Useful Tools, Resources and Other Delights

Here are some tools and other things that make my days better:

  1. Waking Up (app)

    This wasn’t the first meditation app I tried, but it’s the one I have stuck with longest (I eventually coughed up to become a lifetime member). Strongly secular in feel, the focus is very much on practicing meditation to as a way of better understanding your mind. There may be no better investment of 10 minutes a day.

  2. Becoming a Supple Leopard (book)

    I basically rave about this book to everyone I know. If I were less shy, I’d probably be stopping strangers in the street. If you want to remain active throughout your life, get this book, get a few hard balls, and develop a regular soft-tissue mobilization routine. The second-best investment of 10 minutes a day you can make!

  3. Merlin BirdId (app)

    This is one of my most-used apps. It’s like having an expert birder by my side at all times, able to resolve all that non-specific hedgerow chirping into distinct characters. Amazing how quickly your ability to recognize bird sounds improves when you can constantly test yourself. Only downside is that all walks and runs now take twice as long.

  4. Ordnance Survey online (mapping)

    OS Maps are one of the wonders of the modern world (in my book). An amazing level of detail represented in such a clear, easy-to-process way. I suppose one could argue it take away some of the adventure, but for me they open up the possibilities for exploring new places. With access to mapping for the entire country at the tips of my fingers, plus the ability to plot routes for downloading to GPS (see item 9), I can construct trails running routes anywhere I go. It doesn’t mean I won’t find myself wading through nettles or edging through a field of cows, but it’s a lot more fun than sticking to Strava routes on pavement.

  5. Aeropress (coffee maker)

    I’m not quite sure why, but every coffee from my Aeropress feels like a treat. Strong, espresso-like coffee with no fuss, in less than 2 minutes. And portable! And for less than £25! Genius. I’ll happily use pre-ground coffee with it (usually Lavazza Qualita Rossa, since you ask), but this excellent burr grinder means I also have the option for freshly grinding beans too.

  6. Uni-ball Jetstream RT rollerball 1.0 (pen)

    I find it hard to think without scribbling, so a pen and paper are never far away when I’m working or planning. This is the pen I try to keep to hand. It’s very smooth and comfortable to write with, and that means my handwriting is slightly less illegible than with a pencil or ballpoint pen. I really enjoy using it. I hope they never stop making them.

  7. Strength and Flow Fitness (YouTube channel)

    I aim to start every day with some mobility work or movement. When my sleepy brain is in need of something to follow, I turn to Kellen Millad of Strength and Flow Fitness. His “movement-focussed” workouts are a fun way to keep your whole body strong and injury-free. Lots of creeping, leaping, crawling, rolling, reaching, twisting and general ground-movement. If you spend most of your day just sitting or standing, this is what you need.

  8. The Browser (newsletter)

    After wishing for years that a viable micropayment platform for magazine & newspaper subscriptions would emerge, I finally discovered an even better solution - The Browser. A daily email containing links to five carefully curated articles, a short piece of video and one of audio, each with a brief, tantalizing summary. I have absolutely no idea how the curators manage to survey so many corners of the internet, but the range of writers, sources, topics and points of view is broad and diverse. If you want to escape your own echo chamber, try this. There’s a free subscription level that will give you a weekly taster. If you’re like me, you’ll soon upgrade!