Inbox Terrors: How to Stop Being Scared of Email

Right now, I’m carrying around a considerable amount of anxiety because of email.

Which is ridiculous.

You see, I’m waiting for three emails of relative importance. One is feedback on an article I wrote. Another is about guesting on a reputable podcast (not mine). And the third is about possibly meeting up to play music with some people I’ve never met before.

SCARY. EMAILS.

Of course, being scared of email is completely irrational, but the fear is real nonetheless. It’s a fear of the unknown. I have no idea and even less control over what the other person might say.

“This is literally the worst thing you’ve ever written.”

“You’re way too dumb to be on this podcast.”

“You suck at playing bass, even though I’ve never heard or seen you play, but I’m sure that’s what I’ll say once I do. How’s tomorrow at 8?”

The likelihood of any of these responses actually happening is slim to none.

BUT THEY MIGHT!

No, they won’t.

But suppose they did. What would happen?

Scenario:

I’m sitting here at my desk, as I do, reading and/or writing and/or perusing the interwebs, when suddenly my email goes ding! [Seriously, it just did. Holy crap.]

I open my email, click the unread message, and BOOM — it literally leaps off the screen and starts screaming at me like I’m the worst person in the world.

Or so it seems.

But when I’m done reading it, what has actually happened?

Nothing.

I’m still sitting here at my desk. The sun is still shining. Everything is as it was moments before.

I’m not dead.

If an alien were to look down from space into my house and see me sitting here, there would be no discernible difference between what it saw before the email and what it saw after the email.

Email can’t hurt you. People can’t eat you.

And if the email does contain bad news, well, I’ll survive. I’ll work through it. What I won’t do is let it paralyze or defeat me. The worst part about reading a scary email is reading it; it’s probably not as bad as you thought, and if it is, it only gets better from there.

So be brave. Don’t fear the ding!

Because there are far more important things to be scared of than email.

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I have nothing to say today.

But that’s OK.

The less we talk, the more we listen.

The more we listen, the more we learn.

The more we learn, the clearer the path becomes.

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Too Many Inputs

Mark Sisson:

Namely, smartphones, social media, and the Internet in general has changed the way we experience the world. For many, it has replaced engagement with the real physical world almost entirely.

Brett Kelly, on reading intentionally:

It may sound narcissistic, but I feel a lot better laying my head down at night knowing that I spent 30–45 random minutes reading books and articles that I actually want to read instead of frustratedly skimming news that usually doesn’t interest me.

Paul Miller quit the Internet for a year:

I feel like I’ve only examined the internet up close. It’s been personal and pervasive in my life for over a decade, and I spend on average 12+ hours a day directly at an internet-connected terminal (laptop, iPad, Xbox), not to mention all the ambient internet my smartphone keeps me aware of.

Stephen Hackett:

Miller’s actions are probably over the top. That said, I do think many of us who are neck-deep in the Internet daily could use a healthy dose of self-control.

Richard J. Anderson:

How much of what I’m consuming in content each day is signal, and how much is noise? […]

Every click brings us a little shot of pure, full-strength dopamine. Don’t tell me you don’t get just the tiniest little thrill when you open your Twitter client, refresh your RSS feeds, or refresh your Instagram feed.

I love being a nerd, having a website, recording podcasts, tumbling, tweeting, reading RSS and Instapaper, and on occasion, even emailing.

I quit Facebook because it was a timesuck, and I need all the time I can get. It’s the same reason I don’t keep any games on my iPhone.

But sometimes, it’s still too much. I’ve felt digitally overwhelmed lately.

I had a nonstop weekend last week. Work was consuming, people were graduating, mothers were celebrating, family was remembering. And so my online life fell by the wayside.

Other than increasing unread counts, there were no consequences for my being off the grid. But I felt a certain heaviness every time I did take a moment to check my phone. I felt removed from the online world.

Distraction is ubiquitous. It’s so easy to wake up in the morning, reach for the iPhone on your nightstand, and spend half an hour reading and consuming.

I haven’t picked up my Kindle in months, even though I love it, and I think it’s because I’m already reading all day. Reading books takes focus and concentration. It’s intellectual work, and I often don’t have the strength for it at the end of the day. I’d rather just thumb through more tweets and RSS feeds.

Combatting information overload is an iterative process.

I’m not about to quit the Internet completely; I find too much value in it, and it’s helped me discover things I love very much. It’s helped introduce me to this online world of writers and creators, a community that I aspire to be a part of.

Ultimately, I agree with Rich. The simple answer is mindfulness: being aware of all of our inputs and what they contribute to our lives.

RSS is the biggest culprit for me. I’m currently subscribed to 98 RSS feeds, some of which are high volume, many of which are not. I’ve made a conscious effort to remove any feeds I deem extraneous. If I find I’m constantly swiping “read” on a majority of a feed’s posts, it’s time to unsubscribe.

I’m considering moving to a Patrick Rhone-esque RSS system in the future, but for now I’m going to continue to keep a close, mindful eye on my inputs, and maintain the self-control to not check them every five minutes.

Sometimes, you need to shut down.

The solution to too many inputs is simple. Evaluate each input as follows:

1. Be mindful of the input’s value.
2. When the input is no longer valuable, remove it. (This requires letting go of the fear of missing out on what the input provides.)
3. Repeat.

Eliminate the unnecessary. Inner peace 101.

Have an extraordinary weekend, everyone.

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The Quick and Easy Path

Luke: Is the dark side stronger?
Yoda: No, no. No. Quicker. Easier. More seductive.

