Microsoft has provided some PowerShell that allows admins to check their Power Platform environment for invalid Power Automate Licenses. Unlicensed Power Automate Flows will be turned off. Microsoft is enforcing licensing on all Power Automate flows. The flow owner will be notified if any of your … read more

Finished reading: The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter 📚

It is a nice blend of story and scientific evidence stating how we have grown too comfortable in our day-to-day lives.

No big surprises were revealed. Yet an interesting story made it enjoyable to read. It was inspiring but depressing knowing how much healthier I could be with significant lifestyle changes.

The Comfort Crisis

“This creep phenomenon applies directly to how we now relate to comfort, said Levari. Call it comfort creep. When a new comfort is introduced, we adapt to it, and our old comforts become unacceptable. Today’s comfort is tomorrow’s discomfort. This leads to a new level of what’s considered comfortable.” (Michael Easter, The Comfort Crisis)

We’re constantly getting comfortable with our lives. Each comfort replaces other comforts, and we get deeper and deeper into the comfort hole, making it harder to get out.

I’ve been reflecting on what I like about the Reflect.app. I’ve been using the app for a couple of weeks, experimenting with it to determine if it’s something I want to use long-term. I think the main thing is its simplicity. It feels like a minimal app. In fact, when I started … read more

I purchased Cal Newports new Time Block Planner (Second Edition) today.

I had the first edition and while I enjoyed the page layout and workflow, the poor quality made it unusable. It was impossible to lay flat.

The new version appears to resolve those issues, having a spiral binding to lay flat.

I find it beneficial to periodically review the tools I'm using. Reflecting on the current state and observing how things evolve has been insightful. These are the tools I'm using as of August 2023. My workflow is very simple. Readwise Reader I use Readwise Reader for nearly all of my consumption, … read more

I’m experimenting with Twos, an app that I’ve seen but never paid attention to.

The app seems to be heavily inspired by the Bullet Journal. You capture throughout the day and use various Bullet styles. You can also create lists (collections).

It’s a nice blend of note-taking and task management.

I have all kinds of ideas while trying to sleep that would be ideal for posting to my blog, but when I sit in front of the computer, my mind goes blank.

If I were alone, I’d probably dictate to my watch to capture the flow.

Want to read: The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter 📚

If you use Obsidian Publish and want to add Tinylytics tracking to your published site, you can do so with these steps. Set up your Tinylytics account. Create a file named publish.js in your root directory. Don’t create this file from inside Obsidian, but instead, directly in your file system. … read more

Obsidian’s Insider Build 1.4.1 has a new feature called “Properties,” which lets us manage metadata for each file using a user-friendly UI. We can hide YAML Front Matter from our file and view properties in a side panel, making a much cleaner experience.

I’m looking forward to the possibilities!

Apps promise to boost our “Second Brain” with AI, smart links, and tricks, but I think our “First Brain” should rely less on external tools, except for practical reasons. The “Second Brain” is better suited for storing information we don’t need to remember. Apps should assist us, not lead us.

RIP: The External 🧠

If you’re a photographer, take more pictures. If you’re a writer, produce more text. The tools will work themselves out.

I still capture things for “reference” but less than before. I find my notes app today is more for writing documentation and other content. It’s for creating not archiving.

The water is perfect today!

By utilizing these simple formatting tricks, you can easily organize and categorize your highlights in Readwise, making reviewing and retaining important information from your sources easier. You can do this by simply formatting a note to your highlight. My favorites include: Inline tagging Add a … read more

Currently reading: Fundamentals of Software Architecture by Mark Richards 📚

New isn’t better, and you’re not the exception 

The biggest problem with changing tools is that it feels like progress. You suddenly feel like you’re getting something done, but you’re not. You’re merely shuffling deck chairs, but it feels like you’re making progress.

Curtis talks about how switching tools can feel productive. I’ve indeed fallen into this trap (and am still falling).

Focus on the system and not the tools. Track your problems and only switch tools after evaluating and making an informed decision.

Closed/Open

This is why emotional enrollment is the key to learning. No toddler learned to walk by insisting, again and again, that crawling was good enough. Or by trying to walk by simply crawling harder. - Seth Godin

Being emotionally invested in something is critical to learning something new. 

I started using Brave Browser and Brave Search today. Partially for privacy and partially to try something different (without being too different). I still use Microsoft Edge for work, which is fine, but feels bloated with features. I still use Edge for all my client profiles (about 20).

Finished reading: The Lost Metal: A Mistborn Novel by Brandon Sanderson 📚

As expected, this book was a lot of fun!