Thord D. Hedengren

ℹ️ This is an archived legacy site for link purposes only.

  • Begin And Simplicity In Todos

    Simplicity is often the key to getting things done. For some, that means fleshed-out todo lists and subscribing to covert religions such as Getting Things Done. For others, it’s just a list of things that need to get done.

    Begin for iOS
    Begin for iOS

    Begin is for the latter. It’s a simple iOS app that’s basically a list for today, and for tomorrow. When something’s not done, it’ll end up on the list of unfinished tasks, and you’ll have to move it back up to the Today list if you want to. There’s one simple alert (“hey, do stuff!”) that you can trigger once per day, and there are two color themes (more available as in-app purchases) available.

    That’s about it. No sync, no iPad version, no nothing but this.

    It’s eerily close to my post-it system that got me through the days way back. I’ll do a proper write-up on that later.

    Today, Tomorrow, and you fucked up and didn’t finish your todos. What more can you ask for?

    A ton of things, as it turns out. I’ve found that I need the timed reminders these days, not for my general tasks (finish this chapter, publish that piece, research something, buy that and sell something else), but for the things in my day that are tied to specific periods of time. Most things aren’t (by design), but it feels overly complicated maintaining two lists, one in Begin and one in Reminders, for example.

    I’m giving Begin the benefit of a doubt, using it at the moment. I suspect I’ll quit for the same reasons I quit my post-it system, but we’ll see. For now, if you’re even the least interested in a minimalistic Today/Tomorrow todo list app, by all means check out Begin. It’s well executed and a nice little example of an app that does one thing well.

  • #MobNov September Update

    The iPhone novel writing project is struggling. I’ve missed two days completely thus far (because of life and, well just life), and a lot of time is spent thinking and outlining and re-outlining. Some days see less than 300 words because of this, which I don’t think is in the spirit of the experiment, but a result nonetheless. The word indecision comes to mind.

    The current status is this. The story’s progressing a lot faster than I thought it would. It’s not that surprising since each writing session is so short, and I indadvertedly want to reach a point where the session makes sense in its own. This is messing with my schedule and pacing, because as it is now this isn’t a novel, it’s a novella. It’s distracting and annoying.

    This pacing tells me that the second draft will probably be a lot more fleshed out. This is not a new development for me as a fiction writer, when I stick to an outline I tend to be brief, which can be both good and bad. There’s room for improvement in this particular story, especially around a character I’ve decided to bring back. Fleshing that out will be another 10,000 words or so.

    I’ve decided to take a week off to let the story rest. As you’re reading this said week is no doubt over already. I’m not sure how this fits with the experiment, but just like the trouble finding a stride, it’s a result if nothing else.

    As of the last of September, there are four months left of the experiment. I’ve learned a lot about writing when there’s no time at all, and prioritize the word count when I’d otherwise do other things. I’ve also learned that I have issues with keeping to short word counts. 300 words is a small target for me, I tend to set my targets at over 2,000 words so that I can settle in properly and get the words flowing. I’ll hold off on any analysis around this for now though. It’s still an interesting experiment, and I’m really curious to see what I’ll have on January 31st 2014. And what I can do with it beyond that.

  • Apple's New iPhone Lineup

    You’ve probably heard that Apple has announced (and released, in some parts of the world) two new iPhones: the 5c and the 5s.

    The iPhone 5c is the long rumored plastic iPhone, the one analysts thought would be cheap but wasn’t. Meanwhile, the iPhone 5s is exactly what everyone expected, which means that it’s a spec bump on the original iPhone 5, with some new features (64-bit processor, motion chip, fingerprint scanner). These products have been covered immensely elsewhere, so I’ll just point you to Apple’s product pages for more information.

    (more…)

  • Säg hej till Appmagasinet

    I dag lanseras Appmagasinet, en gratis e-posttidning om iOS-appar. Teckna din prenumeration här!

  • It's A Bit Much

    Hey friend, how’re you doing over there?

