Fantastical just got a HUGE update to version 3. There's a ton that's new here, including a more polished user interface, improved scheduling tools, and an updated pricing model. »

Version 3.6 introduces Fantastical Scheduling, which is a fantastic implementation of two powerful scheduling tools: Openings and Proposals. »

The latest version of Fantastical debuts iOS 12, Siri Shortcuts, and watchOS 5 support to ensure everything works properly on the latest iPhones and Apple Watches. »

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. »

The all new Fantastical 3 offers a huge number of new features and a whole host of new actions for Shortcuts. These make doing some actions that would otherwise require you to fine tune the native calendar shortcuts much easier, and easier to integrate into your workflows. »

Through happenstance, I accidentally discovered the ability to time-block my day using simple drag-and-drop between Things and Fantastical on the Mac. »

The transition from listing out all your tasks to putting them into your calendar has long been an annoyance of mine. Long list of tasks, check. Time blocking habit in a calendar, check. But how do you seamlessly transfer tasks to your calendar without manually inserting each task in its own block? Enter Fantastical. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including all new reviews of the best calendar apps for Mac, iPhone, and Apple Watch, some tips on automating your calendar, and more. »

The best calendar app for the Mac was updated this week with a range of enhancements and improvements to continue its pursuit of perfection. »

Fantastical released version 2.1 today, which includes new snooze functionality, keyboard shortcuts, and more. »

One of the things that makes the new Fantastical app so great is that you now have features like Calendar Sets available on all your devices. There's a big emphasis on parity and bringing all the formerly Mac-only features to all platforms, but that doesn't mean that there's nothing new for Mac users. »

You can select the information you want to see in the Today view from Fantastical. »

You can choose different default apps for opening links and maps in Fantastical. »

Habits change. Inspiration comes and goes. Workflows spring up and taper off. But for me, time blocking never changes. Time blocking has become fundamental to my work day, ensuring I have chunks of time to complete tasks and ensuring my colleagues know what I’m up to. Time blocking structures my day. Time blocking blocks out extra meetings. Time blocking pushes me forward. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including some great tips on staying focused while working from home, a look at an open-source text expansion app called Espanso, and more. »

With Fantastical for Mac, you can create different groups of calendars for keeping your various personal and work calendars organized and easy to switch between. »

You can easily view your main calendar in Fantastical while creating new events. »

Fantastical 2.5 brings 3D Touch and iOS 9 support. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at building habits, a nifty Fantastical feature, some insight into using Notion to track habits, and more. »

Fantastical 2.4 brings lots of goodies to the best calendar app on macOS. »

Catch up on the things we published throughout the week, including our Fanstical for iPhone review, the PencilSnap from Twelve South, an update to Scanbot, and more. »

The new version of our favorite calendar packs goodies for all iOS 10 users. »

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

Catch up on what we published this week, including three apps we are trying out, a review of a smart light switch, and more. »

Daily Notes became a hallmark feature in Craft in short order. The quick and easy ability to create a note, specific to a calendar date, that could be linked and back-linked across your entire Craft database made the feature a perfect option for collecting digital paraphernalia. »

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. »

A list of apps we consider absolutely essential for every iPhone, as well as a range of apps that are simply better than their first-party counterparts made by Apple. »

Quick links to the articles and reviews we published this week. »

In early September, I put myself up to the task of converting all my third-party apps in these categories to Apple’s own stock apps. After a few months, it's time to check in and see what Apple apps made the cut over my favorite third-party apps. »

Recent updates to Fantastical, some new players in the calendar arena, and more. »

No matter how you use your Apple Watch, there’s always a better third-party app to complete the task at hand. These five Apple Watch apps will really help jump-start your new Apple Watch and get you hooked on the quality and utility of third-party apps. »

Josh Ginter is a Deals Editor and Reviews Editor for Tools & Toys, freelance photographer, a podcaster and writer for his site, and is currently working toward his accounting designation. »

Several fantastic apps are sale for the next few days, and these are a few that we heartily recommend, even when they're not on sale. »

Chris is a Digital Media Specialist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) where he works with a team to produce and deliver high-quality digital content. »

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. »

How did I find success in turning my 2021 New Year’s resolutions into habits? A combination of resolution adjustments, self forgiveness, stricter scheduling, and a few handy apps for good measure. Here’s how I did it. »

Autumn means new iPhones, but it also means new iOS and iPadOS drops. With a push of a button in Cupertino, your year-old iPhone and iPad can feel brand new again. And though many are touting this year’s iOS and iPadOS updates as relatively iterative, there are certain features that are sure to be daily-use features in the months to come. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a tip on using Fantastical on your Mac, a review of the Bellroy Work Folio, and more. »

Flexibits, the makers of our favorite calendar app, Fantastical, launched Cardhop today, a brand new app designed to manage and interact with your contacts in a whole new way. »

Colin Gold is a Hospitality Consultant who specializes in helping traditional industries improve their customer experience. »

Steve Goslin is a Solution Delivery Manager at Dynamit, where he works on awesome projects in the Columbus, Ohio area. »

iOS devices make great gifts, and we have a list of fantastic apps that help you get the most out of your new iPhone or iPad. »

Our favorite note-taking app for iOS, a setup interview of an Apple Consulting team, a tip on using Fantastical, and more. »

Illya Starikov is a full-time Computer Science student by day, and (still) a full-time Computer Science student by night. »

An unordered list of the most noteworthy updates to our favorite apps »

A look at some popular apps and updates, thoughts on the best iPad keyboard setup, a quick tip, a Sweet Setup interview, and more. »

Preshit Deorukhkar is the founder and editor-in-chief of Beautiful Pixels, and also founded Homescreen.me and Smoking Apples. »

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. »

Here are some of our favorite Lock Screen widgets thus far. »

As Matt so wisely put last week, we’ll quickly run the risk here of replicating each The Sweet Setup contributor’s must-have productivity apps. By the end of this little series, you’re likely to see a few commonalities, such as Notion, Fantastical, Ulysses, 1Password and perhaps Things. Each of these apps rock in their own right. And we as a group have a great taste in productivity apps. »

If you want to customize the look of the home screen on your iOS 14 device here are our top picks for the best home screen widgets. »

I’ve spent the last week or so switching things back to Apple’s stock apps from the best third-party apps in the industry, and I’m going to give them a shot for as long as I can. Here are a range of initial impressions and frustrations in making the switch. »

Gerry Hayes owns Haze Guitars in Dublin, Ireland, where he builds and repairs guitars, writes books on guitar repair and maintenance, and also runs Sketchy Setups. »

Liam Byrnes, originally from Cornwall, England, works for All Nations training leaders, writes his own blog, and stays active on Twitter and Instagram as he travels. »

A reader's Mac and iPhone setup, a tip about using Fantastical on your iPhone, and more. »

Ryan Cash is the founder of Snowman, an app development studio in Toronto best known for Alto's Adventure. »

Here is a running list of our personal favorite apps on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The are the apps we, The Sweet Setup staff, use day in and day out for work and play. »

In this article, I’m going to share two very important things for how to use your calendar: why your task list should be on your calendar, and how to get it there by using time blocking »

Katie Floyd is a litigator in Central Florida who co-hosts the Mac Power Users podcast on 5by5, writes her personal site, and also writes for ScreenCastsMonthly and Macworld. »

Myke is a podcaster and British gentleman who produces and hosts a selection of shows on 5by5, including The Prompt, CMD+Space, and many more. »

Quick links to the articles and reviews we published this week. »

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. »

