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Episode Notes
Nono MartĂnez Alonso on his story, his worldview, how and why he started Getting Simple, and the struggles and joys of making a podcast about simple living, doing less better, and crafting your own lifestyle.
Nono MartĂnez Alonso hosts The Getting Simple Podcast—a show about how you can live a productive, creative, and simple life, in the form of friendly, long-form conversations with creative from eclectic areas—sketches things that call his attention, and writes about enjoying a slower life.
Nono is an architect and computational designer with a penchant for simplicity, who focuses on the development of intuitive tools for creatives, and on how the collaboration between human and artificial intelligences can enhance the design process.
Currently, Nono works remotely as a Machine Learning Engineer and Designer for Autodesk from Málaga, Spain. Previously, Nono studied Technology at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and worked in the design and delivery of complex architectural geometries at award-winning firms, such as AR-MA (Sydney) and Foster + Partners (London).
Links
- Growth mindset (concept)
- The Growth Mindset: How to Measure Your Own Success
- Folio
- Lobe.ai
- Otter
- Interview topics of Getting Simple
- Twenty Thousand Hertz by Dallas Taylor (podcast)
- The Minimalists (podcast)
- Hurry Slowly by Jocelyn K. Glei (podcast)
- The default network (concept)
- What Screens Want by Frank Chimero
- Akimbo: A Podcast from Seth Godin
- SmartGeometry
- MIT Media Lab
- nono.ma/items
- nono.ma/books
- nono.ma/to-read
Books
- Scarcity by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir
- Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
- So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport
- Deep Work by Cal Newport
- Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- Mindset by Carol Dweck
- Getting Things Done by David Allen
- Tribes by Seth Godin
- All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin
- The Information by James Gleick
- The Inevitable by Kevin Kelly
People mentioned
- Jose Luis GarcĂa del Castillo
- Ana GarcĂa Puyol
- Seth Godin
- Descartes
- Plato
- Nietzsche
- Francine Jay, Miss Minimalist
- Lourdes Alonso CarriĂłn
- Panagiotis Michalatos
- James Melouney
- Cal Newport
- Adam Menges
- Tim Ferriss
- Zach Kron
- Andres Colubri
- Ian Keough
- Ben Fry
- James Clear
- Carol Dweck
- Jocelyn K. Glei
- Marie Kondo
- Daniel Goleman
- Frank Chimero
- David Allen
- James Gleick
- Kevin Kelly
Part 1 — Nono's story [2:33]
- What defines Nono MartĂnez Alonso and how did you get there? [3:10]
- Nono's first steps with computers, technology, and programming. [6:00]
- Burnout at architecture school and going abroad. [10:56]
- Getting time to focus and learning how to code. [12:57]
- How did you end up in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts? [13:59]
- How has going back to Spain been to you? [17:26]
- What makes working remotely go well? [18:33]
- What distracts Nono MartĂnez Alonso? [20:18]
- Choosing what to work on. [22:54]
- Less, better. [23:27]
- What bores you? [24:12]
- Can you name a successful person? [24:27]
- Do you consider yourself successful? [25:40]
- What would you tell your listeners? [27:43]
- The role of tools and getting better. [31:29]
- Sharing your tools - Creating tools for others and Folio. [33:02]
- What's in your future plans? [36:16]
Part 2 — The Getting Simple Podcast [36:47]
- How did the podcast start? [36:57]
- Why is simplicity so important for you? And where does the Getting Simple name come from? [40:33]
- The making of this podcast - How much time does it take you to do this podcast, how much cleaning and editing do you do and how, how much time you spent with guests? [41:34]
- What was the hardest thing to make this podcast at the beginning, and what's the hardest thing now that you're experienced? [45:58]
- Do you have a script for each interview? [46:41]
- What's difficult about doing this podcast? [48:10]
- Nice moments of the podcast. [49:54]
- Who's rejected your invitation to the podcast? [51:11]
- What's this podcast really about? [53:10]
- Where is the Getting Simple podcast going? [57:45]
- A public invitation to podcast guests, and who would you like to have in the show? [1:00:52]
Part 3 — Lightning round [1:01:47]
- How do you deal with digital clutter? [1:01:59]
- What does your daily commute look like? [1:02:38]
- Two ways to start your day. [1:04:03]
- What does your ideal morning routine look like? [1:04:42]
- When do you get your best ideas? [1:05:36]
- Quitting caffeine and alcohol - Self-imposed restrictions, delaying gratification, and willpower. [1:07:21]
- A healthy relationship with technology. [1:11:27]
- A recent purchase of $100 o less. [1:18:13]
- What's your take on clothing? [1:19:10]
- nono.ma/items. [1:20:34]
- Book recommendations. [1:21:57]
- How can people connect with you online? [1:24:46]
- How did it feel to be interviewed? [1:25:37]
- Outro. [1:27:02]
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Theme song Sleep by Steve Combs under CC BY 4.0.