I’m doing a Focus Mode Webinar on September 30 at 10:00 AM Pacific. There are a lot of changes with Focus Mode in iOS 16, and I’ve changed my workflows. I’ll be sharing my favorite new Focus Modes with you during the webinar…
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This week MacSparky is sponsored by Daylite, which just announced its new Daylite Opportunities Board.
Unlock your sales potential with the new Daylite Opportunities Board
For small businesses, acquiring new business often means juggling multiple priorities at the same time, as each deal has its own time frame and different client requirements. That’s why you need a tool that will help better manage your sales pipeline, so you’re making the most of every sales opportunity that comes your way.
Meet the Daylite Opportunities Board
The Daylite Opportunities Board lets you visually track your deals’ progress at every stage and helps you prioritize sales opportunities. This powerful feature gives you a holistic view of your sales pipelines, allowing you to track where each Opportunity is in the process, so you and your team can focus on the most valuable ones. The drag-and-drop functionality allows you to move opportunities from one stage to the next, and you can easily classify deals as “won” or “lost” by dragging them to the respective status categories. Learn more about how this powerful Daylite feature has become a game-changer for Apple-savvy small businesses.
I really like this new feature. Something visual like this is the best way to keep all of your team on the same page.
About Daylite
Daylite is an award-winning CRM and productivity business app that empowers small businesses to get more done throughout the full customer lifecycle. Daylite is a native app built exclusively for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. From meeting prospects and taking control of your sales to managing the moving pieces on projects, all the way through to winning more repeat business, it’s all done in Daylite.
And now, with the Daylite Opportunities Board, you can finally better manage your sales process and unlock your sales potential.
Are you ready to close more deals with Daylite? Start your free trial here.
One of my favorite reviews with each new iPhone is that of Austin Mann. Austin always takes the new iPhone someplace interesting (this time, it’s Scotland) and takes some amazing pictures with the new iPhone Pro while pointing out its strengths and weaknesses. Austin’s iPhone 14 Pro camera review is now up.
This time, he spends a lot of time explaining the advantages of the 48 Megapixel sensor and where its limitations are. He also has thoughts on the three camera sensors. If you are interested in iPhone photography, don’t miss this one.
Today a lot of early reviews dropped for the iPhone 14. I read a lot of them. The best, in my opinion, are from Matt Panzarino and Marques Brownlee.
The reviews are all positive. The features that seem to stand out the most are camera performance and the Dynamic Island, where Apple took a negative (the notch) and turned it into a delightful user interface element. I’m getting my phone Friday and looking forward to checking out all the new features.
On this episode of Focused, Mike and I compare calendars and task lists, the jobs to be done by each, and the resistance that will inevitably appear in your quest to get things done.
This episode of Focused is sponsored by:
There is a new feature in Apple Mail that holds off on loading remote content in new mail messages until you push a button. While I like the feature, it gets annoying when you have to mouse over to click it while your hands are happily parked on the keyboard …
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My congratulations to Federico Viticci and team MacStories on publishing yet another bang-up iOS review. Over the years, I feel like these reviews have got a lot more accessible, and the information is a lot more relevant to me. I know Federico puts a ton of effort into these reviews and it shows.
A few months ago, I did a webinar about how I journal. Since then, several folks have asked for copies of some of my templates. The first one I want to share is my Morning Routine template. I look at, and fill in, this one nearly every day.
I’m a big fan of the idea of a daily priority so the first thing I write down is the one thing I want to get done during the day … my daily priority. You’ll be tempted on occasion to write down two things here, but don’t do that. It’s “priority”, not “priorities.” Forcing myself to pick just one thing is a great way to inspire some focus. I usually pick the one thing the night before, but if I didn’t do it the night before, this prompt forces me to do it first thing. Very rarely do I fail to get the one thing done. I think it is this process of writing it down is where the commitment becomes real for me.
Getting caught in a negative loop any more is so easy. I try to avoid that trap with gratitude. I find taking a few minutes to think about something I’m grateful for every day really helps me start the day right. For bonus points, try to never repeat a gratitude entry. Find something new each day. You’ll surprise yourself.
Every day I find something inspiring to mull over. For everyone this is different. I have friends that will use a bible verse. For me, the daily meditation usually arises from my morning review in Readwise, my spaced repetition system.
I don’t just block and copy, though. Instead, I’ll take a passage and try to summarize it in my own words. I’ll also go back and read it throughout the day. I try to get it to stick for me. I also will journal on it for a few sentences (or paragraphs) on why it is important to me.
This is the actual journaling part of this template. If I’ve got a problem or concern or something I’m particularly happy about or something special planned for the day, I’ll take this time to brain dump it onto the page. This is the section I’m most likely to dictate in this particular template.
I find the process of emptying my brain into the journal gives me a way to examine my thoughts from a different angle. It also helps me let go of anything I’m obsessing on so I can get focused back on the daily priority.
If you wake up with worries or concerns, use this journal entry to work through them. Then when you set down the pen (or keyboard), they have much less of a hold on you.
Some days this section is just a few sentences. Other days it is a lot more.
This is in my morning template for a few reasons. First, it’s a reminder that my character will come out in all of my actions. It is too easy to forget that. Second, it gives me an opportunity to keep myself honest. The older I get, the more I realize that moral ambiguity is bullshit. There is a right and a wrong. The more I can be clear about that in my own head, the more I can make a difference everywhere else.
I used to keep a morning checklist in OmniFocus but about a year ago I sent it into my morning routine template. These are a few items that I want to make sure to get done every morning. I don’t keep a database or track streaks with any of this stuff. This list is just a gentle reminder to brush my teeth, take my pills, meditate a bit, and get rolling.
We are all different and this Morning Routine list has evolved (and continues to evolve) for me. I hope it gives you a nice place to get started building your own Morning Routine list.
It’s September and that means it’s time for the annual Relay St. Jude Fundraiser. St. Jude’s mission is simple: Take care of children with life-threatening diseases and do it for free. That’s right. This is a charity that takes care of kids with cancer and doesn’t bankrupt their parents in the process.
Relay’s goal this year is nearly $500,000. If they can hit that number, it will make the total contribution over the past several years over $2M. This year Relay even has some fun swag if you donate.
Every year Daisy and I save to make a St. Jude donation and I can tell you it feels pretty great pushing that button. This year was strange since I quit my big boy job, but we still stave enough to donate the value of an Apple Watch Ultra. The thing is, however, if everyone that reads this post would give just $5, it would eclipse my donation. That’s right. If all of you skip Starbucks tomorrow and give $5 to St. Jude, you can save some lives. Why not?
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