If you are a health or Lifestyle data nerd. You gotta check this app out. Basically, it tracks your every move. Like Sleep, commute, office hours, home hours, outing hours and everything else in your 24 hours. If you integrate it with your apple health kit data or Google fit data (in the case of Android devices), it provides more accurate results.
By using it for past 6 months, I’m able to see patterns like my health go down in fewer sleep months or I feel amazing if exercise hours are more. If you are not a data nerd, don’t bother. It might be overwhelming for you. But if you are! It may be worth having a look.
Just in case if I got you curious, you can go check out this app –
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Awareness – Subtle awareness of time spent on the computer
As I adore minimalism, this desktop app is one of my favorites to make myself be aware of my computer usage. The best part is the sound of Tibetan singing bowl every hour which doesn’t stop you from doing what you are doing but makes you aware.
It senses when you take a five-minute break and then resets the one hour clock. When you start using your computer back, it starts the alarm clock. It also displays how long you’ve been using your computer without a break in windows taskbar area (in the app tooltip), which is pretty handy.
Just in case if I got you curious, you can go check out this app here (It’s free for Windows and $1.99 in the Mac App Store) or click the Tibetan singing bowl icon above to download.
Inside an “Anything Goes” Sex Club – Well, the title of this article may sound a bit too much and I won’t lie this article can get too uncomfortable at many places. But it does have a happy ending. Aaa..sort of!
Neil Strauss nails this one.
Get out of your comfort zone! Read the heck out.
What I’m reading/watching/listening to —
Attention– Charlie Puth
This song is on repeat mode on my Spotify. If you have Spotify click the play button below. No Spotify? No problem here is the YouTube link.
Psss…Don’t forget to turn the volume up to loose yourself from this sane world.
Quote I’m pondering on lately –
“Most people can do absolutely awe-inspiring things, Sometimes they just need a little nudge.”
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Anchor. This app might just be the next big thing in the Audio section.
This is like the radio, reinvented. Just like this app’s punch line says. As I’ve used this app for a few weeks now, I can do a small review about this one now. Important features –
One stop for your news, weather and general news on Audio. There is a special channel for that which is called Daily Rundown.
You can create your own channel like YouTube and start producing Audio content, right from your Phone. Just hit the Red Plus button. This changes everything.
You can also put amazing background music in your content right from the app.
If you are a podcast creator, you can record an Interview right from the App through a phone call. Though this feature is just available in US right now, expecting they’ll extend it to another country as well, soon.
Just like any other traditional radio talk show, you can get call-ins. Wait! What? I mean yes, literally listeners can call-in to a show and the creators can play that audio in their show! How convenient is that?
Amazingly fresh bit sized and long form content from new creators.
The design of the app is way too amazing. You can change channels with a flick.
Just in case if I got you curious, you can go check out this app –
Introducing the Virgin Orbit brand – This is not exactly an article but an introduction page to a project by the Company – Virgin. As I admire Sir Richard Branson, who is the founder of Virgin, for his ‘Screw it! Let’s do it!‘ nature.
Well, now I can safely say Sir Richard and Virgin has decided to go all in on the Space front. This particular project is a commercial project of taking a spaceship into earth’s orbit which will do rounds of earth and deliver Satellites for its clients.
How I admire his style of Filming/Editing. It’s so dope. He shoots Vlogs (update – he quit vlogging a few months back, may probably start doing again, but who knows!) and Visual Vibes – a project of his which is totally mind blowing cinematography.
The below one is his latest produce, right from the Maldives. Go check it out.
Psss…Don’t forget to put your headphones on.
Quote I’m pondering on lately –
“It is vain to do with more what can be done with less.”
—WILLIAM OF OCCAM (1300–1350), originator of “Occam’s Razor”
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Journaling is something which everyone should do on daily basis. As I got introduced to daily journaling through Tim Ferriss’s podcast, I was really fascinated by the morning pages routine told by Tim. Journaling usually sounded to me like a teenage girl’s thing, but as I read through Tim’s blog post, it got me converted. I started journaling from that very day (almost one year ago) and I started with a physical notebook where I will jot down the morning feelings and things happened the previous day/night.
