I love me some Obsidian, but one of Obsidian's weak spots has always been it's Shortcuts support (or lack thereof). That's where Actions for Obsidian comes in. »

One of the things I love about Obsidian is that it offers support for callback URLs. For example, you could include a link to a specific note inside of a task in Things or a link to an email message from your Daily Notes in Obsidian. In this article, I'll show you a couple of ways you can connect things in Obsidian to other apps. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including the new To Obsidian and Beyond course, some FAQs around the course, Obsidian, and PKM systems, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a nerdy workflow on managing projects with Alfred and Obsidian, using simple daily prompts for Day One entries, and more. »

Drafts has long been the place that text starts on my iOS device. But lately I've been doing a lot more in Obsidian, and was looking for a way to get that text into Obsidian easily when I was done. While this is pretty straightforward using a cloud service like Dropbox to sync your vault, I then began wondering if I could do something more than just dump my text files into a synced folder. »

Obsidian will be adding the ability to use properties in notes soon, and we look at how they work and compare with Notion. »

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. »

We can imagine you may be on the fence about Obsidian and about the new course. There are a LOT of apps out there fore note taking, researching, writing, etc. Will this course be helpful to you? Is Obsidian the right app for you? »

We don't think you should be held back from the benefits of an app like this simply because you're not sure how to set it up or use it. Here is a full list of all the modules and lessons inside the new Obsidian course. »

Another powerful use of Obsidian is as an outlining tool, but if you’re used to other outlining tools like Workflowy, or even Roam Research, outlining in Obsidian may feel a bit limited. However, there are a couple of plugins that will allow you to enhance the outline capabilities of Obsidian, and in this article, we’re going to show you how to set those up. And if you prefer to watch a short video instead, we’ve got you covered. »

I've been reading news sites and blogs voraciously for as long as I've had the internet, and sadly, I've lost most of that reading to time since I never captured it properly. What really resonated with me back in 2013? I have no idea, but I sure would love to go back and see that today. »

Obsidian has some basic support for tasks built in. But if you rely on notifications for when to do what, then you're going to need a dedicated task manager. Fortunately, there's a Todoist plugin for Obsidian that allows you to have the best of both worlds — you can capture tasks into Todoist directly and get notified on your devices when it's time to do a task, but you can also embed those tasks into an Obsidian document so you can associate them with a particular project. In this video, I'm going to show you how to use the Todoist Sync community plugin to embed tasks using Todoist's filters in Obsidian. »

When I first started using Obsidian, I expected it would help me make connections between my notes and inspire new ideas. But over the last 12 months I've been using the app, I have also fallen in love with it as a writing tool. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a multi-post series on using Obsidian as a custom task management system. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including some tips on using Notion's new Button shortcuts, a Shortcuts app for Obsidian, lots of WWDC news, and more. »

One additional aspect of task management, which we have yet to talk about in Obsidian, is the ability to trigger system-wide notifications on your Mac, which can take you straight to the task that you need to complete. This works exactly like any other notification that you might get from a dedicated task management app like OmniFocus or Things. But it's pretty cool that you can set this up inside of Obsidian and combine it with the Obsidian Tasks plugin to create these notifications and even mark things as complete from Notification Center on your Mac. »

Matter is a Read-It-Later service that integrates really well into Obsidian. So if you like to collect your newsletters, RSS feeds, and even Twitter threads into Matter, you can sync your digital highlights and notes into Obsidian using the official Matter Obsidian plugin. »

In this video, we're going to expound on the foundation of task management basics and show you how to create queries that allow you to look through your entire Obsidian vault and return only the tasks that meet certain criteria. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including an exciting announcement about our latest upcoming course, some tips for using Obsidian, and some awesome links. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a lot of great information about using Obsidian, some interesting links, and more. »

Notion can be a pain in the butt. It can also be the greatest thing ever. Here is how we are using Notion to build and ship our upcoming Obsidian course. »

