It's dead simple, with my goal number of posts at the top followed by a weekly plan/log. I am loosely using some ideas from the festival calendar prompts but I'm not following them too strictly.

For writing, I'm mostly drafting posts on a dedicated lined notebook that I set up just for blogging. (I wrote about this notebook here.) I have a page with ideas, and then I just have drafts. When I'm done drafting, I type the post into Write.as and that's where I do some final editing/corrections/add images before publishing.

I don't carry this big lined notebook with me, so I only use it at home. This actually works great because I enjoy having some quiet time to sit down and write without pressure or interruptions.

Very rarely, I will start writing a post while I'm at work. If I do, I just type it in Standard Notes. Sometimes a full post comes out of it, and other times I'll flesh it out later in my notebook at home.

Here is a picture of my current Collection page in my Bullet Journal. As you can see, I've already had to shift some planned posts to a different week, because that second week was a bit crazy for me. So I’m not planning too much ahead, I’m going week by week.

But anyway, that's how I'm doing it. It's a work in progress, but keeping it simple is giving me a clear overview of my progress and keeping me stay accountable.

Post 06 of #Blaugust #Productivity #notes #journal

Thoughts? Discuss... if you have a Write.as account or Reply by email

By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

And right off the bat, he told me:

“You are not becoming a paper person, you are just getting back to being one. You were always analog.”

That was interesting to hear from a person I've known and interacted with for 27 years.

So, I'm rediscovering my analog side. I've always been into handwriting, doing lettering and drawing when I was younger.

After university and when I entered the workforce, in the early 2000's, everything was about high efficiency and productivity with these amazing digital tools: emails, computer-aided design tools, messengers, chats, word processors and spreadsheets. Of course that trend continued, and nowadays it has all become digital.

I got fully into digital note-taking around 2013 with Evernote. From that point on I became a bit obsessed with digital productivity. I wanted to have everything digitally, work or personal, from photos to notes, task lists, calendars and books.

But at the same time, I've always kept one single paper notebook with me at work. A notebook that worked as a daily planner where I would just add the day and take meeting notes or list the things I was working on. So even though 99% of my information world became digital, I still kept that one analog piece with me (which I still use to this day).

I would say that my “re-awakening” to the analog world started when I tried Cal Newport's Time Block Planner. I realized how different it felt to write things down with pen and paper. I noticed that re-writing my digital calendar appointments onto paper made me less anxious about my day. It felt more real and manageable.

Then I tried the Happy Planner last year because I was missing having a personal analog place to draft and view my monthly and weekly plans. Even though I use the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology, I missed a visual planning tool. Attempts to plan digitally did not give me the clarity I experienced with paper.

But then I started finding the Happy Planner too bulky to carry around and also too restrictive because of the fixed template. I wanted to have more space to write on some days and less space on others.

And that's how I've landed on Bullet Journaling. It's been interesting to see how paper gives me this contained space, while at the same time providing freedom. With digital tools I became an information hoarder. It's so easy to dump articles to read, actions, websites to visit and random references into a digital list. I end up capturing things that don't REALLY have my attention, they are just noise. Paper acts as a great filter, because capturing becomes slower and more intentional.

I would say that one experience during my recent trip to PEI pushed me towards paper. While I was at the Charlottetown Public Library, browsing the dedicated shelf of the author L.M. Montgomery, I saw that all her personal journals were published as books. I read a couple of entries while I was there, and it really inspired me to have some sort of analog journal. For years I thought that not having paper made me a true minimalist, because why would I create a pile of used notebooks taking space in my house?

You know what? Now I am thinking that handwritten notes and journals are these precious personal things that are worth keeping.

Post 05 of #Blaugust #Productivity #notes #journal

Thoughts? Discuss... if you have a Write.as account or Reply by email

By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

I went there with my partner, and we skated for almost 2 hours for a total of 13 km! The ice was very good indeed, with just a few cracks and bumps. And I was glad I could happily glide along it. It’s the farthest we’ve ever skated. A light snow started to fall halfway through our route, and it started to get wet, with the snow melting on the surface of our clothes. But we made it back where we started! I was exhausted at the end, feeling like I had run a 10k, even though we took breaks along the way. But it was energizing and fun. I did fall once because of a bump on the ice, but it was very slow motion, and I used all the training I had on how to fall safely. I was okay!

