Finding Focus: Using Screen Time for Social Media
The user is the product on social media, and every effort is made to keep our attention. After reviewing my usage, I decided that I was spending too much time being the product and not being productive, and that needed to change. My solution to help me stay on track is Screen Time, the built-in iOS and iPad OS tool.
I have a fifteen-minute limit set for social applications. Once triggered, the app Icon disappears from Siri Suggestions and isn't readily displayed in search results, the two ways I access the most used apps on my iPhone. Additionally, the icon is grayed out wherever it is shown with a small hourglass icon, acting as a not-so-subtle reminder that the time is up.
When the limit screen appears, an Ignore Limit menu offers the opportunity to delay for 1 minute, 15 minutes, or the rest of the day. When presented with this pop-up, I usually just close the app and move on.
After a few months of using this feature, I rarely see this screen appear, and in some ways, I have learned to self-regulate my usage to at most one or two short periods per day. I am pleased with this more balanced approach to social media; the reduction in use is a better fit for my life, and I still can keep in touch with the creators I enjoy.
I wondered if sharing my use of Screen Time would feel like an admission of weakness or an embarrassment and spoke with some friends and family about this idea, and they helped me understand that my desire to limit these apps is healthy. Sharing my experience might be helpful for others considering a similar path.
If you are on a specific app more than you'd like, check your usage. If the number you see makes you uncomfortable, set a limit. Then, when that hourglass icon comes onto the screen, it offers you a momentary break from that dopamine machine, and you can make a better-informed choice about what to do with your time.
Weekly Quote: Simon Sinek on Influencing Human Behavior
This week's quote comes from the book Start With Why by author and public speaker Simon Sinek.
Manipulation is the antithesis of compelling motivation. It is the betrayal of someone's trust and the intentional misunderstanding of empathy. At its worst, it is lazy and mean-spirited. When it's happened to you, you remember. How did it make you feel?
Inspiration is built through meaningful connection. It takes time and transparency. You build it by showing up consistently, listening, and taking action based on what you hear. You grow it by delivering on your promises and apologizing when you make mistakes. It is offering grace while being tough and fair. It's giving everyone an extra break during that really tough week regardless of whether you are supposed to. It's knowing those around you and advocating for them in the meetings they aren't invited to.
As you read these words, you probably already have a picture in your mind of at least one person who has inspired you. See, you remember these people too, and for much better reasons. Now consider this idea: they became better because you allowed them to shine and help guide you.
The best part of inspiration is that it is omnidirectional, and people thrive within its proximity. If you authentically inspire those around you, get ready. You will earn a reputation, and people you don't know will start showing up at your office door because you are a rare gem, and they want to see you shine too. Welcome them, and know that you will be made better every time you do.
Finding Your Next Favorite Blog on ooh.directory
Last week on Daring Fireball, John Gruber wrote about ooh.directory, a resource for finding new blogs by Phil Gyford. I’m feeling nostalgic for when directories and blogrolls were a regular part of the shared online experience.
I remain hopeful that the challenges at Twitter push more users to have more control over their platform.
Weekly Quote: Ryan Holiday on Preparing for the Hard
This week’s quote comes from Discipline is Destiny by Ryan Holiday.
Setting expectations about something is a big part of managing the outcome. If you assume it will be easy, and it isn’t, that will be much more complicated than if you’re ready for a challenge.
The good news is that most of the time, things aren’t quite as hard as you expect. Still, if you put the time in and study for the test, you’re bound to do better regardless of the actual difficulty level. Over and over, you will find that practice makes progress, and preparation is the winning strategy for most of what you will encounter.
The November Newsletter Arrives This Week
The November edition of the newsletter will be coming out later this week, and now is a great time to subscribe. This month, I’ll be sharing some tips on how to pick up the pieces and get started again when things fall apart, as well as a media recommendation and some ideas about year-end planning. I hope you’ll check it out!
Weekly Quote: Daniel Pink on Gratitude
This week’s quote comes from When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink. It is Thanksgiving week in the United States, and this felt like the right quote to share around a holiday that has turned into a time for reflection and appreciation for so many of us.