I'm a big fan of the mindfulness I gain from journaling, but have been searching for years for the perfect set of prompts that could completely eliminate the friction from my daily journaling workflow. I've tried many different prompts (and many different apps) over the years, but have settled on a practice called Daily Questions which has just clicked for me. In this post, I'm going to share how I implement my Daily Questions inside of Obsidian. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including some tips on boosting your productivity, some interesting links about recent Apple announcements, and more. »

Obsidian version 13 introduced a new editor engine that allows WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) text editing called Live Preview. It's a pretty big update, and in this video, we walk you through how to set it up and how it works. »

I've been using Obsidian as my writing app for the past several months, and I absolutely love it. In addition to giving me a great Markdown writing environment, the community plugins allow me to craft my ideal system for tracking my writing tasks well. In this article, I walk through my system and the plugins I use to manage writing projects in Obsidian. »

We’ve written quite a bit about using Obsidian to manage notes and ideas over the last couple of months. We’re even hosting a workshop on getting up and running with it TOMORROW. But today the Obsidian team released the Obsidian mobile app, giving you all the power of the desktop application on your iOS or […] »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a workflow for splitting notes apart in Obsidian, automating custom document creation with Drafts, and lots of great links. »

Obsidian is a phenomenal notes app, but with a few free community plugins installed, it can become pretty much whatever you want it to be. In this article, we're going to show you how to install community plugins if you're not familiar with the process and share some of our favorites. »

Here are the things we published this week and last. You can also stay up-to-date by following us on Twitter and RSS. Also, we have a weekly email newsletter that sums up all the new and cool things published to the site. If you like to stay up-to-date via email, then you should sign up […] »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at how Josh's setup has evolved and changed to support his productivity and creativity, a roundup of awesome Obsidian plugins, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a summary of our thoughts on Apple's latest announcements, an update to our Obsidian, Roam, and LogSeq comparison article, and more. »

The all-new master-course for Obsidian users (new and old alike). Finally organize your notes and ideas to make creative output easy. »

Obsidian is a great application for storing all my notes and documentation about things in my life. One of the things I love about it is the ability to link to notes and even have those links do things when I click them. This means that I can easily jump to a project plan document […] »

Readwise is a (subscription-based) web service that lets you save highlighted text from digital books, web articles, and even Read-It-Later services like Instapaper and Pocket. You can review your notes and highlights inside of the Readwise service, but you can also connect your Readwise account to PKM apps like Roam and Obsidian. »

I've been spending time playing with infinite canvas apps lately, and there are a lot of great options available. In this article, we'll compare and contrast the features of each of these apps to help you choose the one that best fits your needs. »

Obsidian ships with some basic support for task management, making it a great option for creating a digital bullet journal. But in this video, we're going to show you how to take those task management capabilities to the next level with a couple of additional plugins. »

Obsidian is great at a lot of things, but quick-capturing text is not one of them. I prefer to quick-capture my text in Drafts and then send it to Obsidian using Drafts Actions. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including some times on using callback URLs in Obsidian, combating burnout, and several interesting links we enjoyed. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at customizing Obsidian into the perfect writing app, using Notion for time and task management, some new iPad review links, and more. »

Another essential component of a lot of dedicated task management apps is some sort of review functionality that can help you facilitate a Getting Things Done (or GTD) style weekly review. And this is just where you look at a project like this Obsidian task management project where I have all of these different tasks associated with the different videos in this series, and make sure that everything is up to date and correct. »

Ever feel like the notes and ideas you capture are going in one ear and out the other? If so, you’re not alone. Over the past year we have been getting a slew of emails from readers regarding better note taking, writing, and idea management (and the apps that put idea management on steroids). One […] »

Come watch the live stream as Shawn migrates from Ulysses to Obsidian. »

One of the most powerful features of an app like Obsidian is the ability to make connections between the notes that are in your library. »

In this post, I'm going to show you how I use Obsidian to facilitate a process I call a personal retreat to gain the clarity I need to take consistent action and regularly achieve my goals. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at outlining with Obsidian, using BetterTouchTool to customize your Stream Deck, and more. »