I love my recent pair of figure ice skates; they are comfortable and warm. I finally found ice skates that don’t hurt my feet!

We went ice skating on the Canal in the morning, then in the afternoon we had our weekly Ice-Skating class. I definitely had less energy during the class, but I made it all right. I’m still working on my forward crossovers, backwards skating and 1-foot glides.

The weather forecast looks good for the Canal for the next couple of weeks, so I’d like to skate there again before the end of this winter.

Now I need some hot chocolate ☕.

—-

Post 69/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge! #100DaysToOffload #100Days

#winter #iceskating #noisymusings #journal

Thoughts? Discuss... if you have a Write.as account or Reply by email

By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

I’ve used Evernote, the Journey app, 750 Words and Standard Notes before. For the past year or so I’ve been using Standard Notes: I have 478 entries so far. But most of those entries are quick logs of what I’ve done for the day, with 1 or 2 paragraphs. I want to get back to free writing and writing for longer periods of time. One service that I love is 750 Words because it gives me incentive to keep on writing. The service is online, it’s paid, it has cool badges and stats. All the entries can be exported to .txt. It has a simple and beautiful interface. It is maintained by 2 people, Buster Benson and his wife Kellianne. They create cute badges and there are also monthly challenges. It’s distraction free and it’s only text, no images.

So, I got back to 750 Words this week. The goal is to write at least 750 words a day, and I can see how many words I’m typing and then check some stats like: how long to write 750 words, total time, total number of words written, my badges, etc.

I was surprised that I can actually write 750 words in under 30 minutes if I just keep on typing whatever comes to mind with no filter, no editing. That’s the idea I’m going for here: throwing it all out, unfiltered. It’s basically what Julia Cameron calls “Morning Pages” or the writing practice Natalie Goldberg describes in her book “Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within”. Only after these brain dump sessions I’m able to open myself to write for my blog for example.

This practice nourishes my creativity, and I feel less afraid to publish words out in the open. If fits perfectly in my morning routine and it gives an extra boost of incentive to write every day.

—

Post 36/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge (Round 2)!

#100DaysToOffload #100Days #Blaugust2024 #Blaugust #journal #journaling

Thoughts? Discuss... if you have a Write.as account or Reply by email

By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

And I've been really focusing on this habit. It's now part of who I am. But I gave up other things to be able to keep reading that much. I don't have the habit of watching YouTube, except for when I want to research about a topic, like an author interview or a book review I am curious to watch, or the occasional video my partner will invite me to watch with him.

I also gave up mainstream social media years ago. I still have a Mastodon account that I've been using less and less. I've been feeling I'm not getting too much out of it, and I get overwhelmed by the different topics going on, all showing up one after the other, I don't like the Twitter-like format that much.

I still subscribe to a few newsletters, and I still use a RSS feed reader. I think RSS feeds are great for the “consume at your pace” type of deal. But even this will overwhelm me. I have been adding personal blogs feeds to my reader and now I have 70 feeds I'm subscribed to. And it's a lot for me! I want to get it down to a more manageable number.

So, I guess, what I want to say is that I've been experiencing information overload, and it's competing with my favorite downtime activity, which is reading books.

Maybe I've been so much time away from the current noisy and chaotic internet feeds that my level of comfort with new information coming at me has changed. I want some space.

I've deleted my RSS feed app from my phone. I will read my feeds only when I'm at a computer, once or twice a week. I think it will make this activity more mindful. My next step will be do some curation on my list of feeds to make it less overwhelming.

—

Post 35/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge (Round 2)!

#100DaysToOffload #100Days #Blaugust2024 #Blaugust #journal #digitalminimalism #socialmedia

Thoughts? Discuss... if you have a Write.as account or Reply by email

By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

A friend asked me why I am not using an app for my Food Diary. This is what I responded:

• I’m only doing this for a couple of weeks, so I wanted the simplest and easiest way to take notes. Nothing beats paper. (I will probably transfer the notes to an Excel spreadsheet later because… Excel nerd here).
• I hate typing/writing on a mobile device. See above.
• Apps will ask me to create an account and then they will bother me offering a premium subscription. No, thanks.
• Also, there might be ads in the app itself. Nope.

