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When I write about Jekyll on my website I often include code snippets to provide more context for how something works. You can easily copy these code snippets and paste them into your own Jekyll website to make them work for you. This is the advantage of being able to include code snippets in a how to article. However when you include Jekyll specific code in default code snippets you’ll notice all kinds of error messages start to appear in your terminal.

January 31, 2022

How To Add A Pomodoro Timer In Obsidian Without A Plugin

This article outlines how to set up a Pomodoro timer in Obsidian without installing any extra plugins. I’ll also explain what a Pomodoro timer is and how you can start using one to focus and get more work done. What Is A Pomodoro Timer? A Pomodoro timer is a timer that allows you to make use of the Pomodoro Technique. Really any sort of timer will do but there are specially designed Pomodoro timers that exist both in the real world and the digital world.

January 24, 2022

My Obsidian Daily Note Template 2022

#pkm

This article is about how I use the Daily Notes feature in Obsidian to manage my day. I’m a designer, creator, and productivity nerd so having an easy-to-use and engaging system helps me to get my work done. I make use of several plugins and code snippets to make this system possible so I wanted to share how it all works. If want to learn more about Daily Notes, Templater, Dataview, Buttons, Typescript, and more in Obsidian, you’ve come to the right place.

January 17, 2022

6 Procrastination Triggers And How To Overcome Them As A Designer

Procrastination can strike at any time. Whether it’s staring at a blank page first thing in the morning or drinking a third cup of coffee to face organizing your emails at 3 pm, the urge to procrastinate is always hiding. It’s our lizard brain in action trying to keep us on the easiest path possible. The result of procrastination is that your work doesn’t get done. Sure, you might start work on some other task but only to avoid the big important task on the top of your list. However, as a designer, spending time organizing your Figma file isn’t the same as finalizing that mockup for a client.

January 10, 2022

How To Add A Table Of Contents To Jekyll Blog Posts

A table of contents is a helpful component to include in longer blog posts that have lots of detail. It gives readers an easy way to navigate through your blog post to find exactly what they’re looking for. I use a table of contents for most of the blog posts on this Jekyll blog and it was very easy to add. In this post, I’ll walk you through the process of setting up and adding a table of contents to blog posts in Jekyll.

November 22, 2021

The 7 Step Process I Used To Build A Landing Page To Promote My Book

#creation #coding

A custom landing page is an invaluable asset to have as a creator online. It acts as your own little space on the internet to promote something you’ve created. It shows your audience what your product is and how it can benefit them. It’s also a place for people to buy your product directly. In fact, more and more people are moving away from the default landing pages services like Gumroad offer in favor of unique and highly customized options.

November 15, 2021

6 Things Pokémon Cards Will Teach You About Design

Pokémon cards are so hot right now! According to nintendolife.com, the Pokémon company sold 3.7 billion cards in 2020 + 2021. Even though the Pokémon franchise is now 25 years old, it’s still highly popular among all age groups, especially Pokémon cards. Those who grew up with it, and those just learning about it are buying Pokémon cards left and right to complete their collections, battle against others, or sell them on for a profit.

November 9, 2021

How To Add A Social Media Share Bar In Jekyll

Adding a social media share bar at the beginning or end of each post is a great way to encourage readers to share your content on social media. In the past when my website ran on WordPress I used a plugin to add this functionality. This felt very clunky and slow to configure and interact with. Now that my site runs on Jekyll, I have a code snippet that accomplishes the same thing. It is simple, easy to use, and can be replicated across my entire website wherever I need it.

November 1, 2021

How To Add Related Posts In Jekyll To Increase Engagement

Including links to related posts at the end of each post is a great way to keep users engaged with your content. With a WordPress website, you can install a plugin to achieve this functionality. On the other hand, if your website is built in Jekyll (like mine), it requires a little bit more work to achieve the same end result. I was able to incorporate related posts functionality pretty easily into my own Jekyll website so in this article, I’d like to share with you how I did it.

October 25, 2021

10 Ways I Use Figma As A Creator

#creation

As a creator, I use Figma every day and I can honestly say it’s 10x’ed my creation process. By working in one application to do many different types of tasks, I save time and work more effectively. Not to mention my knowledge of Figma has increased to the point where I can use keyboard shortcuts like a ninja to quickly manipulate shapes, colors, and alignment. If you’d like to learn about the different ways you can use Figma as a creator to 10x your design process, this is the right article for you. I’ll also include examples of my work to show you exactly what I mean.

October 18, 2021

4 Tactics You Should Be Using To Promote Yourself As A Web Designer

Do you want to become a full-time web designer but aren’t sure where to start? I have tried every tactic to promote myself as a web designer over the last 10 years. I started websites to promote my services, created sites for my friends and family, I even applied (and failed) to lots of different web design companies. Through all those attempts and failures, I learned what does work. Tactics you can apply today to help you promote yourself as a Web Designer. Let me share these tactics with you so that you can avoid all the mistakes I made and get started faster.

