Jacob Evans

Check...one, two. Check. Is this thing on?

Eighteen months ago, I began my adventure with Tinderbox. I have a lot more to say about it. But today, I’m pleased to report that I’ve switched this site to a static publishing system using Tinderbox. I’ve had a blast learning its export system and implementing, feature for feature, what I had on my former Ghost-backed site.1

Blogging in Tinderbox
Blogging in Tinderbox

With the change, I took the opportunity to make several enhancements, including:

  1. Dark mode. The site now has dark and light modes, honoring the reader’s system appearance settings.
  2. Code highlighting. For posts that include code, I’m now leveraging Prism to provide syntax highlighting; neat, huh?
  3. Site search. On all the site’s pages, there’s now a search box in the footer that uses DuckDuckGo’s index. As I add content, I hope this feature becomes more useful.
  4. Link post archive. I added a dedicated archive page for the link-type posts.

What I love about using Tinderbox to manage my blog is that I can make changes rapidly. Ghost’s templating system, while good, requires some setup, compilation, and upload steps. For me, the friction of making a change—even a simple one—was always a bit too high. Also, switching to a static site means I no longer need to pay for or manage a VPS. Yay!

I’m excited to write more here. It helps that I have a backlog of posts to publish.

A special thanks to Dave Rogers, Jack Baty, and the venerable designer of Tinderbox, Mark Bernstein, all of whom blog with Tinderbox. Their work inspired me to build a static publishing workflow. If you want to learn more about how all this works, there’s an excellent Tinderbox meetup where Jack and Dave detail how they blog; give it a watch.

  1. Sorry to readers who got “new” posts in their feed reader. Changing the blog necessitated a feed refactor, and all the post IDs changed.  ↩︎

Leader Fables: 'You Need a Vacation' ∞

Guess from where and when I get my best ideas (hint, it’s not at work.)

I get my best work ideas when I’m on vacation and far away from the familiar. If you haven’t had a good idea in a while, that might be a sign that you need to take a holiday.

In this week’s episode of Leader Fables, Casey and I unpack how to take time off and recharge well.

Leader Fables: 'Principles in Practice' ∞

Lately, I’ve been writing down my leadership principles. I have collected 63 so far, all tracked in a Drafts note. Whenever something occurs to me, I update the note.

One day, I’m going to unpack all my leadership principles on this blog. Until then, listen to this week’s Leader Fables to get a sense of how a few of my principles shape how I lead.

Programming Update: Leader Fables is now on a regular recording cadence. Expect new episodes every fortnight on Tuesdays.

Leader Fables: 'Designing an Ideal Week' ∞

Ever feel like your week runs you instead of you running your week? In Episode 35, “Designing an Ideal Week” of Leader Fables, we explore how leaders can create structure and intentionality to reclaim their most valuable asset: time.

Leader Fables: 'Leadership is Lonely' ∞

The latest episode of Leader Fables is out, and it’s a doozy. This episode likely hits home for many leaders, myself included, as we chat about an often unspoken aspect of leadership — the sense of isolation.

Leadership isn’t always glamorous. In fact, it’s frequently lonely. Casey shared a Harvard Business Review survey revealing that 61% of CEOs report feeling lonely, with 75% believing it impacts their effectiveness. Crazy, huh?

One moment that struck me deeply was when a manager confided, “There’s no one else I can literally talk to about this topic”. This echoed my own experiences — the moments where the more senior you are in an organization, the fewer peers you have to lean on. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Listen in for some ideas on how to fend off isolation and loneliness.

Integrating ChatGPT with Tinderbox Using Shortcuts

Like many of us these days, I use ChatGPT to streamline various productivity workflows. This week, I set out to integrate Tinderbox with ChatGPT to enhance my note-taking and thought organization.

Below is a simple yet flexible integration that requires minimal command-line (or Terminal) knowledge. No API sign-ups or subscriptions are needed—this works with the free version of ChatGPT. However, you do need to have the ChatGPT macOS app installed and set up.

Setup Steps

Get the integration working by following five simple steps.

  1. Install the Shortcut. First, install this Shortcut, which allows Tinderbox to send input and receive output from the macOS ChatGPT app. Here’s a screenshot if you want to create it yourself. (NOTE: The name of the shortcut needs to match the Shortcut name specified in the following step, which is ChatGPT.)

