Category: Blogroll
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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
With Pittsburgh, I’d mostly just be repeating myself with all the praise I heaped on Cleveland — It’s great! So, instead, I’m just going to do a photo dump from the two Pirates games I went to, as its also a great showcase for the city itself. I’d never been there before, but PNC Park…
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Cleveland, Ohio
I feel like I’m starting to repeat myself with my assessments of these midwest/rustbelt/whatever cities: Used to be great; then wasn’t; started to recover; became mostly great, but smaller, again; COVID; still mostly great, but needs more people downtown. Cleveland fits right into this, but I thought it was especially great! Good start with a…
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Princely Art
I’ve seen a ton of my street murals on this journey. With this one in Cleveland, Prince is now leading for the person I’ve seen the most in them: While I’m on the topic, here are some other faves. I like this one because it’s sweet & I find the response to be just a…
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Detroit, Michigan
Based upon all the coverage its downfall has gotten, I didn’t expect much from Detroit. However, based upon all the coverage its slow recovery has also gotten, I expected to be pleasantly surprised. In both cases, my expectations were met! Good start with the nice-enough bus station: Though the neighborhood it was in wasn’t the…
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South to Canada
A Trivial Pursuit question, from the original, Genus edition, that I very specifically remember getting/hearing, back in the day: What country is directly south of Detroit, Michigan? The answer is Canada, which blew my mind at the time. Decades later, I’ve now now officially confirmed ✅ it 🇨🇦 with my own eyes 👀
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Stopping Mall
On my two-day, 19-bus-hours journey from Minneapolis to Detroit (via Chicago), I had to transfer to a different bus in Lansing, Michigan. As I’ve been detailing, there are either bus stations or bus stops, and the stops have pretty much always been gas stations or McDonald’s parking lots. The bus stop in Lansing was neither:…
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City of Brotherly Love
I never liked the Pistons. I never liked Bill Laimbeer. But fellas born on the same day of the year are 1/365.24th brothers, so I had to take a pic when I stumbled upon this on the street in Detroit.
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Minneapolis, Minnesota
Whenever people ask about the highlight of my 1.5 year-long #workabout back in 20COVID, my answer is usually Milwaukee — it’s like mini-Chicago and an amazing place to visit & hang out. However, after spending a few days there, Minneapolis might now get my vote for “Most Underrated US City” Arriving by bus doesn’t give…
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Princely Metal
Minneapolis sure does love their Prince But it was Metallica, and their insanely devoted fans, that was ruling the city during my visit:
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Puzzles
The best libraries have a community puzzle table
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Duluth, Minnesota
After North Dakota, I knew I was headed Minneapolis, but first needed to kill a few days somewhere else in Minnesota. So, I pulled up Google Maps, looked to find city name I recognized & that was east of Fargo. Hello Duluth! Needless to say, I knew nothing about it prior to my arrival. Getting…
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My Favorite Driver (so far)
I though the most…eccentric…folks I’d experience on this #workabout would be my fellow bus passengers. They are indeed special folks at times, but it’s the bus drivers that have proven to be the most entertaining to me. Maybe it’s because they’re the ones in charge, and have all the power? I don’t know, I just…
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Random (Very) Fargo Photo Dump
Like I said, lotta bison statues in Fargo (errr, Moorhead 👯): Why did I take this picture: I noticed these sidewalk stamps everywhere in Fargo (and, Bismarck), and the companies changed from section to section. Is this something that’s in all sidewalks and I never noticed before? “High Caffeine” coffee, another thing I noticed in…
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Fargo, North Dakota
Like Coeur d’Alene, Fargo is one of those uniquely-named places that’s always stuck in my head, and that I was looking forward to visiting on this #workabout. After my dud of a time in Bismarck, however, my expectations were very, very low. But Fargo turned out to actually be kinda nice! Not the bus station…
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Bismarck, North Dakota
I knew ignorantly traveling like I am on this #workabout that I’d eventually run into a dud. Bismarck is a dud: not pretty; not much to do; uninteresting people. Nothing bad happened to me, it’s just that…nothing…really happened. Still took some pics, though, so let’s get into them. The first thing I noticed upon getting…
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Night Bus Math
