Sep 19, 2022 2 min read Newsletters

I Lost the Internet for a Day!

Earlier in the week my internet service provider had an outage in my area, and I lost connection to the internet for the day. It was one of the most peaceful days I’ve had in a long time. Others told me how panicked they would be if they lost the internet for a day, but I felt quite the opposite. I felt calm. I was disconnected from checking my email and endlessly scrolling through YouTube, so I was able to focus on things I’ve been procrastinating doing around the house. I even took the time to do some more analog Sketchnoting.

Since I keep a Bullet Journal in a physical notebook, a large portion of my productivity system was still available to me. I didn’t miss my cloud based productivity apps hardly at all. It was a good feeling knowing I’m not entirely reliant on technology.

While digital tools are packed with useful features, I suggest making at least part of your productivity system analog, or using apps that don’t require a constant connection to the internet. In the event you find yourself in a similar situation as mine, you’ll still be able to capture and work with ideas and tasks. You just might find it to be a pleasant experience being away from all the noise (it certainly was for me).

Tip of the Week:

Don’t think outside the box until you’ve used what’s inside it.

Usually what’s inside “the box” are the tried and true methods of doing things, and they’re in “the box” because they’ve already been tested and vetted. Sometimes using a solution that has already worked before really is the best thing to do. Only once you’ve exhausted the established, solid solutions should you begin to look elsewhere.

What I’m Reading / Watching / Listening to:

Video: Curriculum Design Part 1: The High-Level Planning

I’ve long been interested in the topic of teaching, and have created many lessons and presentations on various topics. I even created an online software development course (which is wildly out of date now). I’d like to continue to improve my teaching skills, so I found this video on curriculum planning to be a helpful starting point as I begin to develop ideas for future online courses.

Video: Stop note taking. Start note making: Learn the NoMa Method

This video by Nick Milo was featured at the second ever Linking Your Thinking Conference. In it, Nick describes the difference between note taking (highlighting and copying) and note making (writing in your own words the stuff you find interesting and connecting it to related ideas). This reminds me of the purpose behind Sketchnoting, which is not to capture everything, but to capture the big, important ideas, the things that truly resonate with you. I haven’t done much linking between Sketchnotes before, but I’d really like to as Sketchnoting as been an effective idea exploration tool for me (more to come on linking Sketchnotes into my knowledge base in Obsidian as I continue to experiment and refine the process).