Technology Archives | Page 9 of 13

A Phone Setup That Will Make You More Mindful

November 16, 2017August 10, 2023 Nik

Note: This guide is for iPhone users, but all optimizations are transferable to other brands and operating systems.

If your phone was more like your toothbrush, your life would be a lot better.

Your toothbrush is the greatest tool of all time. Why? You only use it when you’re supposed to, for as long as you need to and never forget what it’s for.

A great tool serves only one purpose: to put control in your hands at all times, whether you’re wielding it or not.

That makes your phone a lousy tool at best. It constantly clamors for your attention and, once it has what it wants, never lets go. According to the latest Nielsen report, we spend 2.5 hours on our phones, every single day. I can’t see why anyone would need to use their phone 17.5 hours a week, unless they work part-time at a call center. Can you?

Your phone is your toothbrush’s arch enemy, trying to suck as much energy out of you as it can. Today, we’re going to change that. In a few easy steps, we’ll turn your phone into a mindfulness enhancer, making it the useful tool it was always meant to be.

How To Stop Binge-Watching From Ruining Your Life

November 11, 2017May 29, 2024 Nik

You glance at your phone as you approach your front door. 5:13 PM. It’s Friday. “Got out early. Awesome.” Your key turns in the lock, the door swings open.

After you slip out of your shoes, you walk into the living room and set your bag down. With your hands on your waist and your feet planted firmly on the ground, you look around. You take a deep breath.

The weekend is here. “Finally!” You can feel the joyful rush of anticipation washing over you. You have a ton of energy. There’s so much to do!

Game plan: On Saturday, you’ll finally set up the website for your side hustle. You look at the papers on the table. They’ve been sitting there for too long. Next, a glance at the pin board. “Right, Anne’s first show is tomorrow night! And on Sunday, a big cleaning session is in order. The closet and garage are a mess.”

“But first, a little relaxation from all the stress of the week.” You drop yourself on the couch and open Netflix. “Oh. What’s that? ‘Stranger Things.’ Haven’t heard of that one. Looks…interesting. I’ll watch just the first episode and then get started.”

We all know how this story ends. If even imagining that ending hurts a little, this post is for you.

How To Make Music a Useful Part of Your Life Again

November 3, 2017May 29, 2024 Nik

If you’re listening to music right now, please, press pause.

The following is a musical without sound in three acts.

Act I:   The Fight That Turned Into a War
Act II:  Compulsive Listening on the Rise
Act III: Give Up Power, Take Back Control

On 17th of September 2016, I canceled my Spotify Premium subscription.

I wasn’t unhappy or couldn’t afford it any longer. I had been a raving customer for over three years. I wasn’t even sure why I did it at the time, but now I know:

I needed to stop using Spotify to save myself.

How To Stop Being Addicted to Facebook

October 28, 2017May 29, 2024 Nik

In 2006, a friend who went to the U.S. a lot told me I had to sign up to this new thing called Facebook. I was 15 years old. Since no one I knew was on there, I quickly forgot about it.

Standing in the Apple store on 5th Ave four years later, as my travel group talked me into getting on board, I realized that “a Facebook account for this email already exists.” It was the first day of my demise.

I’m not alone. Over two billion people share the same struggle: We want to use Facebook less, but we can’t stop. Maybe you do too. About two years ago, I finally put this technology in its rightful place.

Today, I want to show you why Facebook is designed to make you addicted, what it’s doing to your brain and how to finally get over it.

Why Paying for Quality Writing Is So Important

October 25, 2017May 29, 2024 Nik

Paid writing subscriptions like Medium’s Membership have received some praise and much criticism. You may not be sure if paying for Medium, some magazine, or your favorite Substack writer is worth your $5 each month . I can assure you it is. Two reasons:

These are the best financial deals in the history of media.
Most of us are missing their most important aspect.

To understand both, we first need to look at said history and how it repeats itself.

4 Quick Tweaks That Will Make You More Productive

October 22, 2017February 28, 2024 Nik

In 2008, Simon & Schuster wrote a $200,000 check for Emily Gould to finish a book she’d already started. For the next two years, not much happened. Her husband knew why:

“You’ll sell your book for a million dollars,” he said, over and over again. But there was one thing he wouldn’t tolerate, and that was all the time I spent clicking and scrolling. He didn’t buy the line about it being a form of creativity. He called it an addiction.

Procrastination is the creative’s curse and today, all jobs require creativity. One of the most common ways we procrastinate is by looking for ways to procrastinate less. Over the past three years, I have too.

I even tried lots of stuff. Only to arrive at the disillusioning, yet oddly satisfying realization that just four productivity hacks have stuck — because they’re all I need.

Here’s the 80/20 of productivity hacks that will make you focused. Not all of the time, but enough of the time. So you may do your work and do it well.

How To Set Up Your Mac For Focused Work

October 5, 2017August 8, 2023 Nik

Note: This guide is for Mac users, but most optimizations work on Windows too.

We’re 4 days into the week and my RescueTime dashboard shows 39 hours and 46 minutes of logged time. Without knowing anything about what I did, one thing is clear:

I spend A LOT of time staring at my laptop.

More than most people sleep. Chances are, you do too. What if you saved 10% of that time?

Why Do People Hate Reading?

September 20, 2017January 28, 2026 Nik

When I was in 7th grade we read our first novel in class. Guess what “classic” our German teacher chose?

Drum roll pleeeeaaaase…

Friedrich.

Never heard of it? Ms. Mueller-Riemke would be aghast. It’s about a Jewish teenager in Nazi Germany who gets mobbed, bullied, becomes an orphan and then…dies.

It’s a hallmark of literature raising awareness about German history, which is great, except no 13-year old cares. I had enough problems with fitting in myself and that story definitely didn’t help.

Don’t get me wrong, the book has value, I just wasn’t ready at the time. Plus, nobody likes to be forced to do something. Especially not read.

What Is Your Worst Quality?

August 29, 2017December 16, 2025 Nik

I don’t care about the environment.

There, I said it. Now, before you rip me to shreds, let me explain. When I say environment, I mean three topics.

1. Animals.

I like animals. I just fed a pigeon this morning. But I would never put animals above people.

The First One Through the Door Gets Shot

August 26, 2017May 22, 2024 Nik

When he was 22, Charlie Shrem founded a company called BitInstant.

In the early days of Bitcoin, his company would hold a dollar balance at the world’s largest exchange Mt. Gox, so his customers could give BitInstant the money and instantly get Bitcoin back from Mt. Gox. This way, they didn’t have to send the money to Mt. Gox directly, which often took days, since the exchange was in Japan.

It quickly became one of the largest Bitcoin services in the world, handling millions of dollars in transactions.

In 2014 when he got off a return flight at JFK airport, he was arrested and supposed to be tried for money laundering, facing up to 20 years in prison.