Dan ends each chapter of When with a collection of relevant tips called the Time Hackers Handbook, and this quote is pulled from a section dedicated to taking restorative breaks. One way to find restoration is through expressing gratitude, which can be done by taking ten or fifteen minutes to write a few thoughts of appreciation or reach out to friends, family members, or colleagues to reconnect or say thank you. Doing this can improve your mood and strengthen your network at the same time. People want to hear from you, despite what that voice in your head says. Reaching out to someone you haven’t spoken to in a while rarely results in anything but happiness.
At the end of every day, I spend a few minutes writing in my gratitude journal. It’s a small act with outsized results. These short entries sometimes spark a note to a friend or family member or introduce a new way of thinking about a situation that provides clarity and some perspective. There is plenty of science behind this idea too. From a Harvard Health article on the subject:
In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.
I encourage you to start a gratitude journal. It doesn’t take a lot of time to do, and has the power to help you feel that sense of mighty restoration that this quote references. You don’t need a fancy journal. Just a notebook or even a notecard will do. Every day, record the date and then write about something for which you feel gratitude. After doing this for a few weeks or a month, take a look back, and you’ll feel an extra boost from your collected gratitude and that will fuel your momentum to keep going. Gratitude engages something special inside of you. Make sure you’re listening to what it’s teaching you because you will be better for it.
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Giving Thanks
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the United States. My family is looking forward to jumping in the car and heading to the Connecticut shore to visit relatives for a few days. It’s been a rocky month because one of those nasty viruses stopped by, and it has slowly worked its way through the household. Thankfully, we are all on the mend and excited for some time to have fun and take a break with people that we love.
As we get the car packed today, I want to thank you for being a 24 Letters reader. My goal is to share content that helps you, so if there’s something you’d like to see me write about or a topic you’d like a deeper look at, please let me know.
Happy Thanksgiving! Look for the weekly quote hitting the site or your RSS reader of choice on Friday morning, just in time for leftover pumpkin pie and coffee, the best post-holiday breakfast there is!
Weekly Quote: Ryan Holiday on Good Deeds
This week’s quote comes from Stillness Is the Key by Ryan Holiday.
The context here is bravery; the reward for hard work internally is a strong sense of accomplishment and inner peace. Externally, pushing past the easy choices can impact those around you by showing them what you’re made of and how much they mean to you. Be brave, and inspire those around you to follow that path.
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On Twitter and Owning Your Stuff
Brent Simmons has written a great piece called After Twitter, and It’s worth reading.
I found Brent’s blog through his app NetNewsWire, which is my preferred RSS app. I like the design and the part of their mission where they actively encourage users to use RSS and reading apps. Any RSS and reading apps, not just their own, because they want the format to thrive.
With a similar spirit, Brent and the folks behind NNW encourage creators to write and build their stuff on a platform they control. On the now-inactive podcast Dialog, Federico Viticci, John Voorhees, and their guests talked about the importance of this a lot. I recommend this podcast, despite not having new episodes since 2019, because it is full of valuable ideas for creatives.
I have a Twitter account, although I’ve never really used it. Many of the creators I follow have gotten so much joy and connection from Twitter, not to mention lots of growth opportunities and valuable connections, and it’s unfortunate to see what is happening to the platform. I know it was never a safe space for so many, yet it seems to be going from not great to worse quickly.
I’m glad this site is something I control, and I’m thankful for RSS to help broadcast what I create. Don’t misunderstand; this can get lonely. I like collaborating with others and want to contribute my voice in other spaces if the right situation arises. Still, I like having a site and domain, and I encourage new creators to follow a similar path.
Maybe one positive from this shift will be a resurgence in blogs and websites with valuable and engaging content and ideas. Either way, I probably won’t be jumping on Twitter anytime soon.
Craft Turns Two and Celebrates With a Discount
Craft, my favorite app for building ideas, planning projects, and organizing information, is turning two and celebrating by offering a healthy discount of 50% off subscriptions. If you’ve been on the fence, now may be the time to jump in.
Weekly Quote: Miles Davis on Time
This week’s quote comes from Jazz legend Miles Davis, regarded as one of the most important and influential musicians of the 20th century.
