Journaling Prompts: Random Entry Starters

When faced with the blank page, it’s nearly impossible not to want to switch to anything else. One of the reasons that I’m into prompts recently is that it gives a nudge to just answer it. And once you get started, it’s very easy to just let the habit kick-in and continue writing.

I’ve been playing with a Shortcut script which randomly selects one of the below sentences as title of an input prompt:

• Describe the day in three words
• Today I learned that
• If it were morning again I’d tell myself
• Today I daydreamed that
• The quote of the day was
• Today I spent time with
• The best meal of the day was
• The day got interesting when
• The better left unsaid secret of today was
• The photo I did not take today was

The intention is not to answer any of them directly, that’s why the prompt itself should not be included in the sentence you write. Rather I just take the prompt as the topic to address in the first few sentences. Sometimes it’s a simple continuation of the sentence, other times I just follow wherever the writing takes me.

None of this should be a solution in search of a problem. If the first few sentences give you no trouble, don’t mess with what works. But if you find that on averages days you have to fight the urge to just write nothing new today, then these could be useful.

Journaling Prompts: Faux Japanese

Although I crossed 3 years of daily journaling, my workflow has changed over time. Some of it has been fine-tuning — but for the most past, it has been to find ways keep it interesting and doable. Over the next 3 posts I’ll share my latest setup and thinking.

Domo Arigato Mister Roboto

Ending my entry with: a) something I’m grateful for and, b) something I regret (or wish I have done better), has always helped frame the day. Many days they’re so useful that I start the journal with those two items.

So I wanted to expand on these prompts with a few more daily ones. However, I hate writing I’m grateful for… or today I regret… over and over everyday. Not out laziness, it just seems to get in the way writing somehow because it makes me sound like child saying a fake apology.

I experimented with emojis, and acronyms, but it lacked context. As usual when I search for inspiration, I headed to the land of the rising sun¹. I had already used Kaizen as a question to track improvements in the past, and after a few days of playing around I arrived at the following:

• 改善 (Kansha): appreciation
• 改善 (Kaizen): improvement
• 後悔 (Kōkai): regret
• 最高 (Saikō): the best

These are not so much faux as probably grammatical incorrect. But they work for me. Now I’ll always end my entries with this closing section:

• Kansha: Something I’m thankful for, like ice on my night water.
• Kaizen: Something I know is compound work, writing in this blog.
• Kōkai: Anything that looking back on the day makes me cringe, such as losing patience while driving.
• Saikō: Highlight of the day.

The mere act of remembering the words helps me mentally review the day. And having the Japanese words as cues looks fine in the document overall, which is important since I don’t tire of it and helps me come back to journal another.

Journaling as a Personality Backup

I often struggle with my tone and sincerity of my daily journaling. Why should I spend time giving depth to thoughts I’m probably going to remember with just some short words?

Today I was reminded of the movie Regarding Henry, where Harrison Ford’s character forgets his personality after being shot. For sure his journey would have been different — and likely ruined an excellent movie. But the exercise of writing to a version of myself that has forgotten what myself means, struck a chord.

Visualizing the target reader is an often repeated writing advise, and thinking of blank future me sounds like a compelling exercise. It puts me in a clearer mindset of what I should put an effort in detailing and what not.

Benjamin Mayo on Siri Shortcut:

A truly good voice assistant does not require the user to remember something.

Bingo. I tried, but all my shortcuts used are triggered by clicking on an icon. Siri Shortcuts failure rate was comical for me.

Guided Decisions, Not Design Approvals:

My buddy Nav with a great set of notes of how deliver design to a client — and not become a cynic in the process:

With my team, we’ve approached design work with a different set of principles. Of course, we’ve come across clients who are used to an ‘approval based’ design process, but we’ve never worked that way.

These are applicable even if you think of another department as a client. Great read.

Guided Decisions, Not Design Approvals:

My buddy Nav with a great set of notes of how deliver design to a client — and not become a cynic in the process:

With my team, we’ve approached design work with a different set of principles. Of course, we’ve come across clients who are used to an ‘approval based’ design process, but we’ve never worked that way.

These are applicable even if you think of another department as a client. Great read.

Journal Categories

Yesterday I mentioned storing highlights in DayOne, but I wanted to expand a bit on all my journals in the app:

• Journal:

  Where I write every night. Only encrypted one. It’s a mental download of the day, not pausing long enough to edit or filter. At the end two bullet points: something I’m grateful of, and something I could have done better. There’s 1788 entries, since I’ve written almost everyday since Feb 2016.

• Aeropost:

  A work notebook. Most useful as quick two liner entry after any meeting. But it also has longer notes of stuff that becomes emails or documents. Not so often anymore, but whiteboard photos — cleaned up with Carbo.

