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This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. Subscribe here. Most bookmark tools feel like cluttered digital filing cabinetsfull of folders, tags, and organizational overhead. mymind is a minimalist alternative. Its a clean, simple online hub for saving anything you find online. Create a gorgeous private scrapbook of images, links, articles or anything else you want to save, without the hassle of labeling. Its an opinionated tool thats not for everyonecaveats below include no sharing or importing. And Ive noted a bunch of strong alternatives. But mymind remains a superb example of a design-focused service thats a pleasure to use. Since I last wrote about it, mymind has improved the way it shows visuals, Read on for an update of my previous post to learn what its most useful for and how to use it. 6 ways to use mymind I like using mymind to save remarkable visuals, thought-provoking charts, amazing videos, beautiful poems, and memorable articles. I also use it to collect AI-related links to scan through. Create an inspiration moodboard. Save stunning photographs, brilliant art, your favorite interior designs, cool clothing, yummy food, pictures of homes youd love to live in someday, or whatever else catches your eye. Then the next time youre staring at a blank page, open your moodboard for a spark. Collect project ideas. Save links, quotes, or screenshots to inform a project. Highlight articles to save specific passages. Curate quotes & graphics for presentations. Use the one-click save button whenever you stumble on notable material to add to a slide deck or handout. Save articles and videos for later. The distraction-free mymind interface makes it a nice place to read long articles or watch YouTube videos. Clip recipes. I was surprised by how helpfully mymind strips out the cruft in online recipes. It shows just the ingredients and instructions, though you can easily return to the original recipe page. Organize shower thoughts. You can write text notes or to-do lists. Jot a few words or an essay outline. mymind is clean and simple No ads. No data tracking. No vanity metrics or likes. No social sharing or collaboration. Read myminds manifesto & promise for their philosophy. No complex menus or manuals to read. How to start using mymind Go to mymind.com and create a free account with your Google or Apple ID. Download a browser extension and/or the iOS, Android or Mac app. Save a few interesting sites by pressing the browser button. See an image you want to save? Right-click it. Or highlight text in an article and right-click that text to save it as a quote. You can add a note if you want to. I often save a short phrase as a reminder of what caught my attention. Return to mymind online or on your mobile device anytime you want to see what youve saved. Browse your collection. Try a search term (like book, pizza, video, or quote) to surface whatever youre looking for. Collections: You can optionally create custom spacesbasically smart searchesif you like organizing your finds into sub-categories. Serendipity mode lets you focus on one saved item at a time, enabling minimalistic deep thinking. Pricing: Its free to save up to 100 items or cards. To collect more, pay $8/month ($79/year) for unlimited cards and some advanced features, or $13/month ($129/year) for the Mastermind plan with more advanced AI, reading mode, and article backups. Videos from mymind are a useful easy way to learn more. And myminds newsletter is well-curated and gorgeously-designed. AI-enhanced: mymind uses AI to classify everything you save. That makes it easy to find anything, even after you accumulate a large library. Caveats No sharing. mymind is designed for privacy, not sharing. I end up saving my most valuable finds in multiple places to give my future self options. mymind is great for visual exploration, but I need other services, like Raindrop, to share my collections. If you want to share your library, consider an alternative below. Limited flexibility. myminds design, while gorgeous, isnt flexible. Its not meant for you to rearrange, though you can pin cards. If you want to manually resize items or drag things around on a canvas, consider Milanote or a whiteboard like Miro, Mural, Lucid or Figjam. No import. You cant easily bring in items youve saved on other servicesheres why mymind discourages thisnor can you email things in or develop automations as you can with other clipping tools. No Firefox bookmark button. If thats your browser, this might not be for you. Limited free plan. To save more than 100 items, you have to pick a paid plan. Alternatives Sublime is a cool new service Im trying out for collecting online inspiration. Unlike mymind, you can use Sublime to hare finds, see others related discoveries, and use its canvas to move from curation to creation. Compare it w/ other tools like Notion, Apple Notes, Readwise & Raindrop. Pricing is free for up to 50 cards, $75/year unlimited. $100/year for premium+ subscription to The Sublime on Substack. Raindrop is my favorite bookmark-saving service. It replaced delicio.us and Google bookmarks for me. Why Raindrop is so useful. Best for helping you save and organize links and share them publicly. Works on all platforms & integrates free with 2,600 other services. Less ideal for calmly exploring your collection of visuals or quotes. Pricing: Free for almost all features. $28/annually for full-text search, backups, AI tag suggestions & other extras. I pay to help preserve the robust free tier. Readwise is excellent if youre mainly saving articles and videos to read and watch later. How and why I use Readwise. Best for reading and highlighting saved articles and newsletters online or offline in great Web and mobile apps. Less ideal for saving images or collecting links because its designed for reading and video viewing. Pricing: Free for 30 days then $5.59 or $10/month for full access. Eagle is useful as a tool for organizing all your screenshots and any files on your computer. Why I like Eagle so much. Milanote is one of the few apps thats as elegantly designed as mymind. It lets you organize ideas and saved items on visual boards. Best for creating your own visual collections with a variety of images, links, documents and annotations. Less ideal for simply saving or storing images, quotes and material you encounter online. It works best for creating project-specific boards. Pricing: Free for up to 100 notes, then $10/month billed annually for unliimited notes. A team version is $49/month. This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. Subscribe here.
