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<![CDATA[ Probing the hive mind: an interview with Dan Benjamin ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/probing-the-hive-mind/ 5e59fd44cc784f00377dbfa1 Sun, 03 May 2009 22:00:00 -0700 A couple of months back, I was giving Dan Benjamin a hard time on Twitter, claiming that someone replaced his avatar with a caricature of Cabel Sasser (of Panic fame). Dan replied, with a link to the source his avatar, which was supplied by the gang responsible for Happy Webbies.

Dan B

Although I was merely giving Dan a hard time — you have to admit that his happy webby looks a lot like Cabel's Twitter avatar — this made me stop and think for a second. "Dan Benjamin has a happy webby!?" Seeing as I follow Dan on Twitter, I have obviously heard of him before. But I realized I did not hold him in the same regard as other notables in the web design world, such as Jason Santa Maria, Veerle Pieters or Jon Hicks. Why?

Here is a guy who built the content management systems for A List Apart and Cork'd. He's the CTO of Rails Machine and respected enough in the Rails community that he's speaking at RailsConf for the second year in a row.

After reviewing all I know of Dan, I realized this simple fact – Dan's work is mostly unseen, living in the back-end of any website he works on. All those other folks are unbelievably good at making pretty things that the user can see. Dan's work might also be pretty, but in a different way. This realization got me to wondering if there are others like me — casual web design fans for whom this is mostly a hobby — who unconsciously place more importance on the visual over the structure of this ‘web’ we love so much.

So I decided to rectify this unbalance by learning more about Dan Benjamin and his work. And where better to go than straight to the source? Here's what I found.

The interview

Let's start with your own blog, Hivelogic. You have mentioned in your 2007 redesign that it runs on your own Rails app – impressive back-end work. How much of the front end work was completed by yourself?

Save for a few brief experiments, Hivelogic has always been published with software I've written. Writing your own software is a great way to learn new frameworks and languages. It also teaches you the importance of a good user interface and workflow, and it helps you predict what clients might want out of a system they'll be using every single day.

As for the front-end design, traditionally, and at present, I've done the designs myself. There have been three exceptions to this, where designer friends of mine created a design for me. They were Jason Santa Maria, Dan Cederholm, and Meagan Fisher. And as much as I realize that these designers did amazing work for me, far superior to anything I can conjure up, the Hivelogic aesthetic just never feels "right" to me unless it's running on a design I've done myself, despite my preference for simplicity, and content-focused starkness.

You can see a retrospective of past and present Hivelogic designs in a Flickr set dedicated to the subject.

Cool. I think that people who follow the world of web design, but are not necessarily employed in that field, are very familiar with designers who take the popular CMS's available and create a beautiful design of their own making. That you've done the opposite and built your own CMS is pretty impressive.

And you list some pretty impressive names who've done a design for you. This is part of why I was interested in interviewing you. I wanted to hear your thoughts on this particular topic – designers vs. coders. It seems like the designers always get the majority of the attention. In a recent article titled "Findability, Orphan of the Web Design Industry" on A List Apart, Aarron Walter illustrated the differences between designers and coders(Development) in his analogy of the web design family:

Although Development was a little nerdy and shy, everyone admired his brilliance—from which he created an artificially intelligent search algorithm in just two lines of code. Super-hip Design was the cutest of them all. He seemed to win top accolades all by himself whether his siblings joined him on a project or not.

Is this illustration frustrating at all for someone like yourself? And would you agree with the underlying sentiment?

I think that accurately represents the general point of view, even if it's false. And it's one of the things I'll be addressing in some upcoming posts, as well as my talk at Railsconf - how can Developers stand out, even if it's among their own kind in their own world.

So much of what developers do is behind the scenes and invisible. And worse, it's expected that what they do will "just work." Good design is held in high regard by users, and great design is usually rewarded. But good code, efficient, thoughtful, effective code just flies under the radar. Things like github can help bring attention to developers and their work, which is just one small part part of the site's usefulness, but it's harder for great developers to reach beyond their own community.

Good usability, though, that's something else entirely, and that's why I love thinking about and working on usability. Usability is the crossroads where design and development meet, and even today, with people preaching about usability everywhere you go, it's too often overlooked and undervalued. Believe me, people notice when the usability is wrong. Sites can totally fail because of bad usability.

Good point. And I definitely agree. Usability should be the main, underlying goal of any website. And even further, developers of applications of any type, web or desktop, or even operating systems, need to keep that goal always in focus.

But when it comes to the web, most people seem to choose one side or the other, development or design. I've seen several people state that there are very few in the industry who would be considered great at both. Shaun Inman is a name that seems to get that label. Where would you consider yourself in that scale?

I'm one of the people who have said that there are few if any people who are great at both design and code. I think it comes down not to skill or ability, but rather to expertise. It's possible to deeply understand code, databases, Photoshop, CSS, and even be able to write very well, but it's the skill you practice on a daily basis, what you spend the bulk of your time doing, that you build up expertise in.

So while there might be people who have the potential to be good (or even great) at both design and development, it's rare that you find somebody who has enough time to be simultaneously great at both in parallel. I've seen people shift specialities, getting great at something additional as they focus on it more, building or refreshing their expertise in the area, but generally, my experience has taught me that the people who are greatest at something tend to specialize in it. Again, that doesn't mean they might not also be great at something else, but people who specialize are often the ones at the top of their field.

I certainly wouldn't mind if, say, the neurosurgeon operating on my brain also enjoyed practicing law, but I'd want him to have been focusing on the neurosurgery thing more recently, if you follow me there. Maybe that's not a fair comparison, but you get my meaning.

So, where am I on that scale? I think I have a good eye for design, and good design sensibilities. But I don't live in the world of design. I know what I like, and what works, and I can implement some of that, but I'm not on the same level of people like Jeffrey Zeldman, Dan Cederholm, Shaun Inman, or the less famous but highly talented designers out there, doing design work every single day.

You tend to be the best at what you do every day.

Fair enough, and a humble response. And I think most people would say that you are probably one of the best at what you do. This makes a good segue to the next question.

With the increased popularity of the internet over the last 10–15 years, as it has become another facet of mainstream media, there is now a new channel for people to achieve fame (intentionally or unintentionally). Let's call them 'Web Superstars' just for fun. Looking at the web design industry, you can see this playing out — there are those who are at the top — some of the names you've listed above. And there are others who look up to those people and who essentially look at them as role models.

Without a doubt, especially in the design community. I've worked with many incredibly talented yet relatively unknown designers who are quite literally star-struck by the more famous designers, and I can understand that. Those "famous" designers have put in a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get where there are, and I think hard work like that deserves respect. Putting the time in and persevering.

Have you ever thought of yourself in this light? Are you a Web Superstar?

Am I a Web Superstar? I've been blogging since late 1999 and I've worked with some incredibly talented people on some great projects, so I can understand how people might confuse me with a superstar, but I would only call myself very lucky.

Going back to your work now. Your About page on Hivelogic lists some of the work you've done - publishing tools for Cork'd, A List Apart and others. And, as mentioned at the beginning, you've built your own CMS for Hivelogic itself.

For people looking in from the outside, the work involved might seem to be very similar. How much difference is there between the work you do for different clients? Do you basically have a foundational framework that simply gets tweaked for each one or do you start from the ground up each time?

Most publishing systems tend to have a lot of things in common, such as the management of date-based content like articles and posts vs. assets, static pages, images, and the like. You'll usually want user accounts, role-based permissions, WYSIWYG editors, archive pages, comment systems with anti-spam features, etc. So in that way -- basic feature sets a user would just expect to find in a system worth its salt -- there are many things in common.

The difference is in the way that those things come together regarding how people visiting the site will interact with it, as well as the workflow and administrative dashboard that staff members will use to manage content. The way a university staff or engineering firm manages content and how their site actually works for visitors is significantly different than the way a site like Hivelogic works, and that's different still from something like A List Apart. Sure, each one needs to manage and display some content, but how people want to use those systems is incredibly different. I tend to spend a lot of time focusing on usability, and while there might be shared components in the systems I've built, everything is being geared toward specific audience or client needs, so in that sense, it's not uncommon to build a big piece from the ground-up.

I think good developers are always challenging themselves to find better ways to do things. I feel like I'd be missing a chance to engage more fully in that exercise if I wasn't always trying to think of new or better ways of building software. And at the same time, Ruby on Rails, my development platform of choice, is evolving as well. New plugins come out every day. So it's always interesting to see how you can see what's new and leverage that to make products that are even more direct, more simple, and more elegant.

Interesting. It seem obvious that you play much more than just the developer role in your work. I would assume that a lot of what you do for a client would involve 'information architect' duties, as well as a few others.

Speaking of Ruby on Rails, I'm interested to hear your thoughts on some of the criticism that the framework has received. For people not involved in this aspect of web development, it seems like RoR has a lot of detractors, especially with issues like what Twitter has seen recently. Not that they have had serious reliability issues, but I think your average Twitter user would describe the application as flaky at times.

Let's say you were sitting on the bus and overheard two young computer science students debating the merits of RoR vs some other framework - how would you respond?

I probably wouldn't get involved. These days, I don't believe there's a right or wrong answer when it comes to selecting the framework to use to build an application. No one framework is better than another across the board, and I don't think an application is destined to succeed or fail based the framework you're using. They all have advantages and disadvantages. My preference is Rails because I like the elegant simplicity of Ruby and the way that David and the Core Team have leveraged it for the Rails framework. But I know people who prefer PHP, and others who like Python, and they like the frameworks based on that language.

It's more a matter of personal preference. Find something you like and run with it.

Let's move on to a really important topic now - beverages. I've got a few questions about Cork'd.

The 'About Cork'd' page lists you and Dan Cederholm listed as the founders. How involved are you both still involved with the day to day operations of this site?

Neither of us are involved with Cork'd anymore. We helped transition the site when it was acquired, and Dan C. did some initial design work, but that was it. We’re as hopeful and exited as everybody else to see what Gary has up his sleeve for the website.

I read this following quote from Dan C. in an interview on ThinkVitamin in August of 2006:

Because it's so targeted I think that's why it's attractive to all these wine people, so there's that, we could create a 'Cork'd Deluxe', where signing up, having a fee that offers extra features beyond what the free Cork'd does, that's a possibility. Secretly, or not so secretly I guess, we've been thinking about other sites, I won't go into detail right now, but there are other beverages beside wine, so we'll see what happens.

Perhaps I've missed some news since then, but I think there are similar markets that could use this type of community. I'm sure ale/mead/beer fans would flock to a service like this. And I would think the entire nerd/geek community would do the same with a site centring around coffee.

Are there any plans for something new in this regard?

Building Cork'd with Dan C. was a great experience, and I'm looking forward to working on something else with him one day, but right now, both of us are too busy to take on anything new right now. But the space is wide open, for sure.

That reminds me of something I noticed on the Cork'd About page. In the section where you both are mentioned, there is this reference to Tundro:

Cork'd is a product of Tundro, a development agency building web applications for people like you.

But the link to Tundro.com does not work. Is this simply a project that never came to fruition? Or is there more to the story?

Tundro was the company we formed to build Cork'd. At the time we imagined we might one day create more applications. This is what the site used to look like:

The Tundro company, name, logo, and website weren't part of the Cork'd deal, and I've retained ownership of them for possible use down the road.

Dan Cederholm used the awesome beer icon he'd developed for a potential new site for one of his projects, Foamee.

Thanks for clearing that up. As for foamee.com, that sort of what I was hinting at a couple of questions back. I would love to see Dan's ioubeer and ioucoffee idea turn into something like Cork'd. He's already got a great start with Twitter. And the logo's are sweet. Seems like his always are – I loved his hivelogic icon.

He's got a crazy talent for coming up with amazing logos and icons. It's kind of wild to watch him work.

Now we can't have a geek interview without asking this – do you drink coffee? If yes, how do you take it?

I do enjoy a cup of coffee from time to time, but I'm not a habitual coffee drinker. Caffeine tends to make me more jumpy than alert, so I watch the intake. I drink far more green tea (loose leaf, water at 180°, etc.) than coffee. My favorite cup of coffee comes from Stumptown in Portland, Oregon.

Let's talk about another big project of yours - The Talk Show. So you get to work with John Gruber. You've made a few comments on the show about his ‘quirks’. And some tweets as well. If you had to sum it up, how would you describe working with John?

John is a great writer, and has a great eye for detail. He's also very devoted to his work and his family. And he is very, very smart. And as is often the case with bright people, he's somewhat eccentric. These eccentricities often come out in the form idiosyncrasies, like his obsessive attention to detail, his fixation on fonts and anti-aliasing, the hostility and rage against humanity, that kind of thing. It's impossible to schedule anything, such as the recording of a Talk Show episode with him, while he's focusing on writing, which is pretty much all of the time. Personally, I think the coffee just makes it worse.

So what ever prompted you both to work together and come up with the Talk Show?

We had so much fun when John was a guest on the Hivelogic podcast, and the response was so overwhelming, that we decided to make a regular thing out of it.

You definitely seem knowledgeable about podcasting. Your post on podcasting equipment was especially helpful for people starting out in this arena.

Do you think that this is an area that can now be considered an essential part of a business, especially people involved in web-centric fields? Or is it more of a fad that will never be looked at seriously, by media or big businesses?

I think that just as blogs are now a requirement for most businesses with a public face, podcasts and video blogs will one day be just as important. It might take a few years, but it'll get there.

Well just take a look at What Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV has done with his family business using his video blog and social networking.

We're also starting to see more and more companies becoming aware of the importance of social networking. Southwest Airlines, for example, is on Twitter. So are a handful of other companies. And they respond to you!

All those mediums appear to be initiating change in the way people think and interact with those offering more traditional services. It will be interesting to see how corporate America continues to react to these changes.

One last question about the Talk Show. Dan Benjamin and John Gruber. Which one of you is the sidekick?

John Gruber is my nemesis, so I've never really thought of us in terms of sidekick and superhero.

Nice. Maybe superhero and villain. We can call you Profanity-Filter Man, saving young Talk Show listeners from the fiery f-bombs of Gruber. Well … never mind.

I've got to give you both some thanks here though. On behalf of myself, and others like me, fans of Lost who would rather wait to watch each season in it's entirety on DVD – thank you for the great job you guys did with giving away zero spoilers. I really enjoyed your discussion about the show in episode 16. But I was cringing through all 68 minutes thinking I was going to hear something about season 4 that would give a really important plot line away. Nice work keeping us in the dark while still have an engaging conversation.

Now that we've covered a lot of your professional doings, I'd like to ask you about your spirituality. You mention on the Hivelogic About page that you are a practicing buddhist. How did you come to embrace this particular religion?

