Timing: Track Your Time Without Timers; Now Even on iOS! (Sponsor)

Time is the most valuable resource you have. It’s the only resource you can’t get more of.

Yet, many of us don’t track our time. And the reason is usually simple: it’s cumbersome, and it’s way too easy to forget.

Not anymore! Timing is an app for your Mac that automatically tracks your time, no timers needed. It’s smart, it’s beautiful, and it’s easy to use.

Just download and install Timing and it’ll start recording how much time you spend on each app, document and website you use.

And with the latest update, Timing will now import your iPhone and iPad usage from Screen Time as well! This means you’ll get the full picture of how you spend your time, across all your devices.

I use Timing because of how easy it is to get good data. The app is smart. It learns how to categorize time for you (with a bit of help from you), and the reports are beautiful. I put screenshots of my Timing reports in my weekly/monthly reviews in Day One.

If you’ve tried time-tracking before and gave up on it, give Timing a try. It literally does the work for you.

Creating an AppleScript to Automate Timing Entries (MacSparky Labs)

I’ve had a few members ask me for help automating setting timers in the Timing App. Since the Timing App supports AppleScript, this gave me an opportunity to explain how I build an AppleScript by cobbling together bits of code I find on the Internet. If you’d like to learn how to build and execute a simple AppleScript, this one is for you.… This is a post for MacSparky Labs Level 3 (Early Access) and Level 2 (Backstage) Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?

The Omni Group Roadmap and A Few Thoughts on OmniFocus

The Omni Group has published its latest road map. As a fan of their software, I love reading these. They are committing to release OmniFocus 4 this year and they are also working on an update to OmniGraffle. I’ve heard from a lot of folks about the OmniFocus 4 release, and I’ve got a few thoughts:

  • Many readers tried the early betas and didn’t care for it. If that’s you, I’d encourage you to give the current, later betas, another look. A year ago, they were focused on features. They’ve done a ton of UI polish since then.
  • The Omni Group is the first company I’ve seen emerge from the morass of Swift UI with a high-end productivity app. I expect this will pay dividends going forward. Just like we’re now seeing Apple release major new features across all platforms at once, I expect we’ll see the same from the Omni Group.

I went into the wild over the last six months looking seriously at other task manager options including Reminders, Things, and some of the emerging online tools. I started that survey willing to move to another app, but ended up right back where I started. My takeaway is that OmniFocus is still the only option for me. (Perspectives are so powerful and you can link anything, anywhere.) While Reminders is a lot better, on a scale of 1 to 10 it goes to 7, whereas OmniFocus goes to 11.

Finally, now that I’ve finished my survey, I’ve committed three months to making an entirely new edition of the OmniFocus Field Guide once the new version ships.

February Deep Dive on Meditation (MacSparky Labs)

It occasionally comes up on the podcasts that I meditate. I’ve been doing it regularly now for 31 years. I’m always a little hesitant to discuss this on the podcast because it gets some people riled up, but I find it a very useful practice. So for this month’s Deep Dive I’ll be talking about meditation: my history with it, how I do it, and how to get started… This is a post for MacSparky Labs Level 3 (Early Access) Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?

This Month in the MacSparky Labs

It’s hard to believe that the MacSparky Labs is already entering its second year. We had a busy January. We’d love to have you on board.

  • 2023-01-31 – OmniFocus Checklists (Levels 2-3)
  • 2023-01-30 – The Monday Brief (Levels 1-3)
  • 2023-01-29 – Desktop and Dock Settings (Levels 2-3)
  • 2023-01-27 – The Lab Report Podcast (Levels 1-3)
  • 2023-01-27 – Setting Up iCloud Photo Library (Levels 2-3)
  • 2023-01-25 – Focus Session (Levels 2-3)
  • 2023-01-24 – False Urgency Webinar Video (Levels 1-3)
  • 2023-01-23 – The Monday Brief – On Upgrading Your Mac (Levels 1-3)
  • 2023-01-21 – Video Discussion on Replacing Intel 5K iMac with Apple Silicon (Levels 1-3)
  • 2023-01-20 – The Lab Report Podcast (Levels 1-3)
  • 2023-01-19 – The January Meetup Video (Levels 2-3)
  • 2023-01-18 – Automating Calendar Views (Levels 2-3)
  • 2023-01-17 – False Urgency Webinar (Levels 1-3)
  • 2023-01-16 – Focus Session Announcement (Levels 2-3)
  • 2023-01-16 – The Monday Brief (Levels 1-3)
  • 2023-01-13 – Lab Report Podcast (Levels 1-3)
  • 2023-01-12 – False Urgency Webinar Next Week (Levels 1-3)
  • 2023-01-12 – Lab Meetup (Level 2-3)
  • 2023-01-11 – Mac Launcher Deep Dive Video (Level 3)
  • 2023-01-09 – The Monday Brief (Levels 1-3)
  • 2023-01-06 – The Lab Report (Levels 1-3)
  • 2023-01-06 – Mac Launcher Deep Dive Webinar (Level 3)
  • 2023-01-04 – Learning to Love Safari Tabs (Levels 1-3)
  • 2023-01-04 – Digital + Analog Tasks (Levels 2-3)
  • 2023-01-02 – The Monday Brief Newsletter (Levels 1-3)
  • 2023-01-01 – 2023 Q1 Planning Video (Level 3)

The Hypothetical Folding iPad

Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst that gets most of his insight from the Apple supply chain is predicting Apple will ship a folding iPad next year (as reported at 9to5 Mac). We’ve been hearing about folding iPhones and iPads for years but this is the first time someone as notable as Ming-Chi Kuo has planted a flag.

I generally like the idea of Apple getting more experimental with hardware. It’d be pretty cool if you could carry something about the footprint of an iPad mini (but thicker) which unfolds into something much bigger. The trick would be in that transition on the screen and the hinge. If true, I expect Apple would have some interesting ideas.