In his 1906 essay The Book of Tea, Kakuzo Okakura laid bare to Westerners the social, cultural, and spiritual essence…
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Every week, we ask notable people how they work. This week, we’re turning that gaze into our own navels. Today, it’s my turn, so here are some of my favorite apps, tricks, and whatever else I do to get things done.
Location: Seattle, Washington
Current Gig: Writer for Lifehacker, 549.55GB free space available
One word that best describes how you work: Spazzy
Current mobile device: iPhone 5S
Current computer: 2009 27" iMac, 2013 13" MacBook Air
Late last year, I wrote a book (more on that in a couple months), so Ulysses and Word were my go-tos. Otherwise, things are pretty much the same as last year and the year before. Which is to say, Simplenote, Google Docs, and—because Seattle is so Seattle-y—Dark Sky are my everyday apps. I’m a big fan of Instagram, but mostly because it forces me to be on the lookout for weird things every day. Also, a Leatherman Wave, because everyone needs a good multi-tool.
I keep things minimal and my desk is about as simple as I can make it. In this case, I mean that literally. I built this desk last year and the thing’s still standing somehow, although there’s a 10 pound copy of Shakespeare’s collected works bracing the iMac so my cheap Home Depot wood doesn’t crack in half.
On the desk itself is a pair of Audyssey Lower East Side Media Speakers, Audio Technica noise canceling headphones, a Blue Yeti USB mic, 3DS, and my desk plant, Tetsuo. Behind the iMac is a TwelveSouth Backpack with my MacBook. Various notebooks, sketch pads, and cutting boards sit inside the desk. The chair’s a Herman Miller Aeron.
I sleep in the shower so I don’t have to get out of bed in the morning. No wait, that’d be absurd, although that would save me some time. Really, I just strive for simplicity with everything. I outsource everything I can, I stick to the same basic tools, and I rarely upgrade my gadgets. Maybe most importantly though, I let myself get bored and distracted. I used to pack my days with too much stuff so I’d never be bored, and that just wasn’t good for my brain. Boredom gives me the time to come up with new post ideas and other creative things, so I’ll often force myself out on walks without headphones to try and keep up that creative insight.
Pretty much just Simplenote and my brain at this point. Although, I’ll use Calendars 5 on iOS and Fantastical on Mac to keep track of anything with hard due dates.
Probably most importantly, my Kindle. Also my Roland SH-201, because otherwise I’d be stuck making music on *shudder* a laptop. I’m a big fan of the Logitech UE Boom Mini Bluetooth speaker because it makes cooking in the kitchen/parties on boats all the more enjoyable.
My backpack and cycling gear probably fall into this category too. Is coffee a gadget? I hate to get all Cathy on y’all, but I can’t live without that either. I break the cardinal rule of a Lifehacker coffee lovers and use a Bonavita drip coffee maker. Why? Because while I love AeroPress, I’m not going to make every single cup of coffee every single morning that way.
Asking questions to make it seem like I am interested (which I usually am), already knowledgeable (which I often am not), and nice (which is debateable). At some point I realized the easiest way to make people like you is to ask questions and that’s been my general rule for small talk ever since.
For better or worse, I’ve been listening to the same Spotify playlist for the last like, three years. I made this Spotify mix of mostly instrumental music in a variety of genres and add to it sporadically. If I’m not writing, I’ve been on a nostalgic trip through various (and often terrible) music of my youth.
Right now, Bone Clocks by David Mitchell. I also just got The Sculptor by Scott McCloud, but haven’t dug into it yet, though Understanding Comics is one of my favorite books of all time (and useful for anyone creating anything, not just comics).
