i almost did it September 16, 2013
Posted by nicholas gill in productivity, social media.add a comment
I’ve tried to switch off from email and social before. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. After changing a few holidays around due to work commitments this year, I was determined to switch off from work this time round. And that also meant an opportunity for no tweeting, facebooking, checking gmail etc.
It’s a lot harder than it seems. I turned off the work email and realised that my weakest time is putting the kids to bed. When they’re in the little period between shutting their eyes and then properly in the land of nod. Sometimes this takes a few minutes, more usually about 10 – 20. Usually time to attempt the inbox zero challenge and catch up on the social firehose.
Easiest to not look at was Twitter. I went the whole week. No desire to check it. Next was work email. Turning it off stops the easy lapse. I only weakened by need rather than choice as I needed to extend my break due to unforseen circumstances. So had to quickly do this on the Sunday. In and out. 90+ unread a pleasant surprise and quick eyeball meant no horror stories on the return. Switched off. I did plop a few Instagram photos out. Mainly during the kids sleep time when I got frustrated playing Minion Rush (damn, it’s hard. I must be getting old).
I only Facebook’d a few times. To share our boy’s birthday and first day at school pictures.
It’s quite surprising how the urge to take a photo, tweet or update your status is subconsciously gnawing away at you. All the time. I didn’t miss Twitter at all. I think if it had not been a birthday/back to school occasion I would not have felt the need to Facebook either. And after two days I didn’t feel the constant need to check work email either. I only looked at the home email as we’re trying to move house and lots happening there.
As a result, I’m trying not to be always-on. I’m trying to do it in bite-size chunks as I get distracted too easily. I don’t need to turn the phone on in the morning and check. I find it more relaxing. We had our son’s birthday party at the weekend and I kept my phone firmly in my pocket. No tweets, no pictures, no status updates. Just an enjoyable afternoon out.
inspiration from the idealists September 11, 2013
Posted by nicholas gill in blog, creative, Inspiration, the idealists.add a comment
I like this. Lots of inspiration and ideas from the Idealists Blog that cover the broad church that is creativity.
olloclip September 11, 2013
Posted by nicholas gill in iphone, olloclip, photography, product review.add a comment
I was fortunate to receive an Olloclip to try out over the Summer. Olloclip clips onto your iPhone and allows you to take photos with fish-eye, wide-angle and macro lenses. The actual product is small and comes with it’s own carry bag which also doubles as a lens cleaning cloth. You also get a new protective case for your phone which has a simple flip-top to enable quick fitting of the Olloclip. It’s really quick to fit and use. Changing from the wide-angle to macro requires unscrewing one to reveal the other but even that’s pretty easy. Taking the photos is as simple as it is taking it with an iPhone normally too. The product gathers a bit of attention when you use it too so you end up having to explain and demo it to people. It’s quite hard to see the wide-angle results on the iPhone though. The macro lens was good and the fish-eye too.
I did find it a pain to try and remember the kit and then to get it out and take shots with it. It’s not for spur of the moment photos but makes a nice addition to your phone if you want some photos out of the ordinary. Here’s a selection of shots I took.
Top: macro lens, daughter’s hair, filtered in Instagram.
![photo[1]](http://bluurb.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/photo1.jpg)
Above: Dam Square, Amsterdam, wide-angle lens.
![photo[2]](http://bluurb.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/photo2.jpg)
Above: Dam Square, Amsterdam, fish-eye lens.
![photo[4]](http://bluurb.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/photo4.jpg)
Above: Amsterdam Sloterdijk train station. View from client office window. Wide-angle lens.
![photo[5]](http://bluurb.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/photo5.jpg)
Above: the team ready for the meeting at client offices, Amsterdam Sloterdijk. Fish-eye lens.
![photo[3]](http://bluurb.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/photo3.jpg)
Above: top of a beer glass, Amsterdam. Macro-lens.
![photo[6]](http://bluurb.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/photo6.jpg)
Above: red rose, macro lens.
![photo[7]](http://bluurb.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/photo7.jpg)
Above: white rose, macro lens
![photo[8]](http://bluurb.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/photo8.jpg)
Above: the duck pond at Beaulieu, Hampshire. Wide-angle lens.
Thanks to Emil for sharing. I have not been paid for this post.
never lose your stuff again July 25, 2013
Posted by nicholas gill in Uncategorized.Tags: app, crowdfunding, digital, innovation, tile
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I get sent a lot of press releases, seemingly at random and often with content that is is so wildly removed from anything I do that I often want to send made up press releases back. And then there are the gems. The ones that actually make me go, “oooh, I’d like that”. Things that are new and interesting and have a purpose. Things that use technology in interesting ways rather than just because. And also, they use my name rather than just, “hey blogger”, or nothing, or worse, “hey bluurb.”
Tile. It’s a tiny tile. That fixes or fits into things. It emits a signal using low energy blue toothy internetty things and you can find it using your smartphone or tablet. We’ve all lost our bag, keys, laptop and more at some stage. Just track them down using the Tile app. And if your stuff has gone beyond 100ft, i.e. not just been buried in the kids toys, you can use the Tile community passively to find your lost or stolen gear.
Originally a crowd-funded idea, it’s proved so popular it’s now shipping globally with over $2.6m orders in the bank.
Thanks to Lucy for sharing. I have not been paid for this post.
what it’s like to work in the creative industry July 24, 2013
Posted by nicholas gill in advertising, Inspiration.add a comment
A short documentary on what it’s like to work in the creative industry when your craft becomes your profession. Even though I’m not a “creative”, I can relate to these feelings and scenarios.
