Steve Holden's Blog

When Should Kids Get A Smartphone?

I think Cal Newport has done his homework on this topic, and I found his conclusions solid.

Here are three additional recommendations I have for "effective" mobile device use:

1. Turn off all notifications.  Only add back the critical ones like: Text messages from family members, key home automation alerts, local emergency notifications, etc.
2. Don't sleep with your device within reach.
3. When trying to do very focused work, put your phone in airplane mode.

My 2023 Daily Morning Personal Devotion Plan

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

Back in 2019, I embarked on a daily morning personal devotion and growth plan by reading these two books on my Kindle Paperwhite (no ads):

• “Unshakeable: 365 Devotions for Finding Unwavering Strength in God’s Word” by Christine Caine
• "The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday &  Stephen Hanselman

Since then, I've rotated the faith devotional book yearly, but I have kept re-reading the The Daily Stoic (it is really that good).  The previous faith devotionals were:

• “God Is With You Every Day: 365-Day Devotional” by Max Lucado (in 2020)
• “Fixing My Eyes On Jesus: Daily Moments in His Word” by Anne Graham Lotz (in 2021)
• “The One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge” by Coach Tony Dungy (in 2022)

In addition to reading these, I have been practicing journaling whatever comes to mind before my readings. Looking back over my journaling, I see some themes: what happened the day before, or what is going to happen soon; prayers; concerns/worries; and insight into how I am feeling or how I am doing professionally and personally.  I also capture some thoughts or ideas that stand out from my readings. I have tried to journal both on paper and digitally. I have currently settled on paper.  I am currently using a Moleskin that was given to me by Manager-Tools.com.

Another practice I have been doing is high-lighting those verses mentioned in the faith devotionals in my Bible (NIV Faithlife Study Bible: Intriguing Insights To Inform Your Faith).  It is becoming very interesting to see what verses get used across different authors, and those that only get one or two mentions.  An additional insight is how much of the Bible hasn't been referenced. It is also especially interesting to me when my "Faith Daily Devotional" is very aligned with the "Stoic Daily Read."

This year I am going to read in the morning:

• “Quiet Times with God Devotional: 365 Daily Inspirations” by Joyce Meyer
• "The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday &  Stephen Hanselman
• "The Vagabond's Way: 366 Meditations on Wanderlust, Discovery, and the Art of Travel" by Rolf Potts

I am looking forward to Rolf's book as I've been listening to his podcast for years, and he inspired me to take this Europe Trip in 2019.

NOTE: Links to things you can buy go to Amazon Prime.

#human_generated_content

2023 Continuous Year Calendar PDFs For Free Download

Just like last year, I have created some downloadable files of "continuous" calendars for 2023:

• Vertical version (PDF)
• Horizontal version (PDF)

I hopefully did the conversion from 2022 to 2023 correctly.  If you find an error then please let me know.

These were inspired by Kairos Cognition very elegant calendar:

Two Weeks Into Moving To Obsidian As My GTD System

Introduction

About two weeks ago I decided to move my personal David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) system (aka "External Brain/Trusted System") to Obsidian.md (a "free" personal knowledge management application -- note I previously thought that Obsidian was open-source but it is not).

I don't have a huge set of reasons for the switch, it just seemed like something I was very interested in doing after testing Obsidian over the last 6 months for writing, note-taking, organizing, etc.

My previous personal system was Nirvana (for everything GTD-related, but Reference), and Google Keep (for Reference). This system was up and running from January 2019 until now.  Before that, I had a customized GTD-system in Google Keep. The full Google Keep system was ~5 years old.  Before that, it was all Microsoft Outlook-based. 

My work GTD system is Microsoft Outlook based with all my References in Microsoft OneNote or in the Windows filesystem.

Setting Things Up

My first step was to relieve my concern about being able to work across all devices.  So, my first three next-actions were:

1. Get Obsidian working in Linux on my Chromebook.
2. Get Obsidian working on my Windows 11 Desktop.
3. Sync those two systems using Google Drive.

This was pretty straightforward and was probably working seamlessly in less than 10 minutes.

Then I had to figure out how to get things to work on my Android Phone and Apple iPad:

1. First I tried an Android sync tool called Folder Sync, but the changes were not very dynamic.  I had to force a sync from the application before I'd see any updates in Obsidian.
2. Then I realized for the Apple iPad, the options for syncing seemed to be limited to two: Apple iCloud or Obsidian Sync (paid service).  With my primary data files on Google Drive, it seemed like Obsidian Sync was the better option.
3. So I paid for Obsidian Sync (to get both Android & iPad sync going).  I can report that this has worked very well, I've had no issues, and it is very responsive on both my Android phone and my Apple iPad.  Definitely worth the money.

Learning

Now that I could trust that data would be synchronized, and available no matter which device I was using, I just started learning more about what other people have done:

• Reading up on GTD related posts on Reddit.
• Watching the following YouTube subject matter experts (SMEs):
  • Linking Your Thinking.
  • John Mavrick.
  • Obsidian & GTD Video Search on YouTube.
• Signing up and reading through this excellent weekly newsletter.
• Reading through all the Obsidian documentation.
• Reviewing Markdown formatting options.

