Why I quit social media (and re-thinking my relation with the US)

This is not the post I thought I would ever have to write. Things in the world have got crazy and aliases have to be made. The thought of writing from a political perspective was never something I would consider, however, here I am writing from that point. I can't deny that the recent comments and actions from the current president of the United States of America has got my back up. I am being as diplomatic as possible because as much as I have a distaste for certain leadership, I have made many wonderful connections and friends from people...

My Personal App Stack 2025 (updated February)

I've had a review of all my apps and deleted a lot of the surplus applications and services I had. Many have been unsubscribed to, deleted and accounts deactivated/deleted. This is what I plan to stick with for the rest of 2025.  Apple ecosystem • Apple Calendar - View events, birthdays and anniversaries. • Apple Notes - Record projects, collections, quick notes and sketches. • Apple Reminders - Daily tasks, routines and shopping (shared). • Apple Mail - Email with iCloud mail accounts. • Apple Safari - Browsing the web and access to limited social media sites. • Apple Numbers -...

The desire to live a simpler life

A recent video by Joshua Becker on YouTube had me thinking about something that has been bothering me lately. If you access X or Instagram, you might have seen it. I think you have certainly seen it. What am I talking about? Joshua speaks about how the ‘selfish culture of hustle is celebrated’. It’s true. I see this a lot on X (formerly known as Twitter) feed. Do more, be better, get richer, strive for perfection or be more productive. I’ve had enough of it. These messages do not resonate with me. Working in education means I am working hard...

My Weekly Software Stack (2025 Edition)

What I use at home and work each week On the success of my Five apps I use every day to organise my life (2024 Edition), I thought I would list all the apps I use personally and professionally. This will not be an in-depth post. It’s just a bit of fun to share what I use each week. There are more apps I use, but they are accessed less frequently than the list below. I’ve tried to link as many of the applications to their respected developer’s website. Hopefully, the UK links redirect to your country’s website. I’m sure...

New habit for the New Year? Try this.

One strategic approach that helped me not give up on new habits. So, it’s the start of the year. ‘New year, new me’ I hear you say. You buy all the gear (and no idea) and set off on your quest to be a better person. The first month goes well with a few bumps in the road. But then you hit February and the newness and motivation start to wear down. Your habit now becomes an occasional occurrence. Something you will do when you ‘have time’. By March, your new habit sounded like a good idea, but other priorities...

New Acronym for CodeMacLife

Life changes. So does my blog. When I started CodeMacLife, it was a simple representation of the different aspects of my life — computing, Apple products, and self-improvement. But as time went on, my focus shifted towards my career, quality of life, and the things that truly matter to me. Reflecting on these changes, I realised that the original meaning behind CodeMacLife no longer resonated with where I am now. So, I decided to revamp it with a new acronym that better reflects the topics I write about and care about. Here is what CodeMacLife represents now: • C: Capture...

One week in and I can already see the advantage of consuming less content online. It's amazing what you can do when your face isn't glued to a screen. 

Lifetime plan for Scribbles is back 🙌

Vincent is bringing back the Lifetime plan deal for Scribbles. Lifetime plan & looking ahead

I’m on Bluesky!

This is probably a weird time to post since I am on a break from social media, but I am on Bluesky. https://bsky.app/profile/codemaclife.bsky.social

The Weekly Review — Issue 14

Hey there! I’ve been working on getting back into the groove of posting weekly, and I think I’ve finally found a plan that will help me stick to it. If you’ve been following along, you might have noticed a few more posts recently — and that’s all thanks to some new habits I’ve been trying out with my writing process. Can’t wait to share what’s been working so far and keep this momentum going! Taking a pause from social media As I explained in my blog, Embracing JOMO, I find great joy in missing out on worldly events and social...

First impressions of Voicenotes

Discovering the Sixth Essential App: Revolutionising Productivity with Voicenotes Thirteen days after posting my popular blog on the five essential apps I use every day to organise my life, I believe I have found the sixth! Voicenotes by Coping Hard Inc has become an integral part of my daily routine in just four short days. It’s remarkable how quickly this tool has established itself alongside the five other apps I use consistently every day. The ease of transcribing voice notes into text is truly impressive. From there, the possibilities seem endless — creating tweets, summaries, and even blog posts becomes...

Embracing JOMO

Finding Joy in Prioritising What Matters In the past few months, I’ve taken a deep dive into understanding what truly matters in my life. One thing that stands out is recognising the importance of distinguishing between what deserves my attention and what doesn’t. At work, especially during busy seasons, I make sure to redefine my priorities. This often means setting aside my personal ventures, like blogging and maintaining online social connections, in favour of maintaining focus. This requires going into radio silence mode, cutting off social media distractions. It’s a maturity thing, something that helps in maintaining a balance. For...

Rekindling my use of e-ink books

From Apple Books to Amazon Kindle Paperwhite: A Journey Towards Focus and Immersion in Reading This past year, I have opted for Apple’s Book app and physical books. Physical books have always been a safe choice, and I have taken leverage of my local library to provide me with what I required. At the beginning of the year, I decided I wanted to exclusively use the Apple Books app to read digital literature. Apple Books is a great app. I have found some good deals. Some titles were cheaper than their physical counterparts. In fact, they were cheaper than the...

Five apps I use every day to organise my life (2024 Edition)

Many changes, same principleIt has been over a year since I last published my post on the apps I use every day on Medium. The fact the post is my most successful post made me think it was worth sharing an update because there have been changes along the way. As previously mentioned, these apps bring a persistent calm to my day. I’ve matured in the way I select the apps I use and switching is not a thing I do these days. There was a time when new apps would appear in my life each month. As much as...

Blogging can be part of the mindfulness routine

How an epiphany made me realise I was approaching blogging entirely wrong.I haven’t written a blog in a while. In fact, the last time I wrote was a day before I set off for my holiday in Mexico (mid-August). Truth be told, I wanted to focus on my work. My occupation in a school is the most rewarding job I have ever undertaken, and I wanted to give it my all. Any teacher or staff member in a school will tell you — the start of an academic year is tiring (in a good way). Living mindfully for healthy livingI...