Tasksmash

For a long time I've been using an application called Tasksmash.

Is it about task-smashing or is it about tasks-mashing? ... well ... let me tell you about it.

It was developed by a certain Mr Tynan and I personally believe it's productivity's best kept secret.

This guy was has lived a pretty interesting life, most of which he's blogged about. He's been a professional gambler, a character in the infamous book about pickup artists - 'The Game', he is a pretty amazing travel-hacker, and he currently lives in an RV.

Oh yeh, and he recently bought his own island.

I've been reading his blog for about five years now. I've seen him grow and develop through the years, but I think the coolest thing he's ever done is Tasksmash.

Initially it appears to be a pretty standard to-do list web app, but this one is all about not breaking the chain. If you finish all your tasks in any given day, it goes green, if you don't do anything, it goes red.

The aim is to build a big long streak of green days. You know you've put in a poor effort when you look back at a month and it's all red.

Currently Tynan is focused well and truly on his blogging platform SETT. It looks great. It looks like he's already got heaps of users, and it could take off at any minute.

But out of all the craziness that is Tynan, I want to thank him for creating something so simple and brilliant. So ... thanks Tynan.

I'd recommend you all to sign up and to go mash some tasks.

Success By Proxy

The other day I was talking to a director friend, and we were talking about how a lot of our friends have been kicking ass recently. It seems like people are just taking everything up a step and are making waves in their respective fields.

At this point it's easy to feel jealous. 

'Why am I not doing as well? Why am I so shit?'

In years gone past I would have fallen into that pit of despair, but not anymore. I'm starting to realise that I'm great at picking friends.

If everyone I know is winning, then by proxy, I am too.

Releasing An eBook

The other day I dipped my toes into the self-publishing world.

It was nice and wasn't in the least bit demeaning.

I released my short story 'His Dirty Little Portal' as on Amazon. 

In the first few hours I was a little scared, but as the download numbers rose and I got my first good review, I relaxed. 

With the love and support of my friends and family we managed to push the book to number 6 in the Free Short Stories category of the Kindle Charts. 

I wasn't expecting much, so I'd call that a success. 

The thing I'm most happy about though, is how many of my friends got the story. How many of them messaged me after reading it with sincere questions regarding the 'screaming' web designer.

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I was inspired by the guys at Dead Ink. 

They're a digital only publisher who have a strong sense of aesthetic value -- They create beautiful looking eBooks. 

They seem to know what they're doing. 

Here's to the next one.

The 21st Century Storyteller

I've come to believe that we're moving into a post-medium world for storytellers. 

Chuck Wendig is primarily an author of books, but he also writes for film and for Transmedia.

Danny Stack is primarily a UK Scriptwriter, but he's also writing for comic books and he's making short films.

John August is primarily a Hollywood screenwriter, but he's also writing short stories, developing software, and even writing musicals.

The medium seems to matter less and less, but the story is still king.

Rules Of The Gym - Trapped Beneath A Barbell

The other day I was reading through some muscle magazine's top ten gym tips. Tip number two was to have a gym partner.

I now know why.

I was trying a new routine. One that involved a standard bench press with a Smith Machine. I placed my bench next to one of the biggest dudes I've ever seen in my life. He didn't notice me. He was too busy benching plates the size of my being.

I placed my barbell onto the bench, climbed beneath it, and got to work.

First set of ten was difficult, but I did it.

The second set seemed almost impossible, but I managed it.

But in the third set, around the halfway point, I could feel my strength rapidly leaving me. My arms seemed to be getting weaker by the second. It felt like somebody had sat down on the barbell. I did my best to push up against it, but slowly and surely, the barbell worked its way down onto my chest.

So there I was, stuck.

The guy next to me was busy doing his thing - pressing his chest and making it look a little too easy. 

I did the only thing I could. I wriggled out, a centimetre at a time, working my way out from underneath it. It took a good couple of minutes to get my chest through the bar, and then I had to turn my head to the side to fit my chin out from beneath it.

I made it out and stood up. I checked around to see if anybody had noticed my struggle. If they had then they didn't make it obvious.

And the guy next to me? It could have been the sweat dripping down into his eyes, but I could've sworn he winked at me, as if to say 'don't worry kid, we've all been there.'

Being Web Generous

I'm trying something new.

It's called being Web Generous.

I want to add some balance to the internet. 

For every cheap-shot Youtube comment, I want to offer a genuine compliment.

For all of the great work out there that goes unnoticed. I'm going to do my best to message the creator and tell them how great their work is.

I want to find a great photographer on Flickr, and share their work to my friends.

I want to see a wicked showreel on Vimeo, and send it to all of my filmmaker friends.

I want to bring the good manners my parents taught me to the internet.

And I don't want to do it alone.

I want you to do it too.

On A Day Like This

I'm starting to settle into my new routine for the year.

6am - Wake Up - Begin Writing

7am - Shower - Get Dressed

8am - Walk To Work

9am - Start Work

12pm - Lunch - Catch Up On E-Mails, Facebook Messages, etc.

1pm - Work.

5:30pm - Gym.

7pm - Walk Home

8pm - Carry On Working On To-Do List

10-11pm - Look At Goals And Create New To-Do List

I wish I had more time to work on my own stuff, but I gotta pay the bills, and that's what the job's for. I find that around the middle of the week I start to feel a lull in energy, so I might have a Wednesday evening off of work deal, ready for the Thursday morning start.

I do end up walking for around 1.5-2 hours a day. This might seem like lost time but it's great. Sometimes I just walk and think, or I listen to podcasts, or recently, I've been listening to Audiobooks. My long walks home from the gym are now one of the things I most look forward to in my day.

The part of the day I least look forward to? Getting out of bed. It's far too cold at this time of the year to be doing ridiculous things like getting out of bed.

The Year Of The Audiobook

'Reading is to be done with the eyes.'

That's what I always used to say.

I like getting new books, finishing them and adding them to my shelf -- to my library. I get a visual representation of how well-read I am. The more I read, the bigger my library. Building it up is one of my favourite things to do. 'Look at my massive collection,' I tell people.

However this year, I got a free trial from Audible, and I downloaded Arnold Schwarzenegger's book, Total Recall. All in all, the audiobook is roughly 23 hours long. Nearly a whole day's worth of Arnie. I finished it in a week. I listened on my daily walks, whilst I showered, and whilst I cooked. It was brilliant. It was like being sat in a room with the Governator himself.

As well as being one of the most inspirational books I've ever read (heard), it woke me up to the possibilities of the audiobook. Reading isn't just for the eyes, it's for the ears too, and who knows what else in the future. I'm looking forward to books you can taste.