Your Gateway to Windows Productivity
Explore the latest news, tips, and insights from CommandGlows to boost your productivity workflow. From plugin spotlights to workflow strategies, our blog is your go-to resource for all things Obsidian, Windows, and digital productivity.
Insights
Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in the productivity ecosystem with insights from CommandGlows's team of experts.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
Capture now, sort later
A decision made at the moment you save slows the capture, and a slow capture gets abandoned. How to separate the act of saving from the decision, with the Windows clipboard history and an inbox you sort once a week.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
Cut a video without recompressing it: the cut that loses nothing
Pulling one passage out of a video does not require re-encoding the whole file. A stream-copy cut keeps the original quality, as long as you know where the cut actually starts.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
The feed never ends: why you never know when you're done
A book has a last page, a news feed does not. Why the missing ending wears you out more than the volume, what serialized novels understood long ago, and the Windows setting that cuts the most noise.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
Find it without installing one more app
Before a universal search tool, a two-letter nickname in your browser fixes most of the searches you repeat. Set it up in two minutes, and see what it does not fix.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
Finite project or ongoing project: stop managing both the same way
A project has an end, a routine does not. On Windows, tell them apart, run each at its own pace, and stop treating a routine as a failure.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
Flow Launcher won't save you seconds. It stops you from searching.
A keyboard launcher isn't about going faster. It removes the question "where is it?". What Flow Launcher actually does, and the full move to open a file in three keystrokes.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
Why your folders end up in a mess, and five axes to file by
Every folder answers a question, and mixing those questions is what makes a folder tree unreadable. Richard Saul Wurman's LATCH framework, to use one filing axis per level.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
Messaging on Windows: one alert layer is enough
Your messaging apps interrupt you because each one rings in turn. Why one alert layer changes more than any app does, and how to set it up on Windows 11 in ten minutes.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
Your network is not lost for lack of contacts, but for lack of context
You don't forget the people you know. You forget why you know them and when to reach back out. Three questions to decide how much follow-up each person deserves, and a ten-minute context card to write tonight.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
Your notes system fails because it makes you decide too early
Every capture that asks for a folder, tags and a priority eventually stops happening. Why deciding at capture time breaks a notes system, and the three-step routine that fixes it on Windows.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
A one-hour meeting does not cost one hour
Your calendar counts sixty minutes. Your morning often loses much more, because the meeting splits your focus block in two. What Microsoft's published data says, and a reply to keep in your mail client.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
Plan by cognitive mode: stop organizing your day by project
A calendar organized by project ignores how much energy your brain can give at each moment. The cost of switching tasks, what David Kadavy proposes instead, and one action to take tonight.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
Rereading teaches you almost nothing: the method that works instead
Rereading gives you a feeling of mastery that does not survive the exam. What the research says about retrieval, the numbers that circulate for no good reason, and a fifteen-minute test to run tomorrow.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
RICE scores: why a number does not make your priority objective
RICE looks like it decides for you. What each of its four factors really measures, where the score misleads, and a ten-minute test to check whether your decision holds.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
RSS: follow the web without letting an algorithm pick for you
Every site you open out of habit sends you to a page sorted for you. RSS lets you decide what enters your day: the mechanism, its limits, and a 15-minute action you can take today.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
Social media presence without losing your day to it
Post less often but consistently, set a ceiling you can keep and schedule ahead: a social presence that does not take the rest of your day. What the free plans of three tools tell you.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
The time you sell without noticing: why repeated tasks cost more
A two-minute reply you send five times a week costs far more than two minutes. Why sold time goes unseen, and how to turn it into a reusable template in fifteen minutes.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
Timeboxing that survives Tuesday: a calendar that holds all week
Timeboxing fails less from a bad method than from too much rigidity. Four steps to block your tasks, the review that keeps the system alive, and what to protect around it.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
Your video call loses five minutes before it even starts
The link, the mic, the camera, 'can you hear me?'. Starting a video call costs more than you count. The math on your own calendar, and a three-minute routine to set up once.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
What your AI sidebar does with your notes, and where it goes
An AI sidebar reads your notes for you, but every question, document and image takes its own route. Here is how to check that route in ten minutes.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
Why your motivation fades on a long project (and what replaces it)
A long project rarely stalls from lack of willpower. Three ingredients explain most of the slowdown, with one question for each.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
Windows keyboard shortcuts: chain gestures, don't collect lists
You don't need to memorize 200 shortcuts. You need a few gestures that chain together without releasing Ctrl. Here is how to choose them and keep them.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
Your inbox is not a to-do list
An email you read without deciding comes back every time you open it. Why the volume is not what wears you down, and a ten-minute action to get the returning emails out of your inbox.
Diane
Nov 5, 2026
YouTube bookmark extensions: choose one without losing your notes
Smart Bookmarks, Bookmarker for YouTube, ReClipped and the rest: what their store listings say about maintenance, export and import, plus a ten-minute test to decide.
Diane
Nov 4, 2026
Text expanders on Windows: which one to choose for your use
Text Blaze, Espanso, TextExpander, PhraseExpress, aText, Beeftext: four questions about how you work, prices checked in November 2026, and why the right tool is chosen by criteria, not by ranking.
