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After speaking with a few clients today, one of them gave me a soundbite that made so much sense as to what I do and what I’m trying to convey that I thought I’d share it.

We know the saying ‘if it’s free, you’re the product’ but did you also know that just because you’re using a free email service you wouldn’t be paying for it in some other way?

If you’re not careful with picking the right apps and tools to use, personally or within your business, you might find yourself hooked on software that you can’t reliably get away from.

Well are all lazy and want an easy way to do things and I don’t think there is anything wrong with that.

Being intentional is a superpower when it comes to staying focused. And ’the power of less’ is something I teach all my clients to help with that idea when it comes to their tech.

The idea that one tool can help you and your business to get things done is something that can ruin your workflow. They do exist, but they don’t do anyone right.

It’s never a good idea to call yourself ’lazy’, but sometimes it’s the best way to explain the way you work and how you can help your clients to become more efficient and focused.

Many make the mistake of thinking that just having data on iCloud that it’s ‘backed up’ but that’s far from the truth. So I’ll be going over the best ways to back up your data, so everything is safe and sound.

There are many things Apple doesn’t do right, but now and again they pull through, and being friendly and smiling will always help you get them on your side. So there was good news for me when I visited the Apple store yesterday!

For the past few years, Apple has created smaller MacBooks; with that, the SSDs have also gotten smaller. But now the SSD, RAM and CPU are on one chip, so if your Mac dies, your data does too!

Many make the mistake of thinking that just using iCloud will save them from data loss. This is a huge mistake. iCloud is a syncing service and not a backup service.

Losing your Mac is hard, but losing your data is unimaginable.

In this live stream replay, I go through what an ‘inbox’ means to me and how it can save you time so you can be even more productive by limiting them.

Once the storm is out of the way, the calming starts, even though that’s not quite how the saying goes, It’s something to consider when it comes to the adoption of new technology or a new workflow.

Doing the same thing repeatedly thinking ’this is fine’ isn’t going to help you be more productive. It’s only going to slow you down and get you frustrated more than you think.

We often follow others blindly when it comes to choosing our apps and services.

The more you fail, the more you learn. So embracing your weaknesses can and will make your strengths even stronger.

WOW! 2020 really did suck! I hope you got through it ok and are ready to make 2021 a bounce-back-and-kick-ass year!

Live stream on December 15, 2020, at 13:00 talking about the Apple M1 MacBook Air and Tech Minimalism.

Last week, I read a scary article about Zoom and how they might be monitoring the calls we all are having.
 
As you know, I’m very much against ‘big tech’ having too much information about us. This is one reason I stopped using Facebook many years ago. Even Google has a lot to answer for when It comes to privacy and the data they collect while we’re surfing the web.
 
Anyhow, back to Zoom. If like me, you’d prefer to use another app to do your remote calls, then watch my live stream tomorrow! In the stream, I’ll be going over a few alternatives and how you can easily remove Zoom from being your default app for remote meetings.
 
The live stream will be on December 22, 2020, at 19:00
 
So save the date and join the live stream tomorrow and let’s stay safer on the internet together.

Last week I wrote about how to simplify your desktop. This week, I’ll be walking through my iPhone setup and showing you it’s also possible to simplify that too.

Are you in control of your business processes? Well, you might find out that you’re probably not so maybe something needs to change so you can take back control.

Bouncing between tools to try and find that magic unicorn feature doesn’t help with anything other than a headache and a loss of momentum. Trust me, I know I’m guilty of this, but I have an excuse… I think.

Working for yourself is great, but often I find people so stuck to a rigid timetable that makes them miserable.

Finally was able to get access to my MacJunky YouTube channel. Long story, so I won’t bore you with the details.

Fixing a bad habit is one of the hardest things you can do. You have first to realise you have a bad habit, then seek a way to, well, fix it.

I’m still baffled as to why people (companies and individuals) yet haven’t grasped the fact that using a simple password, or even worse, using the same password for multiple accounts is a bad thing.

We’ve all been guilty of this, me more than others. But bouncing between tools, apps and services in search of new shiny things, won’t help you focus on what needs to get done.

In recent weeks, I’ve been getting messages asking me what ‘Tech Minimalism’ was, so I thought I’d make today’s episode into a short explanation for you all.

