Yeah, it's a weird little niche, but by God, it's my niche.

I get some of my best ideas while out walking.

When something good hits me, I'll use Siri to make a note so I don't forget.

I've seen Leonardo Da Vinci notebooks which are filled with tiny, messy scrawls written in mirror image across the page. I'd love to know how he kept all his projects going at once.

I always have a ton of projects in mind. On my ToodleDo list, I divide projects into those I'm actively working on, those I'm not doing but believe I will do, and those that sound good, but who knows if I'll ever get to them.

I specialize in science and history, with a special emphasis on including do-it-yourself projects in the mix. My dozen or so books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies. I'm also a contributing editor at Popular Science and at Make Magazine.

I think it's important to associate with positive, upbeat people.