Daniel Pour Asgharian

My summer has been spent watching the World Cup and Tour de France, and I really needed that break after a couple of years of filming YouTube videos all the time. I think taking some breaks like this is important to stay focused in the long run.

I am happy the World Cup is over because I have not been sleeping enough for the last month.

Honestly, I don't care about AI. Just give me a beautiful application that works as it is supposed to.

I am here giving out productivity advice. Meanwhile, me at 2:00 a.m. is trying to figure out what planner setup would work best for me next year. I have nothing figured out

I think we are slowly getting to the point where we will see a wave of productivity AI applications, and AI applications in general, start shutting down.

I am so tired of reviewing half-baked AI applications that are just copies of other apps.

Sometimes you need a break to fall back in love with your passion.

My current favorite productivity app right now is Raycast. I've had so much fun with this application recently.

The last couple of months I have been adding more analog tools to my productivity system, and I am slowly finding a good balance between using AI and not outsourcing too much.

Current apps I am using: - Craft for project and social management - Daybridge for calendar - Raycast for everything else: dictation, AI agents, quick notes, and search (it's wild how much Raycast does) Note-taking (second brain) and daily planning are done analog.

I think digital tools are the best for storage, but in many cases analog tools are better for active items and for thinking.

The best thing you can do for your own productivity is to just take care of yourself.

I always talk about productivity, but I am not chasing the idea of doing more. What I'm chasing is a life that makes me happy.

I am generally not the biggest fan of AI tools, but there is one type of tool I feel like I can't live without, and that is dictation tools.

I am really happy that commonplacing has gotten popular over the last couple of months! But as a nerd, I need to point out that what most people call a commonplace book is actually a Zibaldone. Not that it matters, but it is a fun fact!

I don't believe that everyone will use AI to build their own productivity applications, but I think that AI can help unify the different productivity applications we use into one view.

I keep making and buying new journal covers, and lately mostly making them. I think I have way too many journal covers and I can not stop 😂

It is really easy to be consistent about posting online when all of your posts do well, but it is much harder when some of your posts flop.

You need a master calendar, a calendar where all of the important stuff is, where everything you need to do exists, and you can consult that calendar before committing to anything and before planning your day, week, or month.

The new Tana is looking really good. I was skeptical at first, but the shift toward a simpler, plug-and-play product built around agentic AI feels like the right bet. Feels less like I need a PHD to use it.