Merlin Mann

{{short description|American blogger (born 1966)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}} {{Infobox writer  |name=Merlin Mann |birth_name = Merlin Dean Mann III |image=Merlinmannwwdc2007.jpg |image_size=150px |caption=Merlin Mann at WWDC 2007 |pseudonym= |birth_date={{birth date and age|1966|11|26}} |birth_place=Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |occupation=Writer, blogger, podcaster |children = 1 |education=New College of Florida (BA) |website = {{URL|www.merlinmann.com}} |influences= |influenced= }}

'''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.<ref name="bio">{{cite web|url=http://www.merlinmann.com/bio/|title=Merlin's Bio - Merlin Mann|author=Mann, Merlin|date=March 17, 2015|website=merlinmann.com|access-date=March 17, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323081737/http://www.merlinmann.com/bio/|archive-date=March 23, 2016}}{{Self-published source|date=March 2016}}</ref>

==Career== ===Writing=== In September 2004,<ref name=43foldersAbout>{{cite web | author=Mann, Merlin | url=http://www.43folders.com/about | title=About 43 Folders | date=August 19, 2007 | website=43folders.com | access-date=March 17, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315114220/http://www.43folders.com/about | archive-date=March 15, 2016 | url-status=live }}{{Self-published source|date=March 2016}}</ref> Mann founded and began the exclusive writing for ''43 Folders'',<ref name=nymag>{{cite journal | last = Anderson | first = Sam | title = In Defense of Distraction | url = http://nymag.com/news/features/56793/index5.html | year = 2009 | journal = New York Magazine | issue = May 25 | page = 6 | format = print, online article | access-date = March 17, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190412013533/http://nymag.com/news/features/56793/index5.html | archive-date = April 12, 2019 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name = JonesCHEthreeGigs>{{cite web |last= Jones |first= Jason B |date= September 11, 2009 |title= The ProfHacker Podcast: Merlin Mann and the First Person Transitive |website= The Chronicle of Higher Education |url= http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/the-profhacker-podcast-merlin-mannthe-first-person-transitive/22698 |access-date= February 15, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160325161614/http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/the-profhacker-podcast-merlin-mannthe-first-person-transitive/22698 |archive-date= March 25, 2016 |url-status= live }}</ref> a blog about "finding the time and attention to do your best creative work."<ref name=43foldersAbout/> The blog was last updated October 2011.<ref name=43foldersLast>{{cite web | author=Mann, Merlin | url=http://www.43folders.com/2009/01/09/monthly-pimp-january-09-edition | title=The Monthly Pimp: January '09 Edition | date=January 9, 2009 | website=43folders.com | access-date=March 17, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322142306/http://www.43folders.com/2009/01/09/monthly-pimp-january-09-edition | archive-date=March 22, 2016 | url-status=live }}{{Self-published source|date=March 2016}}</ref> 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".<ref name="43fo_Fres">{{Cite web |title=Fresh Start: The Email DMZ {{!}} 43 Folders |author=Merlin Mann |work=43folders.com |access-date=July 3, 2020 |url= http://www.43folders.com/2006/01/04/email-dmz}}</ref> Inbox Zero became associated with the ''Getting Things Done'' productivity strategy, and is a popular topic on ''Lifehacker''.<ref name="life_Inbo">{{Cite web |title=Inbox Zero - Tips, Tricks and Hacks for Doing Everything Better {{!}} Lifehacker |work=Lifehacker |date=January 6, 2020 |access-date=July 3, 2020 |url=https://lifehacker.com/tag/inbox-zero |archive-date=July 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704010219/https://lifehacker.com/tag/inbox-zero |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="dans_GTDG">{{Cite web |title=GTD Gmail: Inbox Zero and Optimized Email Workflow |author=Dan Silvestre |work=dansilvestre.com |date=November 21, 2017 |access-date=July 3, 2020 |url= https://dansilvestre.com/gtd-gmail/}}</ref><ref name="gett_Howt">{{Cite web |title=How to weed wack your inbox down to zero - Getting Things Done® |work=Getting Things Done® |date=June 14, 2009 |access-date=July 3, 2020 |url= https://gettingthingsdone.com/2009/06/how-to-weed-wack-your-inbox-down-to-zero/}}</ref> In 2020 Mann stated he doesn't keep his inbox empty, and that the term has been misunderstood.<ref name="wire_Ever">{{Cite magazine |title=Everything you thought you knew about inbox zero is wrong {{!}} WIRED UK |last=Bernal |first=Natasha |magazine=Wired UK |date=January 2, 2020 |access-date=July 3, 2020 |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/inbox-zero-mentality |archive-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626034901/https://www.wired.co.uk/article/inbox-zero-mentality |url-status=live }}</ref>

