Looking at Apple’s New Journal App, Tracking Important Things in Life, 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 here.
Our First Look at Apple’s New Journal App »
If we were to dig deep into The Sweet Setup’s archive, you’d likely find our pick for the best journaling app to be one of the first ever app reviews we published. Day One is still the best journaling app available on the App Store. But there’s a new kid on the block, and we’re excited for the renewed energy for journaling.
Apple launching its own journaling app is sure to have lasting implications.
First, it acknowledges the benefits of journaling. One of the world’s largest companies has marketed the benefits of journaling and pointed folks to its newly created app for addressing those benefits. This can only lead to more people journaling than ever before.
Second, it provides new competition in an otherwise increasingly-stale space. There have been new journaling apps pop up here and there since 2010, but no app has ever really come close to Day One. A company like Apple putting some pressure on Day One should ensure Day One continues to strive forward and continue improvements.
Third, Apple’s new Journal app showcases a potential new route for Apple to take — one that opens up its in-house app capabilities to third parties. I’ll discuss more below, but opening up Journal Suggestions across iOS through a new API has enormous implications.
Let’s take a look at Apple’s new Journal app for iPhone and how it stacks up to one of the perennial apps on the App Store. The app has a long way to go, but it has some very intriguing elements to start.
Up Ahead Lets You Track the Important Things in Life »
How many days is it until your next trip? How about until your anniversary? Or maybe that movie you’ve been waiting to see comes out? You can of course put all of these events on a calendar and find them that way, but that doesn’t really make it easy to see how long it is until that thing happens; you still have to do the math yourself. I didn’t realize this was something I wanted in my life until I tried it, and now I use the app Up Ahead to track some elements of my life so that I always know how long it is until some important and fun events in my life.
The Ultimate Guide to Time Blocking »
Ever feel like you don’t have enough time to get everything done?
That’s a trick question (sorry). We all feel that way from time to time, but the real problem isn’t that we have too much to do — it’s in our approach to the time we have available.
Time blocking is a simple practice that you can use to regain control of your day and make sure that you are spending your time effectively on the things that are important to you. Using time-blocking, you can get to the end of the day and feel a sense of accomplishment instead of despair from only getting through 5 of the 25 things on your task list. By learning to choose the right task at the best time, you will actually feel like you have extra time to work with.
But it takes some practice and the right mindset.
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.
The CEO Who Had No Goals (Video) »
I recently heard a surprising admission from a very successful CEO:
He had never set personal goals in his life.
When we were talking, I struggled to believe him.
This is someone who runs a successful market research consultancy and has been in business for 25+ years.
He is like the exact kind of person who you would think has everything together. How could he have not set some personal goals along the way?
Without goals, vision, and a concrete plan for your life, your energy has a habit of going in many directions at once, some positive, some neutral, and some negative.
How to Do a Personal Retreat in Obsidian »
Yes, you need to take consistent action to achieve your goals. But if you lack clarity on how those items on your task list fit into the bigger picture, it’s easy to lose motivation and get bogged down in busywork.
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.
Notion Habit Tracker: The ultimate guide and template for 2024 »
Habits are the compound interest of self improvement – James Clear
This time of year, everyone is talking about goals. And New Years Resolutions. And Progress. And taking over the world.
Over here at The Sweet Setup, we’ve been talking about habits a lot. Because without healthy habits, your New Years Resolutions, Goals, and plans to take over the world will most likely fall pretty flat.
In James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits, he talks about the importance of how good habits help you not only to play the game, but to actually win the game. But how do you know if you’re winning the game, unless you’re tracking your progress?
Enter Habit Trackers.
The 2024 Clear Action Planner »
The new Clear Action Planner just dropped!
This is your place for ideas…
Your place for dreaming big…
Your roadmap for focusing on your goals…
Your tool for showing up every day…
But most of all, a place for connecting the dots of your “vision level” stuff into the daily actions that will help you make it happen.
It’s a digital planner, designed for the iPad or Remarkable tablets, and it’s the perfect combo of analog and digital productivity tools.
You’ll have a single, searchable solution that handles everything you need to be productive and creative.
Interesting Links From Our Friends and Around the Web »
- (Daring Fireball) Coming to Grips With Apple’s Seemingly Unshakable Sense of Entitlement to Its Commissions From Third-Party iOS Apps
- (Six Colors) How I automate Focus Modes to keep distractions to a minimum
- (Mac Power Users) #727: The Productivity Field Guide
- (MacStories) BenQ ScreenBar Halo: Lighting Your Entire Desk Setup
- (Christopher Lawley) I Used Vision Pro
Design Your Ideal Weekly Schedule
Free → Video Workshop + Productivity Templates
If you want to reduce the busywork and distractions, then sign up here for instant access to a brief video workshop on How to Plan Your Week.
♥️ Quick Note: You’ll get access to the workshop, plus a few additional bonuses to help you overcome procrastination and deal with distractions so you can spend more time on the important work that matters.