Kickoff for April 9, 2018

Welcome to the first edition of The Monday Kickoff!

Every Monday (New Zealand time), I post three sets of three curated links to what I’ve found interesting, informative, and insightful on the web over the last week. It’s a great way to get your brain working during the week and to give you something to read on your commute, during a break, or at lunch.

Let’s get this Monday started with these links:

Analog

Why handwriting is so important, wherein you learn why handwriting isn’t just a simple skill to master but an act to treasure.

The Dash/Plus System, wherein writer Patrick Rhone outlines his simple system for keeping on track and completing tasks.

Midori Traveler’s Notebook, an invaluable tool from Japan, wherein a tech journalist rhapsodizes about this trendy, popular, leather-wrapped notebook. I don’t know if the Midori is capable of all the magic that its proponents claim it possesses, but it is a nice notebook.

Productivity

Get specific!, wherein person of many skills Derek Sivers outlines a two-step process to figure out what you need to do to achieve a goal. The advice is aimed at musicians, but anyone can use it.

How to Stick With Good Habits Every Day by Using the “Paper Clip Strategy”, wherein productivity guru James Clear explains a simple way to help you not only form good habits, but also work your way through any task no matter how boring.

‘Getting to Done’ on the Linux command line, wherein you learn about some command line tools for Linux that can help you get and stay productive. Yes, the Linux command line isn’t only for geeks!

Various

Why paper jams persist, wherein you learn the engineering behind paper jams (and printers)**, and also what engineers do to try to make them a thing of the past.

Do Flashbacks Work in Literature?, wherein author and translator Tim Parks ponders the use of the flashback in fiction, framed around a comment made by another writer that flashbacks are infuriating.

Inside the OED: can the world’s biggest dictionary survive the internet?, wherein we learn about the slow pace of the development of the biggest English-language dictionary and how it’s not able to keep pace with the internet or the constant changes in the language.

And that’s it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for more curated links to start off your week.

— Scott Nesbitt