Back to Work

TOPIC : Putting an Overt Stake in the Ground. This week, Dan and Merlin end up talking about the surprising stuff a Fitbit can do for you. Dan even buys one. Also, some discussion of pope hats, NASCAR, (the amazing ) Screens 4, and that failing restaurant by Dan's office that kinda looks like Terminus . Links for this episode: Screens - Control Your Computer Remotely - Edovia Screens 4 brings one-...

TOPIC : But, alas. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about Smile's updated announcement about TextExpander and the ugly problem of blind internet rage. Also, lots of talk about ponderous 80s movies and old TV shows, including Dan learning which program had that tiny tabletop robot. Also, we are endeavoring, ma'am, to construct a mnemonic memory circuit using stone knives and bearskins. Links for this...

TOPIC : Wow, times change. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about the challenges and opportunities of subscription-based payment models. When do they work (or not) and how quickly does autopay fatigue kick in? Links for this episode: Ungainly X-Mann Meetup #13 — Merlin Mann Starz Launches Standalone Streaming Service | Variety The New TextExpander | Smile TextExpander Updates Focus on New Service –...

TOPIC : Welcome to Costco. I love you. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about breakfast sandwiches, the pain and suffering of dealing with Apple IDs, managing kids and their iOS devices, Merlin's weird week with Playstation Vue, and the science (or otherwise) behind iOS's Night Shift. The main topic this week focuses on quality, values, and self-improvement. Are Dan and Merlin just cloud-yelling old...

TOPIC : Serving the super-motivated super-fan. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about: a modest request from Merlin some interesting new options for viewing OTA broadcast television on Apple TV the evolution (and often lost opportunities) of media delivery highlights of yesterday's Apple event Links for this episode: Ungainly X-Mann Meetup #13 — Merlin Mann PlayStation™Vue | PlayStation™Network MrMC...

TOPIC : No one cares about your demo anymore. This week Dan & Merlin talk about realizing when life isn't all about you and getting better at learning how to say " thank you ." Also, lots of great practical ( and philosophical) suggestions for getting started with or back into comics. Links for this episode: Ungainly X-Mann Meetup #13 — Merlin Mann MERLIN MANN (Back to Work, Roderick on the Li...

TOPIC : Staying out of Technology Detention This week, Dan and Merlin do another giant-size grabbag episode that covers a lot of ground, including: movies, kids, and ratings, oh my ! better text editing on iPad, faster typing on iOS complexities of picking the right pairings of Apple devices what's up with apps not launching in iOS? Hound , and the future of voice-controlled computing staying prov...

TOPIC : That's Not How the Future Works. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about evolving technology culture, the weird landscape of semi-smart devices, and why Merlin does and kinda doesn't do Getting Things Done so much anymore. Links for this episode: Unjustly Maligned | "R.E.M., early" with Merlin Mann (Episode 48) On a day that shouldn’t exist comes a podcast equally paradoxical. Merlin Mann joi...

TOPIC : Grab Bag. This week, Dan and Merlin cover the waterfront. This wide-ranging episode covers lots of listener feedback, corrections of egregious errors, D&D alignment, the danger of guessing why people are how they are, some fun Tumblr recommendations, considering the yak-shaving ordeal of time-shifting broadcast TV, plus further discussion of last week's topic re: kids and computer acce...

TOPIC : Epistemology and Parenting as Dumpster Fire This week, Dan and Merlin end up talking a lot about what they don't know and how they know they don't know it. The biases, errors, and frames that make us feel wiser than we probably are. Sometimes it pays to learn how to be a dummy. Also, Dan learns what a "film projector" is. Links for this episode: Heraclitus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedi...

TOPIC : Feelings, Slide Rules, and The Franklin Test This week Merlin hasn't had enough coffee and may have early-onset toxoplasmosis, so he and Dan respond to great feedback from listeners, mostly on feeling feelings. Links for this episode: High-grade Amazing Fantasy #15 Anchors Heritage February Comics & Comic Art Auction - In The News Three Ring Binder Tickets, Multiple Dates | Eventbrite...

TOPIC : Information, Context, and Courage. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about the reaction to last week's episode about work and identity and respond to follow-up questions from listeners. Also, Merlin buys a faucet. Links for this episode: 5by5 | Back to Work #256: Every Minute Weighs the Same TOPIC: Coder, Kayaker, Father, Person. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about Dan's attempt to vastly re...

