Tech Productivity Issue #152 (Why You Might Want to Talk to Your Dog)

Issue #152 (Why You Might Want to Talk to Your Dog) 01/10/22

I currently write content for two newsletters each week that feature various kinds of tools. My other newsletter is Web Tools Weekly, which I'm sure many of you subscribe to. When doing research, I often find tools that are in the "early access" phase or "not ready for production". I rarely will include links to those tools. I want to share stuff you can try out right away.

I do, however, save those links and check them again later to see if they're now available to the general public. Sometimes I check within a few months, sometimes 6 months later, or even a year later. Believe it or not, a large chunk of the tools that I come across in "early access" never get out of those beta phases. I understand that software is hard, but it's a bit sad to see this happen because many of those early access tools sound great and have great potential.

I'm not really sure what the solution to this is – but I have a suggestion: Don't put out an "early access" product unless you have a concrete date for the full release. Every product's timeline should include a definite full release date – otherwise, it's too easy to stay in early-access limbo indefinitely.

Of course, everyone's circumstances are different, and many do get out of beta – so take this advice with a grain of salt. But it would be nice to see more of these cool products become full-fledged, public apps and tools that don't get lost in the early release abyss.

Now on to this week's hand-picked productivity links!

Tools & Apps

Grapic - Mac app that uses computer vision and AR to collaborate on real whiteboards and notebooks in remote and hybrid meetings.

Trello to Markdown - Back up Trello to local markdown folders fast, to preserve important info you store in Trello, view it locally, run fast full-text searches and generate static sites of your Trello content.

communicator.onl - Service to set up an easy-to-use chat app for interaction and communication with clients and customers, with support for QR codes to access the chat.

Traftt - Schedule on-site or virtual appointments, meetings, and events; manage staff and services, accept payments, send reminders – all in one tool.

SmartPaste - Paste without styles on macOS. Copy-paste nicely styled text
to apps like Gmail and Google Docs, without learning new shortcuts.

PagerNation - A browser-based intercom to send and receive audio messages.

The Best Time to Build a Data Stack - A data stack is a collection of tools that allow you to efficiently organize and analyze your data so all of your teams can work on the same page. Is your company ready? sponsored

Articles & Resources

Watching a Lecture Twice at Double Speed Can Benefit Learning Better Than Watching it Once at Normal Speed - Results are based on a new paper in Applied Cognitive Psychology.

Avoiding Bed-to-Desk: Creating a Routine of Boundaries While WFH - I like the advice to change into work clothes, rather than wearing pajamas all day, something I try to do on most workdays.

Sitting Too Much Drags Down Your Mental Health. Here's How to Get Moving - Based on some research done early in the pandemic as well as previous research on the good effects of physical activity as opposed to sedentary lifestyles.

Successful Outcomes Over Efficient Delivery? - This is in response to some earlier articles and Tweet threads on these subjects, so there's a lot here to take in if you want to delve into this.

Why You Might Want to Talk to Your Dog - Or in not-so-crazy terms: Say out loud what you want to achieve or accomplish when you're having trouble following through.

What is Underneath Productivity? - Dan Shipper believes that by focusing on metacognitions, the stress response, and interpersonal relationships, he's able to better address the challenges associated with being more productive.

Screenshots Aren’t Photos. Until Now. - Turn screenshots into actual image assets. Screenstab lets you import screenshots, transform them into photo-realistic 3D renderings, and export high definition images that are perfect for sharing. sponsored

Suggestions?

Have a suggestion for a productivity-related tool, article, or other resource? Send me a direct message via X (@LouisLazaris) and I’ll consider including it in a future issue.

Stay productive!

Louis
techproductivity.co
@LouisLazaris

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