43 Folders

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Merlin’s weekly podcast with Dan Benjamin. We talk about creativity, independence, and making things you love.

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”What’s 43 Folders?”
43Folders.com is Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.

Our Most Popular Posts

Using lists to expose "soon" and "long-term" items

Drowning in To-Dos? Get Organized! [Datamation]

Good overview of GTD includes some interesting thoughts on "time-sensitive" to-do-lists:

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"GTD Lite"

Wardrobe Hacks

Wardrobe Hacks

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TOPICS: Life Hacks

Using Mac Mail in an Exchange environment

Using Mac Mail in an Exchange environment

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TOPICS: Mac OS X

MacBook Pro | GTD | BlackBerry...Anyone, Anyone??

MacBook Pro | GTD | BlackBerry...Anyone, Anyone??

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Decision-making: Using Quicksilver to run long-term PMIs

I've mentioned before how much I dig the PMI tool for helping to make decisions. In a nutshell, it's a granular way to quantify all the likely good and bad things about a given decision, as well as the implications of making the change.

Typically you'd do a PMI at a sitting within a tabular program like Excel, and that's probably still the easiest and fastest way. But let's say there are things you just want to ruminate on for an indeterminate amount of time--low-impact changes that would still benefit from a large data set. You might try what I've started doing with Quicksilver and the mighty "Append to text file" command.

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Merlin on MacBreak Weekly: The Safeword is "Banana"

MacBreak Logo

MacBreak Weekly 7: The Safe Word is Banana

Guests: Anand Shimpi, Adam Knight, and Adam Christanson

MacCast is shutdown by GoDaddy, the Mac installer security hole, and upgrading a Mac Pro to eight CPUs.

Running time: 1:14:00

Plus, of course, there's a repeated Family Guy reference, and we learn that Scott plays his treasured Edison cylinders on the most costly modern equipment available.

[Download MP3 file]

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MacBreak Weekly 45; iPhone release night; Quicksilver mouse triggers

MacBreak Weekly 45: Talk Time

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Hosts: Leo Laporte, Merlin Mann, Scott Bourne, and Alex Lindsay

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iPhone gets a better battery and screen, MacGPS rumors, and Safari holes...

Here's a direct MP3 download of MBW 45.

Gotta tell you: I'm really excited about the imminent arrival of the iPhone for an unconventional reason: the possibility that we can eventualy stop talking about the iPhone. (sigh)

Anyway. Two things related to this episode:

  1. If we can scare up a video jockey, I'll be at the Stockton St. store here in SF next Friday to shoot some stuff about that evening's iPhone release for MacBreak. Maybe interviewing people in line; who knows?
  2. My tip of the week in this episode is a very cool Quicksilver trick called mouse dragged triggers. Explaining how it works is -- as you'll hear -- difficult, to say the least. So, herewith, I present my favorite tutorial on the topic, from the lovely and talented Dan Dickinson. He also has some great ideas for what to do with the trick:
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Using a kids' CD filer for organizing index cards

Locker CD holder is a simple way to keep your cards together.

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Mathowie's decluttering project

The Great Uncluttering

Matt Haughey recently posted a Flickr set documenting a dramatic, decluttering re-do of a spare bedroom that transformed it from the typical suburban catch-all/playroom into a tidy space for hanging out and watching Monsters with the familia.

before after
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Cranking

Merlin used to crank. He’s not cranking any more.

This is an essay about family, priorities, and Shakey’s Pizza, and it’s probably the best thing he’s written. »

Scared Shitless

Merlin’s scared. You’re scared. Everybody is scared.

This is the video of Merlin’s keynote at Webstock 2011. The one where he cried. You should watch it. »