Link Posts
Speaking of zigging and zagging, Kyle Steed wrote an excellent article to accompany an equally amazing mural he illustrated.
We can’t have it all. This is true. At one point or another we must all decide what is more important in life. But I believe there does exist a balance in life whereby we can create amazing things and still create an amazing life at home. […]
I have seen firsthand the examples of how success can intersect with family and there’s no looking back.
Marius Masalar wrote a review for us over on Tools & Toys of the Fuji X100T. Fantastic review, fantastic photos.
While I’m very happy with my E-M10, my heart goes out to anyone in the market to get an awesome camera. There are just so many amazing cameras out there today, not the least of which is the one that’s in your pocket (unless, that is, you’re holding it right now as you read this).
And, speaking of podcasts, I was also privileged to be a guest on the latest episode of Home Work. Dave, Aaron, and I talked about the glories and the terrors of life as a work-from-home dad. I also shared a lot of the behind-the-scenes regarding the what and why of The Focus Course, and answered several questions from show listeners regarding writing routines, building an audience, and investing in your work.
I was just recently a guest on Joe Darnell and Joshua Peiffer’s podcast, TechTonic. It was a great show where we talked about writing, design, using technology, and a whole lot more.
Just a friendly reminder that today is the last day to sign up for The Focus Course at the special launch price.
The Focus Course is normally $249. But during the launch week (which ends today), the course is just $199.
And keep in mind, you don’t have to start the course right away, nor do you have to complete it in 40 consecutive days. You get lifetime access to the course and the website, thus you are free to go at any pace that works for you.
There is no rush to complete it (or even start it) until you’re ready. And since the website keeps track of which days you have completed, it is easy to keep track of your progress in case you have to take time off from the course.
Ready to bring your life into focus? Sign up here. You’ll get instant access to everything right away.
First off: I can’t even mention the Focus Course without giving a huge thanks to everyone who has helped spread the word about the course and all those who signed up this week. The response and positive feedback has been far beyond what I expected. You guys are awesome!
Secondly, I wanted to share with you this bonus video and article from the course website. As you probably know, in addition to the 40-day course itself, there are several additional bonus videos and articles, just like this one.
The video and article I’m sharing with you here is the response to one of the most asked questions I’ve been getting over the past year: “I have way more ideas than time, what do I do?”
I hope that this bonus video and article will help you. Also, I share it to give you an example of the quality found on The Focus Course. I put a lot of time and energy into the design, content, and overall quality of the site so that not only would it be helpful and impactful, but also an awesome and enjoyable experience.
I’m back from San Francisco and am glad to return to the podcast microphone. (Yes, yes. I hear you. I could have taken my podcast rig with me. But I’m lazy. Also, I went to SF to meet with friends and peers in the industry and drink delicious coffee and so I had very little time for “work” stuff because I’m bad at multitasking.)
On today’s episode of my podcast, The Weekly Briefly, I talk about the highlights from the WWDC Keynote (there are many), Apple Music, and my thoughts on Apple’s new publishing platform slash RSS reader slash news aggregator, Apple News.
Brought to you the New Uuni 2: Food. Fire. Uuni.
Much of what people love about the Uuni still remains the same:
We spent the last 6 months refining it, making it even better.
Here’s what’s new: it’s super fast to assemble, less than ten minutes. It’s now easier to adjust the temperature with its clever hopper system. And we now make it out of beautiful brushed stainless steel. Check it out, and make sure to read some of the reviews our customers have left — we’re very proud of them.
As a launch week offer, please use the code thesweetsetup for $20/£15 off your Uuni 2.
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My thanks to Uuni for sponsoring the site this week. On a personal note, last year I ordered an Uuni of my own and it’s fantastic. Making homemade pizza is a lot of fun, and having your own personal wood-fired pizza oven that you can pop up in your backyard is awesome.
And hey, speaking of calendars, yesterday we published our review and pick for the best calendar app you can get for your Mac. It’s Fantastical 2.
Chris Bowler, writing for The Sweet Setup:
Managing your time has long been a part of the knowledge worker’s day, and calendar apps have been around almost as long as email. But while the quantity of available options is high, the number of quality calendar apps is a small handful.
The option that is best suited for you will depend on your needs, but a closer inspection has shown us that, for most people, Fantastical 2 is the best calendar application for OS X users.
Mike Monteiro:
In my experience, most people don’t schedule their work. They schedule the interruptions that prevent their work from happening. […]
People rarely schedule working time. And when they do it’s viewed as second-tier time. It’s interruptible. Meetings trump working time. Why?
The other problem is that for so many corporate and team environments, the schedule for makers is run by managers. A manager gets things done by checking off their to-do list 15 minutes at a time. A maker, however, gets things done by working on something that doesn’t fit on a to-do list, and they need a good 4 hours of uninterrupted time (preferably one or two of those each day for a week or two).
See also Paul Graham’s article, Makers Schedule, Manager’s Schedule.
Nate Barham wrote and photographed a fantastic review of the Space Gray Retina MacBook:
Indeed, if the Air moniker was meant to convey lightness and thinness, the new MacBook’s name communicates its purpose equally well. Take the air out of the Air, shrink it down even further, and see what you get.
Speaking of Watch faces, Ben Brooks makes the case for how the Watch is an ideal gadget for nice events. It looks great when dressed up, you can customize the watch face to suit your outfit, and because of the discretion of notifications on the Watch, you’re not pulling your phone out all the time when at a social event. That’s pretty much exactly why I got a Watch — less reason to use my iPhone when out and about.
And speaking of customize the watch face to suit your outfit, one thing I love about Apple Watch is that you can save your various customized faces.
At first I thought you could only have one customized face of each type, and if you wanted to change that Watch face up you had to dive in and customize it again. But that’s not true, you can add as many custom Watch faces as you like and then have the handful of your favorites all at your fingertips. So you can have your go-to everyday Watch face, your work-out Watch face, etc.
Stephen Hackett gives a rundown of the 10 different Watch faces:
While having so many options is great, many of the faces have frustrating limitations in the ways they can be customized or used.
Agreed: I’d love to get more ability to customize / swap-out different elements from different faces. But that’s just a minor quibble, really. About five days in with my Watch, and the faces are hands down one of my favorite features.
I’ve been mostly using the Utility face with the most basic detail allowable, activity rings in the upper left and current temp in the upper right. Then I’ll customize the color of the second hand and the date depending on what I’m wearing. Kinda dorky? Sure. But why not have fun with it?
The Modular and X-Large faces are also pretty fantastic. And I had no idea about just how interactive and cool the Astronomy face is.
David Chartier’s initial impressions of his Apple Watch mirror my own almost exactly. Keep it to only the most important-to-you notifications, the collective activity and health features add up to something pretty fantastic, and glances are where it’s at.