I've been practicing a style of Buddhist meditation, called Vipassana or Mindfulness meditation, for a number of years. This style is practiced by Theravada Buddhists as well as many non-Buddhists, and is often used outside of Buddhist circles for things like stress reduction, relaxation, and even in hospitals and therapy centres to help people with chronic pain.

I had studied Buddhism before, and it seemed like a cool philosophy, but before the integration of a regular meditation practice, I hadn't really delved too deeply into it. But after several years of daily meditation practice, I learned more and more about Buddhism, and it really made sense to me. The philosophies that it's based on, the idea that we're responsible for our own actions, that there's an opportunity for a deep peace in daily life, that one's life and activities can be understood when looked at with a very scientific eye, and that these things are all part of a bigger path was very intriguing to me.

I eventually reached a point where I was living my life as a Buddhist — not as a monastic, obviously — but it had become something that had become deeply integrated into my life, and that I found brought me, and subsequently people around me, a lot of joy. I was a much happier, much more calm, much more centered person.

Here are a few links:

Does this aspect of your life ever cause you to reflect negatively on your profession? What I mean is, does the part of Dan Benjamin that seeks spiritual nourishment conflict with what you do or the amount of time you may spend in front of a computer?

I think it's my practice that allows me to spend the bulk of the day in front of a computer.

Ha. Fair enough.

I'm being serious - the practice of mindfulness and concentration is tremendously valuable in dealing with stress, and very helpful in establishing focus. I work faster and more effectively now than I ever have.

Wouldn't that allow you to spend less time on the computer?

This is more what I'm getting at — as a Christian, I feel that relationships should be the primary focus in my life. My relationship with God, with my wife, my children and lastly neighbours, friends and family. Sometimes I feel that the time I spend on the computer distracts me from more important things.

The question — although poorly articulated — was intended to reflect that sort of idea and inquire if you ever have the same struggle.

Vipassana meditation is a kind of training for the mind. The same way athletes train and practice so they will excel on the field of play, meditation is practice for the real world, for real life. On the meditation cushion, we practice mindfulness of the present moment. I try and take that concept with me into my work day as well, trying to keep an awareness of the present moment. So in that way, although it isn't easy, it's possible to bring a clarity and focus into your workday.

In one of my favorite books on Meditation, Mindfulness in Plain English, the author (Bhante G) explains how you can take even the regular aspects of work and daily life and integrate your practice into them. It's a challenge, but engaging this way can really change how you feel about your work and how you connect with it.

As far as how I feel about spending a big chunk of my day in front of a computer screen, I am OK with it. I work from home where it's easier to get into the Creativity Zone. I get to see my wife and baby boy throughout the day, and although I do work a lot and have a number of projects ongoing, I get to structure my day in a relatively flexible way.

Thinking back, I've spent quite a bit of time in pretty difficult jobs, behind the stinking broiler at Burger King, pushing carts in the heat of the Florida summer and stocking shelves in a grocery store, working in a tiny, frenzied kitchen in an Italian restaurant, cleaning bathrooms in movie theaters, and working in plenty of mundane, unrewarding, punishing and abusive corporate jobs. By comparison, I'm pretty lucky.

So you appear to have a lot going on in your life. Listener's of the Talk Show know that you have a very young son. You have your own business and site to maintain with Hivelogic and you are the CTO of Rails Machine. Throw in some podcasting and a healthy dose of Twitter and it would seem you are a very busy guy.

Well I have a clear separation of work and non-work. Keeping those two things separate are key. And I value my family above all else. This value makes really helps me decide what to do and when.

One last question. What does an average day in the life of Dan Benjamin look like?

It's a bit different these days now that we have a baby, and as his schedule changes, so does mine. But generally speaking, it looks something like this:

Time Activity
6:15-6:30am Wake up (no alarm is used, I just wake up naturally at this time)
6:45 - 7:30 Meditation
7:30 - 8:30 Time with baby
8:30 - 9:00 Breakfast with family
9:00 - 1/1:30 Work*
1/1:30 - 2:00 Lunch
2:00 - 6-ish Work*
6-ish Pre-dinner family time until baby goes to bed
6? Jog
7? Dinner
8 - 11? Family time, reading, television (if a show we follow is on), etc.

I should note that I find most days incredibly rewarding.

* Work includes checking email, responding to work issues, readers, initial catchup with news in the morning, etc. I don't allot specific time for those things, they just happen naturally as part of the schedule. I also take some breaks throughout the day, and because I work from home, I get to see my wife and the baby.


During the course of two months, Dan graciously answered all my questions in an articulate, professional fashion. I'm grateful for his time in providing this insight into his work and life, and I have a better appreciation for those who work in the web industry more behind the scenes.

As a user, it's important to remember that there is a lot that goes on with an application that you never see. The web is no different. People like Dan are focused on making the web a great experience. We should all appreciate that.

Here's to a happy webby that's well deserved!

If you enjoy this sort of thing, here are a few others:

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<![CDATA[ Keeping it together ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/keeping-it-together/ 5e59fcc0cc784f00377dbf99 Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:44:00 -0700 It's easy to have a routine or setup that keeps you organized when things are slow. But a lot of people (should I say all?) lose trust in their system when things get crazy. When you're so busy things like eating and sleeping start falling by the wayside. So busy that things you care about get no attention.

For the first three months of this year, that's what my life has felt like. With a full time job, a large family, starting a new home business, Fusion, and some client work, as well as making time for spiritual growth, there has been little time left for things like running a personal blog.

Learning and writing about productivity and the tools involved has consumed a lot of my time over the past two years, but has it made me a more efficient worker? This period of time has been a good test for me. I've been thinking through three ideas on how I keep my sanity and stay organized during times like these.

Accept that you'll never get it all done

This is the first and most important item to remember. Some of the tasks your boss sends across your desk will never get crossed off. Accept that some of the brilliant ideas you've had while in the shower will never get completed. And some of the promises you made will get broken.

Forgive yourself. And move on.

Remember that priority is relative and what seemed so important one day may mean nothing in two weeks. That which is truly important, truly inspired will repeatedly gain your attention.

Break things down to the smallest size possible

I'm not big on contexts. For the most part, they don't fit into my life where most of my work is in front of a rectangular box. But I'm learning how important the concept of breaking things down truly is. Time, spaces, and opportunities to perform certain tasks are constantly shifting. To be efficient, your tasks need to be broken down to their smallest, most obvious actions in order to maximize the smaller, less obvious opportunities to be productive.

F.O.C.U.S.

Knowing something is true and making it a reality in your habitual workday are two very different things. The idea of focusing on one thing to the exclusion of all else has been frustratingly hard for me to accept, embrace, and repeat in my life. With multiple email accounts, RSS, Twitter, and Tumblr around feeding my desire for constant stimulus, creating an atmosphere where I am one with the task at hand has occurred more fleetingly than it should.

But oh, what sweet productive bliss it is to reach this state and feel good about your day. It's been a slow process, but I am learning this. And in fact, I've found incredible peace in this concept. Here's a scenario that's been common for me in recent weeks, and one that I'm betting a lot of people can relate to:

I have multiple larger tasks/projects I am responsible for and that I am always consciously aware of at work. This particular day I've opened my email and found that I have three more tasks requested of me for that day. And lastly, I have four other tasks that were left over from the day before. Simply put, there are seven non-project related pieces of work that I want to complete today and I also want to complete a few tasks for the larger projects assigned to me. And since it's only 8:38 AM, the realistic side of my brain tells me there's a darn good chance I'll receive some more calls for help before the day is over.

Sound familiar? I consider this an opportunity for stress. But what I'm learning, ever so slowly, is that there is peace to be found in the idea of

taking things one at a time. Not exactly earth shattering, I know. But sometimes the simplistic can be hard to grasp.

So now I do a quick prioritization of all these tasks and start on the most important. And I focus on that task until it's complete. Then I move on to the next. And the next. Rinse and repeat.

At the end of each day, there is a good chance the entire list of tasks is not checked off. But that's okay because I was productive. Tasks were completed. Progress was made. And tomorrow will come and I'll do it all again.

The peace I spoke of comes in the moment where you believe and say to yourself, “No matter what else is happening right now, no matter what everyone else is doing, I'm working on THIS and will do so until I'm finished.”

Anyone who has read recent books/blogs on productivity will be familiar with the ideas above. There's nothing new here. But from my experience, it's so often easier to play with new tools than develop habits and the result is that the concepts merely get lip service.

I want the habits to be a reality in my life.

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<![CDATA[ Quicksilver usage ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/quicksilver-usage/ 5e583cc042fb3f00384994ec Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:37:00 -0700 I've used Quicksilver on and off every since I started using a Mac. Upgrading to Leopard initiated my longest break from using this swiss army knife of an application. Spotlight performance had improved enough that I simply got used to using OS X's ability to launch applications and find certain documents or web pages.

It wasn't until Jamie Phelps started singing the praises of Quicksilver to me this past summer that I installed it once again. A couple months later, I'm glad that I did.

The problem with Quicksilver is that it's a bit daunting at first. You really have to spend some time up front learning how to use it and figuring out what is and isn't possible with the tool. But once you make that initial investment of your time, Quicksilver starts paying for itself very quickly.

By definition, Quicksilver is not a GTD related application. But I think that it inevitably improves a persons productivity by improving the efficiency of various workflows by helping complete certain tasks faster. I want to explore this more fully soon, but for now I wanted to share four ways this utility is helping me.

Photo conversions: As I mentioned last week, I'm using Quicksilver to batch edit photos. I need to take a large group of photos and resize them and save them in two different formats. This takes less than 10 seconds using the Image Manipulation Actions plugin that Quicksilver provides. That's the kind of speed that brings a smile to my face and makes a tedious task quick and easy.

Append to Files: I've also mentioned this in the past, but I update various files with additional information using the Append To action in Quicksilver. For example, I have a file for blog post ideas. Whenever I get an idea for a new post pop into my head, instead of opening the file itself, I simply invoke Quicksilver and update the file in three simple steps.

Upload to Flickr: Another handy task is to upload photos to Flickr using the aptly named Flickr Upload plugin. I still use my Automator folder plugin to do this as well, but when I want to edit the tags and other various information for some photos, I use Quicksilver. Once it's completed uploading the pictures, it opens up a window in your default browser right to the Flickr page that allows you to edit the details of each new photo (two caveats here—you need to enable this access in your Flickr account and if you are doing a really large number of files, other uploaders are probably a better fit).

Email items directly: Lastly, I sometimes send emails from within Quicksilver itself. Using the Apple Mail Module plugin, Quicksilver can use your mail server settings to send emails without having to navigate to Mail itself. Do you use Backpack or IWantSandy? Certain web apps allow you to email updates to your online account. This can also be done from Quicksilver in three simple steps (see below):

TWR Screens

It definitely takes time for this utility to become a benefit, but again, the investment is worth it in the long run. Try it yourself.

And if any of my fine readers are using this tool in other helpful ways, let me know. I'd love to hear about it.

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<![CDATA[ iTunes movie rentals - a good alternative ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/itunes-movie-rentals-a-good-alternative/ 5e583c9c42fb3f00384994e8 Thu, 19 Mar 2009 06:33:00 -0700 I've had the opportunity to rent a few movies off of the iTunes store now. For the most part, the experience is smooth and user friendly. For those who have not yet ventured into the world of online movie rentals, iTunes is a good alternative to the brick and mortar alternatives. Here is a quick list of my likes and dislikes (no apologies for the bulleted list—I loves me a good bulleted list):

The good

Convenience: An obvious attribute, but important enough to be mentioned here. The ability to decide at the very last minute to rent a movie, and, within five minutes, to be on your way is fantastic. There's nothing worse than a late evening decision to waste two hours of your life, already adorned in your PJ's, and having to leave the house. This technology makes that decision a whole lot easier.

iTunes store: Offering so much more than just music now, Apple's one stop shop is a pleasant experience. Finding what your are looking for is easy and buying or renting an item is simple. There's no hunting involved.

Speed: In order for online movie rentals to be successful, downloads have to be fast. iTunes doesn't disappoint here. The speed is fast, and even better, you can start your movie before the download is complete and never experience any lag. I've done this with each movie I've rented and have had zero issues. The entire process to the end user is seamless.

Playback: I especially appreciate how iTunes tracks your progress through the movie if you do not watch it in it's entirety in one sitting. Just like a podcast, you can move to other forms of media after starting a movie. But when returning to the file, a simple double click returns you to the point you left. Genius.

The bad

Selection: For now, Apple's library is a bit small when it comes to movies. As was the case with music, I think this will improve in time. But for the immediate future, there is always a good chance that the movie you are craving to see is not available—especially if you are looking for something older.

Restrictions: My biggest complaint is the time limit. We are a family of five—three young children means we rarely sit down to watch a movie from start to finish. It can sometimes take us three or four nights to finish a two hour flick. 48 hours is simply not enough time for this consumer. For a lot of people, this may not be a concern. But the fact that I can rent a movie from Blockbuster and keep it for two weeks without penalty will at times outweigh the inconvenience of having to drive to the store.


Those are my initial impressions. Due to that last point, there will be times where we choose the old fashioned method of rental because we can take as long as we want to watch it. The time factor is just to critical. But as with most of their products, I'm confident that Apple will improve iTunes movie rentals as it matures. They're already off to a good start.

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<![CDATA[ Getting to know Automator ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/getting-to-know-automator/ 5e583c6c42fb3f00384994e2 Wed, 18 Mar 2009 06:56:00 -0700 Ever since purchasing my first Mac, which had Tiger installed, I've been interested in the potential of Automator. Unfortunately, time and opportunities have both been lacking and I've been unable to spend much time with the application.

But that's one of the nice things about having your own blog—things that once were categorized as 'play' can now be categorized as 'work' or 'research'. And since getting serious about my site and posting regularly, there have been a couple of workflows that I thought could possibly benefit from some automation.

Since I like to write about software, I have been including a good number of screenshots. I had been keeping those image files on my hard drive, as well as uploading them to my blog. I was also uploading them to my Flickr account for archiving purposes. Here was my workflow before Automator:

  • take screenshot with Skitch
  • drag image to blog post images folder on hard drive
  • insert image in blog post in MarsEdit from aforementioned folder (this step also uploads the image to my WP uploads folder)
  • upload images to Flickr with FlickrUploader and add to existing TWR set

This is a sequence that was screaming to be shortened or simplified. So I thought it was a good opportunity to get more familiar with Automator. Hopefully I could improve my workflow and save some time.

