The Sun Sets on Sunrise.app--iOS Calendars

One of the most-used application on my iPhone is my calendar. For quite some time, Sunrise has been my go-to app. About a year ago, Sunrise was purchased by Microsoft. This week, Microsoft has decided to kill the app. With the announcement that Sunrise will be inactivated in August, I started a search for an iOS calendar replacement. Although Sunrise appears to now be baked into Outlook for iOS, my workplace doesn’t allow me to use the app to access my Outlook account. I’m going to sorely miss Sunrise’s integration with LinkedIn and especially, the Sunrise Meet feature, that I use frequently.I am trying two calendars as replacements: Cal by Any.do and Fantastical 2. Neither seems perfect, but I’m leaning toward Cal for its clean design. I’ve never been fond of Fantastical’s user interface and I’m always a sucker for good design.I’ll keep you posted on what I find. If you have a particular go-to calendar app, I’d love to hear what you use, and why you like it.

My OmniFocus Set-up (Part 2)

As i've mentioned numerous times before, I'm a huge fan of OmniFocus. In my last entry on OmniFocus, I offered a peek into the way I organize my folders. If you haven't read that post, please do so now. In this entry, I’ll answer some of the questions about triaging, prioritizing, and adding time to actions.Weekly ReviewI am not strictly adherent to GTD methodology, but I do use many of the practices. My practice includes both daily and weekly reviews. My weekly review normally takes about an hour. During the hour, I review existing projects and actions, clean up remaining items in my Inbox, and set up new projects. I look at each new and existing project through two main lenses—a hard due date (e.g. tax filing-Covey Quadrant 1-CQ1), and the strategic importance of the project to my personal or professional life (Covey Quadrant 2-CQ2).As you saw in my last entry, all my projects are organized into folders by my personal and professional roles. During my weekly review I decide on the CQ1 and CQ2 projects with greatest strategic value, or with the most urgent deadlines. These are the projects that go into my “Weekly Priorities” Folder. My next most important strategic projects go into my “On-Deck” Folder. I try to have no more than three projects in each the weekly priority and the on deck folders. Those projects that are lower priority at the end of the week, but still active, go back into my personal or professional “Role” Folders.ProjectsI spend about 80% of my time working on items in my Weekly Priority and On Deck folders. I have a custom perspective that filters all my projects down to my priorities grouped by project or context.Screen Shot 2016-04-16 at 10.37.22 AMAnother perspective shows all my flagged or due items even if they are not in my Weekly Priority or On Deck Folder.Screen Shot 2016-02-14 at 1.27.05 PMAs I add new projects, or make new projects from items in my Inbox, I am cognizant of any hard EXTERNAL deadline—only items with EXTERNAL deadlines get a due date. I have a custom perspective that shows all due or flagged items regardless of whether they are in my priorities folder. This bubbles up items that are due allows me to stay on top of deadlines regardless of whether the item is strategic or not.The last part of my weekly review strays from GTD methodology—I try to roughly plot out my week, placing actions from my highest priority projects in my calendar. I try to leave free time to allow for interruptions and other inevitable delays.I’ve found time-based perspectives to be helpful in two ways…during my weekly review , when I am trying to sketch out my week, or on-the-fly when I have unexpected time (e.g. a meeting that finished early). When defining the time for actions, I try to keep each to an hour or less. If an action item looks like it will take longer than an hour, I break it down further.My weekly review is complete after I’ve sketched out my week in my calendar. Although having a plan is great, I don’t get stressed when things change. I often need to adjust my plan. This takes place in my Daily Review.Daily ReviewEach day I open OF next to my calendar and review my achievements of the day. I like to record my my major achievements (e.g. completion of a major project) in a journal app (I use Day One). Often, during my daily review, I need to adjust my plans for the upcoming day. I have a perspective actions associated only with my highest priority items. I look at this list first. Next, I look at a complementary perspective that shows me my entire list of actions, grouped by context. Anything that I have not formally placed in my calendar, but want to achieve on a particular day gets flagged in OF. When I get to the office, I use my my “Flagged or Due by Context” Perspective constantly.Screen Shot 2016-02-14 at 1.27.05 PMI hope it's helpful to see how I'm using OF.I'd love to hear what you think...and would love hear the ways you use the software in your life.Addendum:In response to Owen's request....Screen Shot 2016-07-04 at 9.07.12 AMScreen Shot 2016-07-04 at 9.06.54 AM

Scrivener iOS: From Alpha to Beta

It looks like our long wait may be over. A post on the Literature and Latte blog this week said the iOS version of Scrivener will move from in-house Alpha testing to wider spread Beta testing. From the article, looks like they will choose a small number of primary Beta testers to kick the tires....once the egregious bugs have been found they will move to more wide-spread testing. Regardless, I can hardly wait. Scrivener iOS is going to simplify my writing workflow quite significantly.