    Feeling happy, thrilled, psyched, annoyed, tired, irritable, tired? Starting to wonder why the fuck it matters, or why it doesn’t? Having trouble sleeping, getting into fights with your significant other, kick your dog, snarl at your cat, want to throw that bloody smartphone through the fucking window because you haven’t heard back about that thing, or the internet’s down, or you can’t play GTAV yet, or Apple did something or they didn’t – and fuck! – everyone on Twitter’s telling you things that are wrong and how the hell can’t they understand that you’re right and they’re morons?

    It’s a bit much now, isn’t it? You’re stressed, society forgives you, tells you to chill out a bit, your friends accept your apology. You vow to be better, to get better at dealing with your shit, and you tell it to the world.

    You hit the wall. You get sick. Your heart gives in.

    You’re dead, but you’re not.

    (more…)

  • Ljuva farväl

    Dessa ljuva farväl.

    Det är slut, vi har gjort vad vi skulle, nådde inte dit vi borde, drömde vad vi önskade, lågan brann ut, tiden räcker inte till, finns inget kvar att bevisa, eller vad som nu känns mest lämpligt.

    De är falska, alla. Lägger du ner ditt projekt, då har du förlorat.

    Jag tänker på det apropå Ajours nedläggning (jag är avhoppad medgrundare), men menar dem inget illa. Det var dags, det blir ofta dags, har varit dags för mig själv så många gånger – jag känner igen mig, en miljon mil från Ajours redaktion. Så går det, misslyckanden och bakslag, saker som helt enkelt inte går som man tänkt sig, eller så händer någonting. Vilket som, spelar ingen roll, för det är bara rökridåer egentligen.

    Framgångar läggs inte ned.

    Så enkelt är det, brutalt men sant.

    Framgångar föds ur askan kan hävdas, om det känns bittert och jobbigt. Det är en tunn lögn för svaga själar, som så mycket annat. Sanningen är att framgång kommer av att försöka igen, och oftast igen, igen, igen. Iterera, som det heter.

    Så gråt en skvätt, sök tröst där den finnes, och försök igen. Det är så enkelt, och så svårt. Varken mer eller mindre.

  • A Little Bit Of Everything

    That might possibly be the worst post title thus far, but my mind is elsewhere. Besides I’m not one for snappy titles promising gold and glory, while delivering a list of things on my mind at the moment. Which of course is what I’ve got for you. (more…)

  • The Right Tool

    People tend to talk in absolutes when it comes to tools. This is the best phone, that’s the best camera, this is the best pen, that’s the best notebook, this computer, that car, this games console, that coffee maker… You get the point. Not all who claim something like “the iPhone is the best smartphone” are fanboys, but they’re talking in absolutes. As fanboys are prone to doing too, incidentally.

    Photo by Robert S. Donovan (CC)
    Photo by Robert S. Donovan (CC)

    “The iPhone is the best smartphone.”

    “The Moleskine is the best notebook.”

    “The retina MacBook Pro is the best computer.”

    All these statements are undeniably true for me at the moment. They’re not true because these products – the iPhone, the Moleskine notebook, the retina MacBook Pro – really are the best there are (although they very well could be), but because I have them right here with me.

    The right tool for anything is the one you’ve got at hand. It isn’t important what you could or should be using, what’s important is what you’re using.

    My shoe is the right tool for hammer in a nail, if it’s the only thing I can use at the time. If I’d have a hammer, any hammer, then that would be the right tool because it performs better. Until I’ve got a better option at hand, the one I’ve got with me is the best one. This is exceptionally true for photography (the best camera is the one you’ve got with you, more often than not the mobile phone) and writing (write with what you’ve got, which could be the iPad).

    Use what you’ve got. They’re the right tools for you.

  • One Month Of iPhone Novel Writing

    On August 1st this year, I started to write a novel on my iPhone. It’s a long project that’ll end next year. The idea is to write 300 words daily on my novel manuscript, on my iPhone, and obviously there’s a point to be proven in the end. Along the way, I realized that I need to schedule time and words for outlining work, and I’ve done that on a weekly basis, more or less.

    One month in, I’ve written at least 300 words daily. The 31 days of August should mean that I’d have at least 9,300 words, but some of these words have ended up in the outline. Then again, I easily make up for the lost words by writing more than 300 words daily on average. The manuscript is 10,263 words long after one month, that’s 331 words per day had I spent all my writing on it. In short, I’m on schedule, despite the change in procedure that the outline work prompted.

