Tech Productivity Issue #88 (Handwriting Engages the Brain)

Issue #88 (Handwriting Engages the Brain) 10/19/20

If you want to be simultaneously inspired and discouraged at the same time, check out the story of Max Stoiber. Honeypot has posted a brief documentary of Max on their YouTube channel.

Max Stoiber: How Open Source Changed My Life

Max is the creator of popular open source projects like react-boilerplate and styled-components and he also had one of his startups acquired by GitHub. As I mentioned, it can seem a bit discouraging when someone that young accomplishes so much while the rest of us are plugging away just to get by.

But I really like this quote from him in the video, in reference to creating react-boilerplate:

"Whether anybody else uses it or not doesn't really matter to me because I have the solution for the next time I have the same problem."

To me, this is the best approach to creating open source stuff. Just build things that you find useful, and it's likely others will feel the same way.

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

Tools & Apps

OpenProject - Open source collaborative project management software that also offers paid tiers.

TypeLit - Improve your typing for free online by practicing on classic literature. Typing practice that keeps you engaged and entertained.

Enhanced History - Chrome extension that improves browsing and searching your browser history. A fork of an older project that had been bought out and included hijack links.

Pincone - Share links and knowledge, privately or with a team. Keep all of your bookmarks in one place and shared with your team or privately. Organize links into categories, add tags, and keep track of new and interesting content.

Flock - An email-only habit tracker focused on accountability. Track activity by tapping a button in your reminder email each day. Easily invite friends to your group without needing to install an app or logging in.

Articles & Resources

Reading Too Much Political News Is Bad for Your Well-Being - File this one under Things That Make You Go "Duh!". Although, to be fair, it's based on indirect evidence.

New Study Suggests Handwriting Engages The Brain More Than Typing - Based on a study out of Norway measuring the brain activity of children and young adults performing handwriting and drawing tasks vs. typing on a keyboard.

Video: Rethinking Productivity Culture - Anne Helen Petersen shares her no-nonsense perspective on the pressures of productivity, why we undervalue rest, and how our always-on work approach comes at the expense of our whole selves.

Constructive Criticism: How To Give And Receive Feedback - Research suggests that meaningful feedback is crucial to improve our performance. Anne-Laure Le Cunff looks at how we can make the most of it.

Laid Off, Now What? - One former Uber employee's suggestions for a successful job hunt, in case you happen to be in a similar circumstance.

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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