Importing Microsoft Word files into Ulysses

I subscribe to the newsletter from Soulmen, the makers of my favorite text / markdown writing app, Ulysses. From the newsletter, I learned it is now possible to import Microsoft Word .docx documents. The article said it was possible from any device, but I could only do it using the instructions for iPhone (not on my Mac).In order to import a Word file, it must be in a folder Ulysses can access. Within Ulysses iOS, choose the group where you’d like your imported document to live. Then at the bottom right of screen, choose ‘import’ and select your file. The Word document is converted to MarkdownXL with your formatting intact.Happy writing!

Quick Idea Capture Using Drafts and Evernote

Although I’ve already  written about the way I capture ideas using Drafts and Evernote, I thought it was worth repeating since these techniques were buried in another entry. I literally use this method multiple times a day. Using Drafts, I’ve efficiently captured hundreds of ideas, blog thoughts,and lyrics. As you’ll see below, I also use Drafts to start entries in Day One., ------------------------------------------Capturing Ideas in Evernote using DraftsEvernote extends its great power by linking to many other applications. I’ve found capturing snippets of text into Evernote is even easier than the method I described a few years ago using plaintext.I use Drafts on my iphone and iPad to capture / brain dump just about everything. Drafts is an essential program on my iPhone. Drafts allows me to capture without thinking about what app I need to open. Once the text is captured, Drafts routes the information wherever I choose. I wrote about one way I use Drafts to capture and process meeting notes. When I want to capture an idea, I merely open Drafts and type or dictate my idea into the app. When I’m done, I route the information to Evernote using the following custom action:IMG 0608The action automatically derives a title from the first line of the text and appends the date and time. Furthermore, it files the note in my “Ideas” Notebook in Evernote and tags the note with the keyword “Ideas."The note ends up in Evernote looking like this:Screenshot 2015 11 27 13 29 52When I get to Evernote, I append further information in the note as needed. I use IdeaX in the header so when I search for a list of my ideas, they are not mixed together with information I’ve gathered from other sources. If I search for a keyword(s), I not only see my ideas, but all the information I’ve gathered in Evernote—very useful.Capturing Blog Ideas, Lyric Ideas, Quotes, and other Snippets in Evernote using DraftsI use a similar scripts in Drafts to capture a whole host of other information on the go. Each class of information is filed into it’s own Notebook in Evernote. For example, here is the action I use to capture information for my blog: IMG 0609  Using Drafts for entries in Day One.Although I love Day One, I was not entering information often enough. Action URLs are a powerful feature of Drafts. Action URLs-open other applications, then perform functions. In order to increase my capture rate,  I decided to make an Action URL that transfers text  from Drafts to Day One.Here is how simple it is…..Drafts Day1 Action.jpgI have configured  Day One on my Mac and iOS devices to sync. I also enabled the #hashtag feature in Day One. Hashtags are translated into keywords in Day One.Since enabling this script, I find myself capturing both personal and professional snippets each day. Give it a try!By incorporating Evernote, I’ve greatly simplified many of my capture processes. I highly recommend giving Evernote Premium a whirl and trying out a few of these workflows on your own. You won’t be disapointed.

