The Joy of Fixing Things (And Why I Always Try First)

If something breaks, my first instinct is always the same—how can I fix it?

It’s not something I think about. It’s just how I’m wired.

Starting Small: Fixing the Door Lock

I took some time to fix our bathroom door lock the other night. It had stopped working and led to a few awkward moments.

It had been broken for weeks, but I kept putting it off—until it became unavoidable.

I removed the lock, straightened the cam with a quick tap, added some WD40, and put it back together.

It worked perfectly. Smooth and solid again.

It took 10 minutes. The real question was—why didn’t I fix it sooner?

Learning by Doing

The benefits of fixing are obvious—time, money, and understanding.

Our fridge started making a noise that gradually got worse. The fan bearing had worn, causing it to rub and eventually fail.

I tried a quick fix using a makeshift bush. It worked briefly, then failed again.

Eventually I replaced the motor and fan properly—and the problem was solved.

Fixing it taught me how the system actually worked—not just how to replace parts.

When Fixing Gets More Complex

Some problems aren’t simple.

The tumble dryer had been repaired multiple times—belts, heaters, resets—but the real issue was the tension pulley seizing.

Not Everything Works First Time

The first fix didn’t last.

I eventually replaced the pulley with a different design using proper bearings.

That solved it properly—and improved the original design.

The Bigger Pattern

This isn’t just about fixing things. It’s a way of thinking.

When something breaks, you can either replace it—or understand it.

Fixing forces you to slow down and learn how the system actually works.

Where This Shows Up

• How I Think (Visual Thinking) — how I naturally break down systems
• LEGO Technic — where this mindset started
• Modern Cars — why overcomplicated systems fail

What This Means

Fixing things isn’t just practical—it’s a way of understanding systems.

Replacing something is often quicker, but fixing it builds knowledge and confidence.

In practice, that means taking the time to understand how things work rather than immediately replacing them.

Not everything needs replacing—sometimes it just needs understanding.

I spend a lot of time fixing and simplifying systems, whether that’s physical or digital.

You can take a look at my TechFix service if you’ve got something that should be fixable but isn’t.

Automating My Daily Log with Power Automate and OneNote

If you do something manually every day, it’s usually a good candidate for automation. I was creating a new OneNote page every morning—and it quickly became something I knew I could automate.

The Problem: A Repetitive Manual Task

Keeping a daily log is a great way to stay organized and on top of your tasks. I used to create a new page in my OneNote notebook every day, but it was a manual process that took time and effort. 

Building the Flow

That's why I decided to create a Power Automate flow that would automatically add a new page to my OneNote notebook every day at 7am.

What I Wanted to Achieve

Here's what I wanted my daily log to include:

• The date in the title
• Section for Highlight (priority task)
• Section on Yesterday (What I was working on yesterday)
• Section on Today (What I will work on today)
• Section on Start of Day checklist (with a number of checkbox fields)
• Section on Working area
• Section on End of Day checklist (with a number of checkbox fields)

The Problems I Hit

I encountered three problems when creating this flow, but I was able to overcome them.

1. Getting it to run Monday to Friday

The controls in Power Automate give you the option to set a frequency for your flow, and my initial idea was to set it to "once per day". However, this would include weekends, which I didn't want. After thinking for a bit, I figured out that I could set the frequency to "Weeks interval 1" and then choose which days of the week to include. It wasn't very intuitive, but I was able to figure it out.

2. Adding the date to the title

In the OneNote "Create a page in section" block, there wasn't a setting to enter a title. It only had a text entry for any template text you want on the page. After some trial and error, I discovered that I could switch the text entry to HTML and enter a full HTML page into the editor. Using the <title> tag within <head>, I was able to automate the title. I then added the formatDateTime function, which allowed me to get the title to be today's date in a long format.

3. Adding checkboxes

I really wanted to have checkboxes to check off my day start and end routines, but I couldn't figure out how to add checkboxes into the HTML. After some Googling, I found the data-tag="to-do" attribute, which gave me exactly what I was looking for. I added this attribute to the <p> tags in the Start of Day and End of Day sections, and it created checkboxes in OneNote.

What Actually Worked

In the end, a simple scheduled flow with a weekday trigger handled the timing reliably.

Using a bit of HTML formatting allowed me to dynamically create the page title and structure the content properly, including checkboxes.

Once it was set up, the whole process became automatic—removing a small but consistent daily task.

The Bigger Pattern

This wasn’t really about OneNote or Power Automate—it was about removing friction from a daily process.

If something is repetitive, it’s usually worth automating.

Where This Shows Up

• The Joy of Fixing — understanding systems by working through problems
• Visual Thinking — how I naturally break systems down

What This Means

Overall, this flow has saved me a lot of time and effort, and it's helped me stay organized and focused on my tasks. If you're interested in creating a similar flow, I hope my experience can help you overcome any challenges you might encounter.

Small automations can remove a surprising amount of friction from everyday work.