When it comes to productivity and focus, I have a secret weapon — a book that I never see anyone talking about. Now, I know not everyone is a nerd about planning, scheduling, and setting goals, but there is a book by J.D. Meier that's just fantastic. »

When you create a productivity system or find a new app, the goal needs to always be the same. Does this system or app serve me and my goals? I am definitely guilty of spending time perfecting my system to the point that it becomes so rigid that it’s unusable. Or I just end up […] »

I recently came across a fantastic little utility called Open In that allows you to modify the default application for browser, email, and call links. Yes, there are other apps that have done this sort of thing in the past, but Open In is built for Apple Silicon and does a whole lot more than any other app like this that I've seen. »

My wish for an M1-powered MacBook Pro came true in October 2021, of course. And then some — not only can these new MacBook Pros drive two external displays, they can drive four displays, all while fast-charging, reading and writing directly to SD cards, and more. These new MacBook Pros are indeed dreams come true and I had to have one. »

Nate Dunn runs a cycling coaching company from Sacramento, CA where he works with cyclists to analyze and improve their training to reach their goals. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a new review on the best calendar apps for iPad, a look at a new app for monitoring and cleaning your Mac, and more. »

Shortcuts is a wonderful app, but it can also be overwhelming. Today, I'm going to show you 15 one-action Shortcuts you can create, and let's be honest — with one action, there's not a lot of work for you to do! »

If you’re willing to make some adjustments to your method of carry, the Moment lenses are a fantastic ecosystem, built around the photographic intelligence of the smartphone you already have with you. »

Tiffany White is a frontend software developer and course instructor, and also writes her own blog that focuses on software development. »

There are a handful of various tactics and systems I use on a regular basis to ensure that the important areas of my life are getting the time and attention I want to give them, and I'll be sharing them with you. »

1Password on the Apple Watch is a fantastic tool for your security toolbox – it helps ease the friction of 2-factor authentication, can be opened and updated quickly, and sometimes it’s just nice to put some text on your wrist to reference in the moment. »

Josh Ginter describes his workflows and uses for Day One, and how that sometimes means that Bear steps in to fill certain gaps. »

Tom Garry is a primary school Deputy Head and Teaching/Learning Lead based in South London. »

Agneev Mukherjee is a connoisseur of fantastic Mac and iOS apps, recently graduated from high school, and lives in India. »

Paul Morris is the Director of Development for Elevate Oregon, and has worked in nonprofit fundraising for almost 25 years. »

I find when I use my calendar to plan my weeks, I’m improving in two areas. One, I’m more honest with myself. Second, I’m better at recognizing the importance of rest and play. »

Here are a few things we published this week, including a fantastic and detailed look at photography workflows for the iPad. »

The Christmas season is a time that many of us unwrap new iPhones, iPads, and iPods. Anytime I get a new device, I always take a look around to see if there are any new apps that can help make my mobile computing life better. »

Stefan Elf is a passionate media and UI designer, programmer, lecturer, and photographer who runs his own web design agency. »

Chad Landman is a youth minister (pastor), independent designer, and podcaster living in the middle Tennessee area with his wife and two sons. »

Our favorite OS X launcher app, the setup of a world traveler, a tip for Apple TV remotes, and much more. »

Several of our top picks for apps in the productivity genre are on sale right now. »

SWEAT is a fantastic app for stay-at-home workouts that offer plenty of variety and motivation for all skill and endurance levels. »

Aaron is a freelance designer specializing in logos and icons, a writer of fiction, and a producer of paper goods. »

Dr. Drang is a consulting engineer by day, a scripter/blogger by night, and a benevolent snowman on Twitter. »

Rene Ritchie runs iMore, a website dedicated to all things Apple, and co-hosts a bunch of podcasts for Mobile Nations. In his spare time he practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. »

Casey Liss is one-third of the Accidental Tech Podcast, with his friends Marco Arment and John Siracusa. During the day, he's a developer and corporate stooge, working at a small consultancy in Richmond, Virginia. Here's a look at his iPhone Home screen and his essential apps. »

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. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at some great lock screen widgets for iPhone 14 Pro (Max), must-have productivity apps from our team, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at Josh's must-have apps for productivity, some apps for using ChatGPT on macOS and iOS, and more. »

By applying the atomic notes concept to Shortcuts, you can use common shortcut actions in other shortcuts so you don't have to copy and recreate these common actions manually. Running a shortcut from within a shortcut is a fantastic way of streamlining your shortcuts collection while also making it easier to maintain. »

Josh Ginter is a CPA located in Morden, Manitoba, Canada, where he also serves as the managing editor for The Sweet Setup. »

We're big fans of Things, OmniFocus, and all sorts of task managers here at The Sweet Setup. While the task manager app is certainly an important choice and cornerstone of any healthy GTD practice, it's also less important when compared to the practice itself. While we've already written the proverbial book on using Things for managing your tasks, we're also keenly interested in how other task managers accomplish similar goals and meet the needs of millions of people across the globe. »

Cardhop has been my preferred contacts app since it came out. There’s nothing wrong with the native contacts app on iOS or macOS per se, it’s just not that great. Adding and updating contacts requires lots of clicks or taps, and it never felt like a good place to start trying to contact someone. This […] »

Tiffany White a software engineer from Swatara Township, PA. »

2020 was hard enough without having to think about all the usual holiday stresses, but we're here to help! Here is our annual list of great apps and gear to get you through the holiday season in one piece. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a roundup of great app subscriptions, an overview of Apple's Hi, Speed event, and more. »

Ten of the top app (and cloud service) subscriptions as voted on by TSS readers. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a reader's YouTube production setup (with only an iPad!), a collection of iPad apps that feature fantastic trackpad support, and more. »

2019 was an incredible year for gaming on the iPhone and iPad. Many of us who pay attention to this market had sadly begun writing off the App Store's gaming section as fading into obsolescence, thanks to the glut of “freemium” titles that lure you in with flashy visuals and addictive gameplay before using every trick in the book to nickel-and-dime you into the ground. »

James Langston is a stay-at-home dad who also runs a pet and house sitting service, coaches soccer, and writes his own blog. »

Jack Bishop is an Aerospace Software Engineer, iOS Developer, and just finished studying part time for a degree in Software Engineering. »

Airmail on macOS has some fantastic filtering features that help you stay on top of your inboxes. »

1Password is fantastic for storing login credentials and secure notes, but it's also well-suited for providing a digital will for you family and loved ones. »

Justin Hamilton is a first-year student at the University of Delaware where he studies computer engineering, writes music, and also takes pictures. »

If you unboxed a new Mac this year, it's easier than ever to get started on it. »

Kris Rojas is a Media Producer for a company headquartered in Virginia, and is also a Star Wars enthusiast, horror film aficionado, freelance cinematographer, and an online student enrolled in the Digital Cinematography program at Full Sail University. »

Jowanza Joseph is a software engineer at OneClickRetail in Salt Lake City, and also writes his own site about technology, photography, and other cool internet content. »

Jordan McMahon is a personal trainer by day, and a freelance writer and photographer in his free time. »

Bodo Tasche is a former CTO from Berlin who is currently working on a project to create a crowd-sourced sign language dictionary, and also hosts a podcast called Bits of Berlin. »

Jose Joaquin Torcida Fernandez is a commercial technician and freelance graphic and web designer in Alcala de Henares, where he lives with his wife. »

The best iPhone 7 cases, a reader's Mac and iPhone setup, some holiday tech tips, and more. »

Ludovic Bubner is a native French speaker who has been living in Taiwan for 13 years as a French teach, and also writes and translates during his free time. »

