December 2016 Summaries

**Computers help us be more productive but are also a source of distraction. Traditional approaches to minimizing distractions, such as hiding the dock or taskbar and working in full-screen mode, can help maintain focus while still staying informed of important details. Simplifying app menus and hiding unnecessary features can also reduce distractions. Hiding other distracting apps and being selective about notifications can further minimize distractions. Tracking productivity with tools like RescueTime can provide insights into time usage and help identify areas for improvement. By taming software defaults and minimizing distractions, individuals can improve their focus and increase productivity.

Around four years ago, Ryan Seys, a college student, embarked on a 30-day GitHub streak challenge to commit code daily, inspired by a friend's suggestion. Although his friend lasted only a week, Ryan extended his streak to 177 days, which helped him secure a Mozilla internship and deepen his understanding of GitHub. GitHub streaks, visualized in a contribution graph, can serve as a personal motivation tool, though GitHub has since removed the public display feature due to concerns about burnout and the potential for cheating through fake commit dates. Despite differing opinions on the value of streaks, many, like Erik Michaels-Ober, find intrinsic satisfaction in the routine of daily coding, as it enhances skills and provides a sense of achievement. The personal nature of streaks allows individuals to set their own rules, such as taking breaks or defining what counts as a contribution, making the process flexible and adaptable to personal goals. Users can track their streaks using browser extensions or personal systems, and some developers have even automated reminders to help maintain their commitment.

In today's noisy world, finding a quiet space to focus and concentrate can be challenging. However, ambient background noise has been scientifically proven to improve concentration and creativity, even if you don't work in a loud environment. Research suggests that low-level ambient noise can increase creativity, while white noise has been shown to improve memory and concentration. White noise is the combination of all frequencies of sound humans can hear and perceived at a similar level, and it's also known as pink noise or brown noise, each with its own unique characteristics. There are many apps available that generate various types of ambient background noise, such as Binaural beats, Brain.fm, Coffitivity, myNoise, Naturespace, Noisli, Noizio, OmmWriter, Rainy Mood, and SimplyNoise, each offering a unique experience to help you focus, relax, or sleep. The best app for you will depend on your personal preferences and surroundings.

Building keystone habits is crucial for creating a ripple effect of positive changes in one's life. Keystone habits are those that have a significant impact on other areas of our lives, often changing our self-image and behavior without requiring extra effort. Examples of keystone habits include exercising regularly, cooking at home, and getting up early. To identify your own keystone habits, look for behaviors that have a ripple effect, changing your other behaviors in unexpected ways. Once you've identified your keystone habit, make it easy to stick with by planning ahead, making it tiny, and overcoming resistance. By doing so, you'll build momentum and create a new self-image that will help you perform the behavior without even thinking about it. Ultimately, building keystone habits is a long process that requires determination but yields overwhelming rewards.

The text explores the common stereotype of programmers as introverts and offers strategies for such individuals to navigate social interactions at conferences and events. It acknowledges that while introversion is prevalent in the programming community, social interactions at such gatherings can lead to valuable knowledge sharing and professional opportunities. The narrative suggests preparing talking points, researching attendees, setting personal objectives, and even using small amounts of alcohol to ease nerves as ways to manage social anxiety. It emphasizes the importance of finding comfort in social settings, such as bringing a friend, planning decompression time, and considering roles like volunteering or speaking to gain confidence. Overall, the text encourages introverts to embrace their social capabilities and leverage them to gain insights and connections, illustrating that with preparation and self-awareness, they can experience rewarding interactions at events.

Zapier's team bonding retreats are an opportunity for the remote team to interact with each other in person, sharing meals and participating in various board and card games, including Codenames, Mafia/Werewolf, Spyfall, Coup, Two Rooms and a Boom, Snatch-It, and Honorable Mention APIctionary. These games foster teamwork, strategic thinking, and social interaction among team members, helping to build cohesion and strengthen relationships within the company.

APIs have become essential for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications over the past decade, and developers are increasingly incorporating webhooks to meet the growing demand for instantaneous, interconnected experiences. Webhooks allow data from an API to be delivered without constantly polling for updates, thus conserving system resources and enhancing user satisfaction. This event-driven approach enables timely notifications to be sent to the right applications as changes occur, which is especially beneficial in interconnected ecosystems where multiple applications rely on shared data. Implementing webhooks involves setting up a subscription endpoint where developers can subscribe to specific events and send notifications to designated URLs. Various strategies for managing webhook notifications, including inline processing, database queues, and scalable queueing solutions like RabbitMQ or Amazon Simple Queuing Service, are discussed for their respective benefits and scalability considerations. The article emphasizes the importance of efficient queuing systems to ensure timely notifications and provides insights into the architectural decisions necessary for effective webhook implementation.

