MS

Hello, I’m Michael Sliwinski, founder of Nozbe - to-do app for business owners and their teams. I write essays, books, work on projects and I podcast for you using #iPadOnly in #NoOffice as I believe that work is not a place you go to, it’s a thing you do. More…

✏️ Drawings

Sometimes instead of putting a photo as a representation of a blog post or essay, I draw, doodle or sketch on my iPad. Here’s the list of all the posts that contain such drawings. Please don’t judge me. Drawing gives me joy and it’s all that matters.

✅ 💼 ✏️ ⭐️ Nozbe - app for SMART business owners and teams - turns 17!

Tuesday, February 6, 2024 /nozbe17/

Last week, on February 1, Nozbe turned 17 years old and as I reflect over these last years I’d like to dig deeper into who is Nozbe really for? While working with Seth Godin’s marketing book I was thinking how to really convey to our current and future customers what we as Nozbe believe in. What’s our why? Because people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. Not only our core values but also how we work, how we’re remote first, we don’t use email to collaborate, or have very few meetings. How to create this tension and play with status. How to say that people like us do things like this. Being a productivity nerd and loving the SMART acronym for goal setting, I decided to piggy-back on it and create my own way.

Nozbe - app for SMART business owners and teams - turns 17!


💼 ✔️ ✏️ How to check if you’re working on the right thing - intersection of joy, skill and what your company needs

Friday, November 18, 2022 /work/

Today is Friday so it’s time for my weekly review and personal development time. I spent it watching some videos from SaaStr YouTube Channel and I found a video by Jason Cohen, the founder of WP Engine where he talked about his journey to $100M. The last part of the video was particularly interesting as he talked about how to find out if you and everyone on your team are working on the right thing. It’s the intersection of JOY, SKILL and NEED of the company and it looks like this:

How to check if you’re working on the right thing - intersection of joy, skill and what your company needs


💼 ✏️ Emotions in business are too often getting in the way of rational thinking… so keep giving yourself time to cool off… and read between the lines!

Tuesday, July 30, 2019 /emotions/

We’re humans and we’re emotional. Apparently the notion is that women are more emotional then men, but by watching male fans react to what’s happening on a football stadium I have my doubts. Regardless, we’re driven by emotions and I think too often we get the emotion get the better of us… and we don’t take enough time to consult our rational part of brain.

Emotions in business are too often getting in the way of rational thinking… so keep giving yourself time to cool off… and read between the lines!


🏝 ✏️ The Pyramid of Communication in a Remotely Working team

Friday, November 6, 2015 /communication-pyramid/

In the 18th episode of The Podcast with Radek we talked about how we use different tools for different types of communication. The credit for this idea goes to Radek (just listen to the episode and him explaining the thing) but the credit to the way we’ve developed it goes to the entire Nozbe team. And I strongly believe companies NOT working remotely should also pay attention to this because this is how you get meetings done efficiently. And when you’re located in the same place, you might be abusing one form of communication and under-using another one. OK, I’m getting confusing now. Anyway, this advice below is good for both, remotely and non-remotely working teams. Here goes:

The Pyramid of Communication in a Remotely Working team


✅ 🤩 ✏️ Nozbe story - interview with me for “Stories of the best Polish apps”

Monday, March 2, 2015 /nozbe-story/

This is an interview that I granted at the end of 2014. It was published on Spidersweb.pl - one of the most popular Polish tech-blogs platform. It was a part o a series on Polish apps used internationally authored by Hubert Taler. If you want to dig deeper about my story, check out my Interview about Nozbe and my “about” page on this blog and my recent blog post about our 8th anniversary.

Nozbe story - interview with me for “Stories of the best Polish apps”


⌨️ ✏️ 3 changeS with a capital “S” to my blog: SSL, Sliwinski.com and a Star “★”

Thursday, February 26, 2015 /https/

One of the main goals this year for me is to make this blog my main platform for publishing my productivity-related content for you. Given that now I’m the CEO of two companies (Nozbe and Remag) and still the editor in chief of Productive! Magazine, it’s not like I have more time… but I do have more to say and I want to serve you - my readers - better. And I want to communicate with you and be in touch with you better. That’s why as of today I’m introducing three new exciting changes to my blog… and they all start with an “S”, ssso here goes:

3 changeS with a capital “S” to my blog: SSL, Sliwinski.com and a Star “★”


✅ 💼 ✏️ Nozbe celebrates 8 years in business! Going stronger than ever!

Tuesday, February 3, 2015 /8nozbe/

Last Sunday, February 1, my company: Nozbe celebrated 8 years of being in business. Wow. This is like 80 years in the “before Internet” era… A web-based app I launched back in 2007 (the year of the first iPhone) is now a thriving business with apps for all the major platforms… and a team of 19 and growing… and 2015 is going to be our best year ever!

Nozbe celebrates 8 years in business! Going stronger than ever!


