Lifestyle

A 30-post collection

Why I run

I was proud to run another half marathon over the weekend: the Royal Parks Half in London.

Seeing the city I love from the viewpoint of running the streets on a race day is wonderful: no cars, no trucks, no buses.

Instead, the roads are filled with people pushing themselves mentally and physically, and crowds of people — parents, children, friends, and strangers cheering you on.

How I got into running

As I ran around I thought to myself about my journey as a runner.

How did I go from avoiding running at all costs, to running a marathon?

I never used to like running.

At school I hated running.

I would always set off too fast and wear myself out.

I’d try to do anything possible to get out of running: volunteer to be a timekeeper, pretend to be a little unwell, or switch to another sport entirely!

As school finished, I started to change my attitude to running. I learned to pace myself, I started to measure my progress with apps and then my watch, and I embraced the sense of achievement when completing a run.

I became increasingly addicted to measuring my progress. For better or for worse, once I got an Apple Watch, I simply had to complete my Fitness Rings. Running became a great way to keep my streak going and give me a sense of achievement week-in, week-out.

I then came across Parkrun, a series of wonderful volunteer-led runs that happen every Saturday in parks across the U.K. and around the world.

I started to realise: the more I ran, the faster I became. And the faster I ran, the better I felt.

What I have learned from running

There are so many aspects of running that I find to be applicable to other parts of life.

Measurement leads to improvement

When you measure something it helps you understand it better, which forms a basis to improve it.

Just do it

The first draft (or run) is always rubbish. No one starts out as a pro. But to become a pro, you must start. Whatever it is you want to achieve, you have to just start.

Consistency is key

Once you start something, you are rarely any good at it for a while. You must keep going. You must repeat. You will still fail many times, but you pick yourself up and you go again. Consistency is boring, but crucial for running, fitness, any most positive changes in life.

Unexpected rewards for effort

Running longer distances has enabled me to run faster. Often improving in one area can lead to unexpected improvements in other areas.

Don’t compare with others

I don’t run to be faster than anyone else. I find it can help to run with other people for encouragement, and healthy competition. But I am always running my own race: to do the best I can. If I do that then I will always be proud.

Make it easy to

Journaling — how and why I keep a daily diary

Whether you call it journaling or reflection or writing a diary, I think of them in the same way: making time to reflect on your day, and keeping a record of what you did and how you felt.

I’ve been keeping a daily diary for years, and it’s one of the habits I’m most pleased to have maintained.

Journaling for memory

I can point to almost any day in the last few years and learn what I did, how I felt, and understand what was on my mind.

Every now and then, I’ll compare my current day to the same day one or two years ago. I’m frequently amazed at how issues and challenges that seemed insurmountable rapidly fade away into distant memories, or are completely forgotten until purposefully being resurfaced.

It’s a good reminder to keep my current fears in check.

Journaling for self-awareness

Journaling has enabled me to become considerably more self-aware.

I can see patterns of behaviour, consistency in what causes me to have a good or a bad day, and an awareness of what makes me excited or anxious.

I have learned how exercise, diet, and weather affect my mood. I’ve learned how creativity and socialising and alone-time affect me in different, and unexpected ways.

Journaling for thought development

Something I often need to remind myself is that journaling can be an incredible way to process my thoughts.

When I’m overwhelmed or stressed, it can sometimes feel like there is no good path forward. I could become frustrated or waste hours in an unproductive state fretting over my next move.

Journaling can sometimes feel like a cheat code for escaping this sense of overwhelm. If I can detect the feeling then I’ll try to find a quiet moment to write what’s on my mind in my journal.

Sometimes, just writing out all of the things worrying me is an incredible shortcut to clarify what’s bothering me, and can help me prioritise what’s most critical.

If I’m really stressed about a situation, I’ll attempt to answer some templated questions that will pull more thoughts from my mind. Often, framing a difficult decision with the question of “What’s the worst possible outcome?” can be enough to make progress.

Resources for journaling

Apps and resources that have helped me over the years:

  • Apple Notes — one of the most underrated apps on the iPhone. I used Notes to maintain a daily journal for over a year. It’s often the fastest way to jot a thought down.
  • Apple’s Journal app — for over a year Apple has offered a Journal app, with helpful hints and automatic suggestions. I love that it’s “moment” based rather than day based.
  • State of Mind on iOS — at a similar time to rolling out Journal, Apple introduced a method for logging your state of mind to Apple Health. You can set up reminders and a widget on your Lock

Ultraprocessed food and how to avoid it

I recently read a book called Ultraprocessed People and I’ve been telling almost everyone I know about it ever since.