What is easy isn’t always what’s right.

What is easy isn’t always what’s best.

Cupcakes are easy. They are seductive. Taking one out of its wrapper is quick and painless. The payoff is immediate. It’s sweet and delicious.

Eating healthy is hard. We’re surrounded by junk food everywhere we go. Cooking healthy food takes time and effort. It’s a pain in the ass.

Lying in bed is easy. It’s tempting, safe, and comforting. Nothing can hurt you there, under the covers.

Push-ups are hard. They aren’t fun. They hurt. Going to the gym is hard. It hurts. It takes consistent time and effort before you ever see any rewards.

Doing what you’re told is easy. Stay in the box. Keep your head down. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Be average.

Making something is hard. Creating something out of nothing is hard. Especially when there may be little in the way of tangible rewards.

We must be mindful of the choices placed before us.

Eating junk food is easy.

Not working out is easy.

Following the paths of convention is easy.

But is it what’s right?

Is it what’s best?

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The Futility of Grudges

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.
Oscar Wilde

I’m terrible at staying mad at people.

No matter how hard I try, my anger rarely lasts for more than a few hours, let alone an entire day.

I just don’t have the strength.

And why would I want to? Why would I want to walk around carrying all of that anger, hatred, and jealousy in my head all day?

I’ve known people who seem to flaunt their grudges like badges of honor. “So-and-so made fun of me in middle school, and now she’s my mortal enemy.”

I don’t get it. What’s the point? Why waste your time and energy being mad at someone for something that happened years ago? Months ago? Yesterday?

Why choose to promote negative energy?

Staying mad at someone is hard work. I have to constantly remind myself why I’m angry over and over again. That takes mental and emotional energy. It’s exhausting.

And what do I have to gain? The satisfaction of knowing that my enemy knows I’m angry at him?

Holding a grudge means I’ve become attached to the notion that I was right and he was wrong. I believe it so strongly that I’m willing to devote a portion of my brain to preserving that altercation. To preserving negativity.

It’s not worth it.

I can’t control what someone thinks of me. But, I can control how my mind deals with their opinion. If their opinion is valuable — regardless of whether it’s positive or negative — I can choose to learn from it. That’s constructive criticism. But, if their opinion is not valuable, I can choose to transcend it.

If someone has an irrational problem with me, it’s not my problem. It’s their problem. And their problem isn’t really with me; it’s with themselves. They’re projecting their own self-hatred onto me. It’s unfortunate, but not something I should worry about. I wish them the best in their struggle.

When it comes to grudges, life really is too short to spend it preserving anger and hate. The world has enough of that. Do not be a source of negative energy.

Let go.

Smile.

Be free.

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Deceptively Simple

There was a time, back before I started playing bass, when video games were my biggest hobby. I'd spend hours getting lost in virtual worlds, wishing I was off adventuring instead of sitting in my bedroom.

I'm a little sad to say I don't really do that anymore. I'll go back and revisit some of my all-time favorites periodically, but otherwise, I do very little in the way of keeping up with the latest video game trends.

I have a hard time identifying exactly what caused me to lose interest in modern video gaming. For some reason, I feel the spirits of games just aren't what they used to be.

For me, this deficiency is most evident in the Final Fantasy series. The PlayStation era titles (VII, VIII, and IX) captured my imagination like nothing else. Literally hundreds of hours were spent immersed in these magical worlds. I loved it.

Still, while amazing for their time, these games do not feature high-definition graphics, ultra-realistic AI, or other technological innovations relative to today's standards.

But while they may lack the polish and shiny-ness of the latest Final Fantasy titles, they possess something the newer games do not, which I can only describe as a charming and memorable spirit.

When Final Fantasy X came out for the PlayStation 2, it was incredible. The graphics were gorgeous. The environments were tremendous. There was voice-acting!

But something was missing. It lacked the charm and immersion of earlier titles. It was as if the graphics were too good. I've still never finished the game, despite having tried to get through it numerous times. There's nothing tangibly wrong with Final Fantasy X; it's beautiful, and I'm sure it's the favorite of many FF fans. But for me, something just never clicked. It never made me care.

The reason I bring this up is that Rands tweeted this awesome video comparing the original Mega Man to Mega Man X).

The video's creator spends twenty minutes explaining the brilliance behind Mega Man X, including the way its intro level flawlessly teaches the player everything he/she needs to know without the use of blatant "here's how you play" tutorials.

Mega Man X is one of my favorite video games of all time, but even I struggle explaining its greatness. This video fascinates me because it elucidates all of the brilliance and charm of the game, which I always felt, but could never quite articulate.

The video reminds me of the Red Letter Media reviews of the Star Wars prequels in that it explains exactly why the game so good, which makes you love it even more.

When compared to today's epics, like Mass Effect and Skyrim, early video games seem straightforward and simplistic.

In some ways, that's true. But I would argue games like Mega Man are not simplistic, but deceptively simple. As the video illustrates, a tremendous amount of care was put into all aspects of Mega Man X, and it's still one of my favorite games as a result.

I haven't bought a new video game in a long time, but thanks to their charming simplicity and surprising depth, I'll always return to games like Mega Man. I consider myself lucky to have had it as a part of my childhood.

Sometimes, you just need to go right.

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Rest In Peace, Grammy C

My grandmother died last week. She was 92 and the best grammy her four grandkids could ask for.

As sad as I am over her passing, I’m fortunate to have nothing but wonderful memories of her, and I’m comforted to know that she’s in a much better place than the convalescent home in which she resided for the last ten years of her life.

