Guten tag! Another week down, and I’m slowly refining this newsletter. I’d love feedback on the format and content (e.g. did I go a little hyperlink-crazy?). Reach out in the comments or via Twitter (@JonnyMHenderson).

Read

Article:  How to Configure Your iPhone to Work for You, Not Against You by Tony Stubblebine

I’ve been rereading Tony’s article. There are a lot of these tricks I’ve implemented, but I’m working on adding a few more, and it’s always worth revisiting every year or so. The author provides very actionable advice. I’ve added it to my Articles page.

Here’s a favorite excerpt:

The problem with most productivity systems is that they break. As a result, a lot of productivity nuts spend a lot of their time creating new productivity systems over and over again. This, obviously, is not productive.

For that reason, where possible, I suggest that you choose messy systems over rigid systems. The ultimate messy system that I know you’re all familiar with is the paper notebook. A paper notebook gives you incredible flexibility: you can take notes however you want, write drafts, sketch outlines, draw pictures, write to-do lists, etc. A to-do list app just doesn’t allow for that.

The downside to paper notebooks is that it’s impossible (or at least very hard) to find an old note.

Watch

Video: How Rwanda Built a Drone Delivery Service

Truly impressive and inspirational engineering, Zipline is a company that uses autonomous drones to parachute-drop medical supplies to rural or otherwise inaccessible (e.g. flooding) areas. This is a company that gets me excited to be an engineer!

Listen

Songs: “Carefree (feat. LeyeT)” and “Stuck on You (feat. Phil Good)” and “Can’t Forget You” by RAC

Both “Carefree” (Spotify, YouTube) and “Stuck on You” (Spotify, YouTube) were both released in the path month or so, and I’ve been jammin’ ever since. They’re both lots of fun, and we can expect a new album from RAC titled BOY on 8 May 2020.

Podcast: Office Ladies

I didn’t think I’d like this as much as I do! Jenna Fischer (Pam Beesly) and Angela Kinsey (Angela Martin) host Office Ladies (Apple Podcasts, Spotify). They watch each episode of The Office on their own, take lots of notes, call fellow castmates or crew, and then they break down the show episode by episode. It’s so much fun for fans. It makes for easy listening while working, even when words can sometimes be distracting. Excellent job, ladies!

Act

In a recent podcast I listened to, Jason Fried (founder of Basecamp) talks about how his company is Facebook-free. I love it! I’ve been off of Facebook and Instagram for a long while now, and I haven’t looked back. The last of the Facebook apps I’m on is WhatsApp, but I only use that to text friends internationally.

I recently picked up Signal (signal.org), so I plan on switching over to that where possible—it’s even Edward Snowden-endorsed! I do need to find some solutions for those international contacts, but I just don’t trust Facebook apps on my phone or with my data.

The next companies with targets on their backs are Google and Amazon. While I’ll never truly eliminate either, I can mitigate the information they collect from me and sell off. Seriously, even writing that makes me cringe. How are we okay with those business models?!

Learn

Concept: Pfand

Sorry for German words two weeks in a row, but I’ve thought about this concept for a long time. In fact, a friend and I pitched ideas for a business related to that concept back in college.

Anyways, the idea behind Pfand is that all bottled products charge you, say, an extra 0.25€. You overpay for your bottle, and then when you return the bottle, you’re refunded that change. It encourages people to recycle. A side benefit is also mobilizing the homeless to recycle in exchange for the Pfand people have deposited on those bottles.

It looks like a vending machine that sucks in your bottle on a conveyer belt, spins it around, scans the barcode, and takes it in. They’re in grocery stores, among other places. Here’s a short video if you want to see it in action: Lidl Pfandautomat.

Ponder

Quote: G.K. Chesterton

I say that a man must be certain of his morality for the simple reason that he has to suffer for it.