Danny Henke is a freelance web and graphic designer at Beardy Guy Creative, an avid science fan and amateur astronomer, and writes at Beardy Star Stuff. »

Loren Stephens is a Senior Account Executive for a commercial equipment finance company in Orange County, California »

Sam Schmitt is a current sophomore at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he studies Civil and Environmental Engineering, learns iOS and web development, and writes on his blog. »

The OS X and iOS public beta programs are fantastic for trying out new version of the OS before it releases, but you can easily un-enroll after they release. »

Zach Dyson is a freelance graphic designer from Melbourne, Australia, and is also an avid photographer and soon-to-be podcaster. »

BizDevCon is a native Austrian doing business development with high-tech American companies and European clients. »

A Mac and iPhone setup, a tip about Apple Watch message replies, and lots of app updates. »

The best calendar app for Mac, a Mac and iPhone setup, a quick tip on podcasts, and more. »

A new calendar app, a reader's setup, a tip about iMessages, and more. »

Many great app updates are shipping this week. We are collecting a list of the most notable updates and the best new apps for iOS 8. »

An update to our favorite iPhone calendar app, OS X Yosemite beta, a sweet setup, and more. »

Nik Fletcher is a part of the Realmac Software team in Brighton, England who make Clear, Ember, and more. »

David is a content strategist and writer who runs the marketing and PR for AgileBits (1Password), and also runs Finer Things in Tech. »

Our pick for the best password manager, some great apps on sale, a sweet setup interview, and a quick tip. »

Calendars are in a weird metamorphosis period right now. How we use calendars is changing, this is clear. But where calendars are going is hard to pinpoint — we’ve seen calendar apps with to-do lists, AI integrations, and even full-on email applications built in. I’m not sure I can stand here and define what the winning calendar combination will be. »

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. »

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. »

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 review of the best calendar app for iPhone, some great information on picking a planner that fits your style and needs, and more. »

In this article we are going to tackle the criteria for a good planner. We’re also going to give you some of our favorite planners to recommend and what makes them so great (for both physical and digital planners). »

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. »

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. »

Today, we’re going to look at a few apps that I find absolutely essential to my work, but we’re not going to dwell too much on the typical apps that everyone mentions, or that you’ve heard us talk about at length on The Sweet Setup already. »

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. »

I can point to a sequence of events that led directly to my current hybrid productivity setup. It started last year when I attended Focus Course Academy. One of the mini-lessons nestled in the middle of the academy was a crash course in time-blocking. In hindsight, time-blocking is so obvious. If you want to ensure you get something done, it needs to be part of your calendar. But actually time-blocking isn’t all that obvious. Do you do the time-blocking in your digital calendar? Do you buy a physical notebook and sketch out each day? »

When you are creating your “ideal productivity system” you need to keep one thing in mind. Your productivity system needs to serve you and your goals. »

We love Alfred here at The Sweet Setup. It’s been our go-to app launcher for the Mac for years, and it’s hard to believe, but it’s been 11 full years since Alfred 1.0 hit the scene and took over as the app launcher of choice for nerds like us. »

Recording your screen and sharing it with others is something that's always been useful, but it's only accelerated as so many of us have been physically separated from our teammates over the past few years. There are dozens of options out there for recording your screen, but two of the best and most interesting options for Mac users are Loom and CleanShot X. »

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. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at how we use Notion at Blanc Media, a quick review of a great menu bar wallpaper app, a tip on using Siri to send voice messages, and more. »

In one short swoop, the AirPods Max have nicely fixed my Madhouse distraction-maximalist home and my late evening television entertainment needs. I can now drown out most of the chaos swirling around when it’s time to work and I can enjoy a new level of audio when watching my favorite Disney+ shows. »

I’ve officially gone off the deep-end — after a year or two of trying out different mechanical keyboards, I’ve made the deepest of dives into the world of 40% keyboards. »

Catch up on what we published this week and last, and see which apps and tools we've been most thankful for while working from home. »

iOS 14 introduced Widgets to the iPhone, which has allowed for some very creative home screens to be created to suit an individual’s preferences and personality. Here’s a look at my current iOS 14 Widgety Home Screen, and the thought process that went into designing it. Remember Why You Came I don’t know about you, […] »

Widgets and custom app icons... »

Like many of you, I’ve been in and out of many task management systems over the years. I’ve used and loved all of the major players for macOS and iOS at different times as my needs have changed. But no task management system is ever perfect, which leads me to regularly try new things. »

Built by a team that's spread across London, Berlin, and Zurich, Meeter was created as a direct response to the mass shift of workers to online conferencing tools. They saw a pain-point, and built an awesome tool to make the problem easier to manage. »

We are excited to announce a brand-new timeblocking course, created just for the TSS community. Discover a simple and effective way to manage your tasks and your time. »

Kyle Bauman is the Associate Pastor of Discipleship & Students at Bear Valley Community Church in Colleyville, TX where his main responsibility is teaching and leading ministries for middle school, high school, and college students. »

With Ulysses at the center of your writing workflow, these example Shortcuts are sure to improve your efficiency and focus. »

Alex Tai is a student at Santa Clara University where he studies Computer Engineering and collaborates with others on ideas and new technologies. »

These days I do just about everything from the iPad. iOS and the iPad have helped me to slow down, simplify, and focus more on the task at hand — especially when that task is writing. »

I’ve gone all in with Apple Photos. And I’m going to tell you why... »

Kurt Van de Poel is an electromechanical engineering teacher in Amsterdam, where he teaches pupils how to build safe machines, draw electrical schematics, and program PLCs to control machines. »

Justin Kaplan is an energy consultant and entrepreneur in the health industry, based out of the Dallas, TX area. »

Jackson Hayes is a 17-year-old cinematographer, photographer, and sometimes front-end web developer who makes videos about technology on his YouTube channel. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including some great workflows for using 1Password with your Apple Watch, a tip on customizing Airmail, and more. »

After 3.5 years of using an Apple Watch every day, the new Apple Watch Series 4 is, without a doubt, the best Apple Watch yet. »

Ulysses 13 focuses on updating a few of these core features to bring more of your writing process into the app, as well as a few improvements for technical writers who need to showcase code blocks in their writing. »

Bear 1.5 introduces new Dieci and Ayu themes, a note archive, custom TagCons, special searches, and a range of other great features to our favorite note-taking app for iPhone and iPad. »

Josh Ginter is a husband, father, public practice accountant, editor-in-chief of The Sweet Setup, and also writes his own blog and produces a podcast. »

Toomas Särev is a cardiologist, leader, husband, dad of 5, granddad of 2, first-degree black belt in Traditional Korean Martial Arts (Kuk Sool Won), Harley Davidson motorbike enthusiast, Apple Gadgets lover, and productivity geek. »

iOS 11 introduced augmented reality support, and we've spent some time trying out the most popular ones. »

Jonathan Buys is a Christian, husband, father, verteran, writer, and developer working as a DevOps engineer with a small company that works with Amazon Web Services. »

David Hepworth lives in the UK, and is a YouTube creator who focuses mainly on Apple products. »

Graham Hind works for EP Books, a Christian book publisher based in the UK. »

A new series on apps we love, featuring TextExpander, a reader's Mac setup, a tip on using 1Password Travel Mode, and more. »

Gordon McLean is a business analyst by day, and a writer, blogger, and novelist by night. »

Steve Cholette is a full-time fire fighter and paramedic near Detroit, Michigan. »

David Koonce is an attorney who runs Traffic Counsel, LLC. »

Daniel Marcinkowski is a Junior Social Media Specialist at DaftCode in Poland, and also blogs and creates YouTube videos for his own site. »