A lot has changed in the last year or so since we first published our side-by-side comparison of Obsidian and Roam Research. So we went back and updated everything to reflect the major changes in the apps. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at Josh's Ulysses writing workflow, setting up Obsidian as a full-blown writing app, installing fonts to iOS, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at the new Big Widgets in iPadOS 15, kanban in Obsidian, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a workflow on how to connect and transclude notes in Obsidian, a detailed look at how Quick Notes work in today's betas of iPadOS 15 and macOS Monterey, plus some extra goodies. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including an in-depth comparison between Craft and NotePlan 3, a workflow for visualizing data in Obsidian, a reader's setup interview, and more. »

The promise of apps like Obsidian and Roam Research is to give you a tool for connected note-taking. With this approach, you can see the commonalities between your thoughts as your notes bump up against one another, allowing you to see connections and discover new insights. These connections are usually represented in some sort of Graph View, which can look like a complex spiderweb of notes and ideas. »

Obsidian is a great place to practice time blocking because you can link your time-blocked schedule to your daily note. In this video, we're going to walk you through how to set up time blocking in Obsidian using the Daily Notes Core plugin, and the Day Planner Community plugin. »

Here is an exciting housekeeping note for all those who’ve been following along with us the past few months related to all things Obsidian… Next Tuesday, August 3, our brand-new, in-depth Obsidian course will finally be available… To Obsidian and Beyond This brand-new Obsidian course is for those who believe that the curation and organization […] »

The appearance of the interface is controllable by CSS code, but fortunately you don’t need to be a web developer in order to customize the look and feel of Obsidian using Community Themes. In this post, we’ll walk you through how to install and use a new theme in Obsidian. And if you prefer to […] »

One of the things that makes Obsidian unique is the ability to extend its capabilities with third-party plugins. In this post, we share a bunch of our favorite Obsidian plugins to help you take your personal knowledge management game to the next level. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at using Notion to organize your Christmas lists, going through a personal retreat organized in Obsidian, the Tools & Toys Christmas Catalog, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including an update to our PKM primer, a look at the all new properties in Obsidian, and more. »

While there are lots of apps doing lots of interesting things with notes right now, by far the two most popular options are Roam Research and Obsidian. In this article, we're going to compare these two connected note-takers and help you choose the right one. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at collaboration methods in Craft, using Drafts to quickly capture things for Obsidian, and some interesting links. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including some thoughts on running Microsoft Office programs in Parallels instead of the native macOS versions, using Obsidian for timeblocking your day, and lots of great links. »

Obsidian is great for Mac nerds like me who like to do everything from their keyboard. In this video, we’ll show you how to access commands from the Command Palette and set custom hotkeys for triggering commands using keyboard shortcuts. And if you prefer the step-by-step written version, read on. The Command Palette There are […] »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a workflow for automatically adding Kindle book highlights to Obsidian, a look at Timery on the Mac, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a new quiz for finding the right task manager for your needs, a nerdy how-to for appending text to Daily Notes in Obsidian using Drafts on iOS, and more. »

Obsidian is a great place to take and keep your notes, but by adding a Home note that acts as a dashboard, you can really transform it into a productivity hub. And in this video, that's what I'm going to show you how to do. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at how Chloe uses Notion as her PKM system, a comparison of LogSeq with Obsidian and Roam, a look into a great Mac menu bar utility, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at Josh Ginter's work setup, using Todoist with Things, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a review of the Planck keyboard, some tips on customizing keyboard hotkeys in Obsidian, some interesting links, and more. »

Ever feel like the notes and ideas you capture are going in one ear and out the other? If so, you’re not alone. Recently we have been getting a slew of emails from readers recently regarding better note taking, writing, and idea management (and the apps that put idea management on steroids). One person shared […] »

