Stuff About Brad

Wunderlist helps with disability

I am physically disabled. I have chronic pain and feel physically sick most of the time. This kind of impairment, much like sleep-deprivation, can make following an everyday routine very challenging. Beyond “normal” things, I must remember medicines and supplements, to stretch for an hour or two, and to rest every few hours.

Most of the time, having a disability sucks. Sure, there are some perks, but those are more akin to the consolation prizes of an arcade crane game; a small, token piece of candy instead of the large, desirable plush bear. A handicap placard ― my consolation candy. The price of that tiny sweetness? Everything hurts, all of the time. Everything is harder. Constant pain, nausea, strong medicines, side-effects, doctor visits, immobility, soreness, aches, muscle fatigue, cramps… Most days, I’m stuck at home. Friendships are hard to maintain — nobody is crashing my non-existent party. I’m tethered to my pill bottles; I must take medicines with me everywhere I go, whether that’s out to dinner (on that rare occasion) or into the other room. If I am out in public, I face varying degrees of intolerance, stares, and strange looks from passersby.

Living with a disability is also very expensive, and being disabled makes earning a living and managing money much more difficult. With my condition, a standard workday is an impossibility, and if I’m not careful, debt can become near insurmountable. Because of this, I need to save money anywhere I can, any way I can — shaving off one dollar here and there makes a big difference at the end of the month. (I never saved and used coupons before my disability, but those are great, too.)

Where Wunderlist enters my story. 

I’m really not sure how I managed to do anything properly several years ago. I’ve dealt with my disability for about five years now. Going anywhere requires a set of backups and precautions; I must plan around mobility limitations, remember to bring and take my medicines, tell people where I’m going, and remember where I’m going and why. This requires a good list. 

I’ve tried other to-do list programs in the past, but none seemed to fit. Some were cumbersome — others, too basic. The “best” apps are usually expensive, like “Things:” iPhone version, iPad version, desktop version. That’s three separate expenses for one tool. I tried one version, and found it too complex and irritating. Wunderlist, however, has truly filled a void in remarkable ways. 

For me, it’s changed everything. 

My disability has made many things impossible for me, and makes everything that I can still do a lot  more difficult. I just don't have the energy or the strength to constantly fight with an organization or “GTD” app. I need something flexible, reliable, and simple. I need something I can afford. Thanks to 6Wunderkinder and the Internet, I have Wunderlist.

I love Wunderlist. First, it’s free, and available on every device I use. In my condition, using a desktop is often difficult, and I rarely have all of my devices with me simultaneously. I need something portable that stays synchronized, accessible and easy to use… that’s Wunderlist. Available on iOS (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad), Android, Windows and Mac, and via web interface — Wunderlist incredibly easy to learn and usable within minutes.

Being disabled, I rely on lightweight, mobile devices and help from other people. It’s sad and humbling to admit, but I can’t take care of myself, by myself — there’s too much that I can’t do.

Fortunately, many people have been kind to me, and help me with basics. With Wunderlist, I can remind myself to take medicines, stretch, exercise and keep hydrated, but I can also use Wunderlist to share lists with other people.

Sharing lists makes it easier for others to help me: I can make a list of groceries that I need — or medications to be picked up at the pharmacy — and can share that list with friends and family. This is particularly great for groceries and supplies; with one list, there’s no confusion about what I have and what I still need. 

Helpful features. 

In particular, the option to receive push or email notifications of tasks is crucial. Some medications are easy to forget about because the effects aren't instantaneous and unfortunately, the consequences of forgetting can be serious ― even life threatening. With Wunderlist, I can create a task “take medicine” (a specific type), get a reminder to take the medicine at a specific time, and check off the task once I've taken the medicine. I can then set up another task for the next interval. 

Two features would make Wunderlist perfect (for me): repeating tasks and detailed timestamps for completed tasks. This would leave less room for mistakes, specifically with medications. A repeating task could be set up for each medication at each corresponding interval, and a timestamp marking “task completion” will record exactly when each medicine was taken — in case I think I forgot a dose, actually missed a dose, or didn't take the medicine on time. This would help me reset the repeating tasks to the new time intervals.

I hope my story and use of Wunderlist helps other disabled people get things done just a bit easier.

OmmWriter Dana II Thoughts and Review

Thoughts on OmmWriter Dāna II, part one.

First, I’d like to point out that I’m creating this blog entry using OmmWriter Dāna II, at the moment, [with the fourth font selected, the largest font option, the (first) chromatherapy background, music off (“Lost in Translation” movie soundtrack in the background, and keystroke sound No. 07]

So far, I can tell you that OmmWriter is a deep, thoughtful, ambitious project under the direction of “The OmmWriter Crew” out of Barcelona — though I’ve only had contact with ‘Collin.’ He’s been extremely gracious, responsive, and interested in my thoughts and feedback. I’d told him that I was going to share my thoughts on this app with everyone, but that I was specifically interested in OmmWriter Dāna II as an application for people with disabilities, pain problems, and those in recovery (of some kind). 

The app is available at the OmmWriter website and through the Mac App Store. OmmWriter Dāna II is about 100MB and available at the App Store for just $4.99 USD. At the OmmWriter website however, there are both PC and Mac versions available, and you can choose your own price for the app, anything beyond four dollars. 

So far, so good. 

I was initially reluctant to use this app for blogging because it seemed to lack “smart quotes” (slanted ones), but it does have them, as well as several other substitutions: ‘smart’ text and links, as well as text replacement — utilizing Mac OS’ Languages & Text system preferences. OmmWriter Dāna I and II both lack formatting options, text markup (bold, italics, underline, etc.) and custom fonts, but I only have an issue with the last item. 

Using this app for blog writing, I don’t want to worry about formatting, because online, it’ll all change. I don’t need to markup my writing yet — I’ll do that in the blog editor (in HTML). For blogging, I’d rather work in plain text. 

I do wish that OmmWriter would allow for custom fonts, however. 

The inability to change fonts in iA Writer for iPad doesn’t bother me, because the developers have chosen a clear, simple, superb, readable ‘special’ font — it fits the app beautifully. By contrast, the font options in OmmWriter aren’t pretty, and one of them isn’t very usable (clear). 

My rough analysis tells me that the available OmmWriter fonts are: Helvetica, Georgia, Snell Roundhand and Bitstream Vera Sans Mono. Of these four, only Bitstream Vera Sans Mono is tolerable to me… and it’s because the leading and tracking for the fonts just isn’t set right. 

This ‘issue’ might only bother graphic designers and typographers, and the OmmWriter ‘philosophy’ states that the set fonts are part of the minimalist, streamlined approach. For me, however, it just about makes me want to change apps. The chromatherapy background is making me stay at the moment; but I do hope that, in the near-future, Herraiz Soto & Co (OmmWriter creative and concept designers) allow a typographer to pick better fonts and set them properly. 

Now, with that out of the way: another issue that I have with the app is its limited font sizes. The margins, width and height of the text field can be modified, but the size of text inside of the box only has four settings, from 00 to +3. The smallest size is fine (small enough), and the very largest (+3) might be fine on a netbook or notebook computer… but on my iMac, it’s too small. Sometimes I want huge text (I’m sure some will relate; don't let your mind wander about now) — large enough to read from eight feet away — because my eyes might be tired, or because I’m writing with help from someone seated farther away from the screen. 

OmmWriter doesn’t accommodate. 

It’s clear; OmmWriter (Dana I & II) is more lifestyle app than true “text editor” or writing tool, one suited for those fond of ‘new age’ stuff and unconventional coolness. There’s a definite feeling that I get from this app, and it’s obvious that the devs are comfortable with its style, and aren’t trying to be cool or make their program look cool (just to look it). Behind every aspect of the app there's a thought, a reason; there is purpose behind each feature and limitation… and that, I can respect.

But I’m not sure that I really like it, or agree with it… yet. 

Things change, apps change — OmmWriter might very well one day be my go-to, catch-all, get-things-done writing tool. 

Presently, however, it’s a toy (but a beautiful one) — a toy that I have a tremendous amount of respect for. I know that it fits some people marvelously — and they’ll wonder what I’m going on about. I’m equally aware of the fact that some people will hate OmmWriter to its core, and won’t want any of the included keystroke sounds, color-shifting backgrounds, or the strange, new-age soundtrack. 

Beyond the desktop application, OmmWriter may soon be available for the iPad — and I could see it working well on that platform. With less competition, a defined resolution and working space, and the iOS’ unique strengths and limitations, The OmmWriter Crew may soon drop a gem for iPad users. I’m anxiously awaiting that release… and hope that the fonts look better on the smaller screen. 

I’ll have to come back to the desktop app later, to analyze it specifically as a tool for the disabled. I’d intended to just share a few thoughts about this writing tool and segue to thoughts on lucid dreams, but I got wrapped up, thinking about what is truly the most exciting least boring text editor ever made. 

Part of the deviation occurred when I realized that what I had to share about lucid dreams wasn’t just for this blog. For now, I’ll say this: I think that lucid dreams are critical in the recovery process, and can offer people a perfect, cathartic release as well as a method of healing. 

Lastly, I wonder… have you seen Crysis 2?! 

Free time? Maybe someday.

I had thought that, with the Starcraft II event postponed, I'd have some time to really relax, but that's just not life at the moment. Recently, I've been dealing with project after project — every-so-often I remind myself to eat and rest my eyes. Throughout last week, any time not spent working on a project was devoted to task management or sleep.

What's wild is I'm not actively marketing at the moment. I'm working on stuff brought to me by friends and associates — and I've been selective — I still have my own stuff to design!

Despite the pressure, it's important to me to rest properly. I think I'd overworked myself across the past few days — yesterday I had a horrid migraine. Cause and effect? Perhaps. Too often people pride themselves on multitasking and sleep-deprivation — such astounding ignorance; it's equivalent to having pride in being ineffective and sluggardly.

There's a lot wrong with "get rich, quick," and "live each day as if it were your last," yet many people treat these clichés as aphorisms. With those ideals and flexible morals, addiction, crime and all forms of abuse seem like justifiable means to an end. After all, if today is my last day on Earth...

The Japanese have a philosophy called kaizen — a focus on continuous self-improvement. This "foreign" idea feels right to me... unfortunately, it's hard to find in others, especially here in California. Across all mediums and media, people are encouraged to abandon hard work for the fantasy life, bought and paid-for by instant fortunes and fantastic wealth. How many people do awful things in pursuit of these pipe dreams?

Energy and essence.

True creativity requires time and isolation; at best, the quick-fixes and hot patches result in underwhelming substitutes for originality. The "rush job" is often composed of plagiarism and humdrum. Ingenuity and innovation demand sedulous cultivation, foresight and patience.

Planning is an important element of the creative process. Some of my best ideas come to me in my sleep —when I'm already well-rested. If I'm fatigued, my pain increases and my composure diminishes — kaizen can end up out-the-window.

Maintaining energy is demanding, requiring persistence and preparation. However, in my line of work, it's the critical element separating good and great.

I'm planning to become a little more great each day.

[Posted from my iPad using BlogPress.]