Wie schlägt sich Obsidian, wenn man nicht nur ein bisschen mit dem Knowledge Graph spielen, sondern den kompletten Arbeitsalltag als Wissenschaftlerin damit bestreiten möchte? Die Erziehungswissenschaftlerin Lilli Riettiens berichtet hier von ihren Erfahrungen.
(mehr …)Suchergebnisse für: „Obsidian“
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Obsidian – mein zweites Gehirn?
Obsidian will mehr als nur eine weitere Notizen-App sein. Es soll nicht weniger als mein zweites Gehirn werden. Was unterscheidet Obsidian von anderen Notizen-Apps? Und kann die App meinen Arbeitsalltag nachhaltig verändern?
Ich schrieb auf diesem Blog schon mehrfach über meine Versuche, Wissen aufzubewahren und vor allem wieder auffindbar und nutzbar zu machen. Das ist komplizierter, als man zunächst denken mag, weil Ordner oder Datenbanken selten dazu anregen, Verknüpfungen herzustellen, wie es unser Gehirn ständig tut. Einzelne PDFs, Word-Dokumente oder was auch immer sind schwer miteinander in Relation zu setzen. Natürlich kann ich immer auf eine Textstelle verweisen, so wie es auch in wissenschaftlichen Texten geschieht. Aber es ist eine Sache, abstrakt auf einen anderen Text zu verweisen. Was man eigentlich möchte, ist doch sofort zu einem Gedanken springen zu können, um so verschiedene Fundstellen zu etwas neuem zu verbinden und auch um überhaupt diese gedanklichen Verbindungen entdecken zu können!
Eine neue Art von Notizen-App
Vor einigen Monaten bin ich dann auf Roam Research gestoßen. Roam ist eine Art Online-Outliner mit der Möglichkeit Backlinks zu setzen und stellt eine neue Klasse an Notizen-Apps dar, zu der Obsidian, Roam, oder auch TiddlyWiki gehören. Die zwei Kernkonzepte hier sind Transclusion und Backlinks. Was beutetet das? Backlinks sind in diesem Kontext ein doppelter Verweis zwischen zwei Textteilen. Ich kann damit in Text A auf Text B verweisen, indem ich ein [[Wort]] in doppelte eckige Klammern setze. Der Clou ist nun, dass auch ein Verweis zu Text A in Text B auftaucht, beide Texte sind also miteinander verbunden. Ich kann also auf Text B kommen, wenn ich Text A lese, gleichzeitig aber auch Text A entdecken, wenn ich in Text B bin. Und da das in Roam so einfach möglich ist, geht das Setzen von Backlinks und damit Verbindungen schnell in Fleisch und Blut über. Mit der Zeit entsteht so ein Netz an Informationen1.
Transclusion demgegenüber bedeutet, dass man einen Teil einer Notiz in eine andere Notiz einbinden kann. Bei Roam Research funktioniert das pro Absatz. Man kann also jeden Absatz jeder Notiz in jede andere Notiz einbinden. So entstehen Geflechte von Ideen, Wissen und Gedanken. Ein ziemlich mächtiges Tool, wenn man es erst einmal verinnerlicht hat.
Es soll hier aber gar nicht um Roam Research gehen, sondern um Obsidian. Ich habe Roam schnell wieder verlassen, weil es erstens 15$/Monat kostet und zweitens nur im Browser läuft. Die Dateien liegen also nicht einfach auf der Festplatte, was den Export erschwert. Außerdem hatte ich mich ja, wie ich hier beschrieben habe, dazu entschieden, so weit es geht auf interoperable Markdown-Dateien zu setzen. Roam wäre hier ein direkter Verstoß gegen mein eigenes Prinzip gewesen. Welch Glück, dass ich durch das Mac Power Users Forum auf Obsidian gestoßen bin: eine Notizen-App, die auf Markdown basiert und Backlinks, sowie Transclusion unterstützt.
Ein erster Blick auf Obsidian
Eines direkt vorweg: Obsidian ist noch im Beta-Stadion. Es ist also noch kein offizielles Release. Die App ist aber – Stand 18. August – schon in Version 0.8.4, sodass wir schon recht nah an der 1.0 und damit dem öffentlichen Release sind. Und das merkt man auch. Die App läuft für mich sehr stabil. Es fehlen eher noch ein paar Feature, die man in einer 1.0 erwarten würde2. Außerdem gibt es Versionen für Mac, Windows und Linux, sodass jede*r mit einem klassischen Computer Obsidian nutzen kann.
Was ist denn Obsidian nun aber genau und wieso nutze ich es seit Wochen fast jeden Tag?
Obsidian ist eine App, in der sich Markdown-Dokumente schreiben lassen. Markdown ist eine einfache Auszeichnungssprache für Text, die es ermöglicht, Text während des Schreibens zu formatieren, ohne dafür ein besonderes Format zu nutzen. Markdown-Dateien lassen sich auch mit jeder App öffnen, die einfache Textdateien mit der Endung .txt öffnen kann. Die Formatierung erfolgt direkt im Text. Beispielsweise sind Worte, die von einem * auf jeder Seite eingeschlossen werden kursiv. Zwei * auf jeder Seite macht ein Wort fett. Hier findest Du eine gute Übersicht für Markdown-Befehle. Da Markdown für Schreiben im Web entwickelt wurde und Markdown-Files zudem kompatibel mit Dritt-Apps bleiben, ist es das Textformat meiner Wahl. Mein Schreibprogramm iA Writer setzt z. B. auch auf Markdown.
Obsidian packt einzelne Notizen in Markdown-Files und speichert diese in einem Ordner auf der Festplatte. Die Dateien werden also nicht in einer Datenbank gespeichert, was das Arbeiten mit ihnen in anderen Apps oder die Umwandlung in andere Dateiformate wie PDF massiv erleichtert.
Das allein wäre natürlich noch nicht die Aufregung wert. Hier kommen aber die oben genannten Funktionalitäten von Roam Research ins Spiel. Obsidian kann nämlich Backlinks setzen. Damit wird es plötzlich möglich, mehrere Notizen – und damit Informationen – aneinander zu koppeln. Es können Informationscluster entstehen und man kann sich von einer Notiz zur nächsten klicken. In etwa so wie auf Wikipedia.
Da allein fände ich schon ziemlich cool. An dieser Stelle kommt aber der Graph View ins Spiel. Das ist eine Visualisierung aller Einzelnotizen und ihrer Verbindungen. Man kann also visuell mit dem eigenen Wissen arbeiten und so Verbindungen oder große Informationscluster sehen. Je häufiger zu einer bestimmten Notiz verlinkt wird, desto größer ist ihr Knoten. Mit der Zeit bilden sich so Gravitationszentren für Themen, die Du immer wieder bearbeitest. Sehr nützlich ist auch, dass man in die Ansicht hinein- oder herauszoomen kann, um entweder das Bigger Picture oder einzelnen Notizen und ihre Verbindungen zu sehen.
Mein kompletter Graph mit allen Notizen 
und eine farblich hervorgehobene Notiz mit allen Verbindungen
Mit Plugins zum perfekten Wissenstool?
