ArtSTALK
Wunderkit is a newish productivity app for iPhone and Mac.
Lately, it seems I’ve been spending all of my time laying the groundwork for new blogs, applying for freelance gigs and full-time jobs, and starting on some long overdue personal writing projects.
So naturally I decided to procrastinate by finding new ways to increase my productivity.
One of the best tools I’ve come across is Wunderkit for Mac and iPhone, created by 6Wunderkinder HQ, otherwise known as the Berlin-based makers of the slick task manager app Wunderlist.
Wunderkit basically takes the to-do list schema of Wunderlist to a new level by integrating independent task management with team collaboration. You can have public or private workspaces, which allows all of your project to-do lists to be easily accessible all in one place. Each workspace comes complete with a dashboard, notes and social capabilities (you can instantly communication with co-workers also on Wunderkit). The website shows a few examples of how one might use these project workspaces – from traveling to studying for school to launching a business.
A sample Wunderkit workspace.
I’ve personally been using the Mac version (I’ve yet to get the iPhone app to check out the sync) to help coordinate my blog development efforts. In addition to beefing up this blog and ArtSTALK, I’m planning on launching a few new blogs over the summer and Wunderkit has been a godsend for planning pre-launch stuff – I can do a little a day on each site, and can actually remember to do so because it’s all in front of me. I’ve also yet to use the social option, but I think it will be terrific for coordinating ArtSTALK articles with my writers and co-editors in the future.
As Wunderkit’s beta version was just released in Feb 2012, there are still a few bugs the developers need to work out, but nothing that has hindered my experience so far (odd note formatting, lack of text editing tools, etc.). And what’s really cool is that Wunderkit hopes to eventually serve as a complete productivity platform, meaning that developers can add additional functionality via apps.
Is anyone else out there using Wunderkit and loving it? Or am I totally on the wrong track and should be using some other tool?
- Melea
Even the guy on the cover looks overwhelmed.
Let me start by saying I know I’ve done wrong.
Blogs should not go months without posts. Especially blogs about blogging and writing that start with a commitment to regularly produce.
But here I am, ready and willing to end my sordid ways.
The past few months have been a whirlwind, and unfortunately, all writing that didn’t have an impending deadline from an external source fell to the wayside. I’ve spent a solid chunk of time on my arts and culture magazine/master’s degree thesis-project, ArtSTALK – mostly in analyzing successes and failures and piecing together an educational initiative I hope to implement in the future.
Now, with ArtSTALK well on its way to world-domination (or at least domination of my own world), I am proud to say that this upcoming Saturday, the University of Iowa will officially bestow upon me the title of “Journalism Master” (or at least this is how I will henceforth refer to myself). And as soon as I finish grading this stack of student finals that’s currently overtaking my desk, I’ll be commitment-free. Which is great, but it’s also daunting.
Although training to be a Pokemon master was tempting, I ultimately decided on journalism. Only time will tell which job market would have been a safer bet.
So having mastering journalism and all that, my next step is…to…
Well, honestly, I’ve been having a tough time deciding exactly what to tackle next. You know when you’re bogged down with school/work/other obligatory nonsense and you just wish you could just have a little time to devote to your own would-be projects? I’ve always wanted to try my hand at writing a spec script, or a collection of short stories, or a horror novel, or a nonfiction book on death penalty administration (hey, I’m a writer, so I’m allowed to be eccentric). Now that I have the time, I have no idea where to start.
In How We Decide, author Jonah Lehrer argues that despite what our capitalist society may lead us to believe, abundance of choice is far from a universal good. Our brains can only process a finite amount of information at one time, and when we’re given too many options, we tend to freak out, often wasting more time analyzing the options than decision is worth.
Wall Street Journal columnist and Wired contributing editor Jonah Lehrer examines the neuroscience of choice in How We Decide.
A common tactic authors use to overcome creative and mental blocks is to simply pick a place and start writing. That way, however terrible your creative decisions flow (or don’t flow, as it were), at least you’ll have a tangible product to show for your day’s efforts. (Plus, if you’re at your literary bottom, the only place you can go is up.)
Recognizing I was entering a state of analysis paralysis, I made a compromise mini-decision – I’d start devoting more time to this blog, using it to brainstorm my way into a compelling writing project. In so doing, I plan to post writing and editing tips, social media marketing tricks and recommended reads from both the Interwebs as well as good ol’ print.
Through this, I hope to get my artistic juices flowing and go wherever my inspiration takes me. If you’re a young writer, aspiring blogger, semi-blocked creative, or any person interested in the creative process, I hope you’ll join me in my journey – I think we could learn a lot from each other.
-Melea