Bending Spoons acquires Evernote, marking the end of an era - I was all in on Evernote, and don't pay for it any longer. I hope for the product and user base that this next chapter ends up being a productive transition.
It always makes me a little sad when a startup whose work I really liked spirals down.
Here are some things I’ve been enjoying recently, in no specific order. I am not compensated in any way, even referral payments, for these links. Hope I turn someone else onto something they enjoy.
After years of being a devoted user of Paprika, I have completed converted over to Mela as my digital recipe keeper. Mela is from the same developer as Reeder, which is the RSS reader I have used, in conjunction with Feedbin, as my newsreader or choice for a long while now. Why did I switch? First, Mela just has a much cleaner user interface, feels more current and modern than Paprika, and is more in keeping with my personal taste.
Second, because this app comes from the developer of a feed reader, it has the same concept built into it. This allows me to add my favorite recipe sites to the app, and quickly be able to see the recipes that they have posted recently, then easily add them to my recipe collection in Mela. I like this workflow better.
Migration from Paprika was very fast and I haven't found any issues with my collection of recipes. Once I purchased both the Mac and iOS versions, my recipes appeared everywhere via iCloud sync without issue.
Mela is $4.99 for iOS and $9.99 for the Mac.
I'm a big fan of sports. I've also worked in sports for the vast majority of my professional career now. I'm not sure where I found it, but The Sportsletter is just an absolutely great and completely free daily sports email newsletter. It hits my inbox every morning about the time I get out of bed, and they do a phenomenal job of giving a sports fan the news, notes, stories and schedules for the day. Here's an example newsletter for your perusal. I think maybe the best thing about it is that it's not junked up with ads.
While I am suggesting email newsletters that hit your inbox in the morning. I have to suggest this daily news email from The Week. They are a credible source of daily news headlines without a lot of bias. You can subscribe to this one here. It's exactly what the title says, ten things in your inbox, linking to credible news organizations about the stories if you want further information. If you're interested in getting a bit more information every morning, this is a good way to do it.
I wouldn't consider myself a big EDC guy, but pens have been sort of a gateway drug for me into this world. The moment I saw the Notorious EDC Beer Bomb, I knew that I had to have one. (I borrowed this image from their site, sorry Tom.) It's a bottle opener, a pry tool, and just a delightful little guy to carry around. I'm finding all sorts of uses for mine, and I kind of can't wait for it to get beat up with use. Here's a great little history of the object.
Now the bad news, getting your hands on one of these isn't super easy, and it seems like it's getting harder all the time because they have gotten so popular, come in different color ways, and have attracted a bunch of avid collectors who congregate over on a private Facebook Group. Your best bet, if you want to take on the challenge of purchasing one of these, is to follow them on social media, and get into the Facebook group.
Do you remember LePen? When reading my weekly Pen Addict member newsletter a couple of weeks ago, there was a link to a blog post from The Stationer about the tools Tessa currently uses. Lurking in that list was a pen that I had totally forgotten about, LePen. I remembered how fun these skinny little pens are, and decided to order some from her shop. These pens are just as fun to have around I as remembered, and I am now using them to add color to my Bullet Journal spreads. I especially like their Olive Green color.
Well, that's enough for this post, more to come soon.
Not so weekly these days. This episode is very focused on paper goods.
I've really been digging the slim and tall format of these Ro-Biki Notebooks from Yamamoto Paper. I've adopted them for my Bullet Journal, and the format seems to be perfect for my simple adaptation of the system. The paper in these notebooks is fantastic, and works well with both my beloved Signo gel ink pens and the fountain pens I am using from time to time. I am currently using the "Star Map" edition pictured above which is a lovely dark green color. The covers of these notebooks are a waxed stock that develops cool character as you beat it up. These aren't cheap, but are a high quality product. They ship from Japan, so you need to be a little patient with arrival timing.
As it's December, it's time for a new "planner plan" for 2019. This year, I am straying from the Hobonichi Techo and Hobonichi Weeks that I have been using for the last few years and giving the Jibun Techo system a try. I bought a fairly expensive setup from one of my favorite online stationary retailers, Baum-Kuchen, that is centered on the B6 Slim format and includes a BK x The Superior Labor leather case. If you want to get an idea on how one might use this planner, here's a great article detailing some of the features of this cool planner setup with good shots of the folios and some ink tests, if that's of interest. There are more similar stories of how people are using this planner here. I'm hopeful that I will stick with daily use of this system better this year than the last couple of years with the Hobonichis. I purposely went for something smaller to ensure that I will carry it around. The Ro-Biki notebook that I am using for the Bullet Journal fits in the case with only a small amount sticking out.
I've also become interested in the idea of keeping a five year journal, and since I've just hit a big birthday, this year seems as good a time to really start and lean into this idea. It pairs well with my current interest in Stoicism and reflection. For this purpose, I have chosen the Hobonichi 5-Year Techo A6. This size is currently available from Jet Pens if you don't want to order it all the way from Japan.
