The January 21 Jotter
Inspiration is everywhere. A collection of things that have piqued my interest, sparked a thought, or inspired action.
Posted here or delivered safely to your inbox at elevenses on the last Friday of each month.
01. For seven days they get no sleep, just pain.
Dave Trott’s musings on advertising and other matters are always worth a read.
They make me think.
I could link to any number of articles but as it’s a dank January, I’ll go with one on laughter (although I was tempted to go with this one on disc brakes).
Next on my reading list (after The Book of Trespass).
02. There’s something about newsletters that bugs Robin.
Would you like to look at a beautifully designed, enormous rant about writing on the web that doesn’t really go anywhere?
(this lovely image is from Old Book illustrations).
03. Remembering what you read.
If you spend copious amounts of time making notes from the books you read, this app may be the answer to all your troubles.
04. Clever clients
I’m lucky to work with many clever clients. Keith Goddard is a performance psychologist who works with high-level corporate management and Olympic athletes.
He shared his wisdom in the Daily Telegraph about how taking a 15 minute break every hour during your working day will boost your health and your productivity.
“The 15’ isn’t just about well-being in the usual sense. It’s about being way more efficient by allowing your brain to reset, allowing your body to do it’s biological thing from sitting down in front of a screen………….it’s redefining what we see as well-being. Also you’re not aiming to do it for 8/8h a day, it’s making it more of a habit. 4/8 is a good start!”
05. Missing London.
M J Carty blogs on such interesting things as creativity, Brian Eno’s swollen appendices and Andrew Weatherall.
His most recent blog is on London; how he misses it and how it endlessly renews.
I particularly liked this quote from John Rogers on how modern buildings are rarely loved when they are new, but become loved as they age.
“A soul has to be developed over time. People live lives here and things happen. One day it will have a character and in 100 years they’ll try to redevelop it and there’ll be people fighting to save it.”
06. A quotation.
“If all I’d ever wanted to do was make money, I’d probably be really poor by now.”
Brian Eno
07. A photo project.
“… a mixture of sensitive portraits of older residents along with beautiful architectural photographs that offer pleasing geometric compositions of what feels like a crumbling, ghostly world.”
© Laurent Kronental
08. Winter Walks.
This BBC programme was a lovely way to ease into January.
Walking and observing with Lemm Sissay, Simon Armitage, Reverend Richard Coles and Baroness Warsi in breathtakingly beautiful Yorkshire and Cumbrian landscapes.
A regular winter walk in Bradford on Avon. The snow stayed for a morning and it was enough to get the whole town excited.
09. Landing pages
Marketing Examples is wonderful resource of ideas and tips. This is all about landing pages but the website is worth a browse around.
“Your landing page is your sales pitch. Never forget this. Examine each element and ask:
Would this help me sell if I met the customer in person?
If not, remove it. If you don't know go out and sell to customers in person.”
10. Work.
New and exciting projects are arriving at Brighter Side HQ at a pleasing rate. I won’t share them all with you quite yet. There is a time and place for everything.
However, I will share the new website for BOARC (Bradford on Avon Rowing Club) which we launched this week. I love working on local community projects. We walk past the Rowing Club every day and it comforts me to know they now have an online presence to be proud of.