To my surprise, it felt great to jot down the things from previous days, believe me or not I started getting great ideas which I had lost jotting down the previous day, or sometimes they came out of the blue just because I was writing my thoughts.
After a few weeks, I got introduced to Werdsmith app through another podcast or blog (i think it was Aileen Xu from lavendaire.com) but not very sure. I downloaded this app and immediately fell in love with the minimalist approach. This app is specifically designed for writers as it doesn’t have any other frills like capturing or saving photos or any other media for that matter. You can start a project and inside the project, you can write your journal entries. What extra it provides is the word count and lets you keep track of how much you have written. You can also set a daily word goal. I kept it at around 500 words then slowly graduated to 1000 and 1500 words. Oh boy, I kept up with writing for months and months on this app and still, it’s one of my favorites in the notes/writing apps.
Just in case if I got you curious, you can go check out this app –
How to Keep Feces Out of Your Bloodstream (or Lose 10 Pounds in 14 Days)– As I’m experimenting with different types of diets. Paleo is certainly one of them and this article by Robb Wolf on Tim Ferriss’s blog is an amazing piece of information on Paleo and a gives a head start if you want to start with a diet that’s actually the ‘The Original Human Diet’ as stated by Robb.
This diet method basically comes in an overlap with low carb diet, restricts all the processed foods (processed pasta, noodles etc), dairy (some dairy items). It actually takes you back to the stone age diet where humans hunted for their food or ate the veggies which nature provided. Ancient humans didn’t farm or made any processed foods, so this diet eliminates all of that crap. The benefits of this diet is you’ll be eating very less carbs, high protein and a good amount of Fat. Why? Well, because turns out, scientifically carbs are something, if eaten in high amount, starts supplying the energy needed for body and then Fat which should be used as energy provider, becomes idle and sits over your guts and makes into that nasty tummy.
Note for vegetarians – Paleo diet has a good amount of meats involved, but as I’m a vegeterian myself, I found out there is a superb amount of resources available online for the vegetarian options. One of them is this one. For example, you can replace one egg with one tablespoon of chia seeds in 1/4 cup of water.
What kind of diet’s you have experimented with? Please share in the comments section below.
What I’m reading/watching/listening to —
UNREMARKABLE – Saw this 10 minutes short film on Vimeo (Staff Pick), there was just 3-4 scenes but it blew my mind away, I was flabergasted for few moments.
Note – This is a MATURE video and contents some graphics (dead nudes and postmortem scenes) so don’t watch it if you below 21 or a weak hearted person.
Quote I’m pondering on lately –
“Your big opportunity may be right where you are now.”
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I’ve been experimenting with different kind of fasting techniques and as I follow a few biohackers, I got to know about the Zero app (named for the amount of food you eat while fasting) through Kevin Rose. This app helps people who are fasting by offering specific sunset times to sync eating with their circadian rhythm. You can also use custom intermittent fasting durations or pick two days a week for reduced caloric intake.
Why fasting you ask.
Fasting is a good way to switching back to a normal healthy eating routine after a chaos by traveling or a family event or anything disrupting your eating routine. What got me fascinated about Fasting is that some researches show that it prevents Cancer!
All the other benefits of fasting are covered in a wonderful video series by Dr. Rhonda Patrick, where she interviews scientists Dr. Valter Longo, Dr. Satchin Panda, and Dr. Ruth Patterson. I highly recommend that you watch all three of these videos if you’re new to fasting.
Just in case if I got you curious, you can go check out this app –
10 Digital Workplace Trends Shaping the Future of Work – An Interesting article based on a report which was a result of a study based on various organizations and employees surveying about Digital Workplace. This article implies that the digital workplace as we know it and are adapting to, might not necessarily be taking us to a more productive direction. You’ll also learn from this article what’s in the future of the Digital workplace culture.
