No excuse: Just do it
Mar 01
If you take a look at all the devices we have these days, over-connected and filled with apps and what-have-you’s, the excuse of not ‘getting around’ to producing content just is pathetic. Right now I’m on my phone, using a lull between two meetings. When my battery indicator prompts me to plug in my charger, I disconnect only to pick up this text file again on my desktop since I’ve magically synced it using the cloud. You see, the problem with being creative is not the convenience or even the lack of time, it’s the lack of focus.
Over the last couple of months I’ve been inundated with work. A ton of projects coming my way, demanding my attention and taking focus away from all the other things. Regardless of where I was or how much time I had to spare, there was always something that yanked at my attention, keeping me away from doing something useful with a blinking cursor on an empty screen.
I thought for a long time that connectivity is the enemy of creativity. The ability to get distracted by hundreds of pings and doo-dah’s coming from a myriad of applications and sources is indeed horrible if you are trying to write something. When you are just about to start off on writing the next Hamlet your time and focus gets stolen by watching cute cat video’s instead.
time break, I’ve been away for 4 minutes and 38 seconds watching a random cat video
But in the end it is me who is responsible for procrastinating and not creating my next podcast episode, my next blogpost, my next creative outlet. Instead, whenever I’m not buried in work, I procrastinate by doing other things. Tinkering with apps and computers to get things ‘setup just right’ is one of them. My delusional self has somehow been convinced that I need “the perfect setup” of hardware/software in order to get things done. Mucking around for hours with applications, operating systems, network and storage setups seems to have become a quest worthy of a couple of Hobbits a Dwarf and an Elf lately. And for what? To reach that one holy point where everything is “just right” to start doing something creative?
Well, guess what? It never will be. The starting point of your creativity is not on the horizon of some hardware or software project you are working on. Creativity is not going to “start to flow” when you buy “that new machine” or master this new app. It just… won’t.
The point is creativity (and productivity) starts now. Even if you have a hand-me-down five year old netbook with a wonky screen and strange stains of you-don’t-want-to-know-what on the touchpad you can start writing the next bestseller today. No extra hardware (or software) required. You only need to stop procrastinating, focus and start doing whatever you want to get done now.
For me that means that I need to stop chasing the ultimate hardware/software Walhalla, and cease to wait for that one perfect moment where ‘I will have the time’ to do whatever I want to do. Instead I’ll just hold that one video from Shia Labeouf in my mind that says… “Just DO IT”.
So what about you? What has been holding back your creativity? What has been stopping you from creating the next blogpost/podcast/screencast/digital-masterpiece? Is it the gear? Is it the time? Or is it… you? Tell us in the comments 🙂
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KW1101 The Knightwise Identities
Mar 05We’re Back!
After a long winter’s nap the Knightwise.com podcast is back for another season of cross-platform goodness. Season 11 kicks off this week with Knightwise doing something he hasn’t done in a few years. Come along for the ride as our intrepid host talks about managing work, life and your multiple selves in the digital age.
Links
Music
Credits
- Music sourced by Daniel Messer
- Episode produced by Keith Murray
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Things to consider when hunting for the perfect laptop bag.
Mar 03Call it geek envy, but sometimes you see somebody walking around with a piece of gear and you think by yourself : I want this too. No matter if you need it, or even have a use for it, you want it. Just because the other geek has it to. I regularly get a case of the “geek envies” when I see people use cool smartphones, fancy laptops or … Laptop bags. Yes: My name is Knightwise and i’m a laptop bag junkie.
My wife regularly makes fun of me when I am relentlessly drawn towards the ‘bag’ section of some store, looking for the ‘ideal geek bag’. For some reason I’ve collected several messenger bags to lug around all my gear. Yet for some reason none of them is ‘perfect’ and I’m always on the look for that “ideal bag”.
