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  • 📸 Day 5: Earth

    View from planet earth.

    #mbmay

    View from planet earth
    → 9:53 PM, May 5
  • So true:

    Productivity was once about time management. Increasingly it is about distraction management.
    Nicholas Bate https://blog.strategicedge.co.uk/2022/05/always-helpful-117.html

    The only thing you should manage are your intentions.

    → 7:41 AM, May 5
  • 📸 Day 4: Thorny

    After not having touched a face mask for several weeks, it stings to wear one again, even if it’s only for a day.

    Jeroen wears a face mask in the train
    → 8:45 PM, May 4
  • 📸 Day 3: Experiment

    Today I tried something new: without looking I took a photo out of the train window. It turned out a lot better than I expected!

    #mbmay

    Experiment
    → 6:15 PM, May 3
  • A videoconference provokes a narrow focus on the screen, which hinders divergent thinking

    Videoconferences require participants to focus their attention on a small part of the screen. This limits their thinking processes, which can lead to less creativity and fewer new ideas. Research shows that videoconferences make it harder to come up with new ideas because people have to concentrate on the screen, which narrows their thinking ability.

    The body’s response to the visual field plays a role in this. When people are relaxed, their pupils become smaller so they can see everything around them. But in stressful or exciting situations, the pupils become larger and they see less of their surroundings. This works both ways: when you are relaxed, your attention broadens, and with a wide attention, you become more relaxed.

    The increased cognitive load during videoconferences, as shown by the increase in pupil size, makes it harder to think outside the box. The need to constantly stay focused on the screen and its interactions means that the brain has less room to wander and make new, creative connections. All of this leads to a reduction in divergent thinking, which is essential for innovation and problem-solving.

    Related:

    • Choose a workplace where you can see other people focused on their tasks. This will help you concentrate better.
    • Scatterfocus
    → 7:14 PM, May 2
  • 📸 Day 2: Photo

    Last year I used my fancy pants camera to participate in the Micro.blog Photoblogging Challenge, but since I got a new phone last week I decided that this would be the perfect occasion for trying out mobile photography in different situations.

    #mbmay

    Panasonic DMC-G81
    → 4:49 PM, May 2
  • Sorting emails into folders wastes a lot of time; use one archive folder and search for emails when you need them instead

    Sorting emails into different folders may seem like an efficient way to keep your inbox organized. However, research shows that creating complex folder structures does not necessarily lead to higher efficiency in retrieving emails. The process of manually sorting emails into specific folders takes a lot of time and effort (an average of 67 hours per year!), and these preparatory actions often turn out to be inefficient. Instead of spending time categorizing each email, this time can be better spent on other productive tasks.

    An alternative approach is to use a single archive folder for all emails. This method utilizes the powerful search functions that are available in most email programs today. By simply searching for keywords, senders, or dates, users can quickly and effectively retrieve the necessary emails without the need for an extensive folder structure. This not only reduces the time spent organizing emails, but also increases the speed and efficiency of retrieving information.

    Additionally, data supports the idea of opportunistic access, where people who rely on search and threading features have more success in finding emails than those who use complex folder structures. This suggests that using a single archive folder, combined with search functionality, is a more practical and efficient approach to email management. It not only simplifies the process, but also utilizes modern technology to increase productivity.

    Related:

    • Messy work environments have no effect on either creativity or executive functions
    → 9:08 AM, May 2
  • 📸 Day 1: Switch

    Today we finished the first part of the home entrance restyling.

    Previously we had dark brown painted doors and brown tiles. We lightened things up by painting the tiles light gray and adding gray chalk paint to the doors for that vintage effect.

    #mbmay

    → 8:54 PM, May 1
  • I never understood the appeal of the digital nomad lifestyle. Sure, it’s cool for about a week, but after that it gets really uncomfortable.

    As Oliver Burkeman explained exquisitely in his book ‘Four thousand weeks’, it is a lifestyle fueled by egoism.

    If you’re thinking about taking off for far-flung locations so you can keep your job while seeing the world, think of this as a checklist of things to prepare for—and a warning that it won’t be as glamorous as you may imagine.
    Gaetano DiNardi https://www.fastcompany.com/90744491/the-digital-nomad-life-is-not-all-its-cracked-up-to-be-heres-why
    → 9:23 AM, Apr 30
  • My iPhone is not mobile anymore; it only works when I have it connected to a power supply. To make things worse, I just got the message that my new phone is delayed one more day. I am counting the hours, or better: minutes, until Thursday when it arrives.

    → 7:28 PM, Apr 26
  • Avui, per celebrar Sant Jordi, no m’he comprat cap llibre, sinó he decidit dedicar la tarda a llegir un dels llibres que ja tenia comprat fa temps i que m’estava esperant a la prestatgeria.

    → 4:25 PM, Apr 23
  • After several days with battery problems on my Phone 7, yesterday I did a full reinstall from backup. However, the issues are only getting worse, now with random crashes of the iPhone. I uninstalled all third-party apps and am now going to try a restore with DFU mode.

    → 3:56 PM, Apr 23
  • Ayer, después de terminar el taller de efectividad de @beKENSO que llevamos impartiendo desde hace más de 4 años, @EnriqueGonzalo me enseñó dos hojas con sus ideas para mejorar el taller. Así se consigue la excelencia…

    → 10:38 AM, Apr 22
  • ¿Qué haces cuando debes escribir un texto largo, pero no tienes ganas de hacerlo?
    Efectivamente, actualizar la gran lista de blogs sobre la productividad personal.

