Merlin Mann Explained

Merlin Mann
Birth Name:Merlin Dean Mann III
Birth Date:26 November 1966
Birth Place:Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation:Writer, blogger, podcaster
Children:1
Education:New College of Florida (BA)

Merlin Dean Mann III (born November 26, 1966) is an American writer, blogger, and podcaster.

Early life and education

Mann was born Merlin Dean Mann III on November 26, 1966, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mann received a B.A. from New College of Florida.[1]

Career

Writing

In September 2004,[2] Mann founded and began the exclusive writing for 43 Folders,[3] [4] a blog about "finding the time and attention to do your best creative work."[2] The blog was last updated October 2011.[5] Mann coined and popularized the concept of "Inbox Zero", writing a series of articles in 2006 on 43 Folders, originally suggesting for an "Inbox DMZ".[6] Inbox Zero became associated with the Getting Things Done productivity strategy, and is a popular topic on Lifehacker.[7] [8] [9] In 2020 Mann stated he doesn't keep his inbox empty, and that the term has been misunderstood.[10]

Beginning in the mid-2000s, Mann wrote articles for Macworld,[11] Make (the "Life Hacks" series, with Danny O'Brien, February 2005 to November 2006),[12] and Popular Science (Ask a Geek series, 2005 to 2007).[13] [14]

On August 18, 2009, Mann announced that he was writing a book, to be entitled Inbox Zero,[4] about "how to reclaim your email, your attention, and your life."[15] In 2011, he announced that he was abandoning the project.[16] Mann also writes for his personal blog, Kung Fu Grippe.

Podcasting

As a companion to the 43 Folders blog, Mann launched the sporadically broadcast 43 Folders podcast in 2005. In 2007, Mann launched You Look Nice Today, an award-winning comedy podcast that bills itself as "A Journal of Emotional Hygiene",[4] an effort he created with Adam Lisagor and Scott Simpson. The show's run ended in 2015, but a spiritual successor called California King was created in its wake in 2020 with the same team.[17] Mann has also produced QPR: Quotidian Public Radio, an audio podcast launched in January 2009, which was billed as "audio comfort food for annoyed liberals in fleece". Mann was one of the hosts on the MacBreak video podcast, and a core host on the MacBreak Weekly audio podcast. Since 2008, he has scaled back his appearances on the series.

Beginning on January 18, 2011, Mann has co-hosted the weekly Back to Work podcast with Dan Benjamin on 5by5,[18] where they discuss subjects like productivity,[19] work life,[20] and true costs of doing business.[21] In September 2011, Mann launched Roderick on the Line, a weekly conversation with musician/writer John Roderick.[22]

In May 2015, Mann and technology blogger Jim Dalrymple started The Dalrymple Report podcast, more recently presented as "The Dalrymple Report with Merlin Mann", which continued through its 32nd episode on September 15, 2015.[23] In June 2015, Mann began a 10 podcast series with John Siracusa in collaboration with Relay FM called Reconcilable Differences, which has since been extended. In October 2016, Mann began a podcast titled Do By Friday with Alex Cox and Max Temkin. The show continued after Temkin's June 2020 departure.[24]

Mann has also appeared as a guest on other podcasts, including the CBC radio show - podcast Spark, The Chronicle of Higher Educations ProfHacker,[4] Scruffy Thinking, CMD+SPACE, and various episodes of Dan Benjamin's The Conversation.

Videos

In early 2009, Mann produced a short video series, Most Days. On February 26, 2007, Mann launched The Merlin Show, a video podcast primarily dedicated to long-form interviews. Mann has also published a long-running series of video shorts named That Phone Guy.

Other work

Mann has been described as the "inventor" of the Hipster PDA, a paper-based, DIY personal organizer that uses design cues found in David Allen's Getting Things Done. Mann is also known for his work with Quicksilver, a program used for quickly executing actions from the keyboard in macOS.[25]

Mann was a member of the Tallahassee, Florida-based indie rock band Bacon Ray from 1994 to 1999.[26] He started a cover song project of Will Oldham's song "I Am a Cinematographer".[27]

Personal life

Mann started treatment for attention deficit disorder in 2008, something which he says helped his focus.[3] He occasionally talks about his experiences with ADHD on his Back to Work podcast on the 5by5 network.

Mann resides in San Francisco, California, with his wife and child.[1]

