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One of my first tasks as a technical writer was to document a Kubernetes-based release orchestration tool. Not daunting at all. At that time, I could provide a vague description of Kubernetes, but hadn’t the foggiest idea what it actually looked like. There aren’t many opportunities in life to just play with a Kubernetes cluster - at least, not without spending thousands of dollars on AWS. Fortunately, I discovered minikube, a free solution for installing a single-node cluster Kubernetes on your local machine. With this setup, I’ve been able to experiment with various products and projects. Thanks to a couple of clever add-ons, you can even simulate load balancers and DNS servers, too. ...

Introduction In the olden days, it would take hours to install and configure a web server on a local machine. It was especially fiddly if you wanted to recreate a specific environment for testing purposes. Happily, Docker has made our lives much easier. In this tutorial, we’ll package a simple website and nginx server as a Docker image. Anyone with Docker Desktop installed can then run that site in seconds without having to set up anything. ...

Introduction Jekyll is a beautifully simple way to build and deploy a static website. Well, it’s simple once you’ve got everything installed and configured. Unless you’re already confident with Ruby, it’ll probably take you most of a wet weekend to get it running consistently. Although the local installation is working well for me, I’m nervous it’ll break. I’m already encountering a few Ruby conflicts with other projects. Resolving those issues isn’t my idea of fun. Given I’ve been doing a lot of work with Docker lately, I decided to see whether I could run my site as a container instead. Plot spoiler: yes, I could! ...

In this short tutorial, I’ll show you how you can create a checklist in InDesign that’s both interactive and printable. I’m assuming you already know the basics of InDesign. If not, I recommend the InDesign Essentials course on Skillshare.

We spend a lot of our day typing the same stuff over and over again, sometimes getting it wrong in the process. Although it might only be 10 minutes of repetitive keystrokes, this really adds up. That’s an hour a week or more than 50 hours each year. You could do a lot more exciting stuff with those 50 hours. In this video, I’ll give you a quick demo of TextExpander, a great app for saving time and improving accuracy. ...

Once you get into audio and video recording, background noise will drive you absolutely mad. Although there are lots of solutions out there, most of them are very complicated and often expensive, too. In this short video, I’ll show you a simple method for removing background noise in a free tool called Audacity.

I started the year feeling tired. I was running an awful lot of workshops around the south east, many of them weekend events. Thanks to the vagaries of our rail system, I spent countless hours stuck on uncomfortable trains. I dreamed of running virtual events from the comfort of my pope cave. Indeed, I’d tried to convince clients that webinars and online courses were a good idea, but everyone wanted in-person events. Ha. ...

At a recent business networking event, I met no fewer than three people who’d quit their PhD. Although they believed it was the right decision, they still felt a sense of failure or defeat. Estimates vary, but it’s likely that around 40% of PhD students leave. The figures are much higher for part-time students and stratospheric for those pursuing professional doctorates. Because universities are squeamish about sharing the true figures, people who struggle think they’re in a tiny minority. The reasons for quitting will come as no surprise: mental health problems, job insecurity, financial worries, and supervisory conflict are just a few. For valuable insights and discussion on these reasons, hop over to The Thesis Whisperer. ...

In 1861, Charles Darwin wrote in a letter: “But I am very poorly today and very stupid and hate everybody and everything.” Ever had a Darwin Day? Yep, me too. It’s frustrating when we’ve put aside some time for deep work, then our brain refuses to cooperate. There are a few options to consider, though: Do you need a rest? If our bodies and brains go completely floppy, perhaps they’re trying to tell us something. Taking a day off allows us to recover and then attack our thesis with renewed vigour. Obviously, it becomes problematic if we designate every day a Darwin Day. We need to stay in tune with ourselves and learn to recognise whether this is exhaustion or just procrastination. You can only tune in once you’ve slowed down. Could you work through some easier tasks? Although they’re not desperately exciting, these jobs get you closer to the finish line without requiring too much brainpower. This is precisely the stuff you don’t want to be bothered with when you’re in flow, so they’re best saved for low-powered sessions. If you’re lacking in motivation, is there a trigger that would get you back in the mood? Amitoze, a PhD student in AI, told me that he watches videos on machine learning to rekindle his enthusiasm. This gives him some context for his writing and inspires him to get going. Other students teach themselves a new skill, do some exploratory reading, or try writing more creatively. ACTIVITY Create a list of activities for Darwin Days. What could you still achieve, even when everything feels rubbish?Ideas include: ...

Proofreading is perhaps the one activity I dislike even more than housework. This stage is unbelievably tedious, but absolutely crucial. Typos creep in all the time, especially when you’re stressed and frantically editing the text. The only way to approach proofreading is calmly and systematically. And you need to do this right at the end, once you’ve finished writing and tinkering. Otherwise, you’ll have to go back and recheck all those additions and deletions. It’s tempting to outsource the pain by hiring a professional proofreader. ...