So after creating my first automator plugin, here is the new workflow:

  • take screenshot with Skitch
  • drag image to desktop
  • Right click on selected images and choose Automator workflow from contextual menu
  • insert image in blog post in MarsEdit from Flickr

The workflow

The following table lists the actions that make up the completed automator workflow:

Action TypeAction Name
FinderGet Selected Items
MailNew Mail Message
MailSend Outgoing Messages
FinderGet Selected Items
FinderMove Finder Items to Trash

This workflow makes use of a Flickr feature that allows users to post images via email. A small warning here—this is for use only with small numbers of images. The Flickr help page states that the post via email method supports neither large numbers of images nor very large images. This is not an issue for me as I usually have two or three small images at once to upload. And so far the usage has been fine.

After taking the needed screen shots, I ensure they are all selected on the desktop. Then a simple right click and I choose the following option from the menu: More -> Automator -> [Workflow Name]. After a few seconds, the plugin kicks in and a new mail message is generated, filled out with values I have specified within the workflow. The images are added as attachments, the message is sent and then the images are moved from my desktop to the Trash.

Now I can return to MarsEdit and use the Media Manager to grab the files from Flickr and insert to my blog post. Pretty easy.

There are a couple of settings that need to be updated to use this workflow. First, you have to enable your Flickr account to be able to post images via email. This can be done under your account settings on Flickr iteslf.

Secondly, you must authorize MarsEdit to access your Flickr account. You can do this by selecting the Flickr tab on the MarsEdit media manager. See here:

TWR Screenshots

The one negative of this setup comes from using the upload via email. Currently this function does not allow you to specify a set or collection to add the photos to. I hope Flickr adds this in the future.

The positive changes are that the images are stored on Flickr and not my blogs upload folder and that my workflow is much faster and more efficient. The number of steps is the same, but the new steps are much shorter. No more updating files in multiple locations.

Summary

Although it was fun to play around with Automator for a while, this exercise was not without it's frustrations. This was a relatively simple workflow, but it took a longer than I would have thought to get it working the way I wanted. Perhaps it was operator error—it's not like I took time to read the manual

Whatever the reason, I found that it took a lot of playing around with the actions to get them in just the right sequence so the whole workflow ran correctly. There were a lot of test versions that resulted in duplicate images. Others never moved the desktop items to the trash before completion. In the end, it seems the workflows perform the best when each action passes values on to the next, as this one does.

At the very least, I feel more comfortable with Automator now. I'm looking for the next opportunity to automate a repetitive task.

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<![CDATA[ On Deck ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/on-deck/ 5e583b8b42fb3f00384994be Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:33:00 -0700 Ever since I've had the desire to have my own weblog, there has been the aspiration to do it full time. Blogging as my job. Who wouldn't? To be able to research, to write and to experiment with the things I'm excited and passionate about—sounds like a dream job to me.

This desire really started around the time John Gruber left his job at Joyent to write for Daring Fireball full time. I was just getting into the world of personal blogs; reading his explanation of the thinking behind his decision has always been a reminder of what's possible when you find what you love and pursue it wholeheartedly.

As an aside, the entire time John has been writing DF, he has done a great job of keeping his audience abreast of his plans for the site. Specifically how he wanted to support himself and his family by writing.

During this time, Jim Coudal implemented the Deck, of which Daring Fireball was one of the first four members. And this advertising network has seen amazing growth in the last four years. Starting out with four sites in 2004, is has bloomed to twenty-seven twenty-nine sites as of April 28, 2008.

For folks who appreciate clean design and a site looking the way the author intended it to, the Deck serves up tasteful, appropriate ads to the audience. It's safe to say that I've even come to enjoy the majority of the ads I've seen on the Deck—a far cry from what you will see most everywhere else on the web. John summed it up nicely in his Bedecked article in 2006:

Each one of these principles is contrary to the conventional wisdom in web advertising — most sites that draw revenue from advertising attempt to cram as many ads as possible on each page, in as big and garish a format as possible. Yet I feel strongly that our policies make for a superior experience both for you, the reader, who is neither distracted by animation nor insulted by “punch the monkey” nonsense, and for the sponsors, who do not have to compete for attention from other advertisers on the same page.

Well said. The beauty of the Deck is that is detracts not at all from the content the reader sees while rewarding the author for hisher time and efforts. I've always thought that if I was to get involved in the world of blogging, the only ads that would ever adorn my site would be via the Deck.

So when the Deck grew to twenty-seven sites this month with the addition of Dean Allen's Textism, I was a bit envious. And curious. How exactly are sites added to the Deck? And since the best way to find out is to go to the source, I did just that. I asked Jim Coudal via email what the criteria are for sites getting added to the Deck network. Here's his response:

New sites are added to the network by invitation based on traffic, appropriateness to the target and visibility within the design, web and creative communities.

We're currently full of new additions for the next month or two and will be looking at additional sites to add at some time in the near future.

Thanks for you interest, please keep us in the loop on developments on your end.

Well, if you're going to set goals for yourself, make them worthwhile. This is one of mine. In terms of traffic—and you could add quality of content — The Weekly Review is a far cry from the sites currently on the Deck. But over time, hopefully that will change.


Update: Great timing on this post — today Jim Coudal announced the addition of four new sites to the Deck. They unveiled a new domain and design as well.

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<![CDATA[ “At hand” paper filing ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/at-hand-paper-filing/ 5e583b6242fb3f00384994ba Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:17:00 -0700 When I wrote recently about keeping track of your digital activity via a custom log file, I received an email from productivity consultant, Matthew Cornell. In his message, he reaffirmed his belief in the benefits on keeping a log file. He also appreciated my thoughts on de-cluttering and and had this to say on that topic:

Don't forget "at hand" filing next to your new desk.

My immediate thought was, “Yep—that's an important part of being organized.” And just as fast I realized this is another area that I struggle with, despite knowing how helpful it can be. My paper inbox tends to fill up with non-work related items, stuff that arrives via snail mail. Things like pay stubs, government notifications and tax related documents are all important and need to be kept around for a period of time.

But I certainly never want to take the time to file them away. And so my inbox eventually gets stuffed to the top, and I finally have to wade through it all. By then the job is so much bigger than it needs to be and I've experienced some low level of stress because of this nagging task.

This can be better.

Definition

First, what exactly do I mean by “at hand” filing? No tricks here—it's as obvious as it sounds. Keep your paper based organizing system close enough that every new piece of paper can quickly be processed and organized or disposed. In reverse, when a filed document is needed, it's close enough by that retrieval is almost instantaneous.

At this point, a distinction needs to be made. Not all paper documents you receive are necessarily needed close at hand. It depends a lot on your work and personality. Each person needs to distinguish between the items that can be stored more permanently and those that will need frequent retrieval.

That's my definition anyways. And although the definition is simple, I think making it a usable reality is often not.

Benefits

What are the benefits we of “at hand” filing? Once again, this is straight forward. The most obvious benefits of keeping your paper documents well organized and easily accessible will be speed and efficiency.

But there are other benefits—peace and ease of mind. Like any aspect of good productivity, trusting your methods frees up your mind to focus on the higher level creative stuff that's really important. Does that sound GTD-ish? Well, it should—that's what GTD is all about.

Methods

So how can a person make the paper based portions of their work as slick as their digital setup? I think we can focus on three things.

Habits

Just like capture and processing in the GTD methodology, consistency is a huge factor. The trust that I spoke of comes after you've been able to prove to your subconscious that you'll do this piece of organizing the same way every time. You have to make this a habit.

I think that's one thing that new converts to GTD often struggle with. There is no consistency. One big complaint about GTD relates to this—you are really creating a set of new habits, and that's hard for lot of people to do all at once (especially when so much of the focus is placed on the tools).

I've said this before—diets don't work, lifestyle changes do. It's the same with personal productivity. Want to make improvements? Then you have to change your habits. Paper filing is no different.

Proximity

This is almost a redundant thought. “At hand” filing screams close proximity in it's very name. But I'll mention it anyway. This setup has to be close enough that it's not a chore to retrieve an item you need.

Not everyone has the room to keep this filing on their desk. But unless your office is in the broom closet, that does not mean it should be on the other side of the room. Storage is pretty cheap these days, so there should be an option that fits your environment that will require nothing more than a twist of your chair to get access to your files.

Go digital

One other option is to make your paper filing completely digital. It doesn't get much more “at hand” than that. There are those people out there who are already doing this, scanning every paper item they receive onto their machine.

There are many pros and cons to doing this—I won't go into them here. I think it often comes down to personal preference.

What I do want to mention here is the current application that is getting a lot of attention. If a person was to go digital with their paper documents, Evernote seems to be shaping up as the application that will suit a person best in this regard. It's various methods of input, along with the OCR technology that allows text within images to be searchable make it the best option I've heard of to replace a paper based filing system.


Just like all other aspects of being productive, organization and consistency can help us be better at what we do. It takes work of course—forming new habits is never easy—but it's worth making the change.

Excuse me while I go clean out my inbox.

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<![CDATA[ Why we tinker ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/why-we-tinker/ 5e583b3a42fb3f00384994b6 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 05:23:00 -0700 With this attempt to focus more on doing, it's helpful to first examine why so many people struggle with the constant desire to tinker with, tweak, or worst of all, completely change their productivity system. Whether this is a problem only for us technical folks or whether there are certain types of people with this tendency who exist across all industries and focuses, I'm not sure.

But I am sure of this—it's a problem for me. And I'm not alone.

Thinking a lot on actually being productive this past week, I kept asking this question: why do we always have this desire to tinker with our productivity workflow? Why do we so often feel compelled to try the latest application?

After fighting off this compulsion once again in the past few weeks, I think I've identified a few reasons. This is not an all encompassing list by any means—your problems in this area may be completely different than my own. But I'm willing to bet there are a few people who have the same issues as me.

Poorly defined tasks

There are times when I have my task list in front of me … and I don't actually want to do any of them. This list is usually comprised of items I've identified as important to me and others that need to be done. But I still don't want to do them. Why? Because they are not concrete, well defined tasks. They are often projects (or sub-projects) dressed in task's clothing.

For those of us who've been using GTD for a couple of years now, we should be weaned off the basics. We should be collection/capture ninjas, experts of a proper weekly review and skillful at switching from one project to another as work environments change. And above all else, we should be able to create clear, concise, well defined tasks.

But we're not perfect, and sometimes old habits sneak up on us—especially when things are really busy. There are times when we need to get back to the basics and realize we're hurting ourselves. A list full of vague, ambiguous tasks will suck the desire to be productive out of the most zealous worker.

It's in a moment like this when we are susceptible to the urge to change our tools. “I don't like these tasks in my list … my system must be broken. I better try that tool I read about last week.” We want to blame our tool. It's easier—and much more fun—to tinker with our system than it is to change our habits.

Reduced attention span

I wrote last week how reducing distractions is a good start, but not the end all to fixing our productivity issues. And I'll say it again. If we can reduce the things that distract us from creating and doing good work, it's a positive step.

But it can also benefit us in other ways. It's pretty clear that the Internet and it's flood of information is changing the way people work, reducing the ability to work on single tasks for prolonged periods of time. Maybe there are really hyper people out there who excel in this type of environment, but for the rest of us, my belief is that slowing down the fire hose of stimuli is a better option.

Reducing and simplifying can be a good start in remembering how we used to work (or in the case of the really young crowd who were multitasking right out of the womb, learning this skill for the first time).

How does this stop me from tinkering? If I'm focused on my goals and completing the tasks required to meet them, I should be less inclined to play with my system.

Ooh, shiny

Lastly, related to the previous item, there is always the danger of the siren call of some shiny new productivity tool. Like the sailors under Odysseus, we're better off to fill our ears with beeswax so as not to hear the seductive call of each GTD tool of the week.

If we're going to be serious about producing rather than tinkering, maybe, just maybe, we don't need to know of every tool out there. If we're reducing our feeds anyways, maybe we can trash some of those blogs that list all the new apps along with the list posters.

This will at least reduce our temptation to tinker.


We all have different weaknesses, so only you can truly know what's best for you. But if we can learn to identify these underlying, subconscious, real problems, we're a step closer to actually being more productive.

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<![CDATA[ GTD - the backlash or: what does it take to actually get better ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/gtd-the-backlash/ 5e5836fa42fb3f003849948f Mon, 08 Sep 2008 14:22:00 -0700 Man, Merlin stole my thunder. Not that there's a lot of thunder emanating from here, but I feel like somebody tapped into my brain and wrote out a lot of my thoughts. Except better.

I spent a lot of time thinking things through this past weekend, focusing once again on simplicity and how to improve my life, while also improving the lives of others. For several weeks I've had a half written post based on the negativity I've seen lately towards GTD, just sitting on my laptop, waiting for the ideas to become fully fleshed. Last week, the idea got kick-started by Merlin's post on his personal blog.

And today he moved his thoughts to 43 folders, and laid down the gauntlet. I hate to seem like I'm responding to anything one particular blogger posts, but this is an area I care a lot about and he's leading the way. Rightfully so — —43 folders really helped make this whole sub culture thrive, partly because people were hungry for this sort of thing, but also because Merlin Mann is a dynamic individual. So it only makes sense that he's recognized the problems that have arisen.

If this type of content interests you and you haven't read the links provided above, please do so now. It'll be worth it.

The problem

Part me says, “Preach it brother!” Another part of me says, “Dude, you're responsible for my problem. You made it cool and way too easy to fiddle.” But we have to own up—. We are accountable for ourselves, and if I waste way too much time mucking around with new tools, I've no one to blame but myself.

We live in a dangerous time. The last ten years brought a lot of change as to how folks get their news. How many of us still have a subscription to the local paper? Magazines? The Internet offers us all the things older forms of media did, except in an exceedingly higher volume and speed. This change is intertwined with changes in how a lot of people work today.

You can disagree, —this is merely my opinion. But look closely — —while the Internet was rapidly growing and evolving, giving us more and more ways to communicate and ingest stimuli, so to was this focus on productivity. But in both arenas, it seems like too much emphasis was on what could be done, rather that what should be done.

But isn't that the backdrop of the 20th century? It's time to move on.

The backlash

In the past few months, I've been struck with the sense that a lot of folks are tired of this cult. There seems to be a growing trend of people against GTD and all it represents. Are people getting sick of the whole idea? Poke around the Internets these days and you will certainly find those that are starting to think that way.

But is GTD the problem? No way. Mr. Allen's succinct methodology is simply a grouping of concepts meant to reduce stress while being productive. No, the problem lies in the cottage industry that has grown up around GTD, hoping to wring profit from the legions of us infected cultists. Merlin went into this idea in depth today. Unfortunately, I think there are genuine people out there who want to help others and better themselves at the same time, even if that includes earning an income. I'd hope to include myself in that group.

