Jonathan Buys (website) shares his Home Screens this week. So, Jonathan, show us your Home Screens.
What are some of your favorite apps?
I’m a big fan of the classics. BBEdit is my text editor of choice, I’m subscribed to 192 blogs in NetNewsWire, all my passwords are stored in 1Password, and OmniFocus keeps the madness at bay. I use third-party apps when the first-party apps from Apple don’t cut it, but the truth is that a lot of time the Apple apps do everything I need. Safari, Mail, Calendar, and Notes are daily drivers, I listen to music through the Music app, read PDFs in Preview, keep in touch with friends and family with Messages, and get my work done in Terminal.
When writing, I also use the built-in Dictionary app with a copy of Webster’s Unabridged 1913 dictionary. The language of the definitions are a work of art.
Which app is your guilty pleasure?
Probably Apple News. I try to limit my access to bottomless pits with endless timelines I can scroll, but since I’m subscribed to Apple News+ I still get lost in there from time to time.
What app makes you most productive?
Without a doubt that’s got to be OmniFocus. I’ve been using it for so long now it just fits with the way my brain works. I’ve tried a few other apps over the years, but only OmniFocus gives me both defer dates and due dates for tasks. I assign due dates to things that have to be done on a particular day, like taking the trash to the curb, but I use defer dates for things that I have the option to work on that day. I was a GTD proponent before OmniFocus, but the OmniFocus Field Guide was instrumental in helping me integrate OmniFocus into my life.
What app do you know you’re underutilizing?
Without a doubt that’d have to be Shortcuts for iOS and soon to be for the Mac as well. I’m not sure if I have much use for it on my iPhone, but since it’s coming to my Mac soon I’m putting in an effort to learn it now.
What is the app you are still missing?
A really great Jekyll blogging app. What I’d love would be something like MarsEdit for GitHub Pages. I’ve thought a lot about building it myself, but there’s only so many hours in the day, and only so many of those that I want to spend in front of a computer and not outside.
How many times a day do you use your iPhone?
Too many! I try to keep my iPhone configured to be a tool and not an entertainment device. From time to time I’ll play a game on it, but for the most part my iPhone is my device for finding information, keeping in touch, and keeping me on track with my personal, professional, and health goals.
What Today View widgets are you using and why?
I actually had to swipe over to check and see what I had on the Today view. Looks like I use the default Smart Stack, the battery use widget, a Notes note(?) that I update occasionally when it makes sense, and the Screen Time widget to keep track of what I’m actually spending my time on.
What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?
My favorite thing about my iPhone is how I can get to the information I need anytime, straight away. If I want to check the balance of a bank account, that’s a tap and a login with Face ID. If I’m at the hardware store and I need to know the exact model number of my weed eater, that’s in DEVONthink To Go. If we are out browsing at the furniture store and my wife points out a set she likes, I’ll snap a photo and save it in Notes. It’s an information super machine.
If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?
I wrote an article for my blog a few years ago about some changes I’d like to see made to macOS to make it more of a workhorse for knowledge workers. I’d like Siri to find related documents to what I’m looking at or have selected and have that available at a swipe in Notification Center. I’d like Siri to not only find documents for me, but file and name documents for me intelligently. Finally, I’d like iCloud Drive to encrypt everything end-to-end so I could finally use it without having to worry about sensitive company information leaking in what could possibly be career adverse ways!
Do you have an Apple Watch? Show us your watch face tell us about it.
My wife bought me a Series 3 a few years ago and I’ve been wearing it every day since. I mostly use it for fitness tracking, keeping an eye on the weather, and, you know, telling time. I also enjoy how it unlocks my iMac for me 😀. I’ve got my eye on what Apple releases for the Series 7 in the Fall though, I increasingly want the always on screen in the Series 6.
What’s your wallpaper and why?
On my Mac it’s the default Big Sur wallpaper. I like how bright and colorful it is. On my iPhone it’s a photo of some leaves I took in the Fall a few years back, reminds me that this summer heat won’t last forever!
Anything else you’d like to share?
Following Apple and being part of the community has been a fun hobby and a constant source of joy in my life for years. The things we get into here are of small consequence in the grand scheme of things … but it is fun, and I think that fun is enough. The developers, designers, writers, podcasters, and creators of all kinds that come together to build and share the joy of a near future that we can almost see is something we don’t have enough of. Inside this community, every now and then we get a glimpse of the future, some amazing piece of tech or beautiful new design that inspires hope. The kind of hope that just breathes optimism into us all to consider that maybe we really can build a better tomorrow.
Thanks, Jonathan!
