I have updated the Productivity Field Guide for 2025. On this episode of Mac Power Users, Stephen and I discuss what’s new in the course, what changes I have made to my various production workflows, and more.
This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:
The real solution to productivity isn’t about doing more–it’s about doing less while focusing on what truly matters.
I’m excited to announce the 2025 Edition of the Productivity Field Guide. The term “productivity” has become synonymous with quick fixes and hacks, I have a different approach. This guide helps you build a sustainable system that aligns with your deepest values and most meaningful roles.
The journey to identify what truly matters is personal and complex. While you must ultimately chart your own course, you’re not alone. Drawing from both ancient wisdom and modern research, the Productivity Field Guide helps you create a system that works for you.
The 2025 Edition brings together philosophical principles and practical strategies in our most comprehensive package yet:
This edition has evolved through even more research and your questions, challenges, and experiences. With this new version, I aim to make this roles-based system even more accessible to everyone.
The Productivity Field Guide empowers you to build more than just another task management system–it helps you create a personalized approach that honors your unique goals while drawing from millennia of wisdom and proven modern practices.
There are two versions of the Productivity Field Guide:
Productivity Field Guide Plus Edition $199
Productivity Field Guide Standard Edition $99
I wanted to give early customers an extra discount. You can get the Field Guide today with a 10% discount. Just use the time-limited code: “PFG10”
The response to this course has been unlike anything I’ve experienced before. I’ve heard from so many people telling me how the Productivity Field Guide fundamentally changed their lives. That’s both humbling and deeply moving.
This isn’t just another productivity course for me – it’s become something far more meaningful. The fact that you’ve chosen to come along on this journey, to trust this system with your time and energy, means the world to me. I love creating this material, I love sharing these ideas, and most of all, I love seeing how they help people transform their lives for the better.
Here’s another of the latest crop of AI tools…
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 wind has been on everyone’s mind in Southern California for the last few weeks. In addition to the tragic fires up in Los Angeles, down here in Orange County, everything is equally dry, and the wind is blowing equally fast. Last week, one night, we clocked it at 79 miles an hour in my backyard.
Somewhere along the way, I let my CARROT Weather subscription lapse. The Apple weather app has come a long way, and it’s just fine for general information like the temperature and forecast. But getting predictable wind information out of it is a pain in the neck. So much so that I re-upped with CARROT weather and, within seconds, had precisely the data I was looking for. While the Weather app is good enough for many people, CARROT Weather remains the king.
The iPhone is now 18 years old, and it’s easy to forget life before it. I used mobile phones before iPhone, and the difference was night and day.
Over the years, we’ve heard a lot about how competitors put their heads in the sand when the iPhone was first announced. My favorite is the story about Blackberry not believing it was true, that Jobs had somehow faked everybody out with non-existent technology.
However, in a recent data release by Nokia, it’s clear that they took it seriously. Nokia immediately started shifting direction with its products in development, recognizing the value of the multi-touch user interface. People now say that the iPhone innovation was inevitable and that if Apple hadn’t done it, somebody else would have devised a smart phone with a flat slate of glass. But looking at contemporaneous documents, it sure doesn’t seem like it. (via John Gruber’s Daring Fireball.)
One police department in Colorado is now sending out a free AirTag with your automobile registration. The kicker is it has a sticker that you can put in your window explaining that police can track the vehicle.
I’m curious as to whether or not this will result in a decrease in stolen cars. I used an AirTag on my bicycle but had never thought about leaving one in the car. Obviously, people are doing this. There’s even an active market on Amazon for warning stickers.
I’ve been fiddling with my input devices and have made a few changes. Here’s my final lineup for 2025.
… This is a post for MacSparky Labs Members. Care to join? Or perhaps you need to sign in?
The current rumor via Mark Gurman is that Apple Mail will get the expected redesign and update with macOS 15.4 beta and the upcoming iPad 18.4 beta. I sure hope so.
While I’ve found the rudimentary email filtering they added on the iPhone useful for mail triage, I don’t think it can be judged until it’s on the Mac, at least for me. Apple Mail has long been overdue for an update and it’s nice to see some progress made.
While you’re at it, Apple, two requests:
That is all. For now.
Our iPhones are always with us, making the Home screen very valuable real estate in our lives. On this episode of Mac Power Users, Stephen and I share our Home screens and Focus modes and how our devices help keep us on track.
This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:
Inspired by my friend Nick Milo, I’m trying a new experiment: using a shared horizontal calendar in Freeform to track Field Guide production over the whole year. Here’s what it’s all about and how I built it.… This is a post for the Early Access and Backstage MacSparky Labs Members. Care to join? Or perhaps you need to sign in?