Flybys: Strava replays an entire race
Available for some time in test mode, Flybys is a (now more prominently displayed) feature from Strava that allows you to replay multiple runs of users of the platform. It is available for all activities, even your training runs, but is more fun for full races were there are much more users matching your data. [Continue reading]
Smiling is it’s own reward
“In part positivity reflects the brain’s reward circuitry in action. When we’re happy, the nucleus accumbens, a region within the ventral striatum in the middle of the brain, activates. This circuitry seems vital for motivation and having a sense that what you’re doing is rewarding. Rich in dopamine, these circuits are a driver of positive [Continue reading]
RescueTime now integrates with IFTTT, Zapier, Slack
In the age of APIs and integrations, as Twitter goes backwards and shuts down one API after the other in a awkward attempt to monetise, other companies improve by connecting with third-party services which can improve both sides. One of my favourite productivity tools has added new integrations that can help you get more done [Continue reading]
Weekend productivity experiment: (Almost) no e-mail
This will probably be easy as I don’t get a lot of e-mail over the weekend anyway. – Rule 1: Don’t open Mail on the desktop – Rule 2: Only check the “VIP” view on mobile Mail – Rule 3: Work on stuff that matter (Update: it worked! While that particular weekend wasn’t overly productive, [Continue reading]
14-Year old builds his own digital clock, brings it to school, teacher has him arrested
Apparently there are teachers and police officers with such a complete lack of science literacy that consider any digital clock to be almost a time bomb, especially if a boy with a muslim name is involved. As a new high schooler, Ahmed Mohamed thought he’d show off his Maker prowess by bringing in a simple [Continue reading]
Fight procrastination with timed bursts and Time Out (Mac)
I’m currently reading the excellent “Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management“ by Mark Foster and one of the first things that caught my are timed bursts. As Mark explains: One of the most effective procrastination busters is to work in timed bursts. These bursts can be any length, but usually will be [Continue reading]
Relax, you’re insignificant, none of this really matters
Described in Judd Apatow’s recent book, Sick in the Head, Jerry Seinfield’s solution for relaxing during a stressful period: look at photos of space taken by the Hubble Space Telescope to remind him how insignificant everything can be perceived. That would calm me when I would start to think that this was important… I’ve often said this [Continue reading]
The employee of the future (=today)
The changes in the chart are already here. Denying them or denouncing them as part of an evil capitalistic scheme to further oppress the working masses isn’t going to change things. The only way to respond is to adapt, evolve, grow, take advantage. Images source: The Evolution Of The Employee (Forbes)
TripMode: Control what’s eating your mobile bandwidth
If you’re often connecting your Mac laptop on the road through a mobile connection (phone, USB dongle, etc), TripMode will show you which app is using how much bandwidth and will allow you to disable internet access for it. This can both save you money as well increase the connecting speed of the apps you’re [Continue reading]
How to add authorship information for Facebook, Pinterest and Google on your blog
Authorship markup for sites used to be an exciting term back when Google was using it in the search results but has since faded back as Google decided that it’s not for everyone. Now it may make a come back as Facebook is now using it to help you get more followers and at the [Continue reading]
Shared circles murdered, Collections born: Upping the game for G+ curators
Crazy thought: maybe Google didn’t like (in the end) the ease of massively sharing hundreds of people’s profiles to thousands other people. Maybe that served the purpose of many people being happy to have thousands of followers (and thus be happy to be on Google+). Maybe they found out that it doesn’t improve overall post [Continue reading]
Pomodoros with Eggscellent + Google Calendar + IFTTT + Beeminder
File this under #lazysunday (I should be working) #justbecauseIcan (I’m not sure I’m going to use it) #addicted2automation (no explanation necessary) :) Here’s a recipe for beeminding1 pomodoros2 if you use Eggscellent3 1) Download Eggscellent4 2) Open Google Calendar 3) Create a new calendar named “Eggscellent” 4) Open the OSX Calendar and add your Google [Continue reading]
Seven years of Facebook in a single chart
I’m not sure I have seen any other service offer anything like that. In the screenshot you see what @SumAll has produced from my Facebook activity since the beginning of my registration, back in 2007, with numbers of posts, shares, comments per week. (I’m not sure what happened in 2012, I don’t remember not using [Continue reading]
Google’s war on URLs continues
Google announced a change it has been testing for some time: replacing the URL in search results with the breadcrumbs of the page. Ironically, Google’s announcement is titled “Better presentation of URLs in search results”. To help mobile searchers understand your website better when we show it in the mobile search results, today we’re updating [Continue reading]
Edit EXIF data on the web: the eXif.er
Add this to the “stuff you don’t need to install software to do” list: editing the EXIF data of an image (or a batch of images) on the web, for free. The *exif.er* service (do consider a small donation) will let you upload your photo(s), edit their metadata and provide a copy with your updates. [Continue reading]
Currently reading: The Motivation Hacker
I’ve been reading this while travelling today and it could possible be for productivity what was for me the Hacker’s Diet for weight loss. E.g. a gateway to a different way of thinking and what one can achieve. That said, and following one of the suggestions of the book, consider this a public commitment to write [Continue reading]
How to put an end to workload paralysis
We’re all busy. But sometimes we go through periods where the work piles up and it seems like it might never end. With the waxing and waning of my freelance work, a startup to manage, and side projects always on the go, this seems to happen to me all too often. So why is it [Continue reading]
All the specifications of the Apple Watch in one spreadsheet
If you’re looking for exact specifications in Apple’s site for the Apple Watch, you’re in bad luck if you also want to compare the actual numbers of the various versions and bands. Apple is giving specs on each combination only, which means you have to go through page-by-page to make comparisons. Rob Griffiths did the [Continue reading]
Look! 8, a social network that wants to pay you money.