Ulysses iOS, Storyist, and Scrivener

I’ve had the pleasure of working with the Ulysses Beta iOS App for iPhone over the last few weeks. As with the Desktop version, everything is very well thought out. The iCloud synchronization works seamlessly. I’m a fan!In a few short weeks, Ulysses iOS app has changed the way I write. For my shorter writing projects (e.g. blog entries, letters, memos, etc.), I no longer need to sync individual text files to a DropBox Folder (as I discussed in this entry). Instead, I dictate my text directly into Ulysses. I can mark up the text on my phone, or wait to return to my desktop. All my text and markdown is synchronized between all my devices.For longer writing projects (e.g. manuscripts and grants), I will continue to use Scrivener with DropBox sync. I impatiently waiting for the iOS version of the app so I can ditch syncing text files. As I was looking to see if there was a projected timeline for release of iOS Scrivener, I found this article by Ricardo Sanchez discussing the integration between Storyist and Scrivener. Storyist sounds like what I’ve been waiting for in a mobile solution for Scrivener. I’ll check Storyist out and report back.

My Omnifocus Set-up (Part 1)

I am a huge fan of OmniFocus (OF). I am so dependent on the software, I’m not sure I could function without it. Although there has been much written about the use of OmniFocus, I have yet to see anyone else that uses the software quite the way I do. In this entry, I’ll introduce you to my OmniFocus set-up. In future entires I’ll demonstrate how I use this set-up to maximize the impact of my work in my personal and professional life.My set-up is an amalgamation of many different things I’ve read online. I’m sure, after seeing what I do, others will continue to build on my ideas.The struggle to keep on top of one’s commitments is not new. Before Getting Things Done and OmniFocus, the go to resource for productivity was Stephen Covey’s First Things First (amazon link). This book suggested breaking down your personal and professional lives into various roles (e.g. Researcher, Clinician, Mentor). Each week, within each role, you were to decide up to three important tasks to accomplish (based on both urgency and importance). Each task could be added to one of 4 quadrants:Covey's QuadrantsThe fact that not all urgent tasks are important, nor are all important tasks urgent was a complete revelation for me. Once I understood this, it was much easier to prioritize my personal and professional life. Per Covey, in order to maximize productivity, one is to spend the majority of their time in Quadrant 2 (Not Urgent, Important). Rather than working on projects haphazardly, Covey recommended spending the vast majority of time focused on Quadrant 2 projects. I choose to define Importance as the project’s impact on my long-term goals.I have blended Omnifocus and First Things First (and a little bit of Agile Programming—but that’s an entry for another time) to develop a system that’s truly my own. In the image below, you can see how I organize Omnifocus. I have four high-level folders: Weekly Priorities, Single Tasks, Projects, and Meta.ProjectsMy Weekly Priorities Folder contains three folders: Maintenance, Weekly Priority, and On Deck. The Maintenance Folder contains all the projects to keep my system running—reminders for my daily, weekly, and monthly reviews. The Weekly Priority Folder contains my weekly highest priority level projects (both personal and professional) I chose during my weekly review. The On Deck Folder contains other important projects—if I’m ultra productive and blast through my priority projects, I look in the On Deck Folder for next tasks to accomplish.The Single Tasks High Folder is self-explanatory.The Projects Folder contains two subfolders: Professional and Personal. Within each of these subfolders I have folders that define each of my professional and personal roles. For instance, my Professional Folder contains the following role folders: Administrator, Clinician, Communicator, Consultant, Fundraiser, Innovator/Entrepreneur, Mentor/Teacher, Researcher, Society Member. Each new professional project is placed within the folder of one of my roles.The Meta Folder Contains my Someday/Maybe project folders (things I’m interested in, but have not yet committed to doing). I also store my completed and dropped projects here.After defining a new project, I place the project into one of my personal or professional subfolders. In the Notes Field of OmniFocus, I use Text Expander scripts to label each project by Covey Quadrant. I then may use OmniFocus Perspectives to quickly locate ALL my projects of a particular quadrant.Window_and_PerspectivesUsing these methods, I am able to juggle a huge number of concurrent projects, each week prioritizing those most important to my personal and professional life. In case you’re wondering, I do most of my heavy lifting / organizing on my Mac. I primarily use OF on my iOS device as reference.In a future entry, I’ll explain how I use this set-up in my daily, weekly, monthly, and annual reviews.