I found this quote a few weeks ago in the book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink. Pink delves into the science behind how timing can drastically alter the outcome and results of our actions based on something seemingly simple as the time of day. It’s an intriguing idea and one that Pink has researched thoroughly and shared compellingly.
In my life, the last two weeks have been challenged by sick kids. Parents and guardians will relate to this idea: when your kids get sick, everything melds together in a haze of sleepless nights, runny noses, and lots of popsicles and cold medicine. Time has had little definition in my household these last few weeks. It’s just survival.
Still, I’ve been thinking of this quote and trying to remember that time remains the most important thing. The other night, as one of my sick kids slowly drifted to sleep after a long day of coughing, there was time for me to breathe a little, time to look at them and consider who they might become and what they might need and want from me on the journey they’re on. There was time to remember that none of this is infinite, which served as a reminder to appreciate even these really tough moments because this is all there is, and it is all important.
I’m confident I’ve said, “I cannot wait for this to be over,” many times in the last week. Yet, during the few daily reflections I’ve managed in this period, I have included an appreciation for the extra time I get with my kids, despite the challenges. Even in sickness, time with family is a blessing.
Find time to spend with those most important to you because, in the end, there is little that truly matters more.
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The Two Definitions of Zettelkasten by Chris Aldrich
This deep dive of the history of Zettelkasten and commonplace books by Chris Aldrich is a great read. It is FULL of references and links to explore further, which is something that presses all of my nerd buttons.
I used notecards years ago for projects and book notes before I knew the deep history of the format. I liked the system and am considering implementing it into some of what I’m working on now. I’m pretty much all digital at the moment, and while that’s not likely to change significantly, I think an analog component could be an exciting experiment and perhaps a way to drive some new ways of thinking.
I found Chris’s piece via a link posted by John Johnson on the always great Mac Power Users Forum. Thanks, John!
Weekly Quote: Steven Pressfield on Boldness
This week's quote comes from The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield. If you're trying to accomplish anything, specifically something creative, you should read this book.
The advice to start "whatever you can do, or dream you can" now, is wise. Waiting for the perfect time to start represents your fear, a desire to manage risks and avoid failure. You cannot have any outcome until you begin, whether it is developing your workshop, writing your novel, or building your app. As Pressfield writes, you gain strength through your boldness. There will be failures, and your courage will help you continue through.
Don't wait. Start right now. Show your work, even when it is a little rough, and people will be there for it. They will forgive the inevitable mistakes because what you have to say is valuable, and your voice outweighs some minor imperfections in your video or on your blog. Remember, perfect is the enemy of the good. Get started, and be brave.
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9to5Mac Shows Off Freeform, Apple’s New Collaborative App
9to5Mac has a walkthrough of Freeform, the new collaborative, flexible canvas tool coming soon to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. My experience with similar apps is mainly limited to Mural, which was great for workshops. Because of that, I'm excited about the OS-level integration in Freeform and what that could mean for the future of remote work and workshop development focused on the Apple ecosystem.
I'll close with a question: Does Apple have a business case for a web version for Windows and Android users?
Weekly Quote: Steven Johnson on Where Good Ideas Come From
This week’s quote comes from Steven Johnson’s Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation. This title came up during a review of another book in a recent Charter Newsletter, and I decided to check it out.
The quote builds on an idea I’ve been thinking and writing about since I started this site, that you learn and grow much more when things go wrong. The idea that mistakes are the language of growth, that we build ourselves through productive struggle and not when things are easy, is such a big part of our personal development
if you’re doing some form of daily review in your journal, I encourage you to ask yourself what went wrong or was especially hard for the day. You can learn a lot from this, particularly how you react against external inputs, which are often beyond your control.
If you examine those reactions, you’re very likely to learn something, particularly if you look over time at trends that may appear. Taking that information and considering how you can build from it is a concrete step in making positive personal improvements.
Six Rules for Improving Your Reading Practice
Reading is a practice, in just the same way journaling or playing music is. After making a conscious effort to read more this year, I’ve created a few rules that I follow to keep on track. I think you’ll find them helpful too.