    Some additional notes:

    • I still write around 350 (manuscript) words per session, at 11–13 minutes.
    • The word count of each session have had an impact on the pacing of the story. I’ve since adjusted, but this might mean that additional editing’s needed, beyond the usual needs of course.
    • The story is progressing faster than expected, which means I’ll have to reconsider my outline yet again. We’ll see where this takes me later on.
    • I tend to write late afternoons or during the evening. The daily alert I’ve got at 4 pm obviously has something to do with this.

    So far so good. I expect to report on the project on a monthly basis from now on, assuming there’s something to report. Daily updates are posted to Twitter and App.net if you’re interested.

  • iPad Writing Setup

    iPad Writing Setup

    It should come as no surprise that I write on my iPad. This is the setup I’ve been enjoying most of the time this summer, in my summer home.

    The bookshelf features a desktop that you can pull out, fitted to a regular dining room chair, which is what I’ve been using too. I put the iPad mini on the first shelf to get a better angle. My keyboard of choice have been the Logitech Tablet Keyboard, covered previously. I’m not sure it’ll be what I use when I leave my summer home, but I decided to give it a fair shot and thus I left my trusty Apple bluetooth keyboard and its Origami casing at home. Just as well, as we picked up this combined bookshelf and cupboard this summer, and it would’ve worked less than great here. I think it’s good to be able to detach the keyboard from the stand, most of the time, and obviously that’s the case here.

    The writing shelf, featuring Paazu the shiba inu. Annotated on Flickr.
    The writing shelf, featuring Paazu the shiba inu. Annotated on Flickr.

    (more…)

  • Put Down Your Phone

    There’s a video doing the rounds called I Forgot My Phone which I found very telling about today’s social interactions. Watch it.

    My iPhone is always with me. I communicate a lot using the iPhone, almost never utilizing the phone part, but rather through Twitter, App.net or messages. Sometimes I kill time on Tumblr, and I read a lot on my iPhone. In my weakest moment, I might even open the Facebook app.

    I don’t watch the world through my phone though. The times I go to a concert, I don’t take a ton of crappy photos or make Vine movies out of every little thing. It ruins the experience, both for me and everybody else. That said, the iPhone is my primary camera, because it’s the one I carry with me.

    I write a lot on my iPhone, and I’m not only talking about the novel project. I also take a lot of notes.

    The iPhone is a powerful tool, just like most smartphones out there.

    However, it’s also addictive. Suddenly you’re not eating unless you’re instagramming, you don’t exist until you check in, and you better refresh your Twitter feed every third second so that you don’t miss out on anything. It’s fascinating how quickly this behavior embedded itself in our spines, making us collectively forget every ounce of our manners.

    I’m not perfect, and I’m easily bored. My iPhone’s a savior more often than not. I’ve been that rude douche who picks up his phone and starts fiddling with it while in a conversation at times, something I’m not proud of and try not to do. It’s socially acceptable to a degree that still astounds me.

    Don’t throw away your smartphone. Keep reaping the benefits of technology, and by all means don’t stop communicating through the web. But do consider the world outside of your screen, preferably slightly more than how it’d look with your favorite Instagram filter.

  • Internetdagarna 2013 – biljetterna är släppta

    Biljetterna till årets upplaga av Internetdagarna är släppta. Läs mer samt köp biljett här.

    I år är det som sagt lite annorlunda. Besökare går på gemensamma keynotes (uppställningen är inte så pjåkig), men sedan går man till det spår som bokats. Du köper alltså biljett per dag, får alla keynotes, och ett spår/dag. Alla spår sköts av respektive spårägare, och nej, det är inte gratis att ha ett spår så sugna sponsorer får gärna höra av sig.

    För ja, jag ansvarar för två spår, ett per dag lämpligt nog:

    En dag med WordPress, den 25 november.

    WordPress är världens största CMS. Oavsett om din webbplats är liten eller stor så är oddsen med andra ord rätt stor att du använder WordPress – från bloggar till företagssidor, vidare till tidningar och sociala nätverk. WordPress är dessutom öppen källkod, vilket gör det till ett publiceringsverktyg i demokratins tjänst.

    Det är innehållet som räknas, den 26 november.