What I’m reading/watching/listening to —
Once, This Island Had Just One Tree—Look at It Now – A really fascinating video about an Island which had just one tree (literally) and now has been transformed into an example of terraforming a landscape.
This transformation started in the 19th century when Joseph Dalton Hooker saw this Island as a blank canvas, ready to serve as home to an ecosystem of his own making.
Ascension Island was quite barren when Charles Darwin visited but it, and he had little good to say about the remote, rocky place. But Joseph Dalton Hooker saw the opportunity and took it.
Watch this fascinating NatGeo video to see the island yourself.
Quote I’m pondering on lately –
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
Before you leave….Check out my latest Q&A Tuesday podcast (audio) post, where I answer a few questions sent by you guys (my readers) every week.
Until Next Saturday!
Thanks for reading.
Himanshu
A couple of things I could use your help with:
Have a relevant topic, which I should be covering? Write to me directly and let me know.
Join my reader’s list – It helps us a lot when you become a subscriber, it smoothens you experience on Lifestyle Architecture Lab. Being on email list provides you additional benefits like some exclusive content, webinar’s, free goodies and all of it will be FREE. Please click the link above to join now or put your email address in the below box and hit subscribe.
If you are reading this for the first time, Welcome! Please get an introduction to Saturday-Pentacle by clicking here.
Recent update: As the main purpose of this exclusive mailer is to provide quality reading and content, hence after reading your feedbacks and doing my own analysis, I’ve removed a few sections and cleared out some clutter from Saturday-Pentacle. Because it’s all about mindfulness and minimalism.
I’ll keep on shuffling the current sections as and when it will feel relevant.
I’m a fitness enthusiast. Ok, I’m actually a little more than an enthusiast. I keep trying different health tracking devices or apps as they show up. ‘Runtastic Heart Rate Monitor and pulse tracker’ is an app which I’m using from past few years and I’ve seen it coming together amazingly that now it has become a benchmark app in heart rate monitoring. It uses your camera and flashlight to see the blood flow in your finger and monitor your heart beat and pulse from there. Such an innovation.
It is so helpful if you want to just casually keep track of your heartbeat or if you are having high bp or heart-related illness. However, please note this is not a medically recommended app from doctors, the heart rate monitor found in a hospital will give you exact reading legally and otherwise. But this app is helpful.
Just in case if I got you curious, you can go check out this app –
3 Household Names That Will Disappear Because of Uber’s Self-Driving Cars – I talk about perspective all the time, but this report rather a piece of research by James Altucher is fascinating and an eye opener. It makes you think about the future which is already upon us and how we can benefit out of it. Great read!
What I’m reading/watching/listening to —
Make It Count – I’ve been obsessed with Casey Neistat from past few years and this is one of the videos which catapulted him on the viral media horizon. But I’m glad that it’s not a cat video but a really inspiring and motivational. Plus it’s not at all boring, in fact, it may be one of the most amazing videos you might ever see.
‘Make It Count’ video is all about going into the unknown, doing what you love and loving the hustle. So go on and make it count.
Quote I’m pondering on lately –
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”
― Helen Keller
Until Next Saturday!
Thanks for reading.
Himanshu
A couple things I could use your help with:
Have something I should be covering? Reply to this email.
Join my Telegram group – I have launched a Telegram group where I’ll serve all my posts in a better way. There is Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning behind the scene in Telegram, which I’m very excited to use. You’ll be able to get On Demand posts and fresh content as per your liking with the help of my Chatbots and much much more. Want to experience it? Click the join link to be in this beta program.
If you received this issue of Saturday-Pentacle via a WhatsApp or Telegram broadcast message, please subscribe to my email list. Being on email list provides you additional perks like some freebies or great exclusive content for people on the email list. You can join the list by putting your email address in the below box or right here.
