A Better Way to Copy/Paste, 100-Day Habit Tracker, and Using Your Phone in Cars Without Feeling Sick
Tips, hacks, and tools for a more streamlined, productive, and meaningful life.
Hey, it’s Ben. Before we jump in, a quick poll: Would you like to receive this newsletter more often?
1️⃣ Yes: Every Week
2️⃣ Yes: Every Two Weeks
3️⃣ No: Stick to Once a Month
Thanks! Ok, let’s dive in.
Earlier this month, I spent a week without my phone. I turned it off, put it away, and went on with my life.
I still had to use my laptop for work, so I blocked social media, e-commerce, and news sites with 1Focus. And I left my laptop at work. (I usually bring it home with me.)
It was wonderful.
Without TV, video games, or social media, I had sooo much time on my hands.
But the first few days were challenging. I wasn’t sure what to do with my time. I would work out, shower, cook, and eat—all before 8 p.m.
On any other day, I’d have turned on the TV or opened my laptop.
In fact, I was craving Netflix. My brain would go: “Hey, there’s a new episode of The Penguin out. C’mon, we’ve got to know what happened.”
But this was exactly what I had signed up for: boredom.
Eventually, I got creative with my time.
I journaled. Cooked things I’d never cooked before. Did crosswords and sudokus at the back of magazines. Opened books that’d been gathering dust on my bookshelf.
When my girlfriend got home from work, we would talk. And I would listen—like really listen. (She told me later how much she enjoyed the conversations we had that week. I was more attentive. She felt more connected.)
There were a few times when having a phone would have been helpful, but I never felt limited in what I could or could not do without it.
Were people frustrated they couldn’t reach me? A little. But a week off the grid is too short to truly upset or worry anyone—at least in my world.
It was such a helpful experience that I’ve decided to do Monk Week once a quarter. If you’d like to join the next one in February, you can sign up here.
Help a friend: forward this email to someone who is always on their phone.
Everything Else I'm Experimenting With
✂️ Clipboard Managers: My friend couldn’t believe this existed. Clipboard managers make copy/paste faster and easier. No need to jump between windows over and over. Copy what you need, then paste it all at once, in any order. It saves so much time. I use Pastebot, but PastePal is great too. I use Pastebot but there is also PastePal and many others. If you use Windows, Ditto seems to be a popular option.
🗓️ Tidycal: TidyCal is a clean and simple scheduling app I’ve started using instead of Calendly. Calendly costs $10/month, but TidyCal offers a one-time payment of $39 (currently discounted from $144). You pay once and get lifetime access with all features included. It lets you set unlimited meeting types, accept payments via Stripe and PayPal, create Zoom links automatically, and sync with Google and Outlook calendars. Get Tidycal here.
✅ The Law of 100 — The Law of 100 is a healthy way to build habits. I learned it from Noah Kagan, author of Million Dollar Weekend. In the book, he writes:
“Whatever you put yourself to, do it 100 times before you even THINK of stopping. This stops you from succumbing to what Seth Godin calls ‘the dip,’ the moment in a long slog between starting and when mastery sets in where you start hating the work and you want to quit.”
If you’d like to give it a go, I’ve created a free template you can print to track 100 reps of any habit you’d like.
😵💫 Vehicle Motion Cues: If you get carsick looking at your phone, you’ll love this new iPhone feature. Vehicle Motion Cues shows small dots on your screen that move with the car—like a right turn makes the dots shift left. I’ve tried it, and it works. I can finally get things done on my phone on long rides without feeling sick. To turn it on, go to Settings > Accessibility > Motion > Show Vehicle Motion Cues. From Apple: Use iPhone more comfortably while riding in a vehicle