Shawn Blanc

It was in February 2011 that I quit my job to blog for a living. (You can read the original announcement post here.) For a few years I was writing here, full-time as an indie blogger and podcaster. And so, any of the choices I made about work hours, salary,…

Two of the most productive hours of my day are also the most chaotic. Guaranteed someone will get punched, someone will tell a not-funny joke but we will find it hilarious and belly laugh anyway, someone won’t get what they want, and someone else will poop…

Last fall I helped Kickstart a new mechanical, bluetooth keyboard for my iPad: The Keychron. A few weeks ago it arrived at my house. I’ve been a mechanical keyboard nerd for the better part of a decade now, using one clickety keyboard or another with my Mac…

Last week my friend Nathan Barry posted an article with 13 tips for making the switch from a consumer to a creator. Suggestions number 3, 6, and 9 from Nathan’s list especially resonated with me since these three tips in particular had to do with the focus,…

In yesterday’s post I mentioned how, starting today, I have deleted Twitter and Instagram off my iPhone for the month of February. There is something else I’m doing this month as well. But first, if you don’t mind, I’d like to share a story… I…

In a recent episode of his podcast, Tim Ferris interviewed Greg McKeown (who is the author of Essentialism). And something Greg said that I thought was awesome. He said we are bad at moderation. That it’s oftentimes better and easier to go all in. As an…

On the west wall of my office is a giant whiteboard. I use it often, but there are times when I want to use my iPad instead. And with the new iPad Pro and its #2 Pencil, I’m finally interested in a good whiteboarding app. Apps that relied on the Apple Pencil…

Yesterday we hosted our very first Live workshop for The Focus Course! We had 32 people here in Kansas City and I led them all through the Focus Course. It was so much fun! And I am so tired! I’ll be writing quite a bit more about the event in the weeks to…

A few weeks ago when I was in downtown Kansas City, I was shooting some photos and my Leica was missing focus a few times. The photos came out blurry, but I really love the aesthetic. So last week when I was out for a friend’s birthday, I took the Leica of…

Last week I was driving home, and I wanted to send a quick voice message to my friend Sean McCabe. He’s been posting some awesome and fun stuff the past few weeks and it has inspired me and helped me stay motivated with my own desire to write more, here, at…

I was recently downtown in Kansas City’s Power and Light district to go see the new Spider-Man movie (which was absolutely amazing). Of course I took the Leica Q with me to snap some nighttime shots of the area. Several of the shots missed focus, but I love…

Speaking of very simple shortcuts, the latest update to Adobe Lightroom CC now has support for the Shortcuts app. It’s not much support, but it’s exactly what I wanted for my iPad photography workflow. Basically the only option you have is that you can…

Having a pre-populated packing list is one of the greatest “travel hacks” I’ve ever done. It takes all the guesswork out of packing. And it saves me quite a bit of time as well. I just follow the list and when I’m done I don’t have to worry if I…

Greg McKeown, from his book, Essentialism: If you believe being overly busy and overextended is evidence of productivity, then you probably believe that creating space to explore, think, and reflect should be kept to a minimum. Yet these very activities are…