If you are reading this for the first time, Welcome! Please get an introduction to Saturday-Pentacle by clicking here.
Recent update: As the main purpose of this exclusive mailer is to provide quality reading and content, hence after reading your feedbacks and doing my own analysis, I’ve removed a few sections and cleared out some clutter from Saturday-Pentacle. Because it’s all about mindfulness and minimalism.
I’ll keep on shuffling the current sections as and when it will feel relevant.
If you are a photographer who cherishes the old school film style photography, this app is for you. This app is for you. You can color grade your photos with the help of this app in the old school film camera formats. This app also offers Instagram-like filters but with more precise control on atomic levels.
Just in case if I got you curious, you can go check out this app –
Jeff Bezos explains the perfect way to make risky business decisions – Very interesting article from Business Insider on Amazon’s chief Jeff Bezos strategy on making risky business decisions. But I feel, taking the risky business decisions depends on your/your company’s risk appetite as well. If you are not having resources like Amazon (or a big company for that matter) at your disposal, making a very risky business decision can throw you out from the game in one shot. So you have to think it from your own perspective as well before making that sort of decision with your business. However I love the strategy of “Disagree and commit” stated by Jeff.
What I’m reading/watching/listening to —
36 Hours in Mumbai, India – A New York times article by Sarah Khan about our very own Mumbai city from the 36 hours series, which explores different cities in 36 hours. Loved the quirkiness of this article covering 12 important things including culinary hints, fashion fixes, and local musings.
Read on if you are a traveler or love Bombay or even are just curious about Bombay.
Quote I’m pondering on lately –
“Stillness is the altar of spirit.”
― Paramahansa Yogananda
Until Next Saturday!
Thanks for reading.
Himanshu
A couple things I could use your help with:
Have something I should be covering? Reply to this email.
Join my Telegram group – I have launched a Telegram group where I’ll serve all my posts in a better way. There is Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning behind the scene in Telegram, which I’m very excited to use. You’ll be able to get On Demand posts and fresh content as per your liking with the help of my Chatbots and much much more. Want to experience it? Click the join link to be in this beta program.
If you received this issue of Saturday-Pentacle via a WhatsApp or Telegram broadcast message, please subscribe to my email list. Being on email list provides you additional perks like some freebies or great exclusive content for people on the email list. You can join the list by putting your email address in the below box or right here.
If you are reading this for the first time, Welcome! Please get an introduction to Saturday-Pentacle by clicking here.
Recent update: As the main purpose of this exclusive mailer is to provide quality reading and content, hence after reading your feedbacks and doing my own analysis, I’ve removed a few sections and cleared out some clutter from Saturday-Pentacle. Because it’s all about mindfulness and minimalism.
I’ll keep on shuffling the current sections as and when it will feel relevant.
This app is google’s answer to Adobe Photoshop app. You can do most of the pro stuff which was only possible in Adobe Photoshop only. I’ve been using this app from past few months and I can tell you this app is amazing with speed, the accuracy of colour and the amazing filters. It can also do cross layer image composition like you see in any professionally composed photograph, where two photographs are merged to create an amazing piece of art. This is just one feature, there are many many more features.
This app is developed by Nik Software which was acquired by Google in 2012, after some time of launching Google+.
Just in case if I got you curious, you can go check out this app –
The Italian Winemakers’ Cult – Do you love wine? Or are curious about wines? Well, then this article is like a candy story for the small kid in you.
This article also talks about the Biodynamic Winemaking and the Biodynamic process of making anything in general. The main motto of this biodynamic processing is to make whatever quantity is required and produce no waste. I’m really really fascinated by the cult group of winemakers in countryside Italy. This article is actually from a travel journalist Danielle Pergament of The New York Times, so it’s a goodness mix of wine and travelling. Go taste some by reading this article and make your weekend good.
Quote I’m pondering on lately – As the article of today is about good wine, so quoting Homer today on wine.
