It’s hard to think of something that has made as big an impact in the way we live and work during the past decade than the smartphone. The iPhone in particular, introduced with its large touchscreen and lack of a physical keyboard, has had a profound impact on our productivity and changed the way we get work done. Its capability and portability have allowed people to work when and where they like. So for this episode on iPhone productivity, we can think of no one better-suited to show you how to get more out of your Apple-branded handheld computer than David Sparks, known affectionately to the internet as “Macsparky.”

David writes and produces the MacSparky Field Guides at MacSparky.com, and is the co-host of the popular Mac Power Users and Free Agents podcasts. David speaks and writes often about Apple technology, and when he’s not falling down fiddly geek rabbit holes, David is a business attorney in Orange County, California.

David recently released the iPhone Field Guide, a multimedia guide to making the most of your iPhone. With over 50 screencasts and more than 65,000 words, there’s something here for everyone whether you are new to the iPhone or been using it for years. David joins us to talk about some of his favorite iPhone productivity tips, some of his favorite productivity apps, and how he accelerated the writing process to finally publish the book.

Thanks to Slack for supporting The Productivity Show. Slack: Where work happens. Go to slack.com to learn more.

Cheat Sheet

Who David is and why he's been podcasting for 10 years 2:44

How smartphones have changed the way we live and work 4:00

What notifications David allows and which ones he blocks 8:11

All about the iPhone field guide that he wrote 15:10

What hyper-scheduling is and how David finished this field guide as a side project 20:29

Some of David's favorite iPhone productivity tips 30:32

Using dictation on iPhone 37:58

Different things you can do with Live Photos 47:05

3 different categories of task managers on the iPhone 52:42

Why you shouldn't use too many due dates for your tasks 58:28

David's perspective on habit trackers for iPhone 1:06:45

How to use the Grammarly keyboard and Voice Dream apps to be more productive 1:10:43

How to get the most out of the Find Friends app on the iPhone 1:17:10

Links

MacSparky iPhone Field Guide

Mac Power Users podcast

Free Agents podcast

"U.S. consumers now spend 5 hours per day on mobile devices" (TechCrunch)

3 Simple Steps to Help You Master Your Calendar (TPS198)

Fantastical

Drafts

Bookworm podcast

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

Anker Charger

Dragon Anywhere

Kolbe

Achieving Next-Level Productivity Through Conative Understanding w/ David Kolbe (TPS197)

Productive app

Habitica

Grammarly

Copied app

Voice Dream

Ulysses

Connect with David Sparks

MacSparky.com

@MacSparky

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