Lately, I see the term “Zettelkasten” show up everywhere as this explosion of research and personal knowledge management applications is taking shape. The term is more nebulous than you’d think. Here is the best description of the canonical Zettelkasten method that I’ve read. While I’m not a purist (my system is much more informal), I was able to make several tweaks to my system after reading this
DIY Touch Bar
Stephen Hacket has been upping his game on his Touch Bar using BetterTouchTool along with Keyboard Maestro to run setups on his laptop. This all grew out of a similar workflow he’s been using on his Mac Pro following some gentle encouragement from me that he buy a Stream Deck.
The Touch Bar is something a lot of folks love to hate but I don’t see it that way. I think Apple’s biggest mistake with the Touch Bar is shipping it with the Siri button right over the top of the delete button. As a result, it’s easily triggered and this makes people hate the Touch Bar. The good news is that you can customize it (and even remove the Siri button). I also use BetterTouchTool with my Touch Bar but rather than triggering Keyboard Maestro snippets, I’ve been using it to display information, like the date, weather, and upcoming calendar events. I’ll do a separate post in the future outlining my tweaks but in the meantime, if you have a Mac with a Touch Bar, you’ll want to check out BetterTouchTool for making the Touch Bar work for you.
Mac Power Users 564: Taking Pictures and Enriching Lives with Austin Mann
Stephen and I talk with photographer Austin Mann on the latest episode of Mac Power Users about his work and his annual iPhone camera reviews.
This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:
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TextExpander, from Smile: Get 20% off with this link and type more with less effort! Expand short abbreviations into longer bits of text, even fill-ins, with TextExpander from Smile.
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Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code MPU at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
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Indeed: Get a free $75 credit to boost your job post.
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Field Guide Black Friday Sale
I don’t often run sales on the MacSparky Field Guides. Instead, I price the courses so, in my opinion at least, they are always good values. Nevertheless, I decided this year to make an exception. Through this weekend only, all of the MacSparky Field Guides are $10 off. That’s the biggest discount I’ve ever offered. So if you’d like to get better at something nerdy on your Mac or iPhone, now’s the time to jump on board. To get the discount, just scroll to the bottom of any course (or press the enroll button at the top) and select the Black Friday discount price before check out.
Track Your Time with the Updated Timing App (Sponsor)
This week MacSparky is sponsored by Timing, the time tracker that automatically tracks your time for you. Timing has just received a significant update for Big Sur, and the new design is beautiful and modern. It fits right in with Big Sur. They’ve also updated the icon. The clock on the new icon updates in real-time, letting you put the current time in your dock. I’ve grown to appreciate having the time in my dock. (It also shows the current time in your menu bar.)
Timing’s best feature remains its accuracy and automatic time tracking. Because Timing is automatically logging your time on your Mac, you get better data. You find out exactly how much time you spent in that Word document versus how much time you spent on Amazon.com. It is that accurate data that can help you keep track of how you are doing and make intelligent changes. I use Timing on my laptop and desktop Macs, and Timing handles syncing the data for me. If you want to get productive, the starting point is assessing how you are currently doing, and there is no better tool to do that on the Mac than Timing.
You can get Timing directly from the TimingApp website or as part of your Setapp subscription. Install it today and start getting accurate data on how you are spending your time. Download with this link for a free 14-day trial and get 10% off for the first year!
Hazel 5 and the Next Hazel Field Guide
With the release of Big Sur, Paul Kim released a brand new version of Hazel. Version 5 adds several new features. Just a few of them include:
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Support for macOS Big Sur.
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A standalone app form factor instead of a preference pane.
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A pile of UI improvements making creating and organizing rules easier and better.
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Way better match text tools
If you purchased Hazel 4 anytime during 2020, you can upgrade for free. Otherwise, the upgrade is $20. I paid immediately. I’ve received a lot of email about the Hazel Field Guide. With this new interface and toolset, I will be making a second edition Hazel Field Guide in early 2021. It will be a new purchase but have an upgrade price for prior customers. Stay tuned.
Being Thankful on Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Growing up, I thought of Thanksgiving as a way to get out of school for a few days and eat copious amounts of turkey, but as I get older, the thankfulness bit has taken the front row seat.
A few years ago, I started the practice of writing down one thing I was grateful for every day. It is one of the first things I do every morning, and I find it helps me get the day started right. This isn’t just a bunch of California granola-eating nonsense. Science supports me on this. I try to make it something different every day, making it kind of fun to find new things that delight me. You could record your daily gratitude on your calendar, in a journal, or even just a plain text file. I’ll be going over the details of how I do it in tomorrow’s newsletter.
It’s been a tough year, and you may be thinking that, of all the years, 2020 is the last one in which you should be practicing gratitude. I’d reply that because it is 2020, you need a gratitude practice now more than ever.
Guest on Apple @ Work Podcast
I joined Bradley Chambers on his podcast Apple @ Work to talk about using Apple products as a lawyer. Brad and I go back as friends and I always enjoy speaking with him.
The 2021 Focused Wall Calendar
The year 2020 turned out to be a bit of a dumpster fire for a lot of us and as we’re heading into the new year, just about everyone is ready for a fresh start. So why not hit the ground running in 2021 with a beautiful wall Focused wall calendar. Mike and I have partnered once again with the folks at NeuYear to produce a great looking wall calendar.
This year’s version is dry-erase (but keeps the $24 price point) and week’s start on Monday, as they should. It’ll look amazing on your wall as you conquer 2021. As much as I like my digital bits, there is something to be said for having a big wall calendar staring back at you as you plan your year. It lets you see where you have room to make something great and where you’re too busy to take on any more. I love the way these came out and I hope you do too.
Focused 113: ADHD and Cognitive Science, with Brittany Smith
Brittany Smith is a cognitive scientist and very focused. She was also diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), and she has a lot of wisdom to share on this week’s episode of Focused.
This episode of Focused is sponsored by:
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ExpressVPN: High-speed, secure and anonymous VPN service. Get an extra three months free.
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Woven: The calendar with the most powerful scheduling tools. Try it free for 21 days.