How Kevin learned to stop worrying and love the Paper doc

[Amy]

How Kevin learned to stop worrying and love the Paper doc

Updated on November 30th, 2022: 

Not happy with your Spotify Wrapped? Whether you have an embarrassing amount of 80’s hair rock on the list, or you regressed to your 16 year old playlists, or you’re surprised to learn you listened to that much Adele - now is the time to take action. Check out how Kevin on the Dropbox team used Paper to make sure he keeps discovering new music. 

I used this template last year, and not only am I now one of the many who proudly share their Spotify Wrapped on Instagram, I also went to some great shows this year of bands I never would have known about last year.

Check out Kevin’s tips below, and if you have any other great ways to use Dropbox to improve your day to day life, we would love to hear it in the comments below! 

Original post:

You’ve seen how some of us use Dropbox to keep our lives organized, and we’re back with a timely habit builder/music exploration cheat sheet from Kevin, the resident rock climber, music discoverer and CX Program Manager. I will definitely be stealing this one! Let him know what you think in the comments below.

In 2019, I noticed in my Spotify Wrapped last.fm Year in Review that I had been listening to the same few bands and albums for the last 3 or 4 years. I needed to diversify, and I needed to keep an organized history of what I liked and disliked from the new music I found. 

The aim was to listen to 365 new pieces of music (singles, albums, EPs all counted) over the course of the year, but to also track what I’d listened to already. Turns out, it also helped introduce me to more ambient and instrumental music that I wouldn’t have sought out before - Grouper, Stars of the Lid, Mogwai and a whole load of un-spellable or pronounceable Icelandic stuff.

I worked out a three-point scale:

😁= I will listen again

🙂= I might listen again

😒= never again

With a fourth reserved for my favorites. 😁😁😁 

boygenius, The Mountain Goats, Bombay Bicycle Club, Bonny Light Horseman and Phoebe Bridgers achieved this rating.

As 2020 progressed, every ordered process that made up my day to day life was crushed into a cube and left to be collected. At times of great stress and upheaval in my life, I tend to set very easily achievable tasks to add some rhythm and continuity to my life. Mid-2020 I decided to create a twitter thread where I posted an album I love every day until the pandemic was over (lol) or until I got my brain back in order (lololol) or until a year passed  . 

I used Paper to track all of the albums I posted, so I wouldn’t post the same one twice. The thread is gone, but Paper lives on, and the entire thing can be found in a Spotify playlist. It turns out Paper is perfect for tracking and sharing links and recommendations with friends, without inviting trolls. 

Now I’ve moved on to using Paper (and Dropbox) for even more personal project work. I’ve recently bought a load of instruments, and I’m using Paper to track my progress in learning to play them, and holding myself accountable for missing days of practice.

The plan is to use some extended time off in the near future to record some music for the first time in years, and use Dropbox folders and Paper documents as the base for this project, with a calendar using the timeline tool, tables documenting recording progress, links to writing materials and notes.

Thanks Kevin! I wasn’t joking when I said I’d be stealing this, I’ve been listening to a new album while posting this - and will be using Paper to track my own new listens. I have a feeling Kevin’s name will be next to an album on my list soon too! It might even reach the fabled level of 😁😁😁

Do you use Dropbox to track personal habits, progress or streaks? Tell us all about it! 

[purplesquirrelmedia]

Great Article!

[Graham]

What an awesome idea, I'll definitely be stealing this one. I tend to listen to a lot of 90's playlists and as a result, this year I had LeAnn Rimes and Backstreet Boys in my Top 5 artists in my Spotify Wrapped. While I can't deny they are responsible for some of my all-time favourite guilty pleasures, it was a bit of an eye opener for me. I definitely need to diversify what I'm listening to. So, thanks for the tip, Kevin! Here's to some awesome new music in 2023 and (a little) less reminiscing to the 90's nostalgia!