Paperless Productivity - Todoist

This month has been all about Todoist for me when it comes to productivity, and it's probably been especially important right now as Covid-19 has meant I've been a little bit preoccupied with checking if I can still return to the UK tomorrow.  Without my tasks being written down I probably would have forgotten practically all of them.  As there isn't any corresponding digital notebook to Todoist I've decided to keep OneNote going for this month as well.

You can get a version that also goes onto your desktop, but as I've found I only really use this on my mobile I decided to only download the app and so this is what I'll be writing about here.  The basic version of this is completely free, but this is definitely an app where you get a lot more if you pay for the additional products.  However, as I was only testing this out I decided to not pay for anything extra at this time and just worked with the free version.

All in all Todoist is a pretty good pieces of software and very similar to Google Tasks and Microsoft To-do.  However, there are some added complexities that might be appreciated for those who need a little extra detail and information to their tasks, especially if you're using it for more then just keeping your personal life rolling along smoothly.

Now lets get into the actually application.  You navigate around Todoist using the drop down menu you get to through the three lines on the top left. 

You can view the tasks that you've added in three different layouts.  The first is the Inbox which just displays all of the tasks you've entered that haven't been completed yet.  Initially they just sit in the order you've entered them, but you can sort them by date or priority and you can also ask to see the tasks you've already completed, if you need that extra feeling of accomplishment.   This tends to be where I go to add any new tasks, but you can add tasks to any of the layouts.  It also shows you all the tasks you haven't given a due date to yet and which won't show up in any of the other layouts.

Then there's the Today section which allows you to focus only on the tasks that you've allocated for today.  Any tasks you add when on this page automatically get given today as their due date, but you can change this, and probably the most useful part is that you can re-order the tasks into the order in which you want to do them.  I like to follow the batching method and tend to order my tasks that way.

Any tasks that you don't actually get round to on that day will show up as overdue the next day and can be rescheduled to that day or a completely different one by just clicking on Reschedule on the top right.  There is one thing that I'm not keen on with this bit of software and that's that you cannot add tasks to you're Today screen manually that you want to get done before the due date you've actually given them.  This was something I was able to do with Microsoft To-do and actually really liked.

The last layout is Next 7 Days.  This gives you a good overview of how the week is looking and allows you to see if you have spread you're tasks out evenly throughout the week, if some could be moved around so that you're batching them together efficiently, and if you've overloaded any days with too many tasks.

As with the other software I've already tested the tasks are pretty easy to add.  Just clock on the orange (or whatever colour theme you have chosen) cross at the bottom right and type in the name that you want to give the task.  

You can then tap on the little calendar to add a due date, select if you want to put it into a project (more on that later) by tapping the inbox, and set a priority status if you wish by tapping on the flag.  All the other options you see are only available in the paid version.

One clever time saver here is that you don't actually need to tap on any of those symbols at all but can just instead type in some commands to give it a date, priority, etc.  To give the task a due date just start typing the date after the task name and this will add it on. 

Type P1, P2 or P3 etc for a priority level; and add it to a project by putting in # followed by the name of the project.  

You can also add that you want the task to repeat by typing 'every' followed by how often you would like it to repeat.  All this information is removed from the title by the software once the details have been connected to the tasks and so all you see is the task name itself.  

You then just tap on the arrow and the task is saved.  If sub-tasks are needed then they can be added at this point by simply clicking on the task and then 'Add sub-task' at the bottom.  The tasks here are added in exactly the same way as the parent task and will show up on it's given due date.  As with the other software, once the task is completed just tap on the tick box and it disappears, this time without any weird noise.

You can also use Todoist to keep an eye on any projects you're doing and the corresponding tasks.  To add a new project just tap on the Project drop down and then click on Add Project.  Tasks can then be added to this project in exactly the same way as before from the project page.  These tasks will then appear on your Today page whenever the due date you have given them arrives.

Todoist does have some extra features that you might find useful, mainly for motivational purposes.  To begin with, when you first download the software there are tasks already there, each taking you through a tutorial on how to use this app.  It not only teaches you about each part of the software but allows you to gain that feel good feeling about completing tasks before you've even started adding your own.  Once you've started you get an email from Todoist each day which gives you an update of the tasks you have to do that day and any items that might be overdue.

To help with the incentive of getting tasks done you can also set a daily goal for completed goals (I just left mine at pre-existing 5 a day and if you want to set a weekly goal you need to buy the paid version).  You also work your way through Karma levels based on the total number of tasks you've completed since getting the software.