Lastly, for now, I have been a fan of The James Brand for a while. I carry their Elko knife in my pocket all the time, use one of their key hooks for the daily carry of my keys, and own a couple of their other knives. So I was really interested, and immediately ordered the LTD Benton pen when it was released. A sweetener is that it comes with a limited run of 600 set of Field Notes books that match the pen. If you know me at all, you know that I had to have this pen, and those sweet sweet notebooks. I really like the super clean lines of the pen, which is a ballpoint out of the box. My only reservation on recommending this is that the click mechanism for the pen is plastic, which is not something I really expect in a pen that costs this much. Having said that, I am happily using mine.
I’d aimed to have this done on Monday, but my energy levels have been all over the place the last few days, and I just never got to it. Small subtext is that I had a medical situation a couple of weeks ago, and am recovering from it, but slowly. The energy levels are really the last thing to get back to normal when you don’t eat for a few days. I won’t get more specific than that, I’m reluctant to post medical related information on the internet or social media.
Like most of the gaming world, I’ve really been enjoying Fortnite this week and for the last month or so. For those who aren’t gaming adjacent, it’s a “Battle Royale” style game that has skyrocketed in popularity. The game is available across a wide variety of platforms, but I play on PC. I am “bumpish” should you want to friend and play with me, but don’t set your expectations too high on what my level of skill might be. I’d love to play with you in any case. I’m only on a few times a week, and for a brief time, I don’t get much dedicated PC gaming in these days with family duties.
I’m also enjoying the rollover to the Year of the Raven in Hearthstone, which happened this week with the release of the Witchwood expansion. I exalt in the end of the mill deck era. There is one card, Shudderwock, which is totally broken and makes things less fun than they could be. Here’s a great video from Disguised Toast that elaborates on how broken, at least the animations, if not the whole mechanic are.
I did go to the Atlanta Pen Show for a couple of hours until I ran out of gas. My new purchases were an “Aiken” pen from Carolina Pen Company, which is colored to look like the Northern Lights using the same material as this pen, and a Seed A5 case from my friends at Nock.
I did also buy some Gigante Note Cards from Nock while I had the chance in person. These folded over notecards are a favorite of mine, and I keep a couple in my pocket sheath with me all the time. They are essentially the smallest available notebook, with only 4 pages.
Top of mind for me on the music side is Black Moon Rising from the Black Pumas. There are listen links for a variety of music services on that page. At first I thought it was Cee-Lo Green, but it’s not. I haven’t been able to find anything else by them, they are from Austin, TX.
Last night we watched the first episode of the Pastry Chef season of Chef’s Table about Christina Tosi from Milk Bar. If you have Netflix, I highly recommend this episode, I found it really inspiring. Be careful though, you can order just about anything in the episode from their web site. My cookies are on the way.
I’m thinking about getting a ReMarkable Tablet based on the recommendation of some folks online who swear by it. Seems like it might either completely replace my work notebook, or it won’t work for me at all though, making the price tag a little tough to swallow. The iPad hasn’t really worked for me for this particular use case, and I love my e-ink Kindles, so the idea of the product might be in my sweet spot.
ttfn.
What went wrong was very simple. We never made enough money.Source: Vesper, Adieu
I really like(d) Vesper, but it never stuck for me. I was a day one user, mainly because I am huge fan of all three of these guys, and also consider their QA lead an internet friend.
I don’t know what they could have done differently, especially with only three of them, I do think that, for their core audience, there are three platforms that matter:
Only Brent, Dave and John know for sure, but from my outsider’s view, this was a part time job for all three of them. I suspect that if even one of them had made this more of a full time job, it might have generated perspective and possibly drive to succeed. Just guessing on that bit, and I could be completely wrong.
I’m currently using Apple Notes as my primary phone/tablet/desktop text tool. iCloud sync has worked great for me.
Smart looking new Baron Fig Confidant Notebooks with Work/Play theme were released this morning. I’ve filled up two of their regular Confidant notebooks in the course of my Bullet Journaling. Aside from some annoying fraying of the bookmark, which I think they are working on mitigating, I’ve really like them from a paper, looks and durability perspective. I ordered three of the new ones.
Similar to the Arts and Sciences Field Notes, but reversed, each spread has a “Work” page, which is dot grid, and a “Play” page, which is blank. I’m actually currently about halfway through a Sciences Field Notes right now.
Update: Brad over at the Pen Addict has had access to these, and has posted a review that’s worth reading.
Last summer I switched from Chrome to Safari for the umpteenth time. I’ve made the switch back and forth several times over the years, but Safari has stuck with me for several months now. The primary reason why is the excellent cloud tabs feature. Being able to see what tabs are open on my other devices, and actually being able to close them remotely has been a huge quality of life improvement. The syncing between devices is flawless.
One thing I did miss in the transition was Momentum, which is the new tab replacement I was using for Chrome. I’d actually posted it here a while ago. As you can see from the screenshot above, they bring in gorgeous photography, an inspirational quote,and provide a todo feature, as well as a way to configure the new tab with frequently used links. I like the inspiring nature photography, and have flirted with regular use of the various utilities.
