Thord D. Hedengren

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Tag: productivity

  • These Are My Writing Tools

    I’m a writer. I write books, articles, columns, and blog posts. I also write quotes, reports, code, and a gazillion of emails, but that’s another form of writing so let’s forget about that for now.

    I do not count tweets as writing. Sorry kids.

    Churning out tens of thousands of words every day, I’ve taken the time to find tools that work for me. By “work for me”, I actually mean “are not in the way of my creative output”, which is not exactly the same thing, but close enough.

    These are my writing tools.

    (more…)

  • The 2013 List Of Things To Live By

    I’m not much for making New Year resolutions, I prefer to set my goals whenever they are relevant, not at a specific date. That said, this year I felt like publishing a list of things I will try to achieve in 2013. It is perhaps not as specific as some would’ve liked, but it is something at least.

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  • The Power That Is Possibilities

    In my hands is a portable machine that lets me create just about anything. Maybe I’ll refine it, maybe I’ll tweak it, maybe I’ll trash it, but the possibilities are there.

    So are the distractions and hence I’m thinking a lot about what all the noise is giving me. Do I need to be this available online get the most out of Twitter and Facebook? Can I disconnect for a week/month/year and still live on?

    Of course I can, and so can you.

    Through sweat and wine, these last days if the year 2012, I ponder the future of social media and online sharing, and what it means in terms of investment. Communication is always the center of anything, but it should be on our individual terms and not some predestined This Is How You Do It ruleset. I wonder if that’s how I’m living today. Am I communicating, playing around for fun, or am I just procrastinating because it is too hard to get real work done all the time? And if that is true, is it good or bad that I’m doing what I’m doing?

    I’m not sure, I have an inkling, but I’m not sure just yet.

    What about you? What are you doing with the power that is Possibilities today? It is worth considering.

  • Traveling

    Traveling. It is such a bore when done during the Holidays, capital H. People everywhere, noisy and sometimes utterly unbeknownst of how they bother their fellow travelers. Luggage are getting in the way, and all those bags of Christmas present at that. I ventured into the second class carriage and it was even worse, as it usually is. I’m just glad I didn’t plan on getting any work done on this trip.

    I’m writing this on my iPad mini. It works well enough, and since the device is so small the lack of proper table space isn’t an issue. It is hunt and peck typing though, but it is better than sitting cramped over a laptop. Although to be honest, I’m just too lazy to bring out my 11″ Macbook Air that sits in my bag in the compartment above my seat.

    I used to be able to get a work done traveling by train, which is my means of transportation right now. By air is impossible for me, always has been, but trains usually offer more room for this sort of thing. These days I’m so worked down to the bone that trains have gone from an opportunity of getting some work, usually writing, done, to a chance to catch up on sleep. I’m 40 minutes from my destination and aside some texts, this is the only thing I’ve written today. I have slept for three hours straight though, after a nice reading session, so there’s that.

    I’ll spend the Holidays (still capital H) resting up. The new year kicks off with a busy writing and editing schedule, I’m even starting two weeks behind which is far from ideal but that’s the way it is. Reloading my batteries is more important than the minor work I could squeeze in the coming week.

    That includes this site, by the way. Don’t expect any updates until next year.

    I bid you a great Holiday, no matter what and how or even if you celebrate it, and a Happy New Year at that. Let’s talk soon.

  • The iPad gives me flexibility

    How I wish that the iPad was enough. Don’t get me wrong, I love my MacBook Air, I love the sheer power of the maxed out iMac, and the thought of a portable workhorse in my MacBook Pro. Still, my go to device, my preferred device even, is the iPad. Sometimes with a bluetooth keyboard (from Apple, with the Incase Origami case), but always with me, even if the 11″ Air is.

    Why? Because the iPad gives me total flexibility.

    • I can read, be it books or articles or some other kind of research.
    • I can listen to music or watch videos.
    • I can play games.
    • I can waste time on Twitter.
    • I can write.
    • I can even write with an external keyboard.

    Most of the time, my bluetooth keyboard sits in my bag, but if the situation permits I’ll pull it out and set everything up. It is a smooth process, not much to think about really, since it just works when you’ve paired the bluetooth keyboard the first time.

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  • Every day

    Every day I get up in the morning, trying not to worry too much about what to do with my waking moments. I’ve gotten pretty good at getting through breakfast at a leisurely pace, probably because I’m a night person and truly terrible in the morning. As the caffeine break through the walls of sleep, my brain start to work.

    I get ideas.

    I remember what I was supposed to do today.

    I start thinking in terms of work, in todo’s, and in musts.

