Over at my other place, a review of the splendid Ardbeg Uigeadail.
Mac – multiple desktops
I’ve been using MacBook Pros for well over a decade. However, it was only this week that I discovered the multiple desktops feature.
A bit late to the party, but I’m definitely making up for lost time. This feature was definitely designed for me. I didn’t know it existed until Tuesday this week. But now that I’ve found it, I’m mighty glad to have it.
Whisky writing
Over at my other place, an intro to the Campbeltown whisky region.
In praise of Notion templates
Three cheers for whoever invented the software behind Notion templates, in particular the button that allows you to create your own templates.
I’m a massive fan of this feature. One way I use it is to create a weekly goals sheet, which sets out all the things I want to achieve in any particular week.
My goals sheet has different categories relating to my personal and work goals, and also shows how these tie into my quarterly goals. As this is a document I fill in every week, I have created a Notion template in the form of a questionnaire. At the start of every week, I simply click a link, and a brand new questionnaire automatically appears. I then fill this in with my goals for the week.
Without the ability to create a template, I’d have had to create this questionnaire from scratch every week. I’m glad I don’t have to do that, and can simply focus on filling in my goals for the week.
Notion is an amazingly versatile app, and the ability to create templates does wonders for creativity. Five golden stars for this incredible feature.
Writing apps – 2022
I’ve experimented with writing apps for as long as I can remember (e.g. see here). Not all of them stick, though. Many are downright unusable, some do not fit my workflow, and a lot tend to be quite distracting – e.g. cluttered with unnecessary features.
But there are some that I have used consistently, and which continue to serve me well. Here are my best writing apps of 2022:
- Ulysses
- RoamResearch
- Drafts 5 (on which I am typing this post, actually. I can also send my posts to the blog from there.)
- Notion (this app is all things to all men. I use it for several things, including as a writing app.)
- Apple Notes
- GoodNotes 5 (I don’t use this one as much as I did in the past, but it’s still useful for taking handwritten notes while doing research.)
I’ll be carrying on with these apps in 2023. I don’t suppose I’ll be replacing any of them. Taken together, they meet all my writing needs. I’m also not looking to add another app to the list. Unless someone comes up with something truly revolutionary. I can’t imagine what that would be, but let’s wait and see.