So as you might have noticed: Laptop-bag-geek-envy struck me this week after watching a couple of episodes of Mr Robot, where the hero walks around with one of these giant “Tactical backpacks” that hold his laptop. It triggered me into an hour long Amazon click-fest researching which backpack Eliot was using and what the pro’s and cons were of using a setup like that. What it basically comes down to is that there is no ‘perfect’ laptopbag because every bag has its ups and downs
Plopping one of these babies down on a table might confuse people because the don’t know if you are going to pull out an iPad or a couple of fully automatic machine guns
Tough but Rough
Picking up on the ‘Tactical Laptop bag’ that our hero uses in “Mr Robot” you run into your first problem. These rugged military grade laptop bags are very cool to cary around and basically indestructible. They make you look like a special ops member on his day off. Plopping one of these babies down on a table might confuse people because the don’t know if you are going to pull out an iPad or a couple of fully automatic machine guns. As a result having a military grade laptop bag might not be the best choice if you are in a corporate environment where a little elegance is required. So at come point you might need to choose between Rough & Tough or elegant and smart.
Roomie but bulky.
The other factor you might need to consider is the size of your laptop backpack. These things come in all shapes and sizes depending on what you want to tuck in there. Ranging from a size that can barely hold an adult tribble to a backpack that would allow you to cross the himalaya in a single go, there is a lot to choose from. Going for a backpack that is roomy might be very convenient when you want to cram in your entire mobile office for the day: Laptop, Lunchbox, extra sweater, perhaps some books, your tablet .. you name it. Some of these larger size backpacks eat it up like black holes eat stars .. the downside is that they also increase in mass. What you might end up with is a backpack that weighs a ton and is very very hard on your back and shoulders. The fact that you can keep cramming stuff in does not mean that its actually healthy to haul all of that around without the additional use of an antigrav unit or a pair or repulser lifts.
Slick but tight.
The one way to decrease the weight of your backpack is by going for something smaller. The less crap you can shove into your backpack, the better .. right ? Perhaps, but the downside here is that there is a ‘bare minimum’ of stuff you need to carry with you. Having a small and slick backpack does increase the chance that your gear does not have enough protection because there is hardly any room between the corner of your laptop and the edge of your backpack. One strategically placed ‘bump’ and you might end up with a cracked screen. The other thing that is also a risk here (or with any other backpack) is the fact that you cram in to much stuff and pressure is applied to the center of your laptop screen, making it bend as you walk around. Not something you want.
Thule EnRoute Escort 2 Daypack Review
So I looked at all the pro and cons and went for something ‘in the middle’: Sufficiently geeky-and-tactical, not too big and not too small. I ended up going for the Thule Enroute 2 Blur. Like all products it is sufficiently rugged and durable to use on a daily bases. It has plenty of compartments to keep your stuff organised (I hate it when crap rattles around in my backpack) and going for the ‘Blur’ version meant it was roomy enough for my 15 inch laptop with some room to spare. The backpack has some nice adjustable straps that don’t cut into your shoulders. When it comes to size it hits the sweet spot between where I still have enough room for my gear, but am unable to pack up everything AND the kitchen sink before I leave the house. At about 99 euro’s online it was not the cheapest backpack around, but it was the only one that ticked all the boxes I mentioned above. Geeky, Roomy, Safe and slick. Its the perfect laptopbag .. until I go crave another one.
Links: Thule Enroute 2 Blur.
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When wanting is more pleasing then having : What drives YOU to buy new gear ?
May 22“Wanting is more pleasing then having” : It’s not logical, but it is the truth. It’s a line Spock must have quoted in some long gone Star Trek episode somewhere (please don’t ask me, I can’t remember which one). For some reason it has stuck in my mind for the longest time. “It’s not logical but it’s the truth” is the follow up line .. completing the entire statement and lifting it to the realm of existence-pondering quotes out there.
I don’t wear sandals and have a neck beard.
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“Whats in your bag week” Day 2 : Daniel Messer
Oct 28
I sometimes joke that I live online, but that’s not far from the truth. By profession, I’m a Web Content Manager for a public library district in Phoenix, Arizona. I create and manage online content for the library’s website and assorted web based properties and presences. Beyond that, I’m a podcaster and the host of Cyberpunk Librarian; a show about libraries and technology. I blog and write for websites. I’ve done online video and an online documentary series dealing with popular history. Im a digital illustrator and graphic designer. I’ve written two non-fiction eBooks you can find on Amazon and composed music you can find on Soundcloud
Sooner or later, almost everything I do ends up on the web.
It’s not just my job to create stuff and put it on the web, it’s my passion. On the librarian side of things, it’s crucial that the library’s web content work in as many places as possible, so I carry gear devoted to the life of a professional web guy who’s enthusiastic about online content.