So, while I agree with Merlin, this is only part of the problem. We also have to take ownership here— — there would be no cottage industry if we didn't pay attention. We feed the monster. And that's why the backlash has begun. And in essence, that's seems to be why he's changing his focus.

I've felt it here as well. Maybe no one has noticed, but when I'm writing, I don't even like to use the terms GTD or system anymore. GTD, or whatever your ‘system’ of choice, are merely tools to accomplish that which you want to achieve. When the tool becomes the focus — —the only focus— — then we've missed the mark of what GTD was intended to improve. Namely, completing work and our ability to do so. Not to give us another distraction.

And that is part of the issue here. Your system can be such a cleverly disguised distraction, a wolf dressed up in the attire of fruitfulness, beguiling us into believing that surely we'd be better suited to Tool X rather than Tool Y. Even though we spent two hours just last week moving to Tool Y. After all, if we're working on our productivity system, surely we are in essence, being productive.

Nope. If you find yourself working on your system, rather than in your system (or better yet, your system working for you), then you probably know what I'm talking about.

How do we actually get better

We have to stop worrying about how we work and focus on the intended, desired results. And what's really important to us.

Our tendency is to cut down on RSS feeds, social networks and applications. To simplify and reduce. “If I could just improve my discipline, I'd get so much more done.” Those things are a good start, but that only works for so long. Soon, the feed count creeps up again. Suddenly, you've signed up for another ten new web apps that you'll never use after the first week.

You know what? Forget about discipline. We need to change two things: our priorities and our habits. And if our focus is on our priorities, the habits will change all by themselves.

Priorities

There are perfectly sane folks out there who kick arse and get stuff done—. And they've never even heard of GTD. Why is this? Because they are programmed in such a way that doing a great job is their number one priority. They take on a task, problem or project, and single-mindedly hack at it until the job is done. And done well. Sure, maybe those kinds of people could be helped by some tools or techniques that would make them more efficient. But either way, they'll get the job done.

What are the priorities for your life? Do your goals encompass everything that is important to you? What's more important, —keeping up with the latest news or creating amazing websites? Making muxtapes or writing that book? Or better yet, ensuring you have a great, lasting relationship with your kids, your spouse, your friend(s). Whoever.

If you often struggle with the choice to catch up with what's happening on Twitter or to catch up with what's happening with the important people in your life—your real life, —than perhaps it's time for some reflection. If you spend more time reading about the works of other writers/developers/designers than writing/developing/designing, perhaps it's time for some reflection.

And please don't feel that I'm preaching. I count myself unfortunately in this camp.

Habits

Back to habits. This isn't really something to try and change. Why don't diets work? Because they are temporary. Change your lifestyle and the weight stays off. And you can only change your lifestyle when feeling healthy has become a higher priority than the momentary pleasure that Krispy Kreme bacon cheeseburger will give you.

Maybe I'm spitting in the wind here, but I feel it's the same for our goals. The byproduct of changed priorities will be changed habits.


This recent focus on BETTER has been positive, judging by the reaction of a lot of other people. And if we can focus the blame on ourselves instead of the tools, I think we'll be in good shape. Getting Things Done can still be an aid, rather than a distraction.

I'll still stick with my beliefs — —a focused weekly review is a powerful thing. More to follow.

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<![CDATA[ Custom log file, revisited ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/custom-log-file-revisited/ 5e5833f542fb3f0038499486 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:33:00 -0700 After my log file post last week, I had a few people approach me with questions or good suggestions. So I've made a few updates and thought I would share them once again.

Formatting

Reader Patrick Mosby sent me an email in which he asked this:

I just read your article "Track Yourself With a Custom Log File" and wondered how you get the formatting of the entries like you showed in your screenshot. Are you typing this everytime by hand or do you also have some kind of automation? I tried to use TextExpander to expand "ttime" to the current time but it seems that it doesn't work in Quicksilver's text input field.

Good question. Patrick was referring to the time stamps in each entry. In the beginning I was entering them in by hand, but since I have TextExpander, I wanted to make use of it. He was right though—it doesn't work by default in the Quicksilver text input field. But with a bit of playing around, I found that if you prepend your TextExpander snippet with a period, they work just fine. The period invokes the Quicksilver text input, but also is the character for invoking your snippet.

In this example, typing ‘.ttime’ works perfectly.

Automation

In my original setup, I had created an iCal event that had an alarm that would trigger an apple script to run. This apple script updates a few different text files with the current date.

Jamie Phelps asked me via Twitter if I would consider using using a launchd daemon instead of an iCal event. Why? Well, most importantly, this event clutters up iCal. Using a daemon would be a cleaner solution.

I'm always up for increasing the UNIX skills, so I took on this challenge. After several hours of research and tweaking, I've got a solution that works nicely. Hardcore command line geeks can start laughing here—for those in the know, this type of automation is elementary. But I'll include some details for those folks like me—people who are comfortable working in different applications and the command line, but are not familiar with all the commands and utilities.

First off, the idea with a plist file is that it tells launchd what to run and when to run it. I found out that much before getting to some documentation. Here's a list of resources I used:

After all that reading, I had a plist file that looked like this:

TWR Screens

After creating this file, you have to load it from Terminal using launchctl:

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3208/2829835980_e30edee219.jpg" alt="TWR Screens" border="0" width="300"

Unfortunately, even though the plist file appeared to be working, the log files were not updating. After much playing around and testing, I gave up and posted my issue on the Apple support forums. After a couple more hours and several replies back and forth with some very helpful folks, I had all my questions answered.

You have to love the Mac community. This whole process would have been much faster if I had started on the forums rather than starting with Google. Here's what I learned from these people.

plist Creation

When creating a plist file that will launch an app or script file, rather than build it from scratch in Property List Editor (an application included with OS X), it was strongly suggested to create them with an open source third party app named Lingon. The app gives you a couple of options (what do you want to run and when etc.) and adds in all the correct elements for you. This is much easier than the guessing I was doing, trying to figure out which parameters to include.

Here's a shot of Lingon in action:

TWR Screens

Here's how the plist files looked after creating it from scratch in Lingon:

TWR Screens

You can see there were a few more parameters included this time.

Console

Even after creating the plist file in Lingon, the whole process still wasn't working—the text files were not updating. I was asked to use Console (another application in OS X) to look for any messages being generated by launchd. Sure enough, error messages were being generated:

TWR Screens

Permission denied? I couldn't guess why that would be the case, since all the files involved had the same permissions set. But again, the folks on the forum led me in the right direction. Turns out launchd will run an application with just the path, as long as the file ends in ‘.app’. Otherwise, if you have a script file with an extension of ‘.scpt’, you need to add the string value of osascript as shown in the last screenshot of the plist file (this is the command you would use to run a script file from the terminal). Added that parameter and presto—it works perfectly.

Making a short story long, I would have saved myself some time if I had known to use Console to troubleshoot this. But that's how learning goes, yes?

So finally I had an automated solution to add a daily date stamp to my log files. Sounds like a lot of work, but I like to learning this type of thing. So I consider it time well spent.

One last thing to mention.

Display

Although I've seen a lot of people use utilities like GeekTool to display files on their desktop, I've never been much interested myself. But with this log file, I thought it would be handy to be able to see my activities without having the file open all the time (I never have it open because I'm adding entries via QS). In addition, I created a MIT file, drawing upon the idea of having a big rocks or most important tasks list for each day.

So I installed and configured GeekTool and now have a visual of these two lists always on the desktop.

TWR Screens

So there you have it. A lot of learning and twiddling just to keep a simple text file. But for me, these are skills that, once learned, make things easier—and faster—down the road. And I hope that the idea of the text based log file will prove itself years from now.

Heck, I even got an email from Matthew Cornell, he of the big arse text file that started this whole thing. Ask him how valuable his log file is after all these years.

I think that's worth the time up front.


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<![CDATA[ In search of depth ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/in-search-of-depth/ 5e58309c42fb3f0038499476 Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:17:00 -0700 Made a visit to kung fu grippe today, one of the lesser known abodes of Merlin Mann. It's not one of my regular reads, as I prefer Merlin's voice over at 43 Folders.

But today he posted an article titled “Better” that, in my mind, is exactly what a lot of people are struggling with today. I know I am.

I've talked about this issue before. Since March, I've grown more aware of the effects of this illness. Namely, what Merlin is referring here today. Those of us who spend so much time feeding ourselves content and attempting to create something of our own are torn in many directions. There are so many avenues to explore and learn, but we don't have enough time, energy, or focus to create something of high value.

This has hit me especially hard this last week. Now that I have six months away from my job to do some exploring, I'm indecisive of where exactly to concentrate my attention. Do I focus on becoming a better writer? Web design? Programming? Or increase my current system administration knowledge? Hard to say, but I know if I try to do even several of the above, I'll remain a jack of all trades (and a not a very good one at that), and a prince of none.

All the while, my feed reader will continue to deliver rapid fire content informing me of the latest app available etc. Merlin summed this up well in my favorite bit from his post:

What makes you feel less bored soon makes you into an addict. What makes you feel less vulnerable can easily turn you into a dick. And the things that are meant to make you feel more connected today often turn out to be insubstantial time sinks — empty, programmatic encouragements to groom and refine your personality while sitting alone at a screen.

For me, that's hitting the proverbial nail in the head. These habits that stop us from being really good at one thing also most often take us away from the important people in our lives. It's funny, but productivity methodologies like GTD should be helping us with this.

I'm glad of this reminder today. I know I have two items to take away from this: 1) I need to continue to improve my discipline Scratch that—discipline only takes you so far. I need to shift my priorities by dwelling on that which is truly important, so that I don't desire to waste my time with fruitless activities and 2) Decide on a direction and focus on increasing my skills in that area, in order to get really good at something.

In six months, I hope I can give some good news.

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<![CDATA[ Track yourself with a custom log file ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/track-yourself-with-a-custom-log-file/ 5e582fa742fb3f0038499469 Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:54:00 -0700 A while back, Patrick Rhone posted on Work.Life.Creativity about the idea of keeping a text file to track miscellaneous bits of information. I was intrigued by the idea, read the linked pages he had included and got thoroughly engrossed in a web induced bunny trail.

The idea is simple—keep a text file that includes any piece of information that may be useful to you in the future. Exactly what information that includes might be different from one person to the next. But most likely we've all had those moments when we realize we need something from the past—a phone number, a web address, a snippet of code, the date on which we emailed so-and-so, what was the change I made in that code … you get the idea.

This text file is not intended to replace more robust tools. It is not a code repository. Nor is it a CRM tool. Not even a replacement for a bookmark organizer. It's simply a file that is easily updated, giving you a brief history of what you've done and includes information that you may want to have in the future.

Wouldn't it be productivity bliss to have that information stored in an easily searchable solution? I wanted to find out, so I decided to set up my own ‘logging system’ and give it a trial.

Criteria and intended usage

First thing needed here is some definition. What do you want to save and how are you going to save it? Exactly what kinds of data/information are you going to stick in this file. Like any productivity tool, this will have three requirements to be successful: consistency, perseverance and ease of use.

First off, just like any application that supports tagging, you need to be consistent in your usage. If you end up putting in vastly different types of information everyday or format the text inconsistently, it becomes harder to find that one piece of info you need. Being consistent will enable you to know what expect in your file and make finding things much easier. And consistency also leads to the next requirement: perseverance.

In order to make this tool useful, it's going to take some work. I've heard it said that it takes 21 days to form a habit. It will take some perseverance to make updating this log file a habit.

There will be days where hours pass and you've completed many tasks, but have not updated the file. To make this work, you will have to go back and add those updates and work on forcing yourself to develop the habit of updating as you go. And that leads to the third requirement: ease of use.

The easier and more simple a new tool is to use, the easier it is to add it to your existing workflow. Updating this file needs to be quick and intuitive and must not take you away from the flow, from the zone of creativity you may have entered into.

Like tools that allow quick entry of items (Things or Yojimbo for example), your setup should allow you the ability to update the file without navigating through multiple folders, opening the file and then switching back and forth between multiple applications to copy and paste various bits of text.

A simpler workflow will help this habit to form more quickly. And there are a lot of possible options to give you this simplicity.

Some options

I can hear some people saying, “Why not just keep the file open on your desktop? Aren't you making this more complicated than it needs to be?” Possibly. But one of the reasons I use a Mac is for the cool tools that are available. Just keeping the file open is a possible solution. But I wanted the chance to automate this a little.

When I first got into this idea there were three options that came to mind for OS X: Automator, Applescript and Quicksilver. Between those three tools, there should be a simple solution that makes this text file idea work.

And make it cool to use.

So I started with Automator … and quickly moved on. It simply doesn't have enough options for working with different types of files (I had played with the idea of using OmniOutliner to save this file, but later decided to stick with plain text). The included work flows are limiting and at times maddening. When you expect an action to pass it's data to the next action, and it doesn't for no apparent reason … well, you can fiddle forever trying to guess how to sequence the actions together.

I moved on to Quicksilver. It is a proven tool for appending information to an existing text file. Very early on in my experimentation, I had tried using Quicksilver (QS) to update text items in Yojimbo. This proved to be a failure, and I was frustrated by the lack of documentation available for the application (adding new items to Yojimbo is possible with QS, but not updating existing ones).

But once I decided on a plain text file, QS was the choice for the quick entry of items into the file. Adding an update is as easy as follows:

Invoke QS | Type "." to invoke text entry | Type your update | Tab to next pane | Type append to | Tab to next pane | Type in name of your log file.

Here is a screen shot of this action:

TWR Screens

So after some experimenting, I decided on the combination of plain text and Quicksilver.

My solution

All the bits of information I talked about at the beginning were to be included in my file. I think of this almost as a journal—tracking the highlights of what I've done each day.

As for formatting, here is an example of how the files looks:

TWR Screens

There was one last piece of configuration I wanted to tack on. I felt like this was a good opportunity to learn some more Applescript. And, as seen above, I wanted to format the file in a way that each day was separated differently than each entry. This was a good item to automate.

So I wrote an script to do that. Here is the content of the Applescript:

set logFile to open for access POSIX file "Users/Chris/Documents/Projects/Lists/Log.txt" with write permission set date_stamp to ((the current date) as string) write return & return & "----- " & date_stamp & " -----" to logFile starting at eof close access logFile

It simply adds a string to my aptly named file, log.txt. And in order to have this script run automatically each day, I created an event in iCal. This event has an alarm that is set to run this script. Here are the details of the calendar event:

Each day, this task runs at 2:00 AM. If the macbook is asleep, this runs upon awakening. It appends the date to the log file, and when I'm ready to add some entries, the file is already formatted for my purposes.

With this setup, I can add to the file for days without having to open the file itself.


