Good habits

Although this book is several years old, and has sold millions of copies, and has been recommended by close friends, I am only now coming to appreciate the wisdom of Atomic Habits by James Clear. It’s about the science and practice of making good habits and breaking bad ones, and is the best kind of self-help: succinct; clear, valid, and practical. I found it refreshingly useful, and by far the best I’ve seen on habit making. — KK

ReadableClaudia Dawson
Super fast charger

The 65 watt Anker Nano II is an itsy-bitsy wall charger, size of golf ball, that uses fancy circuits to super charge your phone, pad, or laptop really fast, about 3x the standard speed. Its only port is USB-C, and comes without cables, so bring your own. It can fully charge my new iPad in about 75 minutes from a dead start. (A 13-inch laptop is about as big as it can handle in super fast mode; for any laptop larger its advantage is its very small size.) This tiny speed charger is perfect for my daypack bag. — KK

GadgetsClaudia Dawson
Write 5x more but write 5x less

This advice has been haunting me since I first read it — because it’s genius. Mike Crittenden says there are 2 things he has come to believe about writing: 1. The average person should write 5x more things than they do. 2. The average written thing should be 5x shorter than it is. I remind myself of this every time I’m about to put my pen down or stop typing. — CD

WritingClaudia Dawson
Artsy postage stamps

Sending a hand-written letter by post is a sure way to stand out. Part of that signal is the postal stamps, and in recognition of this role, the US Postal Service issues trendy artsy stamps for a stylish accent. Right now you can get Espresso stamps (weird), Droids stamps (collectibles), Hip Hop DJ stamps (edgy), Western wear stamps (vintage!), and Otters in Snow stamps (soooo cute), all ordered online, sent to you by mail, of course. These are Forever stamps that dont need extra postage when the rates change. — KK

WritingClaudia Dawson
Free online drawing mannequin

Set Pose is an online drawing mannequin that you can adjust and use as a 3D model reference. There are presets like running, sitting, playing sports and combat poses that you can select, and even some props like a sword, bike, and chair. This is perfect for me because I always have trouble drawing dynamic poses. — CD

DrawingClaudia Dawson
Excellent movie

5 stars for the new movie DUNE. It’s the most exquisite world building (worlding) I’ve seen since Star Wars. Crisp, inventive, plausible and coherent. The soundtrack and cinematic style are appropriate to the world. The story is forceful and mythical. I want more. After you watched it once, but before you watch it again, this long Max Read annotation will fill you in on the Dune book/movie references. I watched it streamed on HBO, but it would be worth seeing it in a theater. — KK

What to watchClaudia Dawson
Relationship mini-insight

In this short snippet from a longer interview, Esther Perel explains “Why your Partner Criticizes You.” She says behind every criticism is a wish. This does not excuse being critical toward your partner, but keeping this in mind helps me focus on what it is I’m really requesting of my partner and what he might be asking of me. Worth the 4-minute listen. — CD

RelationshipClaudia Dawson
Mixing colors

Mixing a specific color by hand — I want to make this particular shade of green starting from primary colors — is a super skill that artists acquire and is much harder than it looks. I watched many YouTube tutorials to learn how to do this with paints and this one by Draw Mix Paint was the best method for me. It’s still more art than science. — KK

ArtClaudia Dawson
Uninhibited architecture

On this modest website, Arquitectura Libre, one photographer documents the outlandish homes that uninhibited new wealth enables in developing countries. So far he has cataloged creative buildings in only a few countries, but I’ve seen these all around the world, particularly China, so I hope he keeps going. Normal homes are so boring! — KK

DesignClaudia Dawson
Text-only weather

Get three-day weather forecasts for any city by entering ​​http://wttr.in/city in your browser’s URL bar (e.g. http://wttr.in/boston or http://wttr.in/portland_maine). The page loads fast because there are no ads or graphics. — MF

OutdoorsClaudia Dawson
Declaration of Enchantment

When I feel uninspired, I like to re-read this Declaration of Enchantment, written by Depth Psychologist Craig Chalquist. There are 15 articles — all outlining the importance of nurturing our imagination. Reading this invigorates my curiosity and infuses me with awe. Below is an excerpt from the Preamble. — CD

We can live a few weeks without food, a few days without water, and a few hours without shelter in an inhospitable clime, but we cannot live for even a moment without some movement of imagination in mind and body. To restrict its enlivening flow is to cripple the wellsprings of health, vitality, and sanity. Enchantment is a self-evident basic right. An assault on enchantment is an assault on the human spirit.

PlayClaudia Dawson
Tuna strainer

I have a smooth-edge can opener and I like it much more than an old-fashioned can opener. My wife complains when she uses it to open a can of tuna, though, because the diameter of the cut lid is too large to squeeze the water out of the can. So I bought this simple tuna strainer. It’s a metal cup with holes in it. Press down on the handles and you can squeeze as much liquid as you want from the can. — MF

KitchenClaudia Dawson