The current setup is pretty minimal after migrating my current Tasks and Projects from Nirvana, and my current active Notes (Project Support, References) in Google Keep.

Future Projects To Work On

I have used this tool -- keep-it-markdown 0.4.3 -- to migrate all my notes out of Google Keep into .md files to Google Drive. However, I still need to import those into Obsidian.

I also need to migrate a couple of lists in Nirvana -- Later & Someday/Maybe -- to Obsidian.

There is also an effort to figure out if there are other Obsidian plugins, themes, or templates I should be using.

Questions, comments, suggestions, etc. welcome!

2022 Continuous Year Calendar PDFs For Free Download

Last year I was inspired to share my own version of Kairos Cognition's 2021 Continuous Calendar, and they now have their 2022 version available for sale:

2022 Calendar

Unfortunately, I don't have a good place for such a large calendar in my workspace, so I created my own versions for 2021. 

Here are my personally updated ones for 2022.  First a vertical version (prints 8.5 x 11-inch):

2022 Vertical Continuous Calendar PDF Download

And a smaller horizontal version that I have cut out, and laminated so I can easily place it right on my desk right under my monitor:

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/am/2022_Horizontal_Continuous_Calendar.pdf

Please let me know if you have any comments, suggestions, or corrections.  Thanks!  Happy New Year!

 

Getting Things Done (GTD) Journals #1-3

I was recently cleaning out my office at work so that I could share the office with another co-worker, and I came across the printed versions of David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) Journal #2 (2007) & #3 (2008) which were produced for members of GTD Connect.

I reached out to John Forrister at GTD Connect to see if it was OK for me to scan the two journals I had into PDFs and post them.  He kindly said it was OK to post them, but he also surprised me by sent me the PDF versions so I wouldn't have to scan them.  The icing on the cake was that John also sent GTD Journal #1 (2006 or 2007?) which I had never seen.  Thanks John!

So here they are:

GTD Journal #1 (PDF Download)

GTD Journal #1 table of contents:

1. Cleaning and clearing
2. The 5 Phases of GTD workflow - Restated
3. The powerful “10” factor
4. Checklisting
5. ROI for a paper-based filing system that works
6. Writing your own testimonial
7. One GTD List that’s already working for most everybody
8. Apropos of nothing special
9. A case for a soft focus and serendipity
10. Just a second–is that another blog?
11. The Budding Gourmet
12. List Talk

GTD Journal #2 (PDF Download)

GTD Journal #2 table of contents:

1. Who’s Connected
2. A “Personal vs. Professional Conversation”
3. Validating Voices
4. Categorizing Action Lists The David Allen Way
5. Decision Making And Next Actions
6. Have Your Lists Become Listless?
7. How Old Do You Need To Be To Get Things Done?
8. Book Review: The Power Of A Positive No
9. When A Checklist Is A Next Action
10. David Allen’s Personal Tool Kit

GTD Journal #3 (PDF Download)

GTD Journal #3 table of contents:

1. Speed is Key: Making the Most of Your Computer Time
2. File Folders? Priceless!
3. Reducing Your Junk Email
4. The Strategic Applications of GTD
5. The Weekly Review Booklet
6. This is Your Elephant on GTD
7. A Capture Tip for Travelers
8. Next Time In...
9. A GTD Reminder
10. A Message to David
11. Email, Hamsters and Literacy
12. What Goes in My Tickler File
13. Getting Things Done with an iPhone
14. Rumble Strips
15. Betty
16. GTD and Martin Buber
17. GTD at Home: Improving Communication
18. The Benefits of GTD
19. GTD Tips from a Commuter Mom
20. GTD & Vacations
21. More on GTD & Vacations

Getting Things Done (GTD) 2019 Conference [Retrospective]

I was blessed to attend the 2019 Getting Things Done (GTD) Conference in Amsterdam on June 20 (Thursday) and June 21 (Friday) in 2019.

Here are some of my photos.

Here is a blog post about the visit to Amsterdam with my son Conrad.

Here are my notes from Day 1 (PDF).

Here are my notes from Day 2 (PDF).

My favorite photo of the event:

Thoughts & Tips for May 2021

This photo is part of my Blurry collection.

CURRENT HAPPENINGS

All but one of us is vaccinated. Guess which one? Ha Ha! #stay_home_if_sick, #wash_your_hands, #social_distance, #wear_a_mask

Christy and I had a great 2nd retreat to The Oaks to celebrate our 27th Wedding Anniversary.  It was super reflective and restful.  Here are some photos!

I recently did a Getting Things Done (GTD) related presentation to Manager-Tools' M Conference attendees alumni group.  Here is more information about the presentation with an offer to present to other groups or organizations that are interested in productivity.

My work did a virtual Spring Break scavenger hunt (above are some of the photos).  It was super fun and collaborative with friends & family helping out. It was also nice to get out-and-about little bit more. I highly recommend doing something like this if you have the opportunity.

