Todoist is a great task manager across all your devices, from your Windows computer to your Apple Watch. I’ll be taking a look at the features of Todoist, along with what the premium tier of Todoist can offer.
Wunderlist or Todoist? You Decide!
I’m having another one of those moments. I don’t know which task manager to go with. My two option are:
- Wunderlist
- Todoist
I currently use Wunderlist, but I checked out Todoist and really like the look of it.
Why I want to stay with Wunderlist
- It has tons of free features. And I mean tons of them – with Todoist, you have to pay for most of the features that Wunderlist gives out for free.
- The team is awesome. The Wunderlist team is an awesome team. They are ‘personal’, sort of like Slack, and they make the product with love.
- It’s the one I use now. I use it now, but don’t let that put you off. I am happy to change.
Why I want to switch to Todoist
- I prefer the look. It looks cleaner, and I just prefer the way the tasks are shown.
- It has Karma and stats. I love stats, and I’m a huge stats nerd.
- It has IFTTT integration. This is the big player for me. This means I can link it up to Github, Evernote, and more.
So which one should I go with? Vote in the poll below!
Why I did NaNoWriMo
This month, November, I took part in NaNoWriMo, which is National Novel Writing Month. Basically, you write 50,000 words in one month. That’s an average of 1,666 words a day.
This is the first year of me doing Nano. I signed up last year, but never started the novel. I originally got to know Nano through the Evernote Blog. Evernote is one of the sponsors of Nanowrimo, and they regularly post posts on the Evernote Blog about Nanowrimo. I suggest that you check it out!
I have never been great at creative writing, or writing in general. I also picked to do it at a pretty bad time of my life, in my last year of Secondary School when I have my GCSE exams. However, I decided to do it this year. I have never been great at writing as I said previously, but I decided to give it a go and see how it goes. One of my problems – or a virtue if you want to consider it like that – is that I don’t give up on what I am doing. When I start something, I finish it, whatever happens. You can see that in Nano, in my website, and in fact this blog.
I wanted to give up Nano around ten times throughout, with most of those times being near the end of it. Sometime I just wanted to go and watch some television after I had done my homework, not do Nano. Sometimes, it felt like more of a chore then something I wanted to do. However, I stuck through, and I completed it.
Scrivener was the tool I used to write Nanowrimo, but I researched and planned in Evernote. I have a strange relationship with Scrivener – I love it and hate it. I love it as its an amazing piece of kit, that tracks my word count and keeps me hitting my target every day. Without Scrivener, I would have struggled to complete Nanowrimo. Evernote did play a big part in helping me with Nano, and if I hadn’t used it to plan, I also doubt that I would have managed to complete it. I hate Scrivener as it means I have to start writing. I do enjoy writing a novel, however sometimes I don’t. Opening up Scrivener means that I have to work for an hour to hit my target, and often I would much rather go down and watch television, or even work on my website.
I did Nano as I have always wanted to write a novel. I felt that I was missing out when I did not compete last year, so I decided that I would take part this year. I have enjoyed it, yes. Despite this post portrays me as hating it, I enjoyed the process. Do I plan on competing next year? I am not sure – that year I will be doing A Levels, which may mean that I do not have enough time to do it. However, I would like to do it.
Coming to the end of Nano, I find that I will have a hell of a lot more free time than I had when competing. That certainly will be enjoyed! I know some people will want to know if I will put the novel on the internet, or share a synopsis. That I won’t. I don’t hate the work I have done, but I don’t like it. As mentioned earlier, I am not a great writer, and this novel is not great. So it won’t be coming out.
I recommend that you check out Nano, and maybe even check it out and take part next year. It is a pretty fun and testing experience.
Thanks for reading!
Feel free to comment below!
Pennies – Personal Money, Budget & Finance Manager for iOS
Pennies is a great app for tracking your budgets, whether large or small. It’s especially great for students to track their often tight budgets.
Pennies is a great app for iOS that allows you to track your budgets, and stop yourself from overspending.
Adding budgets in Pennies is simple and easy, and you can add multiple budgets in a few seconds. Its very easy to add and take away from the budgets, and Pennies shows you what is in your budgets in a simple and easy way. You can create different types of budgets, from unlimited weekly, monthly, one-off or payday budgets, so there is always something to suit your needs.