The best simple list-making app for iOS and Mac, a reader's Mac and iOS setup, a tip on using stickers, and more. »

Wayne Chan is a student at Hangzhou Dianzi University in China, and he also does freelance and records a podcast with his friend occasionally. »

Belle B. Cooper is co-founder of Hello Code, a Melbourne-based software company that develops iOS apps, and she is also a freelance writer. »

Jeffrey Shih is an Emergency Room Physician and lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto with a specialized interest in Emergency Ultrasound. »

V.H. Belvadi is a postgraduate student of physics studying an extremely rare breed of variable stars, and also makes photographs and directs short films in his free time. »

Alok Singh is a senior at UC Berkeley where he studies Mathematics and is also interested in Computer Science, reading, and research. »

Kevin Taylor is an assistant professor in the Religion & Practical Theology Department of Pfeiffer University where he teaches undergraduate and graduate classes, co-hosts the Theology Cast podcast, and writes his own blog. »

Andrew Meyers is an Assistant Director of Admissions at Hope College, where he recruits students and also works on the office email and social marketing efforts, as well as the Admissions section of Hope’s website. »

Bret Foster is a Chief Information Officer for a school district in Kentucky where he oversees all technology and communications for the district, and evaluates the physical space in the schools to facilitate collaborative learning opportunities. »

Our favorite Wikipedia app for iPhone, a reader's iOS setup, a tip about Pinboard, and more. »

Brian Renshaw is a doctoral studies candidate, an instructional designer, and also runs a couple of his own websites. »

Jeff Sheldon is the founder and designer of Ugmonk, a design brand that sells products like leather goods, prints, hoodies, and other sweet accessories. »

A reader's Mac and iPhone setup, a tip about Dropbox, a new version of Reeder on the way, and more. »

Steven Wooding is a senior research leader at RAND Europe (Cambridge UK) and the father of two small boys and also co-directs the Policy Research In Science and Medicine unit. »

Sam Hall is the acting executive editor of The Clarion-Ledger in Mississippi, and also writes the Daily Ledes blog. »

Blake Cloutier is a fourth year Civil Engineering student, a Player Support Representative with Disney Interactive, and also works remotely for an animal supply company. »

An ergonomic setup, a tip on hard disk partitions, and much more. »

Shifts makes managing an irregular work schedule easy by creating shift types that you can easily apply to your calendar. Once you create the shift types, inputing your schedule is quick and simple. »

Jonathan runs the products team at a payments company in London, is interested in everything tech, especially in the mobile space, fascinated by the convergence of payments and mobile technology, and also an Apple addict. »

Brad Dowdy is a husband and father, and a pen addict and business owner that specializes in high-quality pen cases. »

Nate Boateng is a self-proclaimed tech junkie and also writes his own site when not spending time with his wife and sons. »

A tip on keeping Dropbox secure, an iPhone 6 setup, and some noteworthy links. »

Jamelle Bouie is a staff writer for Slate magazine, where he covers politics and policy, takes photographs, and sometimes goes on TV. »

Andrew Franciosa is a photographer living in Upstate New York where he runs his own studio that focuses on commercial and wedding photography. »

Conor McClure is a student currently living in Western North Carolina, days away from finishing a degree in music business, and writes conormcclure.net, where he talks about photography and technology. »

A quick tip, iPhone setup, and a great app development shop turns 7. »

Zach Slootsky is a photographer and restaurant owner located in Toronto. »

John Voorhees is a lawyer and developer living in the Chicago area with his wife and three sons. »

Automatic syncing of all our photos across all our devices is a problem still in need of a great solution. »

Nick is a freelance designer, occasional front-end developer, student at the Alberta College of Art + Design, and writes Pixel Envy in his spare time. »

Over the past 6 months, Notion 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. »

James Clear is the author of the book Atomic Habits, and we talk about making lasting habits with meaning. »

Notion AI Q&A is the key to unlocking a new type of productivity in our office. It’s effectively the executive assistant in the office, ready with a quick answer whenever you have a question or ready to find an update for something you know you worked on months ago. »

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

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. »

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. »

Tomorrow, we open registration for our flagship coaching program — Focus Course Live. »

Before embarking on this journey of creating the Ultimate Notion Habit Tracker, I did some research. There have been some great updates to Notion semi-recently (such as repeating tasks, templates, and improved buttons), and I wanted to take full advantage of them. I also looked around the internet to see what was out there and saw lots of great templates, including Notion’s own Habit Tracking template. »

This will be a live-online workshop hosted by yours truly. During the workshop, I will take you through the entirety of the Plan Your Year workbook. We’ve done this four years in a row now, and it is so much fun. (See for yourself in the P.S.) »

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. »

Over the past couple of months we have explored how to get the most out of the Apple stock apps. Apple has stepped up their game with the newest iterations of their stock apps (Notes, Calendar, Mail, Reminders…). In this article we are going to focus on the Apple Reminders app (with the updates from iOS 17). »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a list of our favorite books, creating custom planner templates in GoodNotes, and more. »

We are pretty avid readers over here. The books we’ve read have helped shape who we are as people and what our company values and offers to our customers. We all take time in our weekly routine to dive into some kind of book, be it a business development book or a gripping novel. We […] »

Apple’s built-in Mail app has become pretty feature complete over the years. Though the latest email features take a year or two to show up in Mail, most have made their way into the app — features like Send Later, Snooze, Undo Send, and more are now all in Apple’s default Mail app and available to all iPhone, iPad, and Mac users. »

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 what Raycast Pro has to offer, what it takes to use Notion as a Personal Knowledge Manager, and more. »

We’re adding a brand-new Notion workshop to the Ideas-to-Action Focus Booster (get access inside the Focus Club membership)! It's going to help you turn Notion into your own personal idea incubator so you can accelerate your creative work. »

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. »

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. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at our ultimate guide to using Apple Notes, setting up Apple Mail on iOS to be more efficient, and more. »

A few tips and tricks for improving the way you use the default email app on your iPhone and iPad. »

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. »

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 […] »

I've been a heavy user of Do Not Disturb as a way of eliminating distractions on my Mac and iOS devices for a long time. But if you don't want to completely block the outside world, the Focus modes feature built into macOS & iOS is surprisingly powerful. »

Do Not Disturb is a life saver. You can set it up on all your devices and it silences all your notifications. You can set it to turn on a set schedule, turn it on for meetings, or when you need to go “heads down” on an important project. »

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. »

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

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 Matt Birchler's top productivity app picks, some tips on using Hazel to organize your Mac, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including an update to our All The Things course, a look at Mike's productivity system framework, 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. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including an example for starting up and closing out your day with Sunsama, some tips on focus, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including some advice on margin, using sub-tasks in Notion, and more. »

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. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at a new habit tracker called Polar Habits, some tips on using sub-tasks in Notion, and more. »

Notion is constantly coming out with new features, which as an avid user, I greatly appreciate. One of the most notable new features is sub-tasks and dependencies. This is a fantastic new feature for those who work on a team in Notion, making it an even stronger contender with Asana. The dependency feature lets you […] »

Want to know the secret to creating new habits and sticking with them? Hint: It’s not Sunsama (though, as we’ll see, Sunsama can be a really big help.) There’s no app or workflow out there that will magically transform all your desired habits into actual habits. The key to developing habits is to perform the […] »

Catch up on what we published this week, including an introduction to Sunsama, customizing trackpad guestures in macOS Ventura, and more. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a quick look at using your iPhone as a webcam for your Mac, a look at designing an office for less distractions, and more. »