- My bag is very simple, a basic Merona messenger bag I picked up at Target maybe a year ago. It’s got a big space for stuff, a smaller zipper pouch for smaller stuff, and two big pockets on the front for whatever else. It’s not as feature rich as a Timbuk2 bag, but it does the job well.
- Magazines – Yes, words and images printed on dead trees and I’m fortunate to have a job where Rolling Stone is considered a “professional periodical.” I love magazines and frequently read them on my tablet.
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 – This is a step up from a basic point and shoot, but it’s not as feature filled as a DSLR. I’m an image junky, so I take pictures occasionally and I’m trying to take more of them more often.
- Albuterol inhaler – “Sucks to your ass-mar!” Ralph. Lord of the Flies (A literary reference from a librarian. Go figure!)
- Yak Pak disc headphones – These things don’t have sound like Sennheiser headphones or anything. However I also won’t freak out if they get lost or broken. If I carried Sennheisers and they were lost or stolen, I’d cry myself to sleep that night.
- Wallet – No cash, so don’t bother. I don’t carry cash all that often but I do need someplace to put my driver’s license, debit and credit cards, and medical insurance stuff. Truth be told, I hate wallets. This is just easier than carrying the stuff loosely.
- Business cards – Daniel Messer. Web Content Manager. Maricopa County Library District. Can I help you?
- Samsung Galaxy Note 3 – Running Kit Kat on the Verizon network. I carried an iPhone 4s for two and a half years before moving up to this. I can’t go back, I love my big phone. This is the computer I take everywhere and the thing that keeps me connected 24/7.
- iPad 3 – Okay, I know this is weird, but when it comes to tablets I prefer iOS over Android. I just haven’t found an Android tablet as nice as an iPad that does all of the things an iPad does for me. This is my daily driver as far as tablets go and it goes with me almost everywhere.
- Old prescription bottle – Unfortunately, there’s nothing stronger than ibuprofen and some antacid tablets. I have a bad back so the ibuprofen gets a fair bit of use.
- MagSafe charger for my….
- Mid 2013, 11 inch MacBook Air – This is my digital baby. I love this laptop and take it to work every day. Sure, I tell people that I use it to test website changes on Safari. The truth is, this is my primary computer. I produce video and audio on it. I use it for digital illustration. It’s my writing platform and my podcasting production system. I call her Angelique.
- Wired, USB mouse – I love the trackpad on the MacBook, but when I’m writing, I need a mouse. It’s just easier for me to write prose, emails, and code with a mouse nearby. I don’t use the mouse at all most of the time, but when I need to get the cursor between two letters, the mouse wins. Yes, it’s a simple USB, wired mouse. While I like Bluetooth mice, I’ve never had a connection issue with a wired mouse.
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 3, 7 inch – My eReader for eBooks. I’m a librarian, I read a lot. I guess it kind of makes sense that, as a technologically minded librarian, I read a lot on several different devices.
- Grid-It organizer by Cocoon – It’s like lots and lots of runner bands! It holds the various charging cables for the various devices. It has a zippered pocket on the back for…
- Various plugs – Well, yeah. You have to have something to plug those cables into.
- Battery charger for the Lumix DMC-FZ8 – It’s an older camera and the battery is still good, but it certainly doesn’t last as long as it used to.
- Merkury Innovations Power Bank – Merkury is a decent supplier of inexpensive tech. They make Bluetooth keyboards which aren’t bad at all and this little power pack will charge my phone from dead to 60%. I don’t use it often, but when I need it, it’s a life saver. It’s also much cheaper than a Mophie Pack.
- Refillable spray sanitizer – Just a little spritz and you’ll kill most of the germs on anything. Basically, it’s just rubbing alcohol in a sprayer. I’m not a germaphobe at all, but sometimes, yeah, you need to clean your hands.
- Assorted pens – Oddly enough, I don’t have a single thing to write on.
- Apple BlueTooth Keyboard – When you write as much as I do, this thing is a must have. Sure there are other keyboards for the iPad out there, but I’ve yet to find anything as good as this. My iPad is my daily computer and I use it as much as my MacBook Air. It’s great for work, for my own projects, for writing, for blogging, and almost anything else. When I leave the house with my bag, you can guarantee that this keyboard and my iPad are in it.