I do actually quite like this software, but I have to admit that it's probably a bit more complex then I actually need or want right now.  It's probably of more use to people using it for their work /business, or for people who have a number of task heavy projects going on that they need to keep an eye on.  The Karma aspect is a nice addition to help keep you motivated, but isn't really something that I find I need.  I just like ticking things off.  At the moment Microsoft To-do is still my preferred app as I like it's set up and the specific level of complexity it has.  Of course there's a few more pieces of software to get through so we'll see if that remains the case at the end of this year.

Next month it's TeuxDeux.

Finding Ethical Beauty Products in New Zealand

Getting to see new countries is always pretty amazing and I feel particularly lucky that I've been able to take the time I have to spend so long in New Zealand. However, the length of time has meant that I have gotten through all the beauty products (not including make up) that I brought with me and for which I know the ethics of, and am now having to look for new companies to temporarily replace those I already know and love.

The big companies that aren't cruelty free and I don't want to buy from are pretty much the same here as in the UK so that part was particularly easy to get around, but finding more ethical brands did seem to be a little bit more of a challenge as I was basically starting from scratch. Lush and The Body Shop are both here and, of course, Living Nature is actually produced here. However, they are all located pretty far away from where we're based and just a little bit out of our price range at the moment. My aim here was to find products that ticked most of the boxes on the ethical front and were easy to find, either in the supermarkets or in the local area of Matamata. As we don't have a fixed base at the moment ordering products on line was a little bit problematic so in store items were what I was aiming for this time round.

My usual resource for checking on a brands cruelty free status, LogicalHarmony, wasn't really of use here as the brands I have been looking at didn't appear to be on any of her lists and even struggled to find some of them on an Australian based cruelty free website (Choose Cruelty Free) that is recommended here in New Zealand. So some real research was needed to decide on which brands I would purchase. I do have to make a slight note here to the fact that I found it difficult to find items that weren't in plastic packaging (bar the soap – no pun intended), so in that case I opted for the biggest item I could find to proportionally use the least amount of plastic. Something that New Zealand is particularly good at. All of these items are recyclable and that's what I will be doing with them when I'm finished (after scrapping out every last bit of product of course).

So let's start with the soap. I went for Ecostore Soap in Lemongrass. I've see this product in basically every supermarket that I've gone to and it's a really nice product for a good price. It's packaged in only cardboard and is vegan, cruelty free, grey water suitable (in case that was something you needed), tallow and GE free, and made in New Zealand itself. This one smells really good and works very effectively so it's turned out to be a real find. I don't think I'll need to repurchase before I travel north, but I would buy this again if I was staying.

For sun cream we went for the Cancer Society's product in spf factor 50+. There's been some controversy over this product as when a number of sun creams in New Zealand were tested independently quite a few of them didn't reach the factor they claimed. Cancer Society was one of the companies that failed this test, but the testers did say that the factor was still high, so we decided to still buy this product fully knowing it's flaw. Whether or not it is cruelty free is a little bit of a grey area and I've seen mixed reports on the internet despite Cancer Society saying that they don't test on animals. It's also not reef safe as far as I can tell. Basically this product was the best of a bad lot and I would definitely want to find something else if I was staying here, though the prices of the more natural sun creams are pretty eye watering. Some of the profit do go to charity though and it's made in Australia so it hasn't had to travel too far to get here.

Red Seal was the choice we made for toothpaste. Again this items it pretty much available in every supermarket in New Zealand. It's cruelty free, has not artificial colours, flavours, or preservatives, no parabens, and New Zealand based, so it ticked a lot of boxes. The only problem I had with this product is the lack of fluoride in it. Under normal circumstances I usually activity pick toothpastes without fluoride because this mineral is commonly found in the tap water, especially in most of the areas in the UK. But in the area we're living in right now there's no fluoride added to the water and so that little bit of protection for your teeth isn't available. I know there are other ethical toothpastes that do contain fluoride in them and which I've seen in some shops around us, so I would probably buy those next time if I need to (though I don't think I will until once I'm back in the UK). Still a really good product though and I would recommend buying it if you don't want fluoride in your toothpaste.