Obsidian is a great place to keep meeting notes. But there are a couple of best practices, which can make your meeting notes more effective. In this video, we walk you through setting up a meeting notes template and how to use it in Obsidian If you prefer the written version, read on. Setting Up […] »

One of the key things you need to understand about Obsidian if you really want to make the most of it is the concept of atomic note-taking. The basic idea is to break down your notes into the smallest possible pieces, which allow them to be linked together and makes them visible inside the Local […] »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at how personal retreats work, some ideas for using Notion as a gift list, and more. »

Dataview is an incredibly powerful plugin that allows you to filter data in your Obsidian vault in a lot of really cool ways. In this post, I’m going to show you how I use it to create a table of book ratings from YAML metadata. Don’t worry, it’s not as complicated as it sounds. Here’s […] »

Templates in Obsidian are a great way to jumpstart creating a new note. In this post, we’re going to show you how to set up and use a couple of different types of templates in Obsidian. If you’d like to see it in action, here’s a short video from our upcoming PKM course: If you […] »

Catch up on what we published this week, along with some awesome links from our friends. »

Catch up on what we published this week, as well as links from all over the web about the new iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watch that Apple announced earlier this week. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including the three waves of productivity, tweaking your productivity systems for busy seasons of life, and more. »

With the rise of PKM tools comes an interesting dilemma. If set up well, your PKM can house all the information you need to know about a project that you have committed to completing. However, what happens when you need to access the files that correspond to that project? »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at Mike's method for creating a minimal iPhone Home Screen, some of Notion's latest updates, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at Chloe's Notion setup for habits, a tip for collecting and sending links, an upcoming Obsidian workshop, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a review of the Ugmonk Gather product lineup, a look at Mike's PKM Stack methodology, and more. »

Like Josh, Matt, and Jeff did previously, today I'm going to share a handful of my favorite productivity apps that are essential for how I work. »

Catch up on what we published this week, as well as a look at the newest photo sharing service, Things 3 updates, Obsidian, and more. »

If you don’t believe personal knowledge management (PKM) isn’t in a hayday right now, go check out ToolFinder.co. You’re going to find the very best apps for note-taking, emailing, calendaring, to-doing, and producivitying across the wide internet. The list is long and the pocketbook requirements deep — you can spend a ton of money and a ton of time building out a system that works for you. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at some of our favorite, must-have apps for iPhones, iPads, and Macs, sending highlights from Matter to Obsidian, and more. »

Obsidian is a great place to do your digital journaling, thanks to the Daily Notes core plugin. But with the addition of the QuickAdd Community plugin, you can quickly capture journal entries into specific categories using the Command Palette. In this video, I walk you through how to set everything up and use it for daily journaling. »

Catch up on what we published this week, along with some great links from our friends around the web. »

I’m Mike Schmitz, a full-time creator with a YouTube channel, multiple podcasts (Bookworm and Focused), and a frequent contributor here at The Sweet Setup. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at the new Logitech MX Master 3S mouse, organizing your writing with Ulysses, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at a mindfulness meditation timer app, some great links from our friends, and other stuff we found interesting. »

We made the transition to Notion as a team in August 2020 and we've never looked back (mostly). We use it for all of our projects, dashboards, and most, importantly our editorial calendar. »

I've been thinking a lot about Personal Knowledge Management lately and the path information takes as it enters and exits my PKM system, and I've noticed that information tends to fall into one of three buckets »

Omnivore is one of the newest, and probably one of the most underrated read-it-later services out there. Many of us know about Pocket, Instapaper, Matter, and Readwise Reader, but Omnivore deserves to be in the conversation as well, as it does quite a few things very well, and even better than the rest in some cases. And it does all this completely for free. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at how to run shortcuts from your menu bar, and more. »

In this Mindfulness Monday post, Nick Milo of Linking Your Thinking joins us to talk about note-making, idea emergence, the hold of the screen, and breaking free of rigid systems Meet Nick Milo Nick Milo is the creator of the Linking Your Thinking YouTube Channel, where he makes a lot of helpful videos about using […] »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a review of Twelve South's latest iteration of the HoverBar, a look at how Mike uses Obsidian and daily questions for journaling, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at what Raycast Pro has to offer, what it takes to use Notion as a Personal Knowledge Manager, and more. »

