Tech on Greg Higgins

Let’s talk about Notifications and Focus Modes

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 08:10:52 -0500

I’m pretty sure Apple didn’t create Focus modes for this reason. But I’m trying something out. One of my biggest complaints with Apple has been the fact that you cannot customize notifications for individuals. You can set up VIP notifications in mail but that’s it. I want that type of notification control across my device. Mainly for messages. I do not need to see a text message with an advertisement on my lock screen. As a matter of fact most of the text messages I get I do not need to access that very minute. There are a few people, though, I would like to know when they text me because it could be important. People like my wife or my parents. Not my coworker that wants me to see the latest TikTok video.

So I have decided to try something. I have set up notifications for messages to show up on the lock screen (something I highly discourage if you get notifications for everything). But then I went in and set up different focus modes. Work, personal, etc. So now I can allow different people to message me and it show up on my lock screen at different times. That means if I’m at work, I can allow notifications from my boss in case he messages me with something important. Away from work, I have a personal focus mode set up. That means I can allow notifications only from a few, select people. So if my wife texts me something I can see it right away. Or if my parents need something, I’ll see it.

I still don’t think this is the perfect setup. It would be better if Apple would just incorporate this into the system. However, this might be a workaround for the time being.

Wed, 16 Aug 2023 06:10:46 -0500

When posting a link from my blog to a social media account (like Facebook, Twitter, etc), is there a way to have it show the picture associated with the article instead of my blogs logo?

I did a thing!

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 09:10:45 -0500

In an effort to minimize my screen time, I decided to try out downtime on my iPhone this weekend. I decided to limit what apps I have access to in the evening time until morning. This prevents me from mindlessly scrolling and watching videos when I should be asleep. I don’t have a lot of data yet but plan on monitoring it over a period of time. I’ll have to do some tweaking to the apps that are/aren’t allowed as well as the time chosen for downtime.

Sun, 06 Aug 2023 11:13:15 -0500

This article has some really good points. I really liked this particular part:

I also use Do Not Disturb quite liberally. Basically, it’s on from 5pm until noon each day. It’s like intermittent fasting but from distractions.

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 15:09:06 -0500

Not sure if it’s a beta thing or not but I had no clue that you can adjust exercise and stand goals on the  ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜ now.

Goodbye Reminders (again)

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 08:48:50 -0500

For quite a while now, I have gone without a digital task manager. I was writing things down in a notebook (Field Notes I use for a monthly bullet journal). It was working great. Then, I saw some friends using reminders on their iPhone and I decided to go back and try it. Been experimenting with it for a little while now and I think I’ve come to this conclusion: there’s a reason why I left digital for analogue.

I’m not sure if the realization happened last week while on vacation or because of the vacation. Either way I realized that one of the things that made the vacation so great was the lack of technology. We spent the week in Mexico and when I got there I put my phone in the safe they provided in the room. We used it a couple of times to check on a few things at the house but that was it. I had my iPad and I did a little bit of reading on it but that was it. For the most part it was a technology free vacation.

I got back to the States and had to start adulting again. This meant calendars and to-do lists. Which, in turn, meant a pull back to the phone and the technology. This morning as I unlocked my phone I saw a red badge on my reminders app. Now as a sidebar, I have always hated the badge notification. In all honesty, I’m against most notifications period. But I really dislike the badge notification. I pretty much have it turned off for most of my apps. I leave it on for phone calls and reminders. That’s it.

That’s about to change. The badge is about to be turned off for reminders. I think, in part, because I’ve decided to return back to the notebook for my planning, calendar and task management. It seems simpler and less distracting. So, this morning I spent a little bit of time transferring calendar items from my iCloud account to my planner. I’ve also done the same with reminders.

In a way its sad that a trip to Mexico is what it took for me to realize this. But, regardless how I got here, I’m glad I arrived. Now its time to get some work done. Back to my notebook.