My Food Diary with my Kobo (yes, they match colors!)

After starting this Food Diary I’ve been able to notice nuances to my symptoms. I’m paying more attention to what I’m eating. And I noticed that I was ignoring some of my symptoms because I just got used to them.

The Food Diary was a task given to me by my Registered Dietitian, but I’m also seeing a Naturopath for other related health things. I saw my Naturopath today and she’s super interested in my Food Diary because it will help her to figure some of my other problems as well.

I don’t want to get into too much detail about my health issues, but I needed to address some hormonal alterations that started showing up 2 years ago. I was seeing medical doctors all this time and none of them were worried about my blood test results. I’ve been living with some hormonal imbalances that I really wanted to investigate, but doctors always dismissed my concerns and symptoms.

And that’s why I decided to see a Naturopath again. I used to see one back in Brazil years and years ago and they can help when “conventional” medicine isn’t working well or as complement to it. At least there is somebody really listening to me and investigating the root cause of my imbalances. And taking a broader view by connecting the dots between my diet, the medication I’ve been taking for years, my symptoms, my gut health.

I was really weak the past few years with my anemia getting worse, and the doctors just telling me to “eat more meat” and “greens” even though my body wasn’t (and still isn’t) able to absorb iron properly. It took me 2 years to finally get a referral to see a Hematologist and get an IV iron injection to replenish my ferritin levels.

I feel much better now after getting the IV iron, but I’ve endured so many years in a weakened state that I don’t even know if now I’ve reached my normal energy levels. Based on what’s going on with my hormones and digestion system, my Naturopath thinks I’m still not at a 100%. I got some work to do, but I will get there!

The start of the journey is always awareness!

—-

Post 33/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge (Round 2)!

#100DaysToOffload #100Days #Blaugust2024 #Blaugust #health #journal

Thoughts? Discuss... if you have a Write.as account or Reply by email

By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

Anyway, I decided I needed to replace my running shoes because they were beaten up anyway. I went to the store to get a new one, and I wrongly thought that half a size smaller would be best. The size of my previous shoes felt too big at the store.

But then I went for a run with my new shoes and… yes, big mistake, they are too small for running. I had to stop midway because other parts of my feet started to hurt (toes rubbing against the front end of the shoes), and my recovering blister was not enjoying it. I was also too enthusiastic to go running again and I didn’t give enough time for the blister to heal 😕.

So, I took some rest from running and went for some light walks with my new running shoes. I don’t know why I thought the smaller size would be better. All my 2 previous running shoes were half a size bigger. I totally forgot the rule of leaving some space between my toes and the front of the shoe, because our feet expand while running. I can’t return the new ones now, so I will just use them for walks/day to day errands.

I’ve never had this type of blister problem with my running shoes, and I always stick with the same brand because they’ve been working for me for years. But now I’m thinking I will go to a more specialized store and get some advice on which type of running shoes to get. By looking at the wear on my old shoes, my pronation type should be “underpronation” (there is always a wear pattern on the outer soles of my shoes). I’ll go talk to someone to help me decide which shoes to get next.

Left: new running shoes – Right: my old beaten-up pair

—

Post 20/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge (Round 2)!

#100DaysToOffload #100Days #journal #running

Thoughts? Discuss... if you have a Write.as account or Reply by email

By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

I made some comments about how scary that future looks, with constant surveillance and being always online. But he was super excited about it, he was not scared at all. I then made a comment about Microsoft’s Copilot, which will be included in all their applications, and that my workplace is testing it out. And then I asked him if he remembered Microsoft’s failed office assistant called “Clippy”, and he didn’t have a clue!

He didn’t know that Word and Excel existed (I was shocked😱) and then I realized how old I am! I mean, “Clippy” was discontinued in the early 2000’s but this guy started using computers in 2009 or so. Oh, I felt like a dinosaur! 🦕

He also didn't know that “Dune” was a series of books written in the 60’s by Frank Herbert. He loved the new movies, which I agree. I still want to watch the last one, though.

Anyway, it was a fun conversation, continuing my trip now.

—

Post 15/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge (Round 2)!

