Yes, I have been completely absent from this blog for many years. Somewhere in early 2016 I think I just had a few too many things going on and it led to this website and my blog falling off.
No more! I’m salvaging what I can from this blog and moving in a different direction that is a bit more inline with my interests. That is, design and technology.
This blog is going to be more of a variety of topics than it previously was. Previously it was just about learning and development which is great, but it’s not my true passion to write about. It’s more of a career that I enjoy but don’t want it to be my life.
Instead, technology is my true passion even though it’s so general. I love playing with new technology whether it be for learning, creating, or business development. I love doing everything virtual and computers are my life (yes, truly). From hardware to software, I love it all and I want to play with it and see how it works. That’s where this blog is moving.
I have some general interests and I want to write about what fancies me at the moment. Sometimes it may be about my office setup (which is my first plan) and other times it may be about a book I just finished (I’m pushing new records each year).
And, so this is fully transparent, I’m doing this to build an audience and to include affiliate links where they will help me. I’m not writing specifically for the affiliate links but I will include them so I can monetize this blog.
If I’m planning on investing my time in writing and creating tutorials, helpful information, recommendations, etc. then I want to make a few dollars. That’s why I’m monetizing with affiliate links. That and they’re non-intrusive like advertising and they are fair as long as the focus is not on them.
I think I have a pretty awesome work setup and I have a lot of really cool software and hardware that I’ve painstakingly selected. So, I want to share what I’ve found, what I’m doing, and how to use different things to help you and also help me.
This blog will transcend just this blog too. I’m planning on creating some videos that will go on my YouTube channel which I will also post on here.
This blog has done relatively well with traffic but it just lost my interest. My blog post about sharing ideas at work has done pretty well on Google. It doesn’t really matter though because it hasn’t done a whole lot for me. I want a balance and I think this is a good opportunity.
I started this website (the Technkl name) many years about in about 2001 because I love technology and my initials are NKL which I won’t get fully into. I was thinking about creating a website where I could write my interest no matter what it may be. Then I realized I shouldn’t start over because I have this website which is on-point as far as topic and it’s already established in search engines.
Done.
Now I’m going to start posting again and I was going to start with some of my work setup and how the things I use at work have helped me create better learning products at DaVita and also make my workday more comfortable.
So, starting with my next blog post, it will be a different blog risen from the dead with a bit of refresh too. Just a bit about the pandemic and how it has effected me first.
The pandemic and my life
Not a whole lot changed for me when the pandemic came to the United States. California shut down on March 13, 2020 which just happened to be the day I was moving into a new house one city over. Not far.
I’ve been working from my home office (a dedicated room) since 2013 so I’m pretty used to the remote thing. I only traveled for team meetings every few years and one or two projects in the very beginning. Now I don’t even have to do that.
I’m pretty thankful for my life and how all this hasn’t effected me though I know it has effected many. Nobody I know, but many.
Now how I accomplish my work and my interests seem more relevant than ever. Only some people shared my interest in having a virtual sort of life but now more people than ever are being pushed into that. I don’t like parties, I don’t like hanging out with friends. I like keeping things close to home and family oriented.
Now a lot more people are doing that and a lot more people are changing the way they work. Still. There are a whole lot of people who are just getting to their first year of working remotely whereas I’ve been there for over seven years.
That means the topics that have interested me nearly my entire life are now more relevant than ever. This is another good reason for me to shift gears on this blog and revive it at the same time.
There’s nothing like home and taking life slow. More people are realizing that and making your work on the computer more comfortable and productive is essential.
Ready to explore technology and design with me? If not, why are you reading? I’m looking forward to sharing some of my interests and how it can help you no matter what your career is.
One last thing
Because my new business bank account just got approved, I wanted to share my first affiliate link.
But first, the story behind it…
A few years ago I subscribed to Azlo, the now disappearing bank for startups. Yes, the parent bank (BBVA) is pulling the project and leaving all the customers hanging.
So, since they’re shutting down that means I have to find a new bank. I figured they’d role all the clients up into BBVA but that’s not the case, we’re left high and dry.
At least Azlo created a blog post with recommendations on some other banks that provide a similar service. After reviewing my options from the Azlo blog post I settled on Novo (yup, that’s the affiliate link).
I just got approved as I was writing this and they threw an affiliate link in the email. That gave me the idea to put this last thing in this blog post before I hit publish.
So, there you go. I’f you’re looking for a small business, startup, or freelancer bank account with absolutely no fees then use my link and you’ll get $25 and I’ll get $25. It’s that easy.
That’s it for that. Now back to the end…
Productivity with technology is my life and I want to share that. Ready to learn?