Thu, 04 May 2023 14:37:47 -0500

We’re getting close enough to WWDC that I can start griping about how we do not have global VIP on the iphone yet. We have it in mail. That’s it. How is this feature not available with messages? Or other apps?

Current Home Screen

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 10:52:07 -0500

Here’s my current home screen setup:

I’ve gone back to adding some apps to my home screen. I’ve been going back and forth with this for a while. For several years I went with no apps on my home screen. Then I started wanting to use specific apps for different things but would forget about them because they were buried (Out of sight out of mind). So now I’m using apps.

Also, here’s my current lock screen.

Dark Noise anyone?

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 10:23:29 -0500

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s been a while. Dark Noise is absolutely one of my favorite apps. There are times I’m working and I want some noise in the back ground, but not necessarily music.

That’s where Dark Noise comes to the rescue. It’s a great app for providing back ground noise. Whether its simple white noise, rain, a camp fire, a cat purring or many of the other countless noises available, this app has it all. Add to it that you can create your own custom sounds and its even better.

For instance, I added windy trees, birds, more windy trees and wind chimes to make create the effect of sitting outside. Another one I created was the effect of a really heavy rain storm by combining distant thunder, a thunderstorm and heavy rain.

This is a great app!

iOS 14 and Homescreen Problems

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 09:29:41 -0500

Since the release of iOS 14, I have messed with my homescreen more times than I care to count. Between adding widgets and customizing widgets, I can’t seem to get it right. Well, until now. I think I’ve finally settled on a combination that I like. Now ask me again in a few days and see where I’m at.

The Bullet Journal: Consider me Intrigued

Mon, 14 Sep 2020 07:29:10 -0500

This weekend I decided to take some time and read The Bullet Journal Method. I’ve been fascinated by bullet journaling for quite a while. So I decided to read the book.

I may give this a try. I like the idea having a distraction from screen time. Between working 8 hours in front of two monitors, using my iPad to write articles and radio sports updates and my iPhone I spend a lot of time in front of a screen.

In the book, Ryder Carroll brings out this staggering number:

“In 2016 the average American spent nearly eleven hours in front of digital screens each day.”

That’s crazy to think about until you stop to consider a typical day. Eight to nine hours a day at work in front of a computer. Several hours in the evening on the couch watching television while scrolling through your social media posts. It’s easy to see how those numbers add up.

That number was four years ago too. Think about what that number is now. With streaming video services all around, it is easy to get caught up in a digital world.

I recently had to switch to bifocals and one of the reasons was sitting in front of a screen all day and the wear and tear it puts on the eyes. So, an analog system to help me keep up with projects sounds appealing to me. That’s where the Bullet Journal comes into play. I’m not sure where this will go or what will happen, but for now I’m thinking hard about taking the plunge.

Wed, 20 May 2020 21:15:00 -0500

Reminders

Let me start by saying I think I have a terrific mother. She did an amazing job raising me and my brother. She’s a great nurse. Everyone loves her.

That being said, she has a little problem. That problem is remembering to do certain things. No matter how many times I tell her to use reminders on her phone, she doesn’t do it.

Obviously I’m saying all that in jest. The fact is a lot of people don’t take advantage of reminders or things like that on their phone or tablet. As we get older, our brains don’t work as good as they once did. It’s just a fact of life. There’s no shame in that. However, there is shame in forgetting to buy your grandchild a birthday card.

So, whether you use an iPhone or an Android device, I would suggest making use of reminders. There’s something satisfying about putting information in the application, forgetting about it and then being reminded in several days. I use this all the time and it helps me keep my mind clear.

Time Tracking

I do not understand time tracking. I hear people talk about apps like Timery and Toggl and I understand what they are used for. What I don’t understand, is using them all the time to track regular time. If you bill people by the hour, I get using these apps. I’m sure it has a place but not in my little world.

Stock

I’ve been using third party apps quite a bit. Not sure how many apps I’ve downloaded over the years but it’s a lot of them. What I’m starting to learn, though, is that sometimes simpler is better. Every smart phone comes with Notes, Reminders, Calendars, and Mail applications already installed. Most of these apps are very well done and easy to use. They also require little to no setup.

