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 * How I got my attention back [https://backchannel.com/how-i-got-my-attention-back-c7fc9297d347#.wxurnculd] * The Daily Plan Bar [https://medium.com/rohdesign/the-daily-plan-bar-357972361096#.16g…
All posts in reading
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 f…
This is something my friend Patrick Rhone talked about often [http://www.thecramped.com/?s=commonplace] over at The Cramped (at least, before he went nonline [http://patrickrhone.com/2017/03/03/on-sabbatical/]). 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…
I like newsletters, not ashamed to say it. Here are some of my favourites.
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 kee…
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. Source [http://www.helpscout.net/blog/damn-hard-writing/]…
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 iPhone…
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…