Issue #200 (Which 'Digital Hoarder' Are You?) 12/12/22
This is a bit of a milestone for this newsletter, as I've now put out exactly 200 issues. I don't usually make a big deal of these kinds of things, but I thought it would be useful for me to share how I go about researching, writing, and sending three different newsletters each week.
This newsletter is now part of a larger umbrella publication I've recently launched called Lazarpress. There's nothing too functionally different from how I work under this new name; it's more of a way to streamline things like ad purchases, invoicing, and so on.
Nonetheless, the three newsletters take a certain amount of dedication and determination each week. Here's more or less what I do to keep up the regular schedule of newsletter sends:
- I do a little bit of research every weekday, and maybe during down time on weekends, to collect new links and sources. This involves reading other newsletters, RSS feeds, checking Hacker News, etc.
- Every Tuesday I spend a few hours writing what is currently my smallest newsletter, VSCode.Email. It's a short one so it doesn't take a lot of time and I enjoy it because I'm learning something new about VS Code each time I write it.
- Every Wednesday I spend about 3-4 hours writing my biggest newsletter, Web Tools Weekly. This one has gone out every Thursday since mid-2013!
- Every Sunday, I spend about 2 hours writing this newsletter, which goes out every Monday morning (EST).
- Throughout the week I communicate with people contacting me about ad purchases, collect ad copy from current advertisers, remind advertisers to send me their copy, make a payment, etc.
- If I plan to be away for a few days or on a vacation, I schedule all issues ahead of time, so I generally don't have to do anything on vacation but the newsletters can still go out. Often the vacation newsletters will be a little shorter, but I'll cram beforehand to get all of them done so I don't miss any weeks. For lengthier time away, I take a computer with me and work.
The newsletter business started out as a side project for me, but now it's just part of my main income and as important as anything else I do (which is mostly freelance writing and a few client things on the side).
I hope to continue doing all three newsletters, as they are quite different and they are as beneficial to me writing them as they are to those reading them!
Now on to this week's hand-picked productivity links!
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Silver Bullet — An extensible, open source, Markdown-based personal knowledge management application that runs in the browser and on mobile, and is installable as a PWA.
Stardust — An open-source browser extension that allows you to prefill your consent for all future cookie consent popups and modals, and doesn't collect any personal data.
Timeflow — A smart calendar and task manager for GCal that dynamically schedules your tasks between your events.
Endel — Personalized soundscapes, backed by neuroscience, to help you focus, relax, and sleep. Available for a number of devices including Mac, iOS, Android, and Alexa.
Developer Nation Survey, the 24th Edition is Here — Which is your favourite programming language and why? Take part in the most complete survey Developer Nation has ever created, shape the key trends among developers for 2023 and win amazing prizes such as laptops, courses, gifts cards and many more! sponsor
Post-it® App — Mobile app for iPhone and Android that lets you instantly capture, organize, and share your notes using your device's camera, somewhat like a mini-scanner.
Chuck — A Mac app to quickly clean up your inbox. Delete, archive, sort batches of emails in just one tap.
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Have We Been Thinking About Burnout All Wrong? — Puts forth the view that if burnout is far more prevalent, then maybe we need to change the definition of it and potentially consider its medical implications more.
Performance Reviews Don’t Actually Assess Your Performance — A look at why performance reviews are ineffective and three tips for improving them, or maybe not even doing them at all.
These 5-to-9 Habits Could Be Hurting Your 9-To-5 Productivity — Nothing too new here, but a nice set of reminders for those of us working at home and continuously blurring the lines of work/nonwork.
Variability, Not Repetition, is the Key to Mastery — The author shows that practicing in varied contexts with varied methods and performing with varied task constraints results in more robust learning than simple repetition.
VideoMako —Receive back video edits for a monthly fee, 1-2 days turnaround per edit. Includes short-form reels and long-form for YouTube. sponsor
5 Tools to Help You Time Your Much-Needed Breaks — A research-based discussion of the importance and benefits of breaks along with an infographic and suggestions for the kinds of tools you'll want to consider to ensure you're taking breaks.
There Are 4 Kinds of “Digital Hoarder.” Which One Are You? — A type of hoarding we might not normally consider, categorized in a recent study as four kinds: anxious, accidental, compliance, and organized hoarders.
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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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