For anyone looking to improve their video image quality for video conferences without breaking the bank by buying a full mirrorless camera setup, Continuity Camera may quickly become your default video camera setup. »

I can’t imagine too many folks have too many opportunities to design their own office from top to bottom. The fit, the finishes, and everything in between. I had the chance to do so over the summer and, though stressful at times, it was a pile of fun. Our small accounting office worked out of […] »

In this article, I am going to go over how to create a wishlist and how to share it with others, which can be a bit more complicated and nuanced than you would think. »

You know how modern cities combat the whole “space” issue by building upwards, toward the sky? Turns out, there’s a lot of unlockable vertical space for humans to grow into. Same goes for your desk. »

Just under a year ago, Glass launched on iPhone, offering a genuine photo sharing alternative to Instagram. Glass launched to much fanfare — many folks (including myself) vowed to kick Instagram to the curb in favor of a fresh new start on a new and stylish platform. »

The Studio Display is one of the most giddy-worthy Apple products I’ve played with in a long time. Its design is impeccable, speakers deep and thorough, display bright and crisp, I/O usable and manageable. »

Matter is a relatively new read-it-later service that's been getting a good amount of attention, including several features here on The Sweet Setup. It may be simplifying history a bit, but the very broad strokes version of this market is that Instapaper popularized it, Pocket took it really mainstream, and Matter wants to do right by those of us who loved Instapaper but never really clicked with Pocket. »

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. »

One Switch lives in your menu bar and provides — you guessed it — one click access to a variety of settings. The app is customizable and even comes with hot key customization, ensuring you don’t even need to click to toggle certain system settings. »

If you want Windows 11-level window management on macOS, you’ll need a third-party app. Many folks like Moom or BetterSnapTool, but I use Magnet for window management on macOS. Best of all, Magnet goes far beyond what you find as default in Windows 11. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at a nifty macOS utility that lets you choose where to open links, a look at using Craft for blocking your day, 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. 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 […] »

The iPhone is a much more popular product than the MacBook Pro, so naturally the discussion around the iPhone X’s notch was much larger than the discussion around the MacBook Pro’s notch. If we were discuss them relative to one another, I think more words have been spilled on the MacBook Pro’s notch. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at Josh's new M1-based portable accounting setup, a nifty PopClip extension, some interesting links, and more. »

They say money can't buy you happiness, but sometimes it can buy you a little joy. »

A couple of weeks ago, we looked at the intuitive natural language input feature that Todoist has, which makes it easy to add new tasks to your lists. But once you have a lot of tasks to organize, Todoist can help you sort and only show relevant work based on filters that you define. »

Once you understand the ins and outs of what makes a block a block and how to link blocks together to both create documents and link your notes, you can begin to dive further into Craft’s more specific features. This week, we’re going to discuss Craft’s new Daily Notes feature. »

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 workflow for splitting notes apart in Obsidian, automating custom document creation with Drafts, and lots of great links. »

I’ve bounced around daily note-taking apps for the last 18 months or so. The search started with Roam Research, then moved over to NotePlan 3, and now rests in Craft. Each has its own intricate set of features and shortcomings, and I’m still not perfectly jumping for joy with any option. »

Asier G. Morato is the co-founder of Chubby Apps — an indie app studio from the north of Spain (Europe) who believes that technology should be easy to use. We make apps with a cute design that don’t need a user manual, are fully accessible, improve people’s lives, and also respect your privacy. »

If you had any inclination to think Apple’s pace of product development was slowing down during the global pandemic, today’s 2021 WWDC keynote event should knock you back into reality. At 1.75 hours, this was one of Apple’s longer pandemic-keynotes, but in the end we were left with a dizzying array of features destined for […] »

Capturing notes and ideas when you have them is important so that they don't fall through the cracks, but sometimes having to type out your note takes too long. You need something quick — a way to just offload what is currently on your mind so you can focus on what's in front of you. Voice memos are great for this, allowing you to speak your thoughts faster than you could ever type them. »

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. »

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

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. »

This is a video lesson from the Time Blocking module in our Simple Time Management course. Downloads:Timeblocking Cheatsheet (PDF) »Daily planner template (PDF) » In this video, we’re going to dive in and create a time blocked plan for our day. I’ll walk you through it by planning my day so you can see how […] »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at how TickTick is a great option for timeblocking your day, the difference between habits and tasks, and more. »

TickTick is a great app for creating a great all-in-one timeblocking system. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a post about increasing focus by reducing inputs, a reader's setup, and more. »

My name is Bart Kesner and I'm currently responsible for IT transformation efforts for a global engineering/consulting firm in the Kansas City area. This entails partnering with internal and external resources to analyze the delivery and use of products and services to enhance overall effectiveness, and lead teams to resolve any identified issues. Prior to that, I ran the Customer Experience program for a global manufacturing firm. »

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. »

It’s my education experience that has led me to believe the iPad is the world’s greatest learning tool. Ever. In the history of humanity. The iPad is humankind’s greatest educational achievement. »

Time blocking is something that took a while to click for me. I understand the concept of dependent tasks, and time restrictions well, and once the pieces fell into place it really became a game changer for me. »

I've tried to "quit" Twitter a number of times over the last few years. The experiment generally lasted a week (often shorter) and resulted in my return. That return often led me to dig my heels in even deeper. A month ago, I tried again. In the month since, I haven't yet scrolled through my Twitter timeline. Something is different this time around. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including our upcoming webinar on getting it all done, using Roam Research to time block your day, and more. »

Find out our simple, 3-part structure for combining habits, routines, and templates to your advantage. We'll show you how the pieces fit together and how they can save you time and allow you the breathing room you need in order to give more attention to the most important areas of your life in this season. »

In this post, we share how time blocking works, why you should consider using it to plan your day, and how my time blocking routine is supplemented by my use of Roam Research. »

Widgets can be a gateway into a more productive life, without the overhead of building new habits and routines. For me, they have significantly improved my life, and without much work beyond the setup and deciding where on my iPhone they should live. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a perspective on using Things 3 for writing, an upcoming Ulysses webinar, and more. »

For the past few weeks I have been experimenting with a Productivity Dashboard inside of Ulysses. Here's a look at what is good, and what's not good, about this setup. »

Today's iPhone 12 lineup announcements are a much more significant jump forward than I ever expected. »

iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 have debuted some handy and powerful new features, like Widgets on the iPhone and the ability to change your default email app and browser. Though Scribble may top Apple's list as one of the coolest new features for iPadOS 14, it's a particular use-case that appears to be limited in many ways. »

One of the questions that has come up during launch week has been around how the Calm Inbox approach can also help with the other inboxes in your life, so we put together a short list of answers to your most common questions. »

Catch up on what we published this week, especially our all-new Calm Inbox course. Take control of your email inbox so that you can spend more time on what's important to you. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including our new email course, a look at iOS 14's Universal Search feature, and more. »

As summer draws ever nearer to a close, it comes high time to review a bunch of the photos you shot over the summer. Whether you choose to edit, share, or publish the photos will be up to you, but I often find myself printing off my favorites each September, and I've been very pleased with how Artifact Uprising makes the intangible tangible on each print run. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look at how our Notion workflow is working so far as an editorial calendar, a look at a great app for launching all the various web conferences you have to join throughout the day, and more. »

We recently switched from Basecamp to Notion for managing our content calendar. After two weeks, here are some of our initial thoughts and experiences. »

The Everyday Messenger V2 clearly aims to address all of the V1’s shortcomings, while still maintaining what made the original EDM so great. The V2 largely succeeds. »

