Here’s the downloadable free companion project for my final book, GarageBand For Dummies.
The free download includes the GarageBand project (which you can edit or alter any way you like), my finished stereo master of the project, and my PDF notes.
The song is an oldie entitled, “The House of the Rising Sun.”
Click to download the bonus content for GarageBand For Dummies Third Edition
And then, click the icon pictured to download the ZIP file.
Mojave's new “Use Stacks” command lets you organize the items on your desktop with a single menu selection (choose View-->Use Stacks) or keyboard shortcut (press Command + Control + 0).
They say a picture is worth a thousand words; here’s how it works:
Click to enlarge image…
It's that simple.
If your Desktop is a mess, burn that keyboard shortcut — Command + Control + 0 — into your muscle memory and start using it to turn your Desktop clutter into neatly organized stacks.
One last thing: If you're concerned about Stacks messing up your desktop icons, which you've so carefully arranged, you'll be happy to know that pressing Command + Control + 0 again will return your Desktop to its former arrangement no matter how disorganized or messy.
😜
This short video (under 5 minutes) details why the Mac Clipboard still sucks, and explains how to make it suck a lot less (for free).
Enjoy!
In spite of its salacious, click-bait title, and apparently being written by fictitious baseball player Sidd Finch*, I read an article called How to Not Write Like an Asshole a while ago. In it, the author proposes that the way to become a great writer is to copy great writers.
"When I say you should copy great writers, I mean you should literally copy their best work, word-for-word, and preferably by hand.
This process is called copywork and it’s mind-numbingly simple. You barely have to think. All you have to do is sit down with your favorite book, article, or blog post and copy it. Copywork is the fastest and best way to become a better writer. But for some reason very few people know about it."
—Sidd Finch
He goes on to trace the history of copywork from before Guttenberg invented the printing press, through famous copywork practitioners such as Benjamin Franklin, Jack London, and Hunter S. Thompson, who allegedly typed out The Great Gatsby in its entirety while working on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, just to get the feeling, he said, of what it was like to write that way.
There are even simple instructions for performing copywork yourself.
I'm not sure how much of the story is true, but (of course), you know me—I had to try it. I mean, if it was good enough for Hunter S. Thompson while he was working on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, it's good enough for me...
So... I've been hand-writing The Great Gatsby longhand while working on Working Smarter for Mac Users. 🤓
I do a few minutes of copywork as a warm-up whenever I sit down to write in earnest. And, as I mentioned in Working Smarter for Mac Users, I really enjoy writing with a fountain pen every now and then, so I'm kind of enjoying it.
Here's the zinger, though: It works.
How do I know? Not a single person has told me I write like an a-hole since I started.
Now, just read the article and give copywork a try... you might just discover that you enjoy it as much as I do!
*According to Wikipedia:
"Sidd Finch is a fictional baseball player, the subject of the notorious article and April Fools' Day hoax "The Curious Case of Sidd Finch" written by George Plimpton and first published in the April 1, 1985 issue of Sports Illustrated. According to Plimpton, Finch was raised in an English orphanage, learned yoga in Tibet, and could throw a fastball as fast as 168 miles per hour (270 km/h)."
I read an article on Fortune (dot) com a while back about multitasking and why it may not be good for you). Here's a brief excerpt (click the headline to read the rest):
by Earl Miller
"Start by blocking out a period of time to focus. Eliminate as many distractions as possible: Put away your phone, turn off extra computer screens, shut down your email if you have to. Don’t try to mono-task by willpower alone; it’s too hard to fight the thirst for new information. Instead, prevent the urge by removing temptation. If you find yourself unable to concentrate, try taking a short break and move around. Increasing blood flow to your brain can help restore focus."
One of the cornerstones of Working Smarter for Mac Users is that you get more work done when you focus on one task at a time. I knew this instinctively, but only after years of trial and error, which is why I found the science that seems to prove it so fascinating.
Read Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Multitask, According to an MIT Neuroscientist
Learn more about Working Smarter for Mac Users ebook and Master Class