😎 ✏️ 5 lessons I learned from my mom - and how she shaped my life

Monday, September 15, 2014 /mom/

I’m literally writing this post to brag about how awesome my mom is. And to remember that I want me and my wife to be like that to my kids. My mom shaped my life in so many ways that it’s hard to describe. But I’ll try. There are five life lessons I learned from her. Here goes:

5 lessons I learned from my mom - and how she shaped my life


📱 📲 ✏️ Will a new 5,5” iPhone convert people to not only #iPadOnly, but more #iPhoneOnly?

Tuesday, September 9, 2014 /iphoneonly/

I’m a big fan of working on iOS devices. I co-wrote a book about working ont the iPad and I’m actually writing this blog post on my iPad. I’ve gotten used to working on both the iPhone and the iPad - I really use these two “computers” all of the time. I carry my iPhone with me at all times… and my iPad most of the times. I hardly ever use my Mac. Now, tonight Apple will supposedly unvail two new iPhones. According to John Gruber, one will be 4.7” and the other 5.5” and the bigger one might have kinda iPad-like features. Will it mean people will use the iPhone even more for their every day computing?

Will a new 5,5” iPhone convert people to not only #iPadOnly, but more #iPhoneOnly?


✔️ 😎 ✏️ Next Actions and Holidays: How vacation planning apps can teach you to get organized…

Monday, August 11, 2014 /next-actions-holidays/

We’re half way through the Summer and I’m going on a vacation next week so today I’m going to write about “next actions” and holidays… inspired by my step 3 of my “10 Steps to Ultimate Productivity Video Course”. Let’s start with your actual next action: planning your holiday :)

Next Actions and Holidays: How vacation planning apps can teach you to get organized…


🏝 ✏️ Teleworking in Nozbe - why we all work from home, from anywhere, without any office…

Monday, August 4, 2014 /teleworking/

🎾 😎 ✏️ How I became leaner, healthier and stronger? My first 6 months of 2014 in detail: slow carb diet, new eating habits and a lot more regular exercise.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014 /fitness2014/

📱 💻 👨🏼‍💻 ✏️ iPad Pro? No, we don’t need a hybrid but better processes and apps (and more RAM)

Monday, May 26, 2014 /ipad-pro/

💻 👨🏼‍💻 ✏️ Why my Macbook Pro is the last PC I’ll ever buy or need

Wednesday, May 7, 2014 /my-last-pc/

😎 ✏️ Yes, I’m a Christian (Roman-Catholic) and I believe Jesus Christ to be my Savior

Saturday, April 19, 2014 /catholic/

🍎 ✏️ Apple’s next big thing? iCar. Why Apple buying Tesla actually makes sense.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014 /applecar/

📙 💼 ✏️ Productive! Magazine going regular, global and local

Tuesday, February 25, 2014 /productiveglobal/

✅ 💼 ✏️ 7 years running Nozbe… and just getting started!

Tuesday, February 4, 2014 /7nozbe/

🍎 💻 ✏️ Me and Mac. A “love in the air” story

Friday, January 31, 2014 /mac/

💼 ✏️ 5 things I love about my work and why it gets me excited every day

Monday, January 27, 2014 /5-loves/

💼 ✏️ I’m officially a decade-long entrepreneur and loving it!

Wednesday, January 22, 2014 /biz/

🗓 ✏️ 2013 was great and for 2014 I intend to keep running in biz & life :-)

Tuesday, January 14, 2014 /2013/

✅ 😎 ✏️ How to never forget to pay your bills (thanks to Nozbe)

Friday, December 13, 2013 /nozbe-bills/

😎 ✏️ Moral compass. On being honest and what I’m doing every day to make better decisions.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013 /pray/

📲 💼 ✏️ I, NO robot. Android or iPhone or iPad? It’s beyond specs, let’s talk privacy.

Friday, November 22, 2013 /no-android/

📱 ✏️ iPad is just a PC? A kinda PC without keyboard? Or is it?

Tuesday, November 12, 2013 /ipad-pc/

😎 ✏️ This is our Independence Day!

Monday, November 11, 2013 /independence-day/

📙 ✏️ Magazine re-launching soon as an iPad/iPhone and Android app

Thursday, October 24, 2013 /magazine-relaunch/

💼 ✏️ Luck is what ultimately matters… but you can help it!

Wednesday, October 9, 2013 /luck/

💼 ✏️ Control is good but trust is better

Friday, September 27, 2013 /trust/

💼 ✏️ Why I hate email and what I’m planning to do about it

Tuesday, September 24, 2013 /email/

💼 ✏️ Growing the team and creating our very first V2MOM documents

Wednesday, August 21, 2013 /v2mom/

📱 📖 ✏️ You don’t need permission to change the world: how I co-authored, self-published and best-seller’ed my first book

Thursday, August 8, 2013 /author/

😎 ✏️ How my entrepreneurial parents inspired me to start a company

Monday, July 29, 2013 /parents/

😎 ✏️ Take the blame. It’s really your fault. Learn from it.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013 /blame/

📱 ✏️ Mini or Maxi? Which iPad is good for you?

