Text and Hubris |

Is anyone surprised about Substack?

I am glad to see people are migrating (or threatening to migrate) from Substack, but I am a little surprised that this was news to them. Substack has been like this for a very long time. Supporting fascist content is not a new stance for them. It is the status quo.

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Project Management/Productivity Tools for Writing Program

Project Management/Productivity Tools for Writing Program

This was meant to be a response to a request for information on Notion, Trello, or Basecamp as a potential platform for a University Program in Writing and Applied Arts on LinkedIn. Surprising no one, I was too wordy for LinkedIn, so here it is.

tdlr:
Notion is a solid choice. It’s most useful for freelancing and contractors as it is flexible and versatile. Without oversight and planning it can become unwieldy, but it is a tool that students can actively use for their own projects after the class/program ends.

Trello has grown from the basic Kanban board into a fully developed PM platform. It is a good middle-ground between Basecamp and Notion. If built out, onboarding students could be done with ease. It will require planning and administrative work, though. Templates may also require coordination between classes within the program.

Basecamp is the choice if you are looking to mimic the experience inside a company. It is a complete project management platform with all the bells and whistles. It also will require significant administration work and time to manage.

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Obsidian Logo

Workflows in Obsidian

Is the tool worth the work?

I sometimes think that Obsidian is a lot like a Bullet Journal1. They’re tools that sound like a good idea, but too often they become a barrier or another thing to do before you actually start the real work. Advocates of the tool-sets will tell you to start simple. They make it sound like it is easy to adapt and evolve as you use the tool. They forget to tell you that every lesson you learn and incorporate into your workflow probably involves re-factoring everything you have done before. This means you either suffer with a tool that doesn’t work as well as it should, or you go through a ton of setup before you really get going. Because there is so much setup involved, it is very easy to let your Bullet journal or your Obsidian planner become more about the display than the work.

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A hand holding a heart with gratitude!

Thanksgiving 2023

I have always had a mixed set of feelings around Thanksgiving. Growing up with a general lack of stability meant that this holiday was always a bit fraught. On the good years, it was a small family affair (just my mom, my sister, and me). I can count those years on one hand, but they did happen. We’d have mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts1, turkey or maybe a ham, biscuits, squash, homemade stuffing, and pumpkin or apple pie with whipped cream and ice cream.

What I loved about those moments was the simplicity of the day. We ate, we relaxed, and for one brief moment, we would pretend that all the troubles had gone away. It was a fantasy, of course, but it was a damned delightful one.

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The End of a Long Week

I don’t know about you, but this has been one long week.

I wrote this really cool and interesting diatribe about communication and its challenges. Then I reread it and realized it kind of sucked. You’re not getting that (You’re welcome!).

Instead, let’s talk about the work ahead.

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© Geoffrey Gimse (2024) - Built using Hugo.

Opinions expressed here are my own and are not neccessarily shared by employers, friends, or colleagues. Except where noted, all photos are my own. Other images used on this site are in the Public Domain or have been purchased for use via The Noun Project."