Ultraprocessed Food, or “UPF”, has been in the news for some time, and it may induce a yawn for you to hear more about it.

But reading the book has enabled me to go deeper on the topic than the news headlines. I’m no longer just curious about UPF, I have genuinely changed my outlook and approach to nutrition as a result of what I’ve learned.

A short summary of ultraprocessed food

Over the last 100 years, we have grown to become inundated with “food” that is made up of stuff nothing like the raw ingredients we would find in our kitchens.

The situation has reached a point where it’s hard to go a single meal without consuming something that’s the output of a system focused on mass production, high profit margins, aggressive marketing, and crucially, of low nutritional value.

Most UPF is not truly “food” in the sense that our bodies can’t always fully understand it. UPF is often engineered to give a quick hit of taste, appealing to our senses thus encouraging us to crave that hit time and time again (see: Pringles, and their tagline “once you pop you just can’t stop).

It’s this way because most companies prioritise profit and growth over everything else. Why does shop-bought ice cream have bacterial slime in it? To help it keep its structure and stop melting so easily during transit between distribution centres, supermarkets, and our own homes. I.e. to optimise the supply chain.

The book is pretty clear: UPF is bad for you! But if you want, you can find ways to disprove that. And there are many vested interests (every large name in food manufacturing) to seed as much doubt as possible into this notion.

If you want a healthy diet, eat a variety of lots of plants, cook your own meals from scratch, and minimise eating Ultraprocessed food.

As far as I’m concerned, there are few things more important for health than what we choose to consume. Changing your diet (not just going on a diet) can have tremendous consequences for your health.

Beyond ourselves, though, the consequences of us reducing UPF consumption seem to be extensive: healthier diets, reduced demand on our health service, less packaging, less litter, a more sustainable approach to farming, and more.

Here are a few other takeaways from the book.

Cooking at home

If you’ve been following my recent posts, you might remember I’ve also been paying closer attention to my spending habits.

UPF can be cheaper than “proper food” sometimes, but the tradeoffs generally aren’t worth it. All in all I’ve found it hard to eat more cheaply and healthily than eating at home and cooking your own food.

Fortunately I love cooking. I haven’t always been into cooking, but I’ve

Strict evenings, early mornings

After acquiring an old-school alarm clock, this week I’ve been paying close attention to my routine.

I’ve never truly been a morning person.

But lately, due in part to having more on my plate (a dog to walk, a partner to look after, and a lack of hot water) I’ve been finding I desperately need more hours in the day.

What I was forgetting was that my evening hours were not well spent. After a long day I’m often tired and lacking motivation. All I really want to do is chill, put my feet up, and watch Slow Horses (or some sort of TV show that is far more trashy!)

My routine was stacked against me: hope (and fail) to do productive, valuable tasks at the end of the day, end up spending too long watching nonsense (aside from Slow Horses — it’s anything but), and then look at my phone and realise I should be in bed… Then end up getting drawn into my phone and realising I should have been in bed an hour ago.

Strict evenings

So I’ve made my evenings stricter. Earlier dinner, less TV, and then as little screen time as possible.

What’s really helped is deliberately putting my phone in another room to where I sleep. I completely removed my charger from the bedroom to avoid having any excuse for bringing my phone to bed.

Bedtime is now a deliberate cut off from screen time.

It’s just me and my alarm clock. And my partner too, I guess!

Calm mornings

What I’ve started to find, after a few weeks, is nothing short of a miracle: I’m actually starting to wake up earlier!

What I love about my mornings now is the tranquility of being awake when no one else is.

No sounds, no chaos, no tasks, no emails.

Just me and my thoughts.

I’m finding I have an hour or more most mornings where I can think, review, reflect, and ponder. I can wander aimlessly in my mind. I can wonder, too.

I’m realising how desperately my mind needed this space to breathe.

Here’s to a calm week ahead.

Other things

  • Brad Pitt and George Clooney in the south of France discussing their careers.
  • What is Founder Mode? Paul Graham of Y Combinator shared an essay outlining how the founder of AirBnB runs differently to most conventional organisations led by managers.
  • After the elation of achieving a milestone with my running last week, I was in awe of someone else this Saturday. I witnessed a blind runner with a guide, and saw how they sped around 5km at the same time as me. There are no limits but those we set ourselves.
  • Perhaps soon your emails might have an expiry date?

