Rox’s Picks 41: How to write without an idea, save images as you read, & find your (professional) soulmate

Hi friends,

Yesterday was my last day working at my job and doing client work. It feels so good to wrap everything up neatly. I’ll be on break for the next 3 weeks before I start my new job.

Till then, I’ll chase some waterfalls here in Ontario, go on picnics with friends, and read. Of course, because writing is an essential part of my downtime, this newsletter will still go out uninterrupted. 😄

In today’s newsletter, I share…

• A new step-by-step article on the best way to start writing — a process I learned from Write of Passage

• How I capture images while I read

• What I think about Airr

• A diagram to help you find your professional soulmate (which is eerily similar to finding your life’s soulmate)

Last week’s newsletter had a 45% open rate. The top link you clicked on was the PAKT Travel Backpack.

Here’s What I Worked On This Week

[New Article] CrossFit for Writing: The Magical Way to Get Writing Without an Idea

Beginner writers fear having no idea what to write about.

All writers fear they’ll run out of ideas one day.

CrossFit for Writing — or CF4W, as my Write of Passage colleagues call it— is the best solution to these fear. It’s an 8-step process that takes you from no idea to a draft in 2 hours or less. It’s honestly unbelievable… Until you go through it yourself.

If you’ve ever stared at a blank page wondering what to write about, or if you’re frustrated over an ever-expanding draft that you can’t seem to finish, then I’d highly recommend you read my article and try the process yourself.

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Here’s what I learned, shared, and paid attention to this week:

1. How to capture images as you read —

After sharing last week’s article on Readwise I received a reader question on how to capture graphs, charts, and images as they read.

Here’s my rule of thumb: How do I get this into Evernote without disrupting my reading experience?

Until Readwise lets me save images as well as text, these are my workarounds.

How to Capture Images on Desktop

When I read articles on my desktop browser, I right-click and clip the image to Evernote.

When I read PDFs, I take a screenshot with CleanShot and save it in the Evernote tray, along with the PDF title. Later on, when I sort through my Evernote inbox, I merge the screenshot with the notes.

How to Capture Images on Mobile

You’d think that capturing images on mobile would be trickier than desktop. But thanks to the Share button and Evernote’s ubiquity as a note-taking app, image-capture is easier on mobile than on desktop.

Whether an image is on Instapaper or my mobile browser, I tap and hold the image to share it to Evernote. This also captures meta-data so I don’t have to enter it myself.

If I'm OK not capturing the meta-data on my iPad, the Apple Pencil’s swipe up screenshot gesture does the trick.

If I’m on my iPhone, I take a mobile screenshot, crop it in the iOS screenshot editor, and share that to Evernote.

2. An honest critique of Airr, a podcast app that lets you take notes —

Airr

In last week’s newsletter, I mentioned Airr. To recap, it’s a podcast app that lets you take notes as you listen and, through Readwise, get your notes into Evernote or Notion.

First off, this is a phenomenal value proposition.

I had stopped listening to podcasts this year because it was so frustrating to take notes. Thanks to Airr, I’ve started enjoying listening to podcasts again. I don’t have to worry about missing important details. I know that all the noteworthy stories, lessons, and quotes will be saved automatically to Evernote.

Aside from this, Airr’s other standout feature is its capture shortcut. When you hit rewind on your wireless headphones (for me, that’s a double-tap on my left earbud), the app automatically saves the last 45 seconds of audio, along with...

• The timestamp

• The link to the audio snippet

• That passage from the transcript (!!)

• Any notes you take on that passage

Here’s what the unedited note looks like in Evernote:

Now that I have Airr, you can expect more podcast recommendations in this newsletter going forward. 😉

Sadly, the app is far from perfect. While the ability to take notes while listening is a huge selling point, the app is still running behind other podcast apps like Pocket Casts and Overcast in terms of functionality, user interface, and listening experience. For example:

• You can’t search for a specific episode in a podcast (it’s just global search across all podcasts available in their directory)

• You have to dig through the app to find the episodes you downloaded (similar to the dreaded UI in the Apple Podcasts app)

• The app’s default home page is a feed that shows what everyone else in their community is listening to and taking notes on (honestly I don’t care what other people are listening to)

All these improvements are probably in their roadmap. But the thorniest bug is when the app force closes. This happens to me several times a day, when I multitask with other apps as I listen or when I try downloading an episode.

This bug makes me want to pull my hair out. But I get it.

They’re a new app. They’re a small team. They’re prioritizing their main value prop. And they’re not even charging for the app right now.

My verdict: I’ll keep using Airr. I trust that, with time, the team will make the app great. Still, I haven’t deleted Pocket Casts, just in case I ever get too frustrated with Airr.

(Sidenote: If you’re from Airr and want to fix the bug, I am on an iPhone 8 running iOS 13.6. Feel free to email me for product feedback. And yes, if you charge, I’m willing to pay.)

3. How to find your professional soulmate —

From Wharton professor, researchers, and NYT-bestselling author, Adam Grant

I love this Venn diagram. You can apply these criteria to hiring team members, finding a co-founder, and maybe finding a personal soulmate. 😉

That's it for this week!

Stay strong, stay kind, stay human.

Till next week,

Roxine 🔥

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Photo courtesy of @viewfrommyinstax