There are two very distinct periods to my year: tax season and not-tax season. The not-tax-season season continues to get more busy, but there’s still quite a drop off from the prior high-stress period of the year. With each passing deadline between April 30th, June 15th, and June 30th, the demands of the season progressively subside. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a review of the AirPods Max from a parent's point of view, some links to great reviews for Apple's latest products, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a non-traditional approach to task management, a nifty wireless numpad, and more. »

If you have a Mac, iPad, or iPhone, 2022 is going to be fun. Here are a few apps we recommend installing on your Mac, iPad, and iPhone to kick off the 2022 year with the best foot forward. »

Today, I’ll show how I’ve adapted Mike’s “Cultivate” and “Connect” steps into something I can use to help advise clients each day. It’s not a 1:1 adaptation, but I’ve been surprised by how many similarities have popped up. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a roundup of voice memo apps, using DEVONThink for managing and annotating PDFs on your iPad, and more. »

Here are the things we published this week and last. You can also stay up-to-date by following us on Twitter and RSS. Also, we have a weekly email newsletter that sums up all the new and cool things published to the site. If you like to stay up-to-date via email, then you should sign up […] »

Catch up on what we published this week, including some links from the September Wanderlust Apple event from earlier this week. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including an upcoming webinar on freeing yourself from overwhelm, a roundup of several popular infinite canvas apps, and more. »

There is a plethora of note-taking and research-tracking apps available for the iPhone, iPad, and the Mac. Currently popular ones, like Obsidian and Roam Research, are tremendous for storing research and making connections between your discoveries. Others, like Apple Notes and Bear, excel at collecting all sorts of media types, including text, photos, URLs, and handwritten snippets. And still others, like Drafts, whip text and automations together to form ultra-fast workflows on your devices. »

Catch up on what we published this week, as well as some of our favorite WWDC coverage from the week. »

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. »

When we hear the word “Productivity,” we all picture something a little bit different. Some people simply think “getting things done,” while others immediately start thinking about the seven different apps they use to be productivity. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at Apple's new Journal app, some great links on Apple's Vision Pro system, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at Up Ahead for tracking upcoming events you're looking forward to, a guide to effectively using time blocking for productivity, and more. »

In this post, we'll show you everything you need to know to start time-blocking yourself and feel like you just got more hours in your day. »

We've heard from Matt and Josh on which apps they consider irreplaceable for their workflows and productivity, and now it's my turn to pull back the curtain. These days, a lot of my work happens on a work MacBook Pro that is fairly locked down. The IT-managed operating system presents some challenges when it comes to finding a good productivity balance, and these apps meet my needs on my work device and personal devices too. »

When it comes to a lack of clarity, the solution is to take the time to get clear on what matters so you can stop spending valuable time spinning your wheels. One of the ways to help you get clarity is to understand how information flows into and out of your productivity system. So in this post, we're going talk about crafting your productivity workflow so that you can handle anything life throws at you. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at using Matter in a browser, a review of the new Studio Display, and more. »

When I discovered Microsoft's relatively new external Number Pad, I thought I might be able to morph the great built-in M1 Pro MacBook Pro keyboard with the functionality of a portable number pad that I could take anywhere. »

Today's Apple event lived up to its teaser name by showing how Apple is delivering peak performance across their entire product line. Whether it's their more affordable iPhone or their latest desktop machine, speed was a core part of the sales pitch everywhere. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including an update to our review of the best calendar app for iPhone, some great information on picking a planner that fits your style and needs, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including our brand new planner for 2024, some great tips on using Apple Notes, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including some tips for getting the most out of Apple Notes and Reminders, some interesting links from our friends, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including some tips on using Smart Folders in Notes, the latest version of Reminders, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at how to save highlights to different note-taking apps, a new PKM player called Heptabase, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at Mimestream for Gmail on macOS, the latest PKM tool on the market, and more. »