Quote

"The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up." — Paul Valery (a French poet)

Gratitude for normality — Weekly Review

My partner had an operation on her foot this week and it means she can’t walk on it for a few weeks. She’s on crutches and resting up, and otherwise doing well.

It’s incredibly easy to take one’s regular routine, limbs, and life for granted.

I’m often curious and hungry for the next thing, to do more, explore more, achieve more. But this week has been a good reminder to reflect on what I have, and what bliss normality looks like.

It’s easy to forget how helpful two working legs and feet are until you see a loved one suddenly having to operate normal life without them.

My partner and I, to a lesser extent, have experienced a change to our routines. Because my partner has been less mobile, her parents visited for the week to help us both out.

Having in-laws stay has been helpful for many reasons, but it has also been a good reminder of how much I appreciate my own space. It’s also been an insight into how different people have different habits, lifestyles, schedules, and more.

There’s an old joke that I was reminded of: What’s the difference between in-laws and outlaws? Outlaws are wanted!

But, joking aside, I have been feeling very fortunate this week to be surrounded by such a wonderful group of people in my life — family, friends, and colleagues.

Here's to normality resuming soon.

A few other notes

  • We got the team together on a boat in London for our summer social. It was so much fun, even if it was windy and not-at-all like summer.
  • Fred Again at Reading — really cool, fun DJ set with a huge crowd having a great time.
  • How did Roman aqueducts work? I stumbled upon this explainer and it's incredible how precise the engineering was.
  • I bought an alarm clock to discourage me from bringing my phone to bed with me. Let’s see how I fair with my evening and morning routine now…

Quote

“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” — Pablo Picasso

A week in Scotland, climbing mountains, and what it takes to make it as a comedian — Weekly Roundup

I’ve been in Scotland this week and, despite having a few days away from my laptop, it’s been busy.

I climbed a Munro — a Scottish mountain that’s at least 3,000 feet high.

I’d never have dreamt of tackling this just a few years ago — why climb a steep hill just to come back down the other side?

It’s a question I was pondering while stumbling up, plodding one foot after the other, being battered by high winds and chilling rain.

The rationale hit me after we reached the top and made our way back to the base. It feels great to accomplish something difficult.

Knowing I had managed to climb to the top of Ben Lawers, the 10th highest Munro, and knowing I had exerted all my energy to get there… it felt good.

Sometimes, doing something hard, no matter how useful, is a reward in itself.

A few other things from the week:

  • A wonderfully practical article on how to grow a newsletter from zero.
  • I spent some time at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. Here are a few jokes from this year to keep you entertained.
  • Every time I go to the Fringe I’m reminded of how hard it is for anyone to break into the comedy world. You need to be funny, and confident in front of a crowd, you need to be a marketer, a sales person, and you need to invest huge amounts of time and money to have a shot at building an audience.
  • We’re already wrapping up series 5 of the EcoSend Podcast. I loved this episode with Michelle Miles on how to make weddings more sustainable.
  • I’ve posted a bunch more of the back catalogue of episodes of Lost + Founder on YouTube.

A quote for the week ahead

“Often it isn’t the mountains ahead that wear you out, it’s the little pebble in your shoe.” — Muhammad Ali

A few things I learned this week

A handful of things I learned in the last week:

  • Carpetright was taken (back) over by its original founder, Lord Philip Harris who grew up in Peckham near where I live. He started with a market stall in Peckham, and built it up over time to become the most successful carpet retailer in the U.K. The story of the takeover and Lord Harris’s empire is outlined in The Times. It’s also available to Apple News+ subscribers.
  • By switching to using a compostable toilet you can save 27,000 litres of fresh clean drinking water per year.
  • I was on the “Can marketing save the world?” Podcast talking about EcoSend and responsible email marketing.
  • Nestle built a supermarket on a barge to sell confectionary to communities along the Amazon river. Years on, these local communities have experienced greater rates of obesity as locals began to prefer processed foods over their native diet. I learned this while reading the truly life-changing book: Ultraprocessed.
  • The Olympic opening ceremony for the Paris 2024 games happened on Friday. Despite many dismissive reports of the ceremony, I thought it was full of incredible moments. The Eiffel Tower looked stunning, and I have no idea how they have achieved the floating balloon for the Olympic cauldron!

A quote for the week ahead

"If you want to kill any idea in the world, get a committee working on it."

— Charles Kettering (an American inventor and the holder of 186 patents)

The Apple Watch Ultra: a review after 9 months

I’ve owned an Apple Watch since day one.

