Blog Introduction
Greetings and Salutations! (did you catch the Heathers reference?).
My name is Stephen L. Orsborn. I’m a music therapist, music educator, teacher of the visually impaired, and I also go by “Namu, The Warrior Musician.” You can check out that part of my life here.
While I am all of these things, I am also a technophile. I love my digital life!
I’m not referring to my social media existence.
I’m talking about all the ways technology enhances my day to day life.
I’m talking about the HomeKit automations that turn on my houselights and night and adjusts the thermostat based on who is home (or not home).
I’m speaking of my iPhone being a hub for photo and video creation, monitoring my blood sugar, and my blood pressure.
I’m thinking about apps like OmniFocus, which I’ve used for years to keep track of my fleeting thoughts, and to increase my productivity.
Systems, intricately designed to keep me on track and working (and playing) effectively.
You see, I have a neurodiverse brain.
For those that may be unfamiliar with such language, it simply means that my brain does not function the way most brains do.
I have ADHD. I was diagnosed as an adult, and have had to learn how to keep my life moving forward.
Digital tools have been HUGELY successful in helping me along this life’s journey.
But…
I fell into some traps.
I think a lot of people fall into similar traps.
Not long ago, I realized my OmniFocus Inbox had over 700 items in it.
OmniFocus is built around David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” system.
For those of you familiar with it, 700 unprocessed items in the Inbox may seem shocking! The Inbox is designed to be a temporary collection point of data, to be processed and assigned contexts and project names. Some of those 700 items dated back to 2014, when I first started using OmniFocus.
Definitely NOT an efficient way to use the system.
Several months ago, I was catching up on past episodes of one of my favorite podcasts, Focused.
I remember Episode 107 The Bullet Journal Method, with Ryder Carroll really made an impression on me. For years I had heard about the Bullet Journal method, or “bujo” and it is sometimes referred to, and I’d never really given it much thought.
“Yeah, sure…another way to journal…I’ve been journalling since I was in elementary school…what’s the big deal?”
My mind was BLOWN during this podcast episode. I was hooked!
I immediately started learning about HOW to bullet journal, and WHY to bullet journal.
It changed my life.
Same podcast, different episode, the hosts were talking about their preferred writing instruments, and nibs with special grinds…ugh! Too much!
What’s the big deal? Pens, are pens, right? Fountain pens? Sounds like a lot of work.
They were talking about The Pen Addict podcast, which I’d heard about for years, but never paid any attention to.
I decided to see what all the fuss was about, so I downloaded the current episode of The Pen Addict and listened.
Again, I was hooked.
More details in future posts.
Now, here I stand at the intersection of my digital life and my analog life.
I’ve realized that for my own systems to work best, I need to use a combination of digital and analog tools.
That is what this blog is about. How the digital and analog worlds have come together in my life.
I anticipate doing some product reviews, system reviews, and sharing hybrid systems that I have pieced together that work well for me (and sometimes that DON’T work so well for me).
I also want to share my love for handwritten things, the tools I’m using, and why I choose them.
So set a reminder in your calendar app of choice, and slow down just a bit to join me on this journey of The Handwritten Technophile.
Welcome!