Stephen and I wrap up our review of Apple’s 2025 with a look at the iPhone, Apple TV, iCloud, and Apple’s other services. They we zoom out and look at the overall ecosystem. Join us on this episode of Mac Power Users.
Last week I wrote about avoiding social media, and I got a lot of responses. But several of you pointed out that your real problem isn’t Twitter-type apps or Instagram. It’s YouTube.
You go there to watch one video about fixing your bike tire, and three hours later you’re watching someone restore a 1987 Nintendo. I get it. YouTube is sneaky that way.
So here’s what works for me.
Sparky’s Current Watchlist
Create a watch list. YouTube lets you save videos to custom playlists. When you stumble across something interesting, don’t watch it. Just add it to your watch list and close the tab.
Schedule your YouTube time. Pick a specific block in your week. Mine’s Friday afternoons. When that time comes, open YouTube and go straight to your watch list. No homepage. No recommendations feed. Just your list.
Use the algorithm, but on your terms. I actually like YouTube’s recommendations. They surface videos I wouldn’t find otherwise. The trick is treating them like suggestions, not commands. See something interesting? Add it to the list. Move on.
Curate ruthlessly. Before I start watching, I scan my list and delete anything that doesn’t grab me anymore. What seemed interesting on Tuesday might feel skippable by Friday. That’s fine.
This is time boxing in action. You’re not eliminating YouTube. You’re just deciding when and what to watch before you start watching. It turns passive consumption into an active choice.
Does it eliminate the temptation completely? No. Sometimes I still fall down a rabbit hole. But having a system makes those slip-ups rare instead of routine.
The key insight is that YouTube isn’t the problem. The infinite feed is. Your watch list gives you the benefits of YouTube without the trap of endless autoplay.
In this week’s episode: John Giannandrea’s departure, and the 2025 App Store Awards are in. I also share the video I made about my Hollyland Lavalier mic, and Apple’s newest Holiday film, Critter Carol, is my media recommendation.
… This is a post for MacSparky Labs Members only. Care to join? If you’re already a member, you can log in here.
For part two of the dictation series in the MacSparky Labs, I wanted to cover an intermediate tool that gives you more power than the built-in Apple solution but without overwhelming you. I looked at a lot of tools and settled on Wispr Flow, which I think is an excellent option.
… This is a post for MacSparky Labs Members only. Care to join? If you’re already a member, you can log in here.
Record Any Audio With Audio Hijack, From Rogue Amoeba
My friends at Rogue Amoeba are back to sponsor MacSparky this holiday season, and I want to shine a spotlight on their flagship app: Audio Hijack.
Audio Hijack’s tagline is short and sweet: Record any audio. With it, you can save audio from any app, any device, or even from your entire system. Record podcasts, capture streaming audio, archive audio calls, or grab sounds from games and videos. If it makes sound on your Mac, Audio Hijack can record it.
There’s so much more. Use the built-in Transcribe block for local, secure transcription of audio without relying on any cloud services. Schedule recordings for live broadcasts you don’t want to miss. Even use it to create your own live streams. Get 20% off with the coupon code: SPARKYHOLIDAY.
On this episode of Mac Power Users, Stephen and I start our annual tour of Apple’s products, starting with the Mac, then we consider the Apple Watch, the Vision Pro, and the company’s lineup of audio products.
I’m pleased to announce that the Focused Wall Calendar for 2026 is now on sale. Mike and I have been collaborating with the NeuYear folks for years, and this is, in my opinion, the best wall calendar on the market.
We’ve spent a lot of time tweaking this calendar over the years to get it just right. Here are some of the features I love:
It starts on Monday, as a proper calendar should.
It’s big at 25 inches by 36 inches. This isn’t one of those calendars you have to squint at.
The year-at-a-glance view is invaluable. Over the years, this calendar on my wall has gotten me out of a lot of pickles as I look at the calendar to see just how busy I am before I say yes to another commitment. There’s something about seeing three weeks of wall-to-wall appointments that makes saying no much easier.
It’s designed with no gaps between the months. The philosophy is simple: we think in weeks, not months. This calendar presents 52 weeks as a continuous flow, which makes it easy to see the distance between any two dates and plan across months without artificial boundaries.
You can write on it with dry-erase or wet-erase markers. I’ve tried both, and they both work great. The dry-erase is better if you’re constantly adjusting things, while wet-erase stays put better for long-term commitments.
It’s two calendars in one. Flip it over and you get a different orientation. One side is portrait, the other landscape. I keep mine in landscape above my desk, but you can hang it vertically on a door if that works better for your space.
The quarterly shading is genius. The calendar breaks the year into four quarters with background shading, making it easy to set quarterly goals and see reset points throughout the year. Buffer weeks are built in so you can review what worked, celebrate wins, and adjust course if needed.
The habit tracking system at the bottom lets you create your own color-coded system. Each day has space to track up to four habits, and it shows you how many days are left in the quarter to keep you honest.
It’s beautiful. This matters more than you might think. When your productivity tool looks good, you actually want to use it. Attraction breeds commitment.
There were four weekly Lab Reports to keep members up-to-date with Apple news, a Deep Dive on Focus Modes, and videos on topics like adding Notes links to Reminders and the 2025 Quarterly Q&A. And much more.
Here’s what took place in the Labs for the month of November 2025:
2025-11-27 – The Lab Report for November 28, 2025 (M,I,P)
