Tao of Mac

Nov 27th 2024 · 1 min read · #browser #filenames #hack #music #oxideandfriends #playlist #remote #tabgroups #wallpaper #work

Work Hacks

Things are reasonably OK these days, but I thought I’d list a few work hacks that I’ve come to rely on over the years (and that are now a part of my daily routine).

But there’s a couple of caveats. For instance, a lot of these work for me because I happen to use Microsoft 365 (neé Office) for my day to day work. In fact, I can do 95% of my work using the browser-based versions of Office, only resorting to the native apps for fine editing or meetings.

  • A playlist of pop music from the late 80s and early 90s–i.e., the very stuff I listened to when we ganged up to study for college, which always gets me in a productive mood. I use my to run PlexAmp, so there’s no fiddling with an app and associated distractions.
  • Saving my files with YYMMDD prefixes, which makes searching for and sharing them on Teams or mail lightning quick - / and you’re done.
  • Switching the wallpaper every 30m, which gives me a visual cue of passing time (and, in Windows, often signals I need to hop onto the next meeting).
  • Using browser tab groups and workspaces (in Edge–feel free to substitute for analogs in your favorite browser) to group working sets of documents and tools–this way I can open “working sets” for each project with a single click, and quickly switch between contexts throughout the day.
  • Taking a walking break–as in, getting out of the house and walking at a constant (preferably brisk) pace for at least 30 minutes without music, podcasts or maybe even a phone (I removed most social media apps from my phone, so I have no issues carrying it around on walks to take pictures).

The last one deserves a note–I used to listen to podcasts when exercising, but they turned out to be either less informative than reading about things or just plain depressing because they reminded me that my current occupation wasn’t fulfilling enough (Oxide and Friends, which is a brilliant podcast I love, was a particularly sore spot because listening to it during workdays reminded me that I wasn’t coding or building stuff).