Continuing the new feature I started last month and expanding a bit, here’s the best of the web that I’m using, reading, and writing!
Using:
Clippings.io
Clippings does what should probably be built in Kindle functionality: makes it easy for you to organize your Kindle notes. I’m sure I’m not the only one who mostly stopped taking notes because of how hard it is to look at and organize all of them! Clippings solves that issue by letting you export, then annotate, tag, and export (including an Evernote sync!). It’s pretty sweet and very easy to use.
Calm
Last month, I talked about Headspace; Calm is now my preferred app over it. The paid upgrades cost less, for one. For another thing, it doesn’t automatically force you into a beginner meditation course when you download the app. I’ve been using the sleep meditation and I’m going to be testing out a lot more of the other ones. Plus, you can also customize the background noise that plays while the meditation runs. Love. It.
GridDiary
There’s a lot of data that says journaling (especially gratitude journaling) has strong positive benefits. I’ve been wanting to start doing it again, but hadn’t found a way to make it easy. Grid Diary was my solution. You can modify the grids, and have as little or as many “modules” (questions); it’s an easy way to stay mindful about your day. My questions?
- Did I exercise today?
- What am I grateful for?
- What are three good things about today?
- How can I make tomorrow better?
I’m not quite in the daily habit yet, but I’m improving!
Drops
Drops is educational and yet somehow super addictive. Like really. It’s replaced Two Dots, which is saying something (and I’m sure my brain is better for it). I can spell orange juice in German! Drops currently supports German, Spanish, English, French, and Italian. It’s so fun, and totally free, so whether you’re learning something new or just want to keep your vocabulary fresh, check it out.
Reading:
- Something to keep in mind as you construct your work habits: The Hidden Cost of a Flexible Job
- This is a re-usable notebook that ERASES ITSELF IN THE MICROWAVE and has built in scanning options to help you sort and store information after you write it. Wat.
- 7 Ways Working Less Will Help You Work Better
- The Instagram chapter of The Hacker’s Guide to User Acquisition chapter on Instagram is solid stuff, especially interesting if you’re in a B2C business. I’ve got the Twitter chapter bookmarked and I’m curious to read the rest.
- More on Instagram: 3 Time Saving Strategies for Instagram (I’m finding Latergramme super helpful, myself!)
- If post-it notes are a must in your productivity arsenal, definitely check out this post on Personal Kanban at LifeHacker.
- Via the luminous Mara Glatzel: yes, you can have that (finding my way home to my spirit)
- At 99u: Mentorship as You Know It Is Dead
- 5 things you didn’t know about Asana (even I didn’t know some of these and I am a certified Asana fanatic!)
- How Much Is Not Negotiating Costing You?
- Related, with super good actionable tips: the 99U podcast episode on the art of negotiating for more money (see also, for a funny/awesome story)
- I don’t know if you listen to Stuff Mom Never Told You, but this episode on Hatshepsut was super fascinating. Highly recommended—bought the book for some vacation reading!
Writing:
On Bombchelle:
- Dear freelancers: we’re better than this
- The freelancer’s financial toolkit (what keeps me sane + saving)
- Can the app you use make you write faster? (An experiment)
Elsewhere:
- Three Steps to Social Service Success
- Meetings, Email, and Feedback: How to communicate more effectively with your clients
- 10 collaboration tools for modern teams
- Try no-meeting days at work for more heads-down time
- The “as your team grows” checklist for customer service managers
- Increase Content Marketing ROI with These Repurposing Strategies
- Content Marketing: 10 Things to Do Before You Write
- Why Your Content Marketing Needs a Social Media Strategy
- Everything you need to know to get started with Google Analytics
- And of course…Worldslip is continuing to move along! Six chapters up now for you to read and the full Kindle book is coming soon! If dystopian urban fantasy with a snarky lady protagonist/narrator sounds up your alley, well by golly, go read it.
Behind the scenes sneak peek for things coming up:
All right, that’s it for this month. What about you? What did you read that you loved? Do anything fun? I’m moving today (eep!) and then directly going in to taking my first real 100% no work not a family visit vacation in almost six years. I’m so excited!
Anddd if you enjoyed these links and you want to get more things like this, directly in your inbox, on a weekly basis, you can do that by signing up to the newsletter below or right here. Bonus: You get a ton of other free workbooks and business related goodies as well. See you in April!