Well, our staff has ballooned since I first started. There’s also been a change of the guard since I started and the launch of several verticals. Which to say, a lot has changed, and doing things differently tends to mean thinking even more outside the box than usual. In the three years since I started, we’ve all become a lot more comfortable with technology, and while it sometimes feels like we’ve reached an inspirational peak, it also seems like there are big changes brewing. Whether that’s the goofily named Internet of Things, wearables, or whatever else, I’m curious to see where it all goes, what’s next, and how to make the most of it. As far as doing things differently, I suppose that really just mean looking at different kinds of trends and paying attention to a wider variety of news.
I never know how to properly answer this question. On one end of the spectrum, I definitely get worn out when I spend too much time with people, but overall, I’d rather be hanging out with friends than sitting alone in my apartment. My general rule these days is to say "yes" to any plan unless it’s conflicting with something else. I also love talking to strangers about basically anything, and it seems like the older I get the more I enjoy doing just that.
In bed anywhere between 11pm and 1am, up at 7:30am regardless. Sometimes on the weekend my brain jostles me awake at 5am, which is exactly as horrible as it sounds.
Right Shark. Whoever that was clearly knew what they were doing and they’re being outshined by a slacker.
After a bit of a rough spot late last year, a friend accidentally spawned an existential crisis when she told me, "you’re not who you were." The general gist of what she was saying was pretty simple: a lot of the expectations I had for myself were based on who I used to be, not who I am. More often than not, those expectations were completely wrong. It was a nice wake up call.
The How I Work series asks heroes, experts, and flat-out productive people to share their shortcuts, workspaces, routines, and more. Every other Wednesday we’ll feature a new guest and the gadgets, apps, tips, and tricks that keep them going. Have someone you want to see featured, or questions you think we should ask? Email Andy.
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You can just see Q whipping out a couple of these elastic-flinging bad boys for 007 himself.
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It doesn’t take much to turn a drone from a gliding wonder-thing into a scourge of the sky—anyone’s dumb dad can get hold of one and wreak havoc.
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For the 15th anniversary of Vogue.com noted fashion designer Tom Ford made a list of 15 things that every man should have, which are as follow: A sense of humour. A daily read of a newspaper. A sport that you love and are good at. Tweezers. A good cologne that becomes a signature. A well … Continue reading Tom Ford’s 15 Things →
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Forget grounding your kid. Shaming your little troublemaker by making him look like George Costanza is the new hot trend in parenting.
The A-1 Kutz Barbershop & Salon in Snellville, Georgia has a unique (free) service called the "Benjamin Button Special," in which they will shave your child’s head so he resembles a balding old man.
The owner of the shop, Russell Fredrick (aka "Rusty Fred") recently posted the picture on Instagram and Facebook, and it has since gotten a lot of attention online including an article in The Washington Post and video interviews with Fox 5 and Good Morning America.
He says the punishment should only be used as a last resort.
"I hope that most people won’t have to do this unless it’s an extreme circumstances and nothing else is working," Fredrick said. "First, you talk or implement your restrictions. But when the conventional ways don’t work these days, you have to get creative."
He later posted an update about the kid in the photo above who was brought in by his mother for acting up in school.
"Welp…pic went so hard over the Internet @rusty_fred had to fix it today," he wrote. "But lil man says he’s learned his lesson and he doesn’t want them kinda problems again."
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And the laziest pet owner of the year award goes to this guy.
A man was spotted this week “walking” his dog around a parking lot in Dubai, the only problem was that he never got out of his car.
Local artist Jim Wheat spotted the scene and took a photo, saying he initially thought the dog was a bear http://premier-pharmacy.com because it was so big.
“It was like a dog on a treadmill,” he said.
They duo did 5 laps around the lot at about 3 mph before driving away. I guess this is better for your dog than an afternoon spent inside, but come on! Get some exercise for yourself too!
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With low-carb, a slew of ideal diet brands, Paleo, and gluten-free diets on the rise, bread (and grains in general) has fallen out of favor. Even in France, the birthplace of the baguette, they’ve had to resort to a “Got Milk” style ad campaign to stop sales from crumbling. However, the loaf isn’t dead yet.
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