I’m also reminded of the importance of recognizing that, while the body may die, the spirit lives on forever, and so she’s not gone. Not really.

The pain comes from no longer being able to see someone, to touch and hug them, to talk with them and hear their voice when we’re so used to doing so.

But we are fortunate to be much more than physical bodies.

To be at peace with the passing of a loved one, we must let go of our attachment to their physicality. Death is a natural part of life, and so the loss of the body is inevitable.

If we can let go of the body and preserve the spirit, we will never have trouble finding those whom we’ve lost.

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Why & How I Deleted Facebook

One week ago, I deleted Facebook.

Needless to say, I don’t miss it at all.

The Why

The simplest answer is this:

Facebook is a timesuck, and I need all the time I can get.

Narcissism

Because of its artificial and forced two-way friendship model, amassing hundreds of Facebook friends is easy. One might even consider it difficult to avoid.

Having lots of friends is desirable, even if those friends are mostly meaningless acquaintances. It makes us feel like we aren’t alone, like we’re a part of something. It’s nice to be popular.

I joined Facebook circa 2005 as I was preparing to graduate high school. Before long, checking Facebook became part of my routine. As a college freshman, it was an attempt to meet people. New town, new school, no friends… But there was Facebook.

For many, Facebook is ingrained to the point where we can’t imagine living without it. It seems so useful. You can look at people’s pictures. You can check relationship statuses. You can stalk guilt-free because everyone does it. You can “keep in touch” with friends and relatives. You can play games.

And you can post statuses.

The status update is the source of Facebook’s superficiality. When I post a status, I know that at least some percentage of my ~400 friends is going to read it. No matter what it is. A description of my lunch. The story of my great workout. A photo in which I look particularly attractive.

What’s the motivation for sharing these bits of information with hundreds of mostly-strangers?

Because I know I’m guaranteed to get some attention in return.

People love what I’m having for lunch. They cheer me on when I post about running my latest 5k. And they won’t hesitate to tell me how great I look in this photo.

And if I have a bad day? It’s like ordering a rush delivery of attention — all from the comfort of your laptop.

Consciously or subconsciously, the underlying motivation of a Facebook account is vanity. Self-affirmation. Titillation.

Narcissism.

Facebook is very mainstream. Everyone is on it. But the mainstream is called such because of what it is: shallow.

And what it lacks in depth, it makes up for in breadth. Hundreds and hundreds of “friends”, few of whom we care about, and most of whom we need to wade through to find who really matters.

Insidious Distraction

As I wrote in Ubiquitous Distraction, whenever we check an input, we severely inhibit our ability to create.

This is not to say we can’t find inspiration in blog posts, or escape in a great novel, or levity in a funny YouTube video. But what separates these inputs from Facebook is value.

Facebook provides very little value that cannot be obtained elsewhere. It provides hours of distraction with almost no reward.

I was fortunate to never find Facebook very addicting. Years ago, I began hiding all of the people I didn’t care about, and so checking my News Feed was easy. Log in, read a handful of new posts, and get out. I rarely felt compelled to stalk, check pictures, or play games.

But even still, those few minutes added up. Between the iPhone and iPad apps and logging into the website, I would still manage to check it multiple times a day.

Rarely would I find anything worth the time. Sure, I’d like a status or two, or make a comment if something particularly witty came to mind.

But, why?

What am I getting out of clicking that little thumbs-up button?

Nothing.

What am I contributing by clicking that little thumbs-up button?

Nothing, except for a fleeting moment of gratification.

Every moment I was reading a Facebook status was a moment I was not thinking about making great stuff.

Of course, we can argue that the same is true of Twitter, Path, Instagram, et al. But these inputs are far more likely to provide value because of their models for following and connecting.

You follow people on Twitter whom you find interesting. They do not have to follow you back.

Path is specifically designed for sharing with close friends. You may share your Path with someone, but they do not have to share theirs with you.

Instagram (for the moment) follows the same model as Twitter. Follow those with good pictures. Ignore those without.

You only encounter bullshit in these places if you choose to follow people who post bullshit.

This is where Facebook differs from other social networks.

The How

So, how does one go about departing the land of Lucida Grande?

1. Download Your Information

If you’ve been a member on Facebook for years, as I was, you’ll probably be fearful of losing all of your wall posts, pictures, videos, etc.

Fear not.

Facebook allows you to download all of your information fairly easily, provided you know how to do it.

Click here to learn how to download your Facebook data.

The steps are as follows:

1. Click the account menu at the top right of any Facebook page.
2. Choose Account Settings.
3. Click on “Download a copy of your Facebook data”.
4. Click Start My Archive.

The archiving process takes a while, and you’ll receive an email from Facebook when your download is ready.

I want to mention here that when I tried to download my archive, I received an error several times stating that my data couldn’t be downloaded. I had to try again the following day before the download link worked.

2. Permanently Delete Your Account

Note that Facebook distinguishes between “deactivate” and “delete”:

If you deactivate your account from your Security Settings page, your profile (timeline) disappears from the Facebook service immediately. People on Facebook will not be able to search for you. Some information, like messages you sent, may still be visible to others.

In case you want to come back to Facebook at some point, we save your profile (timeline) information (friends, photos, interests, etc.) so that the information on your profile (timeline) will be there when you come back. A lot of people deactivate their accounts for temporary reasons.

If you do not think you will use Facebook again and would like your account deleted, keep in mind that you will not be able to reactivate your account or retrieve any of the content or information you have added. If you would like your account permanently deleted with no option for recovery, log in to your account and then submit your request here.

