September 2019 Summaries

Flying a plane requires not only physical skills but also psychological aspects, including managing attention and multitasking in a complex system where mistakes can be fatal. Pilots learn to prioritize attention as a limited resource, similar to money in a bank account, and must manage their focus on various tasks to avoid errors. Airplane cockpits are designed to reduce pilots' cognitive workload by minimizing the potential for mismanaged attention, mirroring principles that can be applied to other industries and roles to minimize cognitive load for users. Key strategies include maximizing signal-to-noise ratio and relying on patterns of behavior users already know and understand.

I used to be a freelance journalist, writing about technology for sites like Digital Trends and How-to Geek, but I found the flexibility of freelancing limited by the hassle of tracking articles for invoicing. To automate this process, I identified my author page on each site and extracted the RSS feed from it, then fed these feeds into a spreadsheet to create a list for invoicing at the end of each month. To set up this automation, one must first find an author's RSS feed for the website they write for by locating their author page and extracting the RSS feed URL. This can be done using various methods depending on the site, including adding `/feed` to the author page URL or asking someone at the site for the RSS feed URL. Once the RSS feeds are obtained, they can be connected to a Google spreadsheet using Zapier, allowing for automatic compilation of articles into one place. This setup enables freelancers to spend less time compiling invoices and more time researching and writing their next article. The automation process can be repeated for multiple sites, with options to use various tools such as Trello or Evernote to collect articles in a way that makes it easiest for the individual.

You can automate the posting of Facebook posts on LinkedIn using Zapier, which allows you to connect your Facebook Page or Pages to your personal or company LinkedIn page without manually copying and pasting posts. To set up this automation, you'll need to create a Zapier profile, log into your Facebook and LinkedIn accounts, and choose which posts to publish and who should see them. This process can be repeated for multiple Facebook Pages and company pages, with the added requirement of being an administrator for the company page. Once set up, new posts on your Facebook Page will automatically show up on LinkedIn.

A salesperson's primary challenge is differentiating their business from competitors and providing value to customers, rather than just selling a product. To achieve this, one must conduct a competitive analysis, develop a niche, understand the buyer's needs and goals, and create a personalized proposal that addresses these challenges. The "always be helping" philosophy is crucial in building trust with potential customers, and social proof such as case studies, testimonials, and references can also play a significant role in establishing credibility. A well-structured discovery process, including a pre-discovery prep, call, and follow-up, is essential to understand the customer's needs and provide tailored solutions. By presenting a clear proposal, asking relevant questions, and following up with potential customers, salespeople can increase their chances of closing deals and building long-term relationships.

You can find every time your website is linked to on Reddit by using the Reddit domain page and RSS feed, which can be accessed by typing https://www.reddit.com/domain/ followed by your website's URL, then adding .rss to the end of it. This allows you to get notified about Reddit mentions in any app using Zapier, a service that connects applications to each other with custom automations, by sending Google Alerts to thousands of apps.

Modern journalism is a process of sifting through large amounts of information to find relevant and interesting tidbits. Ideally, all useful information should be collected in one place, like an idea bucket, allowing easy reference when writing. Automation tools like Zapier can help achieve this by automating the curation process without requiring extensive programming knowledge. Journalists can set up rules, or "Zaps," to send relevant information from various apps and services to a central repository. This enables them to save Twitter favorites, starred emails, Slack messages, Feedly articles, and even website URLs in one place, making it easier to filter out irrelevant information and focus on the most promising leads.

The author reflects on the past when computers were used as tools, not distractions, and how this mindset can be applied to modern computing. The key points include planning what you want to do with your computer, using time tracking apps or simple reminders to stay focused, disconnecting from the internet when needed, using fullscreen mode to minimize distractions, and approaching devices as tools for a specific job rather than general entertainment.

A person is trying to manage their workload by limiting the time spent on writing emails, suggesting a "five-minute rule" for writing work emails and offering suggestions for how to implement it, such as not being a jerk in emails, using canned responses, and ditching email chains. The goal is to reduce productivity-destroying email habits and free up time for more important tasks.