    → 6:00 PM, Apr 11
  • Wow! This is going to cost me a lot of time to study: Index of productivity patterns

    → 9:57 AM, Apr 9
  • 📷 Staircase

    → 10:41 PM, Apr 7
  • Decision fatigue only affects people who believe that willpower runs out quickly

    Psychologist Carol Dweck has discovered that how we think about willpower affects how tired we feel after making decisions. People who believe their willpower is quickly depleted often feel exhausted after a difficult task. However, those who believe that willpower is not quickly depleted are less affected and may even perform better after a challenge.

    This idea is related to Dweck’s theory of the “fixed mindset” and the “growth mindset.” People with a fixed mindset believe that their abilities and resources, such as willpower, are fixed and limited. This can cause them to become tired more quickly and give up more easily when faced with problems. People with a growth mindset believe they can grow and that their willpower can be replenished, allowing them to better handle difficult situations.

    To believe that willpower is not limited, you can start by challenging this thought. This can be done by achieving small successes in situations where you would normally give up, and using these successes as evidence that your willpower is stronger than you thought. It is important to realize that the moment just before giving up is often the hardest, but pushing through can lead to a change in your way of thinking and a stronger belief in your own resilience.

    Related:

    • People who do not experience stress often have a lower level of cognitive ability
    → 7:08 PM, Apr 6
  • Keep essential information in your mind so you can access it quickly without having to look it up

    It is important to keep essential knowledge at hand so you can use it immediately when needed. This means training your brain to recognize and remember important information, allowing you to respond faster and better in different situations. This process helps you become less dependent on external tools because you already know a lot yourself.

    An important part of this is actively engaging with information. This means not just reading or hearing information, but also working with it by discussing it, trying it out, and applying it in different situations. This helps you remember the information better. It is an ongoing process of learning and repetition, training your brain to recognize patterns and automatically come up with solutions. This way, you can act quickly without first having to search for information.

    While digital tools can be handy, it is important to first make the most of your own brain. This means investing time and effort in truly understanding the information you encounter. By filling your brain with knowledge and actively using it, you build a strong foundation that allows you to respond quickly and effectively to new challenges and situations.

    Related:

    • Any personal effectiveness system that helps to get tasks out of your mind is Getting Things Done
    • A Zettelkasten is an intelligent conversation with my past thoughts
    • Reserve quality time for reading; only with full attention can you make the shift from ‘reading for information’ to ‘reading for knowledge’
    • Rephrasing a text helps me to better understand what the author means
    • Working slower promotes deeper thinking processes and better results
    → 5:22 PM, Apr 6
  • With al this attention for creating an external brain (David Allen) and building a second brain (Tiago Forte), we might forget this:

    But it’s also important to practice holding things in mind. That’s how we exercise the brain, folding ideas into our intrinsic memory and rebuilding them when they go awry.

    Kourosh Dini https://kill-the-newsletter.com/alternates/4rp96homg9rh1nw0.html
    → 4:56 PM, Apr 6
  • Tengo una cosa claro: cuando no terminas tus tareas dentro del plazo, el tiempo no tiene la culpa.

    → 5:52 PM, Apr 5
  • Finished reading: Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman 📚

    Though i finished reading this book, I will be thinking and reflecting on its contents for many more weeks.

    → 12:00 PM, Apr 5
  • I don’t like having too many meetings, because I am the kind of person who leaves a one hour meeting with four more hours of work to do.

    → 8:23 PM, Apr 4
  • Nir argues that Time blocking can be useful for everybody, as long as you use it for Reflective Work (and not for Reactive Work), start small (maybe with a 15 minute block) and try to use it also for fun activities.

    When you timebox fun, you’ll see what true leisure feels like, unencumbered by the nagging feeling that you should be doing something else.
    Nir Eyal https://www.nirandfar.com/timeboxing-works-for-anyone/
    → 7:34 PM, Apr 4
  • I totally missed #MyTwitterAnniversary 🎉 last week.

    15
    → 7:55 PM, Apr 1
  • Zoom prioritises refresh rate over resolution for camera streams, so presentations shared over a virtual camera are not as crisp as screen sharing

    Zoom chooses to prioritize speed over image quality when streaming camera footage. This means that if you use a virtual camera in a Zoom meeting, the images are often less sharp than when you share your screen. Zoom ensures that the video runs smoothly, meaning the images move faster but are less sharp. This is done so that the video does not stutter when someone is speaking.

    When you share your screen, image quality is more important. This is because you often share static images or text that need to be clearly readable. Therefore, Zoom makes the images sharper, even if they move less smoothly. This difference means that virtual cameras, which Zoom sees as regular cameras, are always less sharp. As a result, presentations via a virtual camera may appear less sharp than via screen sharing.

    There are ways to improve image quality if you still want to use a virtual camera. Zoom has screen sharing features that you can use to enhance quality. For example, you can use the share “Content from a a 2nd camera” option and adjust the settings by choosing “Optimize Screen Share for Video Clip”. This can help find a better balance between speed and image quality, depending on what you need and what your computer can handle. Until you have a more powerful computer, it may be wise to avoid virtual cameras and instead use Zoom’s screen sharing options.

    → 7:37 PM, Apr 1
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