Set up Automatic Texts and Avoid Fights With IFTTT
When we rounded up our staff’s weekly updates last Friday, our editors were cleaning up the media clutter (goodbye, six-month-old New Yorkers ), breaking our addiction to Instagram, and discovering the joys of white noise machines.
This week we’ll take ballet lessons, update our software, create original text labels, and find creative ways to keep our kids entertained.
What updates have you made this week? Let us know in the comments.
Skip barre lesson in favor of the present
I upgraded my barre class to ballet class. There is a real ballet studio in my city (Pittsburgh Ballet Theater) that offers open classes to the public. Since I recently tried barre lessons in two different studios and found them boring and repetitive, I thought I’d try the real ones instead. Ballet lessons are a lot of fun . The first half of the lesson was about practicing barre skills, which isn’t as hot / grueling training as barre, but it definitely challenges your body by letting your brain do something. Then we made some more bizarre movements on the floor (jumping, spinning). By the way, live piano music. If you don’t know the terminology, the class will be difficult to follow, so read it beforehand for best results. However, my instructor was very beginner friendly so I never felt too lost.
Beth Squarecki, health editor
Automate daily checks
Every day when I leave work, I text my partner, who usually works from home. I’ll ask if she needs anything from the outside world while I’m walking home, or what’s the deal with dinner, just in case I need to go to the grocery store for some essential ingredients. The days I forget to write to her usually coincide with the days when the refrigerator is empty, or when she wants me to grab the cider on the way home. So I used IFTTT to never forget this important text message. Using your Android device, I created a applet IFTTT, to write to her every weekday at 18:00, asking if I need something to take on the way home.
Patrick Austin, staff writer
Buy a fancy mouse
My 5-year-old Logitech G700 has finally died, so I switched to the G502 . While I’m learning to love wireless headphones, I don’t really need a wireless mouse, but I do need a heck of a lot of buttons. Not for games, but for browsing the Internet.
Nick Douglas, staff writer
Take time for the morning pages
Inspired by Jaime Green ‘s recent Lifehacker post on the Morning Pages, this week I decided to try the process. The idea is to write three pages of anything first thing in the morning to kickstart creative ideas and clear your head. Admittedly, I use it more for clearing my mind and as a de facto journal than as an appendix to any larger creative project, but so far I love it. I don’t have time to do this every day (and on some days I decided that it’s better to write a few short graphs than skip something altogether just because I don’t have time for all three pages). But I’ve found it to be a really good way to organize your thoughts and focus on yourself, even if it starts with stream of consciousness nonsense.
Virginia K. Smith, Editor-in-Chief
Create a coloring book using the Internet
It’s a simple thing, but when my four-year-old walks into my home office while I’m working, I ask her which character she likes and then google an image for ” _ coloring,” and print. When I first printed out Minnie Mouse, she was just shocked. She fled to her father, shouting: “Mom can create any character!” Now she thinks the printer is some kind of magical voodoo wonder device. The cool thing about this is that coloring makes her engage (and stay calm) for a good 20 minutes or so.
Michelle Wu, parenting editor
Get your books off the floor at last
My update this week is that I finally got a bookshelf. My books were stacked on the floor in a very bohemian manner, and their spines were starting to get tangled. They actually look much better on the shelf and now I have more floor space.
Claire Lowe, Food and Beverage Editor