But this one seems a bit more serious. WSJ features 8 (weare8.com), a new social network launched in closed beta these days. 8 promises control and compensation over ad revenue to content creators. While we’ve heard this many times before (just google “social network that pays you“) and more recently a lot with Tsu, 8 [Continue reading]
The crime of getting the cheaper Apple product
The prices for the Apple Watch have been announced, and in typical Apple fashion, the standard version ($550) of the Watch can use any kind of strap, including the sport one, whereas the sport version ($350) can only use the sport strap. Because, you know, FU dear customer for wanting to get the cheaper option [Continue reading]
The war on women: feminist tech journalism
As an avid user of self-tracking apps, the Atlantic’s title caught my click: “How Self-Tracking Apps Exclude Women“. I go on to read about how men at Apple HQ designed an app that ignores menstruation: How could Apple release a health-tracking app without the ability to monitor what is likely one of the earliest types [Continue reading]
How to connect Garmin with Pact and slowly become rich!
Update: Pact does not endorse the following setup and will probably refuse support in case of trouble (which I did have). My experience with Pact’s support has been mixed… Announced with much fanfare, Apple’s Health platform didn’t make much of an impression so far in this humble blogger’s opinion. The reason being that app developers [Continue reading]
14 Days of Garmin vs Fitbit: the numbers
I’ve been testing for the last couple of weeks a Garmin Vivofit as a replacement of my Fitbit Force (see previous posts here and here). As a final part, here are some numbers from two weeks of continuous use of both devices. All in all, the differences vary from day to day, and fluctuate between [Continue reading]
Awesome Goals vs. Crappy Goals
[Text by Steve Pavlina] When you sit down to write out some new goals, I recommend that you take your first batch of brainstorms and literally toss them in the trash. Whenever I ask people what their goals are, at least 95% of the time (I’m not exaggerating), the first things out of their mouths are [Continue reading]
12 Days of Garmin vs Fitbit
As previously written, I’ve been testing a Garmin Vivofit as a replacement for my Fitbit Force (and before moving on to a Garmin Vivoactive that is yet to be released in Europe). Here are some more thoughts. Pro Fitbit: Vibrating alarm: waking up with a vibration in your wrist is extremely better for me than [Continue reading]
Action is hope
“I don’t believe in optimism. I believe in optimal behavior. That’s a different thing. If you behave every day of your life to the top of your genetics, what can you do? Test it. Find out. You don’t know—you haven’t done it yet. You must live life at the top of your voice! At the [Continue reading]
9 Days of Garmin (vs Fitbit)
I’ve been a big fan of Fitbit ever since a Fitbit Force back in January 2014, as it has helped me lot in my fitness goals. But times are changing and I’m planning to get a Garmin Vivoactive this spring. Still, the band on my Force has been in terrible shape for months, getting unstuck [Continue reading]
VOX: Editorial design for a digital world
Here is a great example from VOX on what it’s like doing an interview for a digital world, in a way that no other medium can achieve. The basic idea? The full text of the interview is accompanied by charts, links and annotations providing more depth on the answers. But that’s just the half of [Continue reading]
If at first you don’t succeed: Try another 610 times!
A story of extreme focus in goals and persistence in continuous improvement. Tom Toro, really wanted to get on the New Yorker, ending up submitting 610 drawings, even travelling around the country to meet with Bob Mankoff, the legendary cartoon editor of the New Yorker. His response, honest but hopeful: “I don’t see any joy [Continue reading]