I've been mulling on an idea for an iOS app for a while now. It's something I wanted to build simply to fill a need I couldn't otherwise fill. I've trawled the App Store many times and come up empty, but I've never found the time to start a new side project and build it myself, either.

A recent discussion with someone else who'd just built a workout app as a side project inspired me to finally set aside some time and build the app I wished existed.

I've set up my microblog on a sub-domain, so you'll mainly see longer posts here now. You can find my micro posts at snippets.bellebcooper.com.

2016. 2015.

To sum up 2017, it's ended on a great note after a lot of struggle earlier in the year. The biggest thing to happen this year was quitting my job to work on Hello Code full-time from October 1st. This is something we've been working towards since we started Hello Code ~4 years ago, and has often felt like a goal we'd never reach. To be able to pay both of us a (very low) salary and put all our time and energy into our own company is a great achievement. I'm proud of all the hard work we've put in up until now, and our tenacity to stick it out for years until we got to this point. We're building our company in the way we want to, which often means it's a slower road than it would be if we took another approach, but the final product is something we're proud of and happy to work on.

I wanted to share a quick verdict on some of the stuff I've bought over the past couple of years. I've split this into two sections: stuff I would recommend and stuff I wouldn't.

I'm not a big fan of consumerism or buying (and owning) lots of stuff, so I think it's important to make wise decisions when shopping, and wherever possible to buy fewer things that will last. Hopefully this helps you do the same.

I'm about to start writing my first programming tests in Exist's iOS app. I've heard about tests before, and I like the idea of them, but I've never been able to really understand how to get started with testing.

My app is big enough now (and brittle enough, if I'm honest, because it's the first app I ever wrote, so it's carrying the baggage and cruft of my first four years learning to code), that it really needs test coverage. So I've been doing lots of reading about unit and UI testing, libraries and frameworks to use, best practices, and how to get started.

I used a Jibun Techo on and off throughout 2017 and have ordered a new one for 2018. I tried a variety of ways of using the Jibun, until finally settling on one I like a lot. Here's a quick look at some of the ways I've used my Jibun throughout the year.

I started the year with an A5 Slim Jibun. I used it as an ordinary planner to start with.

I recently wrote about my struggle to choose a planner setup for 2018. Since then I've tried a few 2017 planners I had laying around and considered various options I didn't mention in that post.

I've finally come to a decision that I think I'm happy with. My main aim for 2018 is to choose a setup and stick with it all year. Or at least the first six months. I find it frustrating to change my mind all the time, because I end up confused and disorganised. But I also don't always realise the downsides of the setup I've chosen until I'm using it full-time, which is why I've spent so much time thinking about this decision before 2018 starts. I'm hoping to have thought through most of the downsides so I'm really able to commit to this setup for next year.

In January this year I wrote a post detailing the various planner/journal setups I tried throughout 2016 and why each did or didn't work for me. This year (2017) I've changed my mind many, many times, and tried lots of different planners and notebooks. Here's a look at what I liked and what I didn't.

I've been using a cool calculator on my Mac recently that I want to share with you. It's called Numi. Numi can do lots of really awesome things, and personally I'm barely scratching the surface, but I'll just share with you some of the reasons I love it and let you discover everything else it can do on your own.

Variables

Last month's review. All monthly reviews.

What went well this month

2017 has been a mess, planner-wise. I've tried so many variants, and often only for a day or so before I change my mind. (Here's the setup I started the year with.) I've spent far too much time thinking about planners and journals and stationery, and I've annoyed myself at my inability to decide and to stick with anything.

In 2018 I want to simplify my setup. I don't want to have lots of different notebooks for different uses. Ideally I'd have just one notebook, though I find it tough to stick to only one without feeling like I'm missing out.

Last month's review. All monthly reviews.

What went well this month

Sketching out my current planner/journal setup.

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Caught this awesome sunset while I was out on my bike yesterday.

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Using my Traveler's Notebook again. I haven't used the free weekly insert much but I'm enjoying it lately. It'd be nice to stick with it and finish the whole insert!

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I've been using Caret on and off as my Mac Markdown editor. I sometimes switched back to iA Writer for features Caret hadn't implemented yet, or to Ulysses for more control over the style.

But in the past few weeks I've taken to writing almost everything in Caret. It's gained enough features that I find it the best option for Markdown on a Mac right now. And I enjoy it so much that I miss it when I'm writing on a phone or tablet.

Today's morning office view.

It’s hard to find anything to say about life without immersing yourself in the world, but it’s also just about impossible to figure out what it might be, or how best to say it, without getting the hell out of it again.

The ‘Busy’ Trap

How opportunity leads to opportunity leads to opportunity...

This is a great attitude to have: How we do support at Highrise