I really appreciated this week’s guest and found a lot of value in the conversation, but I have to respectfully push back on the idea that worry and anxiety are simply choices.
Being present isn’t the default mode for everyone — and that’s not a mindset failure, it’s biology. Research points out that some people are dispositionally wired toward anxiety, with defense systems tuned by genetics, temperament, early life experience, etc. that cause the brain to interpret neutral situations as threatening.
Framing anxiety as a choice, however well-intentioned, risks making people who are genuinely predisposed to it feel like they’re just not trying hard enough.
Indeed, it is important that we carefully avoid the temptation to absolutize causes absent irrefutable proof to justify it.
No more blaming Job’s/Apple’s Reality Distortion Field then… 
Yeah, I had to turn off this episode for the first time… Ever? I was really intrigued by the guest’s bio and was ready to discover a new favourite, but I found his whole shtick very grating. I dislike when people say things like “oh I’m not giving advice, this is just what works for me” and then go on to authoritatively paint with a very large brush.
My first episode abandonment as well. I thought there was some gentle push back from the hosts but I don’t think they challenged enough on how facile the argument is and how rooted in privilege it is. I guess pushing back more would have probably resulted in an unpublishable episode.
It’s a shame, because some of the info at the top of the show was good.
Fair points, and as you probably heard I pushed back on that notion a bit. I’ve been working on my own mindfulness the last few years, reading books like Stolen Focus, Stillness is the Key, Overthinking, etc., and find worry is the default for a lot of people and situations (including myself at times.)
I think Patrick has not thoroughly thought through the topic of worry. Taking thought for tomorrow with anxiousness is the default for everyone. I don’t think that Patrick realizes that he is worrying at times when he doesn’t think so. I would say that worry is mankind’s default. Feeding it is another issue.
Just here to say that I did not turn it off but listened to the whole episodes. Actually the first episode I have listened to of MPU in several weeks. But, after church both babies were a handful and screaming all afternoon. So by the time i got to drive to the grocery store alone, the guest could have said that buying a windows phone every upgrade cycle is the key to peace and happiness and my mushy brain wouldn’t have noticed.
On a half serious note, the episode did line up (which is why i guess the title caught my attention) about my recent digital downsize lately. Various things have gotten me distracted from what i need to spend more time doing. In the last month i have moved from day one to Journal, Overcast to Podcasts, Things to Reminders, iA Writer to Notes. On my phone, i put every non-stock app in the hidden folder so that the only apps i see are the native iOS apps. And on my iPad mini, iPad Pro, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro i did an erase and reinstall of the oses. Im forcing myself to use the default apps and to stop getting sidetracked by shiny tool syndrome.
I had the thermal printer.
I haven’t listened to MPU in a long time, but listened to this particular episode, because Patrick was a guest.
I listened when doing other stuff, so “multitasking” (no; constant context switching…) and must have missed the part that people discuss here (or did not recognize the issue?).
At what point in the episode is this part? I’m thinking of giving that another listen, with the feedback here in mind. I might learn from that.
As I’ve written elsewhere, I have essentially done the same thing. However, the two non-default apps I depend on the most are iA Writer and DEVONthink. I use iA Writer for drafting all articles and presentations. DEVONthink houses all of my research articles and all of my Kindle annotations and notes.
For a while, I had an on-and-off relationship with Markdown. Claude Cowork is what moved me to finally settle on using Markdown as my default for text. I won’t bother to list all of the advantages of a Markdown+AI workflow, but I’ll mention one—markdown tables. I’m working on a large strategic plan. The plan includes a significant amount of data in charts and tables. I have Claude take my text and the data and create properly formatted tables, which, as you know, is difficult in Markdown. It is a breeze with AI.
I’m genuinely curious: How does purposefully deleting third-party apps and replacing them with Apple’s default version further a digital downsize? Were I to try to replace Excel with Numbers or Obsidian with Notes. I wouldn’t spend any less time working in spreadsheets or building a knowledge base. In fact, I’d probably spend more time looking at screens trying to make Numbers and Notes do what Excel and Obsidian do, and neither one really can.
I can see making a commitment to stick to the apps that are working for you rather than switching to the shiny new toy on a whim, or using stock apps to save money, though.
I don’t have the exact time stamp, but believe it’s in the 3rd or 4th segment.
I did notice you respectfully pushed back, and also playfully chided him later in the episode when he said he was worried about a separate issue. I think you handled it very tastefully and professionally. Kudos!
That made me chuckle 
As much as I am not a Microsoft fan (and yes, I have years of experience in Windows as well, not just an Apple fanboy), I will give credit where it’s due. Excel is the nonpareil app in its class.
Especially now that the folks at Microsoft have seen fit to add some basic Power Query functionality to the Mac version of Excel. Once you’ve used Power Query, you can’t go back …
And once you use Numbers… you blink repeatedly (cue Warner Bros. cartoon blinking noises), scratch your head, then shut it down and return to Excel. 
No longer in Windows world but used to enjoy whipping up Power Query stuff to make mere mortals feel like they were in the presence of a wizard. 
Google Sheets and Apps Script is fine for me at present.
So how has Power Query panned out in Excel for the Mac? I know its absence was rather conspicuous for many a year. Any good? Conscious that a lot of the ETL stuff will likely be just handed off to AI/Copilot now/soon I would expect.
In the More Power Users episode, Patrick mentioned a Twitter thread by GTDKelly (sp?) for a Guided Mindsweep. Patrick said he shared it with David and Stephen, but I didn’t see a link in the show notes. A Google search doesn’t bring up this specific thread, but rather, several other people’s takes on the guided mindsweep. Any ideas where to find the one Patrick referenced?