Unite puts a lightweight app wrapper around any website, turning it into a free-standing macOS app. You can customise its appearence (such as icons, dark or light themes) and how you’d like to access it (via the menu bar, dock or as a compact app that displays the site’s mobile version).

Parabola is a bit like Zapier but more focused on data/document processing. You can connect to a long list of existing apps to extract data, then build smart workflows that automate the processing of that data. If you’re trying to build complex reports involving multiple apps or manage large customer or inventory lists, this is a handy tool to have at your disposal.

This web app creates mobile-optimised landing pages for your online profiles. It’s a mix of a portfolio site and link-in-bio page, and even comes with an ecommerce feature. Without signing up first, there isn’t all that much information about the app or the (Ukraine-based) company.

If you’re curious about cycling your way through Europe, EuroVelo is a fantastic place to start your research. “EuroVelo incorporates existing and planned national and regional cycle routes into a single European network.” Detailed route plans with tons of images, video and downloadable GPX files. The most valuable part is perhaps the ‘News’ section which contains trip reviews and tips on what to see along the way.

The Upside of Uncertainty →

Finding opportunity in the unknown

Facing up to the combined prospects of out-of-control AI and climate collapse – to name just a few – creates a growing sense of unease about a uniquely opaque, volatile future. I believe becoming more adept at handling this uncertainty will be one of the defining skills of the decades to come. “Drawing from hundreds of interviews, along with pioneering research in psychology, innovation, and behavioral economics, Nathan and Susannah provide dozens of tools – including mental models, techniques, and reflections – for seeing the upside of uncertainty, developing a vision for what to do next, and opening ourselves up to new possibilities.”

The Grind Culture Detox →

Self-worth beyond productivity

In the Western world, much of a person’s self-worth is defined by how productive they are to society. In this book, the author Heather Archer takes a look at the history of what she calls ‘grind culture’ in the US and offers an invitation for an ‘inner revolution’ that values people not solely on their output. “Archer explains how the poisonous legacies of stolen labor and stolen land have led to the exhausting workforce culture we have today.”

For cultural theorist and strategist Matt Klein the various online and social movements (from the all-meat diet to crypto to crossfit) are modern equivalents to traditional religions, offering shared values, goals and rituals – “cohesion and concurrence during a moment of social polarities and algorithmic segmentation”. Our careers also serve as stand-ins to fill the void left by religions: “For the last two decades, as traditional religion declined and capitalism thrived, work stepped in as a seamless substitute. Blackberries and boardrooms as alters, we prayed for promotions. We went as far as replacing ‘career’ with calling and passion. WeWork’s entire rise (and fall) can be traced back to Neumann’s religious aspirations.” According the Klein, real and meaningful alternatives to the religious movements of the past can be found in addressing “the systemic causes of this social gash. Why is it that people are deficient in meaning, purpose, ritual and belonging today? And what’s the role of your product, service, brand, or organization in solving these needs? Hold up... Your deodorant, candle or cooking spray aren’t rituals. However... Community workout, candle-making or cooking classes can be.”

A growing body of literature offering us lessons on how to not work indicates that we have become unable to turn off the hustle. Doing nothing, it seems, requires an instruction manual. Well, look no further. Here’s a lengthy piece that includes practical advice on how to press the pause button and master the skill of relaxation. “Busyness is a badge of honour, even a sign of moral superiority. Rest, in contrast, is often treated as if it’s passive and pointless. Indeed, I’ve noticed many people hardly think of rest as its own thing. It’s just a negative space defined by the absence of work.”

I’m sure we romanticise living in Scandinavian countries – it’s become too easy to point to them as the shining example of a welfare system done right. Then again, it’s hard to ignore just how content most people are about living in a society that, to put it simply, has your back. “The high quality of life in Finland is deeply rooted in the nation’s welfare system, Mr. Kiiski, 47, who lives in Turku, said. ‘It makes people feel safe and secure, to not be left out of society.’ Public funding for education and the arts, including individual artist grants, gives people like his wife, Hertta, a mixed-media artist, the freedom to pursue their creative passions. ‘It also affects the kind of work that we make, because we don’t have to think of the commercial value of art,’ Ms. Kiiski, 49, said. ‘So what a lot of the artists here make is very experimental.’” (Possible soft paywall)