How We Work (Out), 2015: Beth Skoreki’s Recommendations for Gear and Performance
Every week, we share shortcuts, workspaces, and productivity tips from our favorite experts. Today is my turn. Here are some secrets of how I work and – since these are Vitals – how I train.
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Current gig: Contributor for Lifehacker and many other places; college instructor. One word that describes how I work: all the time . Current mobile device: Moto G. I had trendier phones but all had the same life story: my kids wore it for about a year (Nexus 4 soaked in the toilet and never missed) and then when I drop it , it breaks down. So now I have a cheap 3-layer phone. So far, so good. Current computer: I have an Asus VivoBook X202E named apollo. It runs Ubuntu. Fun fact: I’ve been an exclusive Linux user since 1999.
What apps / programs / tools can’t you live without? Why?
I use Evernote because there is a constant stream of things in front of my eyes – facts, stories, ideas for articles – and I have to take some of them and attach them somewhere, otherwise I will never find them again. I like document-camera applications for “scanning” things, whether it’s forms I have to sign and submit, or pages in library books that I don’t want to check.
I write in LibreOffice and Google Docs, sometimes I work with images in GIMP , and I have a Google Keep widget on my phone home screen that’s great for keeping track of mini to-do lists, shopping lists, and other quick notes.
I really like Inbox . It is similar to regular Gmail, except that it has a “I don’t want to do this bullshit” button on it. I use this button all the time. It’s great.
I also need a notebook under my right hand while I work to write down everything that I don’t have time to sort out properly, but no room for thoughts. It’s like having extra CPU registers for my brain.
How is your workplace arranged?
I work in several different places, and the key to my minimal productivity style is that I remind myself that if I have everything I need to get the job done (usually just a laptop or even a phone as a last resort), I can get the job done. There is no perfect time or perfect place.
But I have a home office that I really like. The workplace is a simple wooden table and chair. The cleaner the table, the more confident I feel that I can do anything, conquer the world, win and do a million things. This is usually not clean. Here’s an honest picture:
Hanging over my desk is a list of Quick 50 Writing Tools from Roy Peter Clark. It has a lot of great advice, and I got it at the Science Writers Conference where Clark gave a talk that involved playing the piano and teaching us the three puppet trick. So this is also a souvenir.
Where I Workout: Shopping mall gym, roller skating rink, physical therapy center that I visit too often (I am recovering my knee from ACL surgery), and a suburban park with road treadmills and 40 miles of rocky solo path.
What’s your best time-saving shortcut / life hack?
Prioritize ruthlessly.
What’s your favorite to-do list manager?
I’m allergic to to-do lists. They might just as well be called “The Things I’m Afraid of.” I keep them very small and limit the items to those that, if I forgot to make them, would make me sit down right in the middle of the night and scream to the heavens, “Oh @ $ ## and I forgot _________ !!!”
I use Keep to post reminders of these to-do items on the home screen, my Inbox to keep track of important emails, and notebooks for anything I feel I need to write down but probably never read.
What device, besides a phone and a computer, can you not live without and why?
Since these are Vitals, we are also talking about how we train. I’m a roller derby player. (I also run and lift weights, but I consider this to be cross-training.) So, the essentials are my skates: RS-1000 boots with DA45 chunky front plates (vintage aluminum wine bottles ) made by Doc Sk8 . It doesn’t look super trendy or impressive by derby standards, but they fit perfectly and are super responsive. I love them.
As far as sneakers go, I swear by Nike Free .
What are some of your best everyday activities? What’s your secret?
I had to ask my friends to help with this. Two themes came up:
“I doubt. Nonsense challenge. “ I am skeptical about any claims, and if I am going to share them, act on them, or write about them, I will check them.
It struck me for the first time in the context of sneakers. I was trying to find the right motion control shoe for my excessive deflection foot when I read a key thing about shoe research: In the lab, you can make an excess deflection foot stop pronating by giving it motion controlled shoes. BUT, this does not mean that the person will have fewer injuries as a result; you will need to do research specifically about injury rates. (These studies have been conducted since then , and they show that shoes do not protect against injury.) So I always ask what evidence is behind something, and what exactly has been verified. I’m the guy on the train who says one cow has brown on one side .
“We Do Everything”, “Time Management”. All you need to do here is ruthlessly prioritize and plan realistically. In fact, I think I am not very good at managing time, but my friends see that I can stay at work, raise two children, devote a lot of time to roller derbies (games and work on the committee), and do crafts and hobbies. … The truth is that crafts and hobbies are serial; I have many skills, but I do not destroy them all at the same time. I knit for a month, then I draw for a month, maybe I’ll do archery while I’m resting from the derby. I’ve done a ton of things over the years, but not at the same time.
Sometimes it breaks my heart that I can not do everything at once, but this is where ruthlessness manifests itself. You have to cut things out to make room for what you love.
What do you listen to while you work?
Nothing. I can’t listen to the words while I’m trying to form words. If I really need to drown out the conversation at the next table, I’ll put something on God Is An Astronaut.
Here’s my workout playlist . It includes a queen, pitbull, meatloaf and peaches.
What are you reading now?
I love writing about science on Vox and Buzzfeed (don’t laugh, they’ve hired some serious science journalists).
Curled up in a dead tree, I recently picked out handwriting books and botanical illustrations. I don’t really like botany, but I like the idea of scientific illustration, and plants are easy to find. (The first exercise in one of these books is to draw an apple.)
I also read with your child the book ” How to Train Your Dragon” . They don’t look like a movie: in the books, dragon training is an ancient rite of passage for the Vikings. The dragon of our hero Toothless is the smallest and weakest of all, and in fact he has no teeth. The stories are written at a good pace and the illustrations are hilarious, although the books suffer from an unusually serious problem with smurfettes and would not have passed the Bechdel test if studied for a month.
Are you more of an introvert or an extrovert?
I’m not sure if thisdistinction is helpful . I’m kind of withdrawn, but I get energy from other people. Since freelancing is a lonely life, I connect with others by taking classes, meeting my writer regularly, and having virtual hangouts with the rest of the Lifehacker team.
What is your sleep pattern?
I am an owl. My best way to sleep is with a heating pad at my feet. For about six months of the year, I find it justifiable to use one of them. Hot tap water on a regular night, boiled water when it’s very cold. Wrap this suction cup in a large towel and sleep under the duvet to keep it warm in the morning.
Fill in the blank: I would like _________ to answer these same questions.
Dr. Oz, because he appears to be a practicing heart surgeon and researcher, not just a TV host. I would like to see how he fits into all this.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
In writing: Never start or end a sentence with a boring word.
In a roller derby: crouch down and move with your outside leg. We call this a “book holder”.
In life: pain won’t hurt.
In the series “ How I work” heroes, experts and simply productive people share their shortcuts, workspaces, procedures, and so on. D. Every other Wednesday we will show a new guest, as well as the gadgets, apps, tips and guidelines that support them work. Do you have someone you want to be featured or questions that you think we should ask? Email Andy.