#100DaysToOffload #100Days #NoisyMusings #journal

Thoughts? Discuss... if you have a Write.as account or Reply by email

By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

So, when I started Rethinking My To Do list this week, I was feeling disconnected. I was craving for something different. I’m not sure why, but I was bored. And I didn’t want to look at my to-do list. So, avoiding it only intensified my disconnection. I thought I needed a new to-do list.

I wanted to get a better app and test other things. And I did test a few! Only to realize that the tool itself wasn’t the problem. I was just feeding the distraction dragon, searching for novelty.

But I wanted to see it for myself, stubborn that I am.

So, I looked at TickTick. It is an amazing to-do list! It has lots of features, calendar, pomodoro timer, timeline views, routine tracker, cross-platform, etc. It’s highly customizable: I saw I could set it up however I wanted to fit my needs. And then came the realization that I would have to spend several hours tweaking it. Creating lists, and folders and custom filters. And moving everything I have in Nirvana to TickTick. Moreover, I was not able to install the desktop app on my work computer, so that was a clear hint that my employer doesn’t approve of this software. Another detail I didn’t like: I couldn’t find a way to set up a shortcut key to add tasks to the Inbox. The “add task” shortcut will add the task to whatever folder/list is open in the app.

Then I looked back at Todoist. I’ve used it for a couple of years. Very flexible, cross-platform, super easy and fast at collecting and organizing things. But the new interface now has “hashtags” symbols to represent folders/projects instead of the old circles, which I think makes it more visually polluted. And then I remembered the entire process of creating the folder’s structure and the custom filters to use it with GTD the way I like it. I didn’t want to go into that rabbit hole again.

Lastly, I revisited Microsoft To Do. It’s a cute app, fast and simple and integrates well with my work system. But… there is something that always gets me out of it: projects management. I like linking projects to next actions, and things get very messy in MS To Do if I want to do that with hashtags, while using lists as my GTD contexts. I told myself I would use it for 90 days to see how it goes. But I changed my mind. Last time I used it for 60 days and abandoned it to get back to Nirvana. I remembered things that I don’t like about it: the Inbox situation (which is a list called “Tasks”), there is no direct “email to inbox” feature (I must send an email to Outlook, and then flag it: too many steps for capturing), I prefer Nirvana’s way of dealing with recurring tasks and organizing projects.

So basically, everything I wrote in January when I was Testing Microsoft To Do and saying goodbye still holds true. I will let it go this time. For real, let it go!

In the end the effectiveness of my GTD system depends on my commitment to maintaining and working my lists in an app that I’m familiar with. I still can use Nirvana at work (I can even install the desktop app on my work laptop) It synchronises on all my devices, it’s fast and reliable.

The issue wasn’t the tool itself but rather my quest for novelty. I can see clearly now.

I’ve decided to stick with Nirvana, which strikes the right balance between meeting my needs and minimizing frustrations.

—

Post 98/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge!

#100DaysToOffload #100Days #GTD #productivity #Nirvana #Todoist #MSTodo #journal #apps

Thoughts? Discuss... if you have a Write.as account or Reply by email

By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

Every time I stop reading a book, I feel guilty. I can't stop but wonder “But what if things get more interesting at 30%?”, “What if I'm missing out on this fantastic plot twist?”. It’s as if I am leaving behind a potential adventure, a secret world that might have unfolded if only I’d persevered a little longer. It is a type of FOMO.

Deciding to abandon a book is always a reflection prompt for me. Maybe my reading taste is changing, it's not the right moment for that genre or I'm craving for a different experience.

Anyway, my reading taste is shifting to lighter reads and more character focused. I've been noticing that I really enjoy a first-person point of view. And I want to be able to understand what that character is feeling, what is her thought process, how is she dealing with her inner struggles.

So right now, I'm not into Cold War thrillers.

Recognizing that a book isn’t resonating with me is an act of self-awareness and self-care. I'm acknowledging that my reading preferences are evolving, and that’s perfectly okay.

I'll keep on focusing on more cozy and light-hearted reads. I'm craving for comfort reads at the moment. After all, reading should always be a delightful journey, not a chore. 📚✨

—-

Post 91/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge!

#100DaysToOffload #100Days #reading #books #journal

Thoughts? Discuss... if you have a Write.as account or Reply by email

By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.