Mike is team iOS, arguing that this platform is superior for getting things done with ease, mobility, and focus. Thanh represents team Mac, making the case that laptops and desktops are far better at getting important things done in less time and with more automation. Listen in and decide for yourself which platform is best for your productivity needs.
Cheat Sheet
- The advances in iOS technology that have leveled the playing field when choosing what platform to use
- Why improvements in mobile technology have opened up doors for getting work done on the go
- What you can do with the increased screen real estate when using a second monitor
- How the constraints of iOS can actually provide a better environment for some tasks like writing
- The benefits of iOS for single-tasking and how you can recreate this on the desktop
- The travel benefits of iOS and the flexibility offered for people who move around a lot while working
- How the increased battery life in iOS devices eliminates friction and allows you to work on your own terms
- Why Thanh thinks Mike needs to hit the gym more and quit whining about how heavy his MacBook is
- The benefits of having an always-on cellular connection on your iOS device (and how to mimic this on your MacBook)
- Why you might want to use a VPN when connecting to a wifi network
- The automation and systems benefits of using macOS and what the iOS equivalents are
- Clearing the backlog after coming back from vacation
- How to determine what your time is worth (and why Thanh uses his Mac to get his work done as quickly as possible)
Links
- 9to5Mac article
- Workflow
- Drafts
- TextExpander
- Keyboard Maestro
- Omnifocus
- Evernote
- SixColors.com re: podcasting
- Ferrite for iOS
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I think the best thing to do is to just take only your iPad and a Bluetooth keyboard on your road trip. You will be forced to adapt and you will be amazed by all the little tricks you find about iOS that you didn’t realize was there hiding all this time.
I recently took a plane ride to Japan and purposely left my notebook behind. I brought the iPad and BT keyboard and I found be interesting . The first week was a little hard because I had to stretch my brain and think about how to do some actions on iOS when I already had the muscle memory on my Mac.
I’ve also learned to use Apple Pages, Numbers, and Keynote on my iPad. Wasn’t easy but I think the more I use it, the better I get at figuring out what works and what doesn’t work.
I’m old enough to remember when PC users were laughing at Mac users for using a mouse and a cute little graphics interface. This was the beginning of the MacoOS days. These PC users were happy in command line interfaces and all text screens. The mouse was thought of as a child’s toy and not to be taken seriously. Nowadays the mouse is a complement to the keyboard on every computer.
I’m getting a little better at using iPad versions of some of the desktop apps now.
Disappointed in the episode. The title was so interesting but you guys could not stay focused on the topic of productivity.
The conversation totally degenerated into what’s better mac or iPad. Lost sight of how each has productive workflows for different tasks.
Listened to this podcast this morning on my commute. Brought up a few good points and it made me wonder about my own habits and if I could get a lot of work done on my phone. I experimented tonight with working on speeches (writing & editing) and processing some emails for an upcoming training session for our local Toastmasters group. Perhaps I just need to get more efficient and used to “working” in iOS – or maybe I just need an iPad – but I quickly retreated to my Macbook Pro. (Though, did find myself distracted a few times, so that is indeed a pitfall I should explore solving…) But, as of now, I’m in the Mac OS camp because of familiarity and tonight’s experiment.
It did open the door to learning a few more possibilities to work on my phone, if needed… so thanks for prompting that exploration.