Beginning in the mid-2000s, Mann wrote articles for ''Macworld'',<ref name=macworld>See, for instance, {{cite journal | author = Mann, Merlin D. | title = Secrets of Mac superheroes: The inbox makeover | url = http://www.macworld.com/article/1044327/tipsinbox.html#comments | year = 2005 | journal = Macworld | issue = April 26 | format = online article | access-date = March 17, 2016 | ref = 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. | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160320052419/http://www.macworld.com/article/1044327/tipsinbox.html#comments | archive-date = March 20, 2016 | url-status = live }}</ref> ''Make'' (the "Life Hacks" series, with Danny O'Brien, February 2005 to November 2006),<ref name=makezine-lifehacks>See, for instance, {{cite journal | author = makezine Staff | title = Latest from Merlin Mann [Life Hacks series, with Danny O'Brien] | url = http://makezine.com/author/merlin-mann/ | year = 2006 | journal = Make Magazine (Makezine) | issue = November 20 | format = online article | access-date = March 17, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160324132830/http://makezine.com/author/merlin-mann/ | archive-date = March 24, 2016 | url-status = 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.</ref> and ''Popular Science'' (Ask a Geek series, 2005 to 2007).<ref name=popsci1>See, for instance, {{cite journal | author = How 2.0 Geeks | title = Fourteen Things Geeks Can Teach the World | url = http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2007-03/14-things-geeks-can-teach-world | year = 2007 | journal = Popular Science | issue = March 20 | format = online article | access-date = March 17, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121005093528/http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2007-03/14-things-geeks-can-teach-world | archive-date = October 5, 2012 | url-status = live }} Note, links to further specific Mann articles, from this article, are inoperable.</ref><ref name=popsci2>See, for instance, {{cite journal | author = Mann, Merlin | title = Ask a geek: Merlin Mann—Q: What is tagging? | url = http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2005-06/ask-geek-merlin-mann | year = 2005 | journal = Popular Science | issue = June 23 | format = online article | access-date = March 17, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160611080808/http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2005-06/ask-geek-merlin-mann | archive-date = June 11, 2016 | url-status = live }}</ref>

On August 18, 2009, Mann announced that he was writing a book, to be entitled ''Inbox Zero'',<ref name = JonesCHEthreeGigs/> about "how to reclaim your email, your attention, and your life."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://inboxzero.com/2009/08/18/the-book/ |access-date=October 19, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104132706/http://inboxzero.com/2009/08/18/the-book/ |archive-date=November 4, 2009 |title=I'm Writing a Book. | Inbox Zero }}</ref> In 2011, he announced that he was abandoning the project.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Burkeman |first1=Oliver |title=Why time management is ruining our lives |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/22/why-time-management-is-ruining-our-lives |website=The Guardian |access-date=January 12, 2024 |date=December 22, 2016}}</ref> 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",<ref name = JonesCHEthreeGigs/> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Today|first=You Look Nice|title=California King|url=http://www.californiaking.org/|access-date=March 23, 2021|website=California King|archive-date=March 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301130501/https://www.californiaking.org/|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.