October 11, 2021

How To Never Run Out Of Ideas As A Designer

As a designer, your value comes from the things you create. Your “job currency” is creativity. With that said it’s hard to constantly generate ideas. There is always pressure to create a unique design that looks stunning. Over time, this create-on-demand dynamic can cause tension. You might save your creative energy for only one or two projects, or not put your 100% into a project in the first place in case your ideas are rejected.

October 4, 2021

A Walkthrough Of My Obsidian Setup

#pkm

I last wrote about my Obsidian Setup way back in March. I was still finding my feet with Obsidian and trying lots of different things to see what worked well for me. Since then, I’ve made a lot more changes to develop the system I use today. This system allows me to track my goals, remember content I consume, and manage my content creation process. In this comprehensive article I would like to share with you my current Obsidian setup. I’ll be going into detail on how my vault is structured, naming conventions, tags, templates.

September 20, 2021

UI Design Patterns - Character Limits

Character limits are used on text fields to indicate the maximum amount of characters that can be entered into that field. These components are important as they provide immediate feedback to the user when they fill in a form. If you’re a fan of usability heuristics, you’ll know this trait relates to the heuristic: visibility of system status. Character limits provide important feedback to the user, so it’s important they are designed correctly.

August 30, 2021

How To Improve The Usability Of Password Fields

Password fields are a necessity if you’re designing a login or sign-up form for your application. As common as these types of fields are, they can be frustrating to interact with when poorly designed. I was recently tasked with improving the usability of the login page on one of our apps at my job. To learn more about how to implement these components in a user-friendly way, I spent some time researching.

August 23, 2021

Design A Website From Scratch In 7 Steps

Designing an entire website can seem like a big challenge. You need to think about all the pages, the content on each page, how it’ll be designed, what colors to use; the list is pretty long. While this can seem daunting, designing an entire website from scratch is highly achievable even if you are a beginner. The secret? Breaking it down into small, manageable chunks. Then working on each chunk one at a time.

August 9, 2021

Mind Maps - The Ultimate Getting Started Tool

#creation

Mind maps are a powerful tool for getting started with project planning, learning something new, or even making decisions. They help you to overcome the hurdle of getting started in many ways: A blank mind map is less intimidating than a blank page because it’s easy to create and add to. It removes the friction or resistance often associated with the blank page. The mind mapping process is simple enough that you can quickly and easily start writing ideas down. By thinking in a visual way, more ideas will come to mind based on the connections you make. Mind Maps Are Great For Visual Thinkers They help you to pull thoughts and ideas out of your head and structure them in a way that makes sense to you.

August 2, 2021

Jekyll - Add Related Posts At The End Of A Post

At the end of a blog post, it’s a good idea to recommend similar posts to your readers. This helps them to find more great content on your website easily. I used to manually add related posts at the end of each article but this became really tedious. When I migrated my website from Wordpress to Jekyll, this similar posts feature was a must have for me. I wanted to make this process as automated as possible.

July 26, 2021

How To Never Be Bored Again

#creation

Feeling “bored” can result in a complete lack of motivation. You don’t have the drive to pick something from your list of chores. You can’t bring yourself to do anything except watch YouTube mindlessly. At the same time, at the back of your mind is a small sense of guilt. A sense that you should be doing something more valuable with your time. Something creative or constructive. If this sounds like you, you’re not alone. It’s something I used to struggle with.

July 19, 2021

Jekyll - Add An Affiliate Disclaimer To Specific Posts

On this website some of the links used are affiliate links. To let people know this, I include a disclaimer at the top of relevant pages. Instead of manually copying and pasting this text for each new article I write, here’s how I implemented an affiliate disclaimer to specific posts or pages. In the _includes folder, create a file called affiliate-disclaimer.html Add the following code to that file: {% raw %} {% if page.has-affiliate-link %} <p><i>This article contains affiliate links.</i></p> {% endif %} {% endraw %} Feel free to change the actual content of the affiliate disclaimer message.

July 12, 2021

Establish A Shut Down Routine For Maximum Clarity

A shutdown routine is something you do at the end of your workday that tells your brain, I’m finished with work today. By making a shut down routine part of your daily habits, you’ll find that your mind can focus on other things outside of your work. Once your mind knows that your tasks have been handled for the day, you’ll be less likely to think about that email you need to send or that random task you should prioritize.

July 5, 2021

5 Ways For A UI Designer To Come Up With Ideas

As a UI Designer, you are essentially paid for your ideas. They are your greatest source of value. Because of this, your job is dependent on always creating more value. This type of tension can result in burnout if you don’t acknowledge that your creativity comes in waves. It’s not always possible to come up with amazing ideas on the spot. But, if you realize this, you can leverage your creative moments of brilliance and store great ideas for when you need them.

June 28, 2021

Be Consistent - That Is Your One Thing