Morning Ritual
I’m finding a rhythm, and I love it.
Before this makes sense, it helps to understand some details about my life. We have a 17 month old little girl, and she wakes up, like clockwork, every morning at 6:55AM. It don’t matter whether I would like to sleep in or not, she’s up and ready to start her day. And that begins with my wife bringing her into our bed and nursing her for about 30 minutes off and off.
My wife uses this time to catch up on FaceBook, so I grab my iPhone as well and check Tweetie and Reeder and sync my Things for the morning. Now, in the past, this nebulous bed time could last as long as I want, and as a freelancer I have that freedom to make my way to my desk as quickly or slowly as I feel necessary. It is relaxing and stress-free.
In our evenings, the little girl goes to bed at 6:30PM. We eat dinner right after that, and then hang out, typically with a couple shows on TV as either the focus or the background noise. And frequently we engage in actual community by playing games, talking, and tackling the “little things” as they have popped up in our daily lives. She wants to know how my business is going, and I want to know about her day with our daughter and connections with friends and family. It’s relaxing.
But I’m missing out on time to do the other things I love. Mainly, reading and writing. So inevitably, my Instapaper account gets rather full, my guilt for ignoring it steadily rises, and I begin to feel like I lack Me Time. And as an introvert, I need Me Time.
Epiphany
This week I had a moment of inspiration at the end of an evening. I grabbed my iPad and opened up a notebook app (Penultimate) and quickly wrote out my dream routine. It’s essentially the same (wake up at 7AM), but has me getting out of bed by 7:30AM, into the shower (while the coffee automatically grinds and brews), grabbing my coffee by 8AM, and at my desk for Me Time.
Me Time is essentially me, a hot cup of black coffee (Cafe Verona this week) and my iPad. I don’t even turn up the brightness on my iMac yet to keep my eyes from wandering to it. I simply sit down, fire up Instapaper, and read article after article while I sip my brew.
And it’s glorious. I can typically read every article I marked as “read” the day before. If ideas strike, whether for writing or work, I simple use Things’ universal Quick Entry hot keys (Control+Option+Space) and get it out of my head. I don’t check email. I don’t answer the phone. It’s Me Time. And I enjoy every minute of it.
Ready to Roll
When 9AM arrives, I feel ready. I’ve consumed and relaxed, and I’m ready to create. Most of my clients are just getting into their offices around 9AM anyway, so I haven’t missed a beat. And without that overwhelming, always-with-me feeling of needing Me Time, I tend to step into my work more calm and peaceful.
It’s only been a week but I can see this routine lasting years. Sure, we have another baby due in mid July, and I’m aware that parts of my routine will need adjusting. But I am committed to maintaining this new-found freedom. and I encourage you to do the same.
Steve Jobs: The Windchaser
The thing about Steve Jobs that continues to amaze me is his timing. He releases devices into the world at just the right time. Like a surfer catching the wave at that perfect moment in order to get the best ride possible. Jobs introduces revolutionary new products when the world is on the cusp of admitting that they have a need. Instantly, he fills that perceived hole in our soul.
Which got me thinking about the process. No one can see a need and instantly provide solutions of the quality and caliber that Apple does. No, there are years of R & D involved, prototypes, revisions, refining, scrapping and starting over. But when we the consumer finally see the devices, we want them – and need them. How does he do that?!
It’s like not knowing when your friend’s wedding will be, or where, but jumping in your car and driving toward where you think it will be, and arriving right as the ceremony is about to start. That’s insane to expect, but he does it each and every time. I imagine that Jobs sets a product in motion when his heart and soul tell him it needs to exist. And then it’s all about a slow, guided creation with one eye on the device and another on the wind.
And as they approach the completion of development, Jobs licks his finger, holds it up to the wind, and smiles.
It’s time.
Vintage Computers
A fantastic piece by Time Magazine on vintage computers. This is the world my father-in-law worked in for years, and one reason he’s my hero.
Fact: My father-in-law has a pair of homemade jumper cables that he crafted from wiring taken out of a CDC machine. Ah, those were the days.
My Current Desktop: Clean and Simple
This is a snapshot of my current desktop, showing off just how clean and minimal I tend to keep things. Sure, files make their way onto the desktop from time to time, but they’re filed away each night. And I hide what I don’t need immediately, like the Dock.
The Menu Bar serves to store some of the services I use and need close at hand. Applications include (from left to right):
Desktop image can be found here.
