TextExpander — Fuhgeddaboudit (Sponsor)

This week’s sponsor at MacSparky is TextExpander. With TextExpander, you create snippets, whether it’s a word, a phrase, a sentence or longer. Once you save that snippet with a short abbreviation, you can, with few keystrokes rather than typing your snippet out, quickly insert the text you want anywhere you type. 

There are some words and phrases that I can’t get my fingers to type correctly, or I don’t remember the correct spelling or where the accent mark goes. With TextExpander at my fingertips, I never have to worry about this. For instance, I like saying, “Forget about it,” but what I really mean is, “Fuhgeddaboudit!” I cannot remember how to spell that. I use four keystrokes and TextExpender pops in the 14-letter word. I’m lucky that MacSparky’s worldwide, and sometimes, I like to say thanks back in another language. There’s a Thanks group in my TextExpander library so I never have to look that up since I just keep (and update) TextExpander snippets on how to say, “Thank you.” 감사합니다, TextExpander.

TextExpander helps you work faster and smarter so you can focus your time on your most important work. Get 20% off TextExpander and get ready to minimize effort and maximize productivity.

The New DraftTable

ElevationLab has put out a new and improved DraftTable for iPad Pro. I think a lot of iPad stands just aren't sturdy and adjustable enough for an iPad Pro, and ElevationLab has thoughtfully engineered a stand for some of the different ways we use the iPad Pro. DraftTable V2 for iPad Pro has easy-to-adjust spring-loaded legs that lock open and closed, and an extra wide adjustment range. That means you can adjust your iPad Pro to the best position for what you need to get done without it moving or tipping over when you tap or draw on it. But that doesn't mean the DraftTable is bulky or cumbersome. In fact, it neatly folds away so that it's flat and easy to store and travel with.

They've also got a DraftTable V2 Pro Kit available that includes ArmRest, which lets you draw comfortably all day without fatigue, and a silicone PencilStand, which holds our Apple Pencil locks to your desk with air suction so you won't knock it over. Try out this ergonomic iPad Pro stand to get the most out your iPad.

I purchased the V1 DraftTable and I still use it. It is a great way to use your iPad on your desk and I use mine all time.

Focused on Timing

As I’ve been rethinking where the iPad fits in my life, I’ve been using a laptop a lot more for remote work lately. That sometimes surfaces new opportunities for me and one of those is improved time tracking with Timing. I’ve always run Timing in the background, but because I was doing so much work on iPad before, it wasn’t as useful to me. With the new order of things, Timing is now giving me incredibly accurate time tracking data without requiring me to push a button every time I context shift. I like that. I also really like Timing’s reporting functions.

Timing is out with some updates. To better reflects time entries, as opposed to tasks, "tasks" have been renamed to "time entries”, as that what is what this concept actually represents. They’ve cautioned that if you are using Timing's AppleScript functionality, you might need to replace "task" with "time entry" and/or "timer" in your scripts. 

The other update is a web app update. Now you can include app usage in the Timing web app's reports if you’re a Timing subscriber on the "Expert" or "Teams" plan. With this update, you can use the "App Usage" switch to include or exclude app usage from your reports.

If you spend a lot of time working behind a Mac and want zero-effort time tracking data, check out Timing.

Mac Power Users 603: Workin' with iWork

Starting with a pet project for Steve Jobs, all the way to a modern, web-infused set of applications across multiple platforms, iWork has expanded into a suite of tools more than capable of meeting almost anyone's needs. This week on Mac Power Users, Stephen and I talk through Keynote, Pages and Numbers, giving tips and comparing them to office suites offered by other companies.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • 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.

  • Pingdom: Start monitoring your website performance and availability today, and get instant alerts when an outage occurs or a site transaction fails. Use offer code MPU to get 30% off. Offer expires on January 31, 2022, and can be used only once.

  • Electric: Stop stressing over scattered devices. Get a free pair of Beats Solo3 Wireless Headphones when you schedule a meeting.

Automators 83: Home Automation 2.0

In this episode of Automators, Rosemary and I dive into Rosemary's updates to her home automation, smart locks, Home Assistant, and even a cute little robot mop.

This episode of Automators is sponsored by:

  • ExpressVPN: High-speed, secure and anonymous VPN service. Get an extra three months free.

