Most people kick off their new year post with resolution and goals, but I've decided to change it up a bit and just take an honest look at where my infrastructure at the beginning of the year. So, here's a basic run down of what I currently use with some initial thoughts on where I see opportunities for improvement down the road.
🎒 Bags
This is my go to when I'm just going out and about with no computing device beyond my phone. It holds my essentials while having space for some other smaller accessories (i.e., hand sanitizer, mints, etc.):
- Wallet
- Keys
- Apple Airpods Pro v2
- Notebook
- Kindle Paperwhite
- Anker Power Bank
This is my in-between bag size for when I want to bring more stuff but don't want a bag so big that it could carry a laptop (because by that point I should just grab my backpack).
While it's been reliable and I do like the bag overall, there is a part of me that wants more from the bag. In particular, I'd like a little more built-in organization in my mid-size bag and still thinking how I might evolve this particular bag.
This has been my EDC (every day carry) as well as my travel backpack since May 2022 and this thing has lived to tell many tales.
My essentials that go in this backpack include:
- Apple MacBook Pro (14")
- iPad Pro (11") / Daylight Computer (11")
- Anker Large Power Bank
- Anker Charging Blocks
- Lots of different charging cords
I'd love to do a full review on this in the future, but in the meantime, suffice to say it's been battle tested and I love the organization that comes with the backpack.
💻 Gear
This is a basic rundown of my tech gear that have become part of my essential workflow.
- Apple MacBook Pro - M1 Max 2021 (14")
- iPad Pro
- iPhone 16 Pro
- DJI Osmo Pocket 3
- DJI Mic 2
- Kindle Paperwhite
- Anker Power Banks
- Elgato Key Light
📋 Productivity
This category covers how I manage my day to day tasks and projects, but is not all encompassing as far as goal management / personal growth.
I know I know. This is probably shocking to many since you would think my go to would be one of the big todo apps, but I've found that using Siri to remind me of things on a certain date and time has been incredibly effective. I've tried Siri integrations with Todoist, but it's clunky when it comes to accuracy and being able to update the reminder properly.
The truth is its simplicity make it the first line of defense for me since everything automatically gets added to the calendar and it's easy to share lists with other iOS users since they don't have to download another app.
My go to project management app is Linear since most of my projects are centered around software development. That said, Linear is a pretty specific flavor of project management and I'm still far from being a super user of it. Some of it still feel a bit awkward to me so I use it more as a overview for projects where I need to work with others on things, but I still haven't fully embraced it for managing other things.
Next in line of defense is my Todoist app, but I'll be the first to say that while the app has added more features like an upcoming calendar preview and such, I still haven't totally latched onto workflow. Its primary use for me is to allow more comprehensive organization of tasks since Reminders is more limited in that regard.
Even with that said though, it still hasn't earned my trusted role of being the single source of truth since I have come to the conclusion that task managers are limited in their ability to provide more comprehensive outlooks on what it is I actually aspire to do.
It's ironic that a "plain text editor" is more or less my final line of defense, but if you've followed my work at all, this isn't surprising.
Obsidian is my single source of truth for all things "big picture" because I own the data and more importantly I can create more complex relationships between the things I'm doing. In todo apps, tasks typically live in one project and that's it. You can theoretically tag the living heck out of it, but it hasn't worked for me yet.
I'll do a more details write up eventually, but it essentially revolves around time based notes (i.e., daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly notes) that then utilize the relationship between notes to get a better understanding of what does what.
As a final note on Obsidian though, this is something that works for me because I'm more or less a power user who doesn't mind experimenting with plugins and custom designing things. It's not something I'd recommend out of the box for productivity without knowing more about people's background and how they work.
- 🎁 Finch
This is a bonus app that I've been experimenting with for the past two months that my friend Sasha recommended. And while it's more accurately categorized as a self-care app, it has elements of productivity which is why I'm giving it a special shoutout here.
Finch is essentially a mobile Tamagotchi app that lets you raise your finch (i.e., penguin) via completing tasks.
I use this primarily as a way to gamify and track my self-care routines (that used to live in Todoist). While it's arguably the same thing (i.e., a repeatable task), the animations and game design of Finch make it engaging and fun to keep coming back to it. For example, as you complete tasks, you earn currency which can be spent to purchase digital items for your finch (i.e., clothes, furniture for its home, trips it can go on).
That said, let me go on the record by saying this isn't a full game. It's not going to be so distracting you spend all your time in it. The designers did a phenomenal job balancing game mechanics to a point where its not a completely addicting thing where all you're doing is optimizing your setup.
If you're interested in trying this out and we're friends, DM me so I can send a personalized pet (for your finch) to you.
Otherwise, you can use my friend code VQ8AWDNSCC3 to get Blizzard the Wizard!
Final Thoughts
As I wrote this post, I realized there's actually a lot that I still want to capture, but I hope this overview has been helpful. Please feel ask any questions if there's anything I can help to clarify.
There is still a lot of work and things I 'd like to do to improve things to make things more efficient, but more to come on that as the year progresses. With that said, cheers to everyone and looking forward to what 2025 has in store!