TOPIC : Coder, Kayaker, Father, Person. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about Dan's attempt to vastly rejigger his schedule in the interest of mental and physical health. This leads to a long discussion of work, identity, expectations, and choosing which of the voices in your head to listen to and when. Links for this episode: Ungainly X-Mann Meetup #12 — Merlin Mann Costumed character - Wikipedia,...

TOPIC : Say something funny. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about entertainment as a career and how difficult it can be to know whether you're suited for it. Plus, discussions of X-Men, San Francisco's collapse, and the best way to get vomit out of the bathroom sink. Links for this episode: Zentangle | Amazon.com: Design Originals, Joy Of Zentangle (0023863053983): Marie Browning CZT, Suzanne McNe...

TOPIC : Budgeting the Primary Secondary Project This week, Dan and Merlin do a deep dive on a very old and very thorny topic: managing time. Thing is: this is not about bookkeeping—it's about accounting . Being honest, humble, and diligent in mindfully applying your time and seeing how it went. (This is a good one.) Links for this episode: Fixed point in time - Tardis - Wikia Fixed points in time...

TOPIC : Elephants all the way down. This week, Dan and Merlin do a deep dive on communication, perception, persuasion, empathy, and understanding, as illustrated by everything from The Force Awakens to Don LaPre to PR emails to Donald Trump to a variety of elephants—plus a famous photo of a man and the fake dead triceratops he supposedly killed. Links for this episode: Tailopez.com Tai Lopez - You...

TOPIC : Something something the things we own. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about the way shopping changes how we buy stuff—and how buying is changing what we can actually shop for. Then, there's a ruminative discussion of the Mast Brothers chocolate dust-up and what it might say about our sense of story, identity, and "authenticity." Links for this episode: What the Mast Brothers Scandal Tells...

TOPIC : Maybe quit being so "busy." This week, Dan and Merlin drop a lot of science on the miraculous taxonomies of Judaica. Mazel Tov! For the big topic, Merlin launches into an animated jeremiad on words meaning things, with a focus on being terminally "busy" versus being willfully "time-constrained." Links for this episode: Conceptual metaphor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Amazon.com: Meta...

TOPIC : Sunrise, Sunset. This week, Dan and Merlin celebrate their 250th episode with an extensive discussion of McDonaldland and its horrific culture and citizenry. The main topic addresses the ““sunsetting”” of the Mailbox iOS app—and what it highlights about deciding where to put our stuff, what apps we choose to use, and what contingency plans it's probably wise to have in place. Links for thi...

TOPIC : Personal Crazy Walls This week, Dan and Merlin start by covering a lot of things that you might actually be thinking of. The meat of the episode focuses on a listener question about deciding what things go where—leading to a pretty nerdy exegesis of Notes vs. text files, reminders vs. task managers, and where stuff goes vs. where it probably should go. Links for this episode: Ungainly X-Ma...

TOPIC : More Songs About Buildings and Food This week, Dan and Merlin talk about transitions, microwave ovens, air conditioning, and the likelihood of salmonella. Links for this episode: Amazon.com: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values (9780060589462): Robert M. Pirsig: Books Discipline of Do Easy by Gus Van Sant - YouTube The discipline of DE (do easy) - MELANCHOLIA....

TOPIC : A Mark on a Page This week, Dan and Merlin kick off by talking about Dan's recent interview with "Weird Al" and how he's such an interesting harbinger of changing times for media and platforms. Next, Merlin responds to a listener's question about how he uses a notebook, which leads to an extended dissertation on how to ruin your notebook in the best way possible. Nothing doesn't go in here...

TOPIC : Medieval or Renaissance? This week, Dan and Merlin start out by helping listeners learn to identify the subtle differences between all things Renaissance and Medieval . The remainder of the show is split between an in-depth introduction to the Plex media ecosystem, and a philosophical and practical meditation on choosing how to spend a given day. Links for this episode: Amazon.com: Das Key...

TOPIC : First impressions of the new Apple TV This week, Dan and Merlin talk about the triumphs and travails of their first few days with the fourth generation Apple TV. Links for this episode: New Apple TV: Tips, Tricks, Siri Remote Shortcuts and Useful Settings - Mac Rumors To complement our coverage of the new Apple TV, which includes a trio of hands-on videos, an Apple TV apps roundup, several...

TOPIC : You are who you choose to be. This week Dan and Merlin talk about making buying decisions, dealing with unsolicited email, preventing stupid from sticking to you, and finding systems that may or may not work. Links for this episode: Travel Basket Key Tray and Wallet Valet by Red Oxx Mfg It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff: Peter Walsh: 9780743292658: Am...