Each year, the tech experts advise all bleeding edge iPhone and iPad users to stay away from beta software. Developer betas — especially iOS 13 — were particularly buggy, and the iOS 13 public beta wasn't notably better. Of all years to put a bad beta taste in your mouth, 2019 should have done the trick. »

Last week, Apple announced a ton of stuff during their Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC). And even though they used a slide at the beginning that showed the major platforms (iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS), many of the announcements felt app-specific instead of platform-specific. For example, new features in Maps (i.e. cycling directions) are available everywhere. I lost count of the number of times I heard some version of the statement "this is also available on the (fill in the platform blank)." As a causal observer (I'm not a developer), it seems like there's a lot of focus on features being brought first into the Apple ecosystem, then extended to all the available platforms. »

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. »

Once every couple years, I find myself doing a deep clean of the apps on my iPhone and iPad. 2020 drew the short straw — in so many ways — and I've spent the better part of the last three months questioning each app on my home screen. »

Here’s a roundup of our favorite implementations of trackpad and cursor support so far, along with a few we’re hoping see an update sooner rather than later. »

Instead of going to Hawaii, we are staying home. My wife and I recently cancelled our 15-year anniversary trip to Hawaii. We’d been planning and saving for this trip since our 10-year anniversary. Alas, with the current state of the planet, we knew we’d have to cancel it, but we were putting it off. I […] »

Brian McCabe is based in Manchester, UK and works as a technology Consulting Director at a global professional services firm. »

One of the sad realities of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak is that social distancing is the new normal. Though it pains us to say it, we all have to face the fact that we're in this for the long haul. An interesting side effect of all this is that workforces around the world are now partaking in a “work from home” experiment of unprecedented scale. Millions of people are suddenly finding themselves trying to carve out the space and time to get their work done outside the office, with no friends or coworkers to chat with in person, all while dealing with the everyday distractions of home and making sure the kids — who are also now stuck at home — are fed, schooled, and generally occupied all day. »

You’ve probably already started the new decade hearing about Notion from somewhere. Whether it was on Product Hunt, your Twitter-sphere, or just people nattering about it at work, Notion is gaining attention all round the web as the new shiny productivity tool in town. With much anticipation, across the last two years, people have flooded […] »

Catch up on what we published this past week, as well as a couple of interesting posts and announcements that some of our friends made this week. »

Today, we are finally opening the doors on our brand-new course for idea development. The course — Mastering Mind Maps — is all about how to manage and develop your ideas. And it is fantastic. Get Instant Access Based Your Feedback and Input Many of you may remember last year when we asked about the […] »

As it turns out, Microsoft To Do may end up being the single biggest surprise in our jump to Office 365. Having all your tasks in one place, scattered in from Windows, iOS, iPadOS, and macOS — and being able to nicely integrate your dreaded email list with your task list — could be a game changer for anyone wanting to use a Mac yet required to use a PC. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a look back at the Apple stock app experiment, news about the latest MacBook Pro model, and more. »

Prizmo Go is a powerful app that instantly converts pictures of physical book pages into digital text, and combined with a research app like Keep It creates a magical workflow for managing your notes and research. »

Right now, in your pocket (or perhaps in your hand), you have access to the best-kept secret on your iOS device: An app called Shortcuts. The iOS Shortcuts app originally began as a third-party app, Workflow. Then, Apple bought it and re-released it in 2018 as Shortcuts — headlining it as a significant part of […] »

Darkroom for iOS 13 and iPadOS continues the app’s assault up the list of photo editors for Apple’s mobile devices. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a detailed look at the new iPhone 11 Pro, a novel app for using your phone less, an update to Postbox, and more. »

The iPhone 11 Pro is no mere iteration. This has been one of the biggest year-over-year jumps the iPhone has made in years. »

In this Mindfulness Monday post, we talk to video game developer and podcaster Shahid Kamal Ahmad about the steps he takes to stay out of the Infinity Pools and stay focused on what's important. »

Our brand-new course for GoodNotes is here. Featuring screencast tutorials as well as custom productivity templates. »

Like everything else Twelve South has launched in the last few years, their new StayGo USB-C hub finds a way to justify its existence — both in price and in differentiation. »

One of the ways I like to use Keyboard Maestro is to start different parts of my day, such as making sure all of the applications I use every day are started and ready as soon as I get to work. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a workflow on using Gladys, some great apps and gear for summer, and more. »

We've put together a list full of apps and gear (plus a bonus mention!) to help make your summer the best it can be. »

The iPad is no longer seen as just a bigger piece of glass. Apple is making a commitment to bring consistent, device-specific updates to the iPad. »

With the bevy of RSS app updates over the last few months, it was high time we gave our review of the best RSS app for the iPhone and iPad some polish. Over the last few months, we’ve seen some major updates to all the main competitors in this category: Unread has constantly been refined, […] »

Version 16 of Ulysses introduces some great new features for iPad users, plus several other goodies to note and try out. »

Josh Ginter takes a detailed look at Keep It and how to use it for research, keeping notes, and augmenting your brain as you learn about new subjects. »

The latest update to Moment Pro Camera introduces a couple of new features that aim to improve your focus and exposure game. »

With version 6, MindNode debuts a slew of new features and improvements for your mind mapping needs. »

There are so many great choices for note-taking and writing apps available today. Today we’re going to take a look at how each of these apps differ, how they're alike, and see where each shine. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including our updated Learn Ulysses course, a detailed look at Cardhop for iOS, some awesome tips, and more. »

Ulysses has a vast selection of themes to choose from. They also easy to install on both iOS and macOS alike. »

The renowned Flexibits natural language parser is now available in Cardhop for iOS, making finding, editing, and creating new contacts a breeze. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a detailed workflow on automating Ulysses in iOS, a review of the new HyperDrive USB-C hub for iPad Pro, and more. »

A detailed look at how Shawn Blanc captures ideas and links and what the process looks like for moving those from the starting line of an idea to the finished product of a published article. »

We rely on certain apps to get us through the mess and come out the other side with a plan. In today's roundup, we've gathered together eight of our favorite apps for outlining, brainstorming, planning, capturing, and tracking it all. »

Daryl Tan works in corporate finance during the day, and enjoys spending time with his family, reading, and writing for his own blog during his free time. »

We all visit Apple Stores, but many of us are unaware of the number of resources available. »

Just like with iOS, you can access and customize the Today View on your Mac to quickly review upcoming information. »

Josh Ginter is the Editor-in-Chief here at The Sweet Setup and also works as an accountant at a small accounting firm and is constantly working away at completing his CPA designation in the evenings. »

Jeffrey Abbott is the Senior Editor at The Sweet Setup, but works as a project manager by day and contributes to The Pen Addict as well. »

Rose Orchard is a programmer by day where she creates web-based applications, but she is also a writer and podcaster in her free time. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including an update to our review of the best habit tracker for iOS, a roundup of our reviews, tips, and tricks for using Ulysses, and more. »

If you're looking to do more writing as we begin 2019, I’d like to humbly suggest that you check out Ulysses. To help you get off to a great start, here are seven links to the best articles, tips, tricks, resources, and other how-tos that we have put together. »

This week we're trying Edison Mail, Kodex, and a Shortcut for extracting image URLs. »

We put together a list of some of our favorite gadgets, apps, tools, and toys that we've enjoyed using over the last year. »

Marty Day is an Integrations Engineer for Partnerize by day, and an on-stage co-host and producer for Super Art Fight, co-host of The Rough House Podcast, and owner of blast-o-rama. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a detailed workflow of editing and publishing video with and iPad, some tips on using Apple Configurator 2, and some great link material. »