The Real Solution to Ad Blockers
Ken Fisher posted an article yesterday, venting about why he and his associates at Ars Technica feel that website ad blockers are “devastating” to the sites “we love.” I can’t help but walk away from reading the post feeling like Fisher and the Ars team are simply stomping their feet and whining about something that’s really not our problem.
I may not have ads on my own blog, but I browse hundreds of websites a day and experience the good and the bad of the internet advertising world on a regular basis. I can understand why a visitor to a website might want to block some ads. The plethora of grotesque teeth whitening ads on Facebook are a great example. Some are simply irrelevant, while others are just plain offensive. Ad “blockers” are just tools that provide a solution to a perceived problem.
There are good ads, mind you. My friend Chris Bowler is one of the founding partners of Fusion Ads, who delivers beautifully designed, thoughtfully placed ads on websites that draw the most discerning and critical eyes. They are in a completely different class from the bottom-shelf, low-quality ads you’ll find on Facebook or other popular blogs. If I’m ever able to attract an ad company for my blog, I hope it’s Fusion. And I would never in a million years consider blocking a Fusion ad. Ever.
Apples and Oranges
Fisher’s argument is based on the analogy of a restaurant. He likens ad-blocking visitors to customers who eat a meal and leave without paying, going as far as to correlate bandwidth usage to coffee and sandwiches. But this metaphor leaves out so many other facts that it easily confuses apples and oranges.
First, bandwidth is not a resource visitors are obligated to “pay” for. Bandwidth is a utility expense, not a service. If I decided to open up a book store on Main St., I would have to pay for electricity, internet access, phone service and heat. These are not costs that only incur when someone visits the store. I’d have to pay for them whether I see a single customer or not. So please, don’t start claiming that each and every visitor is obligated to pay (by viewing your ads) for bandwidth. That’s not our problem, sorry.
Second, this complaint completely ignores a growing group of visitors who use ClicktoFlash, a Safari plugin that disables Flash on websites until the user decides they’d like to view it. These people aren’t setting out to block your Flash-based ads – they are just wanting to block Flash itself. If there was a way to deliver a non-Flash version to those visitors, then the ads would receive far more impressions. But this isn’t a problem the visitor is responsible for fixing. This, like paying for bandwidth, is YOUR problem to solve.
Attention and Trust
There’s a discussion happening right now about ads, impressions, attention and trust. Writers like John Gruber, Shawn Blanc, Jason Snell and more have been dialoging about the real currencies in the visitor-to-blog relationship: attention and trust. I think ad blocking is a symptom of the larger problem, which is a lack of trust. But Fisher would like to force people to trust his blog, while the real solution works the other way. The publisher needs to create content worth caring about, and only exhibit ads from companies that it feels its readers would resonate with.
When someone visits a blog for, say, iPod news, and they are accosted with a half dozen web hosting ads, they die a little inside. It’s obvious that fake iPod blog is simply shilling the goods of the highest bidder. If you want to earn your readers’ attention, offer just the ads they will relate to and find interesting. Then, rather than selling unrelated crap, you’ll be offering things your readers would actually want. The ad becomes more of an extension of your content, and less a way to pay for bandwidth. Ars Technica could take a lesson from a blog like John Gruber’s DaringFireball. While they are currently advertising GQ Magazine on their technology news blog, Gruber is advertising SourceBits, a Mac, iPhone & web app development company. GQ doesn’t fit Ars in anyway, but SourceBits fits right into the sweet-spot of Gruber’s readership.
When I feel like the publisher of a blog/site is sharing something with me that I’m likely to be interested in, I appreciate it. When a website splashes ads for something I could care less about, I feel violated and used. Ars Technica wants people to stop blocking the ads on their site. I think the better solution is to display ads that better reflect the interests of their readers. People don’t block what they don’t mind seeing.
Noise
If I seem to be making less noise lately, maybe you should thank me.
Honestly. How many blogs can someone subscribe to? I’ve gotten to the point that I don’t even check my Fever account during the workday. If it’s important enough, I’ll see it in Twitter. And I’m only jumping into my Twitter timeline maybe 2 or 3 times during work. Honestly, I just can’t handle it sometimes. It’s like giving up a controlled substance, or fighting an addiction, you know? Sure, I have days when I fall off the wagon and get more “connected”, but those days are fewer and farther between. I don’t have time for it. and I certainly don’t have the energy for it. I barely have the time and energy to sift through my ever-growing list in Instapaper.
