It is a big week. You’ve got a few hours left to join Jason and I and Stop the Freelance Feast and Famine Cycle. We present at 12:30 Pacific.

The second big thing was the launch of my latest book The Freelancer’s Guide to Getting Started. If you’ve been looking for a plan to get yourself out freelancing, this is the book that’s going to show you what you need to think about before you go.

What I Shipped

On Monday I wrote about speeding up my reading, and then reading less. If you click through there is also a video to go along with it.

Wednesday I wrote a short post reviewing Why Simple Works by Danny Brown. There is an audio version on the post if you’re inclined that way. Subscribe to Should I Read It so you don’t miss a book that matters.

Thursday I did a video walking you through my weekly collection in my Bullet Journal. I talked about this in my book Analogue Productivity, among many other things I do to stay productive with analogue tools.

If you run a WooCommerce store then I wrote about increasing the average order price for Liquid Web this week. Came out on Black Friday so that seems timely for retailers.

Friday Five

1. Scene On Radio – Men

I heard about Scene on Radio when their series on Seeing White came out. It’s on my list to listen to, but I also saw their season on Men was currently going so that’s where I started.

Now, I’m a white dude, which puts me at the most advantage possible. The author’s do acknowledge that everyone has stuff their working through. That most people (even white guys) have hurdles that seem crazy sometimes. It’s certainly not been a white guy bashing parade, but they are calling out many ways in which men, and white men, do have an advantage.

They also spent an episode examining how manhood differs for Black or Asian men. They looked at where the trope of the gross Asian man came from (it’s the fault of white dudes).

I admit that parts of it have made me a bit angry. All I can say is that I’m working to take the perspective of others and I’ll be listening through this again because I need to hear it.

It’s quite likely you do as well…so you can listen to the whole series here.

2. You’re interesting and we need it

From Austin Kleon:

In the (perfect) movie adaptation, Hannibal calls Clarice on the phone, and he says it just a little differently: “The world’s more interesting with you in it.”

This is important to remember all the time. Especially when we are going through tough times. There is always a group of people that would be worse off without you.

3. Paper doesn’t just have to be words

Jamie Todd Rubin on Journals:

One thing I love about these journals is that they are multimedia. Read the post about the British diarist made me realize that what I put into the journal doesn’t have to be exclusively writing. So there are many pages with photos I’ve taken, pasted in.

I realized this week that Instagram was killing my phone. 10% usage time and 50% battery usage, so it has been deleted.

That does leave me wondering about remembering photos though. I do have an okay printer and already keep a paper notebook. Maybe I need to take more time to paste other things in that matter to me.

4. On Sketchnotes from Alpha Efficiency

So about Sketchnoting:

I like to call sketchnotes notes plus because they’re just like the notes you take now, with drawings, icons, and lettering added for emphasis. The addition of visual elements help you remember ideas more clearly and make note-taking more fun.

Sketchnoting is all about being in the moment and relying on your mind to tell you what’s important or interesting so that you capture what resonates with you.

The last 2 conferences I was at I took my iPad but kept it in my bag. I only took notes in talks with a pen and paper. Not Sketchnotes (though I have been interested in them) but actual written notes.

The only hard part was grabbing the sites that were referenced in technical talks. What I came down to was making a note to reference the slides and a hint about which site it was I wanted to see later.

All told, both of those conferences I walked away with more useful content that I went back to than any other conference I’ve attended.

5. Build Your Saas on Budgeting 

Build Your Saas on budgeting. This was a great talk on budgeting and how you think about your expenses.

One of the keys is not to get stuck in a mindset either way. Just spending small amounts adds up and never spending can cost you with the time you put in.