Revolutions and chain reactions: Managing information.

I have a growing family. It also happens to be growing in the middle of a revolution. As phone carrying members of the digital revolution, the information we generate each and every day is becoming a problem. Before the digital age, there was not much to worry about. Even the most prolific writer, businessman, operator could only create so much hard copy. The files containing our inner most secrets could only get so big before storage and weight became an issue. Now though, the information we gather on purpose, by mistake and through third parties multiplies each day. And it’s all kept on some drive or server somewhere. Privacy is dead, but there is a lot of value and power in consolidating and managing this sprawl to maintain sanity, manage risk, and coordinate your…well….life!

Perhaps step one is to define what is being generated, exactly. This is probably impossible to detail completely, but a good list might cover ~90% of the problem like a good wetsuit covers 90% of the body. Here is where I would start:

  • Look at the hardware in your life – This includes all PC’s, laptops, phones, watches, TV’s, gaming consoles, and other smart devices.
  • What property do you own which could generate information (cars and speeding fines, for example)
  • Look at the software in your life – This includes email accounts, social media accounts, app subscriptions, password management, browsers you use, tracking and privacy settings.
  • Look at your financial/work situation – credit cards, bank accounts, trading accounts, tax responsibilities, insurance premiums, salaries coming in, work projects, monthly expenses.
  • Look at your healthcare situation – memberships, premiums, chronic illnesses, children related health information, rewards programs.

If we manage to gather this list of ‘info generating stuff’ then we can work on each of the sections individually. Sound good? Good.

This is probably time consuming at first, but it is also probably very useful. Like tidying your bedroom, i think it will have obvious elements (listing your cellphones would be like the duvet on the floor which goes back on the bed) and then more detailed, less obvious stuff (delving into the direct debits from your bank account, or the points available on rewards schemes is a bit like pulling the bed from the wall and vacuuming up the dirt on the floor which is usually unseen).

Like a nuclear chain reaction (terrible Keanu Reaves movie btw!) each of these sections can probably lead down its own information rabbit hole. Just start thinking about your online passwords for example!

This concept is a work in progress – I think the trick is to make a start and treat it as a process.

Home screen

I’ve had to buy a new iPhone. The old one died in a fit of convulsions. Dead battery, slow performance and broken screen – after four years it all seems to happen at once.

In setting up the new Beast, I’ve become interested in the layout and settings on my phone. In particular I’m concerned about how the default settings on an iPhone drive certain behaviours. Notifications, constant sharing of information and confinement to the Apple ecosystem are all worth considering, I feel.

And so I found myself at this site: Link

“Exhaustive” is the word I’d use for the article, but I also found it fascinating. It has resulted in the below home screen for my phone which I am liking very much.

I’m sure of every app here except for zero. Curious about fasting though.

These phones are running our lives more and more. From work to social interactions. As Ben Evans says, The smartphone is the Sun in our digital solar system. Everything else revolves around the phone. This being the case, it’s worth thinking about how we set up the phone and interact with it.

I’m very easily hooked into social media Buti am trying to set up the phone to make it easier to drive more productive and healthier habits than scrolling Instagram, Twitter or WhatsApp all day.

A work in progress then. Happy Thursday chimps.

Light and sound

The bathroom light radiates out the doorway of the bathroom and into the dark sitting room. I used the bathroom to light up the sitting room because it’s so early that it’s still dark outside. My eyes are still waking up and I like the mood created by the borrowed light. It’s a light for thinking and creating. For relaxing alone.

Outside the rain started to fall on the tin roof and then the first birds fluttered and cheeped. A sweet Welcome to the new day.

A big yawn. A stiff early morning back and neck. Time for a cup of tea.

Lost phones

I went the whole of this weekend without my cell phone, but not on purpose. I lost my phone on Friday and only found it again on Sunday night.

What was interesting for me in this break was the two things that I did miss – Whatsapp and my banking app. Whatsapp groups have become the backbone of my COVID 19 ‘social’ life. Whatsapp is so pervasive that plans are hard to keep up with away from the phone – Zoom meetings came and went. A poker game got away from me. This is all exacerbated by the very busy life I have at the moment – three kids and a pregnant wife keep me busy with or without the phone.

I also needed to pay people on Friday and I couldn’t without the phone.

Philosophers Andy Clark and David Chalmers argued in ‘The Extended Mind’ (1998) that technology is actually part of us. I have heard many times that losing a phone feels like losing a limb. I didn’t feel much loss except when I realised poker had come and gone on Saturday night!

In fact there was far less distraction and my family life probably benefited from my losing the phone. It makes me think I should put it away on purpose sometimes.

Happy Tuesday chimps.

Immunity.

The news these days is pretty depressing and anxiety-inducing. It has been for months now with a constant call to worry. There are lots of stories on how to block the external threats facing us. Wear masks. Wash hands. Avoid people.

Something which is not forced upon us very often is the need to manage our own immune system. In my estimation this must be at least half of the COVID equation. But it isn’t getting half of the airtime.

So what do we get when we search for how to boost immune systems?

  1. Get enough sleep. Sleep and immunity are closely tied.
  2. Eat more whole plant foods.
  3. Eat more healthy fats.
  4. Eat more fermented foods or take a probiotic supplement.
  5. Limit added sugars.
  6. Engage in moderate exercise.
  7. Stay hydrated.
  8. Manage your stress levels.

A lot of this is about what we put into our stomachs. Then there’s exercise, stress, and sleep.

Kids hit my sleep patterns hard, but I am getting brutal about early nights.

I need to lay off the sugar and drink more water.

Exercise and social interaction lowers my stress.

Here’s to starting another streak of writing!

Happy Friday chimps.

Hyperion update

Hyperion has become a sleeping aid for me. That sounds like a poor review of a book sending me to sleep, but that is not what I mean.

For various reasons I have had to get up a lot at night recently. This is fine, but lately my mind has begun to race around, skipping from one thought to another which keeps me awake. Hyperion is what calms me down and focuses my mind on just one thing. The stories are so great and eventually I nod off to fantastic images of talking dolphins and portals across time and space. It’s kind of trippy to have so many nights with those stories running through my head.

Usually I am able to turn of audible before I fall asleep. Otherwise the story just keeps playing in my head and the next night I am hours behind and completely lost! I can mostly figure out what has happened, but after twenty hours of narration and a few nights leaving the story running on my headphones whilst I snore away, I definitely have some gaps.

Last night I finished the sixth and final chapter and I just have the prologue to go tonight.

Still highly recommended.

Happy Thursday chimps.