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Let’s be honest: Your phone is a jerk. A loud, demanding, little pocket-size jerk that never stops buzzing, dinging, and begging for your attention. It’s the first thing you see in the morning and the last thing you see at night. Enough! Now, Im not talking about tossing your phone into a volcano. Im talking about swapping it out for something simpler. And you don’t have to go full Luddite. Here are some unique options that scratch the itch of modern connectivity without all the noise. Light Phone III [Photo: the Light Phone] The Light Phone is a name that’s become a philosophical statement, and the Light Phone III is the next evolution in simplicity. Make calls, set alarms, get directions, use the calendar, take notes, and . . . well, thats about it. The E Ink screen from previous Light Phones is gone, replaced with a matte AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) display. It’s still black and white and utterly boring, but its more responsive. And its got a stripped-down, point-and-shoot camera along with other modern comforts like 5G connectivity, USB-C charging, NFC (near-field communication), and a fingerprint sensor. The phone is available to preorder for $699 and is scheduled to ship in September. If you cant wait that long, check out its $299 predecessor or the similar Mudita Kompakt. Unihertz Jelly Max [Photo: Unihertz] The Unihertz Jelly Max unapologetically answers a question no one asked: What if a phone had a 5-inch screen and were crammed into a rugged, chunky, see-through body? This $340 phone runs a modern-ish version of Android, which means you can download all the apps you want. But the screen is a little too small for comfortable browsing. The phone itself is a brick. The form factor discourages a lot of casual, mindless use. Its great for someone who needs the power of Android but wants to be reminded with every physical interaction that a phone is a tool, not a lifestyle. The Minimal Phone [Photo: the Minimal Co.] The Minimal Phone knows you love typing, but it also understands that your iPhone is an endless black hole of distraction. The solution? A full QWERTY keyboard and a proper E Ink screen, just like a Kindle. Available for preorder, this $400 to $500 phone isn’t for scrolling through Instagram stories or cruising TikTok all day. It runs a custom version of Android that has an app store with only the essentials. The physical keyboard and the black-and-white screen are brilliant psychological deterrents. The only thing you’ll be tempted to do is write an email or a very long text message. It’s a phone designed for anything but mindless consumption. Wisephone II [Photo: Wisephone] Now for a twist. The $400 Wisephone II looks like a smartphone with a big, bright screen and a familiar rectangular shape. Oh, and its got a Samsung logo on the back, just like . . . wait a minute: This is a Samsung phone. Its actually more than that. It runs on a deeply modified version of Android: no social media, no explicit content, and no web browser. Its purpose is to handle calls, texts, photos, and apps that arent built to monetize your attention. Basically, a modern device without the digital baggage that comes with it. Aside from the $400 price tag for the phone, youll need a Wisephone service plan (from $25 to $70 per month), or you can use your own plan and pay just $15 per month for the customized operating system, a curated list of apps, and software support.