Und dann sind da noch die Plugins. Das sind kleine Programmbestandteile, die man an- und abschalten kann, je nach dem was man benötigt. Aktuell ist eine Reihe an Plugins direkt mit an Bord, die Vision ist aber, dass Nutzer*innen Plugins selbst programmieren und dann für alle verfügbar machen können. So könnte Obsidian in Zukunft in viele Richtungen wachsen und je nach Anwendungsfall angepasst werden.
Aktuell gibt es u. a. Plugins, um per Tastenkombination eine Daily Note zu erzeugen, einen Datums-Präfix zu erzeugen, Notizen in Folien umzuwandeln oder Audiomitschnitte zu erzeugen. Falls diese Funktionalität wirklich so umgesetzt wird, wie angedacht, kann Obsidian zum perfekten, da persönlichsten Wissenstool werden. Allerdings sollte man hier auch Vorsicht walten lassen. Man sollte sich nie für eine Software auf Grundlage angekündigter Features entscheiden. Auf dem Weg dorthin kann einfach zu viel schief gehen.
Auch sehr schön finde ich die Möglichkeit, das Erscheinungsbild von Obsidian ganz den persönlichen Vorlieben anzupassen. Hierfür kann man entweder eine der vorgefertigten Design nutzen, die zu großen Teilen auch direkt aus der Community kommen, oder aber CSS nutzen bzw. lernen, um bestehende Designs anzupassen, oder von Grund auf neu zu schreiben. Ich selbst habe mir das wunderbare Ars Magna Design von Mediapathic genommen und die Schriftart zu Times New Roman verändert.
Obsidian im Standard-Design (Dark Mode) 
Und mit Ars Magna Design
Nachteile: (Noch) keine mobilen Apps und keine echte Transclusion
Leider kommt Obsidian auch mit einer Reihe mehr oder weniger schwerwiegender Nachteile daher. Das für mich persönlich größte Problem ist, dass es (noch) keine mobilen Apps gibt. Auf meinem iPad bin ich also aufgeschmissen. Apps sind zwar auf der Roadmap, aber wie ich oben schon schrieb: Verlasse dich niemals darauf, dass angekündigte Software auch wirklich kommt. Ich bin in diesem Punkt dennoch vorsichtig optimistisch, da es einfach für zu viele potenzielle Nutzer*innen ein Dealbreaker wäre, keine App für iOS und/oder Android zu haben. Bis es so weit ist, bearbeite ich die Files in iA Writer. Da sie ja einfach auf der Festplatte bzw. Cloud liegen, ist das zum Glück problemlos möglich. Auf die ganzen schönen Features wie Backlinks muss ich natürlich verzichten, sodass ich Notizen, die ich auf dem iPad beginne oder bearbeite, immer noch auf dem Mac nachbearbeiten muss.
Das zweite Problem ist eine logische Konsequenz aus einem von Obsidians größten Vorteilen. Da es auf Markdown-Dateien setzt, funktioniert Transclusion hier nicht in dem Sinne, wie es z. B. Roam unterstützt. Da Roam ein eigenes Format nutzt, kann es jeden Absatz einzeln ansprechen und somit nutzbar für Transclusion machen. Damit lassen sich eben auch kleinste Teile einzelner Notizen wiederverwenden.
Bei Obsidian geht das nicht, was einfach an technischen Limitierungen von Text- bzw. Markdown-Files liegt. Momentan ist es immerhin möglich, auf Überschriften in anderen Notizen zu verweisen, sodass man immerhin Abschnitte per Transclusion in andere Notizen einbinden kann und nicht auf Datei-Ebene verbleiben muss. Das ist zwar besser als nichts, kann aber mit Roam nicht mithalten, da nur auf deutlich größere „Informationshappen“ per Transclusion verwiesen werden kann. Aber immerhin kann man mit den Befehlen![[Notizentitel]]oder![[Notizentitel\#Überschrift]]Notizen bzw. Teile davon in andere Notizen einbetten.Drittens ist Obsidian eine Electron-App3. Electron ist ein Entwicklungsframework, das es ermöglicht, Desktop-Apps für mehrere Betriebssysteme zu entwickeln, ohne für jede App komplett neuen Code schreiben zu müssen. Das ist natürlich an sich ein großer Zugewinn, da Obsidian so für Mac, Windows und Linux existieren kann. Allerdings bringt das auch eine Reihe an Problemen mit sich. So werden Electron-Apps niemals so effizient sein, wie Apps, die nur für eine dieser Plattformen programmiert wurden, einfach weil Kompromisse eingegangen werden müssen, wenn man für mehrere Plattformen programmieren will.
Wird Obsidian meine Dauerlösung?
Mit dem Vorstellen neuer Apps und Tools ist es immer so eine Sache. Schon manches Mal dachte ich, eine App gefunden zu haben, die mein tägliches Arbeiten grundlegend verändern würde. DevonThink war so ein Fall. Oftmals stellte sich dann nach einigen Wochen oder Monaten Nutzung heraus, dass es doch nicht ganz so revolutionär war, wie zu Beginn angenommen.
Aus diesem Grund habe ich auch einige Monate gewartet, bis ich über Obsidian schreibe. Ich wollte zunächst beobachten, ob die App wirklich Eingang in mein tägliches Arbeiten findet. Stand jetzt ist das der Fall. Gleichzeitig hat Obsidian eine Lücke geschlossen, die ich von Beginn an extrem problematisch fand: das Verbinden von Informationen über Notizen hinweg. In dieser Hinsicht ist Obsidian ein Gamechanger für mich.
Mobile Apps sind Pflicht
Klar ist aber auch, dass es das nur bleiben wird, wenn mittelfristig brauchbare mobile Apps hinzukommen. Aktuell kann ich das Fehlen verschmerzen, da ich Corona-bedingt seit Monaten im Home Office arbeite. Sollte ich aber mal wieder häufiger unterwegs sein, will ich mit meinen Informationen auch unterwegs arbeiten können – und dabei nicht auf die eigentlich spannenden Features verzichten.
Obsidian hat riesiges Potential. Und eines ist auch klar: Die Ideen, die Apps wie Roam oder Obsidian gerade etablieren, also Backlinks oder Transclusion, werden nicht wieder verschwinden. Meine Prognose ist, dass immer mehr Apps diese Funktionalitäten einbauen werden. Die bekannte Apps Drafts hat das bereits getan, Bear arbeitet wohl daran. Es ist also wahrscheinlich, dass ich die Funktionalität in ähnlicher Form auch woanders bekommen werde. Ich mag aber Obsidian schon allein wegen des offenen und Community-zentrierten Ansatzes. Und deshalb hoffe ich auch, dass Obsidian ein Erfolg wird.
^1 Roam Research hat noch viele andere Funktionen und funktioniert auch nicht auf Text-, sondern auf Blockbasis. Das ist ein wichtiger Unterschied, der an dieser Stelle aber übergangen werden muss. Ich hoffe, dass ich in näherer Zukunft noch mal einen tiefergehenden Vergleich zwischen Roam und Obsidian machen kann.