There are so many ways to implement this idea, but it's the idea itself that's important. The fellow who wrote the original article that Patrick linked to had been using his text file consistently for five years at the time of writing. When reading his post, it's clear that this is an important tool in his arsenal.

It will be interesting to see if productivity gurus like the folks at Work.Life.Creativity will adopt this practice as well. In a time when productivity applications are in such abundance, can a simple text file compete?

Like anything GTD related, it depends on the individual.

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<![CDATA[ Would you like that with or without the space? ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/would-you-like-that-with-or-without-the-space/ 5e582f3e42fb3f0038499459 Wed, 28 May 2008 04:39:00 -0700 So this is what it's come to. Three or four years of reading the blogs of web designers and other assorted nerds and geeks—and yes, there is a difference—has brought on this fascination with certain typographical characters.

In particular, ever since I happened upon this post by Christopher Phin, I have been obsessed with the proper usage of the em and en dashes, especially the em. In my search for some consistent answers, it's clear that there is agreement on when to use each. But it's the how that is driving me mad.

The when

In my research, I happened upon a great article penned by Peter K Sheerin on A List Apart. He starts the discussion with a great sentence illustrating the correct usage of the em and en dashes as well as the oft–misused hyphen.

Stop! Go back and re-read the subhead above—at least 2–3 times—then let it sink in before continuing.

He then explains:

The sentence above illustrates the proper use of the hyphen and the two main types of dashes. They are not the same, and must not be confused with each other.

Here is a short summary of correct usage of each dash:

  • The en dash is used to represent a range of various types of numerical values (numbers, dates, etc.) or to point to a connection or relationship between two items.
  • The em dash is correctly used to show a change in the thought of a sentence or in a parenthetical statement that merits more attention that parentheses, commas or separate sentences. It is also commonly used to link independent clauses.

Since reading Christopher's post linked to above, I've noticed the usage everywhere. Blog posts, magazine articles, books, brochures—even my Bible. When or where to use these characters seems consistent. But how they are used differs from author to author, or publisher to publisher.

The how

This is where this post title gets it's name. Whether or not an em dash is to be used with spaces or without seems more a matter of preference. Personal if you are writing for your own blog, organizational if you write for a publication of some sort.

The entry in wikipedia for this topic gives a good summary on the space issue:

According to most American sources (e.g., The Chicago Manual of Style) and to some British sources (e.g., The Oxford Guide to Style), an em dash should always be set closed (not surrounded by spaces). But the practice in many parts of the English-speaking world, also the style recommended by The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage, sets it open (separates it from its surrounding words by using spaces  or hair spaces (U+200A)) when it is being used parenthetically. Some writers, finding the em dash unappealingly long, prefer to use an open-set en dash. This "space, en dash, space" sequence is also the predominant style in German and French typography.

There are clearly some differences in opinion here. My observations in the last few months have shown no consistency in particular mediums either. It's not like web writers are all doing it one way while book authors or newspaper writers do it another. One magazine will print em dashes with spaces, another will not. One blogger uses the space, the next does not.

John Gruber was one of the first bloggers I started reading regularly, and I noticed the other day that he adds spaces:

One could easily (and rightly) quibble with Thurrott’s analysis in a slew of ways — that, no, comparably-equipped Macs actually cost around the same or even less than similar PC machines — but in a way he’s right.

I've long considered John knowledgeable in this area—his writings are littered with grammatical references. And at the very least, he has been consistent in this usage. Look through his archives and you'll see the same usage of the em dash since 2004.

Add to the confusion that fact that some writers will use the en dash because they feel the em is too long and what's a poor guy to do? Others will forgo either dash and just string two hyphens together.

And even popular writers seem to struggle with this usage. Paul Graham, considered by some as one of the best, purest writers on the Internet, uses em dashes with no spaces. Yet if you look as some of his earlier writings, he often used double hyphens to link a clause, as seen here:

Some believe only business people can do this­­ that hackers–– can implement software, but not design it.

So what does this all mean? Well, you don't need to worry about the exact style (or the how) of using these characteristics to be popular. Just make sure that, whichever way you display them in your writing, they are used for the right purpose (the when). The rest is just preference.

Until the last few weeks, I've been inconsistent in my usage. No longer. I'll take mine with no space—it just looks more “right” to me.


Here are list of resources I found useful in my search:

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<![CDATA[ GTD overview part 5: information management ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/gtd-overview-part-5-information-management/ 5e582eec42fb3f0038499451 Tue, 27 May 2008 14:11:00 -0700 In this, the last segment of my GTD Overview series, the focus will be on what to do with the non-actionable 'stuff' that comes your way. The items here include information which will help you complete tasks andor projects now. Or they contain information that may be needed at some point later in the future. Items like this are filed away as reference or stored for later.

This overview will be broken down into three sections:

  • The Principles of Reference Information
  • Tools Available for OS X
  • My Setup

The principles

The concepts here are again simple. But it's so easy to forget the simplicity of these concepts when working on your tasks. Many people struggle with GTD because it's they tend to over-complicate things.

When it comes to processing your Inbox[s], you need to identify whether or not each item contains a task that needs to be performed. If not, one of the following actions is taken:

  • File it for reference
  • Incubate it for possible action at a later time
  • Trash it

If one of the first two actions are taken, then a tool is needed to store the included information. And similar to Task Management, there are a lot of choices for this type of tool for OS X.

The tools available

This is another area where you can debate on whether to use a digital tool or good old paper. For me, I like a mix of both. For reference information, I use a digital tool along with twenty-six file folders (alphabetized). You will inevitably receive pieces of paper you need to hang on to, and this is where an organized paper filing system works well (unless you have a scanner and prefer to put everything in a digital format).

For a digital tool, I recently spent some time researching available 'information organizer' applications for OS X. I wanted to choose a tool that would play the role of my digital filing cabinet—a place to store all the information needed when researching any particular topic.

For clarification, when I say information organizer, I'm referring to the class of applications that are intended to gather all the information that comes your way and to make it easy to find again. Sounds like a description right out of GTD doesn't it?

The typical applications in this genre do things like save bookmarks, PDF's, web archives and basic notes. And for OS X, there are a lot of options. Here are the applications I looked at: Bento, Evernote, Journler, Scrivener, Together and Yojimbo. There are even more applications available, but these are the six that I've been paying attention to recently. I felt that they were the best options available.

I'll state right away that before I started this review of these applications, I already owned a license for Yojimbo. I knew that would be somewhat of a factor when making my decision. But on the other hand, I have never had much hesitation to throw $40 at a Mac developer so I was not worried that I would feel pressure to settle for Yojimbo even if I felt it was lacking against one of these competitors. So I went through the exercise of downloading and evaluating all six of these applications.

Here is a brief overview of each.

Bento

Created by Filemaker, Bento is actually a personal database program, similar to Microsoft Access. Here's the product overview:

Bento brings your important information together in one place to help you get organized. So you can manage your contacts, coordinate events, track projects, prioritize tasks, and more - faster and easier than ever before.

It comes with several prebuilt templates that would allow your average user to get started. But it didn't take me more than a few minutes to realize this was not an application I would enjoy using. First, the interface and aesthetics were of a lower quality than the other applications. And secondly, this application seemed a bit more complicated and tried to do more than just be a reference tool. I quickly scratched this one of my list.

Evernote

This is quite an interesting application that seems to be getting a lot of recognition lately. The company claims that the purpose is to capture EVERYTHING that comes in to or out of your head. Here is the product overview:

Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at anytime, from anywhere.

It needs to be said here that this application is still in beta. When I started this evaluation, it was quite soon after the beta was made available. At the time I did not give the application much of a look—due in large part to it's un-Mac like appearance and behavior—and moved on to the other applications. But I've been watching the progress the Evernote team has made and it's looking like this app could get a lot of attention from the Mac user community.

There are two main features that give Evernote a nod over the competitors in this arena. First, it can be used with Windows XP or Vista and with OS X (10.5 only). Or you can use a web browser and access your info from any computer. Don't have a computer handy? No problem. Just use your phone.

With the small amount of testing I conducted, the syncing to the web and across various platforms has been trouble–free.

Secondly, Evernote makes use of a visual recognition technology to grab words right off of digital images. This means you can upload a photo or scan a piece of paper and Evernote will read the words within either. Do a search for these words and Evernote will bring up the files in question.

There are quite a few rough edges, but this is an application that bears watching in the next few months.

Journler

A solid entry in this category, Journler has a few features that make it stand out from the rest. This application is intended to be used as, well, a digital journal. Here is the product overview:

Elegant, beautiful, powerful. Journler is a place for your thoughts and everything they touch. Journler is a daily notebook and entry based information manager. Scholars, teachers, students, professors, scientists, thinkers, the business minded and writers of every persuasion use it on a daily basis to connect the written word with the media most important to them.

Journler is similar to some of the apps being compared here, but offers built in audio and video capture for entries. Care to capture a thought without typing? Simply click the audio button and your Mac's built in microphone. Do the same with your Mac's built-in iSight (or external web cam) and you can capture video or a still image.

The app also features great Apple script support, iLife integration and strong importing and exporting. Check out the full list of features.

Scrivener

Scrivener is an interesting app, but it not in the same category as the others listed here. Rather, it is a tool for writers. Here is the product overview:

Designed for use by writers of all kinds, Scrivener is a virtual writing studio that integrates the processes of outlining, storyboarding, research and writing. It's a notebook. It's an outliner. It's a cork notice-board. It's a ring-binder. It's a place to store and cross-reference your research. It's a basic word processor. From first idea to first draft: Outline. Edit. Storyboard. Write.

Although Scrivener is not specifically an information organizer application, I decided to give it a try. After all, a lot of my tasks are writing or research related. I liked the direction the developer is taking for this app, designing with writers in mind.

In comparison with the other applications, Scrivener holds its own in terms of overall features. You can import PDF's or web archives. And movie, image or audio files as well. Scrivener also allows the user to view imported files along side your writing, allowing you to reference your research easily as you write or make notes.

It also includes some other features that set it apart—the corkboard and outline modes are especially aimed at writers.

Perhaps Scrivener is too different for the majority of users looking to organize their information. But if writing takes up a good bit of your time, this app gives you an interesting alternative.

Together

The application formerly known as KIT, Together is eerily similar to Yojimbo in form and function. Here is the overview:

Together lets you keep everything in one place. Text, documents, images, movies, sounds, web pages and bookmarks can all be dragged to Together for safe keeping, tagged, previewed, collected together in different ways and found again instantly.

From the drop shelf to the types of items Together can handle, you'd almost think this was Yojimbo with a slightly more elegant interface.

But there are significant diffences. In fact, one of the main features I prefer in Together is purely interface. The views that Together offers—using a Portrait preview with or without tabs—is much more pleasing than the basic three pane Mail–like view that Yojimbo uses. Another handy feature is the ability to edit the documents imported into the application's library. And Together can also create PDF files out of a document, web archive or note.

But overall, there is not a lot of difference between Together and Yojimbo.


After spending some time with all six applications, I was able to narrow the field down to three. Evernote, Together and Yojimbo would meet my needs over the other three.

Together was a good option, and one I would recommend to anyone. But since it was so similar to Yojimbo, and I already own a license for the latter, I stuck with what I had.

I'll admit right now that I am keenly interested in the development of Evernote. Right now it's a bit too raw in beta form—not to mention that it's being designed by a company that traditionally builds Windows apps—but the strides the team has made so far have been impressive. There's some chance that I'll switch to this app in the future.

But for now I'm using Yojimbo. It stores all the files and document types necessary, makes tagging easy, has great Apple script integration and Barebones (the vendor) has long offered exceptional support.

My setup

Overview

Shrewd readers will note here that I did not give a summary of Yojimbo as I did the others. Here it is. Barebones describes their application as follows:

Yojimbo-Your effortless, reliable information organizer for Mac OS X Yojimbo makes keeping all the small (or even large) bits of information that pour in every day organized and accessible. It’s so simple, there is no learning curve. Yojimbo’s mechanism for collecting, storing and finding information is so natural and effortless, it will change your life—without changing the way you work.

Yojimbo sports a clean interface. It consists of a source list sidebar, a Finder–like list pane, and a preview pane. The default view is exactly like Mail. It also offers a Drop Dock, a quick input panel and hot keys to quickly get items into the application. The interface is intuitive and, as Barebones claims, easy to work with. Adding new items to your library is quick and simple.

The main overall factor I enjoy about Yojimbo is findability. There are several methods I can use to sort, organize and search for my information:

  • Search Window – Since Yojimbo uses tagging for it's database, every item I enter into my library is assigned a tag. The Yojimbo search bar allows you to search by various content: comments, content, name, labels or tags. This makes it possible to find any particular item fast.
  • Tag Collections – The source list in the sidebar can contain up to 9 default Smart Collections, but you can add your own collections or tag collections. A tag collection is just like a smart folder in the Finder or a smart playlist in iTunes. Add the tags you desire and any item in your library that contains those tags will display in the tag collection.
  • Smart Folders(Finder saved searches) – Yojimbo supports Spotlight integration. This means you can specify in Spotlight to search only for Yojimbo items and save your search results.

Add to the findability great Applescript support, easy importing and exporting, encryption, and .Mac synching and you've got a very full featured application.

Usage

There are only three things I need from Yojimbo: put information into the library, organize said information and find everything quickly when needed. Here is how I use the app to do just that.

Item entry: Adding items into Yojimbo is really simple. 90% of the time I use the quick input panel, which automatically fills in the contents of the system-wide clipboard. It will attempt to guess what type of item you want to create by the contents of the clipboard. If it's wrong, simply choose the correct type of item. Fill in the metadata you desire—the options will depend on the type of item you are creating—and hit enter when completed. And as Steve would say, Boom, you've got a new library item.

The other options are the drop dock and, of course, creating items directly in the Yojimbo main window. I have the drop dock disabled myself—your milage may vary. It's a mouse friendly interface, where the quick input panel is more keyboard focused.

What kinds of items do I store in my Yojimbo library? All my passwords—ALL of them. The encryption is a great feature for this usage. Also notes from meetings and any brainstorm sessions. Project plans are also included as notes. And lastly I add PDF's and web archives when researching topics.

Organizing items: As I mentioned above, I group frequently accessed items as tag collections, seen here.

All of the items in Yojimbo are simply entries in a MySQL database, but Yojimbo enables you to group them visually. Tag collections my favorite way to do that. I have some tag collections that are always there. But I will create temporary collections (non-tag) when working on a particular project. Once the project is complete, I delete the collection (but not the actual items).