Originally found on Design Taxi via Evan Michaels.
set the tone June 12, 2013
Posted by nicholas gill in creative, Inspiration.add a comment
Most opening things start in a dull fashion. Take meetings. An agenda. Usually on paper. Usually not enough to go around. Trying to reach into the middle of the table to get the coffee (that you can’t actually get out of the jug and it tastes like pap anyway) that is usually tantalisingly out of reach and you usually knock something over or drag your jacket into the already stale Pret (they’re always Pret) platter in your quest. You then settle back into the usually overly-chilled room. And then someone usually says, “OK, cool. So, thanks for coming. We’ve got a lot to cover…” Etc. Blah. Imagine if every meeting started with a performance like this.
Or took inspiration from it. Then perhaps there would be no need for a knowing smile when you see merchandise like this.
organised me May 28, 2013
Posted by nicholas gill in app, productivity.1 comment so far
Lists. In my notebook. On my phone. On my desktop. In emails. In various notebooks at home. Failing to get to inbox zero. Trying to wade through gmail and work email to find crap. Or poorly organised folders on my desktop.
Stuff. Lots going on. Busy at work. Ideas bubbling over. Have just moved house. Have just had another child. Interrupted sleep. Lots to do. Getting lost. Not doing things. Missing things. Forgetting things. Losing track.
So I’m trying to be more organised. Like this:
iCloud: using our calendar for home stuff. So my iPhone tells me when stuff is happening. House viewings, when kids are at pre-school, their various clubs and activities, doctor and immunisation check ups etc. Less hassle of checking between emails, texts, scraps and home diary.
Notes on iPhone: useful for sharing to do’s and lists across iPhone, iPad and iMac that we can both update.
Evernote: I’ve had Evernote for a while but not really indulged properly. Reading up, it strikes me you have to commit. So I have. Links, a few documents, stuff I always forget, documents I want to grab easily. As a result, I now have 0 emails in my inbox. Gmail is also empty. I know I could do more. I need to read up. It’s quite liberating.
Easily Do: I’ve been looking up smart assistants for some time. Easily Do takes care of a lot of things automatically such as letting you schedule Happy Birthday posts on Facebook to be delivered on the day. I know, sounds really dim doesn’t it? But checking the Birthday notification has become a daily habit. It also brings you popular and important posts. I probably need to stay away from Facebook to see how valuable this is as I’ve seen most of them by the time it tells me about them. It sends a text when I’m on my way home. I just hit “Do It”. Easy. The receipt filing is sweet. It could be better integrated to Twitter though as that appears to do nothing right now. Same with Linked In. I tweeted them to ask if they were planning on developing a To Do list addition to the service. this would make it really useful to me. I haven’t heard back. If they could also incorporate a digest of Twitter feeds and incorporate some kind of Virtual Assistant into it then it really would be a great app. As is, I’m not so ingrained that I couldn’t swap – recommendations requested?
Any.Do: I’ve tried a few reminder/task apps recently and this one not only looks super cool but is really easy. I like the daily reminder to “take a few moments” to plan the day. The aesthetics and usability make it really easy to like and use. I disliked the way a few of the other apps appear suited to hardcore project manager types, I just want to try and get things done.
Magnetic shopping & meal planner: Bits of paper can work. This one especially. Left hand side, every day of the week with space to put meals in. On the right, a shopping lists with various sections. With a pencil holder (and pencil) and a magnetic stripe so it sticks to your fridge. It’s amazing. It makes shopping a breeze rather than a random list that means you criss-cross the shop and take forever. Yes, I know we could save time doing online shopping and for the best part of two years we have done that. But we live near a Waitrose now. And it’s quite nice to go in there. Even the kids prefer it to Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
I’m sure there’s more. I’ll keep this post updated. Do let me know any recommendations.
planner hangout May 14, 2013
Posted by nicholas gill in heather le fevre, pedro aires, planner, planner survey.add a comment
Pedro Aires
Some of you reading this will know of Heather Le Fevre’s Planner Survey. If you don’t, find out all about it on her blog. This time, as well as the usual content that is always useful and informative, Heather (and her team) wanted to get the planning community together. So, if you wanted to participate, you got teamed up with a buddy and made a Skype call to say hi and chat about things.
I got hooked up with Pedro Aires, Planning Director at La Despensa in Spain. After a few missed meetings – mainly my bad due to meetings and things – we finally caught up in January. Yes, I know it’s May now! (See my forthcoming post about getting organised). Pedro is a great character. His agency is young and vibrant and new to using planning. We had a lot of similar experiences and issues. Right down to the fact that we both really dig sitting with the creative team and being part of the creativity process rather than just being a stage in the process. We’ve not caught up since but I would like to stay in touch. It was a great initiative so thank you, Heather.
email étiquette – five sentences or fewer April 22, 2013
Posted by nicholas gill in email, productivity.add a comment
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Q: Why is this email five sentences or less?
A: http://five.sentenc.es
We all suffer from email overload. There’s been lots written about how it kills productivity and ruins holidays.
While zero inbox and zero tolerance policy is not for everyone, Five Sentences is a gentle introduction and a step on the rung to better email etiquette. It’s not a tool or a plug-in or anything; just a state of mind. A personal statement of intent to make email less hassle and more productive (all told in five sentences).