I started with the Apple Watch stainless steel model, now known as “Series 0” because it was before they started referring to the models with this convention.

I have loved my Apple Watch ever since, with a borderline obsession for my activity rings, and admiration for the quality of the overall ecosystem, from iPhone and Mac interconnectivity, to beautifully crafted bands, to an elegant charger.

Over time, my desire to work out with Apple Watch has grown, to the point where I purchased an Apple Watch Sport to help me with training for long distance running. I always felt conflicted with the Sport — compared to my original Apple Watch it was far less of a fashion item, eschewing polished stainless steel for aluminium. Yet the Sport was great for running and workouts. I used it until the battery started to struggle to get through a full day.

I held off buying a new Apple Watch until last year, when Apple unveiled its new round of devices. Last year was undeniably a very minor upgrade in the history of incremental upgrades across all models. For the Ultra, aside from the new double-tap gesture (supposedly enabled by the new chip inside), and a new watch face, the 2023 model was identical in terms of functionality to the original model released the year prior.

Ultra or not?

I knew it was time for a new Apple Watch, but which one? I missed the stainless steel beauty of my original, but I had no intention of cutting down on my exercise. If anything, I wanted to be increasing my physical fitness with new, tougher workouts.

Apple Watch Studio at Apple Battersea

I went to one of the many local Apple Stores in London — the Battersea store, and was thrilled to find they have an Apple Watch Studio. It’s an area of the store dedicated to trying on different models and bands, with staff available to help walk through the different options. It’s more like going into a high end jewellery store than a gadget shop.

I had looked online at the different options for hours on end. But it was only when I got to the store that it hit me — the stainless steel Watch was no match for the Ultra. The steel model looked more like a piece of jewellery, especially the smaller model that I had been accustom to. The Ultra, on the other hand, felt like a tool. A beautifully crafted tool of course, but it had a tactility that reinforced my intentions for the device — to help me get things done and push myself. Just looking at it made me want to go climb up a mountain!

What made the Ultra even easier to decide on was the surrounding body of the watch. It had a glint in the light, a slight shine, around the bezel of the display, which I hadn’t noticed before. It struck

An interview on the Misfit Founders podcast

The incredibly generous and supportive Biro Florin recently invited me on his show Misfit Founders.

The show was filmed in his beautiful house in Brighton, UK, and we chatted about building a SaaS business, and a whole lot more.

It's the first time I've spoken at length about our work on EcoSend and how GoSquared fits into a bigger picture more than ever.

It's a very long show (the best part of two hours!) so if you have the time, I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you Biro, for inviting me on, and helping to set my life goals for a podcasting setup like yours!

Reflect, recharge, and go

By the end of 2022 I was feeling exhausted. I desperately needed a break.

I'm uncertain if I really got a considerable break over Christmas — we hosted Christmas at our house for the first time, I cooked for eight people, and we headed up to Scotland for New Year celebrations.

It was fun, but it wasn’t entirely relaxing.

It was different, though — different to the usual schedule of work, the usual stress and the usual ups and downs of a working week.

Critically, I managed to reflect on 2022, and I spent some time thinking about 2023.

I’ve started January of this year with a few intentions:

  • Don’t eat meat (at least for January)
  • Exercise daily
  • Get to bed by 10pm
  • Wake up before 7am

We’ll have to check in on these as February rolls around, let alone January 2024. But I have intentions and I am feeling positive about all of them so far.

Upon further reflection though, I know I am guilty of a cycle — every January, I feel re-energised, I start afresh, I have great intentions, and I carry them out. I’ve even written on this blog about them (often I write when my energy is highest, too):

Perhaps my more profound realisation heading into 2023 is that even the greatest of intentions can be weighed down and held back — by external forces, by lack of energy, by drifting without realising.

Why don't I have any intentions as September rolls around? Why did my writing, my exercise, my routine fall off mid-to-late last year? Why does that happen almost every year?

In 2023, my most important intention is to not wait until December to reflect, recharge, and reassess myself.

There is too much I want to achieve in this life to let a month slip by.

I will take more time to check in with myself, to reflect on how I’m feeling, how I’m spending my time, and to recharge my batteries to make every day count.

Here’s to a fulfilling 2023.

Episode 14 of Lost and Founder — The January Blues

In my first episode of Lost and Founder of 2022, I talk about how I’m getting through the darkest month of the year, and why January can actually be a great time reflect, reset, and build a stronger you for the year ahead.

