Kourosh Dini's Blog, page 12

New David Sparks Field Guide – for Obsidian

There are numerous methods for note-taking nowadays. Whether you use DEVONthink, Craft, Notion, Roam, Apple Notes, or Obsidian.

Learning to use any one of these takes time.  David has always been excellent about taking the user from basics through advanced usage in any of his field guides. His latest on Obsidian is no different.  Well made and easy to follow.

If you’re interested, check out his latest field guide on Obsidian!

The Dreaded Project

Projects get stalled for any number of reasons.

The advice to “just start” is close, but not quite right.

What’s missing? Find out below…

The dreaded project. You know the one. The one that’s just sitting there, not starting. Maybe it’s hiding in the closet, in the garage, under a pile of papers, or sitting in plain sight, quietly mocking…

For me, it was the balcony, its planks of wood sitting in disarray, after an emergency unclogging of a hidden drain.

Should I go fix it now?

I’ve had a long...

The Irritating Internet and a Celebration of Incompetence

Feel good memes are sometimes useful.

But if we’re not careful, they can lead us to stagnation.

How do we tread a path forward without sinking?

Sometimes, the Internet troubles me.

Every day, several tasks appear in my list:

– “Visit Twitter [now X]”,
– “Comment in LinkedIn”
– “Consider creating an Instagram post”

The hope is that I’d be inspired somewhere between tapping the link and getting to the writing prompt, inspired enough to write something inspiring enough to out-inspire beyond the ca...

Searching for the Optimal Work Break

Exhausting one’s self with work, looking for the optimal way to take a break, we can easily lead ourselves astray with breaks that run us off course, lasting forever.

What other option do we have?…

“You need to get into the habit of taking frequent ‘dopamine breaks,’ as I call them. They are a little five minute windows when you do something completely different.”[^1]

Particularly for those with wandering minds, it can be very helpful to take periodic breaks.

The Pomodoro Technique, for example...

Step Right Up! – The App to Solve All Your Problems

Step right up! Step right up to see the latest and greatest note-taking, idea-making, world-shaking app to solve all your problems.

 

You’ll never have to think again!

 

That’s right.

 

Think you’ve made an error somewhere?

 

Poof! It’s gone.

 

Need to know what to do next?

 

Bam! Here it is.

 

Want to remember the most relevant thing ever?

 

We’ve got that for you, too.

 

No fuss, no muss. No more stains on the carpet, and its completely gluten free!

Act now and get your first 3 hours for the l...

ADHD and the Creative Mind

What do you do when you “don’t feel like it” and still have to make something?

Forcing yourself hardly works.

Read on for a better path…

A blank page demands, “What worthwhile thing could you possibly have to say?”

The resting piano keys ask, “How can you possibly improve on silence?”

The pressure to be creative can easily stop us in our tracks.

Particularly for those with ADHD and other Wandering Minds, we might fall into the seductive trappings of:

“I don’t feel like it”.

We might even use sc...

When You “Don’t Feel Like It”

Sometimes you “just don’t feel like it”.

The work is unappealing and just about anything else is more interesting.

How do you engage?

When motivation is there, the wind in your sails, work glides by almost effortlessly. Hours pass as thoughts pour into the vision, bringing it ever closer to a conclusion.

“Why can’t I always do this?”

Sometimes you get there through the pressure of a deadline. Sometimes you stumble into it, having inadvertently done one or two bits of it and said, “I may as well...

When Urgency Strikes

Emergencies can focus a wandering mind

But too often that focus is harried

How can we find a more relaxed focus when needed?

“Dad, there’s water leaking from my ceiling.”

I had just spent the day doing all the dang responsible things. Now this.

I have to admit, a part of me said, “Maybe it will just go away…”

But, about a breath later, I realized I should probably do something. With some sleuthing, my wife and I discovered the balcony to be flooding as the rain poured down. The water, in turn, ...

The Toughest Skill

“Maybe I’ll watch a Youtube video to inspire me!”

Whatever skill we are trying to improve, be that playing at the piano, learning better sales techniques, or running a particular program, we may well turn to the Internet for inspiration.

But for at least some of us, (or maybe just me), it can feel defeating.

Watching someone play the third movement of the Moonlight Sonata with incredible finesse, often leaves me with a sense of:

“Ugh, why bother?”

I wonder about all the work involved to get ther...

Facing the Sirens of Flow & Breaking Hyperfocus

Flow can turn into a destructive hyperfocus.

Those with ADHD often have more power to guide it than they realize

There are at least 3 levers in reach…

Maybe it’s cleaning the closet. Maybe it’s the report you’re writing. Maybe it’s that hobby you engage in deep into the night…

Somehow you find yourself deep in the work, the rest of the world a faded notion, if there at all.

The thing is taking shape! It’s more organized than it’s ever been. You’re creating.

How’d you get here? Who knows? It’s a...