Category: Tips and Tricks

Installing Hubot on Mac OS X Lion 10.7

Github has just released Hubot to the public (Say Hello to Hubot).

What is Hubot?

I have installed it on my MBP running Max OS X 10.7.2

Instructions:

  • Set Redis to run on startup. Run the following commands from terminal.
    mkdir -p ~/Library/LaunchAgents
    cp /usr/local/Cellar/redis/2.2.12/io.redis.redis-server.plist ~/Library/LaunchAgents/
    launchctl load -w ~/Library/LaunchAgents/io.redis.redis-server.plist

Example usage:

Result in browser:

The Best Email Management Tip

This subject has been discussed quite a lot in the internet community such as here, here and here.

I had followed a lot of the tips that I found in the articles around the web. These articles often include many small tricks such as labeling, message rules and immediate replying etc.

But undoubtedly, the single and most effective method I have come across is this:

Unsubscribe, unsubscribe, UNSUBSCRIBE!

I had to actually try this for myself to see how effective it was. It does take time. In my case it was a few months until the last of my unnecessary inbox clutter stopped arriving. Just take it day by day, thinking about every automated email you receive, and unsubscribe if it is not something that requires your guaranteed attention.

The problems with email subscriptions

  1. They trickle in at an often constant rate throughout the day, week or month.
  2. A constant email flow creates distractions throughout the day
  3. The email flow requires sub-daily checking to keep on top of your inbox
  4. They add up over time, often without you realising
  5. Emails are not the most efficient method of digesting subscription style information

This is a rule of thumb. There are certain mission critical services that require your guaranteed attention. For all of those messages that are just interesting and/or not critical, I would advise sticking to feeds and other information collaboration tools.