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Track Your Time with Timing (Sponsor)



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This week MacSparky is sponsored by Timing. Timing is an automatic time- tracking app. It lets you see where your time spent without having to lift a finger.

So why should you track your time? One reason may be for your job. Maybe you charge clients by your time or need to report to your boss where you spend your time. But there are a lot more reasons to track your time. Tracking your time gives you a realistic picture of where you are spending (and wasting) your time. With good time-tracking data, you can make better decisions about where to make commitments, where to delegate, and realistically see how you’re doing.

Timing scratches all of these itches. With Timing, you instantly see how you are spending your time. It helps you work more productively and make smarter decisions about how to spend your time in the future.

We all know that tracking your time is key to being productive, but it’s hard to track your time if you’re doing a bunch of different things at once or don’t have the right tools.

The Timing app makes recording and reviewing your time easy with automatic tracking and a simple interface for adding details about what you did each day, so you can see how much time was spent on each task. Timing also now has a useful teams feature, letting you share project and time entries in a privacy-friendly fashion. This gives you valuable team data without being creepy.

I run Timing on my Mac every day, and you should too. I even made some screencasts on how I use Timing. Download the free 14-day trial today and get 10% off for the first year!


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HomeKit Secure Video Wish List

Bradley Chambers posted a HomeKit Secure Video wish list asking for 2K camera support, continuous recording, and higher camera limits (you are currently limited to five). I agree with all of these points, particularly the last one.

With HomeKit Secure Video, Apple has a solution that lets its users securely store video in the cloud without paying a third-party vendor. More importantly, unlike all of the camera vendors that want to store your video for you, Apple is not a company likely to be bought up by a bigger company, making your video data part of a financial transaction.

I have been using HomeKit Secure Video with my eufy cameras, and it works great. I’d really dig it, however, if Apple let me put more than five cameras into the system.

1Password Gets Apple Silicon Support



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Hooray! 1Password now supports Apple silicon. From the 1Password blog:

“1Password now runs natively on Apple’s latest processors and hardware. We’ve been unbelievably impressed at the speed and efficiency of the new Apple Silicon Macs and can’t wait to see what form factors roll out next.”

This is more than simple compatibility. The 1Password team went all-in on embracing the new silicon. I’ve been running it with no problems. Overall, the Apple silicon transition seems to be going swimmingly for Mac developers.

Mac Power Users 579: 30 Mac Apps for Under $30



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The ecosystem of Mac apps is small compared to what’s available for iOS and iPadOS. On this episode of Mac Power Users, Stephen and I talk about some real gems out there that make working on macOS more productive.

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.

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

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

  • 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.

Apple Stops Selling the Big HomePod

Apple made a Friday afternoon announcement that they are no longer selling the big HomePod and currently focused on the HomePod Mini. (No companies deliver good news on Friday afternoon.) I’m not surprised that the Home Pod is going away. It’s expensive, and there are some design issues. I still trigger mine several times a week when my hand (or shirt) barely touches the touch screen on top. Siri on the HomePod also still needs more work.

Nevertheless, my HomePods sound great, and I remain happy with them. I hope Apple isn’t giving up on the idea of a home speaker/voice assistant thingy that includes a quality speaker.

Automators 71: Automated Capture



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On this episode of Automators, Rosemary and I tackle the sticky subject of automated capture. In places where no Post-it has gone before, learn how we use Drafts, Obsidian, and task management and reference systems to handle our capture.

This episode of Automators is sponsored by:

Jazz Friday: The Blue Note Tokyo All-Star Jazz Orchestra

Lately I’ve been on a kick with YouTube watching international jazz. Specifically, how the art form has evolved in other countries. One sub-genre of jazz is the big band. Big-band music was a big deal back in the swing era, but it’s hard to make a big band work these days. It’s usually 17 (or more) players, and there isn’t enough of a market for jazz for a big band to keep its members fed.