Shawn Blanc provides initial thoughts and feedback on the new 12.9" iPad Pro as it relates to his personal workflows for writing and photo editing, and he also answers some questions from readers about the switch to the new iPad Pro. »

There are quite a bit of exciting things happening over the next week, and in this post we want to try and communicate everything with you. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including some great insights on iPhone photography, a reader's setup, a tip on Twitter usage, and more. »

Shawn and Josh discuss their favorite photo editing apps for iOS. The apps range from VSCO to Snapseed to Lightroom CC. »

How to use Halide and Darkroom together to make great photos. »

Special launch pricing for our 1Password course is ending tonight. »

A deeper look into the power of having 1Password on your wrist at all times. »

Catch up on what we published this week, including a tip on using Apollo for multireddits, using Shortcuts with Apple Music Mixes, and more. »

We take a look at a few Alfred workflows that we use, from weather info, movie reviews, and iTunes controls. »

Michael Wandl is a student at the Vienna University of Business and Economics, an amateur photographer, an Apple enthusiast, and a sneakerhead. »

With Shortcuts coming in iOS 12, we've taken a look at the various iOS apps we've recommended over the years to determine how compatible they are with Shortcuts. »

Losing your iPad can shine some light on just how much you depend on the device, which is just what happened to me recently. »

When we launched this website in the fall of 2013, we had just a handful of app reviews written: weather, calculator, calendar, and a few others. Of those first reviews, there was one in particular that I wanted to write myself: the pick for best journaling app. The pick was — and still is, of […] »

Stefan Elf is a freelance web developer, designer, and lecturer working in Sweden. »

A quick question and answer with Team Alto, the makers of one of our favorite iOS games ever created, Alto's Odyssey. »

Jeff Perry writes the Tablet Habit, co-hosts the Getting Caught Up podcast, and works as an audio engineer. »

In a significant update to Things 3, Cultured Code has added deep linking features that allow for new levels of automation and workflows for Things on iPhone and iPad. In this guide we will cover all the ways you can use these Things iOS Workflows to your advantage, plus we've got several examples and downloads for you. »

Mike Allan is a dispatcher at a local trucking company, a videographer, student of life, and constant tinkerer. »

Roger Ogden is a software engineer living in Boise, Idaho. »

Greg Maass is a software developer, musician, and father living in Seattle, Washington who has developed enterprise software for hospitals and universities for the past twenty years. »

This week, we published a review of the best stand-alone fitness app for Apple Watch, a reader's setup, and more. »

How to use physical books alongside Day One as a central commonplace book for all your ideas, quotes, thoughts, and highlights from your favorite eBooks. »

Today, the folks at Cultured Code released an update to Things that allows you to send emails to your Inbox. »

Joan Erwin is the Senior Vice President of Expansion Operations for CleanSlate Centers where she spearheads the expansion of patient care services. »

An update to the best app for making bootable backups, a tip on using iCloud Drive, some great resources on focus, and more. »

In partnership with our sister site, The Focus Course, we are kicking off a short video series on the topic of focus and productivity. »

Carbon Copy Cloner is easy to use and well designed, making the app great for all users alike. »

This week, we updated the review for the best music streaming service, wrote about Ulysses 12 for iOS, and published some great tips. »

Let's discuss five of the most common pitfalls that will limit your results and cause immense friction and roadblocks to your workflows and systems. »

Siri is the way of the future, and Chris has some tips to expand your workflows with voice automation. »

A review of the new iPhone 8 Plus, an update to our Darkroom review, a tip on using app launchers, and more. »

Andrew Canion is a business advisor based in Australia, and is also a director and treasurer for a not-for-profit organization. »

We can’t say thank you enough to everyone who has supported our work and helped to spread the word about Learn Ulysses. Here are some answers to a few common questions we’ve been getting over the past few days… »

Learn Ulysses launches in a week. Here are some fun and nerdy details about the work we’re doing behind the scenes to get things ready for you… »

A great universal app for note-taking, a reader's Mac setup, a look at Shawn Blanc's Ulysses setup, and more. »

Ulysses has become the central spot for where I store all my notes, research, and other tidbits of inspiration. It's also where I toss all my writing ideas, and it’s where I actually do all my writing. Here's what it looks like... »

This guide will show you how to manage your memories, your work, and your life — all using Evernote. »

Since I frequently highlight passages in Instapaper, I wanted a way to automatically add those highlights directly into a folder within Ulysses for easier searching, tagging, and referencing. Good news… this is extremely easy to set up. »

Dan Johnson is a professional architect working in Alberta, Canada, where he also runs a couple of personal blogs in his spare time. »

Ease of input and powerful search are two important factors in a good notes / research app. While many apps excel at one or the other, few excel at both. »

A review of the new 10.5-inch iPad, an updated review of the best PDF app for iPad, a reader's setup, and more. »

Ever wondered how much time you've saved through TextExpander? Well, TextExpander provides an easy way to review your statistics. »

Francesco D'Alessio is a freelance marketer currently working with technology startups out of Plymouth, UK. »

1Password makes it easy to review your passwords and determine which ones need to be updated. »

Bethany Stephens is a marketer and writer who lives in Arkansas with her family, and also writes a few of her own websites in her spare time. »

The best secure messaging app for iPhone, a reader's Mac and iOS setup, a workflow and tip on adding tasks to Todoist, and more. »

Using Zapier, you can automatically send starred Slack messages to your Todoist inbox. »

The best app for blocking telemarketers, robo-callers, and spam calls, a reader's Mac and iPhone setup, a tip on adding tasks to Todoist, and more. »

With Todoist Premium, you can email tasks to specific Todoist projects along with due dates, labels, and priorities. »

Tiffany White is a student at the University of Pittsburgh where she studies Computer Science by day and works as a freelance developer by night. »

Digitizing and organizing your receipts using Scanbot and macOS make it easier to prepare your taxes so you have more time for more important things. »

A new pick for the best simple to-do list app for iOS and macOS, a tip on restoring files to iCloud Drive, a reader's Mac and iOS setup, and more. »

A great list of must-have apps for your new iOS devices, a reader's Mac and iPhone setup, a tip on using Workflow for easy access to your Music playlists, and more. »

Using Workflow, you can set up easy access to your Apple Music playlists from the Today view. »

Asier G. Morato is the chief editor of El Imperdible, a lifestyle website from Spain that talks about shopping, culture, travel, and gastronomy. »

The 2016 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is a giant progression in the Apple portable line, and there are many exciting new features to consider along with the higher price. »

Matt Gemmell is a Scottish novelist living in Edinburgh with one book published (CHANGER) and another in the works. »

Some things you should do for your non-techy family and friends this holiday season. »

Andy Young runs a site called Country Digest — an educational website that provides information about different countries around the world. »

The best habit tracking app for iOS, a reader's Mac and iPhone setup, a tip on using Byword for Mac, and more. »

Paul Westlake lives in Bedfordshire and works as a Solutions Consultant for a digital learning solutions company, and also runs his own photography business. »

Chris Powell is a professional technologist and IT Manager for the College of Business and Economics at Western Washington University, and also spends his time on several freelance endeavors. »

Todd Henion is an airline pilot, flight instructor, and also a dad and PTA president. »

Apps and gear for summer, a reader's Mac and iOS setup, a tip on using SongShift, and more. »

You can quickly export playlists from Spotify to Apple Music using this great iOS app. »

Summer’s in full swing here in the US, and whether you're trying to make memories while traveling, enjoying food and drink with loved ones, or even if you just need ways to pass the time, we've got some app and gear suggestions that may help you out. »

