And why are you idolising the stuff that makes you sad? This post represents a change in topic from the bulk of what I write. To help you distinguish the plain text productivity themes at a glance from those that are more overtly Christ-centred, look for the sparkle ✨ emoji in the title. Images from Pexels, combined...

Plain Text Slop Soup, Anyone? I was initially excited to discover a new plain text productivity site this week, with sections on open format apps and tips for plain text workflows. Hooray! I thought. Another resource to add to my Blogroll! But a few seconds in, things began to feel off. It didn’t take long to...

It’s not really about the app When Stefano Marinelli posted about compromises and tolerance, I knew he was right because I’ve seen this in action: Life is full of compromises. And the more you live, the more you learn (or should learn) to be at least a little tolerant of the choices others make, even when they seem...

And reclaim focus for your distractible brain After years perfecting a simple plain text productivity system for tracking my tasks and time, I should have been happy. Surely the search was over at last? But something still felt wrong; incomplete. The information was all there, but I still had trouble focusing on the...

Plain text capture, a Bauhaus obsession, and the keyboard that finally fits my EDC Screenshots are from each company’s official website Today I’ll be sharing a new app for getting text into Obsidian the iOS version of the Bauhaus Clock the Nillkin Cube Pocket Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard with Trackpad No affiliates,...

With Obsidian instructions for seeing today’s schedule in your daily note I can still scarcely believe that what was supposed to be a 2-week experiment turned into a sustainable, calm-inducing way to keep up with all the time-specific events that make up my life. My aim in writing about it is not to have you do the...

How a phantom currency keeps bank account reports clean Envelope budgeting is the practice of planning ahead for known expenses, by regularly putting money into pre-determined categories, or envelopes. As the name suggests, it is often done with real cash placed into real envelopes. Envelope budgeting can be done in...

A casual roundup of productivity tools, tips, and rabbit holes No deep dives today, just a list of worthwhile productivity related things I’ve come across lately. Some universal, most Apple flavoured. Clever (but unnecessary?) Apple Shortcut for lost iPhones Create an automation in Apple Shortcuts that fires when...

Nesting queries inside collapsible callouts, plus custom colours and icons It’s true that plain text can be beautiful when it is boring in all the right ways, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun. Let’s take a look at an unashamedly Obsidian-only tweak I’ve been playing around with for the task lists...

For writing more, without worrying about losing or lending your pen Photo by the Author, taken with a still going strong iPhone 14 Pro I love writing lists and making plans using simple, practical tools. Tools like locally stored plain text, fountain pens, and mechanical pencils. As much as I love the feel and space...

It was a nice surprise to discover that Shottr can replace two apps! I’m slowly working my way through the list of the (Mac-only) Setapp apps I’ve used for years, looking for free or one-time purchase alternatives. Three apps I’ve started testing are Maccy (clipboard manager), Textshot (OCR), and Shottr...

On cautious, informed renting, and the lie of personal ownership Mum on the gas box at the house she and Meema lived in before moving to the cottage Lately I’ve been looking at the subscription software I use, trying to decide what should stay and what needs to go. The evaluation process is not as straightforward as...