Fortunately, there’s an easier way to quit Facebook: visit DeleteFacebook.com and click the red button to be taken directly to the account deletion page.

Upon doing so, your account will be deactivated for fourteen days. Afterward, the account will be permanently deleted. If you log in during the grace period, you will cancel the deletion request.

Be Free

I was on Facebook for eight years and who knows how many hours.

I still catch myself wanting to type “f-a-c-e-b-o-o-k-.-c-o-m” in my URL bar once in while. It’s muscle memory at this point. But then I remember I don’t need to do that any more.

And it feels good.

I’m not saying that everyone who uses Facebook is an idiot. Most of my friends are still on it. However, I do believe the large majority of content on Facebook is worthless. The cost outweighs the benefits.

For me, it was time to move on. The cost outweighed the benefits. Like the week I changed my life and started rising early, leaving Facebook was the result of self-evaluation.

It’s going back to basics: when something no longer works for you, or no longer contributes value to your life, it’s time to let go.

Eliminate unnecessary things — that includes social networks.

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Favorite Apps: Saver

As you may recall, I’m tracking all of my expenses for the month of May.

For the past week, I’ve been using Saver for iPhone.

Saver lets you set budgets, input your expenses, and view your spending history in graph and list views. It’s beautifully designed, and the aesthetics remind me a bit of Tweetbot, only with a lot more black.

The budget view is simple, but functional. Saver lets you select a monthly budget and then shows you a progress bar displaying how much money you have left for the month. The default view shows you what you’ve spent today, but you can easily swipe between days, or tap the calendar icon to jump to a specific date.

A central component of the app is the input screen, where you can record any and all of your expenses. Saver gives you fifteen categories of expenses, such as Utilities, Auto, Vacation, Payments, Wardrobe, and more. Within each of these categories are six sub-categories. For example, if you double tap on the Payments category, you can select Rent, Subscription, Taxes, Insurance, Mortgage, or Education. If none of those work for you, you can swipe to the left to add your own category. In addition to the category tags, you can add notes and photos to each expense.

Once you’ve input some data, the graph view shows you your expenses in a lovely, color-coded chart. You can tap on a specific type of expense to see all of your spending in that category, and swiping between week, month, and year views is easy.

Saver comes with a handful of useful settings, my favorite of which is the ability to choose your startup screen. For me, 90% of the time I open the app, I’m looking to record an expense, so I set my startup screen to always open with the input view. You can also choose from what I believe is any currency on the planet, and you can set a pass code for added security. Saver also offers its own personal automatic data backup to their servers, although I haven’t bothered to try this feature yet.

The only thing I’ve noticed Saver lacking is the ability to input income. That’s not a concern for me right now, but it may motivate me to check out other apps in the future.

All in all, though, I don’t feel compelled to try any other finance apps right now. Saver is beautiful, simple, functional, and intuitive. I recommend it.

You can buy Saver for the discounted price of $1.99 on the App Store.

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Crush On Radio: A Weekly Podcast About Being a Music Fan

I love music.

You love music.

Well, guess what!

Today, I’m psyched to announce Crush On Radio: a weekly podcast about being a music fan.

The show is hosted by Richard J. Anderson of Sanspoint, Matt Keeley of Kittysneezes, and me!

Our first episode, “Passionately and Ineloquently”, went live yesterday morning:

In this inaugural episode, we talk about the show, ourselves, and how we became music fans. Specifically, we’re talking about “the band(s) that ruined us,” learning to actively listen, picking up instruments, the intersection of novelty music and experimental music, and the passing of MCA of The Beastie Boys.

New To Us this week, are Grimes, Sharon Van Etten, and Propaganda. New To You are The Fatima Mansions, Morphine, and Peter Ivers.

You can listen to the show here or on iTunes!

I had a great time recording the show with Rich and Matt, and I’ve already spent hours rocking out to new music thanks to their exquisite tastes. We’re planning on making Crush On Radio the most awesome podcast of all time, so this is your chance to join us as we embark on our musical journey.

If you love music… if you’re looking for new, amazing artists and songs… if you think we have the sexiest voices you’ve ever laid ears on… you should listen right now.

Seriously.

Go!

• Crush On Radio on iTunes
• Read the Crush On Radio blog.
• Subscribe to the podcast feed.
• Follow Crush On Radio on Twitter!
• Podcast URL for Instacast, etc.

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Using Sundays to Recalculate Your Destination

It's easy to fall victim to the Sunday night blues.

We spend the entire week worrying about things we have to do. We look forward to the weekend, a brief window when we can do the things we want to do. Hence, "working for the weekend".

From this perspective, Sundays are like the calm before the storm — a quiet, lazy day when our brains can't help but accumulate all of our upcoming tasks, to-dos, and obligations.

A few months ago, I wrote about the clean slate Monday theory, which uses the tying up of loose ends and a plan of attack to ensure the week starts on calm, fresh note.

Today, I'm thinking about Sunday as a day for recalibration and course-correction.

After a long workweek, I tend to let myself go on the weekend. I shut my brain off and indulge in a whole lot of bass playing, Archer watching, and self-indulging. As last month shows, my dietary restrictions tend to become a bit more lax. This rest period is crucial, because it allows my brain and body to get back to neutral. It's OK to do nothing once in a while.

They say a plane is off course 90% of the time. That means it constantly needs to course-correct if it's going to get to its destination.