You can use Pennies worldwide. Tons of currencies are in Pennies, and your pretty certain to find yours. It also has instant sync, so it goes from your iPad, to your iPhone and Apple Watch in a couple of seconds. It is quick and easy, and I have never had a problem with it.
Pennies is available on all your Apple mobile devices, from iPad, to the Apple Watch. This allows you to quickly add budgets, whether just paying in the shop, or adding your payroll. It’s an awesome way to quickly add and manage your budgets.
You can add multiple budgets, from a fun budget to a school resources budget. You can also quickly see how all your budgets are doing on a budget overview screen, and see if any are low.
I really recommend checking out Pennies. It is the best app I have found for managing my money, and I really recommend that you check it out. Its simple, and works great. You can check out the website here.
Thanks for reading!
Feel free to comment below!
Pomodoro Technique – Is it Right for You?
The Pomodoro technique is a fun time management technique that actually works. Want more free time in your day, and not sure if the Pomodoro technique is for you? Make sure to read on.
Too many distractions
I’ve often found myself dissending into the pit of suggestions on Youtube, and before I know it, the whole day has gone. Reading a forum, or checking my email. I find it very easy to get distracted, and know I’m one of many. The Pomodoro technique removes these distractions, and also trains you to focus on your task, and not check your email or Youtube.
Not enough time in the day
Lots of people find that they don’t have enough time in the day to complete what they have to The Pomodoro technique makes you concentrate on your task and not get distracted, and can save you hours. I’ve found that since I started using it, I’ve had a lot more time to do things I enjoy.
Can’t balance school (or work) and your life
Set realistic targets to complete when your planning your Pomodoro, and set realistic targets. Focus during your sessions, and you’ll find you’ll complete your homework and stuff you don’t like, and leave more time for the stuff you like.
Struggle to finish stuff
By focusing on a session, you get more stuff done in a shorter time. When you add this up, you’ll finish your work quicker.
Most of these are the same thing, but I really recommend you check out the Pomodoro technique if any of these apply to you, or if you want to have more time to do what you enjoy.
Thanks for reading!
Feel free to comment below!
Evernote NaNoWriMo sweepstake goodies!
I am very happy to say I have won the Evernote NaNoWriMo sweepstakes!
Congrats to @GiacomoLaw for winning our #NaNoWriMo Twitter sweepstakes! Thank you to everyone who has entered and good luck next time. ? https://t.co/LO6VHiQDsl— evernote (@evernote) November 9, 2016
If you don’t know what Evernote is, it is a tool for taking notes and having them on your devices, anywhere and everywhere. I wrote a whole blog post about it, which you can check out here. If you can’t tell already, I’m a huge Evernote fan.
NaNoWriMo is is National Novel Writing Month, where you write 50,000 words in a month. This is my first year partaking in it, and I would certainly recommend it as it is a lot of of fun!
I’ll post some pictures when I receive them.
Thanks for reading!
PS: This is just a short post, there will still be a post on Saturday, so don’t worry!
Feel free to comment below!
An Introduction to the Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro technique is a time saving technique that revolves around hard work with breaks inbetween. It’s a great time saving technique, and is very fun to use.
The main theme behind the Pomodoro technique is working for 25 minutes, and then taking a five minute break. However, it’s a little more involved then that. Each session is one Pomodoro, and those Pomodoro’s last for 25 minutes. Once the Pomodoro is up, you take a five minute break. Once you have done four Pomodoro’s, you take a fifteen minute break. You then repeat this again until the task is finished.
I’ve split the technique up in steps, and described how each one works.
Plan
Planning out your day can save your from forgetting to do work, and can help you get an overview of your day. Add your tasks to the list, and estimate how many Pomodoro’s they will use. This allows you to plan out your day, and to schedule it well.
Start working and focus
Now you pick a task you want to do. Set up your timer, and then do 25 minutes of pure work. Switch off your social media, get off your email and put your phone on airplane mode. Don’t get distracted, otherwise your Pomodoro will be void. When this happens, you continue using the time left of the Pomodoro, however you have do do an extra one before a long break. Pomodoro’s don’t have a pause button, as you shouldn’t need it.
