March Tools: Pocket and Zero

To clip articles I want to read, I’ve switched from Evernote to Pocket. The new Evernote mobile app introduced changes that made reading and archiving a lot harder and slower, which caused me to read fewer articles. Pocket provides a much faster and more seamless experience across devices. Most importantly, it has really increased the number of articles I’m reading (you can see my article recommendations here).

I’ve also been using the fasting app Zero since January. It’s a simple idea: every evening after dinner I start fasting for 13 hours. The app helps you keep track of when you’ve started your fast and notifies you when you can eat again. It’s not too hard, but it has a really interesting effect on my eating habits:

• I eat dinner early, otherwise the next morning it will be quite late when I can eat breakfast. This ensures I don’t eat too close before going to sleep.
• I don’t snack after dinner, as then I’d have to fast until lunch the next day.
• I’m less put off by feeling a bit hungry (i.e., I can deal better with hunger).
• When I do eat, I make sure that whatever I eat is as nutritious as possible.

So a simple app and idea, but with lots of interesting and positive effects.