Ulysses for iPhone coming soon

I’ve been patiently awaiting the iPhone version of Ulysses. As the Soulmen blog states, they hoped to have the app released by Christmas, but ran into some delays.I’m a big fan of Ulysses—the Soulmen keep adding features—and they have a sense of humor. The iCloud native version is feature-rich without getting in the way. I lose a bit of app functionality when editing files from DropBox, but it is still pleasant to write in the Ulysses interface.Ulysses is, hands down, the best writing environment for web content. In fact, if it wasn’t for Scrivener, I would say Ulysses is the the best writing environment, period.Until the Ulysses iPhone app is released, as I noted in this blog entry, I’m currently forced to interject Editorial into my workflow. Editorial allows me to dictate and edit files on my iPhone, then share that work with Dropbox. In the future, after Ulysses for iPhone is released, Editorial will remain part of my writing arsenal, since I’ve figured out a way to share files back and forth with Scrivener. I’ll use Editorial at least until Scrivener comes out with their mobile app.In some ways, I’m glad Ulysses did not release their app for Christmas. The anticipation gives those of us that love writing something to look forward to. I just hope it doesn’t take Soulmen too long!

MacID-unlock your Mac with TouchID

When asleep, my Mac is configured to require a password to unlock. I often have to type my password dozens of times each day.This am, while reading My Must-Have iOS Apps, 2015 Edition (by Federico Viticci), I found MacID, an app that uses the TouchID on your phone to unlock/lock your Mac.Setup was incredibly easy. I installed the app on my phone and my Mac. Connecting the two was a snap. I installed the unlock bookmark on the main screen of my iPhone. Now, I merely click the app on my iPhone, use the TouchID, and my Mac unlocks. If I have the lid of my Mac closed, when opened, MacID sends a notification to my phone asking if I’d like to unlock—awesome!Not only is the app incredibly functional, but it is very aesthetically pleasing. Check it out!

Tripit and Flightview - Automating Itinerary Building and Flight Tracking

I often travel for business. I previously blogged about my love of TripIt-a website with an app that extracts flight and travel information from my email. I merely send my airline, hotel, and car rental confirmations to plans@tripit.com and the site builds a peronalized itinerary. The Pro version has all sorts of other great features, like finding and booking alternative flights.A while ago, I discovered another site called FlightView. Flightview publishes up-to-the minute, detailed information on flights and airport traffic. It works great in tandem with TripIt. And just like TripIT Flightview is able to extract the salient details from an email itinerary, then activate tracking the day you travel.Now whenever I reserve a flight, I kill two birds with one stone by simply forwarding my flight itinerary to both Tripit and Flightview at the same time. I use this simple trick literally every time I reserve a flight.

Using Drafts to journal in Day One

Last entry, I mentioned how I use Drafts to dump information from my brain, then, only after capturing, do I decide where to send what I wrote. I showed you how to save information from Drafts to Evernote. Today, I will  show you how I capture moments in my journaling app, Day One. 

Although I love Day One, I was not entering information often enough. Action URLs are a powerful feature of Drafts. Action URLs-open other applications, then perform functions. In order to increase my capture rate,  I decided to make an Action URL that transfers text  from Drafts to Day One.

Here is how simple it is…..

Drafts Day1 Action.jpg

I have configured  Day One on my Mac and iOS devices to sync. I also enabled the #hashtag feature in Day One. Hashtags are translated into keywords in Day One.

Since enabling this script, I find myself capturing both personal and professional snippets each day. Give it a try!

Embracing Evernote

Workflows evolve. A few years ago I was hesitant to use Evernote because of its proprietary nature. I was using plaintext to capture everything, but had to work out a complex syncing system to be efficient. Over the last year, I’ve overcome my fear and have increasingly built Evernote into my life. I started using it in so many ways, I finally subscribed to thePremium service. I’ve found Evernote to be a flexible and reliable tool readily available on all my devices — both for capture and to find information when I need it.

Here are a few ways I’m using Evernote:

Clipping Service

The first thing I installed when I started using Evernote was the Mac Clipping Tool. Using the clipping tool I easily capture, attach keywords, and annotate pages from the web. Using the “Share” menu in the web clipper, I copy a link to the note directly as a reference in OmniFocus or Calendar entries. When I’m on my iPhone or iPad I use the Action Button (the square with the arrow emerging from the top) to get items into Evernote.

Emailing notes directly into an Evernote NoteBook (premium feature)

I have transitioned my personal email client to Postbox. Postbox, unlike Mail.app, has an Evernote clipping tool embedded into the interface. Sometimes, I’m unable to use either of these methods and will choose to email a note into Evernote. To learn more about this premium feature, read the excellent overview of Evernote email features (including naming the file, placing the file directly into a specific notebook, or tagging the file with a keyword or reminder time).