Finding items: And the most important aspect of Yojimbo is finding my information quickly. I do this most often with spotlight searches. Items in the Yojimbo library show up under the Documents section in Spotlight. When clicked, the item itself will open, rather than the Yojimbo main window.

And because I often have a Finder window open, I've also added a saved search (smart folder) to my Finder sidebar. By specifying all Yojimbo items that include the value twr, I now have a search that includes all of my library items with information relating to this blog. Here's how the smart folder looks and the search criteria I use:

Summary

I've chosen to use Yojimbo as my tool in this area, but the reality is that any of the applications listed above could meet a persons needs. If you are looking forward a more straight forward organizer, Yojimbo and Together are great options. If you are more of a writer, give Scrivener a try. And if you want to capture everything that comes your way, Evernote looks promising.

All of these applications will fit the needs of GTD and are flexible enough to fit into your workflow.

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<![CDATA[ GTD overview part 4: task management using Things ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/gtd-overview-part-4-task-management-using-things/ 5e57fbee42fb3f0038499445 Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:00:00 -0700 Effective task management—, the organization of the building blocks of your 'system'—is crucial to getting things done effectively. In part 4 of this series I will be demonstrating how I manage my tasks using Things from Cultured Code. The information included will be both a review of some of the features of Things, as well as I how use the application in my workflow.

But it's important to remember that the actual application is not the key, but the concepts which govern how you use it. Most of this article should also be pertinent to readers who use other tools.

Overview of Things

There is no doubt that Things is a good looking app. The interface is sleek, even in beta. For me, this is a feature in itself. It was one of the reasons I was quite interested in Things when I first read about it.

After several months of usage, it's clear to me now that the good design is more than skin deep. Even in beta, Things offers most of the features I'm looking for. And the developers are promising more by the time the 1.0 version is released. More importantly, the way in which the features have been implemented makes Things a real pleasure to use. The gang at Cultured Code clearly spend a lot of time considering how the end user will interact with their application.

Basics

If you have never seen Things in action, the first thing to know is that there are three categories under which your tasks may fall. They can be assigned to a Project, an Area or stand alone completely on their own. Understanding Projects and Areas is key to using this app. Projects are simply a list of tasks to accomplish a goal that has an end. On the other hand, Areas (areas of responsibility in the world of GTD) have no final end. There is no date or final task that will complete an area—a person will continue to accumulate tasks in this regard.

This is the most basic understanding a person needs to get started with this application. But if you would like more of an introduction, spend some time at the Things wiki.

The first aspect I want to focus on is the setup of the application. It's simple—there are two main sections. The tasks pane and the sidebar.

Tasks pane

The tasks pane is where you work with your actual tasks. You can create, delete, check off or rearrange tasks here. As well, this is where you add any metadata necessary (title, tags, due dates, or notes). The navigation in the task pane is very fluid and moving tasks around is intuitive—average joe user could figure this out without reading any documentation. Clicking on the name of a project or area that a task is assigned to will take you straight to the project or area itself.

Also, you can drag and drop tasks into a project, area or even a focus source list in the sidebar. There are a few drag and drop operations that are currently not supported, but all documentation indicates that this is a priority to the developers and will be addressed soon.

One feature that could be added to the task pane navigation would be a browser style back button. I often find that I've dug down into a sub-project and simply want to go up one level. But I have to start over by navigating in the sidebar. A couple of Finder or browser style navigation buttons would fix this.

The sidebar is where Things really shines. It has three headers—Collect, Focus and Organize—and resembles a source list that is quickly becoming the de facto standard in applications for OS X.

Collect section

This section is straight forward. This is where the Inbox is located. There is nothing else currently located in this source list. Perhaps the developers will add more in the future, but for now the Inbox is where you can add tasks that will be processed later. Most often these tasks will be added via the Quick Input panel rather than directly in the Inbox itself.

Organize section

The organize section is where the aforementioned projects and areas are listed. This is where you can reference everything related to each project or area and where the user would go to move tasks around.

A nice design touch should be mentioned here — —I've done so before. When viewing your list of projects, Things shows you how many tasks a project contains as well as giving the user an idea of how many of those tasks are already completed. It does this in a subtle way, as seen in the screen below. The two shades of blue elegantly indicate a percentage of overall completion.

Another nice touch here is with due dates. If one of the projects you are viewing has an item that is due today, or is overdue, then the text of the project is red, as seen here.

Focus section

And lastly, and in my mind most importantly, there is the Focus section. This section is where I spend most of my time in Things. The four sources under Focus are somewhat like smart folders in the OS X Finder or smart playlists in iTunes. The items that show up in here can do so based on values you have assigned to individual tasks. Example – if a task has a due date, it will display in the Today source on the day they are due. You can also manually assign tasks to one of the Focus source lists.

  • Today – the Today source list consists of any tasks that you have assigned the Today flag or any tasks that are due today. It can also include overdue tasks—if you do not check off a task that comes due, it will not be removed from the Today source list until you do so manually. Even updating the due date will not remove the Today flag.
  • Next – this source list simply lists the next couple of actions for each project or area (you can modify the number of next tasks that display under the View menu option). In addition, tasks that have been added to Things but are not assigned to any project or area will display at the very top of the Next source list.
  • Someday – this source list is simply your archive. This is where you can assign tasks, projects or areas that you eventually want to complete, but are not able to get to now.
  • Scheduled – lastly there is the Scheduled source list. Cultured Code published a great blog post regarding all the different iterations they considered for just one aspect of this feature. In the end, they implemented a really great way to schedule tasks and create recurring tasks.

Quick input panel

One other feature to touch on is the quick input panel. This feature uses one of the newer, HUD styles that have become so popular in Mac applications the past couple of years. You can assign your own hotkey combination to initiate this panel to appear from any other application. This is the easiest way to add tasks to Things.

You have the option to choose here to file your new task to a focus source list or any existing project or area, as seen in the drop-down list here.

But my usage has been that 90% of all tasks added via the quick input panel go to the Inbox. I then process the tasks at some later point.

Tags

One last feature to mention is the use of tags. Tags are one of the most attractive and powerful features of Things. This is a tag based application, meaning you can apply any keyword or tag to each task (and projects and areas as well). The purpose of tagging—searchability and focus through filtering. You assign certain keywords to your tags so that even if you have a large number of them, you will have an easy time of finding what you want. Things makes this feature really easy to use via the Tags bar at the top of the task pane.

If any task has a tag, the tag bar will display no matter what source list or section you navigate to in the sidebar. This makes it easy to filter to any particular tag—essentially making use of the idea of contexts in GTD.

The developers have also made Things usable for everyone. If you are a strict, by-the-book GTDer and have your entire life in your system, you can make use of tags to manage the crazy amounts of information that comes your way. But Things works just fine even if you don't know a tag from a hole in the ground. If you do not use tags at all, Things simply does not display the tag bar.


So that is a summary of the features that have stuck out to me in my usage of this application. Now I'll briefly summarize how I use the application with my GTD process/habits.

How Things fits in my workflow

Collect

As I mentioned above and in part 2 of this series, the majority of my tasks are entered into Things via the quick input panel. I do this when I'm on my computer and working on a particular task. Often I'll have a thought come to me that I need to get out of my head right away. So without greatly interrupting my workflow, I hit ctrl+alt+space (my choice for hotkey combo) and enter in my task with minimal details and hit return.

Now I have a new task sitting in my Inbox source list in Things.

My other major source of tasks is email. So if I'm processing emails and have one that involve tasks for me, I follow the exact same procedure. Occasionally I will fill in a few details like due dates or notes, but most often it is simply the title.

The idea behind collecting is that it's quick and easy and does not take your focus away from what you are doing. Of course, when you are working away, some part of your brain is being creative and thoughts come to you that need to get into your system. The quick input panel in Things is a great tool to get those thoughts captured while allowing you to keep doing—whatever your doing happens to be.

Process

Again, as referenced in part 2, I process my collection buckets at least once per day. Email is usually processed two to three times per day and my binder at least once. My Things Inbox generally is about the same as my main binder.

In part 2, I listed the processing of the Things Inbox under the habit of Organize. It could go under either Organize or Process – it crosses the line between the two—the actual work involved could fall under both categories. When I process the task, I remove it from the Inbox. Where I move it to is organizing in action.

What happens here is that I take all the tasks in the Inbox and make sure they have all the necessary information included. Once completed, they get filed—they are added to an existing project or area if one applies. If the task is a single action then it is moved out of the Inbox to the Next source list.

Tasks that require more than one action are dragged to the sidebar to be converted to a project.

Organize

So organizing is basically the process listed above. But there is one further point I will go in to here.

When I mentioned the Scheduled source list above, I did not get into a lot of details about the implementation of this feature. At first I didn't really use this source list—I was missing the intended point the developer had in mind. After using it a few times, the usefulness of it hit me hard.

This is basically your tickler file. You can schedules tasks that need to occur on a particular day and for which you need to be reminded.

At first glance, this can be mistaken for a calendar replacement. However, you must remember that a calendar is a hard landscape—calender entries have a date and a time and should be reserved for meetings/appointments. The tasks that are scheduled in the Scheduled source list can occur any time during each particular day. I find it very helpful to open Things, navigate to the Today source list and see all my tasks that are scheduled for that day as well as tasks that have become due.

The developer also recently added recurring tasks as well. This was a feature that was a high priority for many users, and Cultured Code delivered it well. Adding in those weekly/monthly tasks only once is great.

The entire source list is summed up nicely in the screenshot below. Scheduled tasks come first, followed by recurring tasks (indicated by the circular arrow symbol beside them). Information about each task is listed on the left, as well as above each task. In addition, if a task is assigned to a project or area it is indicated in muted text immediately preceding the task title. All in all, it's an effective attribute of the application.

Review

And lastly there is the review. I generally keep to a weekly review with additional, smaller daily reviews. Thie weekly review is a complete look at each project and area to ensure everything is up to date. Using Things, this has not been the tedious process I have found it to be in the past. Rather, it's enjoyable.

Do

Things is not really used here at all. After all, it's a tool to help you keep track of the items you need to do, but the doing happens elsewhere. All you use it for here is to reference any information you have saved as a note for any particular task.


It ended up taking a lot of words to go over something that's actually quite simple. That's part of the beauty of this application—it's simplicity makes it easy to use—yet it has powerful features that are waiting to be used should you have the need or inclination. For anyone trying to get a handle on everything they have to take care of in their life, I highly recommend giving Things a try.

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<![CDATA[ The Power of the weekly review ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/the-power-of-the-weekly-review/ 5e57fb4e42fb3f003849943c Wed, 09 Apr 2008 10:16:00 -0700 This might be odd - but the name I chose for this site is something I struggle with every week (editor's note: this post was from my first blog, titled The Weekly Review). I know how important it is to sit back and review what I have and haven't done for the past seven days. Even more, I know it is critical to look back and evaluate whether or not my goals are still the same. And to examine my actions - for they will have proven what my true goals are.

I know it. And yet I struggle.

The weekly review

How many of us could benefit from this kind of reflection for even just one hour each week? In today's typical North American lifestyle, items vying for our attention greatly outweigh our ability to do something useful with so much information. We have become information intakes, rapidly accepting input, but seem to have lost some of our ability to produce quality output.

I've heard it said that the successful people in this century will be those who can, not digest information, but who can filter information.

In this type of atmosphere, I think a weekly review can be a helpful tool. And I'd like to explain how.

Let's start first with the definition a weekly review. According to Wikipedia, here is the GTD definition of a weekly review:

At least weekly, the discipline of GTD requires that all your outstanding actions, projects and 'waiting for' items are reviewed, making sure that any new tasks or forthcoming events are entered into your system, and that everything is up to date.

So that's the official GTD take on this idea. But what I am stressing here is the concept. You can call it whatever you want - a weekly review, a 10 day review, reflection time. The name doesn't matter. What does matter is that time is taken to review what has come at you, what you have done with what has come at you, and what you may have missed.

But it's not easy.

Reality - it's a struggle

Visit a website that focuses on GTD and you will find no shortage of people who struggle with this concept. Why do we have such a hard time with this? I really believe a big factor is the times we live in. We have a lot of distractions things to do with our time that folks in the past did not.

Here are some other common reasons why people struggle with this:

  • You have more information coming at you than you can deal with.
  • For GTDers, your 'system' isn't working. You have no confidence in it.
  • You simply have not made this time enough of a priority. You don't 'schedule' it in.
  • You are lazy. It's okay - we all are at times.

Most of us can relate to one of these. And there are probably more. Whatever the reason, how can we improve on this?

Make it a habit

Why? Habitual actions take less energy and planning. How much time, energy and planning do you put into brushing your teeth or getting dressed? Habits can generally be completed while your mind is on something else. In this case, making a review a habit allows your mind to focus on your goals themselves.

And how do you form a habit? One word - repetition. Here are a few suggestions to make your weekly review a habit:

  • Findmake a quiet place.
  • Put it in your calendar. Book a time for this review and keep it there. Repeat this for several weeks.

That's it. If you can discipline yourself to complete the above steps for 5 or 6 weeks, you should see the benefits. And it will begin to feel good and you will start to look forward to it.

We all do it anyways

Almost everyone but the schizophrenics do some type of review every week, if unconsciously. But there is benefit to making it a bit more formal and habitual.

I love GTD and it's ideas. But the weekly review goes beyond GTD. It's not important to your career only. What about at home? What about your significant other? Your children? And if you are spiritual, what about your relationship with God?

What areas can benefit from a weekly review? A better question - what areas can't?

It's clear to me that in this age of free and fast flowing information, seeking quiet is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. Make it a habit.

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<![CDATA[ GTD overview part 3: simplification ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/gtd-overview-part-3-simplification/ 5e57fabb42fb3f0038499430 Fri, 04 Apr 2008 06:33:00 -0700 Some people may read the title of this post and think, "Simplification? That isn't based on GTD." True, there is no chapter titled "Simplifying: Make Things Easy on Yourself" in David Allen's book. But examine the concepts behind his system and you will find simplicity is self evident.

How it fits

At its heart, GTD is about goals. How to clearly define them at all levels of your life, and then mapping out each step to achieve those goals. And to do so in a less stressful fashion.

All the bits about developing collection habits and making decisions about actions are merely there to make you better at attaining your goals. And there is only one chapter in the book that focuses on tools (chapter 4). Yet a good portion of GTD related material focuses mostly on these things. GTD can be implemented more effectively when a person has a good understanding of the underlying concepts.

And simplification can be used at each area of GTD. Collection buckets, your tools, your goals and the projects themselves—all can be improved with a heavy dose of simplifying.

How many buckets do you need? If you have more than two or three, how long before one of them does not get emptied consistently? Also, too many buckets means more possibility of distraction.

