Stopwatch for work
Late last year, I found myself falling into the multitasking trap, nervously switching between tasks so often that my brain ran out even before the end of the day. So, I began racking my then-tired brains for some quick fixes to achieve uninterrupted focus – and the answer was a timer. “Pomodoro!” you might think, but no, I tried it and felt more irritated than anything when I was just getting into the groove of things and the timer set off. I do the alternative: instead of a counting down timer, I now use a counting up one for a task, and somehow the act of a stopwatch going and the feel of having to set a new one each time I switch to another big task does the trick for me. It’s definitely worth a try, surely, if you’re yourself good at taking breaks and okay with being “on the watch”. I personally use a built-in feature on my fav TickTick (it has both a pomodoro and a stopwatch), so as a bonus I get to see some nice stats on how much I spent on this or that task per day, which is also of help if you struggle with time blindness. – Marina
MIT OpenCourseWare
Though it felt like I’d already heard about this one before, I was most recently reminded about the fact that MIT makes many of their courses open-access from a Harvard PhD student I follow online. And now I am hooked. Though you can’t get credits from any of them, you can choose to “attend” lectures on astrophysics, differential equations, or, in my case, the human brain and statistics free of charge and from anywhere in the world. Most wonderfully, there are also lecture notes, syllabi with recommended readings, and even assignments included for each course – you can peruse them online or even download all the materials for a course to your computer. As someone inspired by new knowledge, I couldn’t be more content. Maybe your inner nerd, too, would be delighted at the prospect of learning “at” MIT? – Catherine
Napkin AI
This month, I discovered Napkin.ai, an AI tool that completely transformed how I approach visual content creation. While the name sounded familiar, it wasn’t until I used it for a report that I truly appreciated its power. With just a few text prompts, Napkin.ai effortlessly generates stunning, high-quality images that are free to download. I was genuinely blown away by its simplicity and effectiveness. If you’re looking for a creative and user-friendly tool to bring your ideas to life, I highly recommend giving Napkin.ai a try! – Subhrajit
Personal planning
You may recall, dear reader, that last month I discovered that you don’t always need all the “right tools” to get into an activity. This time, ironically, I’ve learned the exact opposite: sometimes, all the little thingamajigs and tchotchkes that accompany an activity are exactly what you need for a much-needed boost.
I’d been trying to improve my time management skills for some time, but it wasn’t quite working out. That is, until I allowed myself a bit of a splurge. As I was browsing around at a bookstore, an urge came over me to grab not only a new personal planner, but also a handful of add-ons: a fancy-looking pen pouch (and a comfy pen and pencil to go with it), some nifty sticky notes to categorize my notes, and even a clip-on booklight – you never know when you’ll need to write down something in the dark! And let me tell you: it’s made a real difference. The whole past week, I’ve been jotting down all my goings-on like crazy. I just hope I don’t bankrupt myself on even more writing gadgets… – Vadim