I, seemingly, took the worst* bus trip of my life, a 9.5 night bus from Bozeman to Bismarck. But I emerged & arrived feeling positive & happy. Why? Let’s do the math → -1 → The bus was $191 and the pickup was @ 2 am in the Walmart parking lot (this really should be…
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ABC
Basic, core, fundamental, no excuses, travel rule in our awesomely modern world → ABC = Always Be Charging
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Random Bismarck
“Pop” instead of “Soda” (and clearly* found my burger place) → No area code → Manual skating rink in park → Roundup in their State museum → *I lied
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Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman had a similar “this is so nice” vibe to Missoula, but is pleasantly bigger. It didn’t start off so great, though, as it has a bus stop, not station, and it’s in a Wal-Mart parking lot: It was right across from my motel, though, where I first sighted the mountains & view that everywhere…
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Trip Advisor
Hahaha, the third ranked Trip Advisor “Top Attraction” in Bismarck, North Dakota, where I arrived today, is Laughing Sun Brewing. I’ve never seen a brewery or bar or restaurant ever even be in the Top Ten of any other place I’ve looked up. So, duh, that’s where I’m posting this from (and I walked by…
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Missoula, Montana
Sure, Missoula is beautiful, set on a river in the mountains. But the phrase I kept saying in my head was “Missoula is community”. No matter where I went in town, it just felt like a cohesive community. On the streets: On the University of Montana campus: On the great hike to the big M…
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Monoply Bus (con’t)
LOL, it doesn’t get much worse than the schedule & price for my next leg of this #workabout: And this is the Bozeman bus stop where I’ll be catching it: So I’ll be hanging out in the Wal-Mart parking lot at 1am Wednesday. On the positive side, I save $ by not having to book…
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Bus Tour
Here’s a pic of the type of bus I’ve been riding since Spokane — they’ve all looked like this: They’re actually clean, with comfortable seats & charging inside, though the WiFi they advertise is BS — it never works for long. The bathroom does, though 🙌. There is no real Greyhound in this region; all…
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Coeur d’Alene Library
Yep, I’m posting about a library again. But I’m not sorry, I just love ‘em, and these Inland Pacific Northwest (a term I learned on this trip) towns all seem to have a great one. Nobody would judge me if I was posting about cute & cozy little coffee shops, and that’s how I treat…
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Coeur d’Alene
The next stop on this eastward bus #workabout was Coeur d’Alene, an exotic-sounding place, and one that I’m still incapable of spelling correctly when typing it. It’s an easy 45 minute bus ride from Spokane, but a totally different world. Welcome to resort town! Well, not my motel — the atmosphere & guests were reminders…
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Bus Station vs. Stop
I threw shade at the Seattle bus station, but I take it back, as I now realize that just having an actual station might be a big deal. Ex: That’s the Coeur d’Alene bus “station” above, aka, a gas station. Adding insult to it, the stop is about three miles from downtown, and I refuse…
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Spokane, Washington
I walked from the cruise ship dock to the Seattle bus station, and quickly realized this next journey was going to be very, very different from the cruise. From a floating resort to… My first stop was Spokane, WA, a five hour bus ride. I’ll do a post later about bus-riding, but this one was…
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Unplanned #workabout
When I booked my flight home from Seattle for after my cruise, I idiotically selected my return date to DC for when the cruise was departing to Alaska instead of when it was returning. I only realized it a few days before my trip started, and I had purchased the cheap “you can’t ever change…
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Seattle + Alaska Cruise Vacation
I haven’t posted in awhile, nor done any DYDit work, because I was on a fantastic seven-day Alaskan cruise with my family. It departed from Seattle, so we also spent a few days there before the cruise. I think we’ve all seen lots of pics from Alaskan cruises –the ship; ocean; mountains; icebergs; eagles; whales;…
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DYDit Data Review: Q2 2024
“Did You Do it Today?” has been live for three more months, so it’s time for another look at some top data nuggets (see the Q1 ’24 recap here): #1 → Customers “DYDit” 65% of the time This was 62% in the last quarterly review, so we’re moving in the right direction. That said, because…
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Fun with GIFs
I added another new badge to DYDit today, and the GIF that launches when you tap it could be my favorite I’ve used in the app so far. It’s clearly from an earlier generation, but I don’t really care to know much more than that — it just makes me LOL every time I see…
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Five Day Weekend
5 day weekends > 4 day weekends. Happy 8th of July!
