Currently reading: Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers 📚

Trying out a new way of keeping a todo list for non-work stuff, inspired by Plaintext Productivity. I’m not using todo.txt as I can’t see a way to have that information available on a widget that I can have on the home screen of my phone. So I’m sticking with using iOS’s Reminders app.

One of the inspirations I’m taking is around what actually gets added to the list. On that site, your todo list should be for anything you are actually realistically going to get done in the next week. If you don’t really think you’re going to do a task, be honest with yourself and don’t add it. And if a task is due further in the future or it’s just not something you need to do right now, don’t put it on your list, but instead put an event in your calendar to remind you (or if it really is just a ‘nice to do someday’ make a note of it somewhere). The outcome should be that your todo list consists only of things that you can and should do as soon as possible.

The other part that I liked was the use of priorities. Using todo.txt, the idea is to use the (B) priority for tasks you intend to get done that day, and the (A) priority for your next task. (C) and (D) also get used for tasks that are likely to be done later in the week. Priorites can be assigned, changed and cleared with a single keypress, meaning that you can quickly choose the task you’re going to do next, and easily reconsider the tasks you think you’ll get done that day just with a few taps on the keyboard.

The author of the site mentions that he gets interrupted a lot at work (and I do too so I’m going to try copying this system more closely at work) which is why it should be very obvious what the current task is. For me, for non-work stuff, it’s not that I’m going to be distracted (well, that could still happen of course), but more that I would just like to know what’s next on my list so that I can get started on it when I’m ready. Having a big list and thinking ‘oh yeah, what did I decide I was gonna do?’ slows the whole process down.

(I think this is one of the reasons I’m dropping my Bullet Journal for now - flipping through pages looking at open tasks that aren’t really in any kind of order seems a little bit overwhelming at the moment)

The reminders app does have a Priorities function, but it’s not fast to use. To edit a task’s priority you need to click into it, scroll down a little and then select the priority from a little menu. The idea is that priorities should be very quick to assign and change so that you can quickly choose which task you’re going to work on next, and I think the clunkiness of priorites in Reminders gets in the way of doing this.

I’ve decided I will use the Flag function instead, and I’m using this in the same way the (A) priority gets used above. I think my list moves slowly enough that I won’t miss having any further way to break up the tasks.

So I have one list, just called Todo. Everything that I want to get done in the next few days goes on the list. If it’s going to be further out than that, it can go on my calendar if there’s some sort of deadline associated with it, or if not I will just make a note of it in Bear to save for later. I can then look at my list, decide what I’m going to do next, and Flag it. This is a couple of taps on iOS which isn’t bad at all, or there’s a keyboard shortcut (cmd + shift + F) if I’m using a keyboard. I then have a Reminders widget on my homescreen that just shows Flagged items - meaning it just shows the thing I am intending to do next. I kind of like that the rest of my list is hidden away a little and that I only see my next job. I think it helps my mind to feel less cluttered and it’s easier to just focus on one thing.

Once I’ve done the thing, I get to mark it as completed, and then take a moment to look back through the list and decide on the next thing. Taking this little bit of time is nice too, there’s something deliberate about it which again helps my brain feel less cluttered.

I can add things to the list as they come up, either as I think of them or an event in my calendar turns up that gives me a little nudge. If I think of something I need to do, I like to write it down in Drafts, so that I have the option either at the time or later to decide whether it goes straight into Reminders, or into my calendar, or into Bear, depending on when I realistically am going to get that task done.

The last part of the system is stuff in Bear, as mentioned earlier. If I have some project or a hobby-related idea that I might want to do at some point, I’ll put it in a note somewhere in Bear and mark it as a task. Bear has a Todo option in the sidebar which lists all notes with unticked tasks, and so periodically I can browse through these and add them to Reminders if I want. For me there’s no real intention of getting anything in Bear done with any urgency, it’s just ideas that are there ready for me to pick up in the future if/when I feel like it.

I’ve only been trying this out for a little while but I like it so far. It helps avoid that feeling of a huge list of tasks that doesn’t seem to be budging and that is hard to pick apart and get started on. As I’m working on improving my mental health hopefully this will help me get things done slowly and steadily.

Finished Reading: Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett 📚

The Witches are definitely my fave Discworld characters. I want to be Granny Weatherwax when I grow up lol

Currently reading: The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris 📚

I’ve read the first edition but not this one. I’m cautious of self-help books but this one actually had some real substance and practical stuff that has helped me before. March was a super crummy month for me and I need that help again

🎮Resetting my progress on Vampire Survivors today. I think the pretty lights and dopamine will do me good at the moment

Recently been getting oddly excited about using todo.txt, after I discovered plaintext-productivity.net.

My work laptop is super locked down though so I can’t install any apps (can’t even get Sleek off the App Store) so it’s Notepad++ and AutoHotKey all the way (I’m thrilled to bits that we’re allowed to use these at least!)

So you can download a user-defined language to colour code your list in Notepad++, it turns out there’s already a hotkey in Notepad++ to sort alphabetically. I wrote a couple of lines in AutoHotKey to mark things as Done and to include the completion date. And then I completely cheated and downloaded a very fancy AutoHotKey script that has a GUI and everything.

Only thing is, that doesn’t make much use of priorities (which I want to use), and the colour-coded text in Notepad++ is easier to read. So I’m using this to quickly add stuff occasionally, and also to archive completed tasks.

I want to write myself a little script that will be able to add/remove/cycle through priorities, and figure out how that fancy script is doing the archiving. Then I’ll have a little toolset in AutoHotKey that will work alongside my little Notepad++ setup, and then I’ll get loads done!! Or at least I’ll get loads written down, and it’ll be nice colours.