Recently, I am not sure exactly when, they introduced a Safari extension, so now I get to have my cloud tabs and my favorite new tab replacement.
The rewards include a custom printed Bullet Journal notebook, which seems like an interesting idea, albeit a little antithetical to the overall idea of Bullet Journal in the first place. Of course, I was in the moment I saw the Kickstarter, and have backed the project at the two notebook tier.
I feel like I owe Ryder a debt of gratitude because Bullet Journal has been so useful for me, and I am interested in seeing more ideas from other people on how I can evolve my Bullet Journal style. (The best thing for me would be neater handwriting, I need to work on that.) It’s definitely a very accessible system, so it adapts well to a variety of needs, and varying levels of note taking skill. If you haven’t checked it out yet, here’s your chance.
I've gone a little office supply, pen and notebook crazy over the last year. It really started when I stated using Bullet Journal. One of the favorite items that I have bought during that time was a Hobonichi Planner Book. It's one of those products that is obviously a labor of love for the people who craft it, and there are numerous delightful details. Next year's book goes on sale on September 1st, and if you are at all interested in this sort of thing, I recommend reading this really well done overview post over at Pen*Paper*Ink*Letter. It includes some great images of the product, covers, and packaging.
Ran across this blog post on one of my groups, and definitely plan on trying it out because it seems like an interesting visual approach to coding your notebook entries, where a single entry can be coded as multiple topics. This hack makes the back of your notebook will act like a tag list or index.
Evernote and Moleskine have released another entry into their lineup of co-created notebooks. Aside from the nicer cover than the previous offering, which was my only real complaint with them, this one has some particularly interesting additions. First, there’s an area, pictured above, where you can take notes that are only for you, allowing you to share notes from meetings, while keeping some notes that aren’t meant to be shared. Second, there’s a check box in the corner of each page, and, if it’s checked, Evernote will set a reminder when you capture that page with the Evernote app. This has a ton of possible useful applications. I’ve been constantly trying out new notebooks as I continue to evolve my own personal version of Bullet Journal, and I guess this one is next.
Over the years, I have tried all sorts of methods for managing my day to day, both analog and digital. I’d go so far as to call it a never ending process of trial and error, ever trying to find something that works for me, helps me prioritize things the right way, and helps me not forget something important. Unfortunately, I tend to find a system, use it for some period of time, then decay from using that system back to using my email inbox as my task management system. I then realize that that doesn’t work and I am not prioritizing work the right way, I then try a new system, then begin to decay again after a couple of weeks. Rarely has any system stuck for very long.
Over the summer, while on a business trip to Manhattan, I read this blog post over at Simplicity Bliss about a newish productivity method called Bullet Journal. It struck a chord with me, and so I decided to give it a try for a couple of months and see if it worked for me. I ran out and picked up a Moleskine Evernote Smart Notebook, thinking that I would combine this with Evernote for a longer term searchable archive of my daily productivity notes. This method of managing my todo list, and my notes from the various meetings and calls from each day has proved to work really well for me. I won’t spend any time trying to explain how the system works here, watch the video and head over to the well designed Bullet Journal site for more information. What I will say is that I have made some changes in the way that I use the system, and that I still also use Trello for managing my longer term to do list, while I use Bullet Journal to manage my day to day to do list and notes from meetings/calls. I’ve filled one of the Evernote notebooks above, and have moved on to my second. That size of notebook works really well for this. (I am going to experiment with a combination of Bullet Journal and a Hobonichi Techo in the new year.)
I think the reason that this journaling productivity technique works well for me is that it forces a routine each morning, where I am move the undone items from previous days to today’s page. This routine makes me think my day through with a more metered approach in mind. This coupled with the task of physically writing the items down each day engrains the list in my mind as I move through my day. There’s a huge difference for me mentally between typing something and writing it down, and my retention of things I write down seems to be much higher. What I found, after using it for a month or two is that the results in productivity were definitely tangible, and the results in a more peaceful work mind were even more useful. There will always be change to adapt to in the work day, but it’s a lot easier to adapt to change when you have a plan.
The achilles heel of this system, for me anyway, is that my handwriting is not neat, or aesthetically pleasing to me. I have tried to find a better pen, and that helped some. I am now, however, starting the process of trying to teach myself neater handwriting. It will end up being one of my New Year’s resolutions at the very top of my list. If there’s something you don’t like about yourself, you more than likely can change it, it just takes hard work and mental flexibility.
Basically, I will be using some variant of the Bullet Journal system for the foreseeable future. It hits the sweet spot for me between the efficiency of my digital toolset and the flexibility and retention of a completely analog system. Were I using it purely, I don’t think it would be as effective for me, it’s the hybrid of using it with Trello and Evernote that makes it a success for me. Huge thanks to Ryder Carrol for coming up with this concept and the video/site.
Some additional recommended Bullet Journal related links: