With the Quest in my hands came the challenges of using it in a comfortable way, plus figuring out what I could actually do with it. Let’s break down these topics.

Ergonomics

I tried to keep it as portable as possible to take with me on trips, but that idea didn’t last long. The basic strap doesn’t balance the weight well, so I switched to the Meta Elite Strap with battery. It’s much more comfortable, but now it’s not ideal for flights because of the size, shape, and battery. I’d love to just throw it in my checked bag, but the battery isn’t removable and takes up precious space in my carry-on.

Fitness and Mental Health

It would be great to have a device where I could see strength training exercises and practice along in real time. However, the available apps so far don’t deliver a great experience for that. Most of them focus on boxing or fighting. There’s potential here, but it’s not available yet.

For mental health, I thought it would be cool to immerse myself in calm environments to meditate. But I immediately scrapped that idea when I remembered that the whole goal of meditation is to focus on your body, and having a screen strapped to my face makes no sense.

Virtual Display for Work

This was one of the main goals I had for the device. After trying a few options like Immersed, Horizon Workrooms, and Virtual Desktop, I chose Virtual Desktop. It supports offline use and is more stable in terms of image quality and comfort.

However, I rarely use it. I’m still trying to find a comfortable setup, but I always end up going back to my laptop display. There’s something about having the screen so close to my eyes, and the weight of the Quest, that just doesn’t feel right for longer sessions.

Movies

This is probably the category where it works best so far. I enjoy watching YouTube and movies on the device and have actually replaced my iPad for that use.

Despite all of this, I still think it was worth the purchase. Some things I couldn’t really understand from reviews alone, the hands-on experience helped me see the real use cases and limitations. There’s a lot of potential here, even though the device feels a bit rustic for now. I wouldn’t recommend it to non-techy friends or older folks just yet, but I really believe this type of device could easily replace many of the screens we use today.

Active Data
I store this data on my OneDrive. Here, I keep things I use daily and care about: projects, references, photos, documents, etc.

Root tree of my OneDrive:

• Apps: backups/exports of data from apps, like Todoist.
• Areas: files related to different areas of my life, such as home, health, employer, etc.
• Contacts: mainly WhatsApp conversations that I export and delete from the app but keep here.
• CoreDocuments: essential documents for life planning, like an Excel sheet with an annual plan.
• Pictures: my photos, organized by year or by event if there are many photos.
• Projects: supporting material for my current projects.
• References: various reference materials, like videos, books, articles, etc.
• zArchiveYYYY: a temporary folder where I move items that need to be archived. YYYY represents the current year. The “Z” keeps it at the end of the list.

Cold Archive
After the year ends, I move the zArchiveYYYY folder to an encrypted 7zip file, split into 2GB chunks to make it easier to transfer. I store three copies of this: two at home on an external drive and on a NAS; the third copy is kept on Amazon AWS S3 Glacier Archive.

In our always-on, always-connected era, the constant barrage of real-time demands—be it from emails, phone calls, or video chats—can feel like a never-ending battle for your attention. Yet, there’s a hero in the midst, often overlooked yet immensely powerful: asynchronous communication.

The Pace of Your Own Drum: Asynchronous communication breaks the chains of immediate responses, allowing you and your recipients to engage in discussions on your own schedules. Think of it like leaving a note for a colleague versus waiting at their desk for an answer. You drop your message into the digital world, and they pick it up when they’re ready, armed with thought and focus, ready to dive deep into the conversation.

Here’s How to Weave Asynchronous Communication into Your Daily Tapestry:

1. Set Clear Expectations: Like setting the rules of a game before playing, establish how and when responses should occur within your team. This clarity removes the pressure of immediacy and fosters a culture of thoughtful response.

2. Leverage Project Management Wizards: Use platforms like Trello, Asana, or Slack as your digital bulletin boards. They become the central hubs where updates, feedback, and discussions live, visible to all but intrusive to none.

3. Master the Art of Brevity: Your messages are like arrows. Make them sharp, focused, and to the point to avoid overwhelming your team’s quiver.

4. Know Your Audience: While asynchronous communication is a powerful tool, it’s not one-size-fits-all. Understand the preferences of those you’re communicating with—some may thrive on real-time interactions, while others blossom in the quiet of asynchronous dialogue.

The Takeaway: Asynchronous communication isn’t just about reducing interruptions; it’s about enriching our interactions with intentionality and respect for each other’s time and work rhythms. By embracing these practices, you’re not just improving productivity; you’re building a more thoughtful, engaged, and balanced work environment. Give it a try, and watch the transformation in your work life and beyond.

Principles:

• Multi-Platform: When choosing technology tools, I always go for the ones that are available on multiple platforms - web, mobile, and desktop. This way, I can switch between devices without worrying about losing my data or changing my tools.
• Long-Term Maintenance: I always look for tools that have a good maintenance track record and focus on long-term support. This means that I can set up and use them for years to come without worrying about having to migrate to a new tool just because the old one doesn’t work on the latest device.
• Reasonable Price: While there are many free tools available, I prefer to pay for the tools that I use. This ensures that the developers have a direct revenue stream from their clients and are incentivized to provide long-term support and improvements to the tool.
• Data Exportability: Finally, I always look for tools that allow me to export my data in a human-readable format. This way, I can keep frequent copies of my data and be free to migrate to a different tool if necessary.

Example: Todoist is a productivity tool that fits all my principles. Todoist is available on multiple platforms, including web, desktop, and mobile devices. It has a good track record of long-term support and regular updates to ensure it remains compatible with new devices. Todoist offers a reasonable price for its premium features, which I use to help me stay organized and productive. One of the best features of Todoist is its ability to export data in multiple formats, including CSV and JSON, which makes it easy to migrate my data to another tool if needed.

Image from @bramnaus

Do you have any technology principles that have helped you to master your tools? Share them in the comments below! And if you haven’t tried Todoist yet, give it a try and see how it can help you to stay organized and productive.

I wanted a lightweight solution without background jobs because I don’t need real-time backups of my work. What I need is a system that, when I run it, creates encrypted snapshots of changes and stores them in multiple locations.

My data is centralized on a portable SSD, which includes the following key folders:

• OneDrive: I use this mainly as a shared folder between my devices. I don’t rely on any services here — it’s just files that I could store anywhere else if needed
• Archive: A collection of things I’m no longer actively working on or that aren’t immediately relevant but still worth keeping
• PersonalServer: A replica of my Linux server
• Developer: A replica of my “Developer” folder from my computer, which contains the repositories for apps I maintain

The Backup Process

Before backing anything up, I run a script that updates these folders on the SSD. Then, I use Restic to back everything up to two locations (both encrypted):

• My local NAS
• Hetzner Storage Box

This setup gives me three copies:

• A local copy on my SSD
• Another on my NAS
• A remote copy on Hetzner

I highly recommend Restic if you’re comfortable with the terminal. It takes only a few minutes to set up the first time, and after that, it’s pretty easy to maintain