Brian Baggett is a cloud management architect for Sovereign Systems in Norcross, Georgia where he helps companies build hybrid clouds and embrace automation at the enterprise level. »

Paul Williams is a Manager of Student Administration at the University of South Australia where he manages 6 teams spread over metro and regional South Australia. »

Nicholas Cole-Farrell is the Director of Technology at The Brandeis School of San Francisco, a K-8 independent school in California, USA where his passion is empowering students, teachers, and staff with tools to grow their understanding of the world. »

With OS X, you can control what level of access certain applications have to your data. »

Kyle Plattner works as a developer with a team in Central Illinois developing an iPad app that maps real-time field data for farmers called FieldView Cab. »

The best online, collaborative document editing suite, a readers Mac setup, a tip on using QuickTime, and more. »

A review we published last week, a tip on using Narwhal, a reader's setup, and more. »

Here are a few things to help you get the most out of your Spring Break vacation. »

Jeroen Laven is a student living in Utrecht where he is working on his masters in Contemporary Art, and he also writes a blog called Visuology. »

A look at our latest review on iOS email apps, a tip on using Markdown, a reader's Mac and iPhone setup, and more. »

Josh Medeski is a front-end developer at a small (but successful) start-up in Houston called Medology, is also a freelance writer and speaker, and also has a podcast called One Intentional Life. »

A look at some of our favorite games and utilities for the Apple TV. »

Danny Ngan is an art producer at Glu Mobile, and also a freelance photographer in the Seattle area. »

Ezra Pilpus is a photographer living in Brunei Darussalam, where he runs We Shoot Souls and raises his new baby daughter. »

Brandon Green is a product manager by day and a songwriter/producer by night, and lives in mellow (but surprisingly fun) Salem, MA »

Our favorite professional-grade iPhone calculator, a tip about OS X and iOS beta programs, a reader's setup, and more. »

Two Dollar Tuesday presents Mac App Store apps every week for just $1.99 each—at discounts up to 95%. Today is our Best Apps of 2015 promo, featuring our the most popular apps we’ve promoted in 2015. »

Dean Elliott is a former Account Manager who quit his job to tour Southeast Asia with his girlfriend and capture their experiences on his blog. »

Our favorite iPhone 6s case, great holiday apps, a reader's setup, tip on using Day One, and more. »

There are many advantages to using a digital journal. Not only can it easily store photos, location data, timestamps, and more. It's also always with you (on your iPhone), your information is backed up and secure, and you can quickly search past entries. »

Because I’ve put so much time and so many words into my Day One over the years, I wanted to share a bit of how and why I use it… »

Bobály Mihály runs a small digital agency (named after his online nickname: JabJab) where they create pay-per-click campaigns and offer digital analytics services to clients. »

Aditya Daniel is a quality assurance officer at a chemical lab, and also works as a freelance writer. »

The best flight tracker app for iPhone, a Mac and iOS setup, a tip about Instapaper, and lots more. »

Dispatch is our pick for the best iPhone email app for power users, and today it received a nice update. Primarily, the app is now universal and works on the iPad. »

Our back to school guide, an interesting setup, a tip about photo metadata, and more. »

With school starting back up, it's a great time to re-evaluate your setup and tools. Here are some of our favorite apps and devices to power through those long days of class and long nights of homework. »

Saravanan Sivaraman is an IT Recruiter based out of Bangalore, India who works for an IT staffing firm and writes his own blog. »

A reader's iPhone setup, a quick tip about 1Password, and update to OmniFocus, and more. »

Food. Fire. Uuni. »

Guido Osorio is a writer living in Santiago, Chile where he is pursuing his dream of being a fiction writer. »

Mark is the co-owner of a software company that offers a PHP-based content management system that schedules release of photos and videos, and also converts them between several different formats. »

The best remote access solution for Mac and iOS, a work and home setup, a tip on QuickTime X, and lots of WWDC goodness. »

Food. Fire. Uuni. »

Chris Brakebill is a web and mobile developer who is currently working on an app called Outshape, and also sends the Three Things Weekly newsletter. »

A reader's setup, a tip about OmniFocus, and some excellent links and app updates. »

Mike Dicken's is a software developer and project manager from Arlington, VA, but is currently traveling the world with his wife. »

Virginia is a full-time dating coach, and a freelance worker in many other areas. »

We put together a list of our favorite timer apps for the iPhone, which range from general timers, coffee timers, and cooking timers. »

The best way to promote your product, service, or company directly to our readership and site visitors is through a sponsorship of the site. »

A quick tip, iPhone setup, and some interesting links. »

Andy Croll is a designer and Ruby developer based in Brighton, UK currently working remotely as a Senior Engineer at a travel company called HouseTrip. »

Sebastian Green runs a small division of an IT Support company in Manchester (UK) that mainly focuses on web-based systems. »

We put together a brief list of our all-time favorite iOS games to share with you, grouped into their respective categories. Enjoy! »

Christine Chan is a a writer and editor over at AppAdvice.com where she covers reviews and news of iOS and some Mac apps on a daily basis, and also writes her own personal blog. »

A quick tip, a reader's setup, and some great links for the holidays. »

Our favorite tool for sharing files, links, and images, a sweet setup, tip on notifications, and more. »

Álvaro Serrano is the author and publisher of Analog Senses, a website about the human side of technology featuring links and articles on design, photography, Apple, and the tech industry in general. »

Brandon Wentland runs a 14-person digital marketing agency called Optimal, where they help brands make money online by driving lots of traffic to their sites and converting them into buyers, as well as custom website design and development. »

Our pick for the best Markdown writing app for Mac, a tip on iOS 8 battery usage, a setup, and more. »

A new version of Rdio, a tip about your iOS camera roll, an iPhone setup, and more. »

Eivind Hjertnes used to work with software development and IT before going back to school where he studies philosophy at the University of Bergen, writes Hjertnes.me, and street fundraising for Greenpeace. »

The best VPN solution for OS X and iOS, a great tip for launching Flash URLs in Chrome from Safari, a standing setup, and more. »

To avoid installing flash on your Mac, use this Alfred script to launch Chrome from within Safari. »

Sven Fechner is the writer, curator, and internet harlequin behind SimplicityBliss and one of three pilots on the popular German technology podcast Der Übercast. »

A fascinating setup, a quick tip, a deal on a great app, a few of our favorite summer apps, and more. »

Editorially, our favorite editing tool for all the words on The Sweet Setup, is gone, and we're trying to find a replacement. »

A sweet iPhone setup, a quick tip about Find my iPhone, some great articles, and more. »

A rundown of the current photo management options, a quick tip, a couple of great app updates, and more. »

Jason Snell is the editorial director at IDG Consumer, which includes Macworld, PCWorld, TechHive, and Greenbot, and also co-hosts The Incomparable podcast. »

Here's a quick look at what we published this week, as well as some links from around the web that we thought were pretty awesome. »

Charlie Smith is a record producer, instrumentalist, composer, and arranger who works out of Studio Nels in Seattle. »

Here are a few of the things we've been up to on the first full week of 2014. »

Matthew Panzarino is a Senior Editor at TechCrunch where he writes about a lot of stuff like startups, technology trends, and cool new inventions. But mostly about Apple and Twitter. »

Welcome! We're here because we enjoy spending an inordinate amount of time and energy to research, test, and find the very best apps. »

Ben spends his days listening to people complain, so he likes to complain on his weblog. He's also one of our contributing authors here at The Sweet Setup. »

Here are a few apps that add significant functionality to your Mac that we believe every Mac user would benefit from. »