A short break
Once you have completed a Pomodoro, you get a short five minute break. Don’t stay at your computer or workplace for this. Go get a drink, or stretch your legs.
Repeat
One round of Pomodoro’s is four sessions. Once you have logged four sessions, you can take a 15 or 20 minute break. Get a break, and stay away from your desk. Once your break is over, go back to your desk and repeat this until the task is complete.
A note: Pomodoro’s cannot be split or broken down. If you do something other then work during the session, the Pomodoro is invalid. Keep this in mind.
What are the benefits then? Lots. You’ll have better productivity, meaning that you get more work done in a shorter amount of time. This gives you something everyone likes: more free time. You’ll be able to stay fresh throughout the day, and the Pomodoro technique is actually quite fun to do.
Thanks for reading!
Feel free to comment below!
Pomobook – An analog Pomodoro tracking method
Recently I made Pomobook – An analog Pomodoro tracking method. I won’t go into too much detail here, as I made a whole website for it.
Pomobook basically allows you to track you Pomodoro’s on paper; I found that whilst there were loads of great apps to do this, there weren’t any analog ways to do so that were quick, easy, simple and free. So I created Pomobook. Pomobook allows you to have all your tasks in one place, and then have a task log beside it. You log each pomodoro you finish, write events and notes, and lots more. It’s a pomodoro technique power up.
If you’re not familiar with the Pomodoro technique, check out the website. It’s a great technique that will save you loads of time, and I recommend that you give it a go.
Check out Pomobook here.
Thanks for reading!
Feel free to comment below how you use Pomobook, and it may be a featured blog post!
Learn to Draw with Art Study Online
Art Study Online is a great website to buy courses to learn art, especially for Procreate.
Art Study Online offers a lot of courses, and the Procreate ones are all narrated by Nikolai Lockertsen. They are the ones I’ll be taking a look at. The courses are very easy to follow along, and very understandable. It’s not rushed, and the tutor takes time to explain what he is doing, and how he is doing it.
When you buy a course, you unlock all videos and resources for it; resources meaning special brushes specific to that course. You can add the brushes to Procreate, and the course uses them. Each section of the course is split into sections, making it easy to pick them up, and stop them.
Each video sections is split into a specific bit; for example, sketching the base, colouring it in, etc. The course takes you through the initial layout of the sketch, to sketching it out, then to using Procreate specific techniques, then to finishing it off. You’ll be surprised by how great the picture comes out. The courses can be viewed over and over again; there is no limit to how often you can view each course.
I have never been a great artist, I’ve just enjoyed drawing. However using this course I have managed to create some pretty decent results, which I am pretty proud of. There are three ways you can buy the course; you can buy it online, a dvd, or both the dvd and the stream. You’ll need to check out the website to see the prices on individual courses.
What courses do I recommend? My favourite out of the four courses I have is the ‘Car Trouble’ course. I like the story behind it, and the techniques used. However, I would recommend the Procreate brushes course, as it gives you ways to use the brushed Procreate comes with in ways you would not have imagined. The other courses I would recommend are the ‘Boat Trouble’ and Character sketching courses.
What do these courses require? You’ll need Procreate, and a stylus. My stylus of choice is the Pencil by Fiftythree. You’ll also need to get an Art Study Online account, and buy the courses you want.
I really recommend that you give Art Study Online a go; its easy to use, fun to draw, and will improve your drawing. You can check it out here.
Thanks for reading!
Feel free to comment!
Superimpose: A Great Photo Editing App for iOS
Superimpose is a great app that allows you to superimpose or juxtapose images on your iPad or iPhone.
Superimpose is super simple, and its very powerful. All you do is load a background and foreground image, and it allows you to manually remove the foreground image parts you don’t want, or do it automatically. You can smooth edges if you want, adjust contrast, exposure, hue and lots of other filters and edits.
Superimpose is a great tool, and its by far the most powerful one on the store. You can even set it to drop a shadow of the foreground on the background, which is pretty cool and useful. Its suitable for everything; from serious photo editing to just mucking around. Superimpose is available on the App Store at £1.49.
Thanks for reading!
Feel free to comment below!