LOOKING FORWARD TO

Carson is going to be graduating high-school soon, and has decided to go to Long Beach State to study nursing.  We are very proud and excited for her upcoming college season.

Summer vacation plans seem to be coming together: Mission Beach beach house rental, back to The Oaks, Def Con (Las Vegas), and camping at San Elijo State Beach.

I am hoping that my friend's D&D session (mentioned in previous posts) will get us through this epic battle I have been DMing for months, and on to a new "underwater" related adventure created by our other DM Darren.

TECHNOLOGY, TIPS, & SUGGESTIONS

Here are some greate Windows 10 tips from ZDNET. The one about the new Clipboard History is especially useful as I have had to use a 3rd party tool to do this in the past.  To open Clipboard History, press Windows key + V. Neat!

I have been experimenting with these Rode Wireless Go Compact Microphone Transmitter & Receiver Systems for The PodCraft Beer Show.  So far they are working well, and they definitely decrease the amount of gear I need to drag to each recording.  I think they are also making the conversational style of the podcast easier to record, and edit on the back end.  I'll probably do a future full review, so standby for more information.

Engadget's article on "Google makes it easy to jump back to the search box by pressing '/' -- The new shortcut makes it easier to refine your search results." should enable you to quickly expand searches to include addition terms.

I knew how to schedule the release of emails, but this article from Wired describes how to do this on Apple iOS devices and on Google Android devices for text messages.  Super handy to know.

QUOTE I'M THINKING ABOUT

“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” - Peter Drucker

Thoughts & Tips for March & April 2021

This photo is part of my Blurry collection.

CURRENT HAPPENINGS

All is good health-wise and no major COVID-19 impacts.  We are looking forward to vaccines. #stay_home_if_sick, #wash_your_hands, #social_distance, #wear_a_mask

Some how I didn't get around to a February post.  Things have been pretty focused at home (taxes, CISSP Continuing Education (CE) credits, ThePodCraft, etc), and work (new role) which is probably why it never got to the top of the priority list.

LOOK FORWARD TO

Our visit to the The Oaks (our photos from our 1st trip) to celebrate our 27th Wedding Anniversary is coming up soon.  And I am going to be taking some annual leave from work the first full week of April just after Easter.

I continue to be Dungeon Mastering (DMing) for my Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) group.  We have been slogging through the "epic" battle over 5 or 6 sessions (3-4 hours of real-time) to play 5+ minutes in game time (each turn has been 6 seconds long). I think the "snatch-&-grab" adventure I was planning is going to be something to do later, as our other DM is ready with his next adventure.

TECHNOLOGY, TIPS, & SUGGESTIONS

Wired recently published some great Gmail tips that are worth reviewing if you are a Google Gmail user.

I learned a few things about how to better use Virtual Desktops on Chrome OS in this article.  I am currently using four: Main, GTD, Social, & Media.

I am not much of a wine drinker but I thought this graphic I found on Reddit to be helpful enough that I saved it into my REFERENCE library in Google Keep:

I believe I have a pretty good online password strategy.   Here are some times related to cracking common password patterns.  This is why your passwords need more complexity as of 2021.  The bad news is that every year going forward the time to crack passwords is going to get less as processors/memory/storage/cache/technologies/approaches/etc. get better:

I have been using LastPass for several years (paying customer), and I still find it to meet my needs: works across many devices, Family Plan, easy to have different passwords per site, and complex generated passwords can be customized.

QUOTE I'M THINKING ABOUT

“If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. - Mary Engelbreit

Thoughts & Tips For February 2021

This photo is part of my Blurry collection.

CURRENT HAPPENINGS

January seemed to be on cruise-control here at our home.  All is good health-wise and no major COVID-19 impacts.  One super great blessing is that Christy's school where she teaches has been able to hold classes since September with no major issues.

The attack on the Capital was horrific. It is shocking to me that so many in the Senate and the House are so supportive of the Cult of Trump. I'm not confident much will change with the impending Impeachment #2.

The kids are back in school, and we are back to juggling spaces, times for video calls, etc.  But we are getting pretty good at that!

LOOK FORWARD TO

Conrad is turning twenty-two this month and seems to be enjoying SDSU. He and a friend did a fun video recently called "The Shed" (YouTube)!

It looks like Christy and I are going to be headed back to The Oaks (our photos from our 1st trip) in April which should be a great retreat as we celebrate our 27th Wedding Anniversary.

I am going to be Dungeon Mastering (DMing) for my Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) group two little side adventures over the next month or so. One is an "epic" battle and another is going to be a "snatch-&-grab."

TECHNOLOGY, TIPS, & SUGGESTIONS

Here is a great visualization of the Pomodoro Technique for breaking up focused work into time slices that I've found to be pretty effective especially when working a big project:

I also ran across this graphic on tips for camera settings that I've saved off in Google Keep for easy access:

This article -- "Comic-Con 2019: Former CIA agents explain 6 ways to conduct and evade surveillance" -- has some technology tips worth reading from a perspective of how to be more private and secure with your phones and devices.

QUOTE I'M THINKING ABOUT

“If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. - Mary Engelbreit