Similarly, as the week goes on, we tend to get off-course. Our focus tends to atrophy. The closer the weekend gets, the harder it is to think about the things we have to do. By the time Friday rolls around, we're ready to cut loose a bit.

And we do. Shutting down our brains for a day or two is a good thing. Enjoy it. But it's equally important to take the time to prepare for the week ahead. That's how I treat Sundays: as a chance to recalibrate and refocus. I clean, put laundry away, refine my to-do list, and think about what I'm going to do this week to work to where I want to be.

Instead of being sad that tomorrow's Monday, I relish the opportunity to remind myself of who I want to be. I remember what I want to achieve, and spend at least a few moments on Sunday to bring that back into focus.

Sunday could be the start to — ugh — yet another week, or it could be the start to a week that brings us a little closer to where and who we want to be.

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Favorite Apps: Ritual

I came across an app this week that makes a perfect companion to the Seinfeld productivity method.

It’s called Ritual.

Ritual helps you commit to your New Year’s resolutions, establish new habits, and keep track of your weight, spending, working hours, and more.

The app features a beautiful split-pane interface. On the left is a sort of linear calendar. On the right is the daily view, where you input the habits you want to track, like “Take vitamins”, “Eat healthy”, or “Exercise”.

If you complete your ritual, you check the box next to that habit. As time goes on, the calendar on the left gets filled with checkmarks to show you how many days in a row you’ve done your habit.

After you’ve been tracking for a few days, you can tap each habit to view graphs and charts of your progress.

When adding new habits, you have the option of making them “Yes/No” habits or “Number” habits. The Yes/No variety is self-explanatory: Did you work out today? Check for Yes, leave unchecked for No.

If you use a Number habit, you input the value for whatever your habit is. Say you want to do push-ups. Ritual lets you track how many you perform each day. You can also use this feature to track your weight or spending over time.

Ritual is pretty sparse in the settings department, but you can set reminders, and you can export your data via an email spreadsheet.

I won’t be using Ritual to track my expenses, as I prefer the functionality of a dedicated finance app. However, it has earned a spot on my second home screen as a way of staying focused and doing my habits every day. I was using a desk calendar for this purpose last month, but Ritual allows me to track my habits on-the-go, and I can add as many as I want. It’s simple, beautiful, and useful.

You can get Ritual for $1.99 on the App Store.

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App Review: Dropkick

Like my note-taking system, I’ve grown dissatisfied with my to-dos/task management on my Mac and iOS devices.

OmniFocus & Things

I’ve had OmniFocus on my iPhone and iPad for a while now, but as I’ve said before, I don’t like it. OmniFocus is incredibly powerful, but I don’t enjoy using it. The app feels cold and utilitarian, and every time it reminds me to do something, I resent it a little more. Too bad, because I love the icon.

Contrary to the typical story of “Apple nerd switches from Things to OmniFocus and loves it”, I’ve been contemplating the opposite transition. Things seems to be much simpler and more friendly than OmniFocus, but Cultured Code has received much criticism for taking years to implement cloud sync, which has only recently reached public beta. I’m sure it won’t be in beta forever, but I’m reluctant to invest in any app that isn’t consistently updated, and right now Things’ release cycle feels too sporadic for my liking. Those who love Things love it with a passion, and I hope cloud sync comes out of beta soon. I really want to try it, but I don’t feel it’s time yet.

I Have Needs

But how many?

OmniFocus is feature-laden, and while you can use as many or as few as you’d like, I can’t help but think I don’t need such a professional grade task manager. Hence, my leaning toward Things.

While I’m a proponent of GTD, I’m not at a point in my life where I need to manage multiple projects, meetings, and deadlines.

The modesty of my task management needs has led me to Dropkick, upon Federico Viticci’s recommendation.

Enter Dropkick

Dropkick is a to-do list app that syncs across all of your devices.

And that’s pretty much it.

The app is very minimal and monochrome. (If you ask me, it could use some color and personality.) It has no preferences. The icon is decent.

Dropkick lets you add lists, tasks, and nothing else. What really stands out, though, is its cloud sync. Using a free Dropkick account, your lists and tasks are synced very quickly across all devices within seconds.

One slight annoyance is that there’s no quick input on the Mac version. You have to switch to the app, bring the window to focus, and hit CMD + N. It’s not bad, but it does create a bit of friction when you want to quickly add a to-do.

I don’t have much else to say about Dropkick. It does one thing well. The apps are free for up to ten tasks at a time, and in-app purchases grant you unlimited tasks. You can buy the entire suite for $12, which is exponentially less than Things or OmniFocus.

As I try out Dropkick, I find myself wondering if it strikes the right balance between features and simplicity. OmniFocus is too intense, but Dropkick might be too sparse. If all you’re looking for is a way to sync to-dos between devices, though, Dropkick is inexpensive, fast, and reliable.

Check it out.

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On Making Things Happen

In my twenty-five years, I’ve had quite a few experiences that many would qualify as “lucky”.

I’m friends with Carl Thompson, a legendary musician and luthier, and I’m privileged to own one of instruments (#111107).

I’ve met Les Claypool and attended one of his soundchecks, thanks to Carl.

I’ve flown to Nashville to study music with Victor Wooten on a weekend that just so happened to witness the Nashville flood, which resulted in me and my fellow campers spending the night at Victor’s house.

I own several beautiful custom instruments, all of which are completely unique and irreplaceable.

I’ve met many of my favorite musicians and gotten pictures and autographs. I met Béla Fleck in the Nashville Airport. I’ve met all six members of Umphrey’s McGee. I’ve learned from Anthony Wellington and Bob Franceschini.

