Weeknotes: Jan. 30, 2022

28 Jan 2022 08:43

I've made some good progress with Python this week, and made a few more adjustments to my workflow.

Here's what I've been up to:

  • Made some basic changes to the Python version of my website to make it responsive
  • Added CSS values to my Python site to support dark mode when set by the user's OS preferences
  • Completed all the Python exercises for my summer uni class, Foundations of Computing, and started some of the ones due next week
  • Learned more about the options available for f strings in Python
  • Re-installed CodeRunner (it's been years since I've used it) and started using it for quick experiments and tests in Python and Ruby—anything where the REPL isn't quite enough, because I want to test how classes or functions interact, for example, but small enough that I don't want to use a whole IDE or add something to my actual project
  • Started using Nota for taking notes and adding content to my site (it's the successor to Caret, which has been my go-to Markdown editor on Mac for years)
  • Installed Battery Indicator by Sindre Sorhus, for a more compact view of my Mac's battery status that disappears when connected to power
  • Gave up on Fantastical, which had been strangely buggy for a while, and installed Dato by Sindre Sorhus to replace the Fantastical menubar calendar that I use all the time
  • Swapped out Specsaver, the window manager I've used on Mac for years, with Rectangle, since Specsaver is no longer maintained, and didn't offer an option to set the window to take up half the screen but also be centred, which Rectangle does
  • Fixed some minor issues in Exist for iOS

I've been working a lot this week, but somehow I feel like I haven't got a lot to show for all those hours. I have a bad habit of starting lots of things and not finishing them, so I'm working on building a habit of choosing chunks of work that are finishable in whatever time period I have available. When planning my day, that means setting out work tasks that I can complete within a day. When sitting down to work, I try to choose something I can complete in a single work session, or before the next known interruption to my focus. I'm not doing this well yet, but I hope in time I'll get better at it.

A couple of other fun things from this week:

  • 🎵 I've been listening to the Triple J Hottest 100 2021 a lot. I've been particularly enjoying H.Y.C.Y.Bh by Tom Cardy, Elephant by The Wiggles (why does this work so well?! It somehow does), and Apple Crumble by Lime Cordiale & Idris Elba
  • 📚 I've been reading Middlegame by Seanan McGuire and I'm surprised by how much I'm enjoying it. Not my favourite book, but a fun read.