One of the newest apps I discovered was Heptabase, a research-specific PKM app that uses a more visual approach to presenting your research and learning. Heptabase uses whiteboards, sections, and mind maps to connect your thinking and has unique PDF features that will be sure to catch the attention of professors, graduate and doctorate students, and more. »

Announcement time! Today, we are opening the doors for enrollment in our all-new Focus Booster: Ideas-to-Action. Ideas-to-Action is a series of LIVE online workshops happening inside our membership community. You will double your creative output with a simple system for organizing — and acting on — your ideas. If you’re brimming with ideas but struggle […] »

I’ve tried just about every time blocking method out there. I’ve done it Fantastical (my calendar app of choice), followed Shawn in planning my day using GoodNotes on my iPad using a custom template, experimented with time blocking in Obsidian, even crafted my own analog bullet-journal-based hybrid productivity system. For the past 6 months or […] »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at Readwise's new RSS tool, simplifying your apps, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including some guidance on reducing the number of apps you use, a look at the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at the new Onyx Boox Tab Ultra for hand-written digital notes, and more. »

Traditional wisdom says you should set a goal and work towards achieving that goal. On the surface, there's nothing wrong with this concept. But there are so many variables in the mix with goals that it makes them difficult to achieve and troublesome to keep front of mind in most work-life scenarios. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at de-cluttering your digital life, getting fit with Peloton, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at an upcoming workshop, a workflow for creating pseudo-user profiles, some interesting links, and more. »

A while back, we surveyed hundreds of people about their biggest obstacles when it comes to creativity. The thing that we kept hearing over and over again was , "I don't know what to do with all these bits and pieces." »

In 2020, when quarantine hit, I bought myself a row machine. And when I do my workouts, I like to learn new things by watching videos. »

Right now you can get the entire TSS course library, bundled together, with a generous discount. »

This is how I’ve set up my Ulysses app to fit my various writing adventures. I’ve worked to keep it simple and dumbed-down. This ensures it doesn’t require a lot of mental overhead to keep organized, and it ensures my brain is on the writing rather than the meta. »

When it was announced during the September iPhone event, I immediately thought that the sixth-generation iPad mini was the star of the show. New iPhones are cool and all, but this iPad mini seemed like it was tailor-made for how I was (and wasn't) using my iPad Pro. I ordered one before the end of the event, and having used it for a month now, I have to say this is by far the most fun I've ever had with an iPad. »

Alfred recently got an update to version 4.5. This update is a pretty big one, adding a Powerpack feature called Universal Actions which allows you to take text, URLs, or files and perform actions on them directly using a dedicated Alfred Universal Action hotkey. »

The productivity space has been going through a bit of a revitalization recently, and maybe surprisingly, it’s note-taking apps that are causing the bulk of this excitement. Solutions are sprouting all over the place lately, with things like Roam Research, Notion, Obsidian, Bear, Craft, RemNote, Drafts, and oh yeah, Evernote, occupying a considerable amount of […] »

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. »

How to use an idea development system to prime the creative pump and set yourself up for success when it's time to create. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including an updated Notion Habit Tracker for 2024, updated reviews of the best calendar apps for Mac and iPhone, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including an update to our review of the best calendar app for macOS, an in-depth comparison of the latest version of Bear and how it stacks up to Apple Notes, and more. »

It’s time we compare Apple Notes and Bear once again. Apple Notes vs. the new and improved Bear has made for some interesting experiments over the last few weeks. Perhaps our findings below will help others dial in their note-taking app choice once more. »

This is the most affordable way to access every resource we have for living a more focused, productive life. »

Now through Monday only, you can get an all-access pass to every course, workshop, and resource we’ve ever released. »

This Black Friday, we’ve got something special for you. »

We share our best tips and templates for getting started with Notion and also cover the basic elements and common use cases for getting the most out of it. »

