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PL - Nov 1

By Colin Davitt

Below are a few ideas we talked about during our short time together. These are just ideas that I use from time to time for a number of reasons.

These are like an onion. Take one layer at a time.

Audio

I love Spotify but I also like creating a soundscape around me. There are times when I just need to focus and music or spoken word is annoying. Working in a public library or coffee shop helps me focus so if I can't go there I bring the sounds to me. Check out how easy it is to change a little of your environment in a snap.

Solar Power

Do you ever feel energized when you walk outside and the sun hits you almost like you are solar powered? There is something to a little sunshine and quiet.

Jar of Awesome

If something amazing happens today, will I remember it? My guess is no, we tend to forget the good and always remember the bad. I am also confident that you have either a water bottle or coffee cup collecting dust somewhere at school, car or home. I did and repurposed it into the Jar of Awesome. This simple cup is filled with the good so when I am down I can dip in and remember the good.

Podcasts

While there are a billion educational ones, I usually never listen to them. There are times when I just need to get outside of it and learn something about the world. One of my interests is all things tech which brings me to TWiT, This Week in Tech. TWiT is a network of podcasts that has been around since forever. I have learned a ton about how things work to NFTs to all things digital.

Pocket

Sometimes I get distracted in this open office and other times I just don't have time or energy to read with my eyes. Pocket is a site and app that checks a lot of boxes for me. I can save things in it, highlight as I read and the app can read the articles out loud to me. 

While Pocket has been around, I just started using it recently. What I like is adding articles to Pocket and listening to them at the gym.

My plan is to keep feeding some useful articles into it so I can learn a little something from HBR and Getting Smart.

Book Club

Like the podcasts, this is not related to education at all. I stumbled upon this when I was looking at notebooks and planners. This month's selection on LeaderBooks is A Minute to Think. What I like is the summary and reading guide that comes with each book which helps guide my thinking.

Slice of Life

I am not a writer and I was fearful of blogging. Making my writing public? No way! Years ago Angie Moehlmann pushed me to start and I have never looked back. A few years later Sarah Valter encouraged me to join the Slice of Life, a month long writing process each March. 

This idea of blogging helped me with the idea of just shipping something that is good enough. Things will never be perfect but they can be good enough. 

If you are interested, hit me up in February to join the SOL in March. I promise it will change your life in just 30 days.

This is My Next

Photography - not ready to share but I have this fascination with things that are common. I am pretty sure once I start publicly sharing people will think I am nuts. 

Guitar - I am working on a song. Will share it in May.

Todoist or Trello or Monday - I am also fascinated with Project Management. I am working on how PM can transform just about everything.


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