I don’t like using social media, but I know it’s importance with sharing my work. Croissant strikes a balance that lets me send the same message to three different social networks without needing any of those apps on my phone. It’s simply a megaphone without any of the negatives.
Twin boys. Toddler daughter. Hospital Tech Support. Writer. Runner. Gamer. Creating in public again.*
Writing
I Have Died Many Times
A new year. A new way to approach my writing. I hope you enjoy this new format. Going back to my roots. Blogging instead of weekly newsletters. This will remove the pressure of deadlines, which will also give me the freedom to create again, instead of fitting thoughts into a defined package due at the end of every week. Expect a more stream of conscious type of approach here now.
At the beginning of the last few years, I have enjoyed rereading I Have Died Many Times, by CGP Grey. Let’s start my return here with that.
My weekly newsletter that showed up in inboxes every Monday morning and lasted 137 weeks in a row is now over. When closing out last year, at first I only wanted to take a break during December, but as Christmas rolled around, and the new year approached, I knew that chapter of my life was over.
I’m ready for something new, and I think getting back to blogging (and microblogging) will scratch that itch for me. I’ll be able to build faster, with fresher ideas, and ultimately be more nimble with creating than those newsletters allowed me to be.
With no deadlines, you’ll now see more thoughts from me, or sometimes less, depending on the flow of that week. I can post immediately or not post at all for days or weeks. Only showing up when I have something to share.
Timestamp Journaling
I’ve been using Apple Journal for most of my writing lately. The beauty of this app is that there’s no files or folders to manage, just your notes to endlessly scroll through. This allows me to progressively think through ideas over time without worrying about anything other than what’s on my mind that day.
For my journal entries, I’ve built a system with timestamps and summaries: I add the current time before writing the idea, and when the day ends, I use those timestamps to write a recap. A simple but effective way to capture thoughts.
Daily Log
Building Blocks
I’ve been thinking about how we’re able to condense moments, memories, and ideas into building blocks, simply by turning them into a single paragraph, like this one. The goal for that block is to be unique, concise, and dense with information. If it’s too wordy, it’s mostly fluff. If it’s too short, it wasn’t that important. That’s what these little sections in the newsletters have been (just building blocks), but I never looked at them from this perspective until now. Going forward, they’ll be referred to as blocks, and I encourage you to make your own.
The Writing Process
The Writing Process is where all of my writing starts. It’s a single folder with three filters inside of it.
- Ideas
- Drafts
- Review
Ideas follows two simple conditions: modified in the last month, doesn’t have headers. Ideas are usually just a bunch of thoughts without any structure.
Drafts follows two simple conditions: modified in the last month, has headers. Ideas become drafts when they start having headers and gaining structure.
Review follows one simple condition: hasn’t been touched in over a month. This allows me to see what’s fallen through the cracks. If I haven’t edited a note in over a month, it’ll end up here for me to decide on (make more edits, or just delete it).
My Ulysses Setup
I’ve spent the last few weeks restructuring my Ulysses setup. I needed something that was clean and simple, but also has the power for each project that I have planned for the new year. This is where I landed.
“Projects” is the first section to focus on. This is where I separate all the big areas. “Blogs” is an archive of all my old blogs that I’ll reference in the future. Book is where write my new book. Learning is where I type church notes, book notes, and add quotes. Poetry is for my lyrics. It’s where I build out new albums and reference old ones for upcoming poetry books.
Next is the main section. This is where I spend most of my time. At the top, The Writing Process is where my ideas start. Each idea goes through three filters (Ideas, Drafts, Review) until being ready for the world. At the bottom is the Resources folder. It’s where the photos, systems, and templates live. I consider it the engine for Morning Coffee.
In the middle is Morning Coffee. This is where I build out my newsletters. I bring over a template from the Resources folder, and then fill in the holes until I get to the word count. The word count has a little circle on the right side of the folder title that slowly fills up and turns green when complete.
The last section is the external folder, where my actual website lives. Thanks to Blot and Dropbox, I can drag the newsletter down into the nashp.com folder and it’s instantly published.
Building a Second Brain
I listened to Building a Second Brain last week, and it helped me organize my folder structure in Notes. The main thing was making folders for active projects that I’m currently working on. After making that folder, it was easy for me to put all the loose files and notes into their specific folder. Now, they’re all easy to find. When I’m done with that project, I can move it into Archive. This is all built using the PARA Method from Tiago Forte. PARA stands for projects, areas, resources, archive. Make those four folders anywhere you keep digital stuff, then make folders inside of those for each thing in your life.
Running to the Coffee Shop
The last few days, I’ve did a two mile run that ended with me outside the coffee shop. Instead of running back to my house, I run a direction that gives me the reward of being at my favorite place to write. This simple hack motivates me to start my run.