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Mark Koester

Writer, Product Designer, and Software Engineer

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March 5, 2020

Science of Flow: Nature's Peak Performance Enhancer

Where is the lightning to lick you with its tongue? Where is the frenzy with which you should be inoculated? Behold, I teach you the overman: He is this lightning; he is this frenzy. – Friedrich Nietzsche (quoted in Rise...

Psychology Science Flow Peak Performance Happiness Learning

February 6, 2020

A Year in Writing and Creating: 2019

This data was tracked and logged with a combination of tools (more on this below). The short of it is that my number of creative words typed was tracked with Wordcounter for Mac and my project and smart notes with...

Writing Creativity Writing Tracker Tracking Data Visualization Quantified Self Personal Data Analysis Track Everything Year-in-Review Year-in-Data Knowledge Management

February 5, 2020

A Year in Reading: 2019

This data was logged with Goodreads, Kindle and Instapaper. Data collection and visualization powered by QS Ledger. This post is part of my 2019 Year in Data project.

Books Book Reading Articles Article Reading Tracking Data Visualization Quantified Self Personal Data Analysis Track Everything Year-in-Review Year-in-Data

February 2, 2020

A Year in Health and Fitness: 2019

How I Tracked It:

Health Fitness Data-Driven Health Health Tracking Strength Training Running Tracking Data Visualization Quantified Self Personal Data Analysis Track Everything Year-in-Review Year-in-Data

January 31, 2020

A Year in Tasks, Projects and Goals: 2019

This data was logged with Todoist and my simple goal scoring system. Data collection and visualization powered by QS Ledger. This post is part of my 2019 Year in Data project.

Project Management Task Management Todoist Tracking Data Visualization Quantified Self Personal Data Analysis Track Everything Year-in-Review Year-in-Data

January 30, 2020

A Year in Time: 2019

This data was logged with RescueTime and Toggl. Data collection and visualization powered by QS Ledger. This post is part of my 2019 Year in Data project.

Time Time Tracking Time Management Tracking Data Visualization Quantified Self Personal Data Analysis Track Everything Year-in-Review Year-in-Data

October 9, 2019

Paper to Paperless: A Guide to Digitalizing Your Journals with a Scanner App

One of the most effective and powerful tools for taking notes, capturing memories and creativity in general is using a physical notebook or journal. Research has shown that writing by hand improves our retention and learning and even has benefits...

Tracking Quantified Self Track Everything Going Paperless Scanning Journaling Digitalization

October 2, 2019

Gordon Bell and The Epic Quest to Digitalize Everything

Gordon Bell might rightly claim the prize for one of the most digitalized life ever. Born in 1934 and coming of age after World War II, Bell witnessed and spurred on a societal shift from paper to digital, from paper...

Tracking Quantified Self Track Everything Going Paperless Scanning History History of Computing

September 9, 2019

Instapaper: Empowering How I Read Articles with Highlights and Tracking

Are you facing a never ending pile of articles to read? Have you ever remembered this amazing post you recently read but forgotten the title or URL? Or are you just hoping to augment and improve how you read and...

Tracking Quantified Self Track Everything Reading Read-It-Later Article Reading Instapaper

August 5, 2019

How I Write (2019): My Favorite Tools and Apps for Writing

So, you want to write? And you’re looking for a few tools to make your writing easier, better organized or adapted for a new publishing format?

Writing Productivity Tracking Mac OSX Tools Writing Tools Typora The Archive Markdown Organization

August 2, 2019

No YouTube: 30-Day Challenge

Over the last 6 months or so, I’ve been tracking my Youtube usage. I came to discover that I was spending on average about an hour a day watching YouTube videos. While there are a lot of things I love...

Goals Tracking Track Everything YouTube Online Video Consumption Media Tracking Quantified Self Self-Tracking 30-Day Challenge

July 16, 2019

Can Meditation Improve Your Attention? Self-Experiment into Mindfulness and Cognitive Testing

The reported benefits of meditation are quite impressive: better physical health and happiness, less stress and anxiety, and even improved mental health and cognitive functions.

Self-Tracking Track Everything Tracking Everything Meditation Relaxation Mind Tracking Cognition Cognitive Enhancement Cognitive Testing Cognitive States Attention

July 15, 2019

Scoring Your Weekly Goals

I leverage science, goals and goal-setting in a number a ways. But recently, I started something new. I started “scoring” them. This has proven a good way to periodically check my efforts over time and my organization in reaching the...

Goals Goals Tracking Goal Setting Theory Personal Development Science of Goals

July 10, 2019

What am I meditating for? In Pursuit of A Definition of Meditation

Meditation is one of the most touted habits we are all supposed to do these days. Meditation and mindfulness are lauded for a range of associated benefits from physical and mental health to cognitive improvements and beyond. It’s believed to...

Self-Tracking Track Everything Tracking Everything Meditation Relaxation Mind Tracking Cognitive States

June 28, 2019

Data-Driven Health: Are you tracking a health indicator or healthy habit?

There is a lot of excitement around how technology can be applied to improve our health. It seems like every day there is some new technology, wearable, pill, test, service or app aiming to track, monitoring, improve or cure us...

Self-Tracking Track Everything Tracking Everything Health Health Tracking Data-Driven Health

June 20, 2019

Quantified Self and Self-Tracking Mind Map: Conceptualizing Tracking and Other Data-Driven Tech

With so many quantified self tools and ways to track a life, it can be a bit confusing. A mind map can help.

Quantified Self Self-Tracking Track Everything Tracking Everything Mind Map

March 19, 2019

Goal Tracker for AirTable: A Flexible Tool for Goal Pursuit Tracking and Management

Goals Goals Tracking Track Everything Psychology Science Goal Management Personal Development Science of Goals

March 8, 2019

Science of Goals: Goals as a Multi-Stage Pursuit

When it comes to goals, we commonly conflate several different actions and phenomonon under this singular term of “goal.” But this one term hides an important range of dimensions and actions we undertake when we think about and endevour to...

Goals Goals Tracking Psychology Science Goal Management Personal Development Science of Goals Implementation Intentions Model of Action Stages

February 28, 2019

Tracking Your Writings and Note-Taking

How to Track, Analyze and Understand A Life in Writing

Writing Writing Tools Writing Tracker Plain Text Track Everything Tracking Everything Knowledge Management

February 14, 2019

The Plain Text Life: Note Taking, Writing and Life Organization Using Plain Text Files

“The power of the unaided mind is highly overrated. Without external aids, deep, sustained reasoning is difficult.” Don Norman, professor and author of The Design of Everyday Things

Writing Writing Tools Productivity Knowledge Management Networks Plain Text Markdown Organization Typora The Archive

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