Our theoretically weekly roundup of stuff that didn't fit anyplace else.

put the puppy back on the paper, originally uploaded by hotdogsladies.

I’ve previously mentioned Bay-area writer Anne Lamott in the context of her fondness for index cards and her belief in the importance of capturing ideas at the moment they come to you (it’s something I also really believe in). It’s fun to hear her talk about this stuff, too. She has a discursive speaking style that’s, by turns, insightful, frustrating, and very funny.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been reading her book Bird by Bird a section or two at a time whenever I have a few minutes, and I have to say, it’s one of the most inspiring books I’ve read in a long time.

As a guide for young or aspiring writers, I’d put it up there with On Writing Well and Writing Down the Bones in terms of practical, really useful advice. She strips away so much of the pretense and BS about the writing process and encourages you to just start writing—focusing on small assignments (all you need to do is fill a 1″x1″ picture frame with words) and what she calls “the shitty first draft.” Great stuff.

But I think some of the most amazing passages in the book have little to do with writing, per se. It’s all about how we choose to look at the world and ourselves.

Jeffrey Windsor shares a great tip for making it easy to start work in the morning—by always leaving your work at a point where it will be easy, intuitive, and interesting to pick things back up. Instead of grinding away until you're drained and out of enthusiasm, quit while you're on a roll.

A couple articles I wrote will be appearing in the June, 2005 issue of MacWorld, including this piece on overhauling your approach to email.

Chris Murtland's "revolving workflow strategies" for GTD

Danny asks: "When you have a regular, mind-crushingly dull task to do, do you have a little game you play with yourself to make it easier? What is it?"

Typical Portion Control Tips/Guidelines

“Deck of cards, Merlin; deck of cards,” my friend Dennis would always say as we sat down to eat ribeyes the size of kittens.

An assload of great (and sometimes asinine) everyday tips.

Cool wiki full of memory tricks, mnemonic systems, and other mental parlor tricks.

Gabe's amazing iTunes scripts put Rube Goldberg to shame; I also make a plea for bands (and maybe labels?) to always offer a tip jar via PayPal.

Phil's cool trick reminds me that I do love me some Post-it notes. How do you use 'em?

Tralee Pearce did a nice piece on the Hipster PDA and adopting analog tech in today’s Globe and Mail.

Neat, simple tricks for printing your own index cards--either as templates or as stuff you've been storing electronically.

Lots of people had been suggesting I read Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird (subtitled “Some Instructions on Writing and Life”) becaues she mentions how much she loves and relies on index cards for more than just composition.

Good explanation of what makes Quicksilver so useful.

Start the new month and the new quarter off with some 43 Folders power hacks!

On the elegance of The Project Triangle.