I always find January a tough month — all the fun and excitement of Christmas and new years is over, the weather is awful, it’s dark outside, and to top it all off we’re still in the midst of a global pandemic.

But fear not, there’s a world of opportunity out there! I’m spending some time at the start of January to reflect on 2021. I’m not setting myself huge audacious goals because I don’t know what the future holds, and I know the chances of success are low unless I use my previous experience to inform my future actions.

Don’t get caught up in all the “new year, new you” nonsense — be careful what you read on social media! Instead, look at yourself, spend time reflecting on your own successes and where things could have gone better, and use that to channel your next steps as you enter the new year.

Actions / take aways

  • Go easy on yourself — the last two years have been hard on all of us.
  • It’s never too late to reflect — if you haven’t already, you still have time to reflect on 2021.
  • You don’t have to make new years resolutions — instead get clearer on your values.
  • If you are clear on your values, channel your thinking around small habits you can adopt day by day rather than setting huge unwieldy goals.
  • Give yourself something to look forward to at the end of January — like a trip to somewhere you like, a gift to yourself, or some other treat.

Thanks, and see you next time!

Music: Jakarta by Bonsaye. Podcast hosting: Transistor.

Building a long lasting startup – interview with Biro Florin and yours truly

Building a Long Lasting Startup

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by prolific podcaster, entrepreneur, and all-round lovely guy Biro Florin this week on the The Startup Corner.

We spoke about how GoSquared got started, why a healthy dose of naivety can be an asset, and how raising money ideally needs to start with asking yourself a big, deep question. Plus a whole lot more.

If you have a spare moment in your day I'd encourage you to check out the show – Biro is a fantastic host and presenter, and a real pro when it comes to producing a quality podcast in record time.

View the show on YouTube

Episode 11 of Lost and Founder — What to do when Everything Breaks

After a brief hiatus, I'm back for the eleventh episode of Lost and Founder.

This week I share why it's so important to take a break, to rest, and recharge your batteries.

I’ve spoken a lot about habits and healthy routines on the podcast in previous episodes, but this week I wanted to change the focus to what happens when you fall out of touch with those routines and start to feel overwhelmed.

It's so important to give yourself time to rest and recharge — it's only by pausing you can truly reset and move forward stronger.

As the renowned street artist Banksy once said: "Learn to rest, not to quit."

Actions / take aways

  • Find ways to check in with yourself to understand how you're feeling.
  • If you feel you're overwhelmed or struggling, don't be afraid to pause and rest.
  • Every so often a reset is what you need — take the time you need to get back on track.
  • You might not need a holiday — sometimes just a day to yourself can help.
  • If you've been stuck in the same surroundings, try getting into a different environment — a coffee shop works for me.

Thanks, and see you next time!

Music: Jakarta by Bonsaye. Podcast hosting: Transistor.

Episode 10 of Lost and Founder — Time Management

We've reached the considerable milestone of episode 10 of Lost and Founder — thank you, dear listener!

In this episode, I talk through what I have learned about time management — from how I’ve been using my calendar instead of a to-do list, to the importance of making time for reflection each week.

I hope you enjoy the show — even if I say so myself, I felt like this was a good one.

“The secret to doing good research is to always be a little underemployed; you waste years by not being able to waste hours.” — Amos Tversky

Actions and take aways

  • Take time each week to reflect, and map your time. Book in 15 minutes this week.
  • Try using a calendar instead of your to-do list to plan your tasks.
  • Keep meetings to fixed days in the week — like Mondays and Tuesdays, to free up your other days for deeper work.
  • Wrap up meetings with 5-minute breaks in between to refresh and re-energise.
  • Close your email and only open it at fixed times in the day.
  • Enable "Do Not Disturb" on your devices.
  • Don’t be afraid to pause, and make time for you. You can’t spend every waking hour being productive — you will eventually crash.
  • We each have different limits — so try to find what works best for you.

Thanks, and see you next time!

Music: Jakarta by Bonsaye. Podcast hosting: Transistor.

Episode 9 of Lost and Founder — Finding Focus, Writing, and Habits

In episode 9 of the Lost and Founder podcast, I share why it's so hard to find and regain focus in a business and how I'm working to address it.

I also explain how writing helps me break down complex topics, and revisit some of the habits I've been working on over the last few weeks.

