Archive

Recovering Redacted Content: It's Scary How Easy It Is

* Blurred and pixelated images can often be reverse-engineered to reveal censored details, making them unreliable for secure redaction. * Black bar redaction in digital documents are not foolproof despite being industry standard; hidden text can be retrieved using simple software tools. * Proper redaction involves using the right tools for the job,

An Entrepreneur's Guide to Effective Time-Tracking

A good tool improves the way you work. A great tool improves the way you think. - Jeff Duntemann Maybe you've heard of time-tracking tools; perhaps you've even tried a couple. Today, we're taking a closer look at the benefits, the challenges, and how

How Russian Technology Can Build Malaysia's Digital Sovereignty

The pandemic saw Malaysian companies scrambling to move their communication towards the cloud, using Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Workspace and so on. Five years later, workers are now back in offices, but the new systems and policies remain in place — perhaps out of convenience, improved productivity or sunk cost. What&

I've Time Tracked for a Week, what I've Learnt Made Me Uncomfortable

I've started time-tracking 2 weeks ago after being inspired by the Cortex Podcast by Mike and CGP Grey. Why? Humans are poor judges of how we spend our time. We overestimate the time spent productively while severely underestimating the amount of dead time, or transition time in-between tasks.

Doom Emacs: A Text Editing Playground I didn't Know I Needed

After migrating my notes to Notion, the names Emacs and Org-mode appeared constantly in threads, podcasts, and forums. Though I knew the destination, embarking on expeditions into different productivity systems is an inevitable part of the journey. A straightforward note-taking system expanded into task management, calendars, and time-tracking solutions. The

Guide to Publishing to Hugo/Jekyll Remotely via iOS

Hugo excels at desktop publishing. I can create files using CLIs or markdown editors, then publish to a Github repository. This directly reflects on the website through Netlify, Cloudflare Pages or Vercel. However, publishing from my phone is not as straightforward. I have a micropost section on my website, intended

Changing Jobs for the 8th Time

Where Am I Heading? I'm currently embarking on a new venture, CoThinking, a marketing firm specialising in the B2B tech marketing sector. My return to Innov8tif is a transitionary measure, with the management there providing substantial support to help with the company launch. Why the Change? Now, at

Omnifocus is not a Todo App, it's a Can Do App

I made the switch from Things (my main app for 3 years) to OF4 after learning about David Sparks and CGP Grey's approach to task management. My issue with most to-do apps is that they are time-based, whether it's assigning a date or using time-blocking/calendar

Why Am I Migrating to Micro.blog

This is my 7th blog migration now—away from WordPress, Obsidian Publish, Super.so, Ghost, Substack & Hugo. Admittedly, it's a form of procrastination. Spending more time messing around with websites means less time producing content. But I don't think it's time wasted. I&

Why I Chose Hugo for My Personal Website

Having my own website is essential to me. Being an online lurker for so long, I have often regretted not contributing more to the internet space rather than just passive consumption. However, I disliked the idea of posting on social media and contributing towards data-hungry big tech corporations. Hence, building

How Competitive Shooters Made Me a Better Leader

It's easy to chalk up e-sports as just children's pastime. But like any other sport, it takes a lot of practice, skills, and talent to be highly competitive—even more so within a team setting. After more than a decade of playing competitive shooters, I come

Will ChatGPT Replace Writers

A few weeks back, an old friend asked me this over some pints. "Do you think ChatGPT will replace us one day?" Both of us are from the creative industry, initially assumed to be technologically resilient. But like truck drivers with self-driving vehicles, it is now our heads

Plight of the Malaysian Young Adults

I had a discussion with a friend about rising property prices. Both of us are in our late 20s. "We have it tough. During our parent's time, homes could be bought with cash. The economy was booming back then, and that's how affordable houses were.

I've Experimented with Personal Productivity for 18 Months. here's what I've Learnt

I am obsessed with productivity systems. From Ali Abdaal to James Clear, Keep Productive to Cal Newport… task apps, calendars, daily planners, and personal knowledge management—if it exists in the Apple ecosystem, chances are I've tried it before. Have I become more productive after this exercise? Yes!

Why Everyone Should Learn Task Management

Thanks to the availability of AI tools like ChatGPT, completing tasks is easier than ever before. Work that once took hours can now be completed in mere minutes, which is a dream for any knowledge worker—whether you're a student, professional, or even a homemaker. However, completing tasks

Guide to Being a New Manager: Alignment"

Being recruited as a first-time manager can be both exciting yet uncomfortable. The prospects of higher pay and benefits come at the expense of more responsibilities and an extended notice period. But the real challenge lies in managing higher expectations from your employers, new colleagues, and mainly yourself. Externally-hired managers

Building a Personal Website: Why I Chose Obsidian Publish

The job market is highly competitive for both full-time work and freelancers. In the past, a solid portfolio and resume/CV were sufficient for getting one's foot in the door, but today, companies are looking for more than just academic qualifications. If you're a software developer,

Side Projects within the Workplace

Isn't it ironic? Many companies preach the values of creativity and innovation within the workplace, but don't provide the breathing space to do so (Thankfully, mine is a rare few who does). To use office hours for self-development is viewed as slacking; to stray away from