Now that I’ve started over with Twitter from scratch, how do I keep using it in a productive way without letting it take over my life? Careful time management. (If you don’t know what Twitter is, find out here.)
Twitter in 10 Minutes a Day
I once read that twitter can be used in 10 minutes a day. Putting that advice to use has proven to work for me. Since I’m trying to spend less time on my computer I figured that returning to this strategy would be a move in the right direction. It is easy enough to schedule 10 minutes during the day to spend on twitter, and then be done until the next day.
Even though I have downloaded and used TweetDeck, I find that I am more likely to stick to my time limit when I just use twitter.com.
The first 4 minutes
I spend the first 4 minutes checking messages that I have received. Either Direct Messages or @replies. Since these are the messages that are specifically intended for me, I feel that they deserve the first of my attention and a response.
The next 4 minutes
I then use the next 4 minutes to see what’s going on. I read other people’s tweets, retweet the ones that I like and generally get a feel for the trending topics. No, in 4 minutes I won’t see all of the tweets since the last time I checked, but as I scan through them I can read quite a bit (especially since I’ve drastically narrowed down the people that I am following) and pass on some good information to my followers.
The final 2 minutes
Now that I’ve gotten up to speed on what has happened since I last checked, I finally tweet about myself. This can include things that I’m doing (what I’m reading, which includes interesting links), adventures I’m taking part in, or interesting things that I’ve found (recipes, books, photos, etc). If I have a question, either for someone in particular or just for twitter in general, I will ask it now. When I have a product that I’m promoting, I can also carefully mention it now.
My 10 minutes is up
Since my 10 minutes has been spent, I’m done with twitter for the day. If I do decide to come back later in the day, I follow this same schedule, so that I don’t end up spending too much time on the site.
I like Twitter. I think it has lots of potential. However, in 2009, I got caught up in the race to get more and more followers. I ended up following almost 4,500, with around 4,000 following me. That’s too many, well past Dunbar’s Law of 150 people that a human can cognitively be friends with.
Who are these people?!
Furthermore, I didn’t know any of the people. None of them were friends or business associates. There were a handful that I actually talked to, for a short time; then I quit. So out of the nearly 4,500 people, I actually know and communicated with a total of zero of them. (None, nilch, nada.)
So it was well past time for me to either quit Twitter all together or just unfollow everyone and start over again. Since I do think that Twitter has potential, I didn’t want to turn my back on it all together. I did want to make it more manageable, however.
Restarting Twitter
I browsed through some of the people I follow on twitter and picked out a few names who I actually want to follow (7 of them, to be exact). Then I deleted EVERYONE using this nifty website. (It took some time, since I could only delete 100 at a time. I did find a helpful plugin that made it quicker.) Since I also had about 1,300 direct messages, I used this script to delete all of them. Following zero people, zero DM’s, and I still have a healthy number of people following me!
Since I wrote down the people that I DO want to follow (7, plus an additional 1), once my following count reached zero I added them. Occasionally, I will search out more users in order to find other people that I want to connect with, and really take the time to actually communicate with them.
I suppose this could be considered an extension of the Minimalist Experiment, since I’m changing my Twitter experience into a minimalist one. I’m pretty excited to see how good it feels to have only a few people I’m following, instead of thousands! Horrah for modern Luddites!
I mentioned that I’m going to become something of a modern Luddite, but I didn’t explain what exactly that was. So, here we go…
A Bit of History
During the Industrial Revolution, a group of people protested against changes that were taking place. This social movement often expressed itself by destroying mechanized looms. These textile artisans felt that the machines were going to replace them and that their livelyhood was in danger.
Their name comes from Ned Ludd, who was believed to have destroyed two large pieces of equipment (stocking frames) earlier in England, making him the first actor in the movement. At that time, breaking machinery could be punished by execution, so the name Ned Ludd might have been ficticious. False name or not, the name stuck, and the Luddite movement was formed.
Since the Luddites thought that the new machines were going to take away their source of livelyhood, they were acting in self-preservation. They didn’t understand basic economics, and so didn’t realize that they would still have their jobs, the factory in which they were working would have simply made more product by using the machines.
