I appreciate new customisation options in iOS 18 for the Control Centre, mostly so that I can remove many of the controls. That said, I took the opportunity to add a control to launch a daily meditation session. The associated shortcut switches to Do Not Disturb and launches directly into the meditation. This has been really helpful in reducing the friction and distractions from building a meditation habit.

Auto-generated description: A smartphone screen displaying the Control Center with various icons and settings, including a media player for a podcast episode titled Home Screens by Daryl Baxter.

πŸ”— How to Choose The Best Methods for your Health and Performance // David Lipman

So don’t go jumping onto the latest trend, especially not if it’s been around for less time than it takes for your eggs to go bad in the fridge. When any new method arrives, it is worth spending some time evaluating the underlying principles of the method. Particularly seeking where it is similar and where it differs from the established methods at the time to try and work out if there really is much difference (there’s often less difference than people would like to believe or argue there is on the internet).

I still really like my iPhone 13 mini. My only challenge is with battery life, since the mini size necessarily means a smaller battery. Now that I have a separate work phone, I’m experimenting with my personal phone automatically enabling low battery mode when switching to my work focus. Now I consistently have battery throughout the day, whereas before I needed a top up in the early evening.

The YouTube algorithm pulled me into a stream of Apple Watch Ultra videos that I was too tired to resist. This one from Brian Talbot resonated the most with me. It isn’t about the specs and features; it’s about the freedom