The Organic Care Shampoo in Dry Nourish is a really lovely shampoo. I've been trying to use bar shampoos for a while now and, whilst I always initially love them, they do tend to make my hair really waxy, itchy in the heat for some reason, and unmanageable after a few uses. So this time I just went for the usual liquid shampoo to give myself a rest for now, but will be back on the bar hunt again once this product is finished. Again, a product that was easy to find in the supermarkets, pretty well priced for what it is, and is cruelty free, contains no animal ingredients, is grey water safe, free from petrochemical cleansers, parabens, sls, als, sles, and ales, and the bottle is made from 100% recycled plastic (which can be recycled again). It also leaves my hair feeling pretty soft and smelling great. As I only wash my hair about once a week a bottle this size is definitely going to last me a very, very long time. Especially as I'm getting my hair cut much shorter pretty soon – hopefully.

Conditioner is not something that I've used in a very long time as I've not really felt like I've needed it. But since coming to somewhere hot with a lot of sun my hair has definitely started to dry out quite a bit and has gotten a lot knottier than usual. As I'm wanting to keep it in as good a condition as possible as I'll actually going to be donating it when I get it cut I decided to bite the bullet and buy one. This is the Essano Kakadu Plum Conditioner I only got a small bottle and wasn't too bothered about it being easily available as I'm intending on being back in the UK at the end of the month where I won't be needing conditioner again by the time it runs out. However, it is vegan, cruelty free, made in New Zealand, and the bottle is made from 100% recycled material (which again can be recycled again). It also smells really nice and definitely makes my hair a lot easier to brush.

I usually prefer to use oils and a flannel to remove my make up at the end of the day, but living in a tent has meant that that's a little bit impractical and I've been using micellar water instead. This one is the Essano Rosehip Micellar Water with organic rosehip oil. I have to admit that this isn't the best quality micellar water I've ever used and I usually have to go over an area a few times to remove the black smear that appears when I'm trying to remove my mascara. However, it is made in New Zealand, is vegan, and cruelty free. It also has no parabens, harsh chemical sulphates, silicones, phthalates, or ethoxylates. As I use up more make up, and therefore put less product on, the effectiveness of the make up remover will matter less so right now I'm not too bothered about the panda eyes. But I won't be getting this one again.

Lastly, body moisturiser. The dry heat has made this especially important at the moment and my skin has definitely been getting that dry, itchy feel a lot more often over the last few months. Luckily I was able to get this super sized bottle of the stuff, which is just as well as I've smoother myself in it pretty regularly. This is the Voeu Jojoba Oil and Oat Extract Body Lotion. It does take a little bit of work to get it to melt in and even then it leaves a white caste for a few minutes. However, it doesn't feel like it's just sitting there in the way I've noticed with other moisturisers and yet it still feels like it's done a good job. It's smells amazing as well and is easy to get in most supermarkets here. There was a question as to whether or not it is actually cruelty free, and after a bit of searching I have found a few websites that have said that it is cruelty free.

And that's it for now. These products will definitely last me until I leave New Zealand and probably for quite a while when I'm back in the UK too. That is, of course, unless a specific virus stops me travelling back home at the end of the month. In which case I have a bit more of an opportunity to do some more research to find even better products that tick all the boxes that I have been striving for in the UK. With everything being so up in the air at the moment, who knows where I'll be in April. Should be a very interesting few weeks.

The Travels of Monkey

Meet Monkey.  My Dad won him for me in a raffle because he thought I would like him.  Since then Monkey has been with me everywhere - attached to windows in my flats, attached to my car window, and, when the suckers he came with became so brittle and broken I had to cut them off, sat in the door of my van.  Now he spends most of his time in the backpack that goes with me pretty much everywhere.

I don't always take photos of him, but he's been the one constant in all my moves and travels.  Monkey's experienced new locations with me, slept in Glens with me, come with me across the country, and is now travelling and walking with me in New Zealand sat on my back with my water and snacks.  Even if I change bags I remember to move Monkey and he probably spends more time with me than even my partner does.

So why am I writing about Monkey? And why am I keeping something that has no real purpose when I've spend the last few years getting rid of so many things that aren't used or worn?  Even my jewellery, which I admit I still have quite a large amount of, are all items that I love and wear, reminding me of places I have travelled to.  However, Monkey is purely sentimental.  He has no real use or function, takes up room (all be it only a small amount), and only has value because I give it to him.  In fact, he's one of the few items I have that is like this and that's one of the things I like about him.