But here are some of the things I’ve learned since giving up the noise:
I get a lot more work done.- I’m getting a lot better at what I do.
- Apple is STILL going to release the iPad in March whether I read every pre-release review or not.
- When I get my work done faster, I have more time with my family.
- When something really important needs to find its way to me, it always does.
- If a friend wants to get in touch, they can email me.
I’m not going to go silent, don’t worry. I’m sure all 28 of the people who subscribe to this blog could care less, but I do like to say things from time to time. I’m just trying to intentional about how much noise flows in and out of my life. And I hope you can’t fault me for that.
So, I apologize if you miss my link lists (I sure don’t). I’m sorry if I don’t update my Facebook status more often, or banter with gobs of people on Twitter much anymore. You really don’t need daily posts from me on this blog, either. I know how incredibly distracting noise can be, and I don’t want to be guilty of adding to yours. So again, if I seem to be making less noise lately, maybe you should thank me.
Grace Smith’s Productivity Series
Designer Grace Smith launched a new series today, focused on Mac OS X productivity hints and suggestions.
Part One gets inside QuickSilver and Spotlight before parts two and three discuss Applications, Spaces and the Dock. So make sure you are subscribed so as not to miss out when these are published over the next two weeks.
This is a great post, so be sure to check it out!
Super Simple Month
My friend Patrick Rhone, on his new blog Practical Opacity, recommended a great article about Super Simple Month. It’s a fantastic concept, and I’ve just got to pass it along to you.
Unclutter your life today. You’ll be glad you did.
The First Home Computer
Most people primarily use computers at work. Whether it’s because of their IT department, their corporate software needs or the personal preference of the CEO/Owner/President of the company, the computer of choice for most businesses is a Window powered PC. And when these people drive home from work, they need something to use in their personal life as well. And most people (though the tide is slowly shifting) opt for another Windows box.
So in a sense, the business world drives the choices in the personal-use computer industry. But what these people end up buying is really more than they need. Most people who work outside the home use their at-home personal computer for very few things: internet browsing, email communication, social networking sites, a money management program, and for purchasing and consuming their media (photos, music and movies).
It’s interesting to think about, really. The computer as we know it has a split personality. Core elements are incredibly personal and non-professional, while other functionality is incredibly business-oriented. How many accountants in a corporate setting really use their “My Music” and “My Photos” folders on their Windows machines? And at home on their personal computer, how many owners have intricate filling systems, external hard drives or detailed spread sheets? Not many.
Sure, there’s a small number of people who can’t separate their work and personal computer experience. I’m a graphic designer who works for myself from a home office, so it’s harder for me to “leave work” and switch my mind to a “home” mode. But for most people, after working on a computer all day, commuting home for an hour, rushing through dinner and putting the kids to bed, the last thing they want to do is sit down to a home computer and see the same interface, fish through the same folder structure, and fight the same system notifications that pop up.
Most consumers want something different. They want a computer they can call “home”. Sure, they want it to hold everything they put on their current computers (photos, music, etc) but without the complexity that reminds them of work. It needs to be easy to use – enjoyable in fact- and portable. Consumers today value beauty and design (read Daniel Pink’s fantastic book ‘A Whole New Mind’ for more on that topic) and simplicity.
The iPad, at its core, is the home computer for people who want their personal life to be enjoyable. It’s not an enterprise device, or a mobile office. It’s not a replacement for your laptop (unless your only home PC is a home-based laptop) or a designer’s Wacom replacement. It’s the first computer.
The Metaphor is Changing
With the release of the iPad this past week, Apple is changing the computer metaphor we have known for decades.
The model for interaction that many people take for granted is based on the office. There’s a desk on top of which you keep those things you need most frequently or currently, otherwise known as a “desktop.” There’s a filing system where you organize all your documents in folders within folders. There’s even a trash can within reach where you can toss the things you don’t need anymore.
The “windowed” UI experience is not found on the iPad. Instead, we have a “home button” that takes us to our “home screen”. And on that level of interaction is everything we need. If I want to access the word processing document I’ve been working on, I open the application I created it in, and the document is stored within. Focus shifts from managing files and clutter to enjoying music and photos and video. And all of this can be “locked up” when we need to leave.
The computer metaphor is changing. It used to mirror our office. Now it mirrors our home.