I most commonly use this method when I’m answering an email, placing my unique Evernote email address and Omnifocus MailDrop Address in the bcc field of my email. Using this method, I can kill 3 birds with one stone (responding to the email, keeping the reference material, making an Omnifocus entry to keep up with the item).

Linking to reference material for Omnifocus or Calendar

Once information is captured Evernote,  each note has its own unique URL. I use this feature extensively to link reference material to OmniFocus and my Calendar. I have different ways of linking depending on the situation.

By control-clicking on a note in Evernote and then selecting “More Sharing” I copy the web-based URL to my clipboard. I then paste the URL into the note field of Omnifocus or into the appropriate field of my Calendar. Then, even when I change devices, I have access to my reference material.

Another method of grabbing URLs is with Launchbar. As I mentioned, I  now use Launchbar extensively. I can select a note in Evernote and then invoke Launchbar, then I select “Evernote – Copy Link of Selected Note.” This copies the URL of the slected note to my clipboard to be pasted into any other app.

Capturing Ideas in Evernote using Drafts

Evernote extends its great power by linking to many other applications. I’ve found capturing snippets of text into Evernote is even easier than the method I described a few years ago using plaintext.

I use Drafts on my iphone and iPad to capture / brain dump just about everything. Drafts is an essential program on my iPhone. Drafts allows me to capture without thinking about what app I need to open. Once the text is captured, Drafts routes the information wherever I choose. I wrote about one way I use Drafts to capture and process meeting notes. 

When I want to capture an idea, I merely open Drafts and type or dictate my idea into the app. When I’m done, I route the information to Evernote using the following custom action:

IMG 0608

The action automatically derives a title from the first line of the text and appends the date and time. Furthermore, it files the note in my “Ideas” Notebook in Evernote and tags the note with the keyword “Ideas."

The note ends up in Evernote looking like this:

Screenshot 2015 11 27 13 29 52

When I get to Evernote, I append further information in the note as needed. I use IdeaX in the header so when I search for a list of my ideas, they are not mixed together with information I’ve gathered from other sources. If I search for a keyword(s), I not only see my ideas, but all the information I’ve gathered in Evernote—very useful.

Capturing Blog Ideas, Lyric Ideas, Quotes, and other Snippets in Evernote using Drafts

I use a similar scripts in Drafts to capture a whole host of other information on the go. Each class of information is filed into it’s own Notebook in Evernote. For example, here is the action I use to capture information for my blog:

 

IMG 0609

 

By incorporating Evernote, I’ve greatly simplified many of my capture processes. I highly recommend giving Evernote Premium a whirl and trying out a few of these workflows on your own. You won’t be disapointed.

