Kathy Campbell is the Internet’s very own Unicorn Sidekick, helping small businesses succeed in the confusing landscape of technology. So, Kathy, show us your home screens.

What is your wallpaper and why?

My lock screen is a photo I took of my amazing child, we did a photo shoot when I got a new camera to test out and this is one of my absolute favorites. I love the widgets on the lock screen, using the calendar and Timery (making sure the right timer is running) and also a reminder to get my steps in.

My wallpaper is the beautiful logo from my podcast Conduit over on Relay FM. It’s a show about productivity with my friend Jay Miller, but it’s productivity in real life. It also has a strong accountability community with our Conductors. I love our logo (and doing the show) so much!

What Widgets are you using and why?

I use my widgets so often! It is mainly my media launcher, but also a quick access portal for my battery check and Adding a Task. I use both Apple Music (for specific artists/albums) and Spotify (for playlists other people have made). It has my audiobook launcher (Libby is amazing for reading and listening to books) and also lets me launch Endel, which I use mainly for my evening routine and sleeping, but sometimes will also run it when I want something to listen to but don’t want to pick anything.

Main Home Screen Walkthrough:

Dock: I love the look of 3 icons. Phone is there because when I need to call someone, I need to call NOW. Overcast is my podcast app of choice. Instagram is my dose of joy in my day, checking up on what my friends are doing and getting inspiration when I need a micro break.

1st Page: Stack with Calendar and CARROT Weather with smart rotate on.

2nd Page: 

🌮🕹️ – food/delivery apps, plus entertainment apps

💥 – Apps that aren’t for business and get enough notifications/desire to utilize that I want them on the homepage.

🦄 – mostly messaging apps but also business-related items live here.

Safari – pretty obvious …

Small Stack – Fitness, Photos, Todoist Quick Add (also using smart rotate)

Other than these, I use Spotlight to get what I need.

How many times a day do you use your iPhone?

My Screen Time says I spend about 3 hours a day total. That usually ends up being when I’m out of the house and getting notifications, taking a walk with one of our dogs, or sitting on the couch during my separation between work and home life.

What app makes you most productive?

So many apps help keep me on task in the easiest way possible.

Timery: Time tracking is vital to my work, especially for the clients that are hourly. If I can’t produce a report of my monthly hours in my invoices, I can’t get paid! Timery makes it SO easy and useful and beautiful!

Calendar: Every day is run by my calendar. I tried using Fantastical for almost a year but the unreliability of the widgets showing me what was coming up meant I finally went back to just the native Calendar app. 

Messaging apps: Every part of my life requires messaging. I know most productivity gurus will tell you to leave things alone and reply at set times. My brain and my days don’t let that work. I try to take action almost immediately on things that come from my messaging apps. This bounces around between Messages, Slack, Discord, and Facebook Messenger. I very rarely do any truly deep work that requires shutting everything out and, actually, my ADHD brain is always context switching anyways so I might as well be productive with it!

For someone with a productivity podcast, you’ll notice I didn’t mention my task manager. I use Todoist, but mainly as a list of things I’d like to do in the future. Anything that has a due date gets added to my calendar to dedicate time to do it. Every morning, after I journal, I will do a light brain dump and transfer tasks into my Bullet Journal. By writing it down on paper, I am able to purposefully choose what I’m concentrating on during the day, especially since my tasks and projects are so variable with the work I do. I am constantly working with my clients and contractors and communicating changing priorities. This way works for my brain and makes it so I don’t forget or lose something (or have a million tasks that are overdue and make me completely shut down).

What app do you know you’re underutilizing?

It’s not an app so much as Focus modes. I only have a Sleep Focus that shuts everything down except for the ability to allow my favorites to call. I am not sure the best way to use it yet, since I don’t use my phone a ton anyways, but it’s on my mind.

Do you have an Apple Watch? Show us your watch face and tell us about it.

I finally upgraded my S5 watch this past year when the battery health dropped to 70% … it was time! I love having my watch (and not only because I can find my phone if I’ve put it down somewhere), but the notifications feature is critical. It allows me to quickly check if it’s something I need to do right now or attack it in the future when I’m actively doing something different.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I try to make sure everything I use on my phone is there for a reason. Even if I’m intentionally using my phone to decompress or dink around, it’s because I’ve given myself permission to do that.

I love doing these kinds of interviews because it allows me to think about what has changed since I last did one and I can do some changes/clean up!

Thanks, Kathy!