• Scrapook:

  Anything external I want to save. Originally where all quotes from Quotebook were imported after its demise. But now a repository of anything external that I want timestamped.

• log:

  In contrast to Scrapbook, on log I save anything internal that I want to remember. Many coffee recipies, names of specific menu items I liked, shaving results with different safety razoes, etc.

• Spark:

  Random thoughts. Undigested ideas. Mostly short snippets that make little sense, a with no real hope become an insight. Which surprisingly happens, but many days of weeks later. Right now I’m using in a habit stacking experiment, where I have to write two sentences before visiting Morning Reader.

• Check-in:

  Failed experiment awaiting rethinking, an IFTTT applet that saves all my Foursquare check-ins. But it doesn’t integrate with DayOne locations, so I end going back to Fsquare when I’m looking for something.

• Blog:

  Mostly useless. Another IFTTT applet that saves all posts to this blog sometimes fun when I use DayOne’s On this day feature.

• Comidas:

  Abandoned experiment I wish to revisit. For about 100 days in 2016 I took a picture of everything I ate. Premise being that it would be easier than calorie counting.

Hello Highlights

Reading in the digital age allows for the magical benefit of storing all your highlighted text. In my case, this includes: Kindle, Apple Books and Instapaper.

For the past few years my flow has been to export Instapaper highlights as markdown to my Scrapbook journal in DayOne. I also will usually use the share extension to collect any interesting tidbits I read while browsing. However, eBooks highlights have remained on their respective app silos.

Over the last month I’ve been testing Readwise, and I’m ready to subscribe to their light plan when the trial runs out. Readwise imports your highlights from Kindle, Apple Books, Instapaper and a couple of others — either directly or via a plugin/app on the desktop.

But once it pulls all these highlights is where Readwise shines: you get a daily email with some of the notes. I’ve rediscovered a lot of ideas with this feature, enough that I think it’s worth paying for.

I still want to figure out a way to channel this content into DayOne, but in the meantime, it’s a useful service for a reasonable price.

Processes, Tools and People

Things go wrong. People make mistakes. Unknown/unknowns make a grand entrance in production. You bang your head against the paper-thin meeting room wall and look up at the… soul-sucking florescent lights trying not to scream something that will break your company’s HR rules.

Careful. Either the process or the tools will be the prime suspects. In some teams, changing the process is easier. On most, tools are simpler to replace. Diagnose the actual problem incorrectly and — just like trying to clean a dirty carpet — you just push the stain further down to hide it.

Remove existing negatives before adding philosophical positives. Processes, tools, and people will always have both friction and flexibility — highlighting less important problems and hiding more critical ones. Remember to be careful with what you think has to be fixed first.

Leaders of the Venezuelan Opposition Used Zoom for Conference Calls

From WSJ on of how the Venezuela opposition coordinated its surprising come back(behind paywall¹):

“We spent hours every day on Zoom, talking about what to do,” said Mr. Borges, referring to the videoconferencing app.

Zoom’s security white paper is a bit scant on details, but it does seem to hit all basic security points. I would have thought that the Venezuelan security forces would be all over traffic coming out of Leopoldo Lopez home, but judging by the initial surprise, it seems SSL held up pretty well.

Leaders of the Venezuelan Opposition Used Zoom for Conference Calls

From WSJ on of how the Venezuela opposition coordinated its surprising come back(behind paywall¹):

“We spent hours every day on Zoom, talking about what to do,” said Mr. Borges, referring to the videoconferencing app.

Zoom’s security white paper is a bit scant on details, but it does seem to hit all basic security points. I would have thought that the Venezuelan security forces would be all over traffic coming out of Leopoldo Lopez home, but judging by the initial surprise, it seems SSL held up pretty well.

So many other extraordinary things about Jeff Bezos post, but this paragraph on the NY Times is fascinating:

It has also shown that even for one of the world’s most powerful tech titans and the owner of one of the country’s most influential newspapers, the best means of communications can be a simple blog post.

A simple Medium post. No fancy domain name or custom design. Just something to say.

So many other extraordinary things about Jeff Bezos post, but this paragraph on the NY Times is fascinating:

It has also shown that even for one of the world’s most powerful tech titans and the owner of one of the country’s most influential newspapers, the best means of communications can be a simple blog post.

A simple Medium post. No fancy domain name or custom design. Just something to say.

Nitin Khanna: Don’t Moleskine your blog:

It got me thinking — do we sometimes treat out blogs as Moleskine notebooks? Do we worry that we must only present our best writing on them, instead of just putting our ideas out there, perfection be damned? Yes, we do.

This made me step back and read again. I didn’t follow the rest of his unpublished narrative — but the insight of the moleskine analogy was very powerful.

