This week’s home screen features Mike Williams (Twitter). Mike is the President and CEO of the David Allen Company and a geek just like the rest of us. Okay Mike, show us your home screen.
Notes about my home screen
My home screen is intentionally very simple. I do this to minimize distractions. The distractions are all tucked several screen swipes away. It is a simple reminder to me to keep things simple. The act of intentionally finding an app helps me become conscious to what I am doing and why. I also turn off 98% of all the alerts. I have a very quite iPhone.
What are some of your favorite apps?
Fantastical (thanks to Mac Power Users!) – Love the ease of calendar entry. The UI is beautiful and whimsical.
Omnifocus – This is the part of my GTD trusted system for all things that are Actionable = Yes (Projects, Next Actions, Waiting For).
Evernote and Dropbox – This is the part of my GTD trusted system for a majority of the things that are Actionable = No (Reference, Checklists, Lists)
Focus@Will – My Bose over the ears headsets (which I’ve had since 2006) and Focus@Will put my brain in a wonderful state for work.
Timer+ – I like working in sprints. A timer helps keep me honest and I love the sense of completion. I’ve had way to many situations when productive time has become unproductive time simply because I drifted off. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy drifting off time too. There is nothing like a good day dream. I create some space for that to happen too (e.g. Walking time, Coffee shop time).
Podcasts – I rarely listen to radio any more. I enjoy a wide range of podcasts. This is my go to app for commuting and walking.
FlightAware – This is my go to travel app for getting information to help me understand the status of my flight, the status of my specific plane and more.
Which apps are your guilty pleasures?
USAToday – It is news candy. Business Insider – Ditto. Medium – For the coffee shop or airport reading… a little deeper and longer form reading.
What app makes you most productive?
It is actually three apps in tandem: Calendar + Omnifocus + Timer. The calendar helps me see my calendared actions and reference information (e.g. appointments, meetings, day specific actions, day specific reminders). When I have “white space” or open time on my calendar I shift to work sprint mode. Omnifocus serves up the list of possibilities for me to choose from based on my context, time available and my energy level. I use the timer and time blocking to identify the number and types of sprints I am going to do within a given amount of time (e.g. process emails for X minutes, brainstorm on a topic for X minutes, clean up ___ area for X minutes, and many more).
What app do you know you’re underutilizing?
I am working to discover the power of Workflow. I love the ETA (estimated time of arrival) workflow. I use this to help my wife know when I will be home. There is a heck of a lot of territory to explore here. This is another app that Mac Power Users brought into my life – thank you!
What is the app you are still missing?
An app that, with minimal clicks and super fast speed, can capture an audio idea, turn it into text and send it to my Omnifocus Inbox.
How many times a day do you use your iPhone/iPad?
For me, when I am optimally productive, very little.
When I am less productive, a lot.
For me, when I am most present, very little. When I am most distracted, a lot.
What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?
The whole iOS ecosystem and how it works together. Siri is great for getting information very easily.
If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?
Time Machine and all iOS devices backup to iCloud automatically.
What’s your wallpaper and why?
Picture of a latte from Blue Bottle Cafe in San Francisco. Why? I love the serenity of a coffee shop and a journal. It is a reminder of the power of cool funky places. I love the vibe. It is a reminder to build in some unstructured mind wandering time into my day which helps me be more engaged, creative and productive.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Yes, I really enjoy Mac Power Users. Many thanks to you and Katie for all the work you do there! If anybody would like to learn more about me, David Allen or Getting Things Done® (a.k.a. GTD®) you can find information at www.gettingthingsdone.com. You can also follow me on Twitter at @GTDmw. Cheers to all! Keep rockin’ the Mac and iOS world!