Full Stack Lattepunk
Lattepunk
Procrastination is my Friend!
I have to admit this week reader, my life/schedule has been disrupted. By the time you’re reading this I’ve already started an online bootcamp. I’m taking this to learn how to make websites.
Yo!!! You going to make your own website for the newsletter???
Let’s make sure I pass the bootcamp first reader. Where was I before I was rudely interrupted, my schedule! Taking you a bit behind the curtain, I had to change the day of the week when I write this weekly nonsense. Block Scheduling at it’s finest!
If you’re not familiar, Block Scheduling is just breaking your day into sections and dedicating sections to a specific task. My bootcamp is trying to push this mentality on me. If, like me, you’ve ever worked anywhere that gives you an email address, this is how you block off times for you meetings. But this works (for me! YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary)) outside of the workplace. I’m a calendar freak, so if you make plans with me and it’s not in my calendar, it’s not happening. I do the same with my to-do items. In my calendar, I block off hours and say “I’m going to work on this to-do at this time.” But that's not where my problems lie. I can designate the “when”, it’s staying focused.
So many distractions. Primarily from my phone! There’s no shortage of articles telling me how to fix this problem either! Here’s a Forbes link and a Gizmodo link. Those were just two of many when I looked it up. It’s so easy to read about this stuff than it is to implement. It basically comes down to something like this:
Set up Focus/Do Not Disturb Settings
Set App Time Limits
Uninstall Social Media
Turn off notifications
Turn your screen’s color into grey scale
There’s more but that’s simply it. Admittedly, I’m a psychopath about my relationship with technology. I implemented a lot of these measures (currently testing that grey scale one). But I’ve seen your phones…Yes, YOUR PHONE! Red bubbles all over your home screens (HOW MANY UNREAD EMAILS DO YOU HAVE!?!). How are we supposed to stay focused when our devices are constantly fighting for our attention?
Even if I implemented all the generic advice I received online, do I just become the most productive side hustler in the world? Absolutely not! I just fill that time with other things. I read an actual shit ton of articles (where do you think I get those recommendations I give you every week?). I fill that time typing out a bunch of words that waste your time instead (shouts out to you if you’re still on this journey with me! I love you (but not like that! Sicko!)).
I do believe we need to evaluate our relationships with our devices. Our phones pinging and vibrating to get our attention isn’t right. We should decide when we look at our phone. If someone liked that selfie you just uploaded, first off, it was a cute at selfie! But do you really need to know that the EXACT second it happens? Can you not let the selfie breathe, come back, then check on all the thirst you’ve collected?
So as I evaluate my free time usage, I ask you go into your phone’s settings and find the notification options. Turn off anything that doesn’t deserve to tell you when to look at your phone. And if you see an app giving you notifications that doesn’t even benefit you, uninstall it. My free time is going to be all consumed. Please, let me live vicariously through your free time.
Recommendations:
Read:
How Russia-Linked Malware Cut Heat to 600 Ukrainian Buildings in Deep Winter (by Andy Greenberg, Wired) (Is your boiler system’s software up to date???)
AI Is Already Taking Jobs in the Video Game Industry (by Brian Merchant, Wired)
Roblox’s Pedophile Problem (by Olivia Carville and Cecilia D’Anastasio, Bloomberg) (This was a wild story. Fascinating read. Set some guidelines for your kids.)
Meeting the people of PEGI: talking age ratings, gambling, and why their famous voice only got €200 (by Robert Purchese, EuroGamer)
This Machine Exposes Privacy Violations (by Brain Merchant, Wired) (Cool technology that showcases the way websites track you. Here’s the actual tool.)
Every company should be owned by its employees (by Ellie Griffin, The Elysian) (This was really interesting and something I could get behind)
Cars Are Rolling Computers Now. So What Happens When They Stop Getting Updates? (by Aarian Marshall, Wired) (I talked about this in the past! Cars in the past will run until we, the owners, decide to stop investing in keeping it running. Cars today will run until technology keeps working)
Neglect at Boarding School for Autistic Youth Left a Student With Vision Loss, Lawsuit Alleges (by Jodi S. Cohen and Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica) (Not often I read something that breaks my heart. How the hell is Shrub Oak allowed to keep operating?)
North Korean hacker got hired by US security vendor, immediately loaded malware (by Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica)
Do:
How about you make a Wii that fits in a keychain? I don’t mean just a Wii looking keychain, a fully working Wii in a keychain! That’s what user YveltalGriffin did!
Tired of your Smart TV’s software system? So was Carl Riis! So they made EarlGreyTV to remedy this issue. Check it out!
You all finally set up your 2FAs right? This post talks about putting their codes on their regular dumb watch. Don’t know how I feel about it’s security, but damn that’s cool.
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