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If you’re not a Mac user, this post is unfortunately not for you. If you are, I’m sharing my favorite crop of new apps I’m using for your benefit and enjoyment. Bartender Even though I’m a P on the Myers-Briggs typology, [footnote]Which means I’m normally on the more chaotic end of the organizational spectrum[/footnote]I love having my digital world nicely organized. That’s where this one of a kind Mac app comes in. Bartender allows you to organize, move around, hide away, or push app icons in your menu bar. That’s it. Doesn’t seem like a big deal, right? Until you have 20+ apps open with all kinds of clutter in your menu bar. Especially on laptops, you bump up against the menus for the app you have open too. ...

You probably wouldn’t attend a peace talk from Vladimir Putin or a read a financial advice blog by Bernie Madoff. So why listen to a podcast from a technophile on being present and putting his phone down? Image provided by Death to the Stock Photo It’s a fair question. If nothing else, it’s an opportunity to learn from my shortcomings. On the latest installment of The Unpacked Podcast Niki and I chat about the challenges of living in a constantly connected digital world and what we do to (try to) remain present. ...

This is a new segment of tips I’ll publish each Tuesday that only take a minute to read and implement. Kudos to one of my favorite websites, The Sweet Setup for their quick tips and inspiration for these posts. The Mac Dashboard (the screen to the left of all your other screens and has widgets you can add to it) has become a ghost town. I’ve almost seen a tumbleweed roll across mine. Since I have an affinity for getting rid of stuff I don’t need, I dug into how to nix the Dashboard. ...

Just over a month ago, I was the best man in my cousin’s wedding. It was the first time I was an official right-hand man. As far as I know, I didn’t completely blow it. The best man has two jobs on the wedding day. 1. Put out fires. 2. Give a good speech. In reality, it’s a pretty simple job description with high expectations. [footnote]We had no fires, so I had it easy.[/footnote] ...

When you write things and post them online, you become vulnerable. People may disagree with you. Tell you you’re wrong. Ignore you. The fear of how other people will respond can be paralyzing. So you have to decide: will I share things with the world or will I keep them to myself? As if the paralysis of human response wasn’t enough for a blog, I’ve started another project: a podcast. ...

I’m a fan of social media. I use it daily. Twitter is what I open instead of the fridge when I’m bored, and it keeps me well informed and entertained–thanks to a carefully curated list of theologians, geeks and friends. Technology has opened up a world of connections impossible just a few decades (years?) ago. In 1980, if you wanted to tell your friends that someone at Starbucks ordered an outrageous drink, you would have had to call each friend, one by one. Or written a letter. Or waited until you saw them in person. Now, hundreds and thousands of people can see whatever you want to share with them, split seconds after it happens. Photo courtesy of Death to the Stock Photo We can instantly respond to anything we experience. An amazing catch. A hilarious sign. A crazy remark. An unbelievable scene. See it; share it. Click-clack. That means there’s no time for a filter. Gossip is just a tap away. At the same time, there is no room for Christians to retreat from new technologies. We go where people are to love them. Influence them. Point them to Jesus. But sometimes, we do a stupendously sucky job at using social media in a way that honors God and loves people. We use technology to make fun of people. Shame people. Embarrass people. People. People! People made in the image of God. People who have families. Moms. Dads. Brothers. Sisters. Kids. Parents. People whose butts may be hanging out–whether they know it or not–and probably don’t want to broadcast their cheeks on Reddit or Imgur. Before we grab our virtual pitchforks and tweet out, “Down with Twitter!” we must realize an abolition on technology is not the solution. Technology isn’t the problem. Our hearts are. ...

This is part three of a three-part series on the productivity method called Getting Things Done developed by David Allen. I explained GTD in the first post. In the second post I shared my personal GTD tools and workflow. In this final post will explain the critical GTD component called the weekly review I’m bad at taking time to reflect. I enjoy the process, and I know it’s good for me, but blocking out large chunks of time to look around instead of moving forward is tough. But David Allen insists that those who use GTD to its full potential are faithful weekly reviewers. The weekly review is the time for you to get caught up, process everything, and prepare for the week ahead. Go into your office, shut the door, turn off your phone and close off communication to the rest of the world. Make sure you’re on the right path and that you’re not just grinding things out without knowing why you’re doing your work. Some people do it Friday afternoon. I walk through my weekly review on Sunday evening. The time isn’t important–making it a regular appointment with yourself is the key. ...

This is part two of a three-part series on the productivity method called Getting Things Done developed by David Allen. I explained GTD in the first post. In this post I’ll share my personal GTD workflow, and the final post explains the critical GTD component called the weekly review. I’ve used nearly every type of tool to organize my workflow and manage my tasks. I’ve used Moleskine journals of every size, Clear, Reminders, Evernote, my email inbox–you name it. But I’ve landed on the big daddy of Apple GTD systems to get things done–Omnifocus. ...

This is part one of a three-part series on the productivity method called Getting Things Done developed by David Allen. I’ll explain GTD in the first post, share my personal GTD workflow in post two, and the final post will explain the critical GTD component called the weekly review. People who are into productivity love talking about productivity. [footnote]Just as every successful blogger also writes about becoming a successful blogger. Or how writers write about writing. Very meta.[/footnote] I’m one of those awful people. I’m always on the lookout for new methods, apps and models for crossing stuff off my checklist. [footnote]And yes, I’m the kind of guy who writes things down I’ve already done just to cross them off the list.[/footnote] I’m a huge fan of Matt Perman’s work in What’s Best Next, but the precursor to Matt’s book and methodology Getting Things Done (GTD) by David Allen. I read the book last summer and I’ve been using the system in some capacity ever since. GTD is a flexible system of productivity that essentially helps you get all you need to do out of your head and into a system (physical or digital) so you don’t miss anything. There are five basic steps in the system: Collect Process Organize Review Do Allen’s mantra is, “Mind like water.” You want your mind to respond exactly as water does to an input: a tiny splash when a pebble comes in, but a massive wave when a boulder drops. Nothing more, nothing less. Then, right back to stillness, ready for the next input. He also notes that most people spend more time thinking of things instead of thinking about things. We’re constantly trying to rack our brain to make sure we’re not screwing something up instead of thinking about ideas, solving problems and communicating with clarity. So how does someone get started with GTD? ...

My wife Niki loves Jesus. Really loves him. Loves him more than me, officially, and lives her life boldly for him. I couldn’t be more grateful. But there are people in my life–friends, family members, acquaintances–who are Christians but who don’t have a significant other that has a true relationship with Jesus. Sometimes people are already married when they meet Jesus. This post is not for them.  Photo by Gregory Bodwell © This is a plea, a forewarning and a peek inside what you’ll be missing if you’re currently 1. walking with Jesus 2. dating a non-Christian and 3. considering marrying that non-Christian whom you likely love. The more I think about my relationship with the Lord, and with Niki, the more grateful I am that she walks closely with Jesus before everything else. If you think all you’ll be doing is disobeying God by marrying a non-Christian (and surely, as Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 6:14 [footnote]Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?[/footnote] that should be reason enough to not sin), let me share with you what you won’t experience by marrying a non-Christian. ...