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Archive

2021

  • March 1 Interstellar and figuring out the time warps to avoid (PCxCP vol. 4 of 52)
  • February 27 What is NBA Top Shot? (Remove the game, remove the shoes)
  • February 26 Tony Stark and starting with a bang but going through a cave (PCxCP vol. 3 of 52)
  • February 25 Inception and realizing your superpower (PCxCP vol. 2 of 52)
  • February 24 The Joker plans a lot, you don’t always have to (PCxCP vol. 1 of ????)
  • February 23 Do the same thing (for beginners and experts)
  • February 23 “Think Again” (Reading Log 2/23/21)
  • February 22 Batch shallow work, mega batch the deep work
  • February 20 Procreate how-to video outline
  • February 20 Midnights with Booster (Ramblings vol. ???)
  • February 13 Reading Ramblings: “How to Get Rich” by Felix Dennis
  • February 7 Video log – How to design your environment (for better habits)
  • January 24 Video log – How to stay creative (when low on time)
  • 2020

  • December 31 Midnights with Booster
  • December 23 Notes on visual notes (as I try to learn in public)
  • December 9 Book Notes: “The Practice” by Seth Godin
  • December 3 Ramblings (December Damage Control #1)
  • November 3 Notecards and ideas for the next 5 posts (or next 2 posts)
  • November 2 Simplification (when aiming to write every day)
  • November 1 The phrases of habits
  • October 31 How not to save $40
  • October 30 Writing, starting from a spreadsheet (sort of)
  • October 29 Actually getting up when waking up (and the steps I took to prep for it)
  • October 29 Posting just to post
  • October 12 The numbers just don’t matter to people who are going by a “You can just feel it” metric.
  • October 8 Advice to Steve Kerr: Bring a lot of stuff (Reading Log: “The Victory Machine”)
  • October 3 Reading log: The hot hand vs. The gambler
  • September 2 Podcast Note | Sahil Lavingia: Minimize surface area to maximize polish
  • September 1 Podcasting Log: Aaaand we’re back
  • September 1 73: “Magic: the Gathering” life lessons
  • August 29 Podcasting Log: Zero to 18m audio (in 90 minutes)
  • July 27 Podcast Note | The Ready State Podcast: “S1EP7: John Berardi”
  • July 21 Podcast Note | Shea Serrano: Grit and central points
  • July 20 5 tips for writing daily (and mayyybe publishing)
  • July 18 Ramblings (on a timer)
  • July 12 You know something that’s worth teaching (so share your knowledge)
  • June 21 3 ways I use Shortcuts for writing with my iPad (and iPhone)
  • June 19 Why does Ronnie Coleman still Lift? (Joe Rogan Experience)
  • June 18 Why is acting so easy? (Jimmy O. Yang)
  • June 17 How do you lose a whole bunch of weight? (Kevin Smith)
  • June 16 Why is television a good thing? (Rob McElhenny)
  • June 15 The Notepod #3 – “Chasing Excellence”
  • June 13 How all these pieces might work together
  • June 7 Reading Log: 9 takeaways from Mark Hunt’s “Born to Fight”
  • June 7 The Listener #8 (by the Notepod (by Active Recall (by Francis (typing at his computer(but sometimes talking to it so a robot can turn it into text)))))
  • June 6 Village Global’s Venture Stories: Unbundling Journalism with Chris Best of Substack
  • June 1 Notes: “Hyperfocus” The College Info Geek Podcast
  • May 31 Notes on Quentin Tarantino 2014 Interview with Robert Rodriguez pt 2
  • May 31 Notes on Quentin Tarantino 2014 Interview with Robert Rodriguez
  • May 31 iPad Writing Apps: My favorites for different use cases (and why I use Shortcuts for pretty much everything)
  • May 30 Kevin Hart (Ozark motivation) x Brian Koppelman (Stoke the flame)
  • May 30 The Notepod #2 – “Rebel Without a Crew”
  • May 29 untools
  • May 26 Joe Rogan: Doing the thing
  • May 25 The Notepod #1 – “The Fighter’s Mind”