Focus

  • It's really hard to gain once you lose it as a business.
  • Loss aversion can hold you back from making the right decisions.
  • You often lose focus for good reasons — regaining it can cause people to be short-term frustrated. Difficult transition, but the long-term benefits are almost always worthwhile.
  • Not everyone will be happy in the short-term, and that’s OK — as long as you take their feedback onboard, understand it and address it as best you can.
  • Focus is hard!

Writing to learn

  • How Ulysses (a writing app) has helped me achieve my goal of writing 200 words a day.
  • Writing helps me understand topics better.
  • Writing forces me to learn — if I want to teach and share with others I need to understand the subject better.

Habits

  • Skipping — not done enough in the last few weeks, despite feeling great when I was doing it. My goal is now to aim to do a shorter time skipping and bake it into my routine.
  • Writing — going well. Writing 200 words a day, thanks to encouragement from Ulysses.
  • Blocking time in my calendar, instead of using a to-do list — has changed a lot about my approach to time management.

Actions / take aways

  • Focus is about saying no to really good ideas.
  • Be clear on what you want, and what your priorities are — so spend time on those.
  • Don’t be afraid to take time out to get clear on what is important to you.
  • Challenging topic you're struggling to understand? Try to write it down. Scribble it, type it, and you’ll likely find it helps you clarify your thinking.
  • Try breaking down your habits into the smallest possible activity. Don’t give up.

Thanks, and see you next time!

Music: Jakarta by Bonsaye Podcast hosting: Transistor

Episode 7 of Lost and Founder – Ask Me Anything (AMA) Special

In this special episode of the Lost and Founder podcast I share my answers to three questions I received when doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything) with the Software as a Service community on Reddit this week.

It's hard to scale down an hour long conversation, followed by an evening of written Q&A on Reddit into a 20 minute show, but I tried.

In this episode I have experimented with a different format – with three questions from the AMA, and a summary of my answers. I hope you enjoy the episode!

I share my answers to these three questions:

  • How has working with the team changed over the years?
  • How have we managed to get publicity for GoSquared over the years?
  • What advice would I give to my 20 year old self?

Actions / take aways

As I have been doing for a few weeks, I want this podcast to be increasingly valuable for listeners, so I tried to boil down the show into a few actionable takeaways:

  • As a CEO, a lot of your job is to: give direction, unblock, and communicate with your team.
  • Don't purely focus on the marketing that is measurable – take risks, experiment, be bold. Do things that are impossible to measure.
  • With your marketing – make time for responding and reacting to news-worthy events in your industry. Newsjacking is a thing!
  • Be clear with what you want from life, from your business, from your team. It will make a lot of things easier.
  • Find a coach to help you make time for yourself and clarify your thoughts. You'll be glad you did.

A few links to what I mentioned in this episode of Lost and Founder:

Thanks, and see you next time!

Episode two of Lost and Founder – strategy, tactics, and habits

Another tough week, and episode two of my new podcast, Lost and Founder.

My goal with each episode is to be open and honest, and give a side to the founder journey that often isn’t shared enough – the unglamorous, stressful, uncertain side.

Hope you enjoy the show, and thanks to everyone who tuned in for episode one and gave me feedback and support. I owe you!

Introducing the Lost and Founder Podcast

I co-founded GoSquared all the way back in 2006(!) with two of my best friends from school – Geoff and JT, and have been building, learning, failing, and winning in the world of software ever since.

Monday of this week was a rubbish day for me. I woke up frustrated, anxious, feeling deflated and not sure what to do. I almost felt like calling in sick. But instead I put my running kit on and got out for a run in the rain.

When I came back, I said "screw it" and hit record on my Mac, and spoke about what was on my mind.

Later in the evening, through the wonders of SaaS – tools like Transistor, Descript, and Epidemic Sound enabled me to take my ramblings and make them into a podcast in a few hours.

I didn't overthink this, and I know I can do better, but I started, and I hope I can continue.

Here's the show: Lost and Founder podcast

This whole thing is a bit scary – I haven't been this open or put myself personally out there much like this before. I hope you’ll like the show and join me as the journey continues.

NetNewsWire 6 – now with iCloud Sync

As I’ve written about before, NetNewsWire is one of my favourite apps, and it’s absolutely my favourite way to consume news.

NetNewsWire focuses on the content, it puts you in control, and it’s refreshingly simple and honest.

As noted by the maker himself, Brent Simmons– NetNewsWire is a Mac-assed Mac app, the same applies to the iOS and iPad apps too. They’re the definition of well crafted native software for Apple’s platforms.