  2. Add Functions to Tinderbox’s “Library”. Next, add the following three functions to a note in your Tinderbox “Library” located in /Hints/Library:

    //
// Returns the POSIX directory in which this TBX
// file is located.
//
// NOTE: If the document's path contains special RegEx
// chars, this function may fail.
//
function getDir() {
   return document["path"].replace("/" + document["name"]);
}

//
// Runs the "shortcuts" command with the specified
// shortcut name and input in data.
//
function runShortcut(stdin, shortcut) {
    // Construct the Shortcut command
    var:string cmd = 'shortcuts run "' + shortcut + '"';

    return runCommand(cmd, stdin, getDir()).trim;
}

//
// Prompts ChatGPT with the given text.
//
function promptChatGPT(text) {
    // Display a waiting message
    show("⏳ Prompting ChatGPT, please wait...");

    return runShortcut(text, "ChatGPT");
}

    The second function, runShortcut(), allows you to run any Shortcut, while the third function, promptChatGPT(), calls runShortcut() to execute the ChatGPT Shortcut that was added in Step 1.

  3. Create a Stamp to Send Notes to ChatGPT. Next, create a Stamp that runs the promptChatGPT() function, using the $Text of the selected note(s) as the prompt:

    $Text += "\n\n---\n\n" + promptChatGPT($Text) + "\n\n---\n\n";

    NOTE: This Stamp appends the ChatGPT results to the selected note(s) using the selected notes' $Text as input, effectively simulating a “chat”.

  4. Run the Stamp. Create a new note with a prompt as its $Text and apply the Stamp created in the previous step to it.

  5. Use and Enjoy 🍻. That’s it! Now, you can use this setup to quickly query ChatGPT from within Tinderbox.

Limitations & Future Enhancements

One downside to this approach is that each time you prompt ChatGPT, it starts a new chat. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a way to programmatically delete chats or mark them as temporary. If anyone finds a workaround, I’d love to hear about it!

I hope this integration proves as useful for you as it has for me. Happy Tinderboxing!

Leader Fables: ‘Team Development’ ∞

One of the things I’m looking forward to doing in 2025 is further developing our talented team of technologists at work. I believe that the better we get, the better we have to get—there is always a more challenging mountain for us to climb. As leaders, equipping our teams to conquer ever-greater challenges is essential.

In our latest episode of Leader Fables, Casey and I discuss strategies for making our teams more cohesive and fostering opportunities to deepen our connections. Please give it a listen; it’s a good one.

Vote!

There’s this wonderful bit of dialog, written by Arron Sorkin, from the second episode in the fourth season of The West Wing entitled, “20 Hours in America: Part 2,” where Toby Ziegler (played by Richard Schiff) outlines the qualifications for the country’s next president:

If our job teaches us anything it’s that we don’t know what the next president’s gonna face.

If we choose someone with vision, someone with guts, someone with gravitas, who’s connected to other people’s lives and cares about making them better; if we choose someone to inspire us then we’ll be able to face what comes our way and achieve things we can’t imagine yet.

Perhaps dated, but those qualifications for president still resonate with me. Go vote.

Adventuring Into Tinderbox

Over the last few years, I’ve been on a journey to wrangle the many digital assets that make up my work. After a short dalliance with DEVONthink, this journey has led me to implementing PARA in Obsidian. However, I’ve struggled to find a good way to capture and curate long-term notes and visualize their relationships. So, I’ve determined, after much consternation, to give Tinderbox (TBX) a try.

Unlike Obsidian, Tinderbox doesn’t have first-class support for Markdown. However, with a little bit of action code, Keyboard Maestro Markdown shortcuts, and a bit of perseverance, I’m fairly confident I can bend TBX to my will.