🍿 The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) - ★★★☆☆

Finally got around to watching this (with my sister and my niece). It’s exactly what you expect it to be. Dumb fun, my niece loved it

A notebook to save you from infinite scrolling. - Invidious

The life tracker system is a journalling method I developed to help me optimize and document my life. It’s one of the lowest friction ways to start the habit of journalling. Just wanted to share this with you guys, hope you found it helpful. I’ll see you next week

I love videos like this that show how people are using their notebook in an easy-to-emulate way. I like bullet journalling and part of the fun is browsing around looking for inspiration, and I wish there was more stuff like this, rather than the beautiful painstaking decorative art-based ideas that you see an awful lot of but realistically are never going to attempt to emulate

Goodness me, today’s Knotword had me stuck for a good while!

Before and after. Finally giving my poor long-neglected succulents another try. I can’t explain how there’s a flower on one of them because I’ve hardly watered them for months and months. I hope I haven’t upset it too much.

Spent some time with my sister today and as part of our talking we pretty much both agreed that we are both autistic. It’s not something we’ve ever discussed with each other in any real way.

We chatted about how we’re rubbish in social situations, except for those rare times when you can fake it and it actually seems to fool everyone. And about how hard things hit us when we’re told we’ve done something wrong.

Thinking about interoception today. When I was little I was super skinny, I guess it would have been looked at like an eating disorder or something. But as I remember it, I was just never hungry. I think I still get this nowadays, maybe when I’m feeling down, or stressed or overwhelmed. I just genuinely don’t want to eat anything.

I think I have a similar issue with being thirsty too - I sort of… like the feeling of being thirsty? It’s just this feeling in my mouth and it’s fine. I have to remind myself to actually go and drink something. I often have some system on the go to help my track how much I’m drinking throughout the day because otherwise I’ll give myself a headache.

I don’t like to feel cold so I’ll wear an extra layer etc to keep warm, and then I won’t notice that I’m too warm until I make myself ill.

And lastly it’s emotions. It seems like I’m rubbish at recognising them. I have wondered for a while now if I can’t tell the difference between feeling excited and feeling anxious. I don’t think I’m really able to spot that I’m feeling stressed or overwhelmed until it’s too late.

📺 The Traitors (2022) - ★★★★★

Watched Season 2 of this across a span of a few weeks just now and it was awesome! I’m looking forward to the next series.

I’ve always thought this game (Werewolf or Mafia or whatever you want to call it) is really interesting, I think because quite often I don’t have the social skills to be able to come up with any theories of my own so I’m always really intrigued by what happens. It’s kind of annoying how everyone will always seem to go along with the loud people, and mistrust the quiet ones. Even though the quiet ones are the ones with the right ideas quite often!

I watched this on my own but I think I’ll have to arrange something so that I can watch along with someone else when the next series comes along, so that we can talk about it. I think that will be way more fun

The nice Irish lady who does the VoiceOver for the mindfulness videos on Silvercloud is some good ASMR 😊

I’m going to give One Album A Day - 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die another go. I treated myself to the ebook to go with it cos I think I’ll enjoy browsing that

Any reviews or thoughts may or may not end up here! 🎶

Currently reading: Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett 📚

A re-read because Granny Weatherwax is awesome 😊

Finished Reading: All Systems Red by Martha Wells 📚

Enjoyed this. I’ll be on the lookout for the rest of the series. I usually wait until ebooks are 99p on Amazon before I buy them and I don’t think these have ever changed price, plus they’re pretty short.

But I enjoyed reading it and I want to read more!

Had my first talking therapy session today, then drove to the nearby park for a little walk. I’m quite scared of driving so getting to the appointment was good, going to the park was like a victory lap

🎮 I finally got around to watching the Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase from a week or two ago. Here are my thoughts:

• Grounded - meh
• Ender Magnolia - Vague Hollow Knight vibes. Doesn’t mean I’m excited about it though. Might be worth keeping an eye on
• Arranger - I like puzzle games but this looks kind of annoying
• Unicorn Overlord - don’t think it’s for me
• Monster Hunter Stories - Nah. I do like how it looks though
• Epic Mickey - Never played this when it originally came out. It looks like the old platformer that it is though. Always feels dicey on a Nintendo system next to Mario games
• SMT V - I do fancy trying one of theses games one day. Maybe.
• Star Wars Battlefront - not for me
• South Park: Snow Day - nah
• Sword Art Online - heck no
• Gundam Breaker 4 - I mean I’m not gonna buy it but it does look pretty cool
• Super Monkey Ball - Aaah never got into this game back in the day! Might check it out one day, it does look like fun
• World of Goo 2 - The first World of Goo got me a bit frustrated after the first few levels. I do like this developer though so I’ll keep an eye on it
• Fantasy Life I - AAAAAAAAHHHHHH I NEED THIS. God I loved the one on the 3DS
• Another Crab’s Treasure.- looks very polished… and it’s a Souls-like you say… I feel it’ll either be great or absolute rubbish
• Penny’s Big Breakaway - nah. Too much going on, like Sonic
• Suika Game Multiplay - OMG this is going to consume my parents' lives
• Pepper Grinder - looks very pretty. Can’t gather much more from that trailer though
• Pocket Card Jockey - this is the same as the mobile game based on the DS one, right? I didn’t get my head round it when I tried it on iPad
• The quickfire stuff - nothing grabbed me
• Nintendo Online retro games - nah
• Endless Ocean - seems unique and cool but… I don’t think I get it

In conclusion, I’m going to have to buy the Suika Game multiplayer DLC for my parents. And I’ll continue to be excited about Fantasy Life.

My phone case was intact about a week ago. Now it’s crumbling before my very eyes. I don’t think I’ve done anything to hurt it 🤷‍♀️