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  • The collective mind and you

    Sometimes I wonder if the collective mind of social media is good for us. Sure, you have the knowledge of thousands of people at a tweet’s reach, and that’s truly powerful. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t think for yourself, nor take a stand based on your own ideas and assumptions.

    Picture this: social media advocate is at a conference, getting ready for his or her speech. Said advocate asks his Twitter followers about the topic, to learn what they think, to collect arguments, and to get a general consensus of what the collective mind thinks.

    Then he or she delivers the speech.

    Rinse and repeat at the next conference. And the next, and the next, and the next… (more…)

  • Talk is cheap

    Sometimes it is easy to say too much. If you’re a productive fellow you probably have a ton of ideas, some hopes, and a dream or two. The projects are piling up and as you work your way through them you can’t help but start looking towards the horizon for the Next Big Thing that you’ll dazzle the world with.

    Do yourself a favor and shut up.

    I know all too well how easy it is to start talking about a project way too early. It’s gonna be great, I just know it, and then I’ll convince anyone who’ll listen that this is the case. Most of the time they’ll believe me, I’m persuasive like that. You might be too.

    The problem is when you don’t deliver. Real artists ship, you know. So keep your projects, ideas and plans to yourself and don’t start talking about them until the very last moment, ideally a bit later than that. You’ll get a nice reputation of being the one who always delivers, which will make your impact all the better.

     

  • This is the new Basecamp UI

    I’m a big fan of Basecamp (and Campfire), in fact we’re using it almost exclusively for communication at Odd Alice. The new UI looks good, snappy and utilizes stacks in a pretty intuitive way. Here’s hoping it will perform just as well on an iPad. It is coming soon and personally I can’t wait.

  • Om Malik's re-birthday

    Take it from someone who’s been down the rabbit hole, you should read Om Malik’s post about his re-birthday. That is, the day shit happened and he had to revaluate what was important. We all should experience such a day, sans the shit part obviously, but I’m afraid most of us are too thickheaded to really understand without something hitting us hard from behind.

    So there, do yourself a favor for the new year and take a breather, think things through, and get out of the negative maelstrom parts of whatever kind of life you’re living. We all have that, we all need to rethink and redo the parts of our lives that just aren’t working out. Work, relationships, whatever – it is all the same and it adds to what could be a problem.

    Happy re-birthday Om. I know, I know, I’m a bit late but it is the thought that counts, right?

  • Two things

    I have two things to say today:

    1. It is important, nay, crucial that you do what you believe in. Don’t get stuck with or distracted by things that are anything less but means to achieve your true goals.
    2. If you feel and fear that you are on the wrong path, take a break and reassess the situation.

    It is easy to forget these things, and I have done just that the last few months.

  • Circumstances

    I have ended up in my (well, not mine but anyway) lakeside home for the week, due to a broken down car that’s in the shop right now. This isn’t all bad, although I’m not looking forward to the mechanic’s verdict and what it’ll cost me. Since my lakeside home is free of anything resembling real broadband, which in my world is 100 Mbit in both directions, this means I’ll have to adapt to a different working style. I’ve got a decent 3G connection (1-2 Mbit) so I can get just about everything done that I otherwise would’ve done from home or the Odd Alice office in Stockholm, so no worries there. However, I don’t have all the equipment I usually rely on.

    • No Apple 27″ LED display for massive screen real-estate
    • No Wacom Intous 4 drawing pad for logos
    • No ergonomically correct chair nor desk
    • No 120+ GB of music
    • No movies, TV series, nor the will to download it over 3G
    • No Nespresso coffee machine

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  • How to let go of work in the evening

    In response to David on 52 Tiger, yes I do plan tomorrow’s work the evening before, and have done that for some time. It’s a great way to let everything work-related go until the day after.

  • My focus mode

    While I can struggle to get started writing stuff, no matter if it is a book, an article, or code, I am extremely focused when I actually write. I love fullscreen when it makes sense, otherwise I just keep one app open (on the space I’m in) to keep me focused. Distractions are a thing of evil, so no Twitter apps open, no alerts, no inbox folders on the desktop that might draw my attention.

    I don’t stop there. (more…)

  • What I use the iPad for

    I’ve had the iPad since the US wifi launch. I bought the 3G version when it came out, and I upgraded to the iPad 2 with 3G at launch. When Apple releases iPad 3 I’ll get that too. In the short lifespan of the iPad it has gone from web browser to reading device to an actual tool.

    Or to put it more plainly, the iPad is by far the most used device, for both work and pleasure.

    So what do I really use it for, and how well is it working out compared to the almost always more fully fledged Mac alternatives? (more…)