feat: move essays of 2018

src/content/journal/2018/morning-routine.mdx

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+---
+title: Morning Routine
+slug: morning-routine
+date: 2018-09-08T18:00:00+02:00
+author: Stefan Imhoff
+description: On the advantages of building yourself a morning routine and the details of my morning routine.
+tags: ["self-improvement"]
+---
+
+Lately, I have been thinking a lot about habits and routines. I’ve had always routines in my life, but I wanted to build a better morning routine because I’ve come across many sources, that emphasized the importance of routines for success in life.
+
+You are not automatically successful with routines, but it’s unlikely to be successful or happy without one. **Jordan Peterson**, a clinical psychologist, author, and speaker, mentioned in his talk [2017 Personality 02/03: Historical & Mythological Context](https://youtu.be/HbAZ6cFxCeY?t=1h36m32s) the importance of a schedule and routine:
+
+> You need to pick a time to get up, whatever time you want, but pick one and stick to it because otherwise you dysregulate your circadian rhythms and they regulate your mood.
+
+A morning routine does not only give health benefits, but if you include time for learning, reflection, thought, and fitness, you will improve in all aspects of life.
+
+After reading many articles, and watching plenty of talks about morning routines, a similar pattern appeared in all these routines. I sat down a month ago and created a routine for myself, which included these patterns. I took inspiration from [Tim Ferris](https://youtu.be/LHAyE0UC5I4), [Ryan Holiday](https://ryanholiday.net/my-morning-routine/), and other [inspiring people](https://mymorningroutine.com/routines/).
+
+---
+
+## My Morning Routine
+
+- **Wake up** at 7:00 AM
+- **Read** in bed for an hour
+- **Get up**, make my bed, move, and do stretches
+- Open the windows everywhere to get **fresh air** in
+- Record weight
+- **Drink** something
+- **Learn** languages for 15 minutes
+- **Workout** with Calisthenics for 30-45 minutes
+- Bathroom & Clothes
+- **Meditate** for 15-20 minutes
+- Prepare and eat **breakfast** while reading RSS Feeds
+- **Prepare for the day**, by checking the **calendar** and selecting **To-Do** items for the day
+- Get Ready
+
+I do this routine every day, the only difference is, that I do not use an alarm clock at the weekend, but instead wake up when I wake up, which is around 7:00 AM. I’m doing it now for a month, and I’m happy with it. **Update 2022**: I don’t use alarm clocks anymore, I don’t need them, and I always wake up at the same time.
+
+---
+
+## Details of My Morning Routine
+
+### Wake up
+
+I wake up at 7:00 AM, after 7 hours of sleep. I don’t have any electrical devices in my bedroom (no phones, tablets, cables, and TV), except two-bed [Slamp](https://www.slamp.com/en/products/table/bach-table/) lights, which turn on automatically (during winter) at 7:00 AM (with [Philips Hue](https://www2.meethue.com/) light bulbs) and my [Sonos](https://www.sonos.com) box, which plays a wake-up [Spotify playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/kogakure/playlist/4w4fnIgjcpUHJibrxJxMtO) for 5 minutes, which consists of a mix of classical, chill out, soundtrack, and electronica music. Likewise, I can’t hit a snooze button because there is none. And my box is standing unreachable, I need to get up to mute it. I get woken up by my Fitbit armband, which records my sleep.
+
+I like waking up that early because it is silent outside and I have more time for reading. Likewise, I would love to join the **5 AM Club**, but currently, this is too early for me.
+
+### Read
+
+Reading is _honestly_ the most satisfying thing I do in the morning. I have never done it before and read on the commuting or in the evening. But reading in the morning is different. My mind is much clearer, and I’m able to read much harder books.
+
+I have a [Traveler’s Notebook Passport Size](https://www.travelers-company.com/products/trnote/starter-kit-passport) with a ball pen and my [Kindle Paperwhite](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QJDO0QC?tag=raycastai-20) (or paper books) on my nightstand. The first thing I do after waking up is to turn on my belly and read in this position for an hour. It’s a good exercise for the back and stretches the opposite of the C-bend shape people sit in during the day.
+
+I start by reading the daily chapter of the fantastic book <cite><AffiliateLink asin="1781257655" text="The Daily Stoic" /></cite>. The Stoic practice is the best start to a day you can have. Thereafter, I read 1-2 books, not novels, but harder topics (philosophy, science, or psychology). If I want to remember a quote or part of a book, I mark it and extract it later into my Commonplace book or write it down in my pocket-size notebook.
+
+<Bookshelf>
+	<AmazonBook asin="1781257655" />
+</Bookshelf>
+
+### Get Up
+
+Then I stand up and get up, and make my bed. [Because if you want to change the world, start by making your bed](https://youtu.be/3sK3wJAxGfs), says **William McRaven**, a former US Navy Admiral and Navy SEAL:
+
+> If you wanna change the world, start off by making your bed. If you make your bed every morning, you’ll have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. And by the end of the day, that one task completed, will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact, that the little things in life matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you’ll never be able to do the big things right.