  • May 17 Reading Log: The Fighter’s Mind
  • May 16 Free writing an outline for a solo episode
  • May 16 71: “Work Clean”
  • May 16 Spider mines and more
  • May 13 Ramblings: Fighters, new archive page, and random links
  • May 10 Writing down a schedule (Steps toward fixing my focus)
  • May 9 What’s on my desk (setting a 25 minute timer in Figma)
  • May 9 Ideas that changed your life (but from Starcraft)
  • May 9 Against the Rules Presents: Michael Lewis in Conversation with Malcolm Gladwell and Jacob Weisberg
  • April 27 Tobi Lütke: Building lings, hydras, mutalisks (and Shopify) | Podcast Notes
  • April 26 Book Notes: “That Will Never Work” by Marc Randolph
  • April 25 Outline for a video about the iPad Magic Keyboard
  • April 25 Ramblings: Magic Keyboard first impressions
  • April 21 Bill Simmons on developing your voice as a writer | Podcast Note
  • April 21 What to do if you can’t type an apostrophe
  • April 20 BJ Fogg: Build tiny habits with positivity | Podcast Note
  • April 18 A 1-hour tinkering goal
  • April 17 Small motion test
  • April 15 Workout Log (04/15/2020) — Molting
  • April 14 One issue with writing right in the editor
  • April 11 iPad Journal (March/April 2020)
  • April 9 Workout Log (04/09/2020) — Warzone
  • April 8 Workout Log (4/8/2020) — Black belts for presenters, selling Cobra Kai at a basketball court, and mac ad slots in high school
  • April 7 Workout Log (4/7/2020) — Tiny Habits and Cobra Kai
  • April 6 Workout Log: 2020-04-06
  • April 5 Workout Log (4/2/2020) — The joy of movement (even when stuck indoors)
  • April 5 Procreate and the cutting room floor
  • April 3 Note to Self: Goals April 2020
  • March 31 This setup worked super well
  • March 29 Note to Self: Places I’ve used the iPad in the first week
  • March 29 Note to Self: Posts to Update
  • March 29 Thing #1 that I did with my iPad Pro: Drew short animations for this blog (March iPad Journal)
  • March 29 Short retro on my unfinished iPad Journal video
  • March 29 Notes to self: Trimming silence in Logic Pro X
  • March 28 Notes on “EP 364: How to Build a $113 “Minimalist” Home Gym” (The Pat Flynn Show)
  • March 28 Just picked up The Great Mental Models 2
  • March 28 Notes on “Jimmy Kimmel in Quarantine, Shaq and Kobe, and TV’s Future”
  • March 22 Michael Lewis and Malcolm Gladwell (2016)
  • March 10 Reading log: “That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea”
  • March 1 Conan O’Brien: Note to self, tomorrow you’ll eat nothing (Podcast note)
  • February 27 iPad Journal: thoughts for the next video
  • February 26 Read, Listen, Watch: Rebel Without a Crew, Hatching Twitter, The Joy of Movement
  • February 21 Like yesterday, but on an iPad
  • February 20 Writing about finishing (again) (again)
  • February 16 Jason Calcanis: Read the last two chapters first (Podcast Note)
  • February 15 Walter and Francis, talking about returns, talking about books
  • February 15 Book Log: “Next” by Michael Lewis
  • February 3 How I use my iPad Pro (January 2020) — Getting back to it
  • January 28 Jocko Willink: Detach
  • January 22 Warming up the gear (and top 10 books of 2019)
  • January 2 Write jokes the way a photographer shoots
  • 2019

  • December 17 Reading Log: Pocket Full of Do
  • December 16 Reading Log: Work Clean
  • December 15 Lean toward learning and meaningful relationships (Adam Grant on the Tim Ferriss Show)
  • November 28 Do the simple thing first (whiteboards don’t scale and that’s okay)
  • November 26 An example disagreement (between very smart people)
  • November 24 Leash yourself (to turn values into actions)
  • November 24 Find the medium that you’ll be most consistent in
  • October 12 Plan right in the editor (how an editorial calendar is helping me be more consistent)