    Alla kan publicera. I dag handlar det mer om vad man publicerar, hur man gör det och om någon faktiskt läser. På webbpubliceringsdagen pratar vi redaktionellt arbete, fungerande annonsmodeller, betalväggar, publiceringssystem, hur man sprider sitt innehåll och mycket mer.

    Platsantalet är begränsat, så vänta inte för länge med att boka biljett. Det blir två grymma dagar, missa inte!

  • Disconnect The Internet

    Here’s a productivity tip for you: Disconnect the internet.

    “Well DUH!” might be your response, and rightly so. All the online opportunities of wasting time are well known to anyone working in the creative field. The web’s a great tool, but if it’s just means procrastination, then it’s your enemy.

    Photo by rick (CC)
    Photo by rick (CC)

    I recently found myself without online access, involuntarily. The 3G was out, wifi too, and there I was trying to get some work done. I had three things on my todo list that didn’t require online connectivity, but did I tick those off? No, I was too irritated and stressed out by the outage that I didn’t get anything done at all, resulting in rescheduled tasks and rushed duties during the afternoon and evening.

    There’s a huge difference in turning off internet access, and being forced offline for reasons beyond your control. I regularly use the flight mode feature for blocking out distractions when writing on my iPad, and my computer has almost all notifications hidden. There are so many things going on in our online lives that it’s easy to get distracted.

    I think that’s why being forced offline is so stressful. Suddenly we’re not connected to the world anymore. I urge you to consider what that obsession means to you and how you live your life.

    I would also like to repeat my initial productivity tip: Disconnect the internet. When you can, and need to – never involuntary.

  • Two Weeks Of iPhone Novel Writing

    Previously:

    I decided not to publish an update on my iPhone novel writing project last weekend. Not much had changed since the first update, linked above, and I did say that I’d do these updates somewhat irregularly.

    I won’t bore you with statistics at this time. Hitting 300 words per day on my iPhone is still no problem. I write between 300 and 400 words in 10–15 minutes. Most sessions end at around 330 words in 13 minutes, but it depends on how clear my vision is for the writing session.

    It’s too early to talk about when and where I write, but something of a pattern is starting to emerge. I’ll get back to that when we’re further into the experiment.

    (more…)

  • Random Thoughts And Notes

    I’ve got some random thoughts I need to get out of my system. Luckily, there’s a site for that, so here goes.

    • Tumblr and publishing. The whole platform is just so titillating, it makes me want to roll out an online magazine and watch the reblogging commence! It’ll be interesting to see what Epic will do with it, in conjunction with the Medium publishing deal (Medium are backers of Epic). The obvious problems with Tumblr as a publishing platform are still the lack of SEO and problematic monetization of publications residing there. I’ve got a playful Tumblr blog myself, by the way.
    • The verdict’s still out on Medium by the way. I think there’ll be a post on it later on.
    • Speaking of publishing, shelving the Appricorn project has left me with a number of posts about great iOS apps. I’ll either shop around looking for a publisher for these, or just start cranking them out on a simple site. No sense letting work go to waste, as it would since apps are ever-changing. I don’t think I want to publish them here though, this isn’t an Apple blog after all.
    • Newsletters. I still want to get started with one, but at the same time it isn’t something you just jump into. That said, I would have done just that, had Tinyletter not been limited to 2,000 subscribers. That’s just silly.
    • I’m not in the habit of linkblogging here, but if you’re following @tdh on Twitter you’ve no doubt seen the links and commentary there. Having some fun with that, might spin it off in some fashion. Maybe on Tumblr, with a weekly newsletter?
    • WordPress users might’ve noticed some minor changes to the resource page here. Themes have moved to Bitbucket, and I hope to do some minor updates soon.
    • I’m writing a novella (or novelette, we’ll see) at the moment. The first draft is almost ready. This is in addition to the iPhone novel (which will see another status update here soon) and the revision of Smashing WordPress: Beyond the Blog. Speaking of which, the 4th Edition will be updated to WordPress 3.7 (next version) and should release late this year.
    • My web agency, Odd Alice, is doing well. We’ve started to think about an English site. There are some fun announcements in the pipeline there.

    Ah, that’s better… Carry on.