Matthew Lang

Driving down to Oxford this afternoon for tomorrow's Deep Productivity seminar with none other than Nicholas Bate himself.

A great chance to meet and a great opportunity to learn.

If you're attending, say hi!

Medium announced it's paid tier called Memberships. I'm not convinced though.

Sure it's great that Medium are finally charging for their product, but there isn't enough value here.

You can count me out.

CJ Chilvers looks at the importance of being small and why avoiding the need to grow can be a good thing.

I've written before about my love of small books, but these past few days I've re-discovered a love of small blogs, small newsletters, and small products in general. Small could mean brief. There's bravery in brevity. Small could also mean minimal, a first step towards something larger.

— The Importance of Being Small by CJ Chilvers

Some essential coffeeshop tips and etiquette from the peeps over at DNSimple.

When you order your first drink ask for it straight away. Having a good relationship with the staff is important so give a good tip. I usually give 40%-50% on the first visit. That really helps get a good start with the people working there.

— Working in coffeeshops by DNSimple

I need to breakout from the home office a bit more often now that the good weather is just around the corner. Paisley only has a couple of good coffee shops worth working in though.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about marketing.

While making my afternoon coffee I was running some editing changes through my head on a post I'm writing. And then it struck me.

If you're not writing, you're not marketing.

I've struggled with marketing my freelancing business in the past, but I certainly could start making a step in the right direction by writing more for my freelancing business.

Again, this was sitting in my drafts. Doh!

The weekend was something of a blur. After a trip down to see a client and a few days back at my desk catching up, I was glad to have some downtime with the family.

Saturday started as it always does with Drew's Little Tiger Cubs class. As always he's slow to start with the warm ups but as soon as they get to the kicking and punching he's front and centre! After that it time to head home as Jen was going for the day so it was just me and the boys. Drew was invited to a birthday party next door so I took him through for that will Ethan entertained himself on the Playstation.

Sunday was Ethan's first group lesson with the rest of the Juniors at Paisley Golf Club. Even though he's hardly had a chance to play on the course over the winter, Ethan's been improving his swing over the winter and this will be a big year for him. His lesson went well and he learned a few things the hard way but it's sometimes the only way you learn.

Sunday morning was also my first jaunt back out on the mountain bike. The first bike ride of the year is always rubbish. You find out it now that your bike needs a service or new parts and you're also getting back on the bike after a number of months since the last time you were on it. This year was no exception.

With a slow puncture at the rear I decided to top up the wheel with air to see how slow it was. Unfortunately my pump split in two and couldn't get any air into the wheel. I had enough air to get back to the card, but it did cut my ride significantly short. Added a new pump and a new rear tyre (it is blading) to the bike shopping list.

Sunday afternoon saw Drew heading out for a Little Tiger Cubs assessment. He's been attending the classes for a few months now and he's earned the stripes for his belt. At his assessment he earned his next belt up and walked away with a certificate.

It's back to work for Ethan with the first RGU under 14s session of the year. Plenty to work on!