Fantastical: The Calendar That Actually Thinks Like You Do (Sponsor)

Today’s sponsor is Fantastical from Flexibits. I want to share why their approach to calendar management continues to impress me after all these years.

You know that moment when you’re trying to schedule something and your brain works faster than your calendar app? That’s where Fantastical shines. I can type “Coffee with Sarah next Tuesday at 10am at Blue Bottle” and Fantastical just gets it. The natural language processing isn’t just a party trick. It fundamentally changes how I interact with my calendar. No more clicking through date pickers and dropdown menus when my brain’s already moved on to the next task.

What really sets Fantastical apart for productivity nerds like us is the depth of customization. Calendar Sets let me switch contexts instantly—I’ve got different sets for deep work days, meeting-heavy days, and weekends. The app automatically knows which calendars I need to see based on where I am or what time it is. It’s like having multiple calendar personalities that adapt to my workflow.

The integration game is strong too. Beyond the usual suspects, Fantastical plays beautifully with Shortcuts, which means I’ve automated calendar creation for recurring project types. The app handles conference calls brilliantly—whether it’s Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet, the join button is right there when I need it.

One feature that doesn’t get enough love: the weather integration. Knowing if tomorrow’s meeting requires an umbrella or if that outdoor event might get rained out helps me plan better. It’s these thoughtful touches that make Fantastical feel less like software and more like a really competent assistant.

If you’re ready to stop fighting with your calendar and start working with it, check out Fantastical. They offer a free trial so you can experience the difference yourself.

Timing: Stay on Top of Your Time Without Timers (Sponsor)

This week, MacSparky is delighted to feature Timing, the premier automatic time-tracking app for Mac users. As we march toward the macOS 26 Tahoe release, Timing got a nice update and now looks great with Liquid Glass. Just look at this screenshot:

Unlike traditional timers that require manual activation, Timing works seamlessly in the background, meticulously recording your activity across apps, websites, and documents. This ensures you gain an accurate and comprehensive overview of how your time is allocated, enabling you to identify productivity patterns and areas for improvement. Looking at your Timing log will let you know exactly what went down if your day ever gets away from you.

Key Features of Timing

Automatic Tracking: No need to remember to start or stop timers. Timing automatically logs your activities, capturing every detail without manual intervention.
Detailed Insights: Review precise data on the duration spent on specific applications, documents, or websites. For instance, distinguish between time dedicated to a client proposal in Word versus casual browsing on retail sites.
AI-Powered Summaries: Leverage artificial intelligence to receive concise summaries of your daily activities, helping you quickly grasp where your time goes without sifting through extensive logs.
Team Functionality: Timing also has teams support. Collaborate effortlessly by sharing projects, while managers can view aggregated time reports. Importantly, individual privacy is respected, as only manual time entries are visible to supervisors, ensuring a non-intrusive tracking environment.
Integration and Automation: Timing offers seamless integration with various tools and supports automation through features like Siri Shortcuts and a web API, enhancing your workflow efficiency.
Web App Access: Access your Timing data from anywhere using the Timing web app. Start and stop timers on the go, manage your team, and integrate with other services, ensuring flexibility and control over your time tracking.

Understanding how you spend your time is the first step toward enhanced productivity. By providing an unobtrusive and precise tracking system, Timing empowers you to make informed decisions about your time.

DEVONthink – Your Research Command Center (Sponsor)

One question I frequently get from MacSparky readers and MPU listeners is: “What’s the best tool for managing research on the Mac?” My answer is always DEVONthink, and this week I’m happy to have them as a sponsor.

Let me tell you about my favorite new feature: the Mentions inspector. Think of it as your digital librarian that automatically discovers connections in your research. When you select a document, Mentions shows you everywhere its title appears across your database, complete with context. I’ve found this invaluable for uncovering relationships in my research that I didn’t even know existed.

But that’s just scratching the surface. Here’s what makes DEVONthink my go-to research tool:

Its AI engine learns how you organize and helps file new documents
A powerful search language that lets you construct precise queries
Rock-solid sync across devices with end-to-end encryption
Smart rules and reminders to automate your workflow
Rich AppleScript support for deep automation (I use this constantly)

The DEVONthink team keeps pushing the envelope with thoughtful improvements. Recent updates have brought enhanced PDF annotation, seamless Evernote import capabilities, and expanded Markdown support. This continuous evolution is why DEVONthink remains central to my research workflow.

If you’re looking to level up your research game, DEVONthink is offering MacSparky readers a 20% discount. It’s the tool I trust with my own research, and I think you’ll find it just as indispensable.

My thanks to DEVONthink for supporting MacSparky.

