Three productivity tips
Hey there, friends and fellow entrepreneurs!
Welcome to the second issue of the 'Solo Startup Stories' newsletter.
Last month, there were some major shifts in my professional work environment:
- Migrating my daily operating system from Windows to Linux Mint,
- Replacing the no-code capabilities of Bubble.io with the robustness of Ruby on Rails, and
- Revamping my search approach by opting for Kagi paid search.
Each change is aimed at optimizing productivity and results. Read on to find out how these adjustments are shaping the way I work. Maybe it can bring you some ideas to increase your productivity as well. Let me know if you have suggestions or questions on any of these.
1. My No-BS guide migrating from Windows hell to Linux heaven
Ever felt bogged down by Windows, but thought Linux is just for nerds and techies? Well, it's not. Here is my story on how I kissed Windows goodbye forever (well, almost) and embraced the wonderful open source Linux world.
Microsoft, why you do this?
First up, Windows' default setup is a mess. Too many unwanted programs and settings. And let's not even talk about ads. Come on, Microsoft! I want an OS, not a billboard.
The second law of thermodynamics states that entropy, which is basically the degree of messiness in a system, tends to increase over time, unless you put energy into that system. For some obscure reason, the longer you are on a Windows OS installation, the slower and more unpredictable it gets. I even had a recurring task to reinstall Windows every six months or so and I used Chocolatey to automate installation of other software I need. But that's fighting symptoms, not curing the disease. You'd think Microsoft would have sorted this out by now.
Let's get serious for a sec. Security on Windows is a bit of a joke. It keeps nagging about installing antivirus software, yet malware still finds a way. I always felt like somebody was watching when I was working on Windows.
Hello, Linux!
So I decided to give Linux Mint a shot, and man, it's like a breath of fresh air. The great thing is that you don't need to be technical at all. Just some patience and a bit of searching, and I can resolve (almost) every issue I encounter.
The Microsoft Office trap
But here comes a potential show-stopper: Microsoft Office. In the corporate world, you can't escape from it. PowerPoint for presentations, Word for docs, and Excel for... well, everything else. If customers or colleagues tell you to send that doc or spreadsheet, they implicitly mean Microsoft Word and PowerPoint.
Free but not freeing
I tried open-source options like OnlyOffice and LibreOffice, but they're not Microsoft Office. Sure, they're decent for basic stuff, but they lack the bells and whistles that I need for pro-level work.
Wine and dine?
I tried Wine, which lets you run Windows apps on Linux. It's neat, but kinda unstable. I also checked out Fmstrat's winapps and CrossOver, but these products are stuck in the past, only supporting ancient Office versions.
Online Office: close but no cigar
The online versions of Office are fine, until they're not. Little things are missing. Little things that start to frustrate you. Plus, the whole OneDrive thing—sure is useful, but it's cloud-only. When I open a document, that document is in my folder. Having to upload it, do the editing and then downloading it back to the original folder becomes a recipe for disaster.
Let's dual boot perhaps?
I also tried dual-booting Windows and Linux, but switching between OSes quickly becomes too much hassle.
VirtualBox: almost, but not quite
VirtualBox is alright for running a Windows guest on top of a Linux host. But, there are two deal-breakers:
- I couldn't get shared folders to work.
- The same for clipboard sharing.
VMware: the real solution
Finally, I landed on VMware. I set up a lean Windows VM just for Office and a couple of other Windows-only apps. In VMware, I can access my Linux files directly from the VM and the clipboard works both ways! Moreover, VMware offers a highly responsive window resizing feature that communicates directly with the Windows guest system, enabling an almost seamless user experience.
A small caveat
One heads-up: Windows remains a resource hog. Sometimes my fan spins like it's trying to take off. When that happens, I just smile, think about the dark times when I was still fully dependent on Windows and quickly, suspend the virtual machine. Sure enough, 1 minute later the fan stops making noise.
To wrap up
Switching to Linux isn't only for techies. If I can do it, anyone can do it. If needed, get yourself a VMware setup for your Windows-only needs, and you're all set. It's been a game-changer for me, and it could be for you too. Give it a try!
2. The 'Platform Risk': why I left Bubble.io for Ruby on Rails
One of the most significant transitions this month was moving away from the no-code platform Bubble.io to Ruby on Rails. A crucial turning point was when Bubble.io received a $100 million VC investment in 2021. With this new backing, the platform is now aggressively focusing on becoming profitable as quickly as possible.
This led to the introduction of a new runtime pricing scheme that led to a lot of protest by the Bubble community. The change highlighted the "platform risk" involved in relying on a third-party service for critical business functionalities. Given these developments, I felt a move to Ruby on Rails, known for its stability and wide support, was a wise long-term decision.
Ruby on Rails offers a rich support network and fantastic documentation. As a developer, you don't need to "reinvent the wheel" thanks to a rich library of available gems. For instance,
- ActAsTenant simplifies building multi-tenant apps,
- Devise takes care of authentication,
- Pundit handles authorization, and
- TailwindCSS assists with styling.
After comparing several "boilerplate solutions" like
- Avo,
- JumpstartPro, and
- Bullettrain.co,
I chose to go with JumpstartPro. The goal is to match my prototyping speed from Bubble.io by leveraging these Ruby on Rails gems and boilerplates, all while deepening my understanding of this robust framework.
3. You pay for what?
Another shift this month has been my transition from using Google Search to adopting Kagi as my primary search engine. Over time, I grew increasingly frustrated with the realization that in using Google's free service, I was essentially becoming 'part of the product'. The platform capitalizes on user data for targeted ads, something I didn't want to do anymore.
In addition to the ethical and privacy concerns, the sheer volume of searches I perform as part of my work made me think about efficiency. Kagi offers faster and more relevant search results, which saves me valuable time.
From the Kagi website:
"Kagi Search is a highly accurate, lightning-fast, user-centric, 100% privacy-respecting search engine with results augmented by non-commercial indexes and personalized searches. Kagi features a clean, high-performance user interface with only the most relevant results and no telemetry, ads, or collection of private information."
What sets Kagi apart for me is its ability to deliver fast and incredibly relevant search results. When I'm looking into a specific topic, learning new features, or troubleshooting an issue, I put the results that Kagi provides in a separate window, which I then work through as a reliable to-do list for further investigation.
Two features make working with Kagi more productive:
-
Kagi Lenses help fine-tune the focus of searches. This ensures that the search results are more aligned with what I'm actually looking to find.
-
Personalized Results influence the ranking of websites in my search results. For example, I've been able to remove annoying Pinterest links that used to clog up my search outputs.
Overall, Kagi offers a customized, relevant, and streamlined searching experience that saves me time and aligns with my preferences. Strangely, Kagi only has (at the time we write this) 8,000 or so paying users and the developer community on HackerNews is very critical of paying for a search engine. I consider the $111 I paid to use Kagi for one year good value for money.
Do yourself a favor and look into using Kagi. It will give you search superpowers that few people know about.
To conclude
That concludes this month's newsletter, and I hope you found the info useful. Let me know your feedback!