There is a Blue Note jazz club in Tokyo, and they have a house big band called the “Blue Note Tokyo All-Star Jazz Orchestra”, which is excellent. Remarkably, they have no albums on Apple Music, but there are several videos on YouTube. One of my favorite things about the band is its director Eric Miyashiro. He clearly loves both his job and jazz music. Part of me thinks Miyashiro must walk around Tokyo and everyone says, “Hey! It’s jazz-guy Eric.” At least that’s my head canon. If I can ever get my way to Tokyo, I fully intend to make my way to the Blue Note and, hopefully, meet Eric Miyashiro.

They have lots of songs on YouTube, but I’ve picked the video below, which isn’t as much straight ahead jazz, but it does a great job of featuring more of the band members with solos. I would also note that one of the nice things about jazz migrating to foreign countries is that they will have their own take on the music, and this is a good example. They have a YouTube channel with a lot more music.

Home Screens — Jake Kahana



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This week’s home screen features Jake Kahana (Twitter) (website), one of the founders of Caveday.org and a very intentional guy. So Jake, show us your home screen.

What are some of your favorite apps?

I’ve been getting more and more into Notion. We started using it as a project management and notetaking tool for Caveday. And in the last few months I’ve put my entire personal system on there. Book notes, meeting notes, goal setting, job tracking, etc.

I’m a fan of Superhuman and feel like my relationship to email is a bit healthier since using it.

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

NY Times Crossword, maybe?

Or more realistically, based on my usage, Zillow and Redfin.

What app makes you most productive?

And I love Freedom. I love that it syncs across devices. It blocks internet when I need and just minimizes distractions. I love their “Pause” Chrome plugin too. That 5-second delay before I go to a social media or news site is enough friction to usually close the window.

What app do you know you’re underutilizing?

Notion. While I love it and so much of my life is on it, I know there are so many other features (database tools, cross-database features, widgets, and what-not) that could make it more powerful. Part of my goal this year, overall, is to learn more shortcuts and use snippets in email, in my design tools like the Adobe Creative Suite and Sketch, and definitely in Notion.

How many times a day do you use your iPhone/iPad?

I don’t have an iPad, but I try my best to put my iPhone away when I’m working, often in another room or at least across the room, so I’ll check it maybe once an hour or less.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?

Airplane Mode! When I really need to do my most focused work, I’ll open a Google Doc, make it available offline, and just get to work.

But maybe more functionally is AirDrop. I’ll send stuff from my phone to my computer and to my wife’s phone all the time. So easy.

If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?

I’m really disappointed by the idea of planned obsolescence. When it comes to being the best designed tech out there, I’d say aesthetically that’s true. User experience-wise, it may be true as well. But thinking about environmental impacts and functionality of hardware, there’s a lot of waste that comes from replacing phones and computers every 3-4 years. What might it look like to have devices that had a 100+ year lifespan that just needed a small upgrade here and there to replace certain parts or pieces, or to have upcycled digital hardware?

What’s your wallpaper and why?


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My lock screen and home screen (and my computer desktop) are all photos of my daughter. It’s a bit cliché, sure, but it’s a great reminder for me for why I’m doing the work I’m doing (to make her proud, and to make enough money that I can stop working every day and spend time with her, and so she has what she needs). The photos themselves are moments of play and joy and wonder, which is another good reminder for me to stop and try and find joy and wonder in what I’m doing (and think of her).

Anything else you’d like to share?

I try a lot of productivity apps out to write about them and recommend them (or to recommend AGAINST them) for my company, Caveday. We’re all about helping people find focus in a distracting world and so a lot of my favorite apps and features are therefore focus-related. I’ve curated some of my favorite tips, plugins, apps, and books on the subject at caveday.org/tools

AirPods 3 Rumors

There have now been several leaks concerning the AirPods 3. According to the latest leaked photos, like the ones below, the AirPods 3 are getting a new design.

This makes me nervous. Even though I have some ridiculously fancy headphones, I use the standard AirPods all day long while I’m making calls and meandering about the house. (Power tip: Just wear one at a time.) The existing AirPods fit comfortably in my ears. This new design, if true, looks a lot more like the AirPods Pro, which don’t fit my ears as well.

The AirPods are such a successful product that I expect Apple wouldn’t have changed the design unless they were sure they’d be just as comfortable as the last design. Nevertheless … yikes.