Nitin Khanna: Don’t Moleskine your blog:

It got me thinking — do we sometimes treat out blogs as Moleskine notebooks? Do we worry that we must only present our best writing on them, instead of just putting our ideas out there, perfection be damned? Yes, we do.

This made me step back and read again. I didn’t follow the rest of his unpublished narrative — but the insight of the moleskine analogy was very powerful.

Brent Simmons On Public Bug Trackers:

But opening up the bug tracker to the public is just a way to get bogged down: it’s a way to make worse decisions, and make them more slowly.

This also applies to internal customers. With enough size, you need to have a ticket system, but it should be separate from your bug tracking tool.

Brent Simmons On Public Bug Trackers:

But opening up the bug tracker to the public is just a way to get bogged down: it’s a way to make worse decisions, and make them more slowly.

This also applies to internal customers. With enough size, you need to have a ticket system, but it should be separate from your bug tracking tool.

Things Inbox Bookmarklet

Things has amazing URL Scheme support, so I created a quick bookmarket to quickly add to my inbox links from Opera while at work — Things auto-fill doesn’t work that well on some apps.

Here’s the bookmarklet: Things.

Grab to your bookmark bar on Opera/Safari/Firefox. On Chrome, right-click to copy link, and then edit the URL of any bookmark to replace.

Things Inbox Bookmarklet

Things has amazing URL Scheme support, so I created a quick bookmarket to quickly add to my inbox links from Opera while at work — Things auto-fill doesn’t work that well on some apps.

Here’s the bookmarklet: Things.

Grab to your bookmark bar on Opera/Safari/Firefox. On Chrome, right-click to copy link, and then edit the URL of any bookmark to replace.

Brydge for iPad Pro 2018

byrdgepro2018

This is looking very close to my iPad/iBook wishlist. I really hope Apple is working on some interpretation of the iOS notebook. At $150, if I get a 2018 iPad Pro, I’d rather get this than Apple’s new Smart Keyboard Folio — $179!

Brydge for iPad Pro 2018

byrdgepro2018

This is looking very close to my iPad/iBook wishlist. I really hope Apple is working on some interpretation of the iOS notebook. At $150, if I get a 2018 iPad Pro, I’d rather get this than Apple’s new Smart Keyboard Folio — $179!

Stardock’s Groupy:

Organize multiple applications into grouped tabs on your Windows desktop

Back in the early 00’s, when I was using Windows on my desktop — and later alongside my iBook — Stardock’s apps were probably my first software purchase.

Robert Heaton on HTTPS:

In cryptography, trust is mathematically provable. Everything else is just faith.

What a great intro to a very informative article.

Fools Frown on Feedback

Make no mistake, an email that says this will be better if… is worth its bytes in gold compared to no email.

A boss or peer that cares enough to provide feedback is a positive ROI. Don’t get protective with your creation. If the feedback bothers you, it’s because you sense there’s truth in it — otherwise, you would not care.

Fools Frown on Feedback

Make no mistake, an email that says this will be better if… is worth its bytes in gold compared to no email.

A boss or peer that cares enough to provide feedback is a positive ROI. Don’t get protective with your creation. If the feedback bothers you, it’s because you sense there’s truth in it — otherwise, you would not care.

A Productivity Definition

A few gems in this podcast interview of Chris Bailey on the Ezra Klein Show

Productivity is accomplishing what you set out to do.

Maybe simple, but I keep back to it. It clarifies the misconception that being always busy must mean you’re productive.

It also drives into another point towards the end of the episode:

The best benchmark the we can use to measure productivity is by measuring it against the intentions that we set at the start of the day.

A Productivity Definition

A few gems in this podcast interview of Chris Bailey on the Ezra Klein Show

Productivity is accomplishing what you set out to do.

Maybe simple, but I keep back to it. It clarifies the misconception that being always busy must mean you’re productive.

It also drives into another point towards the end of the episode:

The best benchmark the we can use to measure productivity is by measuring it against the intentions that we set at the start of the day.

Define a Principle

It’s a useful leadership tool. Today our CEO told me:

Let’s define a principle: if you’re removing work from someone by standardizing a process, I’m going to be on board.

This is actionable, versatile and clear. It helped me with the specific question I had, but also provided guidance for future ones I don’t know I have yet.

The Perfect Typing Device

I have too many keyboards. There are at least 4 good ones on my gadgets drawer. They all share a story about being needed to better type on an iPad — or even a Mac.

The feeling of typing on a physical keyboard is something I truly enjoy. A post typed on a real keyboard will probably fulfill me more than touch typing the same post with my thumbs on an iPhone.

However, most of the recent posts have been typed on a glass screen. It’s the keyboard that’s available when I can write. And writing is not about the clicks or the taps, it’s about moving the cursor to the right.