I’ve travelled to music festivals in Georgia, Florida, and Michigan, often witnessing historic shows and one-off performances. I’ve gotten setlists, drumheads, and other memorabilia.

Just this week, I won third prize in the Wooten Won-Hundred Sweepstakes.

I don’t mean to sound like a spoiled little kid here. Rather, I want to use these examples to illustrate a fact.

You could interpret each of these events as “luck”. You could say I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. But, as my dad reminded me last night, my “luck” has really been the result of me trying to make things happen.

I wouldn’t be friends with Carl Thompson if I hadn’t had the courage to track down his number, pick up the phone, and call him. If I hadn’t, he wouldn’t have agreed to build me a bass. He wouldn’t have invited me to visit his shop and see Les Claypool’s soundcheck. If I hadn’t taken the initiative to develop a friendship with him — if I had just called, placed my order, and waited for it to be finished — I wouldn’t be able to say I’ve been to his birthday parties in Brooklyn or that I’ve watched his band play.

If I hadn’t decided to put in my application, spend some money, and fly to Nashville, I wouldn’t have spent a weekend at Victor Wooten’s house.

If I hadn’t made it a point to answer ten trivia questions every week for eleven weeks, I wouldn’t have won third prize in the sweepstakes.

None of these things would have happened if I just sat around and waited.

You can’t get an autograph if you don’t ask.

So while I may seem lucky — and I certainly do feel that way — I think it’s more accurate to say that I’ve cared enough about certain things to make sure they happened. Call it “seizing the day” or “never giving up” or what you will, but the point is that we can’t wait around for things to happen.

We need to make them happen.

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Year of the Habit: May

Mayday! Mayday!

Welcome to the fifth installment of The Year of the Habit 2012.

As is customary, let’s review the year so far before revealing May’s habit.

• January: Started flossing every day.
• February: Stopped biting my nails.
• March: Attempted to read every day. Mostly unsuccessful. Currently reading Buddhism Plain & Simple and The Art of Expressing the Human Body.
• April: Health nut month. With the help of the Seinfeld productivity method, I was able to chart my healthy and unhealthy days quite easily. I had six unhealthy days in April, all of which occurred on either a Saturday or a Sunday, and most of which were special occasions (birthdays, christenings, etc.). My longest streak was seven healthy days in a row. Twenty-four healthy days out of thirty total means I was Primal 80% of the time, which I’m happy with overall. Coincidentally, that ratio exemplifies the 80/20 principle, which suggests that shooting for perfection usually lands you somewhere around an 80% success rate. I would have preferred it to be slightly higher, but 80/20 is a good balance, and visually representing my eating habits visually was a valuable experience. Weekends are obviously the most challenging days to eat well, while I’m able to remain in healthy mode throughout the week. In general, I’m considering April a success.

Bonus Habits

In addition to my monthly goals, I’ve also adopted some bonus habits that have made a huge difference in my 2012 so far. These include:

• Writing every day.
• Working out regularly, including doing yoga every morning in April.
• Becoming an early riser.
• Working on my thesis in the library every day.
• Taking cold showers.

As I’ve said before, these unplanned habits speak to the power and momentum of small changes.

What’s Next? Dollar Dollar Bills, Y’all.

May is money month.

I’m actually a little nervous about this one, because numbers are evil, but it’s a step I need to take. My thesis is very close to done, and soon my singular focus will be on ways to make sufficient income.

But what makes one’s income “sufficient”? Well, that’s what I intend to figure out.

During the month of May, I’m going to be tracking all of my expenses.

This habit will provide me with several useful bits of insight:

1. By knowing how much I spend in a month, I’ll know approximately how much I need to make to live.
2. I’ll be able to identify needless spending that has hitherto gone unnoticed.
3. I’ll be more mindful about how I spend my money knowing that it’s going to be recorded.
4. I’ll be able to use my spending data to develop a budget for the future.

Of course, I’ll be using an iOS app to track all of my expenses. I’m going to start with Saver, but I also plan on testing out a few others. I’ll let you know of my favorites.

May is going to be a challenge in the sense that this is one habit I don’t love. Unlike trying to eat healthy or write every day, which were fun and enjoyable, I’m not looking forward to seeing where my money goes. But, it’s necessary, and I’m sure the experience will be enlightening.

And that’s what we’re all about, isn’t it?

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Breakdowns, Floods, & How to Turn a Disaster into an Adventure

Over the weekend, I helped my friend Rich move into his new apartment. Everything went smoothly until our U-Haul broke down on I-95 South. It would be almost three hours until we made it to our destination.

As we stood there, watching the cars pass quickly and the minutes pass slowly, I was reminded of another inconvenient situation years earlier.

Back in May 2010, I flew to Nashville to study with Victor Wooten at his Music Theory camp. Victor’s campground, Wooten Woods, is located in Only, TN, about an hour west of Nashville off of I-90. Coincidentally, this also happened to be the same weekend of the Nashville flood.

The rain began pouring down Friday night, and we woke up to a small river running through the center of the camp. As the morning wore on, the rain increased, and the river quickly grew into a strong current, only passable with a four-wheel drive vehicle. It soon became clear that we needed to evacuate, but the road leading into camp had already been washed away, so rescue teams couldn’t get to us. We decided to head out on foot. Eventually, we were ferried out by boat a handful at a time. Once we made it back to I-90, the sheriff drove us to a nearby community center, where the Red Cross gave us food and clean clothes. We finally made it back to Victor’s house, where we learned and played music all night and the following day, as well as got to see some historic musical relics.

