Writing about web development and the business of freelancing.
The idea for Unoffice Hours came from Matt Webb , who created it as a twist on the traditional office hours format. The premise is simple: you open up a slot in your calendar and let anyone book a call. No agenda, no pitching. They just show up and you have a chat. My own Unoffice Hours are available on Wednesday afternoons. I’ve been offering this for several years now, and it’s been one of the…
I finally got round to reading Finite and Infinite Games , a book that’s been on my reading list for several years. Of the hundreds of non-fiction books I’ve read, this is probably the most esoteric and hard to read. Derek Sivers described it as: “maybe the most abstract book you’ll ever read.” That said, I’m glad I stuck with it. The core concept is a powerful one that applies to many aspects of…
David Bushell just published a banger of post . It really sums up how I’ve been thinking about personal blogging : It’s never been more important to blog. There has never been a better time to blog. I will tell you why. We’re being starved for human conversation and authentic voices. What’s more: everyone is trying to take your voice away. Do not opt-out of using it yourself. And it’s not just…
Well, yesterday was fun… I’m working with a charity ahead of a large website redesign. I’m consulting and advising, so won’t be designing and building this particular site. We’re in the process of creating a shortlist of agencies to contact with our project brief. I naively thought it would be a good idea to post about the project on LinkedIn (with the client’s permission, of course). Perhaps I’d…
There’s a narrative circling that doesn’t sit right with me. That if you’re not using AI, you’re being left behind. If you’re ignoring AI, you’re an idiot. My insecure-and-anxious-self agrees: of course we should be paying attention to AI. After all, it’s going to take over all of our jobs. (Which raises the question: if it’s going to take over our jobs, what’s the point of paying attention…
I was chatting to a friend recently about personal blogging . He asked something like: don’t you feel embarrassed by some of your older posts? The answer is – of course – yes. I’m embarrassed about quite a few of them. Here’s an example. In 2014, in a post called Time I wrote: I’d consider myself a busy guy. I work hard in my day job and do some freelancing on the side. I regularly cook, do house…
I’ve been using Day One to capture the little moments of family life. Most days I add a few photos and a sentence or two about what we’ve been up to. Days out, holidays, funny or cute moments, even the mundane everyday stuff. I have the Day One widget on my home screen which surfaces journal entries from today’s date in previous years. My homescreen with the Day One widget I also use daily notes…
I’ve been disillusioned with social media for a while. But it’s only recently I’ve realised I miss something about the early days of social media: the genuine connections and conversations that used to happen online. I wrote about leaving Twitter several years ago, in which I said: I found a full-time job via Twitter. Clients have hired me after finding me on Twitter. I formed a mastermind group…
Back in 2016, Derek Sivers wrote about being a slow thinker . He explained that when someone asks him a deep question, his immediate response is “I don’t know.” His answer arrives a few days later. It resonated. I’m a slow thinker too. And it’s the opposite of how most people respond to a question. We’ve been conditioned to give quick answers or confident reframes. This is particularly true when…
I’ve just finished reading How to Make Sense of Any Mess by Abby Covert . I devoured it in a few sittings and thoroughly enjoyed it. The book is an introduction to information architecture: “a set of concepts that can help anyone making anything to make sense of messes caused by misinformation, disinformation, not enough, or too much information.” It was a timely read as I wrestle with a few…