1040 Days

Robie is 1040 days old today and I’m beyond fascinated by the level of interaction he’s reaching.

Over the past couple of weeks, he seems to have developed into an opinionated and articulated being — and I can’t get enough.

We are starting to have actual conversations, where I can see original ideas coming to him and interests not copied from Ana or myself.

Experiencing this is among the most fulfilling things in my life, and I can only grin thinking about the next 1040 days.

Filthy Rich

How much would Steve Jobs or Paul Allen have paid to have my good health? For how much would I have accepted their health in exchange?

Every time I worry about money, these questions bubble up at some point to give me perspective. Many of us are filthy rich by this measure — and I can’t be thankful enough for it.

Nudging with UI

The shopping cart emoji on a stores folder evokes a pleasing sensation — while using the credit card emoji does give me pause.

Renaming my folders with emojis is a fun test. But using symbols that not necessarily represent what’s inside them, rather than trying to influence my behavior with emojis that are attractive or disagreeable — is my real experiment.

One Small Step Today

Leaving your next day clothes ready the evening before is probably the best productivity advise I learned at Procter & Gamble. I did so by accident — my boss casually mentioned some of the learnings from a manager’s training she attended.

Almost 15 years later, a simple lunch comment has stayed with and affected most of my work life.

Push Back on Time

Some days there’s not enough time for all the things you plan to do, but make sure you push back by doing the things you want to do.

Time can bend. The strict calendar rectangles hide moments in between.

And the feeling of fighting time and winning once in a while makes it worth trying.

No Pressure

That’s probably the last thing someone says before telling you something that does make your blood pressure go up.

It might be uncomfortable but sometimes it’s necessary to transmit the importance of a result.

When you hear no pressure, don’t focus on the perfect outcome — that could be paralyzing. Make sure you can continually update those who decide the expected outcome given any changing conditions.

Disconnected Bliss

Traveling without roaming is among my top 10 first world worst problems. But being offline for the last 24 was a gift. I was present in time and space with those around me, and I channeled my impulses to check the data-less iPhone to interact more with them.

Enjoying the airport WiFi like a good meal after a fast, but the was something during the break that I want to explore more.

Good Friendly Lessons

Not all good lessons come from dead greek philosophers. Here’s three things childhood friends said that have stuck with me over the years.

On being a good teacher:

Don’t ask did you understand?, ask did I explain myself?.

On a good marriage:

Never keep score. That’s not how the game is played.

On good parenting:

It’s a destination, so don’t try to get there in a straight line. There’ll be lots of course corrections.

Uncertainty in a Process Flowchart

When you design in the beautiful world of diagrams, everything is known. A task can either be this or that. Committees or Approval Boards decide if something moves on to the next stage. Assessment agents decide the type of request and sends it on its way.

But what if you don’t know?. A new process can’t have every sort of input typified. This leads to a pause in the process because its actors want to be sure and request more information. Now the beautiful flowchart is like a park without efficient walkways: the grass shows dirt paths were people are taking shortcuts.

Give uncertain items a way out of decision points in your flowchart, because corner cases love to create bottlenecks

Good Days Should Be the Default

Some days will be bad. Friction and uncertainty are implied when trying to create something, and that means not all plans will work out.

But the default day can be designed to lean towards good. Break projects into smaller pieces, make a lunch walk a habit, sneak some reading into the day. Find what gives you a boost and design your day so that it incorporates these nuggets.

Nobody owes you a good day, but if we’re spending it sitting in front of a screen with air conditioning and a water fountain close by — we still have it better than almost everyone in the history of humanity.

Attention Volume

When designing a process that needs an approval scheme, look for the number of times attention is required — you may not have to break down and classify all possible requests.

If an approver has to check once a week a report that includes 30 requests and can pick out any that seems strange, the volume of requests is not 30, it’s 1.

The natural tendency is that you’ll try to create filters so that only major items are escalated. But it’s possible that you’re wasting more aggregate time than a simple straight to the top process would take.

This insight isn’t mine. I was defining an unnecessarily complex process for work and went for a sanity check with my boss. Glad I did.

Sleep Procrastination

Not going to sleep when I’m tired is among the most stupid things I do. When my day self keeps clicking around instead of diving into a task — I know I’m being dumb, but it’s a likable idiot.

But after the kids are asleep and the eyelids are heavy, to allow the moment to pass because there’s a YouTube review I have to watch?

If I’m not going to be more productive everyday, at least I should be more lazy. Otherwise my time here is really being wasted.

Acknowledge Bias

When having a political or controversial discussion — and you sincerely want to evolve the points of view — there’s value in sharing your bias up front.

If both parts want to have a dance of ideas, it will give context and allow everybody to more wisely choose their contributions. Otherwise, the deadlock can be achieved even before the shouting match begins, and everyone saved some time.