  • October 10 Create before you consume (and maybe stop consuming some things altogether)
  • October 10 October Book Stack Progress
  • October 9 Journaling toward stillness
  • September 12 Mission: take this turkey to the editor as fast as possible
  • September 9 Book Notes: “Indistractable” by Nir Eyal
  • September 5 Removing friction
  • August 20 Improving my solo episodes
  • August 18 Podcast Notes – “My First Million”: Don’t make lists
  • August 18 Video: Book note – Adam Savage’s “Every Tool’s a Hammer”
  • August 2 Back to basics (and writing in the editor)
  • July 7 67 – “Finish” — PAO: Mr. Perfect cutting food in a kitchen with an invisible cloak on
  • July 2 Podcast Notes: Start winning, become passionate (Ramit Sethi)
  • June 30 66: “Quitter”
  • May 17 Analog conversations and digital detoxes (Cal Newport on “Hurry Slowly”)
  • May 4 Podcast Notes: Thomas Frank on building up College Info Geek
  • April 9 The 5 Ms, explained with quotes from ‘Rounders’
  • April 4 Podcast Notes: John Skipper and the early days of ESPN.com
  • April 2 F04: Walk, Listen, Talk — “Digital Minimalism”
  • March 22 Podcast Notes: Jim Collins on rating your days (Tim Ferriss Show)
  • March 21 Podcast Notes: Hasan Minhaj (The Dave Chang Show)
  • March 15 Chris Paul: Team dinners (JJ Redick Podcast)
  • March 9 John Wooden walked a lot
  • February 20 Book Notes – “Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality” by Anthony de Mello
  • February 4 How to change the voice in your head: Seth Godin
  • January 31 Seth Godin: Write in public, change your brain
  • January 28 Be a demanding reader (and listener)
  • January 24 Joe Rogan: Podcasting as an art form
  • January 21 You don’t have a choice (Yes you do!)
  • January 18 Atomic Habits, Chrono Trigger, and making time your ally or enemy
  • January 16 63: “Atomic Habits”
  • January 8 How to follow-through on projects (re-frame, remove reasons, and start moving)
  • 2018

  • December 17 Trace, freehand, and then draw from memory
  • December 15 Play pick-up basketball, sell your company to Amazon for $13 billion
  • December 13 Jason Fried: No one should listen to me about how to start a business
  • December 12 David Goggins: Things I don’t want to do
  • December 9 Weekly Deck — Issue 001
  • December 3 Working undercover or just tracking books: Keep it simple
  • December 2 Podcast note: How to beat writer’s block
  • November 29 Podcast note: How to tell better stories
  • November 28 Book Note: The Bullet Journal Method
  • November 24 Coffee, espresso, and bullets (The Bullet Journal Method x Hasan Minhaj)
  • November 22 Thrashing
  • November 22 How to End a Bad Habit (Book note for “Atomic Habits”)
  • November 18 Book Notes: “This is Marketing” by Seth Godin
  • October 18 Use nature’s eyes (or the Hubble telescope) to remember your insignificance
  • October 17 Atomic Habits: Initial Impressions
  • October 15 Podcast Notes: Chase Jarvis and Tim Ferriss
  • October 14 Newsletter 00X: Books finished, books in progress
  • October 13 Newsletter 000: If I had a newsletter
  • October 13 Weaving my finisher hat
  • October 11 Focus on two minutes (Podcast Notes: James Clear)
  • October 8 Write in the editor Vol. ?
  • October 6 Oh give me a hell yeah (a calm yeah works also)
  • September 18 Practice directing your attention
  • September 17 Kobe Bryant: Every day math
  • September 16 Read more books (until you need to read fewer books)
  • September 16 JJ Redick, Hasan Minhaj: Negative Motivation
  • September 8 Elon Musk on Joe Rogan’s podcast
  • September 5 What’s your hiding place? (Book notes for Jon Acuff’s Finish)
  • August 28 Book Note from “Creativity, Inc.”