+
+It gives me movement, and I add stretches and occasionally Burpees.
+
+### Fresh Air
+
+I open the windows to all the other rooms to let in the fresh air. My bedroom always has fresh air during the night.
+
+### Record Weight
+
+I step on my [Nokia Body Cardio](https://www.withings.com/de/de/body-cardio) scale to measure weight, fat, muscle, bone, and water. It’s important to always do this every day at the same time. It’s the only way to see health trends early.
+
+### Drink
+
+Next, I drink a glass of juice (no added sugar), this will refill lost water of the night and add quick energy for the workout.
+
+### Learn
+
+Then I learn languages for 15 minutes. I pick up three tasks and practice them. These 10-15 minutes add to 5-7 hours at the end of the month.
+
+I learn a few minutes [Japanese](https://en.duolingo.com/course/ja/en/Learn-Japanese) or [Spanish](https://en.duolingo.com/course/es/en/Learn-Spanish) with Duolingo.
+
+### Workout
+
+I do [Calisthenics](/calisthenics/) three times a week. I start with a warm-up, followed by a full-body workout, including pulling, pushing, core, and leg bodyweight exercises. In the end, I do skill work like working with rings or practicing handstands. The workout lasts between 30 and 45 minutes. Twice a week, I run instead for 15-30 minutes.
+
+After the workout, I do headstands and stretching.
+
+### Bathroom & Clothes
+
+Then I take a shower. The benefits of cold showers are well-known, but I take a warm one. In the end, I switch to a cool temperature for a minute. I shower my legs in ice-cold water, but not the whole body. I’ll leave this to [Wim Hof](https://youtu.be/OpTG02x6w5o). 😄
+
+I put on my clothes, which is easy since I changed my style to a [minimalistic](/minimalism/) one: black jeans, a black, gray, white, or colored shirt, and a belt. Furthermore, I took inspiration for my wardrobe from filmmaker Matt D’Avella, who [showed his wardrobe in this video](https://youtu.be/DSHsIOIhjJY).
+
+### Meditate
+
+Subsequently, I sit down on a <AffiliateLink asin="B002JJ6UA4" text="meditation mattress" /> and on a <AffiliateLink asin="B01MRX5V3J" text="meditation pillow" />. I use the [Headspace](https://www.headspace.com/) app to meditate for 20 minutes. In cold seasons, I wrap myself in a big blanket to stay warm.
+
+### Breakfast
+
+My breakfast consists of 5 different types of cereal (oats, spelt, barley, rye, rice), corn flakes, poppy, sesame, linseed, almonds, hazelnuts and Brazil nuts, amaranth, and dark chocolate flakes. I add cinnamon and honey and mix everything. I drink coconut water and a glass of juice while reading my RSS Feeds.
+
+### Prepare For the Day
+
+I prepare for the day, by checking my **calendar** for upcoming events, meetings, and birthdays. I open my **To-Do** app [Things](https://culturedcode.com/things/) on my tablet and select my tasks for the day.
+
+---
+
+## Conclusion
+
+I’m happy with my routine for now and hope you see the benefits of building a routine in your life. The morning routine is for me the one with the most benefits. Because if you start your day successfully, the chances are high that you end the day successfully. And as _Jordan Peterson_ said: <q>You cannot be mentally healthy without a routine.</q> I recommend, building yourself a morning routine.

src/content/journal/2018/storing-information.mdx

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+---
+title: How to Store Information
+slug: storing-information
+date: 2018-10-03T18:00:00+02:00
+author: Stefan Imhoff
+description: How I save and process information, to find it again quickly and store it to not lose it again.
+tags: ["self-improvement"]
+---
+
+## My Crazy, Paranoid, Overly Complicated, but Functioning Way of Storing Information
+
+We live in an age of never-ending information. How should anyone remember anything with all the information bombarding us every day?
+
+## Where to Store Information?
+
+- How do you make sure you find the information you saved once again?
+- How do you make sure you don’t lose valuable sources?
+- How do to know which information is valuable at all?
+
+People have different ways of handling information. Many people don’t care at all and remember nothing, write nothing down.
+
+But I’m not one of these people, my brain functions well, I’ll remember that I read, saw, or heard information on a specific topic, but I don’t remember where. This frustrates me the most … the annoying feeling, when you remember you saw this video [explaining how to remember everything you learn](https://youtu.be/V-UvSKe8jW4), but you can’t remember where you saw it (how _ironic_), or who created it. You could try to find it again by searching on Google or YouTube.
+
+But this will not work in all cases. And the Internet is a transient, floating world. Everything will disappear.
+
+That’s why I started years ago saving I want to remember. I [download fantastic videos](https://rg3.github.io/youtube-dl/) and put them on my [NAS](https://www.synology.com/) and save websites, files, and links with tools like [Evernote](https://evernote.com/).
+
+I tried countless tools: Evernote, Google Keep, Apple Notes, OneNote, Browser bookmarks, Delicious, or Pinboard.