I spend a lot of time simplifying and automating processes to make systems easier to use and maintain.

You can take a look at my TechFix service if you’ve got something repetitive that should be simpler.

Remembering a Space Shuttle Launch in Florida in the 1990s

With the SpaceX launch today, and its unfortunate blow-up shortly after, it reminded me of having the opportunity to watch a space shuttle launch.

It was a few years ago when we were on holiday in Florida. It was just a typical fly-drive trip, starting in Orlando and moving around, booking somewhere new each night.

Watching the Launch

We ended up on the east coast near Cocoa Beach. Several hotels were full, and we were eventually told there was a shuttle launch overnight.

After finding somewhere to stay, we set an alarm for 2am and drove to the beach. It was busy—lots of people had gathered.

It was almost pitch black apart from the occasional torch. A radio broadcast the live countdown, and we were told to watch across the bay. You wouldn’t hear it—but you would see it.

As the countdown reached zero, the sky lit up. Slowly, the shuttle rose into the air—silent at first—gradually climbing and arcing higher and higher.

Eventually, it became smaller and smaller. There was cheering on the beach, and we headed back to the hotel and bed. The next morning, it was just another sunny Florida day—but we had seen a shuttle launch.

The Part That Stayed With Me

A few years later, we visited the Kennedy Space Center. Walking under a decommissioned shuttle, I noticed something surprising—the switch that told the system the undercarriage was closed was just a simple twin-wire microswitch. The kind you might find in a fridge.

I had expected something far more complex. But it wasn’t.

What stuck with me wasn’t just the launch—it was seeing how something so complex could rely on something so simple.

A shuttle launch looks like the pinnacle of engineering. But underneath it, there are still basic components doing very simple jobs.

That contrast stayed with me.

Even the most complex systems are often built on surprisingly simple components.

I spend a lot of time helping simplify systems and make them easier to understand and work with.

You can take a look at my TechFix service if that resonates.

Why I Use Todoist to Keep Things Simple

Staying organized in today's busy world can be a challenge, but with Todoist, it's made easy. This app has become a personal favorite of mine, and in this blog post, I'll describe how Todoist is structured, and why it's such an effective tool for staying on top of your daily tasks.

Why Most To-Do Systems Don’t Work

Most to-do systems fail because they try to do too much. They add structure, categories, priorities, and rules—but in doing so, they become harder to use than the problem they’re trying to solve. When capturing and managing tasks takes effort, people stop using the system altogether.

It’s not the features that matter—it’s how little friction there is in using them.

What Todoist Gets Right

One of the things that sets Todoist apart from other to-do apps is its clean, intuitive layout. Whether you're using it on your laptop or your smartphone, the interface is always the same, making it easy to navigate no matter where you are. Tasks are organized into different views, which are accessed via the sidebar on the left-hand side of the screen.

How I Actually Use It

The views in Todoist are designed to help you stay on top of your tasks, and there are three main ones to choose from:

• Inbox - The inbox is where new tasks are added. This is a great feature because it allows you to quickly jot down anything that comes to mind without having to worry about where it should go. Later on, you can assign tasks to specific projects.
• Today - The Today view shows you all the tasks that are due today. This is a great way to stay focused on what needs to be done right now.
• Upcoming - The upcoming view shows you tasks that are due in the next 7 days. This gives you a clear idea of what's coming up and allows you to plan your week accordingly.

What Makes It Work

It’s not the features that matter—it’s how little friction there is in using them.

Filters are another great feature of Todoist that allows you to organize your tasks in a more customized way. You can create filters based on specific criteria, such as due dates, priority levels, and labels. This makes it easy to see all the tasks that meet certain criteria and helps you stay focused on what needs to be done.

Projects are the main way to organize your tasks in Todoist. You can create as many projects as you need, and each one can have its own set of tasks. For example, you might have a project for work-related tasks and another for personal tasks. You can also create sub-projects within a larger project to break tasks down into smaller, more manageable parts.

Labels are a feature in Todoist that allows you to split your tasks into actual projects. You can create labels for each of your projects, and each label can have its own color. This makes it easy to see at a glance which project a task belongs to. For example, if you have a work-related project, you can assign a "work" label to all the tasks related to that project. This helps you stay organized and ensures that all your tasks are properly sorted.

This is very similar to how I approach fixing things—understand the system, simplify it, and remove unnecessary friction.

It also links to how I naturally think about systems in visual thinking.

Why I’ve Stuck With It

Todoist is a simple, effective to-do app that can help you stay organized and on top of your tasks. With its clean layout, customizable filters, and project organization, it's easy to see why it's become such a popular tool for productivity. Whether you're a busy professional or a busy parent, Todoist can help you manage your daily tasks with ease.

Simple systems are often the most effective—especially when they reduce friction rather than add complexity.

I spend a lot of time helping simplify tools, processes, and workflows to make them easier to use and maintain.

You can take a look at my TechFix service if you’re trying to simplify something that’s become too complicated.