  • August 21 Trying out a bullet point routine
  • August 14 Prioritize information with these 3 questions (Book note for “Visual Intelligence”)
  • August 5 Notes from “The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly”
  • July 28 Look at your summer after high school (and work those things back in)
  • July 22 IGTV C4D: Make something daily (and share it!)
  • July 6 iPad apps for presentations (and videos)
  • June 25 51: Grit revisited
  • June 6 Find Your Flow (Day 5): Pose-able figure
  • June 5 Find Your Flow (Day 4): Draw a Box pt. 2
  • June 4 Find Your Flow (Day 3): Draw a Box
  • June 3 Find Your Flow (Day 2): Omega Red pt. 2 (of 2)
  • June 2 Find Your Flow (Day 1): Omega Red pt. 1 (of I think 2)
  • June 2 Finding my flow (in 30 minutes each day)
  • May 26 Notes on “The Power of Starting Something Stupid”
  • May 26 A case against flow
  • May 21 Life Lessons from Watching Videos of Jim Lee Drawing
  • May 18 You’ve got 2 seconds, what advice would you give to a new graduate?
  • May 16 Write right in the editor (in this case it’s Evernote)
  • May 14 Describe Your Restaurant in a Single Sentence (Dave Chang and “Perennial Seller”)
  • May 14 Handle Your Distractions (Especially if the distraction is Mr. Fuji)
  • May 12 The best backpack for the gym (Spoiler: it’s the GORUCK GR1)
  • May 9 Be like LeBron (and take a walk)
  • May 8 It’s okay to be bored (and even worth practicing)
  • May 7 Get to the bottom of it (and then work up to your life’s purpose)
  • May 6 A non-master class on writing (based on Steph Curry’s MasterClass course on basketball)
  • May 6 It’s not them. It’s you. (Even if it’s actually them.)
  • May 6 Will you remember this a week from now? (How about a year from now?)
  • May 5 Prune your garden (even if you don’t have an actual garden)
  • May 2 Decide what you aren’t (even if you haven’t decided what you are)
  • April 29 Write right (in the editor)
  • April 28 Have a vision (even if it isn’t to save humanity)
  • April 27 Focus on What Won’t Change
  • April 25 Wear a uniform (But don’t tell anyone)
  • April 24 We are a nation obsessed (Chuck Klosterman IV)
  • April 23 34: How to build good habits and end bad habits
  • April 23 33: How to deal with setbacks (according to Mario and Ryu Hayabusa)
  • April 23 How do you build anything? One chunk at a time
  • April 23 35: And we are back
  • February 24 What’s inside those money bags?
  • February 15 The illusions of feelings
  • January 29 Covers for upcoming videos
  • January 17 32: How to practice (according to games)
  • January 16 Pivot to video (Newsletter issue 3)
  • January 16 31: Musashi and How to Stop Worrying
  • January 9 Day-tight Compartments
  • January 7 Resolutions (Newsletter issue 2)
  • January 5 How to find the best way to practice
  • January 4 30: Resolutions, Subtle Art, Arcade Games
  • January 4 Learning about generalism
  • January 3 Some kettlebell notes
  • January 3 Review your beliefs (your future self will thank you!)
  • January 2 Kicking Things Off (Newsletter issue 1)
  • January 1 Posting some training notes
  • 2017

  • December 30 Know who you are
  • December 29 Tell good stories (even for nonfiction!)