^2 Eines dieser Features ist mit Sicherheit, den Graph-View filtern zu können. Allerdings wird daran laut Roadmap schon gearbeitet und ich denke, dass es spätestens mit Version 0.9 kommen wird.
^3 Ich bin ganz sicher kein Electron-Experte. Sollten also Ungenauigkeiten oder Fehler in diesem Absatz sein, freue ich mich über eine Richtigstellung per Mail oder Kommentar.
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Obsidian – my second brain?
Obsidian wants to be more than just another note-taking app. It wants to be nothing less than my second brain. What makes Obsidian different from other note-taking apps? And can the app change my workday in the long term?
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My Paper Reading Workflow
Streamlining Academic Research: A PhD Student’s Guide to Efficient Literature Management
In the realm of academic research, an efficient workflow for handling scholarly literature is invaluable. As a PhD student and migration researcher, I have developed over the past years a workflow that allows me to efficiently search, download, read, and annotate my research literature. Although this process can be complex, it has proven to be extremely beneficial in my work. Thus, I am eager to share this workflow with others, hoping it can assist you in your endeavours as well. It might sound complicated, but I assure you, it’s not. So, without further ado, let’s delve into the details.
Discovering Relevant Literature for a Case Study on Migration Policy in Italy
When I started my case study on migration policy in Italy, my ideas were still vague, and my main goal was to gain an overview of the relevant literature. For this purpose, I have been using innovative tools such as Litmaps.co and researchrabbit.com. These platforms allow users to upload individual papers or search based on their DOI. They then provide additional papers that match the initial one, either because they were cited by the original paper or they cite it. This feature quickly gives an overview of the relevant literature in the field.
Litmaps is an amazing tool to quickly identify key readings in a particular field In particular, Litmaps stands out due to its practicality. Not only does it help find related papers, but it also allows users to download these findings as a BibTeX file. This feature is extremely convenient as it enables an immediate import into a literature management tool like Zotero.
Thus, within a short period, I can compile a list of relevant literature to work through. Additionally, the bibliographic data is readily available due to the import into Zotero. This combination of tools and techniques has streamlined my literature discovery process, making my research more efficient.
Procuring PDFs: Diverse Approaches to Accessing Knowledge
Once I have my list of relevant literature, the next step is to obtain the actual PDFs. There are several methods I use to accomplish this, each with its own advantages.
Firstly, I utilize the online catalog of my university. Given that institutions often have subscriptions to a variety of academic databases, this is a great first stop to find the full text of articles.
If this doesn’t yield the desired results, I turn to a general internet search. Specifically, I use DuckDuckGo and append ‚filetype:pdf‘ to the search query. This often helps locate the PDF version of a piece of literature quickly and efficiently. Specialized platforms like ResearchGate are another great resource. Many researchers upload their papers there, making it a useful tool for accessing academic materials.
Finally, when all else fails, I resort to Sci-Hub. While controversial, I believe it underscores a crucial point: knowledge should be free. It has often proven invaluable in accessing materials that might otherwise be out of reach.
Reading and Annotating: The Role of PDF Expert by Readdle
To read and annotate these papers, I use PDF Expert by Readdle. I’ve tried many PDF readers over the years, but PDF Expert has consistently proven to be the best. Moreover, my license allows me to use PDF Expert both on my Mac and iPad.
Typically, I prefer using my iPad for this task. The experience of highlighting texts with the Apple Pencil is simply more pleasant. To ensure synchronization between my devices, I store the texts in the Documents by Readdle folder in iCloud. This setup allows me to read and annotate seamlessly, regardless of the device I’m using.
When it comes to the actual reading of the literature, there aren’t any shortcuts or secret techniques – it’s a part of the process you simply have to do. While there are strategies to enhance understanding and retention, the most critical factor is the time and effort you put into reading and understanding the material.
Transferring Annotations to Obsidian: Leveraging Alfred Workflows
After thoroughly reading and annotating the PDFs, the challenge is then how to transfer these critical literature notes from the PDF into Obsidian for further work. While PDF Expert does offer a feature for this and even supports Markdown, I find it too inflexible for my needs. For instance, it doesn’t support custom templates for export, which would require me to painstakingly reformat my literature notes.
To circumvent this, I use an Alfred workflow developed by Chris Grieser, also known as Pseudometa. He is a well-known figure in the Obsidian community, having also developed the Shimmering Focus Theme for Obsidian. This workflow allows me to efficiently transfer my annotations from PDF Expert into Obsidian, maintaining the format I prefer, and saving considerable time and effort.
Alfred Workflows: Streamlining the Transfer of Annotations
The technical details behind the Alfred workflow aren’t necessary for this discussion. What’s important is that it’s designed as a workflow for Alfred, a launcher app that replaces Spotlight. Grieser explains how to configure the workflow on Github, and spoiler alert: it’s straightforward.
Part of the configuration includes assigning a keyboard shortcut. Once I’ve finished reading and annotating the PDF, I return to the folder, press the shortcut, and the script automatically extracts all the annotations, including the correct page numbers – invaluable for academic work.
To ensure the workflow functions, I must name the file after its cite key. Otherwise, the association in Zotero wouldn’t work. However, thanks to the BetterBibTex plugin for Zotero, this isn’t an issue.
So, Grieser’s script creates a Markdown document with all the marked spots and the bibliographic information as metadata. It’s completely tailored to my needs, as I can fully adjust the underlying template.
From Seedbox to Archive: The Final Steps in the Workflow
With the perfect literature note in my Seedbox folder in Obsidian, I can then continue to work with it. For example, I can incorporate individual findings into articles or chapters of my PhD – a wonderful workflow where everything interlocks seamlessly, and the traceability of my sources is ensured for me.
Once I’ve finished working with a text to this extent, I move the file to Devonthink as it serves as my archive. I copy the item link and add it to the corresponding entry in Zotero. This way, I can directly access the PDF in Devonthink from Zotero in the future.
And that’s how I research, read, and archive papers. This workflow has streamlined my research process, ensuring I can focus on the content rather than the logistics.
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State of the Apps – 2024 Edition
In January of this year, for the first time I published an overview of crucial apps that my professional life couldn’t function without. Inspiration stemmed from the ‚State of the Apps‘ segments within the Cortex podcast, hosted by CGP Grey and Myke Hurley, a title I found fitting to take up. This year, I managed to get a head start. In the following, I will showcase to you the apps I use spanning various domains including browsing, mail, task management, writing/thinking/note-taking, research, file and literature management, reading, and more.
Many of the apps presented here are also integrated with a Setapp subscription. I often only discovered these apps because I was browsing for new apps on Setapp. I have marked the apps with an *. I have been a Setapp customer for many years and find the model very convincing: For a monthly fee of currently 8.99 $ with annual payment, you get access to dozens of high-quality apps, including BetterTouchTool, CleanShot X, Ulysses, CleanMyMac X, or Spark Mail. If you want to try out Setapp, you can do so via this link and support me in my work, as I will then receive a small commission from Setapp without it becoming more expensive for you.