  • Technology Untangled: Join Michael Bird as he untangles innovation through a series of interviews, stories, and analyses with some of the industry’s brightest brains.

  • Privacy: Smarter payments. Get $5 to spend on your first purchase.

GarageBand Updates and Utility

I’m late with this news, but Chance Miller from 9to5mac shared how GarageBand for iOS and iPadOS has been updated with all-new Sound Packs, Producer Packs, and Remix Sessions to include some of today’s top artists and producers. There aren’t just new sounds to play with but because you get to hear and play with isolated vocals, loops, beats, individual instruments, and samples, you can get as creative as you want to make your own music in GarageBand. I’m excited to play around in GarageBand and just hear what some of the fun and weird stuff I can come up with.

I continue to think that GarageBand is one of the most underrated Apple applications. It brings real powerful audio production tools to everyone presented in an understandable way. We used to produce Mac Power Users with GarageBand. I’d have killed for this software when I was a kid.

My Free Apple Mail Seminar

I’m going to start doing free monthly webinars here at MacSparky and the next one is all about how I’m using Apple mail with a combination of AppleScript and other automation tools to make the application dance. I’ve got a lot of good ideas to help you make Apple Mail dance, so why don’t you join me?

Make Mail Dance, September 2, 2021, 9:00 AM

If the date/time are inconvenient to you, go ahead and sign up anyway. Afterward, I’ll be sending out time-limited access to a recording.

Mac Power Users 602: Was That a Rabbit Hole?

In this feedback episode of Mac Power Users, Stephen and I discuss website redesigns, quote applications, encryption, virtualizing Windows, and a whole lot more.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • 1Password: Have you ever forgotten a password? You don't have to worry about that anymore.

  • Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code MPU at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.

  • Setapp: More than 200 powerful apps for your Mac. Try it free for a week.

Acorn 7

Acorn is a quality image editor for MacOS that won’t break your patience or your bank. They’ve got you covered on the basics like touching up your images, removing backgrounds, color correcting, resizing, and cropping, but they can help you do so much more.

Acorn gives you choices. They’ve got a ton of photo effects to choose from, and they’re easy to use. You can really play around with filters. Not only can you combine filters together for endless combinations, but you don’t have to commit and can change your mind if you don’t like the filter you chose.

Gus Mueller, the gent behind Flying Meat Software, just keeps improving Acorn. Their last update gave us a new export workflow, a super accurate color picker, a tool to help fix perspective distortions, and altering or even creating your own animated GIF. Acorn on sale at only $19.99, which is 50% off the regular price but that is ending next week.

Ikigai — Book Notes

I read a lot of books and spend some time after the fact digesting them. I’ve decided to start sharing some of my book notes here. I hope you enjoy this first one.

Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life is a worthy read. Written by Héctor García and Frances Miralles, the book looks closely at the people of Okinawa, who live longer than anyone else, and the Japanese concept of ikigai. Ikigai, or at least my understanding of it, is the Japanese notion of one’s purpose in life. It’s a mixture of vocation, passion, and abilities, which I came to think of as the reason to jump out of bed in the morning.

Moreover, you don’t just necessarily have one ikigai or keep the same ikigai throughout your life. It can evolve as you do. The book explains that having a purpose in life is so important in Japanese culture that the western concept of retirement doesn’t exist there.

The authors spent a lot of time talking to very old Okinawans, looking for commonalities and the thing that stood out most was the concept of ikigai. They all had it and embraced it.

The book goes into depth associating the ikigai concept with Japanese culture, exercise, meditation, and mental health. But the book is definitely written for westerners, attempting to translate these concepts and ideas for the western mindset, and it largely succeeds.

The authors explain ten rules of ikigai:

  1. Stay active; don’t retire.

  2. Take it slow.

  3. Don’t fill your stomach.

  4. Surround yourself with good friends.

  5. Get in shape for your next birthday.

  6. Smile.

  7. Reconnect with nature.

  8. Give thanks.

  9. Live in the moment.

  10. Follow your ikigai.

Read as this summarized list, it can feel pretty shallow, but the book adds more depth. At 208 pages, it is a fairly quick read, and I got a lot from it. I particularly enjoyed reading the advice from Japanese centenarians. This book got me thinking about many of my own habits and how well I’m tending to my own ikigai. It also led to some changes in the ways I handle stress. If you’d like to dig deeper on this topic, check out Ikigai.

