Curio: The Mac’s Most Advanced Notebook App (Sponsor)

This week MacSparky is sponsored by Curio, the most advanced notebook application for note-taking and research. There have been a lot of notebook-style applications for the Mac that have come (and gone) over the years. Curio is the best of these. 

That is because Curio combines simplicity with power in a way I’ve never seen in a notebook app before. Your books are easy to organize, and the canvas (Curio calls it an Idea Space) is easily customizable with drag-and-drop tools like text, images, to-do lists, mind maps, and even Kanban stacks. It also holds many file types like images, PDFs, documents, web links, and multimedia files. Make each space your own.

Professionals, creatives, and students use Curio to be more productive and focused. Whether you are finding a cure, writing a novel, or trying to survive the education system, Curio is there for you. I like the way you can jump between notebooks so quickly and context switch from one Idea Space to another.

Curio also plays nicely with others. It has built-in integrations for DEVONthink, Hookmark, Evernote, Calendar, Reminders, iThoughts, and TaskPaper.

Curio is one of those great Mac apps developed (now for 20 years!) by a dedicated indie developer. Go check it out. Make sure to use Coupon Code MACSPARKY for 20% Off!

The Next Focus Session (MacSparky Labs)

It’s time for another Focus Session. If you’re not familiar with these Focus Sessions, they are a time when a group of us commit to showing up and working on our independent projects, but at the same time connected on a zoom call to give us some sense of accountability…

This is a post for MacSparky Labs Level 3 (Early Access) and Level 2 (Backstage) Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?

Mac Power Users 675: Cruisin’ with CarPlay

Gone are the days of using tapes, CDs, and iPods in cars. Apple has taken center stage in most new cars sold as the iPhone replaced all of those older media sources in the car. On this week’s Mac Power Users, Stephen and I pack up and go on a tour of CarPlay.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • 1Password: Never forget a password again.
  • Rocket Money: Cancel unwanted subscriptions and manage your expenses.
  • More Power Users: Join and get a longer, ad-free version of the show each and every week!

Automators 119: Moving Houses and to the Mac with Chris Lawley

Chris Lawley (YouTuber, nerd, and photographer) joins Rosemary and me on this episode of Automators to talk about moving house and what that means for his smart home, as well as his journey back to the Mac.

This episode of Automators is sponsored by:

  • ExpressVPN: High-Speed, Secure & Anonymous VPN Service. Get an extra three months free.
  • Electric: Unbury yourself from IT tasks. Get a free pair of Beats Solo3 Wireless Headphones when you schedule a meeting.
  • LinkedIn Jobs: Find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free today.

Why I Love Kaizen Foam

Every time I open my drawers, I smile a little bit. The reason, is Kaizen Foam.

Years ago I bought some of this and I’ve been lining my drawers with it ever since. It comes in big sheets (2′ x 4′) but easily cuts with a box cutter to fit your drawers. Then you cut bits out of it to fit the shapes of your things. And the thing is you can cut those bits out over time, as you figure out exactly what goes where. When you’re done, everything has its place … and if you are as anal retentive as I am about these things, you get warm and fuzzy all over.

If you decide to get your own Kaizen Foam, check out these guys. The trick is to buy a bundle for the free shipping. It took me a few years to work through my first bundle, but now that I’m reopening my wood shop I’ve just received my second bundle. If you’re curious, I get the 30 mm variant in black.

If you want your drawers to make you smile, look no further.

Turn Your Out-of-Control Box into a SaneBox(Sponsor)

Does your email go into your inbox, or is it more like an out-of-control box? Amirite?! With the help of this week’s sponsor at MacSparky, you can turn it into a sanebox. 

Take back control of your email with SaneBox. SaneBox’s A.I. will make sure that only important email stays in your inbox by analyzing your email history and learning what’s important to you. Important emails you need to deal with now go to your inbox. Emails you don’t have to deal with immediately are filtered into a separate folder and saved for later when you can switch your focus and headspace and deal with them at a later time. Goodbye, distractions. This allows you to work more efficiently.

A cleaner inbox. A more useful and productive inbox. A sanebox. You can try it out yourself and see how your inbox email is trained and sorted by signing up for a free trial, and you’ll get a $10 credit you can use towards a SaneBox subscription. Restore your sanity to your inbox with SaneBox.