+
+Likewise, I used Evernote excessively since its founding in 2008. I had over 15,000 notes at a time. But then Evernote got into trouble, the service corrupted user files (which got me 2 years of free Premium). Bad press repeated over and over again, with them recently needing to fire 15% of its employees and losing four of its top managers.
+
+Nothing is forever. I decided to think about a new strategy.
+
+## 3 Rules for Storing Information
+
+I came up with these three rules for storing information:
+
+- **Never** use a service, which **does not allow exporting** my content.
+- **Never** store valuable information _only_ on an external server.
+- It’s fine to store **less valuable** information on an external server if it’s _easily searchable_ and information can get back easily.
+
+My first rule crosses out countless services. I don’t care how cool or awesome a service is, if I can’t get my information out, I will not use it … **ever**. This means I will not use it if I can export my files as PDFs individually. I will not use it if I can get a JSON, or if it’s complicated, and I need to buy an external tool, which tries to extract _my_ information out of _someone else’s_ tool.
+
+Evernote had always a friendly _you can export everything_ policy, why I used them. But because of rule number two, I can’t rely on Evernote.
+
+That’s why I bought [DEVONthink](https://www.devontechnologies.com/apps/devonthink) Pro Office last year. The software is around since the early 2000s. It’s not the _prettiest_ contender around, and the mobile app is in its infancy (**Update 2022:** Both apps are now pretty and capable). But it’s powerful, thanks to its artificial intelligence and text analysis. It’s used by professionals, like scientists, teachers, authors, journalists, or lawyers. It has countless features of importing, exporting, converting, and sharing. You can index external files from all kinds of devices and store the information in databases, that you can save at any location.
+
+## Sources of Information
+
+How does my information gathering look?
+
+My main entry for information is [Raindrop.io](https://raindrop.io/). I save every website, picture, link, or information (with a URL) with one click to Raindrop.io.
+
+The regular information I consume via [Feedbin](https://feedbin.com/) in the [Reeder](https://reeder.app/) app. For every article that I find interesting, I save it directly to Raindrop.io, which is easy with Feedbin. Each time I “star” an item, it gets automatically moved to Raindrop.io.
+
+When I write text, blog posts, and ideas in digital form, I use [iA Writer](https://ia.net/writer). It’s the best app to write text. Focused, distraction-free writing, Markdown support, and a few more nice features. I store my texts in iCloud.
+
+I shoot photos of things I want to remember and store them in Apple Photos.
+
+Fascinating quotes I send directly from my Kindle to [Readwise](https://readwise.io/).
+
+Physical documents I scan with [ScannerPro](https://readdle.com/scannerpro). The text will be processed with OCR and saved as PDFs to iCloud and Dropbox. From there I save them to DEVONthink instantly with an automation.
+
+Inspirational images I save from [Pinterest](https://www.pinterest.de/) or [Bēhance](https://www.behance.net/) to my photo library and save them in albums, grouped by topics.
+
+And I use a [Traveler’s Notebook Passport Size](https://www.travelers-company.com/products/trnote/starter-kit-passport) during the day to write down things I want to remember when I’m away from digital devices.
+
+## Automating with IFTTT
+
+I created many automated tasks with [IFTTT](https://ifttt.com/), which collects information from all kinds of sources and bring them to Raindrop.io. When I like, bookmark, upvote, or save on services like YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter, Reddit, Flickr, SoundCloud, GoodReads, Spotify, GitHub, Medium, or Ello an item, it will be saved to Raindrop.io, including tags.
+
+## Raindrop.io
+
+In Raindrop.io, I process the content. I have an intensive tagging strategy, which I apply to all items. Raindrop.io (Pro) will analyze the content and suggest tags, which is helpful.
+
+Content, which I want to remember, I immediately archive after I tagged it (like videos, I watched or links to websites to remember). Others I read, when I find the time, which might take a few days or weeks. When I didn’t like an item or think it’s not worth saving it, I delete it.
+
+Raindrop.io has a good full-text search, that is quick and searches not only for tags but for all saved items. Additionally, the content will be stored _forever_. Even if a website goes offline, you can see the complete saved article (pure text and HTML).
+
+## DEVONthink
+
+I use [DEVONthink](https://devontechnologies.com/apps/devonthink) to save Documents, Images, Video, and other references I want to keep. They synchronize encrypted via iCloud between my computers and mobile devices.
+
+## Processing Books
+
+When I read books, I mark important passages and pages. Occasionally, I draw a Sketchnote of a specific topic, to make sure I don’t forget the information. All highlights in my apps are automatically moved to [Readwise](https://readwise.io/).
+
+## Conclusion
+
+I try to automate as much as possible with IFTTT. I save all information first to Raindrop.io. Furthermore, can find the information again with a powerful full-text search. Raindrop.io saves the content offline (not the videos), I don’t have to care if somebody takes the content down.
+
+The most valuable information I save to DEVONthink.
+
+If I want to remember information (and not remember where to find it), I use this well-known, boring way of remembering information: Write it down, draw it, make a doodle, or sketch. Read it. Read it again. And think about it repeatedly.