Throughout the whole ordeal, not a single person ever complained, and everyone’s spirits remained high. What amazed me most, though, was Victor’s leadership and attitude during the flood. Despite the fact that his camp was literally being destroyed by torrential rains, he never made a negative comment, never expressed a degree of disappointment.

I remember him telling me, “The way I see it, this is actually kind of fun! As long as no one’s in danger, it’s all a big adventure.”

Those words have stuck with me ever since, and I was reminded of them while standing on the side of the highway for three hours this weekend. Things happen, and we can’t do anything about it. We couldn’t prevent our U-Haul from breaking down any more than we could prevent Nashville from flooding.

The only thing we can control is what we make of the situation.

Of course, that weekend in Nashville was one of the best weekends of my life. Who else can say they’ve been to Victor Wooten’s house?! As we joked to each other, “Plenty of people can say they’ve been to Wooten Woods, but not many can say they’ve escaped from it!”

It’s easy to let crappy situations drag us down. What’s much more rewarding is trying to make the best of them. The crappy-ness isn’t going to last forever, and when it’s all over, you’ll probably have one hell of a story to tell.

When faced with forces we can’t control, sometimes all it takes is a small change in perspective to turn a disaster into an adventure.

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A Place for Pop

I’ve been dissatisfied with notes on my iPhone lately.

As an iPhone user, I feel obligated to have a brilliant note-taking system that syncs with my iPad and Mac. I used Simplenote for a long time before switching to Notesy. Simplenote requires a yearly subscription for full functionality, while Notesy does not. I also like Notesy’s Markdown support and customizability. Still, something wasn’t quite right.

Most recently, I had Drafts on my home screen for a couple of weeks. It’s a robust app with plenty of features for exporting and manipulating text. I’ve transferred a few of my notes from Notesy to Drafts, but I never seem to find myself wanting to open the app. Maybe I just don’t want to tap on its less-than-pretty icon.

Despite their intended usage, note-taking apps are often quite complex. They have folders, and search, and fonts, and sync, and a host of other wonderful features.

But these features can also feel burdensome. You have to wait for the app to open. You have to wait for your notes to sync (and risk encountering a gut-wrenching sync conflict). You have to navigate back and forth between notes. There’s friction. Not a lot, but it’s there.

Which brings me to Pop.

I mentioned Pop in my Ubiquitous Capture Roundup. Pop’s main feature is its lack of features. Open, read/write, close. Copy and paste if you so desire.

I shouldn’t like Pop. Like Shadoe Huard, I didn’t intend to use it. It doesn’t let me write in Markdown. Though universal, it doesn’t sync with its iPad version. It doesn’t have Dropbox support. I can’t hook it up with Notational Velocity. It doesn’t even let me create notes! It’s just a white space with a cursor. An iOS enigma.

But for some reason, it feels really good.

I downloaded Pop mostly out of support for Patrick Rhone’s new company, Minimal Tools, and to see the app’s featurelessness for myself. (It’s true; there aren’t any.) I put it on my second page of apps.

Then, by chance, I had a reason to use it. My mom told me what she wanted for Mother’s Day. I opened Pop, jotted it down, and closed the app in seconds. No watching the app load. No waiting to sync. No searching for my “Gift Ideas” note.

Pop is making me think that — just maybe — this is all I need. As I browse through my handful of notes in Notesy, I see that none of them have been updated in at least a month, nor can I remember consulting any of them. Maybe a digital scrap of paper is all I need.

Now, there are some notes that I do update monthly, and Pop doesn’t really meet this need. But I believe that’s by design.

As Patrick says, “Pop is step one.” In the case of my mom’s Mother’s Day present, I wrote it in Pop and will delete it after I buy it. If I come up with a brilliant idea, I can capture it quickly, and then Pop will force me to process it later on, at the very least out of my compulsion to keep the app clean and beautiful.

I’m not sure how my relationship with Pop will progress, but for now, it’s taken up residence on my home screen. And it feels good. My iPhone’s home screen is populated with apps that fulfill my foremost needs: to communicate, to read, to listen, to write. I’m going to let Pop try its hand at the writing chair, or perhaps the “capture” chair would be more appropriate.

Pop feels like an oasis for ideas. Once captured, my thoughts reside in Pop, patient and pristine, until I decide what to do with them. What more do I need?

You can get Pop for $0.99 on the App Store.

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The Perfect T-Shirt

I love tweaking as much as the next guy, but I also love arriving at a place of contentment, where I can set it and forget it.

Especially when it comes to clothes.

I have an extensive t-shirt collection, but even my favorite t-shirts seem to shrink or lose their luxuriousness over time.

I'm fairly tall and lean (and seemingly getting taller via all that yoga), so I have a hard time finding shirts that meet both my length and size requirements. Mediums tend to be too tight and/or too short, while Larges tend to be too baggy.

Fortunately, I've just settled on the perfect t-shirt:

The 50/50 Shirt by American Apparel

(Via Shawn Blanc)

These shirts are ringspun, 50% polyester, 50% cotton. They are high-quality, super comfy, and come in a variety of colors. The heather hues are particularly handsome. The Medium strikes the perfect balance of length and fit on my six-foot-two, 180-pound frame.

They're a bit expensive at $20 a pop on American Apparel's website, but you can buy a three-pack there for 20% off, and Amazon has some color/size combinations for a fraction of the price.