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No Mo Row
An update to the surprise rowing machine in my building: I guess “ask permission” beats “ask for forgiveness” this time around
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Weekly New Badge
In order to add variety to the DYDit app, keeping it feeling fresh & alive, every Monday I change the GIFs that customers see after they check in. I’m now also introducing a new achievement badge each week, and the newest one is earned by checking in at least 50 times.
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DYDit Updates #1
I sent my first “DYDit Updates” email to active subscribers today. It includes juicy, super-secret info that you won’t find anywhere else. It also has a picture in it that isn’t AI generated, and includes my face. So, subscribe to my app for faces & secrets. Oh, and if you want help building a habit.
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Free Rowing Machine
Someone plopped their very nice rowing machine in our gym. They clearly didn’t ask permission, as all residents received a stern email asking whoever left it there to contact management. I thought of crafting this into a LinkedIn-worthy “be bold” or “only ask for forgiveness” syrup to market DYDit, but I just can’t. I really…
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Tall Building Rules
One of the things I’m most excited to talk about when I get Drink-Eat-Walk going is this building, the reason DC has such severe building height restrictions.
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Satisfyingly Mind Numbing
I’m launching a referral program so customers are rewarded for helping spread the word about DYDit. So, today I had to manually create lots personal promo codes in Stripe, and then manually add each of them to my database. Extremely repetitive, mindless work, but kinda satisfying on a scorching hot Friday while watching the Euros…
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Planted on Couch
Making myself very much at home at one of the common-area couches in my apartment building. I’m crafting a DYDit Updates email to customers, and realizing I’m very glad I don’t have to water & maintain the beautiful plant wall next to me.
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DYDit Has Badges
Achievement badges are now live on Did You Do it Today! The first badge that can be earned is for checking in 25 times, no matter if the check-in is a “Yes” or “No”. Accountability & consistency are two of the crucial things DYDit offers to those who subscribe for help building their habit. And…
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Side Gig Research
Growing & making Did You Do it Today better every day is still my 100% focus this year, but I’m now spending some evenings researching my potential side project. Probably shoulda started tough work like this many, many months ago.
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Exactly What I Want
David Perell produces one of my favorite podcasts, and in this one he summarizes the writing habits of Jerry Seinfeld. There are many inspirational nuggets within, including “Fail Doing Exactly What You Want To Do” I’m loving building & growing “Did You Do it Today?” right now, so if it fails 🤷
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Work from Bar
The Euros are the best footie competition, even better than World Cup (everybody plays too scared there), and the first match was today @ 3pm. So, I asked my Boss if I could work from my favorite bar. He said “yes”, as long as I promised to still do some work. So, with this post…✅…
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Park Work Sanity
Working from home, alone on Did You Do it Today? will slowly drive me crazy if I don’t force myself to get out of the apartment. So I do it once a week, usually to a library Sometimes, however, I find myself in a random new place, as I did yesterday @ Swampoodle Terrace. It’s…
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Not an “Real” App
Did You Do it Today is not a “real” mobile app. At least this is how people respond when I tell them that you won’t find DYDit in the app stores. Unfortunately, when people hear “app”, they mean the ones that you download from the iPhone or Android app stores, So, for them, if it’s…
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Inspiration & Motivation Park
I’d say the majority of time I’ve had a new idea for “Did You Do it Today“, or a motivation breakthrough, it hasn’t been while sitting at the computer working. Rather, it’s been in this park, running laps while listening to podcasts. I usually run ten laps, and it’s the monotony of this, and not…
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Friend Guilt Motivation
Just got back from my annual golf trip with college buddies (a tradition that’s been going on for 30+ years). Some of them are DYDit customers, and a common greeting when friend-customers first see me is a dejected “I checked in ‘No’ today” 🙁 Can’t say I’m a fan that the sight of me causes…
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Rainy Day Thinking
Rainy days are perfect for staring out the window thinking about very important topics like hex values & whether to award a badge @ 23, 25, or 30 check-ins 🤔
