Recently, we had a family celebration. The reason is irrelevant, but the means of our celebration was our usual. We went to Disneyland. We’re fortunate to live close, and two of the four members of my immediate family work for Mickey. So, we went…
Continue reading →Posts Tagged → focus
Focus Without Fuss: Focus Firewall for macOS (Sponsor)
This week I’m pleased to welcome a new sponsor to MacSparky, Focus Firewall. We all know the feeling. You sit down to work, crack open your Mac… and somehow 20 minutes vanish into the black hole of news sites, social media, or some link a…
Continue reading →Sparky’s Case for Focus Modes (And a Short Poll)
One of the best features Apple has added in recent years is Focus Modes. I use them every day across all my devices, and they have become an essential part of how I manage my attention, my work, and even my personal life. At…
Continue reading →On Avoiding Email: Second, Consider the Tool
Last week, I addressed avoiding email with the fundamental question of motivation. Specifically, are you using the easy stuff to avoid doing the hard stuff? Despite its widespread use, email is not an efficient tool for all types of communication. We’ve overlooked its limitations…
Continue reading →Phone Addiction World Rankings
A recent study ranks the degree of phone addiction in different countries by finding the percentage of waking hours citizens spend with their phone screens. The Philippines leads with people spending 32.53% of their days behind their small screens. The United States comes in…
Continue reading →The Focus Timer
There is an existing Kickstarter for the Focus Timer and I’d recommend checking it out. The Focus Timer’s inventor contacted me a few months ago and sent me a beta unit. It took some convincing on his part because I’m not a fan of…
Continue reading →Mid-Year Reflection and Planning
As we are about to leave June and enter July, we’re hitting the halfway point for 2022. It’s hard to believe we are halfway through 2022. This is particularly true for me with so much change in my life. I’ve now been a full-time…
Continue reading →Personal Retreat Video and Planning PDF
Jason Snell did a retreat, and he liked it. I made this video a few years ago, but I think it is worth sharing again. When I did that video, I thought I’d be clever and make you sign up for my newsletter to…
Continue reading →Why I’m No Longer Practicing Law
The title says it all, but first a little background… Project Blue Sky In January 2021 I started a new project and gave it an exciting name: Project Blue Sky. Specifically, I started the year tired of what I call “running downhill.” Do you…
Continue reading →Year-End Reflection Prompts
There is something therapeutic and hopeful about hitting January 1. While I’m not one for new year resolutions, I’m a big fan of year-end reflections. Before the year ends I always try and stop and collect some wisdom from the year prior. For me,…
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