  • December 28 Plug-ins, greasing the groove, and keeping it simple
  • December 27 Some lessons from buying a bunch of infoproducts
  • December 26 Pause the Cassette Now
  • December 22 29: P-Rex and a return to The Magic Window
  • December 22 28: Tribe of Mentors
  • December 22 Book Notes: Four Seconds
  • December 22 Stories we believe in
  • December 19 Book Notes: Basketball and Other Things
  • December 18 Utility of fiction
  • December 10 Notes after making a video about two Mr. Harts
  • December 9 Book Notes: The Creative Habit
  • December 9 27: The Magic Window
  • December 9 I started reading “City of Thieves” by David Benioff
  • December 8 Talent vs. Hard Work (An animoji fox’s perspective)
  • December 8 Why you shouldn’t say you don’t care what other people think (Notes on things by Chuck Klosterman)
  • December 2 How to succeed as a writer (What I’ve learned by reading Bill Simmons)
  • November 27 26: Someday we will vlog like bosses
  • November 24 How to tell your friend they probably shouldn’t pursue their dream anymore (Podcast Notes for Stone Cold and Brendan Schaub)
  • November 20 25: Podcast recommendations, don’t leave your shopping cart in the parking lot
  • November 13 24: Edit Better
  • November 13 Book Notes: This Book Will Teach You How To Write Better
  • November 7 23: The Power of Moments
  • October 25 My Year of Running Safely
  • October 22 Brain bruises and the power of words
  • October 21 Sympathetic links between ideas
  • October 19 Whoa!
  • October 14 Are you picking the right goals? (And my quick foray into competitive Counter-Strike)
  • October 11 Outline: Creativity creates creativity
  • October 11 22: We Can’t Make This Up
  • October 10 None of these look like Kevin Hart
  • October 9 The power of the first day on the job
  • October 8 SHAKE IT UP
  • October 1 21: Not Caring What Other People Think is a Superpower
  • October 1 20: Barking up the Wrong THREE
  • October 1 19: Barking up the Wrong Tree, Again!
  • October 1 Daily creativity: First, through writing
  • September 24 Cardio Sucks book note: A little bit at a time
  • September 18 I just finished reading Ed Latimore’s book
  • September 17 Book reaction: The Forever War
  • September 17 Some questions for myself
  • September 12 How to post more (by writing less!)
  • September 10 18: Primal Branding
  • September 2 17: Better Than Before
  • August 26 16: Made to Stick
  • August 20 15: Talent is Overrated
  • August 14 14: Shoe Dog
  • August 10 13: The First 20 Hours
  • August 10 12: The One Thing
  • July 23 Journal: The first 8 weeks of Active Recall
  • July 21 11: Designing your life
  • July 18 The Ugly First Draft
  • July 17 10: Wired to Eat
  • July 12 09: Looking back, looking forward
  • July 5 Podcast notes: The power of gratitude with The 5-Minute Journal
  • July 5 Picking activities
  • July 5 08: More podcast recs for your head top
  • July 3 Creative Pages: Morning Creativity Routine version 2.0
  • July 3 How to live as an artist: 1000 fans, 10000 readers, but it all starts with ten
  • June 29 07: When did you realize wrestling is fake?
  • June 28 Video: Book notes for “Barking up the Wrong Tree” by Eric Barker
  • June 28 Sketchbook: Working on a publishing schedule
  • June 22 Sketchbook: Planning different time scales and appropriate books
  • June 20 Sketchbook: Will Ferrell*
  • June 20 06: Creative Confidence
  • June 19 Morning creativity routine: The Great Courses 
  • June 18 Sketchbook: my favorite apps
  • June 18 Sketchbook: morning routine
  • June 18 My morning creativity routine
  • June 18 AirPod first impressions
  • June 17 iPad Journal: A Notability time lapse 
  • June 17 iPad Journal: An intro
  • June 17 Starting this site a little too early
  • June 14 Steal like an artist, show your work, Bruce Wayne, and Batman: Austin Kleon & Chase Jarvis — Sketchnotes Video
  • June 10 05: The Obstacle is the Way
  • June 10 Make it easy, sustainable, and consistent: Tim Ferriss and Chase Jarvis — Active Recall Sketched
  • June 6 Pull-ups for your brain, studying effectively, and skill before passion: Cal Newport and Pat Flynn — Active Recall Sketched
  • June 2 Have fun, help others, and meditate: Lessons from Drama and Lewis Howes — Active Recall Sketched
  • June 1 04: The Slight Edge
  • May 29 03: Barking Up the Wrong Tree
  • May 20 02: Grit
  • May 13 01: Flow
  • April 23 Activities — Do you enjoy it? Does it go toward your goals?
  • Back to homepage • By Francis Cortez (@activerecall)