I enjoy having this one silly little item I see whenever I open my bag which has no other purpose that 'just because'.  It's so easy to get caught up in just reducing you're stuff and in the seriousness of trying to live more sustainably that it can become a little bit too serious.  And while I definitely don't want a number of these items I think it's important to have things that remind us to be silly and light hearted on a regular basis.

So, meet Monkey.  The one of a few items I have.....just because.

And Then There Was House-Sitting

Earlier I wrote about us living in a tent to help save money which we could then put towards paying off our debt.  Of course, living in a tent for weeks at a time, no matter how much you love it, usually needs a break now and then.  We didn't necessarily want to  a whole lot of money when we were having this 'break' so we looked around for other alternatives, and the alternative for us was house-sitting.  In a nutshell house-sitting is where you stay at someone's house for free in return for taking care of the house, the rest of their property if needed, and any animals they may have left behind. 

The two house-sittings we have done so far have not only included dogs and cats, but also livestock in the forms of a pig, some sheep, horses, chickens, and a whole load of cows.  For the people we were house-sitting for it was really important that we were comfortable dealing with these animals and that they felt like they could trust us, so they wanted to meet us first before they made the decision of actually letting us look after so many lives.  It's quite a trust and a responsibility.

To be honest, I'd been around quite a few large animals when I was growing up so I didn't find them particularly daunting and that definitely made a difference for me.  However, it was still a very good learning opportunity, especially when moving them to different fields, and has given us a really good idea as to what types of animals we might want to have if we do ever go into having a homestead in the future.

So what have been the pros of house-sitting.  Well the most obvious is that you get to stay somewhere (and use the WiFi, TV, lighting, etc) for free, and because you're staying in one location for a longer period of time you actually get to know an area a bit more like a local instead of a tourist.  We were also lucky in the fact that both places had chickens and a vegetable patch and the owners of both told us to eat all the produce that became available when we were there.  Fresh food daily is definitely a win.

There is, of course, the fact that you get to interact with animals pretty much the whole time.  As someone who really can't justify having a cat or dog at the moment, getting to cuddle them for a few weeks has definitely been an enjoyable experience.  Another pretty big pro for me was the building of my confidence.  I knew that I was capable of looking after the animals, especially as I care enough to get to know them and therefore notice if there are indicators that something is a little wrong, but how easily I found falling into the routine of doing it and the way I enjoyed it definitely gave me more confidence in what I was capable of.  The compliment I got at the end also helped.

Now for the cons.  There really isn't many.  In fact I can only think of one and that's the lack of freedom we had to visit some of the 'wilder' areas we wanted to see.  Firstly, not all the dogs you're looking after are capable of walking the distance we would want to walk on these visits, and leaving them and the other animals under your care alone for that amount of time would be utterly irresponsible.  Also, in New Zealand at least, dogs aren't allowed to go to most of the nature reserves I'm wanting to travel to.  This is absolutely great for the wildlife, but has meant that I've had to wait until we're not house-sitting before I could go to them.  It isn't a complaint as protecting this rare environment is really important, just something you'll need to take into account.

Overall it's been a really enjoyable experience and I do like getting to have the opportunity to know a country more as a local rather than just as a tourist.  I would say that it was worth doing for anyone wanting to get to see an actual area properly.  We won't be doing it that much more in the future as we want to have the extra freedoms we need to go and visit some of the sites around us.  However, it has definitely helped us carry on saving money whilst getting to have a bit of luxury, and by luxury I mean having a shower, a flushing toilet, and a fridge.  It's the little things in life. 

Day Trips into the Kaimai Mamaku Forest Park

At the moment I'm located in Matamata in New Zealand's North Island and the closest area of walks to me is the south section of the Kaimia Mamaku Forest Park.  It lies just east of Matamata and is about a 30 minutes drive from my location.  Due to this I decided to do some short walks into the area to get a feel for it and to keep my legs functioning on the walking front.  It would be good to do a full walk at some point, which usually takes a couple of days at least, but unfortunately there probably won't be time for that before I go.  These are the walks I've done so far.

Wairere Falls

This is probably one of the most used and easily accessible tracks in the area, with a well maintained path and lots of wooden board walks and steps.  

It is, however, still a very steep climb in places, though it does at least start relatively gentle and flat at the beginning.  

You can either stop roughly half way up the walk to get a good view of the falls or you can carry on up to the top to get a pretty amazing view of the surrounding area from above the falls.  I actually did this walk on a whim and wasn't wearing the most appropriate clothing for it at all, but I still found it pretty comfortable though a little muggy.  