I may sound like a broken record about backing up your data, but it’s so important.

Often you need to step back from a situation to be able to fix it properly. This is also true with the way you work.

Automation can be a good thing, but for your email, not so much. It’s fine to automate one or two things, but if you use automation too much, you can get lost in a sea of ‘inboxes’.

Your email app and workflow should be as boring as you can make it.

It’s always good to listen to experts, but don’t be fooled into being forced into a new workflow if it’s not right for you. But to listen to the advice they give to see what will work within your system.

Losing your MacBook is not fun, but you can replace it. It’s the data that’s more important and something you need to think about more. Here’s a story of one of my clients.

Today will be the last day I use tracking on my email newsletter because I don’t believe anyone needs to know that much information about you or anyone else.

Have you noticed there are a bunch of ‘productivity gurus’ that force you into using their ‘system’ but never talk with you about your current workflow?

I keep talking about the Paradox of Choice, and I’ve been hit by it today. So today, I have nothing.

In today’s Friday Fury episode we’re going to look at HEY (The email service from Basecamp) and go through some of the issues it has with workflow.

In today’s episode, I look at Hey, the new email service/platform by the makers of Basecamp. it’s pretty impressive.

Your Mac is only as happy as how you treat it. So if it gets infected with a virus or you find some malware on it, it’s probably you that caused it.

Your gut feelings are there for a reason, and sometimes you have to listen to them when it’s telling you something isn’t quite right.

If you find a workflow, you like and simply copy it, you might find it won’t work for you. Your workflow should be something you come up with, not a copy of someone else’s.

In the many years, I’ve been a technical consultant, I’ve come across so many situations that have been so complicated, so convoluted, and so confusing that I’ve found myself thinking if I don’t understand this stuff, how on earth will the client understand it?!

Buying a new Apple device can be daunting, and buying a second-hand device can be even more so. But one thing that often gets missed out when looking for a device is its age.

To cut through the noise, you need to step back and figure out where it’s coming from, then create a plan to dampen or better still, eliminate the noise coming from the lack of framework.

Onboarding is a very important step when welcoming a new team member or a new client. So getting this right can help smoothen the start of your project.

For as long as I can care to remember, I’ve never had a ‘work-life balance’. I’ve always just had ‘Life’.

In today’s instalment of Friday Fury, I talk about how getting support from some companies can be like pulling your teeth out with a hammer and string!

Simplicity is the way to go when it comes to the Tech you use. Whether it’s for personal use or if you’re in a business or team. In today’s episode, I go through why having more Tech would mean less output.

Today’s Weekly Wednesday newsletter was sent, and the response has been, well, pretty amazing! It just goes to show that simplicity does work.

So, how is your Mac doing? This week, I’ve already had two clients of mine with the same issue: Slow Mac! In this episode I walk through why your Mac might be running slow, and how to resolve it so you can have a new fresh Mac back on your desk… or lap ;-)

I found Descript a few days ago that will be making my episodes even better. It transcribes the audio into text, and you can even edit it like a document rather than messing with audio!

Things in the Tech space annoy me, and I’m guessing they annoy you too. So welcome to my new segment called Friday Fury!

In today’s video, I’ll go over how I use Apple Mail, Things 3 and Basecamp in my workflow. This is how they help me get to inbox zero with my email, have my ‘assistant’ (Things 3) to notify me of what needs to be done, and how I use Basecamp with my clients and email info organisation.

I had a question via my site about how to use emails with a task manager, however, I never got a name or any contact details, so I thought I’d make a video to explain it.

In yesterday’s episode, I went over how to organise your messy email with a Task or Project Manager, but I’ve been getting messages as to how one should do it. In today’s episode, I’ll go over how you should be doing this.

Believe it or not, it’s straightforward to fix your email woes. All you need to do is to get rid of all your folders and make sure your inbox is empty. Yeah I know, I make it sound easy, but in this episode, I’ll explain what I mean and how it’s possible.

Limiting your tech stack, limiting your apps, and limiting your workflow will help you focus rather than multitask on several tasks at once.

How many times do I have to talk about backing up in my episodes? Well, I’ll keep doing it until I make people understand how important it is and that they don’t need to lose data if only they did things properly.