I officially joined the Blanc Media team in September of 2021. When I joined, I had some understanding of productivity, habits, focus, and all of those exciting things. But when I first heard the term “PKM” I drew a blank. What the heck is PKM? Over the last two years, my understanding of what PKM is has grown quite a bit. I realized that PKM (Personal Knowledge Management) is not just for the super-nerd or the information hoarder. The concepts within personal knowledge management can be utilized by anyone, and at the end of the day it’s about doing more creative work. »

Let's dive into what makes Notes so good. We’ll provide a few simple quick tips of things that make any Notes experience that much better, as well as the latest features coming to Notes in iOS 17. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at eliminating inbox addiction (aka, the "just checks"), creating margin for your thoughts, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a process for determining priorities to avoid overwhelm, the merits of Reminders, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at Mike's time blocking system for the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra, Shawn's tip for creating a clean and distraction-free email inbox, and more. »

Do Not Disturb is a 3-part live online workshop that gives you a system for unlocking creative momentum and shutting out the distractions that derail your most important work. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including our ultimate guide to using Do Not Disturb on iOS and macOS, some advice on using your time and attention, and more. »

There’s been a battle brewing over the past year or so between Matter and Readwise Reader over which is the better brand-spanking-new read later service. Here at The Sweet Setup, we try to pick the best apps and services in every category we can, but the TSS crew is split on this one, so today Josh and Matt are going to make their case for why they prefer each of these apps. »

Interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) has exploded in recent months, due in large part to the popularity of ChatGPT. While the technology is still evolving, there's no denying the impact that it's already having on the world around us. In this article, we're going to look at how to leverage AI to boost both productivity and creativity. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at using AI for real-world tasks, some great productivity apps, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at how digital and analog tools compliment each other for a productive workflow, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including some tips on quick-capture in Notion, connecting Notion databases, and more. »

If you’ve been around here at all or are a fan of the Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) world, you’re no stranger to the term “Quick-Capture”. Quick Capture is an essential component of a good PKM system. Since Notion is my go-to app for pretty much everything, I’ve worked out a few ways to create a good system for quick capture in Notion. »

What’s so great about relational databases? We have been big fans of Notion for a while now, and relational databases are what makes Notion, well Notion. If you had a lot of organized spreadsheets next to each other that would be great, but in Notion your organized spreadsheets talk to each other. Relational databases connect […] »

This week, we are kicking off our next Focus Booster inside the community. And it’s a Complete Guide to Margin. How to go from busy and overwhelmed to…. not busy There are only two ways you can restore margin to your life. And they’re actually quite simple… As part of our upcoming Margin Reset — […] »

A while back, I reviewed the reMarkable e-ink tablet. There's a lot to like about this incredibly thin tablet: it's thin and light, has incredible battery life, and offers a great writing experience for a digital tablet. But the software was lacking, and I found myself consistently bumping up against the limitations of the device in frustrating ways. »

Rewind.ai is a pretty incredible new tool for Mac users that bills itself as the search engine for your life, and that's really not a bad way to describe it. »

If you’ve ever tried to learn something new or up-level in an area of your life, but fizzled out… then we’ve got just the thing for you. 🚀  This week we are starting something new inside the Focus community membership: Focus Boosters Focus Boosters are community-led, themed challenges to help you up-level in a specific […] »

Introducing Focus Accelerator: Your all-access pass to every course, workflow, and recourse in our library. This all-new program is launching with a special promotion for Black Friday. »

Building systems is a borderline addiction of mine. There is something fascinating about building a process for inputs to travel through and the problem solving required to make it happen cleanly and efficiently. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at using Alfred to launch and hide apps with hotkeys, some iPhone 14 Pro and Apple Watch reviews from our friends, and more. »

Small actions taken over a long period add up to a significant amount of progress. This is no surprise, and it's something we hear time and time again. But it's normally mentioned when someone is trying to motivate you to add small, daily actions that will bring you great benefit later. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at how Notes in iOS 16 stacks up against third-party notes apps, some great links from around the web, and more. »