The initial plan was just to go to the first stop, but I decided to carry on up and was glad that I did.  

This walk can also be the starting point for a much longer walk as it joins onto other paths that lead east deeper into the Kaimai and I plan to do that at a later date.  Definitely a good walk and worth going to.

Rapurapu Kauri Track

This track starts at a 'blink and you'll miss it' car park off State Highway 29 and is a go and return track.  I thought it was an enjoyable walk, not too physically difficult apart from the eight crossings over the Rapurapu Stream.  

It also goes through different environments, including pine forests and mature tawa/ podocarp forests, which adds a bit of visual variation to your walk.  Unfortunately I didn't make it to the end as some of the streams hadn't lowered as much as I thought they would after some rainfall and one just felt to high for me to cross safely whilst walking on my own.   

I could have wadded through the stream, but I had planned to do some more walking in the afternoon and didn't want to have to deal with soaked boots.  My boots actually do a pretty good job at staying waterproof through most things I put them through, I even find myself in situations where the socks above the boots are wet but my feet are nice and dry, but I don't think they would survive through full on wadding. 

I also didn't have a stick with my which I could use to steady myself in the water. I will try this one again, probably in the afternoon when it won't matter so much if my boots get very, very wet.   

North Henderson Tramline

This is part of a circuit you can do which includes part of the North South Track.  You start from the Old Kaimai Road off State Highway 29, which is an amusing road that's half good surfacing and half full gravel track - always good.  

I started this quite late in the afternoon so the plan was to only walk to the North South Track junction and back rather than doing the whole loop.  There are a few relatively easy stream crossings and a few steep inclines, but otherwise it was quite a nice easy walk.  

This is mostly forest with a dirt/ mud track, with some scrambling up trees roots and up banks, but it does go through some open farmland at the start.  Whilst this track felt different from the first two I had taken into the Kaimai, it was very familiar to the those I walked afterwards.

North South Track to Hurunui Hut

This track starts from a much more obvious car park on the Kaimai Summit of State Highway 29.  There's a small stream at the start that becomes really difficult to cross if there's been some rain, and which had actually stopped me doing this walk before, but was low enough for me to get over.  

It then heads straight north up the Kaimai, all in forest and with only a few streams, real scrambling point to get over (I did get pretty dirty doing this walk, always a sign of a good walk), and some quite steep sections which made it quite a satisfying walking experience.  

I walked up until the Hurunui Hut, where I had lunch, and then returned back to the car.  As I said, the walk felt very similar to the North Henderson Tramline walk I'd done before and you spend a lot of time under forest cover without any other view.

If you are wanting a good view of the surrounding area, this isn't the walk to take.  However, it does keep you out of the sun, just not tye heat unfortunately. 

Te Tuhi Track to Mangamuka Hut

I didn't have a lot of time to do this walk, so I decided to just walk along this walk until I was half way through my time available and then walk back.  

This started at a small parking spot at the end of Te Tuhi Road and walks across some private farmland until you get into the forest.  You cross a few streams, but this track is mostly a pretty steep climb up the side of the Kaimai and probably is one of the quickest ways of getting into upper area of the park.  

You can carry on along the path to get to the North South Track or to do a loop walk that takes you back to the lower section of the track.  However I decided to follow the path south towards Mangamuka Hut, which took me on a not very used path that disappeared from view on a regular basis and which needed some thought and clambering to get through.  

I actually quite enjoy this type of walking, which requires your brain to be in gear too, which is just as well as the scenery was basically identical to the scenery of the last two walks.  There is a viewing point which would probably be amazing, but the e day that I walked it the whole area was carpetted in fog. 

The only real issue was the fact that it was very hot and muggy that day, making the walk quite uncomfortable at times and I was glad I'd brought a spare top with me to change into when I was back at the car.

These have only been very short excursions into the park and obviously don't really give a good description of what walking through Kaimai Mamaky Forest Park could be like.  They do require you to be relatively fit with quite a bit of scrambling in places, especially if you're short like me, which make them quite a physically interesting way of spending your time.  The main issue for me is that the scenery on each walk has pretty much been identical.  This fact is great for the wildlife and ecology of the park (and exactly what you would want for a reserve like this - ignoring the many invasive species of course), but does mean that they are not the most fascinating of walks ever.  I think this is definitely an area where long distance walking trips are a much better option than day trips.  The muddy scramblings were still fun though.