Writing with my Voice

In my academic roles in the Duke University Human Simulation and Patient Safety Center I write a great deal. I write manuscripts, grants,white papers, and a whole host of other material. I’ve read the most efficient way to write a long document is to spew everything into a draft as quickly as possible, then go back and edit.Typing slows me down. The fastest way for me to “write” something is with my voice. I find it easier to adhere to this ‘draft first’ rule when I dictate using my voice rather than typing out a draft on my keyboard.Why is this? When I type, I tend to correct errors as they occur. Even worse, I try to polish each sentence on the fly (rather than powering through the entire document at one time). The constant editing interrupts my thoughts and makes slogging through an whole first draft extremely tedious.Lately, I've been using a workflow that takes advantage of the native iPhone’s dictation feature to “write.” This workflows has sped up my writing significantly by forcing me to keep moving forward while allowing me to write anywhere/anytime.This workflow is relatively easy to set up. Here is the software you’ll need.OmniOutlinerOmniOutliner is, you guessed it, an outlining program. Before I write anything, I use OmniOutliner on both on my iPad and on my Mac to plan my document. The Omni Group recently added the ability to sync to iCloud (currently a beta feature). Universal access to my outlines allows me to draft and rearrange my outline on the fly, regardless of location.ScrivenerThe next piece of software is Scrivener for Mac. Scrivener is an essential writing programs. That’s right, essential! If you don’t use Scrivener yet, stop reading and download the software right now.One of the advantages of Scrivener on Mac is it allows me to write in chunks. I can start writing in the middle of my project. When I sync the Scrivener project to Dropbox, I end up with a number of text files (each representing one ‘chunk’ of the Scrivener Project). Being able to write non-linearly from anywhere allows me to complete a draft very quickly. I am able to knock out sections of a document while in my car, walking between meetings, or anywhere else the urge to write hits me.Chunks of text in Scrivener may be moved around ad nauseum. I take advantage of the ability to move things around quite frequently. If I don’t like what I’ve changed, Scrivener has built in version control , so I can revert back to past drafts.Scrivener exports pieces of the project as individual files. Scrivener puts all these files in a “Drafts” folder inside the folder of your choice. These files can be txt, rtf, or other formats. I use text since I write in Markdown.DropBoxI set up a folder in my DropBox hierarchy called “Writing Sync.” It is here I synchronize my project between Scrivener and Editorial. Each new project gets its own folder.EditorialEditorial is a phenomenal text editor for iOS with a slew of built in features. Editorial allows me to edit documents written in Markdown and has a wholebunch of other features that makes it my go-to document editing software on iOS. Editorial, unsurprisingly, syncs with DropBox. I have Editorial point to my  “Writing Sync” in Dropbox.Now that I’ve discussed the software I use, let’s set everything up.The WorkflowThe first thing I do is draft my outline in OmniOutliner. I typically do this on my iPad or my Mac then rearrange the outline until I'm happy. Once my outline is complete I export it as an OPML file.I create a blank Scrivener project, then import the OPML file into Scrivener. Importing the OPML populates the Scrivener project, preserving the hierarchy of the outline. Each bullet of the outline receives its own individual chunk in Scrivener.The next step is to set up synchronization of the Scrivener with Dropbox. Under the File Menu, I go to Sync->With External Folder….I make sure the back up before export box is checked and make sure that the project is exported as text. I select the “Writing Sync” Folder as the text file destination. I hit okay and the entire Scrivener project is exported to "Writing Sync" as individual text documents (Scrivener assigns a number to the front of each text file to keep them in order).On my iPad or iPhone, I point Editorial to my “Writing Sync” Folder. Within Editorial I can edit each of the individual text files. I open the file I wish to write/edit and use the dictation (Siri must be enabled) on My iPhone. Editorial immediately synchronizes the new text back  into Dropbox.Once I return to my Mac I re-synchronize the project in Scrivener. All the files in Scrivener now reflect my writing from Editorial. One I've completed my first draft, I use this same back and forth method to edit.Once I'm happy with each of the chunks, I go back to Scrivener on my Mac and compile the whole document as a single Markdown file. I save this file a level above the “Drafts” Folder Scrivener created when syncing.I  can access the full document using Editorial (or any other text editor) on my Mac or iOS device (I use Byword or Ulysses on my Mac) . Finally, when I'm done polishing, I export the document to Microsoft Word (or to the web). Using this workflow, I can write something in about 1/10 the time it used to take me with a keyboard. Although this method works well, it is not without a few annoyances. iPhones limit dictation to 30 second chunks. In addition, Editorial tends to chop off the last few words of a sentence after those 30 seconds expire. Because I’m working on segments of the overall project and can dictate quite a bit in 30 seconds, this is not a huge deal for me. When drafting, the key is to keep pressing forward.This workflow has literally changed to way I write. The workflow allows me great deal of flexibility and saves me a great deal of time.

/Slash

Last week I came across a story about a new iOS product called /Slash. /Slash is an add-on keyboard for iOS. Over the past week I’ve been using /Slash extensively and in a short time it has earned its rightful place on both my iPhone and iPad.

/Slash allows me to perform functions without leaving the application I’m working in. For instance if I’m typing a text message to a friend I can share my current location, search the web, or search contact information without ever leaving the Messages app.

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IMG_0481.jpg

This functionality is great! I find myself using /Slash multiple times a day. My only complaint is that I'm unable to dictate using my voice when the /Slash keyboard is activated. In order to dictate I need to switch to the built-in iOS keyboard.

/Slash has quickly has become one of only three keyboards I use on a regular basis—the others being the built in keyboard and Sunrise Meet.

/Slash is a phenomenal addition to my productiviy arsenal. I look forward to seeing how the app continues to evolve.