Merlin Mann

Merlin Dean Mann III (born November 26, 1966) is an author, speaker, and productivity consultant best known for Inbox Zero and the website 43 Folders. Merlin hosts the podcast Back to Work, co-hosted by Dan Benjamin and produced by 5by5 Studios.

Tweeting as @hotdogsladies

 * Joining a Facebook group about creative productivity is like buying a chair about jogging.
 * Twitter


 * "Friend us on Facebook!" is a social media strategy like "Buy me a malt liquor!" is a charitable giving plan.
 * Twitter


 * Write your way out of a thinking block—because you'll never think your way out of a writing block.
 * Wired Magazine


 * Being consistent is WAY less interesting than being yourself. And if you're not interesting? Good luck with your Big Consistency Project.
 * Twitter


 * Typing in all lowercase is popular among young people, SMS users, and anyone who feels literacy has become too time-consuming.
 * Twitter


 * If you need to appear on an internet list to know whether you're someone's friend, you may have problems a computer can't solve.
 * meatrobot

5by5 Studios podcasts

 * When you die, no one's going to remember what iPhone you had.
 * "Back to Work" Podcast


 * People either make things or they don’t. Inspiration is a poster.
 * "Back to Work" podcast, Episode 5


 * You sit around and you go, “Oh, I hope people like me, and I hope they friend me, and I hope they do all this superficial stuff that doesn't cost anything.” But what you really want is to not suck enough that people that you really admire wouldn't mind doing something with you.
 * “Back to Work” podcast, Episode 1 (at 5:58)

Other podcasts

 * If you don't want a little moisture on the mattress, maybe you shouldn't have gone to the bar.
 * Roderick On The Line" podcast, October 2011


 * If you want to make a chili, you're going to break some cows.
 * "Roderick On The Line" podcast, October 2011

The 43folders website

 * A priority is observed, not manufactured or assigned. Otherwise, it's necessarily not a priority.
 * 43 Folders

The KungFu Grippe Tumblr website

 * Thing is: the internet’s made of IP addresses, opinions, and assholes. It’s what’s there. That’s the basic equipment.
 * KungFu Grippe


 * Distractions have never prevented a Writing Writer Who Writes from writing; distractions are an excuse proffered by Non-Writing Non-Writers Who are Not-Writing for why they are not writing.
 * Kung Fu Grippe


 * It’s just that it’s mind-boggling to me how many people I encounter every day who are struggling to subsist on a diet of bad advice about fake solutions to nonexistent problems.
 * Kung Fu Grippe


 * Make the time to be scared of more interesting things
 * Inbox Zero theme statement