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Bundled Customer Joy
I posted last week about not adding the feature that’s been most requested by “Did You Do it Today?” customers. I think I gave some good reasons, but CUSTOMERS ARE EVERYTHING TO ME! So, I’m now working on adding two features, combined in a happy little package, that many have asked for. I’m pretty excited…
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Good Board/Sad Board
I have a white board next to my desk, and I write the current # of “Did You Do it Today?” subscribers at the top of it. Sometimes I’ll see that number and think “this is sooo hard…” 😔 Other times I’ll see it and think “wow, it’s incredible that people have chosen to pay…
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Spork Field Trip
My spork had a productive week, so I took it out for lunch today
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Junk Brand Mail
It still makes me giggle every single time when I get mail delivered to my LLC, which uses the name I very much jokingly came up with ages ago as my “personal brand” 🤣
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Only One Habit
Very specifically, you can only build one habit at a time in “Did You Do it Today?” The #1 feature request I’ve gotten from customers is the ability to track more than one habit in the app. That it doesn’t support this is not because of oversight or laziness. Rather, it’s an intentional choice based…
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The Bluesday After
Sure, being my own boss is (mostly) great, but that doesn’t mean working the day after a long weekend isn’t a little hard. So, I’m fighting through today’s malaise by doing some video learning about how to (finally) make my app more responsive to different screen, device, and font sizes.
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Lots of Software
I believe in paying for software. I use lots of it to build & support my habit tracker app “Did You Do it Today?“, and pay for a fair chunk of it. I’m happy to do so, though, as the stuff I pay for really helps me, and it feels good to support the folks…
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Cool By Any Means
One thing I miss about not having a “real” job while I’m making a go at it with https://didyoudoittoday.com is working out of a “real” office & the over-abundant air conditioning usually happening there. I like it cold. The AC isn’t working in my building right now, so I’ve had to resort to using this…
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Designing Quote Bubbles
I’m continuing with onboarding improvements, and today that means working in the design software Figma creating quote bubbles for customer testimonials. Subscribe at https://didyoudoittoday.com and then say something nice about using it and you just might make it onto the new page! #dydit #dyditlife
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Improving the Funnel
I’m finally getting folks trickling on to https://didyoudoittoday.com to check it out. That means it’s time to start optimizing their onboarding funnel by reducing the # of screens & taps. But I’m trying to do that without sacrificing getting them to start feeling the habit they might want to start building using the app.
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Offline Marketing Campaign
My offline marketing “campaign” begins today 🤣 https://idydit.com
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Libraries are Neighborhoods
This week’s library workspace is the West End branch. Libraries really are a reflection of the neighborhood they serve, meaning this one has: GW professors working on very important papers; a kind man I’m pretty sure lives out of the shopping cart parked out front; and groups of besuited World Bankers eating in the attached…
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Independence is All-Consuming
Independence is all-consuming. Building, selling, and supporting an app as a solopreneur means a shit-ton of work. You have 1,001 things to do at any moment, and only yourself to guide you to what’s most important & right. This means you’re ALWAYS thinking about things, no matter if you’re aware of it or not: Then,…
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Work from PJs
Most times that I work out of the co-working space in my building I’m reminded that Gen Z work-from-homers really do wear their pajamas all day (not shown in the pic, for your safety)
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I’m Not a Habits Expert
I’m not a habits expert, and don’t want to pretend that I am one. You see tons of habit gurus out there relentlessly posting quotes & manifestos about how important good habits are. They’re not wrong, and there are a ton of studies out there to support what they’re saying. So, you don’t really need…
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Empty Gym Costs
One of the benefits to working full-time on idydit.com is that I get to go to the gym when nobody else is there. So, it’s just me that can focus on all the French bulldogs 💩ing in the dog park right outside the windows.
