Time Blocking with the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra, Building a Clean Inbox, and More

July 21, 2023

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Time Blocking Using a Custom Template on the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra »

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 so, I’ve been time blocking using an Onyx Boox Tab Ultra as part of my end-of-day journaling and planning routine.

In this post, I’m going to show how I set up a notebook template on my Onyx Boox for time blocking.

Setting up a “Calm Inbox” View for a Distraction Free Email »

Whenever I launch the Mail app on my Mac, I’m presented with a completely blank inbox (like you see above). This is not because of an Inbox Zero strategy.

Here’s a quick walkthrough for how I have my email set up with a Keyboard Maestro macro so that when I launch my email app, it takes me to a blank inbox view.

This Calm Inbox setup works using the default Mail app on macOS and a copy of Keyboard Maestro.

Startup and Shutdown Routines »

As a young trial lawyer, an experienced, older attorney took me aside and explained what’s important about closing arguments: “The key is to nail the beginning and the ending, and anything that happens in the middle doesn’t matter so much.”

I would argue that the beginning and end of your day are equally important. Startup and shutdown routines are the way you add structure to your day. Without them, you become adrift in a sea of competing obligations. I know because I have spent too many days adrift.

At one point in my life, I found myself working harder than ever but feeling like I was accomplishing little. The implementation of startup and shutdown rituals fixed that for me. They brought order to my chaos. I want to share those with you here in hopes that you can get a little inspiration and experiment with your own startup and shutdown routines.

How to Configure Focus Modes to Eliminate Distractions and Interruptions »

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. Here’s how to use this underrated feature to protect your focus and stay in the zone.

Introducing Do Not Disturb 🌙 »

You know that button on your phone that silences all the annoying dings, alerts, and notifications?

The Do Not Disturb Focus Booster is like installing that button across your whole life — so you can tap into peak productivity at a moment’s notice (and actually sustain it).

Just like all the other Focus Boosters we’ve done this year, Do Not Disturb is 100% free for our Focus Accelerator members (who also have access to our complete library of courses, live coaching calls, our Digital Planner, a private Slack community, and much more).

Focus Boosters are themed challenges for our growing community of 350 Focus Accelerator members. Each Booster is designed to help you level up in a specific area of task, time, and idea management.

Our Do Not Disturb Focus Booster is our fourth of 2023, and it’s built for anyone who wants to develop the kind of deep work discipline needed to squeeze the most out of your available hours every day.

The first live coaching call will be on Tuesday, July 18. Join the Focus Accelerator Membership today and we’ll save you a spot!

Join Now »

The Ultimate Guide to Using Do Not Disturb on Mac and iOS »

We are all about getting our most important work done around here. Whether that means using the best task manager apps or creating an ideal schedule, we are always fighting for focus. One of the biggest enemies of focus is distractions. And they are in abundance. Enter Do Not Disturb.

Our many devices are one of the main culprits of distractions. Why focus on important work when you can doom scroll?

Do Not Disturb Focus Booster 🚀 Unlock and Sustain your Creative Momentum

Tap into peak productivity so you can finish what you start instead of stalling out.

Get the system you need to unlock creative momentum, sustain it day after day, and shut out distractions that derail your most important work (starting today).

👉 Step #1: The Distraction Detox → Discover how to manage the daily onslaught of notifications, overflowing inboxes, and false urgency that drain your focus.

👉 Step #2: Find Your Flow → Develop a process for quickly getting “in the zone” so you can go from random acts of busywork to consistent daily progress.

👉 Step #3: Dive into Deep Work → Level up your focus skills so you can be as productive as possible during the time you have available.

Get all this, and more, inside the Focus Club membership.

Join 300 focused members who have access to $5,000 worth of our best courses and masterclasses, the Digital Planner, a Private Chat Community, Monthly Coaching Calls, and much, much more…

JOIN NOW FOR TOTAL ACCESS TO THE ARCHIVES

Interesting Links From Our Friends and Around the Web »

Our Must-Have, Most Used Productivity Apps

We spend an inordinate amount of time sorting through hundreds of apps to find the very best. We put together a short list of our must-have, most-used apps for increasing productivity.

Send me the roundup »