“[I]t is the wine that leads me on,
the wild wine
that sets the wisest man to sing
at the top of his lungs,
laugh like a fool – it drives the
man to dancing… it even
tempts him to blurt out stories
better never told.”
― Homer, The Odyssey
Until Next Saturday!
Thanks for reading.
Himanshu
A couple things I could use your help with:
Have something I should be covering? Reply to this email.
Join my Telegram group – I have launched a Telegram group where I’ll serve all my posts in a better way. There is Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning behind the scene in Telegram, which I’m very excited to use. You’ll be able to get On Demand posts and fresh content as per your liking with the help of my Chatbots and much much more. Want to experience it? Click the join link to be in this beta program.
If you received this issue of Saturday-Pentacle via a WhatsApp or Telegram broadcast message, please subscribe to my email list. Being on email list provides you additional perks like some freebies or great exclusive content for people on the email list. You can join the list by putting your email address in the below box or right here.
If you are reading this for the first time, Welcome! Please get an introduction to Saturday-Pentacle by clicking here.
Recent update: As the main purpose of this exclusive mailer is to provide quality reading and content, hence after reading your feedbacks and doing my own analysis, I’ve removed a few sections and cleared out some clutter from Saturday-Pentacle. Because it’s all about mindfulness and minimalism.
I’ll keep on shuffling the current sections as and when it will feel relevant.
Yesterday (22nd April) was Earth Day! Did you do anything to make Mother Earth a better place?
This week I would like to ask you for an act of green and take action so that our coming generations aren’t affected due to our non-action towards healing and refuelling Mother Earth.
From the actions of Billions of people connected on earthday.org, together we’ve reached 2,023,369,573 Acts of Green. That’s just over 2 Billion. Let’s reach towards the 3 Billion mark.
Here are a few things we can do for our Mother Earth –
Plant a tree or donate to plant a tree – If you can’t plant it yourself, go to this link, to make a $1 donation towards planting one tree. This money will go towards Earth Day Network for The Canopy Project. They’ll plant one tree for each $1 donation. So go ahead and do an act of green.
Eat less meat – This helps in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. If you can’t immediately become a vegetarian or vegan, start consuming less meat to start with.
Stop using disposable plastic – End your obsession of using plastic and help make earth a better planet.
Hope you’ll do an act of green and make yourself more aware of the climate change and support our planet needs in this time.
Now back to this week’s Saturday-Pentacle issue.
“Saturday-Pentacle”
App I’m enjoying using –
Calm: Meditation to Relax, Focus & Sleep Better.
I’ve been using this app to help myself be more mindful. Earlier I’ve mentioned about Headspace app as well, however, this app is also my routine app along with Headspace. As I keep alternating between these two to break the monotony.
If you want to become more aware of yourself and be more mindful about your decisions in life, meditation is a great place to start and this app is a great stepping stone.
Just in case if I got you curious, you can go check out this app –
Banning Disposable plastic in New Delhi – As of the first of this year, the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi has begun implementing a ban on disposable plastic to help decrease pollution within the city and ultimately the planet. According to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), cutlery, bags, cups, and various forms of single-use plastic are now prohibited from use in the NCT. Great first step by NCT of Delhi!
This week I would like to share a TEDxAmsterdam talk with you. In this talk, Wim Hof shows his capability of withstanding Extreme cold. It’s just mind boggling.
Wim Hof is a Dutch world record holder, adventurer and daredevil, commonly nicknamed the Iceman for his ability to withstand extreme coldness. He holds nine world records including a world record for longest ice bath.Interested in learning this technique yourself? Go and learn the
Interested in learning this technique yourself? Go and learn the Wim Hof Method.
Quote I’m pondering on lately –
“Meditation is the discovery that the point of life is always arrived at in the immediate moment.”
― Alan Watts
Until Next Saturday!
Thanks for reading.
Himanshu
A couple things I could use your help with:
Have something I should be covering? Reply to this email.
