Category: Declutter

Productivity monk

Posted on by Morgan

I have taken a few habits recently:

  • Inbox zero by bedtime. Unhandled mails go to TickTick.
  • Tasks default to next week. If they matter, they’ll wait.
  • One work task per day. If it drags, I commit or kill it.
  • Articles get bookmarked. Read later—or never. Doesn’t matter.
  • Tasks get automated. Or ignored.
  • Midnight is my hard stop. Usually...
  • Everything goes in TickTick.
  • No date = no task. No surprises.
  • Task and blog ideas are dumped into TickTick as notes, voice or text.
  • LLMs get a few hours. That’s it. And only for automation.
  • LinkedIn runs on auto-reply.
  • Same rules at home and work. One brain. Scripts everywhere.
  • I keep folders of tabs—Wednesday, Friday, Daily. I open them when it’s time. Not before.
  • I use browser userscripts to bend websites to my will. UX included.
  • Family runs on self-service. Automation takes care of the rest.
  • And a few things don’t change—only improve: Backups and monitoring for everything. Unit tests for all my scripts. And pipelines. Obviously.

This isn’t a system. It’s survival. Simplicity is the only thing that scales, especially with kids and ADHD.

Things nerds commonly have, but I don’t

Posted on by Morgan

Inspiration: https://forkingmad.blog/things-people-commonly-have-but-i-dont/

In a conversation recently with a colleague I casually mentioned I didn't have something. He was shocked... "but how then do you..." was the response.

So here's my list of don't haves

  • Spotify account. I have CDs and I've bought a CD player from KLIM. I just find the CD to be a very nice looking and collectible object, pleasant to listen to. Also I feel it's mine, and I like the creative goodies and packaging that you don't have with a digital copy of an album.
  • A NAS. I don't need a NAS to backup pictures or stream videos through Plex. I have a VPS where I run a Cloudron which hosts most of my web apps, one is for sharing my family pictures. And I also use Syncthing, and Dropbox to keep my photos in sync and backed up in several places. And next to that I use Plex but I just don't host it on my infra, I pay a provider for their generous bandwidth and for the fact they take care of streaming my content through Plex. It's so fluid. I couldn't and wouldn't maintain this at home.
  • A gaming machine nor a gaming chair. Seriously I do not see the point, because I consider most games do not require super advanced graphics or material to be fun. In fact I love minimalistic games with pixellated art. I'm old and also feel nostalgic of specific games that are all forgotten now. Anyway I'm developing the best game ever, which is the only one I play. More about this soon, when I'll buy the domain for the website, after I decide on a name.
  • A mechanical keyboard. Seriously, what's the deal is with those noisy expensive impractical keyboards.
  • A 3D Printer. Seriously, this is so cool to possess one, I just don't have the space for this now. Maybe when I'll have my own space in our future home.
  • A VPN. Sure it sounds secure but it's just someone else glorified proxy, and it's vulnerable to authority requiring logs or to any part getting compromised. You have to blindly and naively trust the VPN and people behind it to not disclose your information when their company will be required to by the authority. If different contexts I use them, i.e at work, of course, wherever it's mandatory.


Alternatives

Posted on by Morgan

In the recent years, as I feel powerless facing the enshittification in mainstream tech and social media, I've opted for alternatives to many of my previous favorite digital places and tools, namely:

  • Audible ➡ AudioBookShelf (or Plappa on iOs), alternatively Jellyfin (also supported by AudioBookShelf).
  • Google search engine ➡ DuckDuckGo.
  • Chrome browser ➡ Brave.
  • Google Calendar ➡ Fastmail.
  • Gmail ➡ Fastmail.
  • Google Tasks ➡ TickTick.
  • Google Office ➡ Obsidian.
  • Google Reader ➡ InoReader ➡ FreshRSS ➡ Miniflux.
  • Google Authenticator ➡ Aegis and Vaultwarden.
  • Google Play Store ➡ F-Droid, Aurora Store.
  • YouTube ➡ SkyTube (Android).
  • Browser* Passwords Manager ➡ Vaultwarden.
  • Trello ➡ Google Tasks ➡ TickTick.
  • Spotify ➡ Navidrome, Seeker (Soulseek client), DSub (Navidrome client), AntennaPod (Podcasts).
  • WordPress ➡ After looking for SSGs, I'll likely go raw HTML/CSS.
  • Wallabag ➡ Shaarli and with my own tool, Tapas.
  • InvoiceNinja ➡ Replacing with my own invoicing software.
  • Netflix, Amazon Prime Video ➡ Plex.
  • Windows ➡ Linux, MacOS.
  • GitHub ➡ Gitea.
  • LinkedIn ➡ Account closed, didn't attempt alternatives.
  • Facebook ➡ Account closed. Attempted Mastodon, didn't like it.
  • Instagram ➡ Account closed. Attempted Pixelfed, but it's too buggy.
  • WhatsApp ➡ I use it mostly because everyone is on it, but I use Signal instead ideally.
  • SensCritique ➡ Account closed due to their authoritarian moderators.
  • Lobste.rs ➡ Account closed due to their elitist culture.
  • Twitter ➡ Account closed due to their enshittification. Attempted Mastodon, didn't like it.
  • OVH ➡ Account closed. Hostinger.
  • Docker Hub ➡ Docker Registry self hosted.
  • Dropbox, iCloud ➡ Replacing some of it with Syncthing.
  • Zerobin ➡ Privatebin.
  • Most Newsletters ➡ Kill the Newsletter! + Miniflux, alternatively Changedetection.
  • Last.FM ➡ ListenBrainz / MusicBrainz.

This is an ongoing list and non exhaustive, plus it's only about my digital life. I have a lot to say about work and housing as well. Opting for alternatives has also expanded my technical knowledge and independence (see also https://sive.rs/ti).

The main lesson: diversify, stay in control of your life, stay curious and choose freedom, privacy and security over convenience.

Writing

Posted on by Morgan

Today is international logic day, and I really want to read logicomix comic strip someone offered me for Christmas.

I realize as a logician that I can perfectly organize some stuff and as ADHD I feel completely stuck with some tasks yet to have my attention drained by completely unrelated events.

Often the fix or the way to disconnect from my mental paralysis is to write, walk, climb, talk, tell, draw or code.

It's a form of calm expression of self, an escape from news, emails, todo lists, code problems, mental load and daily stress for all the code and life bugs I can't unsee.

Like this blog where I write without caring if anyone is reading, and with no other purpose but the act of writing.

Sans

Posted on by Morgan

Can you live a day at work and at home "sans"?

Sans smartphone?

We used to boot a computer and even a modem and be actually productive and enjoy life without checking for news, notifications, or email every 15 minutes.

Sans version control conflicture crap due to using Git-ware conflict-friendly patterns?

We used to just work together on code and discuss code, without focusing on the version control tooling.

Sans CI/CD tools to validate your work?

We used to validate our work before committing, in the old days.

Sans markdown?

We used to be able to read and write text without non-sense formatting, HTML was even a thing.

Sans proprietary note taking digital tools (Obsidian, Notion)?

We used to take notes on paper or in our own text editors in the past and format our notes in "raw" HTML.

Sans LLM for coding?

We used to reason about code and go read a programming language book or ask for help from colleagues in case of doubt.

Sans daily upgrades and ads and other modern web crap?

We used to have nice experience with computers.

In a world that used to be simple, what other "sans" would you can think of?