thumb|Merlin Mann and John Roderick Beginning on January 18, 2011, Mann has co-hosted the weekly ''Back to Work'' podcast with Dan Benjamin on 5by5,<ref>{{cite AV media |people= Mann, Merlin & Benjamin, Dan |year= 2016 |title= Back to Work |url= http://5by5.tv |access-date= March 17, 2016 |format= podcast |location= Austin, TX, USA |publisher= Dan Benjamin and 5by5 Productions |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160321195705/http://5by5.tv/ |archive-date= March 21, 2016 |url-status= live }} The first broadcast was on January 18, 2011 ([http://5by5.tv/b2w/1 "Alligator in the Bathroom"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309093001/http://5by5.tv/b2w/1 |date=March 9, 2016 }}, and episode 263, [http://5by5.tv/b2w/263 "The Working Definition of Love"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326085214/http://5by5.tv/b2w/263 |date=March 26, 2016 }}, was broadcast on March 15, 2016.</ref> where they discuss subjects like productivity,<ref>See, for instance, {{cite AV media |people= Mann, Merlin & Benjamin, Dan |date= January 25, 2011 |title= Back to Work #2: Picture of a Boat |url= http://5by5.tv/b2w/2/ |access-date= March 17, 2016 |format= podcast |location= Austin, TX, USA |publisher= Dan Benjamin and 5by5 Productions |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160326025702/http://5by5.tv/b2w/2/ |archive-date= March 26, 2016 |url-status= live }}</ref> work life,<ref>See, for instance, {{cite AV media |people= Mann, Merlin & Benjamin, Dan |date= March 8, 2011 |title= Back to Work #7: Vocational Wheel |url= http://5by5.tv/b2w/7/ |access-date= March 17, 2016 |format= podcast |location= Austin, TX, USA |publisher= Dan Benjamin and 5by5 Productions |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160312161744/http://5by5.tv/b2w/7 |archive-date= March 12, 2016 |url-status= live }}</ref> and true costs of doing business.<ref>See, for instance, {{cite AV media |people= Mann, Merlin & Benjamin, Dan |date= January 31, 2012 |title= Back to Work #52: Walk the Coastline, Bitches |url= http://5by5.tv/b2w/52/ |access-date= March 17, 2016 |format= podcast |location= Austin, TX, USA |publisher= Dan Benjamin and 5by5 Productions |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160326014931/http://5by5.tv/b2w/52/ |archive-date= March 26, 2016 |url-status= live }}</ref> In September 2011, Mann launched ''Roderick on the Line'', a weekly conversation with musician/writer John Roderick.<ref name="wsj._Game">{{Cite web |title=Game Plan: A Musician/Podcaster Starts Thinking About Retirement |last=Ward |first=Lisa |work=WSJ |date=February 18, 2020 |access-date=July 3, 2020 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/game-plan-a-musician-podcaster-starts-thinking-about-retirement-11581994861 |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702003905/https://www.wsj.com/articles/game-plan-a-musician-podcaster-starts-thinking-about-retirement-11581994861 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite AV media |people= Dalrymple, Jim & Mann, Merlin |year= 2015 |title= The Dalrymple Report |url= http://www.loopinsight.com/thedalrymplereport/ |access-date= March 17, 2016 |format= podcast |location= San Francisco, CA, USA{{verification needed|date=March 2016}} |publisher= loopinsight.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160318083702/http://www.loopinsight.com/thedalrymplereport/ |archive-date= March 18, 2016 |url-status= 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.</ref> 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.<ref name="poly_Form">{{Cite web |title=Former employees accuse Cards Against Humanity of a racist and sexist office culture |author=Nicole Carpenter |work=Polygon |date=June 23, 2020 |access-date=July 3, 2020 |url=https://www.polygon.com/2020/6/23/21300435/cards-against-humanity-max-temkin-report |archive-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703000611/https://www.polygon.com/2020/6/23/21300435/cards-against-humanity-max-temkin-report |url-status=live }}</ref>

Mann has also appeared as a guest on other podcasts, including the CBC radio show–podcast ''Spark,'' ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'''s ''ProfHacker,''<ref name = JonesCHEthreeGigs/> ''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,<ref name=nymag /> 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.<ref>A further, similar product in this market is The Omni Group's OmniFocus.</ref>

Mann was a member of the Tallahassee, Florida-based indie rock band Bacon Ray from 1994 to 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baconray.com/ |access-date=October 19, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209064226/http://baconray.com/ |archive-date=February 9, 2010 |title=Bacon Ray | Rock Music }}</ref> He started a cover song project of Will Oldham's song "I Am a Cinematographer".<ref name="cinematographer">{{cite web|url=http://cinematographer.merlinmann.com/ |access-date=July 7, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927203050/http://cinematographer.merlinmann.com/ |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |title=I am a Cinematographer | A Power Pop Cover Project }}</ref>

==Personal life== Mann started treatment for attention deficit disorder in 2008, something which he says helped his focus.<ref name=nymag/> 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.<ref name="bio"/>

== References == {{reflist|25em}}

==Further reading== * {{cite journal | author = Jones, Jason B. | year = 2009 | title = The ProfHacker Podcast: Merlin Mann and the First Person Transitive | journal = The Chronicle of Higher Education | issue = September 11 | format = major news online blog | url = http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/the-profhacker-podcast-merlin-mannthe-first-person-transitive/22698 | access-date = March 17, 2016}} * {{cite web|url=http://5by5.tv/people/merlin-mann | title=Merlin Mann on 5by5 | author=Staff at 5by5 |date=2016 | location = Austin, TX, USA | publisher = Dan Benjamin and 5by5 Productions | access-date=March 17, 2016}}

==External links== {{Wikiquote|Merlin Mann}} *{{official website|1=http://www.merlinmann.com/}} *[http://5by5.tv/b2w ''Back to Work'' podcast] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20081010183826/http://youlooknicetoday.com/ ''You Look Nice Today'' podcast] *[http://www.kungfugrippe.com ''Kung Fu Grippe'' personal blog]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, Merlin}} Category:1966 births Category:21st-century American male writers Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers Category:American male bloggers Category:American technology podcasters Category:American video bloggers Category:Living people Category:Writers from San Francisco Category:American technology writers Category:People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder