Productivity posts

How I turned my iPhone into a modern feature phone
How I turned my iPhone into a modern feature phone
 -  Neither Screen Time nor folders could stop me reaching for social apps. Now I avoid them entirely with a custom menu that combines the functionality of an iPhone with the user interface of a Nokia 3310.
Field Notes 15 // Monotasking and the lost art of focus
Field Notes 15 // Monotasking and the lost art of focus
 -  This month's Field Notes restores presence, cutting out the endless background noise to focus on one thing at a time in both work and leisure – and asks whether a business can scale with the same outlook.
AI can do the legwork, but you need to do the thinking
AI can do the legwork, but you need to do the thinking
 -  Building slides, proofing text, generating images... AI can handle much of our day-to-day busywork. Your role as a human is to do the thinking required to keep it on track and appropriately refine its output.
Optimism isn't naive – pessimism is just the easy option
Optimism isn't naive – pessimism is just the easy option
 -  As long as you've prepared for the challenge ahead, try to be relentlessly optimistic about your chances of success. There's no downside to absolute belief in yourself, and worry can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
There's no substitute for real-world experience
There's no substitute for real-world experience
 -  From the CEO who once drove a forklift to game developers taking 250,000 photos of New York, real experience beats abstraction every time, and can make the difference between good and groundbreaking.
Field Notes 12 // Heatwaves, agency, and the Kindle
Field Notes 12 // Heatwaves, agency, and the Kindle
 -  June in the UK was something of an endurance test, with temperatures regularly hitting the 30s. Also – reflections on my Amazon Kindle review a year on, and how to zero in on your most valuable work.
Care about what you do — even when nobody's watching
Care about what you do — even when nobody's watching
 -  I've spent years writing about technology without identifying the thread connecting it all. Then I realised: I'm obsessed with people who care about the things they do – and frustrated by those who don't.
Coinbase restructure is a huge bet on AI productivity
Coinbase restructure is a huge bet on AI productivity
 -  Brian Armstrong is bracing against market volatility with a flatter org chart, hands-on managers, and fleets of AI agents. But Coinbase's pivot comes with its own contradictions – and exposes it to new risks.
Field Notes 10 // The small web, Cryogen, and artistry
Field Notes 10 // The small web, Cryogen, and artistry
 -  From my travels on the small web to Steven Pressfield's theory of creative Resistance, this month's Field Notes is about people who create things because they care – not to chase clout, acclaim, or riches.
Field Notes 8 // Malta and the art of needing less
Field Notes 8 // Malta and the art of needing less
 -  Between a trip to Malta and a novel about memory-eating monsters, I thought a lot this month about what we actually need. The answer, it turns out, fits in a hotel room with a book and an espresso.
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