![\"Frictionless](\"https:\/\/images.coachingforleaders.com\/cb:ztCJ~31fd5\/w:1024\/h:665\/q:mauto\/f:best\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/frictionless-systems.jpg\")
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This past week, I began emerging from a bout with the flu. Even though I still have a bit of a cough and a runny nose, it has felt delightful just to be out of bed and returning to some sort of normalcy.<\/p>\n
One thing I was grateful for during this season was the productivity systems I have in place. I was able to determine what I had fallen behind on and how to make adaptations to priorities I had been unable to focus on.<\/p>\n
I have written and podcasted before about the importance of weekly reviews in the past.<\/p>\n
Each time I complete a weekly review, I come out of it with less stress and more of a sense of the most important things to focus on during a given week.<\/p>\n
I officially recommended TextExpander on episode 114<\/a>, but have mentioned it many times in past shows and blog posts. TextExpander lets us save time by \u201cquickly inserting snippets – email addresses, signatures, code chunks, form letters images – as you type, using a simple keyboard shortcut, or custom abbreviations. Save time without typos and copy\/paste.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n I recently learned how to have TextExpander<\/a> type something into the subject line of an email and enter the rest of some text into the body of an email. TextExpander<\/a> also has room for customization of each \u201csnippet.\u201d<\/p>\n When I have a podcast guest scheduled, I send them a couple of emails about being on the show. This process is made much simpler with TextExpander. Each episode\u2019s show notes are also produced that much faster using TextExpander<\/a> snippets.<\/p>\n My blog posts and podcast show notes all start in this brilliant text editing application. From their website<\/a>:<\/p>\n A pleasant, focused writing experience combined with effective document management, fast syncing and flexible export make Ulysses the first choice for writers of all kinds.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Their promotional text reads: \u201cToday is the day you take back control of your inbox.\u201d They aren\u2019t kidding you. I can\u2019t imagine going back to life without SaneBox<\/a>.<\/p>\n We prioritize your Inbox and let you know if an email didn't receive a reply.<\/p>\n We can also sort your Inbox, keep track of reminders and snoozed emails, rescue real email from your spam folder, upload attachments to your cloud, and more…\u201d<\/p>\n I have found Airmail<\/a> to be a wonderful way to get through email quickly. My favorite feature is the keyboard shortcuts that are available. I hardly ever have to use my trackpad when I\u2019m moving emails into folders and processing incoming mail.<\/p>\n I use Fantastical<\/a> primarily on my Mac, though they do have an iOS app, as well. The main feature that people love about Fantastical is the ability to \u201cuse natural language to quickly create events and reminders.\u201d<\/p>\n I find that I make more use of the ability to have different collections of calendars to switch between. Sometimes, I might just want to see our family members\u2019 respective calendars and not pay attention to my work calendar at all. In other instances, I may only want to see my work and personal calendars and leave Dave\u2019s and the kids\u2019 calendars out of the picture.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how they describe this feature (calendar sets) on their website<\/a>:<\/p>\n Fantastical 2 lets you\u00a0quickly toggle multiple calendars\u00a0on or off with a single click, so you can focus on what's more important in that moment. The days of going back and forth, clicking multiple times, just to hide and show your calendars are over.<\/p>\n But we didn't stop there. You can even\u00a0automatically switch Calendar Sets based on your location\u00a0(i.e.\u00a0Work\u00a0and\u00a0Home). How cool is that?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As some of you might have heard me talk about, I recently joined the club of those who are obsessed with the Instant Pot<\/a>. It has me cooking a lot more often and taking advantage of my recipe app regularly.<\/p>\n Paprika<\/a> \u201cis an app that helps you organize your recipes, make meal plans, and create grocery lists. Using Paprika's built-in browser, you can\u00a0save recipes from anywhere on the web.<\/p>\n Want to access your recipes on your phone or tablet? Our free cloud sync service allows you to\u00a0seamlessly sync your data\u00a0across all of your devices.\u201d<\/p>\n You can also more easily adjust the ingredients you will need, based on different desired serving sizes. You definitely can\u2019t do that quick of a set of calculations with a cookbook, or a recipe you found on Pinterest.<\/p>\n When Paprika<\/a> says \u201cyou can easily save recipes\u201d on the web, it means it. You copy a link over to Paprika and it extracts the needed data from the website and adds it into all the various fields (cooking time, ingredients, instructions, etc.).<\/p>\n What apps and services are you finding are helping you create a more frictionless experience? <\/em><\/p>\n Thanks to everyone who replies to my calls for entertainment help on Twitter while I was sick. Let\u2019s just say I have been watching more than my fair share of this one<\/a> and this one<\/a> in recent weeks.<\/p>\nUlysses (Mac\/iOS)<\/h2>\n
Sanebox (Gmail\/Google, Apple iCloud, Outlook.com, Office 365, Yahoo, and many more)<\/h2>\n
Airmail (Mac, iOS)<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Fantastical (Mac, iOS)<\/h2>\n
Paprika (Windows, Android, Kindle, iOS, Mac)<\/h2>\n
![\"Paprika](\"https:\/\/images.coachingforleaders.com\/cb:ztCJ~31fd5\/w:1024\/h:615\/q:mauto\/f:best\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/teachinginhighered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/paprika.png\")
<\/p>\nYour Turn<\/h2>\n