I am really started to get into the flow of Craft! Though, I should mention upfront, there is not one correct way to use Craft. It’s an incredibly flexible platform that allow for flexible note-taking and idea creation. After a few work weeks using Craft for all my notes, reading, meetings, etc I feel like I am starting to see some tre...

One of my favorite things about Craft is how easy it is to just start taking notes. I tend to take somewhat of stream-of-conscious notes in meetings and I love how I can just type my thoughts and then sort, add lists, and develop blocks after the meeting is over. To put it simply: Craft does not get in my way when I want to capture tex...

I shared earlier this week that I was going to be using Craft for the next year as my primary note-taking and research app. I am going to be sharing some ways that I am using Craft to journal, take meeting notes, collect articles, track videos, and even write my next novel in the coming days. But before I talk about the future and how ...

I’m going to spend a year with Craft as my main note-taking and note-making system (more on note-making vs note-taking in future posts). I’ve been back and forth with different apps over the last year. From Notion to Notes and everything in between, I’ve tried them all. I’ve gone simple (Apple Notes) and I’ve gone analog / hybrid with ...

Today is the day for vaccine #2!! As I sit here and drink my coffee (from Onyx Coffee Lab, incredible) I am just filled with all kinds of emotions. Today I will be getting my second (and final) dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. I am - Grateful. Grateful to be be alive. I have friends who are my age who have died from Covid complicat...

There is power in reflection. As a society, we are conditioned to just push forward to the next thing. We don’t have time to celebrate Thanksgiving because Christmas is coming! Don’t enjoy 5th grade because middle school is almost here. There is great pressure to continue forward with the next project and not take any time to reflect o...

I am not patient. I want things that I want and I want them now. Amazon has ruined online shopping because I expect everything in 2 days. I want to the results and I want them now (ok, I can wait 48 hours... but NO LONGER). As I get older, though, I am learning that patience is more than just a virtue. Patience is the whole game. Almos...

Have you ever come home from work tired, but feeling good? That’s how I feel today. We are gearing up for Easter weekend and there is just so much to do. I am trying to keep everything straight and get all that I need to finish accomplished. Today was full of recording content for our online and television audiences. It was literally a...

I got to sing at church today. This is something that I have done hundreds of times, but it’s not something that I have done much lately. I used to lead worship every weekend at church. I would plan the music, schedule the band, run practices, create tracks, and lead each weekend for several years. It was something I loved doing, but i...

I took the day off from writing. It felt good to take a break. Sometimes you need a break. It’s ok to rest.

I have a busy week coming up. If you are reading this in somewhat real-time then we are about a week away from Easter. I am the Messaging Director at a church so Easter week is… kind of busy and important. Today is my day off and the start of my weekend. I have been so tired lately that I have not had a productive Friday in a while. Be...

I am trying to grow new roots in 2021. What have I learned about growing roots this year? Growing roots takes time! On top of that time, there is the reality that no one else can see those roots growing. There is a drive to create content and put that content into the world, but that is not sustainable if you don't have roots. So, I am...

I just got the first round of the Covid-19 vaccine! It has been right around a year since the world shut down for the biggest global pandemic in a decade began and so much has changed in the world. Businesses have closed, lives were lost, and our world has changed forever. I contracted Covid-19 in October 2020 along with my wife and ki...

There is a tendency as we build out projects to add more and more to the scope of a project. You start brainstorming what needs to happen and then you realize all that needs to be added to make the effort a success. There is value in considering all that you need to accomplish in a project, but with that expansion of focus there is als...

Steve Jobs famously said that “real artists ship.” That phrase has really stuck with me over the last few years as I have put some of my work into the public. It is easy to hide behind an idea; it’s harder to actually put something into the world. A few years ago I decided to write a novel during National Novel Writing Month. I had not...

What brings you joy? I want to share about 2 things that bring me joy. Neither of these are earth-shattering or important in the grand scheme of the universe, but they matter to me and that’s all that matters. Number 1 - Coffee. Drinking good coffee brings me joy. I love making pour over coffee at home with fresh roasted coffee from di...

My wife and I had kids when we were pretty young. My son was born when I was 24 and my daughter was born when I was 25. Yes... they are about 13 months apart in age. We went from 2 people (my wife and I) to 2 kids and 2 dogs in the span of just a few years. It was chaos but it was a fun and wild ride. Now that my children are getting s...

Wants vs needs: A few thoughts on needs in 2021. There are some core needs that will probably always exist. Food, water, shelter are probably not stepping down from the top spots in the category of need. But other needs come and go with the time we live in. Electricity has not always been a need. There was a time when it was… not anyth...

Have you ever been bitter? There was a time in my life when I was bitter and it was incredibly destructive to myself and those who were around me. I was in a place of leadership and was part of a group making decisions about a large event. Some of the choices we made hurt some of my friends’ feelings and they felt like they were not he...

Here is a truth that I have been learning (and mostly embracing) this year. You need to keep track of your ideas. Ideas are fleeting. I will hear a melody for a song or think of a string of words and in that moment it might feel like I’ll never forget it, but the reality is that if I don’t capture that idea it will spill out of my head...

I love watching videos of people share about their process of creation. I will watch videos anytime about someone making a new desk setup for their computer. I have a playlist saved on YouTube filled with videos about how people create different sounds and effects as they create music. I will watch almost any video online of something ...

They say that laughter is the best medicine. As someone with Type 1 Diabetes, I would say that my insulin is probably the best medicine for me.... but maybe laughter is a close second? I don’t know of the actual validity of the efficacy of laughter, but I do know that when I have a chance to connect with others and have have a good lau...

Automate your Tasks A few months ago I redid my whole digital setup when it comes to apps and programs that I use to get work done. I reset my note-taking system, my journaling system, and my task lists. I have used all the task manager apps; from OmniFocus to ToDoist, I have tried them all. But instead of just changing that system for...

I feel like I am writing about 2020 in most of my posts lately. I think that is because these next few days mark when things really took a turn in America and we started to realize what might be coming. As a think back over the last year and what has changed for me personally, for our country, and then entire world I come back to sever...

Looking forward to something that is coming up soon makes the time pass. I remember being a kid waiting for my grandparents to arrive at our house. I would sit at the window for hours waiting for their car to pull in. Even when my parents reminded me that they were driving to Tennessee from Kentucky and it would be 6 hours before they ...

Confession. I have ultimate buyers remorse. In fact, I sometimes feel sad after I purchase something. There is a thrill of the chase when it comes to finding the perfect bag, keyboard, accessory, shirt, or pair of shoes. I LOVE the feeling of researching and hunting for something and then finding the perfect item. But at times I find m...

Have you ever been totally shocked? Like, floored and unsure what just happened? I felt this way a few years ago on my 30th birthday. My wife made an elaborate rouse that involved multiple surprises that led to a full-on surprise party with with about 30 of my friends for a Mexican feast. It all started with an hour-long massage, which...

Another one of my goals this year is to read more often. I used to make goals to read a certain number of books a year. As a surprise to no one... I usually failed. Most years I would start strong and then fade over the spring or would get busy and that time I spent reading would go to something else (looking at you, Twitter). This yea...

Here a free tech tip for you: Hide your social media apps that you don’t want to see! A few months ago, I put the Facebook app into the App Library and took it away from any Siri suggestions. If I want to get on Facebook, I have to search for it or find it in the App Library. That little bit of friction means that I don’t check it near...

Doing something (with proficiency) that others do not understand feels like magic. I have watched some people on TikTok do slight-of-hand magic. The thing that you learn when they show you a trick with a slightly different camera angle is that the trick falls apart unless you are looking exactly where the magicians wants you to look. C...