Here’s a roundup of iOS 16’s latest features for Notes, and a quick look at what we’re going to see in iPadOS 16’s Notes soon. »

When I first saw the reMarkable 2, I immediately saw the appeal from a mindfulness perspective. In this Mindfulness Monday post, I consider the pros and cons of "the world's thinnest tablet." »

GoodNotes recently updated its pricing structure to allow new users to get a better grasp of the app before fully committing to the $8 purchase price. Now, you can create your first 3 notebooks inside GoodNotes for free. »

At its heart, Bunch is an app launcher and quitter that uses plain text files to tell it what to do. It can do much more, so if you want to be super nerdy, you can get really deep into automating workspaces with Bunch. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a great deal on all of our courses, a photo essay centered around the new MacBook Pro, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including apps and gear for the holidays, creativity freewheel, and more. »

Here's an inside look at my entire writing process: How I take things from idea to written draft to final published article. »

There are certainly an endless supply of powerful and impressive Shortcuts out there for iOS, but that doesn't mean they all have to be that large or ambitious in scope. Shortcuts is just as useful for small, tedious tasks that only cut out a few taps from a workflow. One of the shortcuts I use every day is a simple Email link to spouse flow that simply formats the current webpage link into a pre-addressed email for me to send. »

App categories seem to go through rainy seasons and dry seasons — an entire category will go years without any major update, any major splash, or any major new competitor, then suddenly the entire category is uplifted from its roots and the cobwebs get shaken out. It’s quite the phenomenon to observe. »

Last week, I presented a paid workshop here on The Sweet Setup called Your Creative Flywheel. In the workshop, I walked through the process that I use for creating (I call it The Creativity Flywheel). Here's a quick recap. »

Blocks are the very core of Craft. They provide countless ways to format, structure, and build out your documents. They can take numerous forms, from text, audio, video, PDFs, sketches — there is very little Craft can’t handle thanks to its block-based system. »

Catch up on what we published this week, as well as tips on automating home lights, using the new iPad Globe key in iPadOS 15, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including some tips on time blocking, using Shortcuts with Timery, and more. »

Here are my first impressions of time blocking, some app and workflow anecdotes, and how I think I can create a cool productivity cycle in my life. »

It’s been awhile since our pick for the best productivity app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac received a notable update. Over the past year or more, Things 3 has slowly evolved under-the-hood, becoming one of the most stable and reliable apps available on the App Store. But Things 3.14, though a small update in relation […] »

Back in December, I outlined how I studied course material for a major exam using Craft Notes. There were many positives, a couple negatives, and a whole bunch of naivety at that time. Craft Notes is still one of my favorite new apps of the last four or five years, but it didn’t end up sticking as well as I thought when the real studying began. »

In our productivity flywheel, the fourth stage is to celebrate your progress. But sometimes this feels counterintuitive or inconvenient. Because when we want to be super duper productive, we often think that speed and efficiency are what matter most. Thus we get stuck in a loop of doing, doing, doing... without ever pausing to celebrate. »

Time tracking is something that yields really useful results, but it can be a pain to do accurately. I tried to do it manually for a long time, but after spending three consecutive days "reading" due to a stopped timer, and realizing how much of the rest of my data was completely inaccurate, I could see I needed a better approach. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including some tips on using MindNode, Mike's Idea System update, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a primer on PKM systems, a look at how Josh Ginter uses his Traveler's Notebook, and more. »

Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) is all the rage. Here's what you need to know to make the most of your PKM and do your best creative work. »

Catch up on what we published this week and last, including an interesting workflow for capturing ideas, using the iPad for education, an update to Streaks, and more. »

It's fun for me to find new and better ways to do things - especially if it involves Apple-branded technology. I love trying new apps and making my devices dance. But with everything going on in the world the last couple of months, I've also found it to be especially difficult to navigate emotionally, which is a big reason why I’ve started doing a lot more with pen and paper. »