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Today’s Working Spot
Working out of the Mt. Pleasant library in NW DC today. It’s usually full of people, yet still mostly quiet. Except for when the teens arrive, or when the woman is here that continuously, joyously, loudly LOLs watching stuff on the computer ♥️
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“That’s all it does‽”
“That’s all it does‽” is the question I see in the eyes of every person when I first describe the habit tracker I built, “Did You Do it Today?“ My answer is always the same: Yep, it’s focused on only doing one thing — helping you build a single habit. So, why doesn’t it do…
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You Don’t Need a Habit Tracker
You don’t need a habit tracker. You just don’t. I mean, look at all the habits you’ve established without one! You know you’re capable of building a new habit on your own, and don’t need any help. And yet…other things are also true: So, if #1 applies to you (and, it does 🫵), something that…
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Not a $1,000,000 Idea
The “Did You Do it Today?” habit tracker is not a $1,000,000 idea. Nor even a $100,000 idea. It’s a “hopefully it eventually pays some bills” idea. I didn’t build the app to get rich, I did it to: Snooty VCs call things like this “lifestyle businesses” and I’m very, very comfortable with that label.…
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DYDit Data Review: Q1 2024
DYDit has been live with real, paying customers (other than me!) for 3+ months. That means I now have some tasty data nuggets to consume, digest, and get energy from. Here are the top 3 things I’ve foraged: #1 → Folks answer the daily “Did You Do it Today?” check-in with “Yes” 62% of the…
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Pink Snow City
I’ve seen pink sand beaches, but didn’t know anything about pink snow until earlier this week. Must have been caused by the eclipse.
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Water Pressure Pressures
I learned a lot about shower heads this week. If your shower water pressure sucks, turns out you don’t need to buy a new shower head soon after moving in, nor another one two frustrating years later (based upon an article recommendation). All you need to do is remove the stupid, cheap, plastic water restrictor…
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DYDit Theme Song
Since EDM is usually playing in the background anytime I’m working on “Did You Do it Today?”, I commissioned our music department to create a company theme song. I’m pretty happy with what they came up with:
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Why I Built “Did You Do it Today?”
Look, I ❤️ tech, and think it’s a force for good change in the world. But it sometimes feels like it’s become too complicated, and isn’t helping us with the stuff we all think & worry about. • How can I be happier? • Where can I improve my life? • What’s something I can…
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Buying V-22 Ospreys
My first job after college was as a (civilian) Contract Specialist for Naval Air Systems Command. The job was negotiating contracts to purchase major weapons systems for the US Navy & Marines. It’s one of those jobs that always sounded way cooler than it actually was, which was really mostly bureaucratic spreadsheets & paperwork. (Paperwork…
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Japanese Snow Monkeys
I don’t have a travel bucket list. Sure, there are places I’d like to go, but there’s nothing like “I have to see this, and this, and this before I die”. However, there’s one thing I’d always wanted to see since I was a little kid. Growing up in Ithaca, we had a set of…
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Six Things I’m Going to Do in 2024
I declared my five 2024 goals here. Thinking about it more, however, and contrary to learning that it’s counter-productive to commit to too many things, I’m going to add a sixth one: Community → I’m going to get involved with some sort of organized, IRL group this year. My default in life is solitary, and…
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Metro Sledding
One of the amazing things that Oslo offers is the ability to go sledding on an incredible, free slope, Korketrekkeren. Even more amazing is that you use the city Metro to get to the slope, and to get you back up the slope after a ride. So, you start by just hopping on the Metro…
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Sauna Rescue
An update! The floating saunas I visited in Oslo made worldwide news today by helping with a water rescue → https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/02/01/floating-sauna-tesla-norway/ It’s not surprising it’s a Tesla, as they’re everywhere in the city. Also somehow nice to know the water temp aligns with what I swam in. The whole thing is kinda fun to picture,…
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Five Things I’m Going to Do in 2024
I really enjoyed publicly declaring goals for 2023, and then evaluating my year-end performance towards them. Seven was too many, though, which was part of the reason my grades were so low in many of them. So I’m committing to five this year: Sell → I spent last year building & launching, Did You Do…
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2023 Evaluation: Item #7 → Job Seek
The final post in this series. “Job-Seek – I need & want to work again, so will be keeping my eyes open for interesting opportunities. I love Product Management, and it’ll be the primary focus of the search. But, I’m really open to anything, so if you come across something interesting, hit me up → https://www.linkedin.com/in/timgillons/ “ Grade = C If…