Tuesday, April 16, 2013 /ipadmini/

💼 ✏️ Why peer support is critical to your success

Monday, April 8, 2013 /peers/

⌨️ ✏️ Blog, link-blog… or both - my new blogging test

Monday, March 25, 2013 /linkblog/

✔️ ✏️ Fighting resistance when being scared

Monday, February 18, 2013 /scary-resistance/

✅ 💼 ✔️ ✏️ A definitive interview with me - Michael Sliwinski’s story - it’s all about passion!

Thursday, February 7, 2013 /interview/

✔️ 💼 ✏️ Can you “give” productivity? Or is productivity a feature of character?

Monday, January 28, 2013 /give-productivity/

🎾 ✏️ My fitness summary for 2012 - running, exercising and losing weight

Monday, January 21, 2013 /fitness2012/

📱 ✏️ Part 18 - My life in the cloud thanks to the iPad

Friday, January 18, 2013 /ipad-cloud/

⌨️ ✏️ Simplifying branding - why I am Michael Sliwinski DOT com

Monday, January 14, 2013 /branding/

📱 💼 ✏️ Who can do their day job effectively on the iPad?

Friday, January 11, 2013 /ipadonly-jobs/

💼 ✏️ Real praise, long haul and delivering customer happiness

Monday, November 26, 2012 /real-praise-long-haul-and-delivering-customer/

😎 ✏️ Giving thanks for good to TV, Radio and Newspapers

Saturday, November 24, 2012 /giving-thanks-for-good-to-tv-radio-and-newspa/

😎 📱 ✏️ Syncing family in the cloud - two ways to set up iCloud with your spouse

Tuesday, November 13, 2012 /ifamily/

💼 ✏️ Why after almost 6 years I’m more excited about Nozbe than ever

Monday, November 5, 2012 /why-after-almost-6-years-im-more-excited-abou/

📱 💻 ✏️ Part 16 - why I (still need a Mac Mini - iPad as my main computer

Monday, October 22, 2012 /part-16-why-i-still-need-a-mac-mini-ipad-as-m/

✔️ ✏️ 10 Steps to Ultimate Productivity Course to be launched soon!

Thursday, October 11, 2012 /10-steps-to-ultimate-productivity-course-to-b/

📲 ✏️ iPhone 5 - why I love it but won’t take it just yet

Friday, September 21, 2012 /iphone-5-why-i-love-it-but-wont-take-it-just/

😎 ✏️ Indestructibles - Hermann Maier and Robert Kubica

Wednesday, September 19, 2012 /indestructibles-hermann-maier-and-robert-kubi/

📱 ✏️ Part 15 - why iPhone matters - iPad as my main computer

Monday, September 17, 2012 /part-15-why-iphone-matters-ipad-as-my-main-co/

📱 ✏️ Part 14 - AppleTV air-plays magically - iPad as my main computer

Tuesday, September 11, 2012 /part-14-appletv-air-plays-magically-ipad-as-m/

📱 ✏️ Part 13 - KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid! - iPad as my main computer

Wednesday, September 5, 2012 /part-13-kiss-keep-it-simple-stupid-ipad-as-my/

✔️ ✏️ Getting Tasks Done vs Managing Tasks

Monday, August 27, 2012 /getting-tasks-done-vs-managing-tasks/

📱 ✏️ Part 12 - web sites as apps (appification? - iPad as my main computer

Tuesday, August 21, 2012 /part-12-web-sites-as-apps-appification-ipad-a/

💼 ✏️ Build a passionate startup!… or 7 types of passion

Monday, August 13, 2012 /build-a-passionate-startup-or-7-types-of-pass/

💼 ✏️ How to handle a crisis situation in a startup?

Tuesday, August 7, 2012 /how-to-handle-a-crisis-situation-in-a-startup/

📱 ✏️ Part 11 - Docs and Spreadsheets and Mountain Lion - iPad as my main computer

Wednesday, August 1, 2012 /part-11-docs-and-spreadsheets-and-mountain-li/

✔️ ✏️ Power of Unschedule and Pomodoro Technique

Tuesday, July 17, 2012 /power-of-unschedule-and-pomodoro-technique/

📱 ✏️ How I use Evernote

Thursday, July 12, 2012 /how-i-use-evernote/

💼 ✏️ Wearing many hats while running a business

Friday, June 29, 2012 /wearing-many-hats-while-running-a-business/

💼 ✏️ Your biggest competitor? You!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012 /your-biggest-competitor-you/

📱 ✏️ Part 10 - They Keyboard, or the lack of it - iPad as my main computer

Friday, June 15, 2012 /part-10-they-keyboard-or-the-lack-of-it-ipad/

📱 ✏️ Part 9 - Social Media - iPad as my main computer

Monday, June 11, 2012 /part-9-social-media-ipad-as-my-main-computer/

📱 ✏️ Part 8 - The back-end magic - iPad as my main computer

Tuesday, June 5, 2012 /part-8-the-back-end-magic-ipad-as-my-main-com/

😎 ✏️ 143 pieces of clothing

Friday, June 1, 2012 /143-pieces-of-clothing/