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Merlin's Bio - Merlin Mann. Mann, Merlin. March 17, 2015. merlinmann.com. March 17, 2016. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160323081737/http://www.merlinmann.com/bio/. March 23, 2016.
  2. Web site: Mann, Merlin . About 43 Folders . August 19, 2007 . 43folders.com . March 17, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160315114220/http://www.43folders.com/about . March 15, 2016 . live .
  3. Anderson . Sam . In Defense of Distraction . 2009 . New York Magazine . May 25 . 6 . print, online article . March 17, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190412013533/http://nymag.com/news/features/56793/index5.html . April 12, 2019 . live .
  4. Web site: Jones . Jason B . September 11, 2009 . The ProfHacker Podcast: Merlin Mann and the First Person Transitive . . February 15, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160325161614/http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/the-profhacker-podcast-merlin-mannthe-first-person-transitive/22698 . March 25, 2016 . live .
  5. Web site: Mann, Merlin . The Monthly Pimp: January '09 Edition . January 9, 2009 . 43folders.com . March 17, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160322142306/http://www.43folders.com/2009/01/09/monthly-pimp-january-09-edition . March 22, 2016 . live .
  6. Web site: Fresh Start: The Email DMZ 43 Folders . Merlin Mann . 43folders.com . July 3, 2020 .
  7. Web site: Inbox Zero - Tips, Tricks and Hacks for Doing Everything Better Lifehacker . Lifehacker . January 6, 2020 . July 3, 2020 .
  8. Web site: GTD Gmail: Inbox Zero and Optimized Email Workflow . Dan Silvestre . dansilvestre.com . November 21, 2017 . July 3, 2020 .
  9. Web site: How to weed wack your inbox down to zero - Getting Things Done® . Getting Things Done® . June 14, 2009 . July 3, 2020 .
  10. Everything you thought you knew about inbox zero is wrong WIRED UK . Bernal . Natasha . Wired UK . January 2, 2020 . July 3, 2020 .
  11. See, for instance, Mann, Merlin D. . Secrets of Mac superheroes: The inbox makeover . 2005 . Macworld . April 26 . online article . March 17, 2016 . Date determined from earliest comments appearing with the article, as computed from the date of March 17, 2016, and the "3978 days ago" information from those comments. . https://web.archive.org/web/20160320052419/http://www.macworld.com/article/1044327/tipsinbox.html#comments . March 20, 2016 . live .
  12. See, for instance, makezine Staff . Latest from Merlin Mann [Life Hacks series, with Danny O'Brien] ]. 2006 . Make Magazine (Makezine) . November 20 . online article . March 17, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160324132830/http://makezine.com/author/merlin-mann/ . March 24, 2016 . live . Individual article pages at this magazine suggest 41 articles from these two authors, indicating a wider span than 2005 to 2006, but specific citation could only be found to support a conclusion of eight Life Hack articles. Further sourcing is needed to support any more.
  13. See, for instance, How 2.0 Geeks . Fourteen Things Geeks Can Teach the World . 2007 . . March 20 . online article . March 17, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121005093528/http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2007-03/14-things-geeks-can-teach-world . October 5, 2012 . live . Note, links to further specific Mann articles, from this article, are inoperable.
  14. See, for instance, Mann, Merlin . Ask a geek: Merlin Mann—Q: What is tagging? . 2005 . . June 23 . online article . March 17, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160611080808/http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2005-06/ask-geek-merlin-mann . June 11, 2016 . live .
  15. Web site: I'm Writing a Book. | Inbox Zero . October 19, 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091104132706/http://inboxzero.com/2009/08/18/the-book/ . November 4, 2009 .
  16. Web site: Burkeman . Oliver . Why time management is ruining our lives . The Guardian . January 12, 2024 . December 22, 2016.
  17. Web site: Today. You Look Nice. California King. March 23, 2021. California King.
  18. Mann, Merlin & Benjamin, Dan . 2016 . Back to Work . March 17, 2016 . podcast . Austin, TX, USA . Dan Benjamin and 5by5 Productions . https://web.archive.org/web/20160321195705/http://5by5.tv/ . March 21, 2016 . live . The first broadcast was on January 18, 2011 ("Alligator in the Bathroom", and episode 263, "The Working Definition of Love", was broadcast on March 15, 2016.
  19. See, for instance, Mann, Merlin & Benjamin, Dan . January 25, 2011 . Back to Work #2: Picture of a Boat . March 17, 2016 . podcast . Austin, TX, USA . Dan Benjamin and 5by5 Productions . https://web.archive.org/web/20160326025702/http://5by5.tv/b2w/2/ . March 26, 2016 . live .
  20. See, for instance, Mann, Merlin & Benjamin, Dan . March 8, 2011 . Back to Work #7: Vocational Wheel . March 17, 2016 . podcast . Austin, TX, USA . Dan Benjamin and 5by5 Productions . https://web.archive.org/web/20160312161744/http://5by5.tv/b2w/7 . March 12, 2016 . live .
  21. See, for instance, Mann, Merlin & Benjamin, Dan . January 31, 2012 . Back to Work #52: Walk the Coastline, Bitches . March 17, 2016 . podcast . Austin, TX, USA . Dan Benjamin and 5by5 Productions . https://web.archive.org/web/20160326014931/http://5by5.tv/b2w/52/ . March 26, 2016 . live .
  22. Web site: Game Plan: A Musician/Podcaster Starts Thinking About Retirement . Ward . Lisa . WSJ . February 18, 2020 . July 3, 2020 .
  23. Dalrymple, Jim & Mann, Merlin . 2015 . The Dalrymple Report . March 17, 2016 . podcast . San Francisco, CA, USA . loopinsight.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20160318083702/http://www.loopinsight.com/thedalrymplereport/ . March 18, 2016 . live . The first broadcast was on May 18, 2015, entitled "Fish and Lumber, and episode 32, entitled "You Hacked My Matrix," was broadcast on September 15, 2015.
  24. Web site: Former employees accuse Cards Against Humanity of a racist and sexist office culture . Nicole Carpenter . Polygon . June 23, 2020 . July 3, 2020 .
  25. A further, similar product in this market is The Omni Group's OmniFocus.
  26. Web site: Bacon Ray | Rock Music . October 19, 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100209064226/http://baconray.com/ . February 9, 2010 .
  27. Web site: I am a Cinematographer | A Power Pop Cover Project . July 7, 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070927203050/http://cinematographer.merlinmann.com/ . September 27, 2007 .

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