DEVONthink – Your Research Command Center (Sponsor)

But that’s just scratching the surface. Here’s what makes DEVONthink my go-to research tool:

Its AI engine learns how you organize and helps file new documents
A powerful search language that lets you construct precise queries
Rock-solid sync across devices with end-to-end encryption
Smart rules and reminders to automate your workflow
Rich AppleScript support for deep automation (I use this constantly)

My thanks to DEVONthink for supporting MacSparky.

Upgrade Your Software Stack with SummerFest (Sponsor)

One of the things I love most about being part of the Mac community is discovering thoughtfully crafted software from independent developers. These aren’t apps churned out by massive corporations—they’re passion projects built by small teams who genuinely care about solving real problems for people like us.

The Artisanal Software Festival is happening right now, and it’s a fantastic opportunity to support some truly exceptional indie developers while picking up tools that can transform how you work. This isn’t one of those overwhelming bundles with dozens of apps you’ll never use. Instead, it’s a curated collection of professional-grade software for writers, researchers, and creative professionals.

Some standouts that caught my attention (and that I’ve used): Tinderbox for complex note-taking and idea mapping, Scrivener for long-form writing projects, HoudahSpot for lightning-fast file searching, and BBEdit—the legendary text editor that’s been a Mac staple for decades. There’s also Bookends for reference management, EagleFiler for organizing all your digital information, and SpamSieve for keeping your inbox clean.

These are all fantastic apps and made by teams that prioritize sustainability over growth-at-all-costs, which means better long-term support and more thoughtful feature development.

The festival is running for a limited time with genuine discounts—no artificial markups or gimmicky bundles. Just quality software at fair prices, with full support and upgrade privileges included.

If you’ve been thinking about upgrading your toolkit or supporting indie developers who are keeping the Mac software ecosystem vibrant and innovative, this is a perfect opportunity to do both. Check out the Artisanal Software Festival and see what catches your eye.

Turn Your Reading Backlog Into Your Next Favorite Podcast with Listen Later (Sponsor)

Listen Later is back as a MacSparky sponsor, and I’ve got to share how this service has genuinely changed my relationship with long-form content.

You know that feeling—you’ve got a dozen thoughtful articles bookmarked, a stack of PDFs waiting to be read, and newsletters piling up in your inbox. The content is valuable, but finding uninterrupted reading time? That’s the real challenge. Listen Later turns this frustration into opportunity by converting your saved reading into personalized podcast episodes with remarkably natural AI narration.

What impresses me most is how seamlessly the service fits into existing workflows. Email an article URL directly to Listen Later, and within minutes you’ve got a custom podcast episode waiting for you. Those research PDFs gathering digital dust? Now they’re perfect companions for your morning hike.

For productivity nerds like us, Listen Later solves a fundamental time management problem: it lets you consume quality content during otherwise “dead” time—commuting, exercising, or doing household tasks. Your saved articles finally get the attention they deserve, and your downtime becomes more productive.

The service handles everything from Google Docs to email newsletters, even extracting text from images to create audio. It’s thorough without being complicated.

Ready to tackle that reading backlog? New users get $2 in free credit to explore what Listen Later can do. Head over to their site and start turning your to-read pile into your next favorite podcast.

Check out Listen Later and discover how much more you can actually “read.”

DEVONthink 4 Beta: AI That Makes Sense for Power Users (Sponsor)

With WWDC finally here and everyone talking about AI, I’ve been thinking about which AI tools actually earn their place in my workflow. Most feel like solutions looking for problems–but DEVONthink 4 is different.

I’ve been testing the beta, and what strikes me most is how thoughtfully they’ve integrated AI into what’s already the gold standard for document management. This isn’t AI for AI’s sake. It’s AI that solves real problems for folks who work with lots of information.

The Chat Assistant lets you have conversations with your documents, which sounds gimmicky until you try it with a research project. Ask it to summarize themes across dozens of PDFs, or find connections between notes from different projects. It’s like having a research assistant who’s read everything in your database.

But the real power is in the automation. Smart rules can now use AI commands to auto-tag, label, and rate documents as they come in. Imagine never having to manually organize research papers or client files again. The AI summarizing feature is particularly clever. It creates concise summaries that actually capture what matters.

What I appreciate most is DEVONthink’s approach to AI providers. Instead of locking you into one service, they support multiple providers and models, including local ones if privacy is a concern. They’re even planning Apple Intelligence support when it arrives.

For those of us who’ve built our workflows around DEVONthink’s powerful search and organization features, version 4 feels like a natural evolution rather than a gimmicky add-on. The AI genuinely makes the app more useful without getting in the way.

The beta is available now, and if you’re curious about AI that actually serves your productivity instead of just impressing at parties, it’s worth a look.