For me, the appeal of Tinderbox is five fold:

  1. Exportability. It’s export system is impressive. Done right, for each TBX document, I can generate a custom, static website. I could see this being really useful to share information with several audiences I interact with regularly.
  2. Note visualization. I want to experiment with visualizing large collections of notes in TBX’s map view. I suspect for certain projects it will help me conduct better “forest management” of my various projects and passions.
  3. Custom attributes. Every note in TBX can have one or more custom or built-in attributes. These attributes can be used to track discrete note properties and metadata. I can see this being particularly useful when creating goal trackers. For example, I would like to experiment with using TBX for tracking the progress of my team’s quarterly assigned OKRs and SMART goals.
  4. Programmability. TBX has extensive support for performing various types of actions on notes. While Obsidian is also programmable, TBX makes it trivial to tinker “under the hood.” As a software developer, this appeals to me immensely, making my note repositories infinitely extensible and malleable.
  5. Importability. While TBX doesn’t have a mobile app, it does provide ways to ingest notes via a watched Finder folder. Done right, this will allow me to add notes, and, perhaps even publish them to the web, while I’m mobile.

As my adventuring progresses, I intend to post regular updates here.

Leader Fables: 'You Need a Hobby' ∞

Leader Fables is back!

This time, Casey and I delve into the world of hobbies and their crucial role in preventing burnout. We share our personal hobbies, from stargazing to Lego, and discuss how these activities rejuvenate us and make us more interesting individuals.

We also explore the connection between hobbies and life balance. Tune in to hear more about our adventures and tips in finding fun hobbies that make us better leaders.

Leader Fables: 'Baking Ideas Pt. 2' ∞

As expected, Casey and I are back with part two of making ideas happen. But before we dive into the nitty-gritty of project execution, we couldn’t resist recapping the importance of seizing inspiration (because let’s face it, those lightbulb moments can be as fleeting as a sneeze).

Casey and I also found ourselves tangled in an impromptu showdown about what truly constitutes a minimum viable product (MVP). Trust me, it’s like watching two nerds duke it out over the best flavor of ice cream—but with much higher stakes.

Amidst the laughter and friendly banter, we share a variety of tips for executing projects like pros. We cover everything from persuasion tactics, to handling those moments when your grand plan suddenly takes a nosedive into the fiery pits of chaos.

If you’re up for a dollop of wisdom, wit, and a touch of nerdiness, tune in to the latest episode of Leader Fables.

Leader Fables: 'Baking Ideas Pt. 1' ∞

Get ready for another exciting episode of Leader Fables where we outline how we make ideas happen.

Casey and I discuss effective brainstorming strategies, share our experiences on the art of persuasion, and provide practical tips for getting projects underway. The episode is chock-full of actionable insights, personal anecdotes, and a dose of our favorite recommendations.

This episode is packed with tools and tips to help you turn your ideas into reality.

Leader Fables: 'Help Your Family Love Your Job' ∞

I’ll be the first to admit that there have been times when my wife hated my job. In our latest episode of Leader Fables, Casey Clark gives us some great advice on how to love our work and our families. He also outlines a litmus test to determine what our families think about our work. If you cherish both your career and your loved ones, try his test.

I invite you to join me on a journey towards creating a fulfilling life where work and family thrive together. I’m just getting started 💙

Leader Fables: 'Don't Drink the Water' ∞

Looks like we’ve got a classic case of delayed gratification, folks! This week’s episode took a detour thanks to the ultimate culprit: travel.

But don’t worry, we’re not here to complain (well, not too much anyway.) Join me and Casey on a journey through the wild world of business travel. We share our tips and tricks for surviving the airport shuffle, and maybe even inspire you to try something new on your next trip.

And if that’s not enough to entice you, I also unleash some fiery hot takes on everyone’s favorite office annoyance: email auto-responders.

Leader Fables: 'Stop Reading Business Books' ∞

After a five-month hiatus, Casey and I are back behind the mic to discuss all things leadership.

One of the professional maxims I try to live by is: the better I get, the better I better get. In this week’s fortnightly episode, we attempt to unpack that truth by discussing the importance of professional development.

To improve as a leader, I’ve learned that I need to seek ways to inspire and challenge me. Neglecting professional development is a recipe for obsolescence. And who wants to be obsolete? I certainly don’t.

Leader Fables: 'Powerful Presentations' ∞

Happy New Year, friends! Casey Clark and I have great plans for Leader Fables this year, and we can’t wait to share our plans with you soon. Until then, we’re releasing a handful of episodes on topics we’re passionate about, and this week’s episode on presentations is no exception. So join us as we discuss the elements that make for a powerful presentation.

If you’re a veteran presenter or new to giving presentations, this episode has a tip for you.