Browsing
In last year’s edition, Arc had freshly catapulted into the market and I gave it a chance. It was enticing: instead of tabs at the top of the screen, you get a sidebar. ‚Spaces‘ to segregate different aspects of life. And not least, the addition of Easels and Boosts to maximize browsing experience. A year on, I can vouch that Arc remains my go-to browser. Despite this endorsement, not all features have stuck. Let me explain.
Take ‚Boost‘, the feature that allows you to customize websites to your preferences; it’s a feature that soon lost its lustre for me. I simply had no idea what to do with it. ‚Easels‘ have also seen seldom use on my part: essentially whiteboards where you can collect content from various websites. Ideally, you’d set up collections for individual projects to have all the information in one place, like vacation-planning. My issue? I have other tools for this purpose (such as Devonthink) that are more adept. The solitary ‚Easel‘ I operate is a reading list for the year with corresponding links to the books.
So, why still Arc? In a nutshell, it’s simply a phenomenal browser. ‚Spaces‘ have become an irreplaceable part of my workflow. Moreover, the division in permanent and temporary tabs has become critical. Opening a browser filled with tabs from four days ago? A nightmare. Arc archives them after a preset duration (12 hours for me). And anything you need longer can be moved to the ‚Pinned Tabs‘ section. Thus, the default setting is not ‚keep‘ but ‚delete‘, greatly facilitating my work. How I would love this feature in Obsidian!
Then, the Arc team recently added some extremely thoughtful AI features, which are quite intriguing. For instance, automatic naming of tabs that give an instantaneous idea about the content or having the option to ask the AI questions about a page’s content.
In conclusion: Arc has firmly established itself. It might be that not all initial ideas have withstood the test of time, but overall, it’s a truly robust package.
E-Mail
I started the year on Apple Mail. My reason was straightforward: I don’t need fancy features when it comes to email. What I want is to work with my emails effectively, reliably, and most crucially, privacy-preserving. In this context, I have adopted a 100% no-nonsense approach. This made using Apple Mail quite logical due to its local storage and, in general, reliable functionality.
However, Apple decided to throw a spanner in the works not too long ago: they stopped allowing Mail Extensions. These were small third-party add-ons that enhanced the functionality of Mail. Though they were limited earlier, with the arrival of macOS Sonoma, they were abolished altogether. This meant a sad goodbye to my favoured little tool named MsgFiler. It had a simple but powerful feature that allowed me to easily file emails into folders using the keyboard – a serious game-changer in my email management routine. The loss of such an essential feature, as you may imagine, was more than a minor inconvenience.
It was at this juncture that I remembered MailMate. MailMate is an email application developed by an indie developer, crafted for power-users, and embodies the epitome of a ‚Mac-assed Mac app‚. The only reason I had stopped using it was to test the new features in Apple Mail two years ago, and somehow I ended up sticking around. Now it’s MailMate again, and returning feels like ‚coming home‘, much like it did with DevonThink or OmniFocus. Of course, it comes with a keyboard shortcut with which I can easily specify the folder an email should be moved to. Home, sweet home indeed!
To Do Management
Onto task management! With so many projects and tasks under my belt, I need an app that can keep pace. Between being a research associate, a PhD student in Migration Studies, managing this blog, and being a dad, it’s quite a juggle. Under this category, too, I’ve found myself gravitating back towards trusted solutions; in this case, OmniFocus.
Back in April 2022, I penned a farewell article to OmniFocus as it left something to be desired. Recent times, however, heralded my return (On the value of flip-flopping). Mainly, I had issues with the design decisions in the beta version of OmniFocus 4. As we speak, that fresh version hasn’t landed yet, but I find myself happily working with OmniFocus 3 once again. What I appreciate most is its effortless ability to handle my considerable requirements and reaffirm the feeling that no task is forgotten. Of course, I accept the possibility of OmniFocus 4 perhaps not living up to the job. But at the very least, I know now that alternatives like Reminders et al. will not cut it either and come with their own shortcomings.
For the time being, OmniFocus 3 forms the crux of my contentment – regardless of its somewhat outdated look. However, its performance outweighs the aesthetics, making it perfect for my needs.
Writing, Thinking, and Note-Taking
In this regard absolutely nothing has changed. Obsidian shines as the application I use most frequently for essentially anything related to writing. From jotting down quick notes to drafting my doctoral dissertation – it all takes place within the realm of Obsidian. Currently, I’m using the Minimal Theme, occasionally switching color tones, simply to keep things fresh. This steadfast cornerstone of my workflow remains predictably consistent and stable, just as any good tool should. In the realm of digital note-taking and writing, Obsidian is indeed my trusted companion.
Research
A new entrant since my last round-up, and I can’t imagine why it didn’t form part of it then: research. After all, it forms a substantial part of my day-to-day work-life, being a PhD candidate and a research associate in a project. Obsidian takes care of anything writing-related. However, quite a bit precedes the penning down phase!
Firstly, MacWhisper: a discovery that made it to my ‚best of the year‘ list and ranks high as one of the finest AI applicabilities. Essentially a GUI for Open Whisper with a few additional features, MacWhisper has been a game-changer by automating the transcription of my interviews. Prior to this, much to my chagrin, I had to manage this task manually, considering outsourcing transcription services was financially off-table for me. For anyone who has attempted to transcribe a one-hour interview, they would know the progress we are talking about here!
PDF Expert has remained my go-to PDF reader for years. I did try various other contenders, including PDF Viewer, PDF Pen, Highlights and several more – each with its own merits. Yet, time and again, I find myself returning to PDF Expert. Probably because it’s a robustly developed application that always works and steers clear of unnecessary trouble.
Next comes a highly specialised instrument: MaxQDA. It’s an app designed specifically for qualitative text data analysis and is widely utilized within fields like Social Sciences, Sociology, and the Humanities. For me, this software is an incredibly important research tool. Having said that, I’d be thrilled to find a decent non-commercial solution for it. Any leads in this direction would be truly welcome!
Another serendipitous find on SetApp is TypingMind*. Essentially, it is a Chat-GPT ‚GUI on steroids‘. It allows you to predetermine certain roles, along with the setting up of several other elements like output format or tone. Although I don’t use Chat-GPT extensively just yet, I’m actively trying to integrate it more into my daily workflow. So far, I find it the most suitable for writing up abstracts and similar summaries. The future of AI-assisted writing is intriguing, to say the least!
TypingMind offers a lot of usability enhancements for dealing with Chat-GPT File Management
No change from last year on this front: DevonThink continues to do what it does brilliantly well. A classic case of ‚If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it‘, it persists as a reliable tool in my digital toolbelt, handling my file and literature management tasks with precision and efficiency.
Literature Management
In the realm of literature management too, stability rules the roost and Zotero provides just that. Here again, I have zero interest in the experimentation game. Zotero’s open nature fosters a vibrant community providing solutions to every conceivable problem. Particularly noteworthy is an Alfred workflow by Chris Grieser. Working in tandem with Zotero, it extracts annotated areas from PDFs, transforming them into beautifully formatted literature notes complete with all the relevant data.