SaneBox: To Unsubscribe without Unsubscribing (Sponsor)

Have you ever want to banish someone into a black hole? You can with SaneBox, this week’s MacSparky sponsor. If you don’t want to hear from a sender again, or want to unsubscribe from a list without having to unsubscribe from a list, SaneBox will do the dirty work for you. 

The SaneBlackHole is the folder for training emails to your trash. You’ll move messages into this folder, and SaneBox will learn that all future emails from these senders go to the trash. 

Sometimes, unsubscribing from an email list can do more harm than good. Depending on the list you’re trying to remove yourself from, because you’ve identified yourself as a real person by unsubscribing, you may have opened yourself up to even more junk mail coming your way. Anything that comes from these senders in the future will be put directly into the SaneBlackHole, so you don’t even have to bother with unsubscribing.

Banish your email to the SaneBlackHole. And if you do make a mistake, you can just move the email out of your SaneBlackHole folder to the correct Sane folder. If you’re thinking about giving SaneBox a try, now’s a great time. You can sign up for your free trial, and you'll get a $10 credit you can use towards a SaneBox subscription.

Tinderbox 9

Tinderbox 9 is now available. It’s one of the largest leaps Tinderbox has ever taken, with all sorts of improvements — big and tiny.

Here’s just one of the new features, the Commands & Info Bar on the Help menu. Open it any time and begin typing. You can ask it about videos to watch (View video…). You can ask it to open any Tinderbox Inspector. You can ask it to find topics in Mark Anderson’s wonderful Tinderbox Reference Manual. You can Select any note by name, or Open any Tinderbox document that Tinderbox 9 has seen. This gets you to your data much faster and that’s just one of some 150 improvements.

Tinderbox 9 is a free update if you've purchased or upgraded Tinderbox in the past year.

Focused 132: Willpower and Your Environment

Is willpower enough to plow through? In this episode of Focused, Mike and I look into that question.

This episode of Focused is sponsored by:

  • Indeed: Get a free $75 credit to upgrade your job post.

  • Timing: The automatic time-tracking app for macOS. Use this link to save 10% on your purchase.

  • ExpressVPN: High-speed, secure and anonymous VPN service. Get an extra three months free.

MindNode's Outlining Feature Now on iPhone and iPad

Awhile ago, I wrote about MindNode’s Editable Outline feature available on the Mac. This feature has been a real game changer for me and I routinely now work on my mind maps in both map and outline modes in Mind Node. The good news is that the outline feature is now also on iPhone and iPad versions of MindNode. With this update, you can:

  • Interact with the Outline using touch, an external keyboard, or a trackpad

  • Outline and mind map side-by-side, or use the new full-screen Outline

  • Use iOS features like External Screen Support and Scribble with Apple Pencil

Outlining, like Visual Tags, Focus Mode, Notes, Connections, Stickers, Quick Entry, all styling and layout options, is a MindNode Plus feature, which is MindNode’s cross-platform (macOS and iOS) subscription. Plans are available for $2.49 monthly or $19.99 yearly. A small price, I think, for the convenience of being able to gather my thoughts, organize my ideas, and try to make some sort of sense of them. Learn more at their website.

Free eBook - What's Slowing Down Your Mac

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The fine folks at CleanMyMac have just released a comprehensive ebook on how to speed up slower Macs. It’s got recommendations on how to identify the biggest culprits that slow Macs down, how to clean every corner of macOS, and how to retrieve RAM. They’ve also included some lesser-known Mac productivity hacks such as renaming files in bulk or turning folder icons into emojis to set the right mood. It does happen to mention CleanMyMac as a solution to some of the problems, but it also includes lots of helpful commands and actions that don’t require using additional software. Best of all, it’s free.

MacTrack Legal Conference

MacTrack Legal is back this year from September 24–25 in Orlando, FL, at Disney's Yacht & Beach Club, so, yeah, I’ll be there. It’s a tech and legal practice conference for lawyers who want to improve their use of technology. I’ve attended and spoken at this conference in the past, and with so many different and new ways to use your Apple technology in the legal profession and not having left my house for over a year, I’m really excited to go and to speak this year.

My talk will focus on the use of Personal Knowledge Management Tools (PKM) for practicing law. I have thoughts! For those running a legal practice using a Mac, iPad, and iPhone, join us!