Modern Luddites
The term Luddite managed to stick around from the early 1800s until today. In the 1970s large numbers of people began to question technology and called themselves “New Luddites”. And so the Neo-Luddite movement was born. People opposed to advances in technology because of the cultural and socioeconomoic changes that are associated with it.
Most often, the term Luddite was used in a negative way by advocates of technology, insinuating that Luddites are backwards and foolish for their beliefs. However, I believe that the term can hold a positive connotation. It is with this aim which I will be using the word.
My Version
Luddite as a positive. I am not against technology. I believe that technology has provided us with many opportunities that simply weren’t available only a few short years ago. The world has shrunk, we can travel around it in a matter of hours, we can talk across it after only a few short rings, on phones that we carry in our pockets. Work can be done from anywhere, at any time. What amazing opportunities are now available to us!
Unfortunately, with the ready availibility of technology, it has begun to take over our lives. I constantly see people who “cannot live” without their cell phone and texting, or without an mp3 player of some sort stuck in their ears. Not only do I resent the erosion of manners that have taken place, but I feel that we are actually less productive than ever before, precisely because of the devices that have been created to help us.
So, as a modern Luddite, I am breaking the technology habit. People lived quite happily for years without a cell phone in their pocket, without email, and without Google to control all of their information. I will be taking a look at the technology that I use and make educated decisions about what to keep and what to let go.
Technology might be here to stay, but that doesn’t mean that I have to use all of it all the time.
Well, I’ve cleaned off my computer desktop, so the next natural step would be to… complete the homework that I have open in my browser. Since I have no desire to do that, and no looming deadline, I decided to work more towards my luddite goals.
There wasn’t much on my desk to start with, but most of those few items needed to go.
I copied the photos from the camera onto my computer and put the camera back where it belongs.
The todo/reminder lists were condensed and put into digital form.
Random papers were filed away.
The coin rolls from when I rolled my loose change were put in my backpack so that I will remember to change them for paper money.
Now my desk is much less cluttered and more pleasant to work at. On it are:
My laptop and mouse.
A hand-made mug (from childhood) that holds some of my fountain pens.
A small scratch pad for capturing ideas.
The piece of paper that is part of the project I’m currently working on.
After only about 10 minutes, this is a nice step in the right direction. Now I just need to keep the momentum going. Guess I should really get started on that homework…
As I mentioned in my recent post, one of the things that I wanted to do was to declutter my computer’s desktop (once again). Once I finished writing the last post, I decided that it was the perfect time to do exactly that.
As a sign that I really wanted to make this change, I had already narrowed my browsers down to a single window with only three tabs open (email, homework, and post editor for blog). It was a simple matter to close my email tab and leave the homework tab for later (since I need to actually do some homework.) And once I finish writing this post, the post editor will be closed as well.
I had gathered quite a few items on my desktop, so I had to spend a few minutes to take care of them. As I cleaned I listened to a podcast that I had downloaded. Once it was finished I was able to delete it. A number of files were reminders to myself, many of which had already passed. They were deleted, and the remainder were transferred to my todo list. The rest of the files were thrown into the “Stuff” folder on my desktop. This folder and the “Recycle Bin” are the only icons on my desktop at this point.
Of course, it was time for a new background as well. I checked to see what I had already downloaded, and then spent less than five minutes checking online. Nothing online beat what I already had, so I went with these adorable penguins. (Though I deleted the text, as it was too distracting to leave.)
So, the finished result? After less than fifteen minutes, I have a total of two icons on my desktop, a relaxing background that I enjoy, and far less clutter on my computer. Here in just a moment the only programs I will have open is some sort of music player and the web page I need to do my homework.
I spend way too much time on my computer. Reading blogs, looking up information, checking email, finding things to do, and other unimportant things. Unfortunately, this is nothing new, since I’ve written about it before.
This idea comes as an extension of the Minimalist Experiment. I’m going to become something of a modern luddite, while simultaneously trying to become more productive. Since I feel that I spend too much time on my computer, the vast majority of it in unimportant, unproductive tasks, it is time to cut out some of my computer time. I have better things to do.
So Here’s the Plan
I’ve got a few things that I want to get done, and a few ideas of how to do them.
Things to Get Done
Write a minimum of one high-quality blog post a week (because I’m doing horribly at keeping any kind of a writing schedule going.)
Create a digital resource (ebook) that I can sell.