The workflow is seamlessly rounded off by a couple of Obsidian plugins – Zotero Integration by MG Meyers and References. The former allows me to access sources from my Zotero database and directly insert them into a text in Obsidian. The latter displays a list of all the cited sources in a document which greatly aids in maintaining an overview. So here’s recognizing the power of a community-driven tool like Zotero and the plugins that make the usage experience an absolute breeze.
Reading
The realm of reading bifurcates into two parts for me: RSS and Read Later. For RSS reading, I’m armed with NetNewsWire for its sheer reliability and speed, not to mention its simplicity. It doesn’t get carried away with itself and focuses remarkably on its core skill set, a trait I find particularly appealing.
Choosing the right ‚Read Later‘ app is a tad more challenging. Last year, I was all in for Matter, until the advent of the Readwise Reader that entered its public beta. I’ve discussed Readwise before and was excited by the idea of having a ‚Read Later‘ app from the same brand, uniting all functions in one place which felt like a winning endgame move.
Long did I utilize Readwise Reader but also frequently found myself frustrated. Mainly because it tries to do too much, and in the bargain, sacrifices vital areas of clarity and speed. This led me, in the final months of the year, to Omnivore, a nod back to the NetNewsWire’s philosophy: executing the core function impeccably and nothing more.
Omnivore is so good that it not only metaphorically blew my socks off but also made me question why I hadn’t discovered it much sooner. Its recent version’s synthetic voices for article readings is uncannily humanlike! Well, such are the ways of life. I plan to give Omnivore a comprehensive introduction in a dedicated article soon. Stay tuned!
Everything else
Raycast
Indeed, there has been a changing of the guards when it comes to launchers. After years with Alfred, I’ve taken a leap and switched to the new ‚cool kid on the block,‘ Raycast. What persuaded me to make the change, you ask? It’s primarily the in-built store that tipped the scales in its favor, where Raycast extensions can be quite readily found and installed. This process was always somewhat more convoluted with Alfred. With its user-friendly interface and simplified process, Raycast has managed to firmly cement itself as my launcher of choice.
Popclip*
Up next is Popclip, an absolutely splendid little utility that populates a small pop-up either above or below the highlighted text, showcasing things you could do with that text. Some examples include the ability to copy, add to OmniFocus, or translate the text. These small but powerful functionalities of the tool can certainly help increase productivity while reading or writing, providing quick options to interact with the text in ways that would have previously taken more time or required additional steps. A small addition to my arsenal of tools, but an undoubtedly impactful one in improving my workflow.
Transloader*
Just an indispensable little tool with a single purpose: to open websites on my Mac when I’m looking at them on my iPhone on the move. Many times you want to read a page in more detail later or compare prices for a product. Transloader reminds me of this by opening the page I’ve just viewed on my Mac the next time I’m sitting in front of it. Indispensable!
Hookmark*
Another little helper that I use for a single purpose. Hookmark can create links for files, which you can then insert elsewhere as a click target. For example, I create links for emails that I then insert into a project note in Obsidian.
Shimo*
And another little tool, which I also found at SetApp. Shimo is simply a GUI for VPNs, but it saves me a bit of typing when I have to log into the VPN for my work.
Timery
Timery just continues to impress me. Of course, I could do my work without tracking it. However, it is a cornerstone of my approach to productivity. I try to balance the various projects in my life and also hit a certain hour mark every week in order to achieve a baseline of weekly work. And Timery helps me with that by getting out of my way. It’s just there and does its job – as it should be. With apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, I can toggle timers wherever I am. And then there is the addition of interactive widgets this year, which makes the app even more accessible. Nowadays, I interact with Timery via its widgets most of the time, be it the lock screen widget on my phone or the desktop widget on my Mac.
Mela
I love to cook and Mela is the perfect app to manage all my recipes. I just love everything about it: from the simple but beautiful design, to the integrated browser for importing dishes, to the ability to plan my meals in advance and write them in my calendar – Mela is just a joy!
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I hope you found some inspiration here! If you would like to try Setapp now, I would be delighted if you would do so via this link. Thank you! -
On the value of flip-flopping
From the outside, it admittedly looks a bit ridiculous when someone changes their to-do app or notes app every few months. Especially if this one new app is supposed to make everything better. I’ve dealt with the issue here on the blog in the past, as of course, it affects me personally. If not, I would not be writing this blog. The specific reason for this article is that I am using OmniFocus again after a long abstinence. In fact, I haven’t done so for well over a year. First I tried GoodTask, then I managed all my tasks in Obsidian, and most recently I briefly flirted with Apple Reminders. So now it’s back to OmniFocus.
On second glance, however, I think it’s less pointless or overkill than one might think. You just shouldn’t make the mistake of expecting a complete revolution in your workflow. But then what for? Why am I doing this? After all, I already went through a similar cycle with DevonThink: first I jumped into it, then I used it less and less, and finally, I tried to replace DevonThink with the Finder and HoudahSpot. A few months later, Devonthink was back again. And is currently an important cornerstone of my daily workflow.
The Hermeneutic Circle of Software
I see this kind of software use more as a form of circular cognition. In the social sciences, this would be called a hermeneutic circle. I’m Windows-socialized, and my journey on the Mac started around 2013, or about ten years ago. Then, around 2015, fuelled by various tech podcasts, my interest in topics like productivity, self-management, and the apps associated with them developed.
I quickly ended up with the flagships like DevonThink and OmniFocus, primarily because these podcasts tell you that these apps are the ultimate, that you can’t do without them. And yes, they are the ultimate, but you can also do it with other apps. In any case, I then had these incredibly powerful tools and actually had no idea how to use them. Then there was my enthusiasm for the subject and the desire to try new things, which ultimately led to the creation of this blog. It also shows well in my choice of text editor/notes/PKM app. There was quite a bit here before Obsidian, as I was never satisfied in the long run. Without claiming to be exhaustive, I’ve used the following apps over the years: Scrivener, Apple Notes, Ulysses, Agenda, iA Writer, Notion. Now Obsidian. DevonThink has been replaced by NoteBooks in the meantime. In terms of to-do managers, I’ve probably tried out the entire App Store Top 10.
Stay hungry, stay foolish
Why? Out of curiosity and passion, for one thing. And I think that’s okay. Most people have weird hobbies, and I like to try out new apps. And secondly, as part of a year-long learning process. The search for the best app coincided with my arrival in the workforce. During this time, I completed my bachelor’s and master’s degrees, got my first jobs, and am now working on my PhD. So, of course, the requirements change. And often, you just can’t tell what you actually need to get ahead with your work; you have to try it out. That’s what I did. Extensively, and again and again. And more often than not, the path ended up being a circle. Except that without that path, I still wouldn’t be where I am. I’m in the same place but significantly wiser. I can better appreciate the merits of DevonThink, Obsidian, or OmniFocus because I know the competition.
You just shouldn’t make the mistake of associating your productivity solely with the supposedly right tool. As a rule, „work“ can be done in many ways, and the search for the perfect app is often simply a reason not to do the actual work. It can still be instructive because of this. And with that, perhaps the most important lesson is: Stay hungry, stay foolish!
