Friday's Digest - The Newsletter for Doctors & Scientists

Friday's Digest #69

Goodbye, Desk:

How I Enjoy the Freedom of a Mobile Office

Think of a mobile office as your genie in a bottle.

Sit down, snap your fingers, and start working.

ANYWHERE.

December 22nd, 2023

Friday's Digest - The Newsletter for Doctors & Scientists

For two decades, I've been developing tools that have improved my practice in medicine, dentistry, and scientific research.

Join me every Friday to discover a new tool you can integrate into your workflow as a doctor, a scientist, or both.

I believe in sharing knowledge, embracing automation, boosting productivity, and finding joy in the process.

Photo by Andrea Natali on Unsplash

My Podcast

In a hurry? Don’t feel like reading?

Listen to my Podcast by clicking here.

Preface
Main Article
Popular Video

Preface

I once couldn’t imagine a day without my traditional office - a desk with a computer, a pile of books, handwritten notes, and an array of accessories.

The problem?

1️⃣ Outside the Office Syndrome:
I stepped outside, and poof! Access to my work world vanished.

2️⃣The Packing Ritual:
If I wanted to work remotely, it was like packing for the airport - transferring files, stuffing books and notebooks into my bag, and always missing something.

3️⃣Time-Drain:
Shuffling stuff around is a complete waste of time.

Doctors and scientists, you know how it is!

⚫️You spend so much time outside the office.

⚫️You must write down insights on the fly and access your knowledge base.

⚫️And you don’t have time to waste.

So today, I will share the magic of my mobile office.

I’ve been doing it for 5 years now, and there’s no way I will ever go back to being tied to an office.

Number 69, here we go.

Main Article

First, what is a mobile office?

Think of a mobile office as your genie in a bottle. Sit down, snap your fingers, and start working.

Public library, under a tree in a forest, or at your kitchen table. Anywhere.

To set up your mobile office, you need 3 things:

Equipment
Software
Habits

🔵 Equipment

Your laptop should be your main computer.

Let me repeat that: Your LAPTOP should be your MAIN computer.

Scientists, I’m looking at you. I know how you love desktop computers. But it’s like having chains tying you down.

I’ve been doing science on a laptop for 5 years, and I’m not looking back.

Which laptop? It depends on your needs, and I wrote an entire newsletter on this subject. You can read it by clicking here.

What about accessories, you ask?

Think small and light.

I use a compact mouse, a foldable keyboard, and a laptop stand.

Set up time: 30 seconds!

🔵 Software

Most doctors and scientists use Microsoft Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Most store their files on institutional computers and hard drives.

I don’t like it.

These systems are limiting my creativity and are wasting my time. I still use them, but at a later stage in the process.

I never use them during creative thinking, studying, and writing manuscripts.

So what does a perfect software do?:

⚫️ Reachable from any device.

⚫️ Searchable.

⚫️ Never loses your files.

⚫️ Never crashes.

Microsoft is very bad in all of these

What do I use instead?

I use Dropbox and Notion

Dropbox:

It syncs my files across devices, and stores them on my hard drive too. Microsoft OneDrive and Google Drive are unreliable. iCloud? It's pretty good, but I prefer to avoid being tethered to Apple.

You can download Dropbox here.

Notion:

This is my “second brain” and I use it for my entire workflow: studying, reviewing manuscripts, writing manuscripts, writing my newsletter, and documenting everything I learn.

You can download Notion here.

Dropbox and Notion have NEVER failed me.

I've been using Dropbox for 15 years and Notion for 4.

🔵 Habits

To trust your mobile office, you need good habits.

Here are my do’s 👍 and don’ts 👎:

Do:

Every new file I get is stored IMMEDIATELY on my Dropbox. I take a minute to rename it and save it in the proper folder.
When I learn something new, I write it down IMMEDIATELY in my Notion.
I read electronic books. I love studying for surgeries with a physical book, but most of the time, it’s not feasible.
I back up my pictures on a DAILY basis. It’s done automatically! I backup my Canon pictures on my Dropbox and my phone’s pictures on my iCloud.
I backup my files on 2 separate hard drives. If you have Dropbox installed on two computers, everything is automatically backed up.

Don’t:

I don't trust my email as a place to store and find information.
I don't use flash drives (disk-on-key) to store files.
I don't trust Windows or Mac search function. Instead, I rename files and categorize them in folders.

There you have it - my mobile office.

I’ve kept it straight and simple.

If you want to dive deeper into my mobile office, listen to my Podcast.

There I explore how I use iPads, headphones, microphones, research software, and a phone for ultimate mobility.

My Workflow for Reading & Writing Manuscripts

I stopped using Acrobat Reader and Microsoft Word, and never looked back!
This is how I use Notion and Readwise Reader.

Epilogue

That’s it for this issue.

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Hope for better times.

Shay

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