Keep up with my schoolwork and maintain my grades (some of my classes have major online components, so I’ll be using my computer frequently).
How To Get Them Done
This could also be called the “Things To Get Rid of List”.
Check email only twice a day (instead of keeping gmail open at all times in my browser.)
Determine how often I really use Facebook, and if it’s not often enough then delete my Facebook account! If it is useful, then I can at least unfriend all of the people that I don’t talk to.
Determine how useful Twitter really is for me, and if it’s not useful, then delete the Twitter account! If it is useful, then at least unfollow the vast majority of the people who I don’t talk to.
Ignore my cell phone more. I’m pretty good at this already, but I am still pretty dependent on that gadget that I carry around all day long.
Since I don’t have a TV, I don’t struggle with the desire to watch that. I am, however, often tempted to watch some favorite shows online. So I have to ensure that I only watch them once my “to do” tasks are completed.
Clean up my computer’s desktop to get rid of the distractions that lurk there.
Clean up my actual desktop to get rid of the distractions that lurk there.
Timeframe
I’m hesitant to give a definite time restriction in which I want to get these things done. I will be putting them on my todo list each day. This way I will move at least a small step closer each day.
Within a week I will have cleaned up my desktop and deleted or pared down my Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Within a month I will have written the ebook that I said I would be working on for over a year now.
So there’s my plan. Would anyone like to join me as we take back our time from the technology that is supposed to help us?
Before the year started, I came up with an action plan for the year. I’ve managed to complete some of the goals so far, and recently managed another one.
Travel
My wife and went and saw the Moonbow in June. Granted, we had a horrible view of it, but we did get to see a glimpse of it. Next time we go, we’ll make sure it’s not on a weekend (it was horribly crowded!), and that it’s more in the wintertime so that we won’t have to be out quite so late.
Physical
I had to fall back to drinking some sodas last month. I was helping run a month-long summer camp and just plain ran out of energy and needed some caffeine. So I snuck in about 3 sodas last month. Haven’t had any since and don’t expect to, however.
Even more exciting news… I managed to complete an additional item on my Life List in June as well. My wife let me (actually is the one who talked me into) purchase a motorcycle! I’ve put almost 2,000 miles on Ms Peeps since then and ride whenever I get the chance. My wife finally joined me on a ride and is loving it! Expect to see lots more posts about motorcycle adventures from now on.
All too often I forget to carry my camera with me, and I miss some great shots. Each time, I tell myself that I need to remember to bring it with me the next time I head out the door, only to forget again.
By neglecting to carry my camera with me on a regular basis, not only do I miss out on some wonderful shots, but I also don’t get the practice that I need to improve my photographs.
Are you doing the same thing? Are you making it harder to improve your photography while missing great shots?
The solution is simple:
DON’T FORGET YOUR CAMERA!
If you have your camera, you’re likely to use it. Using it more often will result in an increase in the quality of your shots. Practice makes perfect, right?
For the month of July, I’ll be doing this. My camera will go everywhere with me. Part of my job this month is to document the daily happenings around me. This will force me to grow accustomed to carrying the camera with me everywhere, and remember to take pictures. I will be treating this forced lesson as the beginning of a long-term habit. I have a nice little point-and-shoot camera that fits perfectly into any of my pants pockets. Soon, it will become a frequent resident of those pockets as it joins me on my daily adventures.
What About You?
Are you going to continue wishing you took better pictures? Will you keep regretting that you missed some great photo opportunities because you didn’t have your camera with you? Join me this month as we work to make a habit of always having our cameras with us.
Terral Fox replied to my post Featuring YOU! and told me about a unique adventure that he and his brothers often go on: mountain unicycling! It is often called Muni for short. They ride specially built off-road unicycles down mountain biking trails. Terral said that “Mountain Unicycling is an incredible
challenge of balance, strength, and stamina. I think that the simplicity and challenge of it is what draws me to it.” I can certainly see how challenging this would be from this video that Terral made of himself and his brother out riding:
(This is definitely worth seeing full-screen. Click on the arrows next to the volume control to expand it.)
This video only served to pique my interest, so I asked Terral if he was willing to be interviewed. Fortunately he was, and he provided some wonderful details about how he got into Muni. Read on to see what he has to say. (My questions are in italics and Terral’s response is regular text.)