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Making digital work visible
The Problem
One of the biggest problems with digital work for me is that the spatial dimension is not represented, or at least not sufficiently. I have the problem that I can’t think very well in the abstract. I have to see things, arrange them and, above all, write them down in order to achieve insights. And it doesn’t help at all if I have folders upon folders on my hard drive (or in the cloud for that matter), ALL OF WHICH I DON’T SEE. I can’t get a sense of dimensions, relations, relationships. The only thing I can do is click through and remember what to expect where. Now not only do I have the problem of not being able to think abstractly very well, I also don’t have a very good memory. This circumstance was also the starting point many years ago, why I began to deal with to-do apps and digital productivity in general. I simply had the feeling that things kept falling through the cracks. And that’s exactly how I feel with big digital projects, like the university research project I’m working for as a research assistant or my PhD. I just need the feeling of knowing where things are. So my absolute horror would be having to rely only on search. I need strategies to make my knowledge **visible**. This need is also evident in my Obsidian configuration: I don’t (mostly) think much of minimalism or buttons that are automatically hidden. I want buttons, info panels, and click targets.
What to do?
To solve this problem, I don’t have THE ONE solution. It always sounds nice when you pretend in blogposts and Youtube videos that you have found the perfect system that covers all conceivable cases, but it is almost never like that in reality. Reality is messy and you have to live with that. The solution is therefore to have different tools in your arsenal and then use the most appropriate one in each case. In the following, I will therefore give an overview of all the visual tools that make working in Obsidian easier for me.
Graph Views
The first is the Graph or Graph View. This is what Obsidian always advertises and it might be one of the first things you see when you start using Obsidian. And that doesn’t surprise me at all, because the graph just looks pretty nice, especially if you have a lot of notes in your Vault. The graph maps all the notes and connections between them. And then when you see so many nice points, all connected, it just looks very much like work and productivity. So in that sense, the graph is very valuable: you can better appreciate how much work you’ve already done in Obsidian. However, the value of the graph is quickly exhausted. At least, I have not been able to get any benefit beyond that from the graph.
My Graph View – Isn’t it nice? The Local Graph does a little better. This is a subset of the overall graph that only shows the currently open note and notes associated with it. In addition, you can set it to show further levels of notes as well. This would mean that if I have a note about studying paperless that is linked to the note Productivity, notes that are linked to the note Productivity will also be displayed. This can be quite helpful for generating ideas. Especially with complex topics like my PhD, I sometimes open the Local Graph to see which thematically related topics I still have notes on.
Kanban Boards
The next option I like to use are Kanban boards. I don’t have to write much about this, because I already wrote an article about it. However, I use Kanban boards less to map hierarchies or relationships between notes, but rather to track processes. After all, that’s what they were designed for.
Overall, I have two use cases: First, in my role as a social scientist, I conduct interviews all the time, and a Kanban board is a great way to keep track of which people I’ve already researched, contacted, interviewed, or analyzed. On the other hand, I have a weekly plan in which I note central tasks of the current week, separated by weekdays. This is not a to-do list, but rather a high-level plan to keep track of the most important goals of the week. Although this does not have anything to do with making knowledge visually tangible in the narrow sense, it still serves the purpose of making what I do mentally comprehensible to me in a different way.
Excalibrain
Excalibrain is the second plugin from the incredibly talented Zsolt Viczian, who also develops the Obsidian Excalidraw plugin. This makes him probably one of the most influential figures in the Obsidian community and he also always has exciting thoughts that he shares on his Youtube channel.
Excalibrain in action Excalibrain is a plugin to put notes in a self-definable hierarchical order. So parent notes can have children, children can have siblings and generally all notes can have friends. For example, one could imagine a case where I write a note dealing with the cloven-hoofed species (parent note) and then other notes dealing with sheep, camels, and hippos (children). A friend note would possibly be one about a different animal species. And these hierarchies are then mapped visually by Excalibrain, which often helps me a lot to keep track of complex relationships.
Excalibrain can do a lot more, but Zsolt can explain that better than I can.
Hubs
Hubs or Maps of Content are central entry points into my Vault. Each of my large projects (or areas of responsibility) has such a hub, where I gather everything possible that has to do with the project. These are usually links to documents outside of Obsidian, central notes of the project, which then branch out further, and also always a section where I note tasks in the project. Hubs are essential anchors for me to not feel hopelessly lost and certainly the notes I open most often.
Canvas
Last but not least, a feature that I’m just starting to use more intensively: The canvas feature that was introduced in Obsidian a few months ago. Canvases in Obsidian are, in my opinion, very well implemented, because you can combine all sorts of things: Notes, images, maps. You can even work directly in the notes and don’t have to open them first. This is of course super practical and in my eyes extremely well suited if you want to keep track of a large project. I currently use it as a general overview for the research project in which I am a research assistant and have arranged all research aspects. This gives me an overall picture of the research process and I can always put individual aspects into perspective. For me, canvasses are a more visual and playful form of the hub.
An anonymized view of the canvas I created for the research project I work for Tools for visual thinking
There are many ways in Obsidian to work with information visually and for me that is an essential part of the process. Sometimes I want to keep track of things, sometimes I want to clarify hierarchies, and sometimes I’m trying to stimulate thinking. Therefore, there is no one solution that covers everything. But when I put it all together I have a fantastic tool box for my thinking.
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The Tools I use for Writing
Recently, I wrote about the applications I use for my daily work. Today, I want to follow up with a short post that focuses on the subset of my work: the apps and services I use to write my blog articles. My workbench looks like this: Obsidian, tools to improve style, upload, and publish. What does that mean in detail?
Planning and Thinking
I write all of my texts in Obsidian, as it is a fantastic tool. However, what might be more interesting is how I collect and manage my article ideas and track articles through to publication. To accomplish this, I use Marcus Olsson’s Projects Plugin in conjunction with the Metadata Menu Plugin. The two together allow me to work in the way that database-centric apps like Notion or Craft can.
Projects is a plugin to manage notes belonging to a project or context in different ways. You can configure multiple views and vary them by project, which I find particularly ingenious. For my posts on go-paperless.net, I created four views: a table that lists all posts and ideas that are not yet published, a Kanban board (which is more of a proof of concept), a calendar view where I can see when the next article is planned, and another table where I only see the posts that I have already published. This setup makes my work much easier as I always have all potential and already published articles in view. Of course, you could also use Projects in a completely different way. Especially the Gallery View is perfect to program an overview with movies you want to watch or books you want to read. The possibilities are endless.
Another small plugin that completes my work in Obsidian is Metadata Menu. MM allows me to assign a file class to a note, which I have defined beforehand. This way, the note ‚inherits‘ YAML fields, including possible values. MM also adds a small icon next to the note title, which opens a dialog box that allows me to manipulate the YAML data directly without having to open the note. In conjunction with Projects, this gives me an item database that I can add to or change in no time.
Revision
The draft text is ready, but there’s still a long way to go before the final text appears on the blog. That’s probably the most important lesson you can teach less experienced writers: a really good text only becomes that good because it was revised many times. Nobody writes perfect texts on the first try. In my case, there is also the fact that I am not a native English speaker. I think I have improved my English quite a bit over the years, but it will never be as good as my mother tongue, German.