"It's a Good Day" - Gabz

Wed, 13 May 2020 14:25:00 -0500

My friend Gabz posted a short writeup concerning iA Writer and its recent update. You can read his post here: It’s A Good Day.

Gabz makes some great points in this article including:

“This is something I was able to do in other ways like with my beloved Drafts. But when it came to adding images to the post and such, doing so felt a little bit of a hack. Now, it’s much easier and this is probably my most compelling part of the app’s update.”

I have to agree. Adding images using the native micro.blog app or Drafts and Mimi Uploader were either cumbersome or took a while to do. Now, with iA Writer’s update, this is a seamless process.

There are a few other bugs to work out, however. Mainly the title part of the post. It appears the app makes the first line of the post the title of the post as well. There is a way to fix this but it makes the transition from writing to publishing not quite as seamless posting a photo. I’m sure this is something that will be fixed in time (or at least I’m hoping it will).

Let’s Discuss Homescreens

Wed, 15 Apr 2020 07:05:00 -0500

Let’s discuss homescreens. Actually, lets discuss my homescreen. I used to obsessively try and get the perfect homescreen. I wanted a combination of the right icons but they also had to look good together. I would organize them by color a lot of times. I also wanted a dark background so the app icons stood out (I have included an example picture below from October 2018).

That’s around the time I started reimagining my homescreen. I read a few articles from some people and I decided to experiment. I decided to remove all the apps from my homescreen and put them in folders on a second screen. The only apps accessible are the ones in my dock. I have tried different combinations in the dock but the three-app dock is my preferred.

My dock has always consisted of two stable apps. My task manager of choice and Drafts. Drafts is the app I used most on my phone and/or iPad. It’s where text starts. A lot of time, it’s where text stays. If I compose a text message, a lot of time it starts in Drafts. An email is the same way. All my blog posts, sports articles, sports reports, etc are done in Drafts.

Currently, my tasks manager is Apple Reminders. It does a great job for what I need. I use it for everything from reminding me to take medicine to reminding me take out the trash. It works great with Drafts as well.

The third app is the one I’ve changed the most. I’ve had messages in there. I’ve had a camera app as well. Ultimately I decided on going with a calendar app. A lot of what I do (when we’re not on quarantine) is based off a calendar so it’s important to have that handy.

Why not the phone app or messages you ask. First, the phone app. A lot of times if I’m going to make a call, I use Siri. I also have the “Favorites” widget on my phone. So a quick swipe to the widget screen allows me to call the people I have deemed my favorite. Sometimes, I will also use spotlight search to pull up a contact and dial their number.

As for messages, I don’t use badges on my phone. I never have. I can’t stand them. They drive me crazy. So I don’t ever know if I have a message waiting for me by looking at my phone (also, I do not allow any apps to show up on my lock screen.) I do have messages show up in Notification Center. I can swipe down and see what’s in there if I so choose. Sometimes, though, I don’t want a distraction by messages I need to deal with. This is where Drafts comes in to the picture. I can open drafts, compose a message to my wife and fire it off without getting distracted from opening the messages app.

All the other apps on my phone are opened via spotlight. You can see what my homescreen and second page look like. If i want to open Tweetbot, I just pull down from the homescreen and type TW and it’s there. This allows me to not get distracted by an app that’s on my homescreen when I unlock my phone. We’ve all been there, right? I need to send a quick message to someone, so I unlock my phone. At that point, I see a red badge around my twitter app so I click on it to see what the badge is for. After taking care of that, I start scrolling through my timeline. Thirty minutes later, I’ve forgotten to send that message and I’m still retweeting, replying and reading Twitter.

This is a way for me to be a little less distracted. It’s not for everyone and I don’t try to push this on anyone. It has worked for me for the past 18 months and, to me, that’s all that matters.