The Zapier team has published an updated report on the fastest-growing business software apps, which can help teams and professionals find the best software to use at work. The report reveals that some of the most popular new apps and APIs in 2016 include Facebook Lead Ads, Google Forms, Calendly, Basecamp 3, ConvertKit, MeisterTask, ClickFunnels, Kajabi, Excel, and Chatfuel for Facebook. These apps are growing rapidly due to their innovative features, ease of use, and ability to automate workflows. The report also highlights trends such as the rise of bots, chat everywhere, and AI-powered tools that can help teams get more done in less time. Zapier's data shows that these apps are being used by over 1.5 million professionals and have created millions of automated workflows.

I can't generate a summary based on the provided text, as it appears to be a snippet of an article title and a sign-up form. The text does not contain any relevant content that I can use to create a summary. Could you please provide more information or context about the article, such as its topic or key points? I'll be happy to help you create a neutral and interesting summary once I have more details.

Forms are a versatile tool on the web, allowing users to build anything they want with minimal effort. To accept payments in a form, all you need is a form and a payment processing service. You can use a form builder to create forms that gather customer information and accept payments, or use a payment provider's built-in form builder to make forms specifically for payments. There are many options available for form builders with payment processing services, including PayPal, Stripe, Braintree, and more. Additionally, you can use PayPal's Buy Now button to accept payments from forms that don't have a direct payment feature. With the right tools and knowledge, building effective forms is not as difficult as it may seem.

Listening is a valuable skill that can greatly benefit personal and professional success, but it's often overlooked and underappreciated. Many people struggle with truly listening when others are speaking due to their own mental energy and tendency to think three to four times faster than people speak. Good listeners ask great questions, pay attention to more than just the words being said, don't take word-for-word notes, listen with the intent to understand rather than respond, make people feel heard, follow up on key points, and practice mindfulness to become fully present and aware. By incorporating these tips into daily conversations and practicing active listening, individuals can improve their communication skills, build stronger relationships, and achieve greater success in both personal and professional settings.

APIs are crucial to modern business and software, making it essential to stay informed about their trends and developments. The text highlights eight key resources for staying updated on APIs, including blogs such as ProgrammableWeb, Nordic APIs, API Evangelist, and the Zapier Engineering Blog, each offering unique perspectives on API technology and business. ProgrammableWeb, with its extensive API directory, provides a comprehensive overview of new APIs and industry trends, while Nordic APIs focuses on the design, security, and privacy aspects of APIs. API Evangelist offers a narrative-driven approach to insights on API providers, and Zapier shares practical API development tips. To streamline the process of staying informed, the text suggests using RSS readers and Twitter feeds to aggregate content, as well as subscribing to SlideShare presentations and following thought leaders on Twitter to access diverse and polished API discussions. While keeping up with APIs can be overwhelming, the text emphasizes that integrating these resources into a routine can simplify the process and provide valuable insights into the evolving API landscape.

In many languages, including German, grammatical gender is a challenging concept for native English speakers to grasp due to the lack of conjugation in English. To overcome this hurdle, polyglot Gabriel Wyner suggests using the Mnemonic Imagery Game to memorize nouns' grammatical groups in a new language. By creating vivid and multisensory images associated with each noun's gender, learners can quickly and easily recall the correct grammatical form for that word. This technique leverages the brain's natural ability to remember images, particularly those that are violent, sexual, funny, or emotionally charged, making it an effective tool for learning and retaining language information. By applying this method consistently, learners can overcome obstacles like grammatical gender and develop a more efficient language learning process.

OmniFocus is a powerful to-do list app that helps users manage their tasks and projects using the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology. GTD aims to clear out the mind by capturing everything that needs to be done, clarifying ideas, organizing tasks, reflecting on work, and engaging in actions. OmniFocus offers various features such as projects, contexts, perspectives, and custom views to help users organize their tasks and stay productive. The app can be integrated with other apps and services using Zapier, allowing users to capture tasks from emails, documents, notes, and more. With its robust features and customization options, OmniFocus is a popular tool among individuals seeking to boost their productivity and achieve their goals.

There's a reason why movies like Office Space and shows like The Office are so popular. These comedies poke fun at what many workers have experienced firsthand: The drudgery of the 9-to-5 grind, inflexible and perhaps baffling office politics, and a workload that's dictated by others. However, we have good news for you - your best self doesn't have to be put on hold even if you don't feel like you control your workday. By taking a look at common productivity challenges and how to overcome them, you can own your productivity in the office. The key is saying no to non-essential tasks, scheduling focused time, tracking your time, blocking distractions, managing meetings, communicating with coworkers, creating extrinsic motivation, finding intrinsic motivation, and automating busywork. By implementing these strategies, you can make the most of your focus time blocks, prioritize what matters, take control of your schedule, stay focused on your tasks, manage interruptions, find music that helps you concentrate, create autonomy, pursue mastery, and discover purpose in your work.