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2023 Evaluation: Item #6 → Craft
Continuing this series. “Craft – Gonna prep a story for https://themoth.org/ and think I already have a good baseline one for it 🚲🕊️“ Grade = F I got this book to help guide me, and quickly learned that if I wanted the story to be Moth-worthy, this was going to take much more work than I anticipated. I couldn’t…
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Sauna Plunge
Norway is a sauna culture, including intermittently freezing yourself while in a sauna session. This isn’t limited to the countryside — it also happens in cities. In Oslo, this happens in the fjord harbor across from the Opera House, on small sauna cabins that float on the water: They’re open to the public & communal,…
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2023 Evaluation: Item #5 → Read
Continuing this series. “Read – A book a week. Join me at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4223499-eyeintim“ Grade = F 🎉 I hated this goal, almost immediately. I love reading books, and this made it feel like something I had to do, rather than wanted to do. Also, I have no issue with ditching a book when I don’t like it, and…
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2023 Evaluation: Item #4 → Recommend
Continuing this series. “Recommend – I’m doing a daily recommendation thing over at https://snackpantry.com/“ Grade = C- I somewhat evaluated this one this post, but I admit I don’t 100% know what I’m doing with this SnackPantry.com. I finally figured out a good cadence: one post a day each weekday here, and then send those all bundled up…
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Oslo Snow
I think it’s snowed half the days I’ve been in Oslo this time
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Oslo Winter
I arrived to a winter wonderland in Oslo. The public bathrooms add to the mood: Remember this guy?
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Oslo Light
Oslo harbor treated me to an amazing light show on my first night back here. All of these pics & the video were taken on the roof of the Opera House. And here’s a pic of the Opera House across the harbor:
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2023 Evaluation: Item #3 → Write
Continuing this series: “Write – Blogging daily about both of the above at https://eyeintim.com/. Mirroring & shoutouts to the posts will be at https://twitter.com/eyeintim & https://www.instagram.com/eyeintim/ “ Grade = C This goal seems unexciting compared to #1 & #2, but it was an important one for me in 2023, so I’m disappointed I didn’t earn a higher grade. It looks like I…
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Welcome Back
Thanks, Oslo library 😊
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Everyday Carry
I’ve recently started carrying a small notebook & pen with me everywhere I go, even the gym. I listen to a lot of podcasts, and have always tried to jot down on-the-fly notes from them (eg. a recommended book) on my phone. But there’s something unsatisfying about pecking it out on the phone as compared…
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2023 Evaluation: Item #2 → Build
Continuing this series: “Build – I’m going to build a small, daily habit-tracking web app using no-code tools. The project is mainly to independently build & learn, but the goal is to eventually sell subscriptions. Lots more to come on this one, especially since I’ll be following the ‘building in public’ mindset .“ Grade = A- Along with…
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2023 Evaluation: Item #1 → #walkabout
A year ago, knowing I was going to be taking some time off from formally working, I posted “Seven Things I’m Going to Do in 2023”. I’d never written a declaration like this, but it felt good, and it definitely helped motivate me through the year. It was super ambitious, though, and I in no…
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Windy City
Awfully windy in Deerfield/Hillsboro Beach this year, but still beautiful
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DC Ginkgos
It’s that magical time of year when the leaves from the Ginkgos “snow” down the sides-streets of DC
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Neon TVs
Saw this giant creation yesterday at the newly re-opened American Art Museum. The little TVs within each state played content from the state, eg. landscapes, events, famous people. And for DC, a camera in the hall captured you and showed it on a tiny little screen. Pretty cool.
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Knitting Hope
I see this knitting krewe all the time in the Kogod Courtyard, and it always gives me a little smile, and a little hope that all is good in the world (despite the woman glaring at me in the pic). There was even a fella with them today.
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Bad Karma
The intersection of 14th & U, right next to my apartment, continues its curse of havoc & violence. Saw this crash today on my walk to the grocery store. More details about it here.
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Argentina Election
One of the cool little things about living in DC is when you get small glimpses into the outside world through the Embassies. Ex: Today is Election Day in Argentina 🇦🇷
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Home Office
There have been no posts from me this week about working from a library or cafe. Why not? I worked from my home “office” all week. The desk came with the apartment as a built-in (which I’ve heard most folks use as a bar), and it’s a weird mid-height, so I can’t really sit normally,…
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