So in a first step, I check the text with LanguageTool Pro to avoid unnecessary mistakes or inconsistencies in the style. Then I use DeepL, probably the best translator currently available, to refine the text. I mainly use DeepL for identifying false friends and finding better phrasing. Working with DeepL also helps me to improve my English because I see that it is possible to formulate a certain sentence more beautifully than I did myself.
After the revision process is complete, the text is ready to be uploaded. I also use ChatGPT to refine the text even further. AI-supported writing will become the absolute standard in the near future, and I believe it is essential to embrace this technology.
Publishing
The text is written, and now it has to go on the blog. I use MarsEdit for the text upload because I dislike WordPress. MarsEdit allows me to create the post and format it before the upload is done. In WordPress, I only need to add some tags and perform some SEO. By the way, MarsEdit is also part of Setapp*, the app subscription service I’ve used and loved for years.
In conclusion, I sincerely hope that this overview serves as a helpful and inspiring resource for fellow writers. Writing is not a mystical or mysterious activity, but rather a skill that involves various steps and tools. So, enjoy the process of writing and let your creativity flow!
Links marked with an asterisk * are affiliate links. With a purchase I profit by a small commission without the product becoming more expensive for you. Thus, it is a wonderful way to support my work.
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State of the Apps 2023
Cortex by Myke Hurley and CGP Grey is one of my favorite podcasts and I eagerly look forward to each episode. Every year, in the penultimate episode of the year, they talk about the most important apps and services they currently use. And then, the always worth reading Mere Civilian also recently wrote an article under that theme. Last year, I actually wanted to do the same, but then didn’t for reasons I don’t remember. This year, however, the time has come. Which apps do I use every day? What has changed in the last year? And where do I see potential for new apps in my life? Let’s go!
I see two trends in my app usage over the past year: on the one hand, I’ve returned to a few core apps that form the absolute backbone of my workflow. On the other hand, there was some real movement for the first time in a while. I discovered a few new apps that absolutely have the potential to be more than just brief love affairs. But one after the other.
Note: I have been a very satisfied customer of Setapp for several years. Setapp is probably already a household name to many, but I’ll explain it briefly anyway. Setapp is basically an app subscription where you pay $9.99 a month and get access to a huge range of high quality apps. Examples are BetterTouchTool, Bartender, MarginNote, or Ulysses. I want to write another longer article on this as well. For now, it suffices to say that I mark apps I get through Setapp with a star in this post. If you feel like supporting me for my work and trying out Setapp, feel free to register via my link: Register for Setapp. I will then receive a small commission. Thank you very much!
Browser
For 11 1/2 months, the browser category was clearly in the first column: Apple’s default browser Safari was set. And why not? It’s a damn good browser. It’s integrated with the operating system, consumes few resources, is optimized for security and has recently added tab groups. So you can store certain websites in a group and preserve them for later. Especially when you work in different contexts, this is quite practical. Everything is fine, you might think.
But then I got a mail from the Browser Company. This is the company behind Arc, a new browser based on Chrome. I had put myself on the waiting list for the beta a few weeks before, and now the time had come. And I have to say that I really like Arc. It’s definitely a browser for power users. Very keyboard oriented. Many good ideas. I particularily like that you can create so called Easels which basically are web canvasses to collect all kinds of website snippets in one place. Here you can see my Easel/collection for some of the books I’d like to read in 2023:
It would lead too far, if I would explain all this here. For that I would simply refer to the page of Arc itself. Arc is certainly not for everyone, but if you like to try a new app, you should give Arc a chance. I have an invitation code here that works five times.
So if you are fast enough, you can start right away: https://arc.net/gift/e560c538. All codes have already been used, sorry!There are five new codes, woohoo: https://arc.net/gift/cc0eb3fe.E-Mails
Here I went the opposite way. I started the year with Mailmate, at least on the Mac. Mailmate is a damn good, very classic mail app that gets to the essentials, but does it very well. The problem is that it’s developed by a single indie developer, and the update pace isn’t terribly fast. Still, I was quite pleased. With the latest versions of macOS and iOS, however, Apple has done quite a bit for its own app Mail, including a much better search and a send-later feature. These innovations brought me back to Apple Mail, simply because it’s easier to use the same app on all platforms.
Writing and Thinking
Obsidian. I don’t need to say much more than that. My love for Obsidian should be known if you look around a bit on the blog here. I use Obsidian for all my work. I take notes, write texts, think in Obsidian. Both for my work as a research assistant, as a PhD student and also for the blog. I hope to write a post this year explaining my Obsidian configuration. The last update on this was quite a while ago and even though much has stayed the same, some things have changed. One important detail is that this year I moved to making Obsidian my task manager. I abandoned OmniFocus for it, as I wrote about in this article. My experiments with alternative task managers were very short-lived and eventually I ended up with Obsidian here as well. I’ll hopefully write an article about that soon as well.
File Management
Again, there is a simple answer and that is DevonThink. I have described the reasons in this post: My newfound love for DevonThink.
Literature Management
Nothing works without Zotero. Everything that is scientific literature ends up there. My library is organized in folders, so it’s very traditional. However, I have moved away from storing the PDFs in Zotero as well. They are now all in Devonthink. There, I copy the item link and add it to the respective entry in Zotero (right click on the entry > Add Attachment > Attach Link to URI) and I have a hyperlink to the file in Devonthink. I like this better because Devonthink is where my files are for me. Other applications like Zotero only use this resource by linking to it. Easy linkability is the key here.
Reading
I have to differentiate here. I use different apps depending on the use case. For a long time now, I no longer get my news via social media, but via RSS subscriptions. My app of choice for a long time was Reeder, but for about half a year now it’s been NetNewsWire. The reason is that I like NetNewsWire’s simple design very much and especially the RSS engine behind it is extremely good. I have subscribed to quite a few feeds and yet the updating is extremely fast.
But that is only for receiving articles. I rarely actually read texts in NetNewsWire. Generally, I send articles I want to read to my read-later app. That was Matter for a long time. A few weeks ago, however, I finally got into the beta of Readwise Reader and here I feel I’ve arrived completely. I’ve been using Readwise (the web service) for a long time and I can’t imagine my workflow without it, because Readwise keeps everything together in the background, as you can read here: Readwise – My new Information Hub?. The Reader is a fantastic addition to my workflow, especially because it allows me to read and mark web articles. The highlights then go via Readwise directly into my Obsidian Vault. It couldn’t be easier. If you want to have a trial month, you can do so via my referral link. This will give you and me a free month.
But then there is the not inconsiderable amount of literature that I am reading for my PhD or for work. If it’s just to get a quick impression of the usefulness of a text, I just do that with PDF Expert. I still have an old license and don’t pay any subscription fees. That’s also quite enough for me and I’ll use the app until it falls apart. But when it comes to really getting through text and making it usable for my own work, MarginNote is the app of choice. MarginNote allows me in a fairly unique way to read multiple documents, mark them up, and rearrange parts of them so that I build up a tapestry of knowledge that I can then use again for my own writing. This is something that classic PDF readers can’t do, but that I need for scientific work. This is another topic I hope to cover in the coming year. For a long time I used LiquidText for this purpose, but recently I was no longer in agreement with the direction of development and MarginNote simply fits better overall.
