Matthew Lang

I can't remember if I mentioned this in a previous post but in case I didn't here's an update.

I will be starting a monthly newsletter in January. The idea is to publish a long form essay on a single topic each month.

I'm fully aware that there are already hundreds of newsletters out there. It's for this reason I'll be limiting it to just one a month. Your time is probably already scarce and I don't want to take up too much of it.

More details and a sign up form to come in December.

Your Instagram pictures printed to photo books. Love it.

When it comes to getting things done the focus is always on what needs done and when you can do it. Without these two you would end up with the wrong task getting done at the wrong time. You'll eventually find yourself just getting nowhere fast.

These two task variables are important but just as important is the time you spend looking at the progress you have made. In order to do that you need look past more than just the tasks you done.

I look to the tasks that fall into two categories:

1. The difficult tasks that presented problems but were eventually done.
2. The tasks that I enjoyed doing and that made a significant impact.

It's these groups of tasks that make up the bulk of my final notebook in the process, the logging notebook. When it comes to looking back what you've done, you need to filter out the important tasks so that you know you are making progress. This is what I use the logging notebook for.

I'm using a Hobonichi Techo planner as my logging notebook. Persuaded by Patrick Rhone and Mike Rohde I bought one at the end of last year.

The notebook itself is fairly small and the paper although thin, is of superb quality. This makes it ideal for a broad range of writing instruments. I mostly use a Lamy Safari for this notebook, although I have done a few sketches with other pens.

Rather than using it as a planner, I record the big wins for the day and the tasks that I finished that made a real difference. Those "Yay me!" moments when it's more than just another task done, it's a significant amount of progress made.

The year is drawing to a close and I'm glad to say that the Hobonichi Techno planner has been a great investment as I use it daily. Next year's is already sitting on my desk waiting to log the next set of wins .

You can use any notebook as your logging book. The most important thing is to log the wins. It adds a much clearer view of the progress you've made and also has the benefit of providing a much needed boost when you feel you have been slacking.

Intrusive snooping by the government or a necessary action?

The legislation in question is called the Investigatory Powers Bill. It’s been cleared by politicians and awaits only the formality of royal assent before it becomes law. The bill will legalize the UK’s global surveillance program, which scoops up communications data from around the world, but it will also introduce new domestic powers, including a government database that stores the web history of every citizen in the country. UK spies will be empowered to hack individuals, internet infrastructure, and even whole towns — if the government deems it necessary.

— The UK Is About To Wield Unprecedented Surveillance Powers - Here's What It Means by The Verge

Bullet journalling has been around for a few years now, but it's only now that I've decided to start a bullet journal of my own. The bullet journal is the idea of Ryder Carroll. He wanted something easy to use and over a period of time, he tweaked what we now know as the bullet journal.

The bullet journal isn't the notebook itself, it's the conventions used in the notebook that make it a bullet journal. There are a number of different pages to a bullet journal:

• Future log - A two-page spread listing what you need to do over the next six months.
• Monthly log - A single page listing the month ahead and what you planned for each day.
• Daily log - A page with tasks and notes listed for each day.
• Collection - A single page comprising of a number of related tasks.
• Index - A number of pages with references to any future logs, monthly logs, collections and any other page you need to remember.

I'm using it in much the same way as the method on the website with the exception of the bullets. I've been using Patrick Rhone's DashPlus system for few years now for my notebooks for capturing and so I'm sticking with that.

I keep a list of recurring tasks that I must do each week and month. Every week I have admin work to do, invoices to review and marketing tasks to get done. I keep these tasks under two pages. The first is weekly and the second is monthly. Any recurring tasks get listed here and then migrated to the month log or daily log when I need too.

It's fairly easy to pick up and that's one of the reasons why I like it so much. Even the simplest task manager apps on the market have a degree of complexity about them. With the bullet journal everything is there to see. Nothing to hide.

The immediate benefit is that you're away from the screen for periods at a time through the day. Modern technology is great and makes us more productive, but there comes a point where even modern technology becomes counterproductive and we end up needing something to reinforce what's important to do next.

For me the big benefit is the need to spend more time reviewing and planning my tasks in the journal rather than simply seeing what my to do list has scheduled in place for me to do that day. Now that I spend more time planning my day and week I'm more aware of what I'm doing and the time I'm spending on each task.

Thanks for the lunch and afternoon in London Patrick!

One down, four to go.

The makers of Telegram have launched a blogging platform called Telegram.

Yes, it could be used by nefarious internet trolls, but I would like to think that it will be used in a more positive way.