And when you step back and take time to brainstorm about goals you have for you life, the end result should be well defined, simple goals. Something like "Build new work bench". Nothing more is needed for a goal—the specific details can be added when planning the projects.

And when it comes to tools, Mr. Allen himself stated that the more simple the better.

Real life examples

In the book, an example project and stressor mentioned several times refers to the garage that needs a cleaning. Mine wasn't a garage, it was a spare room in the basement. And I hated even looking in the room when I passed by.

This was a good example of needed simplification. The room was filled with stuff that we had kept because we felt that at some point in time in may become useful. In the end, all that stuff (re: junk) was constraining. Getting rid of most of it lifted a weight from my shoulders and that room now serves a useful purpose as my area for woodworking.

Computer equipment is another good example. Does the average household of five require four computers? For some, it possibly does. But cutting our house down to two and recycling the others was a joyful experience. The older computers and all the accumulated spare parts were never going to have any purpose. De-cluttering is a great way to simplify.

Digital examples

Another way to simplify is with tools. Read GTD focused web sites for a while and you find that a lot of people spend their time trying out new tools. Especially software tools. I am definitely guilty of this. As I mentioned in part 2 of this series, I've only recently settled into a set of tools and have really benefitted from staying put. I've been more productive and have a greater feeling of satisfaction using my system. Focusing on your tasks rather then the system will give anyone that same joy.

Just to illustrate how I've simplified in this area, here is a list of changes I've made:

Applications

  • Made some hard decisions and chose my tools (Things, Yojimbo, Mail, iCal etc.)
  • Uninstalled competing options to reduce temptation to tinker or compare (Omnifocus, Anxiety, Bento, Together etc.)
  • Put aside a good chunk of time to focus on exactly how I would configure and use those tools (tags, labels, usage, projects vs areas etc.)

The real benefit here is a sense of freedom from making a decision and accepting it. And also from getting to know the tools better. One cost of consistent tinkering is that you never spend the time digging deeper in an application.

Web Applications and News Media

Here's a few ways I've simplified:

  • Modified Twitter usage. I now have Twitterific turned off ninety percent of the time. This greatly reduces my distractions while working. When I have a few minutes to catch up I go to the actual Twitter web page (sounds funny doesn't it!?)
  • Reduced number of twitterers I follow
  • Deleted bookmarks to services I rarely use (and in some cases deleted the account itself) especially where I had accounts to services that were similar (example: Del.icio.us and Magnolia)
  • Deleted around thirty percent of my RSS feeds

This is an area that many would say has nothing to do with GTD. It depends on ones goals. Social web applications and news can be used as tools, but so often end up more distraction than tool.

And it's an area that has seen explosive growth the past few years. Options abound when the choices available include not only applications themselves, but aggregator applications to corral content from the primary applications (example: socialthing).


There are many more ways to simplify. And it's a great use of one's time to put some thought into how to do so.

Heck, make it a project.

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<![CDATA[ GTD overview part 2: my setup ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/gtd-overview-part-2-my-setup/ 5e2b7cf41ee740003894706d Thu, 03 Apr 2008 22:45:00 -0700 Notice: Part 1 in this series can be read here.

So now that I've talked about how I understand the concepts of GTD, I'd like to share how I've implemented my system. My current setup has lasted for quite a while as I have finally settled on the tools that work for me. This is due to two things: discipline and success. Discipline to stop tinkering with my system and success at completing tasks while enjoying the tools that I use.

I break my tools down into two categories: analog and digital.

Analog

My analog tools consist simply of two binders plus a couple of accessories. The first binder is for straight brainstorming. I most often use it for planning bigger projects with many steps. I prefer grid paper for this type of usage. The main binder is used for daily notes, reminders, big rocks etc. It also contains each days calendar entries.

Oddly enough, the tool I had the hardest time settling on was the main binder. There seems to be plenty of offerings available, but not a lot of good ones. As I mentioned recently, I had such a difficult time finding the right binder that I played with making my own and used iCal print outs.

But I finally came across one recently that works pretty well for me. It's a Blueline A29C. This book works for me because of the setup. It has a location for calendar items, action items, and phone calls on the left (shown to the right) and a blank ruled page on the right.

I like the layout of the two pages together—it has enough space for all the types of items I usually leave to pen or pencil.

And on that subject, I feel the same way about writing implements as I do about operating systems and software. Look and feel is very important. I like to use a Pilot G-2 with a point of .5 mm.

And lastly, I make use of those little fluorescent post-its to mark my current place in each binder.

Digital

Before I describe my system I have to mention one fact. Doing GTD on a Mac is great. There is a real variety of good software tools available. I cannot say the same for Windows. From my experience, GTD on Windows is best done with a purely analog system or using web applications. The desktop tools available are simply not on the same level as those for the OS X.

Here is my list of tools for GTD on my mac:

  • iCalGCal
  • MailGMail
  • Things
  • Yojimbo
  • Highrise

For email and calender items, there isn't much explanation needed. I have several email accounts that are all consolidated into one GMail account. When I'm on my Macbook I use Mail to access this account. When on other computers I use the GMail web interface.

Same goes for iCalGCal. I only use my calendar for hard entries—actual events that include a time and place. I never stick to-dos or projects in the calendar. I keep the two calendars in sync with BusySync from BusyMac.

All task management work is documented in Things from Cultured Code. All reference material for projects or goals is stored in Yojimbo from Bare Bones Software.

And finally, I use Highrise from 37Signals to document contact information and various activities/communication with those contacts.

Usage

Here is a brief summary of how I actually spend my time using the habitsprocesses of GTD with the tools I've listed.

Collect

Almost all of my collection happens via pen or email. So many of my tasks are jotted down in my main notebook during meetings or discussions. Or when I am working on something and thoughts about other projects (or potential projects) float through my head. These tend to be additional work on an already existing project or smaller stand alone items.

I use my brainstorming binder to map out steps for larger projects. Sometimes it's used to help me define my goals or criteria for a project or idea I have. Sometimes these ideas are scrapped completely.

Process

This step is one of the two most important aspects of GTD (the other being review). If a person can develop the correct habits around processing, they will most likely experience success with the whole methodology. Let's face it—setting up buckets to collect things is easy. Developing habits to make sure those buckets of items are useful and reducing our stress, rather than adding to it, is where people struggle with GTD.

I do my best to keep on top by processing my email two to three times a day. And I try very hard to never touch an email more than once. If an email includes an action item that is my responsibility, it immediately gets added to my Things Inbox. Emails that require a response get dealt with immediately if possible. If I need to get more information before I can respond, then the message gets left in the Inbox and is marked as unread. I then create a task in Things to get the necessary information. All emails that have been processed get filed away or deleted.

And I am definitely learning to delete more email—it has been a pleasure. So far I have not had any issues with this practice.

The main binder gets processed at the end of each day. Items that require work on my part get entered into Things. Items that I delegate to someone else just get scratched off. If a delegated item is important enough (has a very high priority or involves external contacts or vendors) then I enter the specific information into Highrise. I use Highrise to keep track of all my contacts that I interact with, internal and external.

Organize

Most of my organizing takes place in Things. The great feature that I feel separates Things from other task management applications is the differentiation between projects and areas (areas of responsibility). I receive a lot of tasks that are not projects. And they fall under one of my areas I am responsible for. Things makes this a real ease and pleasure to document.

Seventy percent of the time I add items to Things, it is done through the  Quick Entry panel and added to the Inbox. So I usually organize these tasks once a day, near the end of the day. Tasks are dragged to specific areas or added to existing projects. And when needed, new projects are created.

Review

As mentioned above, the review stage is the most important step in GTD along with the processing. This is also the stage where most people begin to fail and lose confidence in their system. The weekly review (along with daily mini-reviews) is what keeps your entire system fresh and up to date.

There isn't a lot to explain about my usage here. I actually perform a small mini-review every day by ensuring my buckets are as clean as possible and by ensuring any high priority actions/tasks are not being missed. And this is also where my organizing occurs.

And the weekly review consists of a complete analysis of every project and area I have. It's not a complicated stage. The importance here is ensuring that the review actually takes place.

Do

And of course there is the actual work (doesn't everything covered here sound like work?). If you develop good, consistent habits with the four stages listed above, you should spend most of your time in the fifth stage.

One last thing I want to touch on is reference material and Yojimbo. Yojimbo is kind of like my brainstorming journal. Some times I use if for lists of ideas or small pieces of work. For example, I keep ideas for blog posts in Yojimbo.

But the majority of my Yojimbo usage comes when I'm researching a subject or documenting steps. Examples of this usage might be information about a company or an interview subject. Sometimes it's the steps I took to find a bug or the manner in which an application should be used (context: my current job involves supporting a system that is comprised of many applications and the vendor does a very poor job in educating or documenting how to support the majority of these applications).

So all reference materials and documentation get stored in Yojimbo for use when doing work or brainstorming.


And that pretty much covers how I have implemented GTD in my life. This system of mine was not put into place in one or two days. It's been approximately fifteen months since I started using GTD, and during that time a lot of tweaking has gone on. But I finally feel like my system is serving me, rather than the other way around.

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<![CDATA[ GTD overview part 1: the concepts ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/gtd-overview-part1/ 5e2b7c311ee7400038947066 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 06:22:00 -0700 Notice to readers: This article was written under the assumption that the audience has a general knowledge of GTD (Getting Things Done). If that does not describe you, please use these resources to familiarize yourself.


Over the past couple of years there has been a heavy increase in GTD related publication. The purpose of this site is not to regurgitate that information once again. But considering the name of this site, perhaps an overview is needed to provide a better idea of how I understand and make use of the Getting Things Done productivity model.

The concepts I have taken from GTD

Process vs. purpose

After reading David Allen's book, people who like the ideas he presents end up incorporating at least a few of the stages of his process. Collect - Process - Organize - Review - Do. Each of these stages has it's own nuances. A lot of people who read the book end up using only some of the five stages. Or they make use of them but not in the fullest extent. And most GTD tools are not designed to use all five either. But this a good thing. In the end, GTD is an overarching concept, and each person will benefit the most when they fit the concepts to their working style rather than the other way around.

It took me a while to realize that fact. In conjunction with this realization is that the five step process is really just the tool. The purpose of GTD is to reduce stress and to help you make the best use of your time—at all times. The process and changing the way you think about tasks is the method to meeting those purposes.

As well, GTD can be used in every facet of your life. Work of course, but also your personal life and your spiritual life. In fact, if you use GTD, the idea is to help you accomplish any goal that you want to in your life. Any goal.

Process and purpose. Both are key in GTD. The process, once you have trained yourself to follow it closely, is to allow you to accomplish your goals—the purpose.

Simplification

Another concept that is not explicitly mapped out in GTD is that of simplification. But many GTDers seems to find this to be closely related. The community at 43Folders has generated a lot of discussion on this subject. Reducing the amount of information, clutter and 'stuff' in our lives allows us to to focus more clearly.

We in North America live lives of excess. Excess information. Excess material goods. Excess noise. GTD can be another tool to find the peace, quiet and calm we need to (re)gain perspective and remember what's important. For me, the most important idea I learned from GTD was the weekly review. I've mentioned before how performing this exercise is exactly how I regain this perspective and take time to review all my goals.

How does simplifying help all this? If we can reduce the flood of input competing for our attention, reduce our choices and reduce some of the distractions from our lives then we allow more time to meet our goals. And hopefully we reduce our stress and increase our attention to the things that really matter.

For me, 2007 was focused on incorporating and trying out GTD. And I experienced some success meeting my goals. So far 2008 has been about simplifying. I'll expand on what exactly that has involved in part 3 of my GTD overview.

The danger

There is one last item I would mention on this subject. As I mentioned above, I spent the last year learning and getting started with GTD. I could also phrase it another way: 2007 was a year of endless tinkering with my system.

This is dangerous ground. There are so many options, so many ways you can implement your GTD system that you can spend all of your time striving for perfection and never actually get anything done. This is a prime example of where simplifying is so important. Many a potential GTDer has fallen astray to the lure of the perfect system.

Remember, in the end, completing the tasks is so much more important than having the perfect list.

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<![CDATA[ Tasks versus relationships ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/tasks-versus-relationships/ 5e2b794d1ee740003894704f Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:41:00 -0700 It's funny how ideas for blog posts come to you. I have multiple drafts of articles I would like to write sitting in MarsEdit, and I always set a goal to complete one of them on any given day. But nine times out of ten some random thought will hit me while in the shower or out for a run and that's what I'll end up writing about. I guess most people would call that inspiration or creative juices etc. And that's one of the big reasons I started this blog—to start working on my creative muscles.

I preface tonight's post with this explanation because that's how this post came to be. I was out for a run tonight and started thinking about some of the articles I wanted to finish up very soon. This past week I've been focused on GTD and it's close cousin, simplification. I've already simplified the hardware in my life by simply removing mostly everything I owned except for my Macbook and it's accessories. Last week I did the same with my software. You see, I am an application polygamist. Desktop or web-based software, I like to try it all and grow my harem. Seriously though, I realize that I've invested a lot of time in applications I will never use, nor even have a use for. It was time to simplify.

More to follow on that thought soon.

The struggle

So while running this evening I started thinking again about what it really means to follow the concepts that make up GTD. And how that fits with being a christian. One is focused on tasks and the completion thereof (on the surface at least). The other is focused on relationships. My relationship with God, and my relationships with my fellow man. I started wondering if these two seeming opposites could be reconciled.

If you closely examine the life of Christ, you see that He was never focused on tasks. At least not earthly ones. He was always on the lookout for the next opportunity to glorify Himself and His Father. Doing so almost always took the form of performing miracles—healing the sick, feeding the poor or raising the dead. And above all giving hope.

But when it came to things like stopping at the market to get some food or to be at the synagogue for a speaking engagement, He invested little to no thought or energy (sometimes much to the chagrin of His disciples and followers). He went out of His way to seek out less fortunate souls who needed His message. He was clearly focused on relationships.

So why am I even worrying about this whole topic? Because I know myself. Let me explain.

When I'm at work and getting things done, if someone knocks at the door, my initial, automatic reaction is annoyance at the interruption. And I often struggle to think to myself, "How can I meet this person's need and how can I communicate God's love to them?" There is no doubt that it's necessary to invest time and energy into my job, my home and the other areas in my life that require work. And it's also okay to try to get that work done in an organized fashion. But when it becomes the number one priority, then it's a problem.

But it's the man, not the tools

I've thought this idea through a lot in the last year and I know that GTD is not the problem. It's me. Over the years I've grown into this task based person.