Diane
Nov 1, 2026
Browser extensions: one per problem, not a collection
Every installed extension opens access to your pages and a possible point of failure. How to keep only the ones that solve a specific problem, and how to test the doubtful ones for a week.
Diane
Nov 1, 2026
Open tabs: the attention debt you don't see
Every tab you keep open for 'later' costs you attention today. Here is how it adds up, and how to shrink the pile in one evening.
Diane
Nov 1, 2026
PC slow in the afternoon? Run this test before buying a new one
A PC that slows down around 3 p.m. does not necessarily need replacing. A twenty-minute test, with the right gauge, separates a memory shortage, a runaway process and a real hardware limit.
Diane
Nov 1, 2026
Text expander on Windows: freeze the right sentence, no misfires
A text expander is not a typing-speed tool. It lets you decide once what you write often. Why a trigger fires at the wrong moment, and how to write one that stays quiet.
Diane
Nov 1, 2026
Why your Windows macros break, and what to use instead
A recorded macro stores positions and delays, not your intent. It breaks the first time a window moves. Here is why, and a sturdier rule you can set up in ten minutes.
Diane
Nov 1, 2026
Windows tiling: the right level is not the most automatic one
Automatic tiling is tempting, but on Windows it moves the work into configuration. Here is the native gesture that actually tidies your windows, and when a tool is worth it.
Diane
Nov 1, 2026
Windows voice dictation: the mic and vocabulary beat the tool
Before you switch dictation software, fix your microphone and your vocabulary. Why these two settings outweigh the model, and a ten-minute test to check it on your own PC.
Diane
Oct 22, 2026
Broke your habit streak? Why you quit, and what to track instead
One missed day resets your counter and you give up? It's not your willpower failing, it's the display. What the research says, and the measure that holds up.
Diane
Oct 22, 2026
Decision fatigue: why your to-do list wears you out before you start
You reread your list three times, answer two easy emails, and you're already tired by 10:30? What research actually says about decision fatigue, what really drains you, and a ten-minute exercise that lightens your week.
Diane
Oct 22, 2026
It's not your phone that's distracting you
You block sites, hide your phone, and still drift off? Distraction starts before the screen, with a discomfort you are escaping. How it works, and the ten-minute method to try today on Windows.
Diane
Oct 22, 2026
Productive desk setup: fix the settings before you buy gear
Gaming mouse, noise-cancelling headphones, monitor light bar: the four purchases people make for a more productive desk, and the free Windows setting to test before each one.
Diane
Oct 22, 2026
Productive procrastination: when tweaking Windows replaces real work
Hours spent tweaking your PC, comparing apps and installing tools, while the important work still waits? It is not a tool problem. How the trap works, and the one-line test to run before every install.
Diane
Oct 22, 2026
Sleep debt: the productivity problem no app can fix
Switching task apps but the slump comes back at the same hour? Understand sleep debt, why you can't feel it, and calculate yours in ten minutes.
Diane
Oct 22, 2026
What is productivity, if it isn't doing more?
"I don't have time," "I'm not motivated," "I can do two things at once": three sentences that keep you busy without moving you forward. What productivity really means, and a 90-minute rule you can set up on Windows today.
Diane
Oct 21, 2026
Why I built ReplayGlows: YouTube notes with a saucepan in hand
I had a perfect video note-taking workflow in Obsidian, and I never used it. Here is why, and the YouTube extension I built to fix the problem.
Diane
Oct 20, 2026
Desktop Enhanced on AppSumo: the launch that started CMDglows
Desktop Enhanced, a Notion template of 200+ Windows tools sold on AppSumo in 2021, became CMDglows. Origin, reviews, lessons and what it turned into.
Diane
Jun 29, 2026
How to navigate a large codebase quickly
A professional framework to find important functions fast, cut down manual searching, and document a large codebase without weighing it down.
Diane
Jun 18, 2026
How to keep context between notes, files, and actions
CMDglows helps reduce the gap between what you think, what you save, and what you do next.
Diane
Jun 18, 2026
How to stay productive when you work alone on Windows
A CMDglows perspective on solo work, context, and keeping execution moving.
Diane
Jun 18, 2026
How to turn a vague idea into a clear plan on Windows
A practical CMDglows guide for moving from intention to execution.
Diane
Jun 18, 2026
How to build a Windows workflow that actually holds
CMDglows helps Windows users turn scattered tasks into a clearer, repeatable system.
Diane
Jun 11, 2026
The CMDglows Android keyboard: what it already does
A clear status update on the CMDglows keyboard for Android: swipe input, useful panels, Ctrl action mode, and privacy guardrails.
Diane
Mar 23, 2026
Customize Termux: the complete guide to your Android terminal
Learn how to fully customize Termux: colors, themes, extra keys, fullscreen, cursor, fonts and dotfiles management. The reference guide for mobile developers.
Diane
Mar 23, 2026
114 Termux themes with live preview: find yours in one click
Browse and preview all 114 color themes available for Termux. Interactive terminal preview, full palette display and one-click copy.
Diane
Feb 6, 2024
Understanding TTY: From Teletypewriter to Modern Terminal
What is a TTY, where does the term come from, and why does it still matter in 2026?