Time Tracking on the Mac, Making a Minimalist iPhone Home Screen, and More

April 26, 2024

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Automatic Time Tracking with Timing on the Mac »

We’ve been extolling the virtues of time tracking on this site for years. We even have a video course that teaches you how to do it.

But one of the most common complaints we hear is that it just seems too fiddly. People just don’t want to have to manually click buttons to start and stop timers.

Fortunately, with Timing, you don’t have to.

In this post, I’m going to show you how to set up time tracking rules in Timing that will allow you to track the time you spend on your Mac automatically.

Using Blank Space to Make a Minimalist iPhone Home Screen »

According to recent statistics, the average American checks their phone 344 times per day (about once every four minutes).

And before you say, “other people may struggle with this, but I’ve got it under control,” I dare you to go into your Settings and look at your Screen Time stats.

The truth is, we all struggle with this stuff. And the deck is kind of stacked against us.

As Jake Knapp & John Zeratsky (two ex-Google engineers) say in their book Make Time:

“When we use our smartphones to navigate an unfamiliar city, or have a video call with a friend, or download an entire book in mere seconds, it’s like having superpowers. But by default, we don’t just get the best of modern technology. We get all of it, all the time. We get futuristic superpowers and addictive distraction, together, on every screen. The better the technology gets, the cooler our superpowers will become — and the more of our time and attention the machines will steal.” — Jake Knapp & John Zeratsky, Make Time

The book makes a compelling argument for being intentional with our technology. (It was one of the major inspirations for starting the Mindfulness category here at The Sweet Setup when I first read it several years ago.)

Roundup of Notion’s Latest Features

ICYMI, we are pretty big Notion fans over here. One of the things we love most about Notion is how rapidly they implement new updates and changes to their app.

Over the past 6 months, they have added several major features to the app and its functionality. And they also launched a Calendar app.

In this article, I will be reviewing some of the newer updates that have hit the internet.

Crafting My Obsidian Daily Questions Journaling Shortcut »

I’m a big fan of digital journaling for personal growth, but I’m not a big fan of most journaling prompts that tend to focus on what you accomplished during the day. So for years, I’ve been using a different type of journaling in Obsidian called Daily Questions.

In this post, I’ll walk you through setting up the Shortcut I use to streamline my daily journaling process at the end of my day.

Scheduling Every Minute of The Day (April Focus Digest) »

Welcome to April!

This monthly digest is for folks who want to create a more ideal schedule, get organized, and stay in control of the things that matter.

If you are new to the digest… here’s what to look forward to the first week of every month:

A short article on a single concept around focus
Links to interesting or related articles from our corner of the internet
Upcoming events and resource spotlights for our Focus Club Members

If this sparks any ideas I’d love to hear from you!

The Ugmonk Gather Desk System: A Comprehensive Review »

The more folks push to work from home and the more we switch our time to working at a desk, the more important our desk workspace becomes. Every industry is like this! If you’re a carpenter, your truck, trailer, and tools matter. If you’re a painter, your brushes and paint choices matter. If you’re a developer, designer, or knowledge worker, your workspace matters.

The PKM Stack: A Simple Framework for Making More of Your Notes & Ideas »

It kind of drives me nuts when people talk about “PKM apps.” I understand what they mean, but the truth is that PKM is a system, not an app.

Trying to use a single app for PKM is destined for failure. In this article, I’ll explain why and share a simple framework for thinking about personal knowledge management that can help you get more out of the notes and ideas that you put into your PKM system.

Interesting Links From Our Friends and Around the Web »

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