1. Schedule reading time every day
Making time daily is essential, even if it’s only for 15-30 minutes. I write about the value of incremental growth because It has worked well for me. Making small daily gains is an effective way to accomplish your goals.
2. Remove the progress and clock from reading apps
If you read on the Kindle app on a tablet or phone, it can be helpful to declutter the screen by removing the progress info and the clock from the page view. I wrote about how to toggle that data here.
3. If you aren’t captivated, quit
Don’t finish a book that doesn’t work for you. Your time is precious; respect that, and know it is okay to put a book down that doesn’t inspire you.
4. Buy books you want to read
Keep a list of books you want to read or buy a few you plan to read. I know this can be a trap for some people with lots of bookshelf space they want to fill,, so do what works best for you. I usually have a few new books waiting to be read on my desk or on Kindle. This allows me some readily available choices if I want to dig into something different.
5. Use Focus Mode for iOS and iPadOS devices
If you are reading on an iOS or iPadOS device, create a Focus Mode that disables notifications when you open your preferred reading apps. It’s the ideal way to read and focus on a device that is otherwise a firehose of information.
6. Share what you are reading
Tell those around you about what you are reading. You don’t need to offer a full book report, but if there’s a neat fact or insightful anecdote, it’s worth sharing in the proper context. This is a great way to connect with the people around you, and maybe you’ll help someone else pick up their next book!
If you use only one of these rules, pick number 1. Sure, it seems obvious, yet how often have you wanted to do something and never really started doing it or didn’t dedicate regular time to accomplishing the goal? You need to commit resources to succeed at something, and If you make time every day for the things you want to achieve, you will be successful, even if it takes a while.
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Weekly Quote: Ryan Holiday on Focus and The Muses
This week’s quote comes from Discipline is Destiny by Ryan Holiday.
Focus can be hard to find. There have always been distractions, but they’ve gotten much louder thanks to the tiny supercomputer in your pocket or bag.
Modern tech is a wonder. The Internet has changed our lives and given us so much. Yet, it takes effort to avoid the pitfalls of the always-on data firehose, with apps designed to keep you swiping and engaged, watching, and captivated. Sometimes, there's not much difference between being captivated and captured save for a bit of charm.
It may be something else too. Perhaps your time is not your own anymore. You are busy being a parent, working two jobs to pay the bills, or acting as a caretaker for a family member because they have no one else. When the day ends, you are too exhausted to do anything aside from preparing for the next challenge.
Regardless of what is pulling at you, try to find some time that is yours. Doing so will help you manage your stress and gain perspective. Put your phone away, Take a few deep breaths, daydream a little, go for a short walk, or even write in your journal. Give yourself space to think and listen carefully to what comes to mind.
Make this time a priority. Practice putting the distractions and burdens of life in a metaphorical box, knowing that they will be waiting for you when you're done, and gift yourself one of the most priceless commodities, a little time.
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PKM Toolkit: The Daily Review Journal in Day One
PKM Toolkit is a series featuring ideas, tools, and apps that help collect, organize, review, and share knowledge. You can learn more about personal knowledge management by reading the first entry of the series.
The latest addition to my journalingl practice is the daily review. If you read my post about returning to journaling, you’ll note that I was doing something like this at the beginning of this year, and things went a little sideways which made writing by hand challenging. I’m resurrecting the general idea but changing from paper to digital for the format and tweaking the prompts. I’ve been doing this for several weeks now, and here are a few details on how I’m doing it:
End of Day Routine
I start my day with a brief daily gratitude entry in the morning and try to end my day by doing the daily review and some reading. My total time on this routine is rarely more than thirty to forty-five minutes because there isn’t much day left once the kids are asleep and everything is finished.
Occasionally, I end up doing the review the next morning. I don’t mind adjusting the date for the intended day. I’m not gaming the streaks system. I just want an accounting for that specific day.
My Prompts
These continue to evolve, and I’ve changed them several times already. Right now, every entry has the following questions:
What happened today that went well?
It’s helpful to celebrate and consider the positive moments.
What happened today that could have gone better?
Conversely, the less-than-optimal deserve a quick review too. This is not an opportunity to blame or dwell but instead is a chance to just write it down and have an opportunity to learn from it.