Leader Fables: 'Marvelous Meetings' ∞

Meetings can either energize or bore. I’ve learned the hard way how to orchestrate meetings that are memorable, impactful, and fun. In this week’s fortnightly episode of Leader Fables, Casey and I discuss how to host team meetings that are energizing, inviting, informative, and celebratory.

For those of us that struggle to make meetings effective or could use some advice to make an impending team meeting more inspirational, this episode will not disappoint.

Leader Fables: Season 2

I’m delighted to announce that Leader Fables has been renewed for a second season! And by “renewed,” I mean that Casey and I loved making season one of the show so much that we decided to do another one about a favorite topic of ours: intentional productivity. During this season, we’re dedicating an episode to each of the Five Altitudes of Planning, including:

  1. Weekly preparation
  2. Daily planning
  3. Quarterly reviews
  4. Live planning & Annual reviews
  5. Putting It All Together
  6. Managing Margin (bonus episode)

We kick off the season with an overview episode packed with tips and strategies to help us prepare to plan our weeks.

Finally, this season, we’re starting a show newsletter. Signup for the newsletter to receive exclusive content, and enter to win a free copy of two books: Free to Focus and Deep Work.

Leader Fables: 'Interview with Mary Jane Isaacs' ∞

One of my favorite people, Mary Jane Isaacs, joined us on Leader Fables Fables this week.

Mary Jane is a phenomenal leader who shares inspiring stories about navigating difficult seasons. She also delivers excellent tips on conducting effective one-on-ones and adding a little whimsy to team celebrations. Give this week’s episode a listen; it’s not one to miss.

Leader Fables: 'The Summit' ∞

The most difficult but most rewarding activity I do every week is a retrospective. Taking 30 minutes to reflect on the prior week and make minor course corrections has made me a more effective leader, father, and husband. In this week’s episode of Leader Fables, Casey and I demonstrate and discuss how to conduct effective after action reviews.

Book recommend: Getting Things Done by David Allen

Leader Fables: 'Interview with Margaret Simonis' ∞

In this week’s episode of Leader Fables, we break from our usual format to interview a long time colleague of Casey’s: Margaret Simonis. Margaret is an experienced and exceptional middle manager who shares some practical advice on how to conduct effective 1-on-1s, stay organized, establish routines for recharging, and team collaboration.

This episode is packed with great advice from an experienced middle manager for middle managers. Please give it a listen.

Leader Fables: 'Rallying Cry' ∞

Establishing weekly planning and reflection routines has, by far, enabled me to maintain better focus. And sustaining focus throughout the week has allowed me to do my best work and lead more effectively. This week’s episode of Leader Fables is packed with tips on performing weekly planning, establishing rhythms for reflection, setting weekly goals, and maintaining focus.

For teams who are striving to do their best work but could pick up a little more speed, this week’s episode is for you 💜

Book recommend: Deep Work by Cal Newport

Leader Fables: 'The Map' ∞

Launching products is complex. But proper strategic planning helps sustain execution and ensures successful outcomes. What is strategic planning, and how does it relate to the middle manager’s role? Listen to this week’s episode of Leader Fables to find out.

Also, there’s some can’t-miss talk of a slingshot to space.

Book recommend: Free to Focus by Michael Hyatt

Leader Fables: 'The Code' ∞

Most of us love hearing a captivating quitting story. I hate to admit it, but, at times, I’ve fantasized about rage quitting, too. While I have yet rage quit, I’ve experienced a few spectacular resignations as a middle manager. I talk about one of them at the beginning of this week’s episode of Leader Fables.

Consider reducing the rage by collaboratively establishing team norms. What are team norms? Listen to this week’s episode to find out.

Book recommend: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

Launching Leader Fables

I’m super excited to announce a podcast that’s been in the making for quite some time. It’s called Leader Fables, and we think you’ll like it. My cohost, Casey Clark, and I use the power of storytelling to examine leadership strategies and tactics. You will enjoy the stories and may even enjoy our commentary.

In the first six episodes, we discuss leadership topics through the lens of middle management, including:

  1. Strategies for new leaders
  2. Tips for building and inheriting teams
  3. Developing team norms and rhythms
  4. Strategic planning
  5. Maintaining focus amid chaos
  6. Team celebration

The first two episodes are available now, where all fine podcasts are found. Please give them a listen and let me know what you think. New episodes drop every Tuesday at 10 AM MT.