Until now, though, while I’ve had NetNewsWire installed on all my devices, I’ve only ever really used it on my iPhone. That’s because I didn’t have any of the third party services set up to sync my feeds and read-status across my iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Until now...

NetNewsWire 6 introduces my most wanted feature: syncing with iCloud.

Now all my feeds are on each of my devices. When I read an article on my iPhone it’s marked as read on my iPad and my Mac. Everything’s in sync, everything’s up to date, and it all just works.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed with news – especially if you’re feeling bombarded by stories and ads and articles for things you don’t care for or want to know about – NetNewsWire is the app you’ve been looking for.

Not only is it great, it’s also free. What’s not to like?!

Get NetNewsWire on the App Store now

I ran the marathon

Today is Sunday 26th April – the date of the 2020 London Marathon. Except it's not happening today.

Last year, I ran the marathon – for the first time, and it was one of the best days of my life.

Before the memories of the day blur too much, I wanted to write them down. Perhaps someone else is thinking about taking part on this incredible day once the world returns to some form of normality.

Here's my story.

The build up

“Good luck! I’ll be watching from the pub.”

This was the first person I saw after leaving the house – a black cab driver – on my walk to East Dulwich station. What an appropriate way to start the most London of days – by bumping into someone with the most London of professions.

It was early. It was quiet. And it wasn't raining. Not hot, but also not cold. Perfect running weather.

It was eerily quiet – was it really the right day? Was this just a dream? Can I return to bed?

I had nothing but nerves. I could barely speak from the moment I woke up.

Should I drink more water?
Should I drink less?
Have I eaten enough?
Should I eat more?
I don't feel hungry! I don't want to be sick!
Will my top rub?
Will my knee hold out?
What if I trip?
Are my trainers going to be OK?
What if my timing chip doesn't work and my times don't get counted?
What if my bib number falls off?
Did I actually register everything OK?
What if I injure myself and have to pull out – my whole family are following me from the app?
Am I going to get there too early? Too late?

Once I reached the station – the platform was quiet, but a handful of other runners turned up. Clearly they've done this before. This is the correct day! This is the correct time.

When I arrived at London Bridge Station, the atmosphere became real – it was busy, despite being so early on a Sunday. People were shuffling around, following coloured flags to different platforms.

When I reached the top of the escalator up to the platform for the train to Maze Hill there were plenty of police around and lots of runners. The helicopter in the sky set me off – this is real. This is the London Marathon – and I am taking part in it.

Police were everywhere – looking after the runners, helping guide everyone to the right place. An immediate wave of positivity, of excitement, but also of collective nervousness diffused through the air.

London Bridge is where you must say goodbye to anyone you've been travelling with up until this point. You're on your own from here. I had to disconnect from the warm reassurance of Lauren. What I'd do to go and sit in a cafe and have a bacon roll right now...

The train journey vanished past, and before I knew it, we were at Maze Hill station.

The

Sticking to a routine

Since the start of the year, I’ve been sticking to a simple routine every day.

I've written about my morning routine before – and it's evolved (and become simpler) since then.

Each morning, I have a checklist of a handful of items I try to complete before the rest of my day starts.

They are:

  1. Drink a glass of water
  2. Have a shower
  3. Do 20 press-ups
  4. Write up what happened the day before

Each item is intended to be inexcusably simple to complete.

After three months, it’s becoming a habit.

I’ve found this to be incredibly helpful for starting my day well, and giving me structure at a time where most of normality has evaporated.

I have particularly enjoyed writing daily – to myself. My only wish is I had started this earlier.

I long for the future where I can read my diary entries from this time and be grateful it’s over.

NetNewsWire – Just the news you want, and nothing you don’t

NetNewWire icon
There’s never been a better time to get back into RSS. – John Gruber

I recently started using NetNewsWire on both my Mac and my iPhone to consume news via RSS feeds.

I made the change just before everything kicked off and the world got turned upside down, but it’s proved to be good timing.

I had previously been using Apple News to both keep up to date with the wider world, as well as follow specific sites.

But right now I can’t take it – the sensationalist headlines, the click bait, the fear mongering. I don’t need more of that in my life.

RSS isn’t a new technology, but it’s making yet another resurgence, and for me it’s because of one app – NetNewsWire.

NetNewsWire – the beautifully simple RSS reader for iOS and Mac

NetNewsWire for macOS
NetNewsWire shows you articles from your favourite blogs and news sites — and keeps track of what you’ve read.

It’s like podcasts, but for reading.

If you’ve been going from page to page in your browser looking for new articles to read, let NetNewsWire bring them to you instead.