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E-Commerce
For centuries, work has been more than a paycheckit’s been a space where people collaborate, forge meaningful bonds, and find belonging. Yet, in recent years, a major shift has left many feeling isolated despite being surrounded by colleagues, as the deep camaraderie once common in workplaces is fading. Gallups research underscores this concerning trend: today, only 20% of U.S. employees report having a best friend at work. More troubling, just one in five actively nurtures these relationships, despite clear evidence that workplace friendships elevate commitment, performance, and personal well-being. This erosion of connection is not merely a social lossits a business challenge. Employees without strong friendships often feel less fulfilled, collaborate less effectively, and are far more likely to leave. The impact of lost workplace friendships is often underestimatedespecially in discussions about employee turnover. While its commonly believed that people mostly quit jobs in response to poor managers, Oxford professor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve has found that workers quit not because of leadership alone, but because they lack a sense of belonging with their teams. This reframes the issue: workplace friendships arent just about socializingtheyre critical for retention and sustainable business success. The Great Resignation, where millions quit their jobs, directly highlights the impact of weakened workplace ties. Physical separation during the COVID-19 pandemic left employees feeling detached from their teammates, eroding the sense of community that once grounded them. While not the sole driver, the decline in deep workplace friendships significantly contributed to employees’ decisions to leave, underscoring friendship’s role in fostering loyalty, job satisfaction, and team stability. Why Workplace Friendships Are Waning Friendships dont just happenthey develop through shared experiences, casual conversations, and repeated interactions over time. But todays workplace dynamics make forming these bonds increasingly difficult. The technology we rely upon to make communication speedier and efficient carries the downside of making interactions more transactional. Instead of stopping by a coworkers desk for a meaningful chat, we send impersonal texts, emails and Slack messages. Remote and hybrid work schedules compound the problem by removing everyday experiences that once sparked relationships: coffee breaks, lunches, and catching up with people before and after important meetings. We’re so accustomed to working independently, we even take Zoom meetings alone in our officesfully aware the people were meeting with sit right outside our door. Beyond technology, workplaces increasingly emphasize individual performance over team achievementanother disincentive for employees to cultivate meaningful relationships. Its no wonder many of us feel less concerned about having superficial connection with the people we work with. Profound Consequences Gallups research consistently highlights the importance of friendship in the workplace, showing that employees with close bonds are 43% more committed and 27% more satisfied with their jobs. Work friendships also provide an essential support systemsomeone to celebrate wins with, joke with, vent to after tough experiences, and collaborate with in a way that makes work more enjoyable. Without these relationships, workplaces risk becoming isolating, uninspiring, and even less innovative. Having true friendships at work not only improves mental health, it also enhances well-beinga critical driver of employee performance. Psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, who oversees the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest-running well-being study in American history, states, The clearest message we get from this 75-year study is this: good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period. Additionally, University of California, Riverside positive psychology researcher, Sonja Lyubomirsky, has found that even small points of connection throughout the day can increase happiness more than people realize. Having conversations with people makes us happy, Lyubomirsky says, reinforcing how simple social interactions with colleagues can improve mood, commitment, and overall workplace satisfaction. Further backing this idea, renowned psychologist, Ed Dieners research on happiness discovered that the most fulfilled individuals arent just successful in their careersthey are deeply social. One more critical piece of confirmation, Deloittes 2020 research, shows a sense of belongingfeeling valued and included by ones boss and colleaguesis the top driver of employee well-being. Its because belonging fosters psychological safety, resilience and self-esteem, each of which are anchors to human flourishing. How Leaders Can Rebuild Workplace Connection To reverse this decline, leaders must recognize that workplace friendships are not inevitablethey require active nurturing. Creating a more connected workplace surely demands intentional efforts, but the benefits of building a truly cohesive team far outweigh the time and energy investment. Leaders should prioritize building social spaces within work environments, whether thats through dedicated team-building activities or informal check-ins that encourage employees to engage with each other beyond their day-to-day tasks. For remote and hybrid teams, fostering connection means going beyond creating opportunities for virtual coffee chats, and adding team Slack channels centered around interests. Bringing people together for regularly scheduled in-person connection days remains essential. Encouraging collaborative projects can also unite employees in a way that feels natural rather than forced. When colleagues work toward a shared goal, friendships develop organically. Rotating people into different collaborative teams will also ensure closer relationships are built more widely. Finally, leaders must acknowledge that workplace friendships arent distractions or nice-to-havestheyre assets. Creating a culture where connection is valued doesnt just improve employee moraleit strengthens retention, creativity, and performance. By fostering friendships, leaders dont just build better teams; they create desirable workplaces. The lifeblood of thriving teams Workplace friendships that weave resilience and joy into the fabric of our daily work are the lifeblood of thriving teams and organizations. Leaders who champion these bonds will naturally create environments where well-being flourishes, and their teams full potential can be unlocked. Perhaps, fostering stronger relationships at work might also produce a ripple effect that extends empathy and unity ino society overall. As Nelson Mandela envisioned, A fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dreamt of.
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E-Commerce
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