But in fact, when you look closely at the concepts of GTD, it fits the needs of anyone. Just look at the title of David's book - "Getting Things Done - The Art of Stress Free Productivity." David recognized that we are in a time when information comes at people faster and in greater quantities than they can handle. This will inevitably stress us out. The whole purpose of GTD is to reduce that stress.

A Christians first resource for stress relief and perspective should clearly be God. But we can also apply the concepts of GTD and benefit from the results. Making the best use of my time to complete tasks means less stress. Less stress means better relationships. And that's what being a Christian should always be about - serving the needs of others, even above our own.

So I've enjoyed my week of pruning and look forward to publishing some more GTD/simplification focused content very soon.

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<![CDATA[ Making the most of iTunes ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/making-the-most-of-itunes/ 5e2b79da1ee7400038947058 Mon, 10 Mar 2008 05:23:00 -0700 If you've read some of the content on my site before, you'll know how much I love the third party software available for OS X. They really enhance my enjoyment of using a Mac.

But it's also important to remember how good Apple themselves are at making software. You only have to look at the operating system itself (OS X) to see that. But over the years they have produced great software applications like Keynote, Final Cut Studio or GarageBand. Or applications that came packaged with the operating system: Quicktime Player, Mail and iCal. But for me there is one application that stands above them all.

iTunes - it's probably my favorite piece of software. It's definitely the best application I have installed on my Windows machine. And I could probably say the same on my Mac. Whatever I'm doing, whether it's writing, web design, surfing the web or just fiddling, iTunes is a part of the experience. It's always there in the background, doing it's thing. And doing it well.

So I wanted to share some tips that have improved my usage of iTunes. This will not be a full review, just a collection of practices I have picked up over the past few years to make the most of my music library.

File metadata

This is the first step, the foundation to making your library useful. It is work, but you can get into some habits that will make things fairly easy. At the very simplest, every time I add music to my library I add a rating and check the genre. If the genre is missing, or if I disagree with the given genre, I change it.

With those two pieces of information in place for every song, you can now take advantage of smart playlists.

Smart playlists

I have a fairly short list of these. It changes from time to time when I have a specific need and add a new list, but these here are the basics that are always around.

The majority of my listening is done in one of two ways - I either listen to an entire album or I use one of my smart playlists. The lists here are self explanatory for the most part. The My Favorites would be the list I use the most, and the one I listen to when I really want to be productive. It has a couple of important rules - plays only songs rated above 3 stars, and only plays songs not listened to in the last 10 days (to keep things fresh).

The first nine playlists are for listening to. The last two are actually tools to keep the library up to date. They are fairly simple - Songs Rated Too High includes any songs that have a skip count greater than 3 and a rating of more than 3 stars:

I use this to show me songs that I am tiring of. I periodically check the lists for new songs. If something shows up, I either reset the skip count or decrease the rating. Same goes for the Songs Rated Too Low, except reversed.

Utilizing the metadata associated to your media files to create and use these smart playlists displays the power of flexibility of iTunes. And there are no shortage of resources for good playlist ideas. It's a great investment to take some time to find ones that work for you.

Miscellaneous items

There are a few other items I would mention about iTunes:

Library organization

I never mess with the default preferences for keeping my library organized. Now I don't have a whole bushel of computers with which I need to keep a large library synced on, but my personal experience is that iTunes does a thoroughly adequate job of keeping the library organized. I'm not about to mess with something that is working fine.

Last.FM integration

This is not really a feature of iTunes itself, but I mention it since it increases my enjoyment of my iTunes usage. If you use Last.FM, updating your profile from iTunes, even from multiple machines, is not problem at all.

There are a few different audioscrobbler plugins and utilities out there that can do the job. As I wrote recently, I checked out the official Last.FM player after a clean install of Leopard and was pleasantly surprised with the improvements in the newer version. Growl support and more control of the dock and menubar preferences sealed the deal for me. I've been using it ever since.

iTunes resources

I wrote this piece without including details like how to edit the rating, genre or other metadata about any song. There is good documentation available to learn these types of items. The Apple support documents are quite good and have served me well when I've needed a little more detailed help (moving libraries between computers etc.).


iTunes is a great piece of software. I have not even mentioned the slickness with which the application handles podcasts, or interfaces with your iPod or iPhone. Or the simplicity of the iTunes Music (Media) Store. There is a ton of functionality within this application and for a lot folks, it has become the hub of their media experience.

And as really great software is wont to do, it fits the needs of the simple and power users both. It is an intuitive enough piece of software that you can use it without dabbling or even knowing about any of the items I've mentioned above. But if you want to make the most of the experience, try out some of these tips.

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<![CDATA[ Always on ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/always-on/ 5e2b7b131ee740003894705f Mon, 03 Mar 2008 05:11:00 -0800 Merlin Mann published a post today in reaction to an article by Mark Bittman in the New York Times titled, "I Need a Virtual Break. No, Really." Both are interesting reads and reenforced some things I have been going through myself. I would encourage anyone who spends a lot of time being connected to give these both a read (then work on the disconnect).

Speaking from experience

For the past couple of months, I have also been practicing an electronic Sabbath from Saturday evening to Sunday evening. My first realization - this was going to be hard. H.A.R.D.

My second realization - I am an addict. Does that sound like an overreaction? Not if you look at the Oxford definition: physically and mentally dependent on a particular substance, and unable to stop taking it without incurring adverse effects. For sure, it's a minor addiction, but an addiction all the same. I have long suffered from what my wife calls the 'just checks'. At first it was just checking my email, just checking this or that website. Now it's both of those plus my feeds, Twitter, and Mint stats. It's been clear to me for a while that I have a problem.

And as I first started taking Sunday's off from the computer and the Internet, I immediately felt the adverse effects - irritability, a sense of disconnectedness, and oddly enough, the feeling of, "What am I going to do today?" This really was odd to me. I have plenty of other things in my life that I enjoy doing, other projects I want to work on that do not involve any sort of electronic media. I definitely should not suffer from a feeling of having nothing to do.

But after time it got better. As with all things administered by self discipline, I began to appreciate what at first was hard work. Just like going for a run feels like such a chore when getting started, you feel great by the end. I felt myself again enjoying activities that I enjoy and reviving skills that had begun to atrophy. Without knowing who had emailed me or seeing what the web stars were doing on their Sunday via Twitter.

The benefits

I have definitely gained a sense of freedom from this enforced disconnect. Don't get me wrong - it's still a struggle every Sunday. But letting go and enjoying the important things in life comes more quickly now. And I can now see benefits in other areas of my life because of this practice. For example, after a couple of weeks, I started turning off email and IM at work for certain periods of time. Not for hours at a time - but just enough to enable me to knock off tasks more quickly and be more efficient.

This need for constant updates, constant input has changed me - I have no doubt that I suffer from N.A.D.D. I struggle to complete larger, longer tasks. To work on one thing at a time. But being aware of that and practicing some discipline is making it better.

And I really connected with something Mark wrote in the Times article I mentioned above. He says:

Once I moved beyond the fear of being unavailable and what it might cost me, I experienced what, if I wasn’t such a skeptic, I would call a lightness of being. I felt connected to myself rather than my computer. I had time to think, and distance from normal demands. I got to stop.

Whether you are spiritual or not, I would think most folks in our times can appreciate this idea. We need some calm, some quiet. Time to focus on our loved ones. The real, genuine attention that they deserve.

And when I get back online, I enjoy the digital activities all the more from the absence. Most importantly I've come to recognize I don't need to be always on.

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<![CDATA[ Communities ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/communities/ 5e18f0d9ba88610038f8d78d Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:47:00 -0800 As a frequent user of two of the major computing platforms of the current day - Microsoft's Windows XP and Apple's OS X (10.5) - I feel I can speak with some authority on the differences between the two. Unlike some on either side of the fence who throw out their strong opinions without any actual experience using one of these operating systems, I can say I spend a good deal of my time on both.

And although I have a preference for one of these platforms over the other, I'll do my best to be impartial here. Rather, I will rely on experience and the amount of pleasure I derive from using each.

It's the People

For me, the biggest difference between the two is the community. It could be said that since Windows is the dominant platform in the industry, there is no community. Or rather, the community is so large and diversified that it is actually comprised of smaller, specialized communities. And perhaps I have not stumbled upon the good ones that are out there.

However, the Mac community flourishes. Especially in this decade as Apple has methodically returned to prominence. Apple has always had a passionate, dedicated core of users, but that core seems to being growing in recent times.

This community consists of different professional groups - bloggers, designers, educators and most importantly to me, software developers. This last group is where I personally see the big difference between the two platforms.

Indie Software

The enjoyment I get from when my Mac is in part due to the operating system - the ease of use, the intuitiveness and the look of OS X all add to the experience. But my enjoyment is enhanced greatly by the third party software that I use every day. At any time, one look at my dock shows that applications created by Apple are always outnumbered by those I have purchased from the Mac developer community. Applications such as NetNewsWire, Coda, Yojimbo and Things make the hours fly by.

Shawn Blanc recently expressed this enjoyment in one of his lengthy Mac software reviews:

Furthermore, if an application can not only solve a problem, but help the user enjoy the process, it succeeds even more.

I think Shawn nails it here - OS X can be described in this way, and the majority of the Mac developer community strives to ensure their applications extend that experience.

And there is an abundance of this type of software for OS X. This list I gave above is only a small representation of what is available to the end user.

My Problem

I work in IT in the healthcare industry and our organization is currently Windows only. If it were my preference, I would use OS X all day. But that choice is not yet mine and I must make the best of the situation.

So I use Windows and most days I can perform my job functions somewhat painlessly. But you know what - the pleasure, the enjoyment - it's just not there. I don't look forward to using my computer like I do at home.

And I know part of the problem is the lack of the 'little applications'. All the one-purpose, $30 apps that I have on my Mac - I have not been able to find the equivalents for Windows. Monolithic, brooding, all-in-one applications? Yep, they're here and they're entrenched in corporate America (and they'll take your lunch money too). But the fun applications are not to be found.

My problem started with GTD. I have spent the past year tweaking my system implementing GTD at work and at home. After trying out multiple setups for both, I can say I am very happy with my system at home. At work, not so much. I just cannot find a GTD based application for Windows that can match the ease-of-use and elegance of the options available for OS X.

Where art thou, Things for Windows? Omnifocus? Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places. Maybe Google is hiding things from me. If there is someone out there who can point me in the right direction, please drop me a line.

But I can say this - the Mac indie software community is alive and growing. From what I have seen, not so for Windows.

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<![CDATA[ GTD with Highrise ]]> https://chrisbowler.com/gtd-with-highrise/ 5e18dcbeba88610038f8d77f Fri, 08 Feb 2008 13:00:00 -0800 Since I have not been able to find a really good desktop task management application for Windows, I have tried quite a few web apps to fit this need. I've spent a good bit of time with a few and took a quick look at some others. I finally decided to go with Highrise from 37Signals. It is not a perfect tool for GTD (does that even exist?), but it fits quite easily into my workflow and how I manage my tasks.

Now before I get too far, I have to state that if you are looking for an application that strictly follows all the concepts of GTD, Highrise might not be for you. It is designed first and foremost as a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool. That means it is people focused, rather than task focused. This works for me, because a good amount of my work is focused on people—tasks I perform for others or communications that I need to have with others. But there are also ways to get around a people-centric application to track projects. I'll expand on that a little later.

But if you are looking for a good web application that is more task focused, I would suggest using other 37Signals tools: Backpack or Basecamp. These have been around for a bit longer than Highrise and are built with the same great design and usability.

One last note. Highrise offers another core element—these are referred to as Cases. Cases are basically projects. But with the free plan for Highrise you are limited to one Case. I am using the free plan, so I will not be examining how to use this functionality with GTD.

The setup

To start, I want to mention that I still use Highrise as it is intended—I add people as contacts and create tasks for myself that are associated with those people. This still follows GTD principles as you may have lists for specific people.

However, Highrise does not allow you to easily use contexts with your tasks. You can use them—each task gets a category, which you can edit to resemble your different contexts. But the application does not let you easily view tasks sorted by these categoriescontexts. Rather, each page has it's tasks sorted by due date with the category included along side the task.

This usage is not really a problem for me. Most of my work is at the computer, or face to face with a person. So associating tasks with people works for me. I tend not to focus too much on contexts.

And lastly, the Highrise dashboard and Tasks page list all of your tasks. In both locations, the tasks are again sorted by due date. This is not perfect. Most of time I do like to see my tasks laid out as they are approaching their due date—but it would also be great to have a choice to sort by another task element.

Remember, the key with any GTD setup is to make sure your tool fits your working style. So far, Highrise works for me.

Projects

All right. We've covered people, but how does Highrise allow you to add projects with the free plan?

Simple. You add each project as a person. That's it.

Then add the different tasks for each project. Each project will now have it's own page where you can add tasks, notes, tags and summary information about the project. Each of these pages also has a timeline summary of activities that have occurred.

Using the system

Collect

Again, Highrise will not fit the strict defintion of a GTD inbox. And again for me, this is not an issue. Most of my taskinformation collection comes via email or is written down in my notebook (a post for another day). Both of those tools play nicely with Highrise when you begin to process.

Process

On a good day, I get the chance to process new items at least once and clear out my email and new tasks I've written in my notebook. Items from my notebook get added to Highrise directly from the web page. Same goes for emails.

37Signals have also done a lot of work to enable Highrise to fit in with email. Check out their help page on email to learn how to use this functionality. Generally I don't use this - when I'm sitting at my desk I have my email open as well as my browser so items are entered manually.

Organize

This process is basically what I have mentioned above in the setup. As you are processing your tasks and have a new project to be created, it's a simple as clicking on the 'Add a new person' button.

Work

Once all that is done, you can begin to impress others with your ninja-like ability to get things done and cross off tasks. Or in the case of Highrise, check off tasks. And Highrise has some very satisfactory AJAX action that occurs when you check off a task - the item is crossed through and then slowly fades off the page.

Tagging

One last item I would mention is tagging. The good news is that Highrise makes use of tagging. The bad news is that you can only assign tags to people (and in my case projects as well). Highrise does not allow you to assign tags to individual tasks.

The same goes for I Want Sandy, Joyent Connector and all of the 37Signals products. It seems to be a common missing feature from a lot of promising web applications. And in my opinion this will stop a lot of people from using some of these tools and to stick with more fully featured desktop apps.

Summary

Like I've mentioned, this is not perfect. If I had my way I would use Things from Cultured Code to manage all my projects. But at work, I find that Highrise meets my needs.

And it's important to mention the feel of the application—all the 37Signals products give you a sense of good, solid user-focused design. That is a feeling that is not easily imbued in a user. Highrise also looks good—across browsers and across operating systems. It is an application that I enjoy to use.

Check it out.

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