Arriving at a place where I no longer need to think about something is a great feeling. Whenever I need new t-shirts, I'll be going straight for the American Apparel 50/50. Get 'em.

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Unemployment Opportunities

According to the Associated Press, half of new grads are jobless or underemployed:

“I don’t even know what I’m looking for,” says Michael Bledsoe, who described months of fruitless job searches as he served customers at a Seattle coffeehouse. The 23-year-old graduated in 2010 with a creative writing degree.

Initially hopeful that his college education would create opportunities, Bledsoe languished for three months before finally taking a job as a barista, a position he has held for the last two years. In the beginning he sent three or four resumes day. But, Bledsoe said, employers questioned his lack of experience or the practical worth of his major. Now he sends a resume once every two weeks or so.

Bledsoe, currently making just above minimum wage, says he got financial help from his parents to help pay off student loans. He is now mulling whether to go to graduate school, seeing few other options to advance his career. “There is not much out there, it seems,” he said.

(Via NPR)

Yep. Regardless of whom you feel compelled to blame, the economy is down. I know nothing of economics, so I’ll just state that as known and leave it at that.

Here’s J. D. Bentley in his essay, “A Touch of a Revolution”:

I’ve been appre­ci­at­ing the light­ness of being slave to no one. As I’ve grown older, I’ve found that free­dom is the qual­ity to be most con­sid­ered as I make deci­sions. The free­dom to do what I want, when I want, with whom I want, where I want is of para­mount importance.

My life is dri­ven by the desire to find the under­ly­ing prin­ci­ples that fuel the great­est ideal and then to apply those prin­ci­ples so that I might one day achieve that ideal.

Regard­ing free­dom, the two great­est prin­ci­ples are these:

1. Want nothing.
2. Owe no one.

Brilliant.

Do not misconstrue “freedom” as “sitting around playing video games and having no responsibilities”. I define “freedom” as having the ability and the opportunity to do great work — the work I feel is important, not the work society tells me is important.

It seems to me that despite the state of the job market, there is an intense silver lining here for us twenty-somethings.

While the economy is down, the Internet is thriving. Never before has it been so easy to create something on the Web. A blog, a website, a portfolio, anything. While the economy languishes, technology advances.

A down economy means that conventional jobs are hard to come by. Why should we struggle and compete to squeeze ourselves into the few remaining boxes in which society demands we live?

Why not create our own boxes?

What if, years from now, the history books read that my generation beat the recession with creativity and passion? With vision, care, and the tenets of entrepreneurship?

The older generations have never had available to them the technology that currently resides at our fingertips. It’s no one’s fault, but we cannot expect them to be able to comprehend the technology or how we wish to leverage it. The iPhones, and iPads, and computers — these are the devices of our generation. While our parents now exist alongside our technology, the majority lack the immersion afforded to us by growing up with it, rather than before it.

I can think of no better time to think and live outside the box. To build my own box. I have no desire to fight for a job I don’t really want, especially when such a job might as well be a unicorn.

What would happen if we saw unemployment not as misfortune, but as opportunity?

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How to Win a Staring Contest with a Cupcake

Eighteen.

That’s the number of cupcakes that were left over after my niece’s christening party. Chocolate with vanilla creme filling, and red velvet. Each the size of my face. Sitting there, staring. Unblinking. Waiting for me to cave. Damn you, Stew Leonard.

It’s easy to be enthusiastic when a goal or habit is new and exciting. It’s fresh, and you’re fired up about being a better person.

But once that newness wears off — like say, when you’re 23 days into health nut month — it’s hard to maintain the enthusiasm. You’re tired, maybe a little cranky, and you’ve become complacent. You’re used to your goal. It’s no longer at the forefront of your mind, but lodged somewhere in the back. Your energy drifts elsewhere, which makes you vulnerable to slipping up.

Our enthusiasm for positive change fluctuates over time. In the case of diet and exercise, some days, we’re fired up, rarin’ to go, ready to be the healthiest person ever. Other days, the mere scent of a cupcake can cause the whole thing to come crashing down.

It’s easy to make excuses in the face of a cupcake. That sexy pastry’s right there, taunting you. Moist, sweet, delicious. Loaded with sugar. You know it’s bad for you, but the excuses start to form in your mind…

I’ve been healthy all day/week…

I had an awful day, I deserve a cupcake…

It’s not a big deal. It’s just one bite…

When staring down a cupcake, these excuses creep in and take over. They take root in your mind, and suddenly you can’t remember any of your motivation for being healthy. The brain becomes overwhelmed with temptation, and so there’s no room for discipline.

A solution I’ve been experimenting with this month is something I’m calling “The Reasons Why List”.

The Reasons Why List is self-explanatory. It’s a list of reminders about why you’re working toward your goal. For example:

1. I want to look like Tarzan.
2. Sugar will kill me.
3. Bruce Lee definitely wouldn’t eat that.
4. Gotta look good naked!
5. I want to live for as long as possible.

And so on. You’d be surprised how many you can come up with. When staring down a cupcake, consult your Reasons Why List.

Eating a cupcake is a pleasurable experience, there’s no doubt about it. But that pleasure is fleeting. The five minutes spent eating a cupcake are wonderful, but they’re soon followed by physical and mental discomfort. An unhappy stomach, and a guilty voice inside your head. Was it worth it? Maybe yes, maybe no.

Documenting all of your reasons why can help you determine whether or not a cupcake is worth the consequences. The Reasons Why List reminds you who you are and who you want to be.

When staring down a cupcake, remember your reasons. Beat back the temptation, and move a little closer toward your goal.

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