NetNewsWire is free for both platforms, and it’s open source. Don’t be fooled by the term “open source” – it can often be misconstrued as synonymous for “designed by developers and decided by committee”, but that couldn't be further from the truth here.

NetNewsWire is an unbelievably great piece of software – opinionated , fast, light, accessible, and beautiful, and it’s unapologetically native. [1]

It’s apps like NetNewsWire that make me want to learn to code – to think that one day I could build something as great as this.

If you’re looking for some serenity in your news reading habits, and you’ve got an iPhone or a Mac, I implore you to go check it out.

Learn more about NetNewsWire

  1. Opinionated software tends to trump "please everyone" software – especially when you agree with the opinions of the decision maker. Brent Simmons, the creator of NetNewsWire has a fantastic blog where he shares his thought processes for many decisions he makes in bringing this wonderful app to life. ↩︎

Remote possibility

I'm not sure what the future holds, and I very much hope we can get through the Coronavirus pandemic as quickly as possible. I long for the world to return to normal soon.

As with many companies, we are transitioning to remote working at GoSquared from this week onwards.

When we first started working on GoSquared, we were all at school. We used to design and code away from our homes, communicating primarily through Google Chat.

We used to catch up at school, but while building interfaces, writing code, and inventing copy, we'd each be at home, focused obsessively on building something great.

It was only when we started to "grow up" that we moved to London and got together in an office. It felt like the proper thing to do – what big company doesn't have a head office? We were excited.

And things stayed that way – we've been based in London with one central location for almost a decade.

We've hired remote team members, and built experience of working with people all over the world.

But now, it's all changing – we're all going remote.

It's going to be different. It's going to be new. Some things are going to break. But I am excited for what will be better.

I’m intrigued about a few areas where my life will be different – one area in particular that excites me is getting two hours of my day back.

My commute

My normal commute is approximately an hour door-to-door.

What can I do with an extra two hours in my day? I can use this for work, for pleasure, for fitness, or for something totally new.

A few ways I'm contemplating making use of my extra two hours a day:

  • Running – will a run to start my day transform my energy levels? Will a run at the end of the day be a perfect way to separate my working day from my evening?
  • Sleeping – will an extra 30-60 minutes in bed change my focus and energy throughout the day?
  • Eating properly – more time to cook, to use fresh ingredients, to plan my meals.
  • Writing – distraction free time to focus on writing.
  • Drawing – time to draw and sketch at the end of the day.
  • Reading – an opportunity to read an extra chapter, or consume another blog post at the start of my day.

The next few weeks and months are going to be challenging for everyone – but I hope there are many positives we can take from the ordeal we face.

Create better. Consume better.

Last year, my goal was to create more, and consume less.

Every year, the pressure to outline dramatic resolutions mounts as January looms.

But every year I grow older, and hopefully a little wiser, and this time I’m not throwing out my previous resolutions, I’m just evolving them.

Consume better

I feel extremely fortunate to be in a position where I can choose what to buy and where I buy it from.

In the last few years I’ve grown increasingly aware that I can vote with my wallet and choose to actively seek out the shops I want to support, the products I want to buy, and to actively choose to avoid the businesses I don’t agree with.

This year, I intend to focus on this further – rather than just consuming less – less meat, less alcohol, less plastic, less electricity – I also want to ensure the meat, alcohol, products, and energy I consume are better.

Better for me, better for the environment, better for everyone involved.

Create better

Last year I tried creating more.

Creating more certainly helps you build habits, and it helps you maintain your craft.

But I couldn’t bring myself to meet the schedule I set to myself – I found myself creating just to hit a self-prescribed goal. Perhaps I aimed to aggressively – trying to write something new on a daily basis for a few weeks.

I’m done with creating in quantity for now. I want to focus more on quality – on deeper thought, on more unique writing, art, and design.

This year I want to create more, but not too much more. What I really want to do is create better.

Stop comparing

“Comparison is the thief of joy.” – Theodore Roosevelt

The above quote rings more and more true the longer I'm on this planet for.

So much of our culture, and our social interactions involves comparing ourselves to others.

You can use this comparison to motivate you, but too much of the time it seems to cause dramatically more negative consequences.

“Keeping up with the Joneses” isn’t just a challenge, it’s an uninspiring goal. Stop comparing yourself to those around you, and start comparing yourself to where you want to be.

Focus on your own goals and let them drown out the voices in your head telling you to “level up” against those around you.