Join my Telegram group – I have launched a Telegram group where I’ll serve all my posts in a better way. There is Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning behind the scene in Telegram, which I’m very excited to use. You’ll be able to get On Demand posts and fresh content as per your liking with the help of my Chatbots and much much more. Want to experience it? Click the join link to be in this beta program.
If you received this issue of Saturday-Pentacle via a WhatsApp or Telegram broadcast message, please subscribe to my email list. Being on email list provides you additional perks like some freebies or great exclusive content for people on the email list. You can join the list by putting your email address in the below box or right here.
If you are reading this for the first time, Welcome! Please get an introduction to Saturday-Pentacle by clicking here.
Recent update: As the main purpose of this exclusive mailer is to provide quality reading and content, hence after reading your feedbacks and doing my own analysis, I’ve removed a few sections and cleared out some clutter from Saturday-Pentacle. Because it’s all about mindfulness and minimalism.
I’ll keep on shuffling the current sections as and when it will feel relevant.
Nike+ Run Clubapp by Nike – Oh boy! This is the app which helped me start with running. Believe it or not, till date I am using it for training programs and run tracking.
This app has come a long long way. It has training programs to start you up with running or if you are a runner already and want to improve upon your performance, they have got your back for everything. Beginner, intermediate to Advance, they have all sort of training programs built right in this app. The best part? It’s the Nike+ running community. It’s amazing how you feel competitive with this community. You can post pictures of your run on your feed and like everyone else’s run posts and comment just like a social media platform. But unlike other social media communities, NRC community is an action devising community, they charge you up and inspire to run more.
In case you are just starting up, just start a beginner program with this app and go as it says, you’ll do your first 5Kms in a month. I’ve been there and have done that, so you can trust me on this one.
In case I got you curious about running, you can go check out this app –
Pss…. Here’s a post I wrote almost 2 years back – ‘Story of my first half marathon’ where I have provided more in-depth and on training information about this app. You may find it more helpful.
This is an amazing actionable article from Courtney Carver of bemorewithless.com, she got recognition from her lifestyle design blog and the project 333.
What is project 333 you ask?
Project 333 is the minimalist fashion challenge that invites you to dress with 33 items or less for 3 months. Basically, it will help you unclutter your wardrobe and your eventually your life. So go check out this article and project 333 (the link is above).
2.
Well, I can’t resist myself from sharing another article for this Pentacle issue, which is a bit geeky sounding and long form but hell yes, it’s an amazing article about our brain.
For more than half a century now, psychologists, linguists, neuroscientists and other experts on human behaviour have been asserting that the human brain works like a computer. But It doesn’t and this article is a great explanation. Go check it out.
What I’m reading/watching/listening to —
A few days ago, suddenly I stumbled upon this TEDx talk on YouTube. To my humble surprise, it was a talk by Ms. Meena Barot, my run club buddy (from the Navi Mumbai Runners) and a consultant Faculty at ITM college, Kharghar (Navi Mumbai, India). It just gave me immense pleasure that she could tell her story on a TEDx talk and I could feel the emotion of her story. She is awe inspiring. Just see the video. Great to know her.
As she said in the end. “Maktub” …It is written.
Quote I’m pondering on lately – Today’s quote is also from Ms. Meena’s TEDx Talk, in fact a little extended version.
“To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only real obligation and when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
Until Next Saturday!
Thanks for reading.
Himanshu
A couple things I could use your help with:
Have something I should be covering? Reply to this email.
Join my Telegram group – I have launched a Telegram group where I’ll serve all my posts in a better way. There is Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning behind the scene in Telegram, which I’m very excited to use. You’ll be able to get On Demand posts and fresh content as per your liking with the help of my Chatbots and much much more. Want to experience it? Click the join link to be in this beta program.
If you received this issue of Saturday-Pentacle via a WhatsApp or Telegram broadcast message, please subscribe to my email list. Being on email list provides you additional perks like some freebies or great exclusive content for people on the email list. You can join the list by putting your email address in the below box or right here.