For literature that I simply read for recreation, I use either the Kindle app or Apple’s own Books app. Depending on where I bought the book.
Grab Bag
Hookmark*
First and foremost here is Hookmark, which until recently was just called Hook. Hookmark is a little helper, but it is very useful for me, because you can link any files with it. Most often I use it for mails. I open a mail, invoke Hookmark and copy a Markdown link to this mail. I then paste the link into a project note in Obsidian, for example, and can quickly and easily access that mail again. It’s the same principle as with the links in Zotero to files in DevonThink. I’m all about speed and simplicity. Of course, I could just search for the mail, but it’s much more convenient to click on a link in a note.
Transloader*
I couldn’t live without Transloader anymore. With Transloader I can open a link on my iPhone or iPad and send it to my Mac. There the link opens automatically the next time I log into my MacBook. I find that incredibly handy because I’m always thinking of things while I’m on the go or I’m searching for something on DuckDuckGo and want to take a closer look at it later. Of course, I could use DevonThink for that, or even a Readlater app. But somehow it’s all too cumbersome for me, and knowing that I’ll just see it again automatically when I sit down at my Mac is fantastic.
Timery
I’ve already written about Timery here and nothing has changed since then. The app is fantastic and has only gotten better with the latest update. Now there is also an app for the Apple Watch, which is very handy when you don’t have a device at hand, but a timer is still running.
Mela
Last but not least, an app that has nothing to do with productivity, but is all the more important for my well-being: Mela. Mela is a recipe app from Silvio Rizzi, the developer of Reeder. I love this app because it is simply a perfectly formed piece of software. You pay once and then you can import all sorts of recipes from various sources, categorize them and customize them with ease. Plus there is a special cooking mode that customizes the interface and many other conveniences. I love to cook and Mela is just the right companion for that.
The tools fit
I feel like I’m in a good place when it comes to apps. Over the years, I’ve been eliminating more and more construction sites in my workflow. Obsidian has certainly played the biggest part in that. In fact, the last major gap was the question of which read-later app I use. Here the answer seems to be found with Readwise Reader. I was only surprised to switch to Arc and thus a new browser. At least for now. We’ll see if this switch becomes permanent, or if I go back to Safari sooner or later. In any case, I’m looking forward to working with my tools again in 2023, because one thing is clear anyway: You have to do the work yourself, no matter how good the tools are.
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How to use Focus Modes on Apple’s devices
So, I’ve written about how Focus modes really could be a first step towards user profiles on the iPad a couple of weeks ago. In this article, however, I barely talked about how to set them up. That’s why I’d like to give a short how-to and also show my own focus modes to get you an idea of what is possible.
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How to set up focus modes on iPhone, iPad, and Mac
(This guide has been developed for macOS. The process on iPad and iPhone, however, is just about the same, so the guide should be easily applicable to all of Apple’s devices. If I have overlooked something, please [tell me](mailto:[email protected]).
- Open the Settings app
- Go to Focus
- Tap on Add Focus.
- There, you have a couple of pre-configured filters, as well as the possibility to add a custom one. For getting to know the feature, you want to make sure to click/tap *Custom*.
- There, you have to enter a name for your new focus mode, choose a color, and a glyph.
- When you click *Okay*, you’ll be presented with the actual configuration screen. This screen is split up into three sections: Notifications, Schedule, and Focus Filters.
- Let’s get started with Notifications. Here, you can decide which people, and what apps, are allowed to send you notifications when a particular focus mode is active. For people, you can either allow certain people, or silence them. The second section then deals with calls. The first setting allows you to determine whether everyone, only people you put on the allow list one step above, favorites, or contacts can call you in this focus mode. The second setting will let you set whether a second call from the same caller will come through, even if they are not in the defined group, or not.
- Moving on to Schedule. Here, you can set time-, location, or app-based triggers on when to activate a certain focus mode. I, for one, have my reading focus mode to be activated whenever I open one of my reading apps. More on that later on.
- Focus Filters are a really nice, and potentially powerful addition to Focus. It basically gives app developers the possibility to tie in the Focus feature so that you can configure what a certain app shows you whenever you turn on a focus mode. For example, you could (de)activate your work mailbox when you are in your leisure focus mode, or vice versa. Currently, not that many developers take advantage of this feature, but I am quite optimistic that this will change in the future.
- If you ever want to delete one of your modes, you can do so at the very bottom of each focus mode. Back in the main menu, you can adjust two further settings: The first of them being if you intend to share focus modes across all of your Apple devices. What that means is that if you create a focus mode on your iPhone, it will also show up on your iPad, or Mac, respectively. However, it also means that focus modes will be activated across all of your devices, once you do it on one of them. If you don’t like that behavior, just turn it off. The last setting lets you customize, whether other people can see that you have notifications silenced, or not. I am not sure about how many apps this really support. iMessage does for sure. Other people won’t be able to see the name of your focus mode or anything else, just that you have notifications silenced. This can be set on a per-focus basis.
- Optional (on iPhone, and iPad): Customize Screens. On your iPhone, you can choose between three screens to customize: your iPhone’s lock screen, the home screen pages that should be displayed, and (if you own one) an Apple Watch watch face.
Some screenshots to illustrate the process What focus modes do I use?
I am a heavy focus user, so it should come at no surprise that I configured quite a lot: seven to be precise (not counting good, old *Do Not Disturb*): Driving, Fitness, Reading, Sleep, Travel, Weekend, and Work. *Driving* is automatically configured by Apple, as it is a system feature. It does nothing fancy, except turning off all notifications while driving. All the other modes are custom-made, and to give you a better idea of what they entail, I’ll summarize them in the table below:
Focus ModeNotifications Lock Screen Style + Widgets No. of Home Screens + which apps Watch Face Schedule Focus Filters Fitness Spouse + Workout-related apps Green Color Gradient / Activity Rings, Step Count 1, only Workout-related apps no change Every time when I start a workout on Apple Watch – Reading Spouse + Find My Orange Color Gradient / no widgets 1, only reading apps same face, different colors Every time, I open a reading app like Kindle, or Apple Books Noir: Set Sepia Theme Sleep None Black / no widgets 1, only Sleep-related apps like Clock, Dark Noise, or Books night watch face with big numbers Time-based, 11pm-06:30am – Travel Spouse + Family, no limit on apps Weather style / Activity Rings, Batteries, Flighty 1, only Travel-related apps like Flighty, Maps, Wallet, ticket apps no change Manually – Weekend No limits Photo Rotation / no widgets no change no change Weekends from 6:30 am to 11:00 pm – Work Spouse + a couple of work-related apps Weather style / Calendar widget, shortcut to Obsidian Inbox no change Solar Dial Watch Face Weekdays from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm – I hope this short article helps you to use Apple’s Focus Mode feature, which has become significantly better with the most recent OS updates. They are already pretty useful, and will most likely become even more so with future iterations of iOS/macOS.