How did I make a positive impact on those around me?
Both David Sparks and Jim Eagar, two of my favorite writers on this subject, have similar prompt in their journaling and review process. This is the most important question I ask. I want to help people, and I think a lot about how I can do that.
Is there anything unfinished that needs to be written down for tomorrow?
This helps to clear my mind. Then, as needed, I take a minute or two of action to create a reminder or maybe put something into Craft or a shared note.
This is not a sacred text
I write a sentence or three for each prompt and rarely more than that. I also try to write what comes to mind without much mental processing or editing. I want the purest consideration I can get, regardless of tone. The intention is not for anyone else to read this. It’s for me to put what’s in my head somewhere else.
Once I’m done, I review what I’ve written down. It helps to process the day and feel gratitude for the better parts or a sense of understanding about what went wrong.
Ignore the Streaks
I love streaks until I break them. Then, my brain starts saying some not-so-nice things. Streaks have their place, but I avoid focusing on them here. I want journaling to become a desirable habit, something I want to do every night, fully aware that I probably won’t always be able to do that.
My Tools
I use Day One for all of my journals. I like having prompts automatically populate when I start a new entry and being able to journal on my iPad, iPhone, or Mac. The backup features are helpful too.
I began the year using a print journal to do a version of this daily review, but it didn’t stick for me (mostly because of that pesky broken wrist). Ultimately, the specific tool of choice matters far less than finding the right tool that accomplishes the journaling practice.
Practice Makes Progress
The more I get back into journaling, the easier it is to have it as part of my daily routine. The Daily Review helps me put my day to bed, so I can sleep too. I have a chance to defer and organize lingering things, and if something went well or was not so great, I have a structured opportunity to think it all through.
As you can see by my recent changes, journaling is quite adaptive. You can try something out and change it if it doesn’t work. How you write your thoughts down doesn’t matter as long as you do it. It’s a helpful process in many aspects of my life and one that I recommend to everyone.
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Weekly Quote: Angela Duckworth, Author of Grit, on Potential
This week’s quote comes from the book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth. Duckworth is a professor of psychology at The University of Pennsylvania and a researcher, author, and co-founder of Character Lab, a nonprofit working to advance scientific insights that help children. In addition, Angela cohosts the podcast No Stupid Questions with Stephen Dubner.
Potential is a state of readiness, and you’re probably more prepared than you realize. So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to get up and go do whatever it is that you know you should be doing.
99% Invisible on the History of Search
The Podcast 99% Invisible recently looked at the history of search with Adam Rogers, a senior tech correspondent at Insider.
From the 99% PI feature:
Ever since humans started writing stuff down, the struggle has been organizing it all so that its contents wouldn’t be lost in the stacks. Search has always been an attempt to fix that problem.
After sharing a beautiful story about his librarian grandmother, Adam talks about our need to outsource information and memories to digital media and how challenging that can be. If you’ve ever tried to search for something and just can’t find it despite knowing that it’s there somewhere, then you know the frustration, angst, and potential fear that Adam is talking about.
The episode looks at the history of search. It also looks at how we find what we need online, basically Google and the Google+Reddit trick that has gained popularity.
The Memex
The highlight was learning about the inventor, engineer, scientist, and generally busy guy, Vannevar Bush. In the late 1930s, Bush created the Memex, an early conceptual analog computer meant to “link” microfilm through a bookmarking system.
Reading deeper and broader, the imagined Memex and a book called As We May Think (link to collected works), which Bush published in 1945 to explore more of the associated ideas, inspired a lot of those who went on to develop our modern ideas for what computing and the Internet have become.
99% PI is a podcast I’ve been listening to on and off for years. Roman Mars and his team produce a program that defies categorization for me. I listen to it when I want something unexpected and exceptional, and recommend it for anyone looking for something similar.
Did you know that the first known newsletter was published in Ancient Rome? Called the Acta Diurna, it dates from before 59 BCE. (source)
24 Letters is launching a monthly newsletter in October, sharing additional articles, links, recommendations, and early access to new projects. So think like an ancient Roman, and join today!