Tell us a little about yourself.
I am a freelance graphic designer and photographer living in Southern Utah. I have a degree in graphic design and I’m working on a second degree in photography as well. (editor’s note: You can see some of Terral’s work on his website.) Some of my favorite activities are: hiking, snowboarding, rock climbing, mountain biking, kayaking/rafting, camping, backpacking, fishing, and mountain unicycling. I love just about any outdoor recreational activity. I live in an area that offers a wide variety of recreational opportunities and an amazing landscape.
How did you get into Muni?
When I was in the 5th grade my friend got a unicycle for his birthday. I was intrigued by it and asked my parents if I could get one. The same year I got one for Christmas and learned how to ride it. I rode it around for several years but eventually it got put away and I rarely ever rode it. Later in life I became interested in BMX bikes. I couldn’t afford a new BMX bike that I could do tricks on so I had a used bike that someone gave me. It was in bad shape so I had to spend quite a bit of time fixing it up. One day my friends were out riding their bikes and I really wanted to go but my bike was not in shape to ride yet.
At this point I remembered my unicycle and I had this crazy idea… I wondered if I could do tricks on my unicycle. I dusted it off and began playing around on it. Before long I realized that I could stand up on the pedals and hop up and down. This, of course, led me to riding it around trying some of the tricks my friends were doing on BMX bikes. One of my friends saw me doing it and asked if I could teach him how to ride. Eventually he had one and was riding with me. On any given day we were out on either bikes or unicycles. One day we took a shortcut on a dirt road on our unicycles. We discovered that it was a totally different experience to go off road. One thing led to another and soon we decided to ride down a new mountain bike trail near our homes. It was 4.5 miles of technical single track downhill.
We thought that we had invented a new sport of mountain unicycling. The problem was that our unicycles were not designed to take the abuse we were giving them. They didn’t last very long at all. We ended up fixing them and modifying them to be better suited for off road use. Eventually my friend began looking for a new unicycle and found that there were custom unicycles being built for off road use. Of course this meant that we were not the first to venture off road on unicycles but it also meant that there were resources for better unicycles. Mountain unicycling is often shortened to “muni”.
What kind of gear do you need for Muni? Do you make or buy it? Where at, if you have a preferred place?
Eventually I got a new unicycle with a 24 inch wheel and a three inch tire. I ordered all of the parts online and assembled it myself. Although I’ve replaced some parts, I still ride the same unicycle. I have now been riding a unicycle for about 16 years and I have been riding muni for about 10 years.
A good mountain unicycle usually costs anywhere from $200 to $1,600. Some bike shops are now carrying mountain unicycles but most of them are bought online. It has become more popular in Europe so it is easier to purchase them there. Unicycle.com is really the only distributer of mountain unicycles in the U.S. that I know of.
Since all of a riders weight is placed directly on the pedals during most of the technical riding and while hopping they are made with extremely strong crank arms and hubs. They are also made with wide tires to get better traction and to absorb as much shock as possible. All mountain and freestyle unicycles have a handle on the front of the saddle. Some unicycles now have brakes but usually a rider’s legs are the only brakes that they have. Safety gear is a must! At bare minimum you will want a helmut, gloves, and shin guards. I often ride with elbow and knee pads as well.
Tell us about some experiences with Muni.
People give us funny looks and always make comments like “looks like the circus is in town”, or “what happened to the other half of your bike?”. They don’t realize that someone else said the same thing to us five minutes ago! The most common response when people find out that we ride on advanced mountain biking trails is that they think we are crazy and ask us if we have a death wish. In reality mountain unicycling is MUCH safer than mountain biking. I do both and I rarely get injuries from unicycling, if I do they are usually minor. Since a unicycle doesn’t coast it can only go as fast as your legs can pedal! When things get out of control it is easy to go from pedaling to running. I travel much faster on a mountain bike and if I crash, I can’t just bail and land on my feet like I can a unicycle. Of course there are people that push the limits of safety but for the most part it is safer than people think it is. The most common injury is a pedal to the calf!
The longest trail I have done was a 17 mile downhill trail. It is technical single track until the last two miles. Mountain unicycling is the best leg workout I have ever had. When we do a long trail or a trail that is very steep it hurts to go down stairs the next day!
