#493 - Index Cards, Essays, Less Phone

Nothing brand new here. Updates on my usual set of topics. I’ll keep it short.

WWDC 2026

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference was this week. I was a bit disappointed by the announcements.

However the Mac OS Developer Beta has made my computer noticeably faster, so I am happy.

The new Siri AI is not yet widely available, so no impressions to give there yet.

Index Cards

I have been obsessed with index cards lately.

Burned through a 100 pack. More than 10 notes about index cards added to Gillespedia.

A Long Time for a Little

It is hard to say exactly what needs said.

Hold a 2 hour meeting. The audience takeaway from those 120 minutes probably couldn’t fill a standard index card.

An index card comfortably holds about ~60 words. That means about a 2 minute per word ratio.

Essays

I decided to start publishing some. I might federate here and to Medium or something. Maybe.

Index Card Essay

I wrote one, here.

Auto-properties Demo Video

Phone Banishment

I have experimented this week with leaving my phone in a certain room of my house all day. I can still use it, but I have to go to it to use it.

See the Top 5 for my observations from this week of phone banishment.

Misc

• When I was a kid, I spun around as fast as I could for fun. Now if I turn my head too quickly I nearly throw up and fall over.
• I get very annoyed by loud vehicles. It is my pet peeve flavor of the month.

Top 5: Phone-less Observation

From my first day of leaving my phone next to the bathroom sink.

5. Not filling the cracks of time between things makes you notice there is time between things

“I just have no time” is a lie your phone makes you tell yourself.

4. This is The Medium Method incarnate

The Medium Method suggests using different mediums to do your work. Throughout the day, use physical pen and paper. At the end of the day, transcribe that which needs to be into digital systems.

I wrote these observations on an index card, by the way.

3. Peripheral devices make more sense

The capabilities of my watch and HomePod are much more noticeable. The devices I feel bad for not using enough I’m using.

2. Work was easier, but not “magically” so

Nuff said.

1. I am in the moment

I don’t have to actively “choose” to pay attention to my surroundings. I’m actually amongst them.

Time with family is time spent with the family. Listening comes easy.

This is good.

Quote:

EVERYTHING WORTH SAYING ABOUT ANYTHING WORTH SAYING SOMETHING ABOUT CAN BE SAID WITH SIX OR FEWER PIECES - Doug Ross, a co-creator of IDEF0