Hello Todoist. Goodbye Wunderlist!

by Chaitanya 1 Comment

I have been looking for Wunderlist replacement since last year. I can feel Wunderlist is staling. Wunderlist’s new incarnation, Microsoft To-Do, isn’t making good progress. It lacks basic features like sub-projects et al. Given how long it’s been since Microsoft’s acquisition of Wunderlist was announced and the development progress of the To-Do app, I have no hope that To-Do will be worth the wait.

Trello seemed to be a good replacement for a bit, but on looking deeper, Trello is a great project management tool, but not so much a to-do list. Sure, I can tweak Trello’s boards with checklists, but that’s taking one tool and making it work for something that it is not designed for. I prefer to avoid such hacks where possible. Sorry, Davor!

As luck would have it, I recently learned that Doist’s blog has moved to WordPress. While reading their beautiful and minimally designed blog, I came across this great post titled Why We Don’t Have an Exit Strategy. That post made me confident that Doist is going to be around for a long time if not forever. (By the way, that’s exactly how blogging helps spread your message and grow your business. So go blog!)

So that helped end my (re)search for the next to-do app. I look forward to use Todoist Premium for a long time.

Wunderlist — you have been great while you lasted. But it’s time for me to move on to greener pastures.

I imported my Wunderlist to-dos and projects to Todoist. I will soon upgrade to Premium. I also need to set up some zaps and other workflows that will take some time, but I should be done with Wunderlist by the end of this quarter.

Alfred workflow for managing windows in Mac

by Chaitanya Leave a comment

I am constantly looking for better workflows and today I stumbled upon this useful workflow to manage the app windows in Mac using Alfred.

I set it up and used a few times. I loved using it!

Thanks for making and sharing it, Paweł.

I am also on the lookout for better Space Manager apps and ideas. But more on that later, when I find a solution that I love.

Old habits. Not new resolutions.

by Chaitanya Leave a comment

Just a thought that popped up while working out the upper body in the last hour.

But first some context.

Last week and this week, I am finding it very hard to exercise. It is after all holiday season, and I have had excellent exercise compliance so far this year. So why not take a break for Christmas and New Year weeks? The world doesn’t stop, and the sky doesn’t fall if you miss just two weeks, has been my inner monologue!

But somehow that did not feel right. I felt uncomfortable from within about not having to exercise even for a week. That’s probably a nice side effect of keeping the “Exercise 3 times a week” habit for about five years now. So I dragged myself into workout clothes and laced my shoes. Rest everything took care of itself. I worked out three times last week. I am already done with full and upper body workouts this week. And I am looking forward to some squats and swings tomorrow. And repeat it all next week as well.

Again, it wasn’t easy…until I changed into workout clothes and put on my shoes.

I don’t take all the credit though. I am supported by a few great people. Besides the momentum of my exercise habit, the support system of the people I know or follow has helped me not dither in this silly season.

First, my ex-colleague, friend and a champion trainer (for the last five years and counting!) who sends my workouts remotely and checks-in every week. He also occasionally sends some much-needed inspiration:

Holiday exercise inspiration

Second, this retired US Navy SEAL named Jocko Willink. I recently started following Jocko — author of Extreme Ownership, a book that I have in my reading list and Discipline Equals Freedom, a book I borrowed from the library, read and kind of liked it, but I loved the title!— and he tweeted this:

Which lead me to think, I mostly don’t need any grand new year’s resolutions. I just need to continue my boring, but beneficial old year’s habits. I said mostly because I will likely have a few resolutions around my learning goals, but for the most part, I will be better off carrying my old habits into the new year.

I encourage you to consider this idea and think in terms of habits you can start and keep for the years to come, not the resolutions you will set and forget in a few months.

Don’t fall for marketing emails

by Chaitanya Leave a comment

Earlier this month I signed up for Grammarly to improve my writing. I used it for a few weeks, and it seemed like a useful app to help me write better. So I thought of upgrading to Pro but haven’t opened my wallet.

Then an email appeared on 10 Nov suggesting me to upgrade for a 40% discount but only for the next 48-hours. It was tempting. But I am so used to email marketing. So I chose to wait. Then the Last chance: email came on the second day. I ignored it.

Grammarly promotional email
Grammarly promotional email

The upgrade went up to its full price. I was worried and even regretted not opting for the 40% discount. But I also hoped that if I pretend to ignore for a few more weeks, maybe the email marketing bot would send me the 40% discount email again. So I continued to wait.

Last week I received a Black Friday discount for 55%. This time I did not waste time to upgrade.

Could I have gotten more discount if I waited for more? Who knows? Have I fallen for marketing? Probably. But I felt 55% off is a right balance between the price I am paying and the value I think I am getting for my money.

It is another good reminder for me in this consumerist society to not fall for instant gratification. Good things generally come to those who wait.