Although all of the riding in the video is in the desert low elevation mountains (we filmed it in the early spring) we often ride in the high mountains.
<-- end interview -->
As you can see, Terral did a wonderful job of answering my questions. (Thanks Terral!) If you want to know more about him, check out his website or his new blog where he is selling the Unshoes sandals that he makes.
I’ve grown up enjoying beef jerky. It was frequently a snack for road trips, we would often take it on camping trips, and once a year my granddad would make a homemade batch. The different flavors and textures have always been a delight to try and compare. Imagine my surprise when I was offered a chance to review some meatless jerky (which I never even knew existed).
I was contacted by a representative of Primal Spirit Foods with a chance to sample their Primal Strips, Meatless Vegan Jerky. They were kind enough to send two strips of each flavor so that I could have friends and family help me taste them.
About the Jerky
It is made from either soy, seitan, or shiitake mushroom.
All natural, non-GMO, no cholesterol, no preservatives, no artificial colors.
Vegan / Kosher
I enjoyed the fact that there are relatively few ingredients in each of the flavors. In many cases, I am even able to recognize them!
The Flavors
(This is the order in which I tried the Primal Strips, what they’re made of, and what I thought about them.)
Mesquite Lime – Seitan – This is not dry like beef jerkey, after holding the food in my fingers it left a residue. This might be a drawback on the trail, having “dirty” wrappers to carry. I find its texture to be more like pulled pork than dried jerkey, it’s not quite as chewy as jerkey. My wife likes this softer texture, since she finds “regular” jerky too chewy. I prefer chewing on jerky for awhile, so I like the tougher texture. Over-all, we liked this flavoring.
Hickory Smoked – Soy – Gluten Free – I tried this jerky with my sister-in-law, who also loves jerky. Like the Mesquite Lime, the texture is more like pulled pork, and is quite moist. We both enjoyed the flavor and would eat it again. This is probably my favorite flavor.
Teriyaki – Seitan – This one I tried with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. The texture is the same as the above two. None of the three of us liked the after-taste that this left.
Texas BBQ – Soy – Gluten Free – Tried this after a meal (probably shouldn’t test this right after a steak dinner) with my family: my wife, Mom, her husband, my sister, g-mom, and g-dad. Being jerky lovers, we didn’t care much for the texture (same as above) and weren’t fans of the flavoring. Since we had opened both packs, we fed the leftovers to the dog, who didn’t hesitate to eat it.
Hot & Spicy – Shiitake Mushrooms – I thought that this would be perfect for my brother-in-law, who loves spicy foods. However, he’s allergic to mushrooms, so he was unable to test it. I was able to test this with a friend, who was not quite a fan of the flavoring. As for the spiciness, she would be able to eat it one-half at a session.
This would have to be my third favorite, flavor-wise. In regard to spiciness, I thought that it had just enough spice to be worth eating, but not so much as it was painful for my tongue. It has a drier texture, more like a slim-jim, so I enjoyed this more. I also liked that it didn’t leave as much of a residue on my fingers after eating it. I think that this would make a great addition to a meal once it was chopped into smaller pieces. As such, it would be a great food take backpacking.
Thai Peanut – Seitan – I tried this with my wife and our friend. This had a similar texture to all of the others (except the Hot & Spicy), and left a bit of flavor on one’s fingers. I liked this one fairly well, while my friend didn’t care for it. My wife didn’t like it at all, claiming it to possibly be her least favorite.
Overall Opinion
I’ve read a couple of reviews for these guys and there seem to be mixed feelings. Vegetarians and vegans seem to love them and meat-eaters can’t stand them. I’m right in the middle. There are a couple whose flavor I enjoyed, and a couple more that I couldn’t tolerate. My wife and I first tasted the Mesquite Lime and greatly enjoyed it. We’ll definitely be taking it, the Hickory Smoked, and the Hot & Spicy on the trail with us. The rest, I won’t be eating again.
What You Should Do
My review might be mixed (some I love, some I don’t), but my tastes aren’t the same as yours. I quickly noticed that as I shared them with my friends. Some of the ones that I liked, no one else did. Some of the ones that I couldn’t stand others raved about. Primal Strips are certainly worth trying for yourself. It’s not beef jerky, so don’t try to compare them directly. Try and enjoy them for what they are, a treat unto themselves!