There are times I have a complete mental block and can’t get anything done, so I go for a walk with Woof! my dog.

Yesterday I was doing some outreach on LinkedIn and needed to take notes on who I had contacted. Now I know there are LinkedIn browser plugins for automatic connection etc. via LinkedIn, but I’ve always felt that was impersonal.

I talk about my Membership site quite often, not only because it’s me trying to market it and sell it to you, but it’s me trying to make you understand that it can save you hours of headache.

Today I had a group Zoom call about De-Stressing Remote Work, and it turned into such a great and relaxed conversation that I felt it was a great resource to share.

Making daily videos is only a chore and complicated because you make it so. If you simplify your workflow, why would it be complicated? If you enjoyed the process, why would it be a chore?

Mistakes, we all make them, and more often than not, we rectify them. However, in recent weeks, I’ve seen so many individuals and businesses make so many mistakes in their uptake of Tech that it makes my body shiver.

Have you ever left a meeting thinking you didn’t waste your time?

Have you ever been in a situation where you’re in a remote session on a call and your audio dropping out all the time, or the video freezes etc?

Having a calm workflow will help with the communication between you and your team or client.

For me, routines suck! Whether it’s a personal one or a work-related one. I think living by (some) routines that are baked into what you do is not what I call living life.

I’m so excited to launch my Membership program!

How many times have you switched apps only to find it’s not helping you with simplifying your workflow?

You get what you pay for. How many times have you heard that?! Yep, loads I bet.

You Live.
You Die.
But in between, You Simplify.

Automation is functional, but only if you use it sparingly. I found myself drowning in a lot of automated systems, and I found I wasn’t able to breathe, so I stripped it all back and started again, and it felt great!

It’s a known fact that being an internet user or working on your own can cause you to have the age-old syndrome: FOMO.

Just the idea of being distracted should send shivers down your spine. Not only does it take you away from the work you’re doing at that time, but it takes away even more time as you have to get back ‘in the zone’ after the distraction.

It’s a bank holiday here in Amsterdam, so today’s video is cancelled! Well kinda.

How many apps and tools do you use in the running of your business or project? You’ll find you can minimise your tool stack and simplify it all by understanding what it is you need. In this episode, I walk through how Basecamp can be the replacement for many of the tools you’re using.

This is the last video in my Basecamp series that I made this week, where I’m walking through a few features I’d like to touch on that are great features that complement the tools within Basecamp.

In this episode, I walk through Basecamp permissions and how simple they are when adding team members and outside collaborators and clients.

In today’s Basecamp video, I walk through 3 features that I think make Basecamp an excellent tool for Tech Minimalism and how these features can calm your workflow.

This coming week I’ll be doing episodes about Basecamp and how it can help with understanding what Tech Minimalism is about. In today’s video, I talk about the reasons I chose Basecamp to run my business on, but also some background on how Tech Minimalism and Basecamp can be used to simplify your workflow.

Today I saw an article by SpriteCloud and the tools they use for Remote Work, and it intrigued me as I know the CEO Andrew and respect his work.

Having a backup of your data is not enough. You need to start thinking about backup tools too.

Have you ever found yourself buying into an app to help you ‘become more productive’ only to find you get even more annoyed than you were initially?

Do you ever find yourself picking up your iPhone and getting annoyed by all the notifications, red numbered circle on all the apps and a bunch of banners messing with your mojo?

The idea of Tech Minimalism is to rid yourself of the technology that’s in the way of what you need to do.

In this first lesson, I’ll show you how to simplify, organise and navigate your email.

In this lesson, we’ll go through how simplifying your files and documents can be really easy.

Using a task manager can help you with more than just being organised.

In today’s lesson, we’ll go through keeping it all in sync and show you how on an iPhone.

In this final lesson, we’ll be going through how the past lessons can help you to work remotely.

Running a business is hard, and having good ideas to make your business successful is even harder.

No matter the size of your business, if you don’t have a solid foundation for your IT, then you’re asking for trouble.

I don’t consider myself to be a fanboy in any shape or form, but when I learn something from someone I respect and love the work they do, it might come just across that way.

Enjoy your life and stop worrying about the wrong things and fix the amount of time you waste in your life by getting more organised and less wasteful with your time.