The Ultimate Apple Productivity System: Can It Be Built?

[@dirkmux]

For me the biggest pro of using Apple‘s own apps is that they save you lot of time because they are low maintenance from a user perspective. I don‘t have to think about subscriptions, about app companies being sold, about compatibility between iPhone, iPad, Mac, Watch and so on. Apple‘s suite of apps may not be the most configurable but it‘s solid and just works.

[@JAHistheONE]

What draws me to them is the simplicity. It’s not too much or complicated. It does the basics.

[@SirenaJones]

This is encouraging cause, I just need it to work.

[@hookerrabbit]

could not have said it better

[@jordiverdura]

What an enlightening video! Thank you Carl for your clear and concise message.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Thank you, Jordi.Glad you liked it.

[@callmeNeno]

I was all over the place in different ecosystems that when i wanted to find something i could not find it or complicated everything instead of being productive. Also, i had subscriptions models all over the place. I did some hard soul searching and decided to go from Evernote to Apple Notes, from Microsoft 365 Office to Apple's native Pages and Numbers etc.. All my hardware is Apple so sticking with native apps for peace of mind.

[@Carl_Pullein]

It's certainly doable, Neno. The best thing is it simple and very easy to maintain.

[@devarni]

How do you decide what's in Apple Reminders and what's in Todoist?

[@Carl_Pullein]

it’s not really a decision. All that goes in Reminders are shopping items on my shopping list and bill payment reminders (24 hours before the bill is due to be paid). Everything else is in Todoist.

[@kayday803]

Regarding collecting to inbox, if you’ve specified the Inbox list as primary you don’t need to specify each task entry

[@Carl_Pullein]

Exactly. Thank you for explaining that better than I did 🙂

[@techiguy4188]

@@Carl_PulleinThank You for sharing wonderful knowledge. Now you are my mentor for time management 😅❤

[@Carl_Pullein]

​@@techiguy4188 Always happy to help.

[@tophercaesar5375]

What I really want is linking between apps. For example if I put something on calendar I would like the option to link that and it becomes a reminder and in the note section of reminder be able to link to an Apple note.

[@Carl_Pullein]

I can assure you, you really don't. Why would you want to mix tasks and events? They are very different things.

[@jimtipton8888]

I’m with you. I think the Apple suite of apps has evolved nicely. Looking forward to more connectivity via sharing (that isn’t buried in a sub menu) between apps. Specifically like linking a message (which I don’t think you can do) to a reminder. There is a workaround for Mail, but it doesn’t share between devices. A reminder will show but the link will be dead on every device except the one the reminder originated on. Simple things to improve the experience. Cheers Carl and thanks! Subscribed.

[@Carl_Pullein]

I'd agree. It's a work in progress, but it's progress in the right direction.

[@AlexVassiosOfficial]

What about Freeform? I’ve loved using it for managing projects and brainstorming. But I’m struggling to find distinctions between using it and Notes

[@Carl_Pullein]

It's got a lot of potential. It just needs a little bit more development.

[@RealTalentHiring]

Thank you for the content. Subscribed!

[@Carl_Pullein]

Thank you.

[@la6188]

We've had the ability to execute all the features demonstrated in the past two years, with the exception of the smart lists, which were rolled out just last year. Great video nonetheless-thank you.

[@Carl_Pullein]

I wanted to look at it through the prism of COD.

[@helgapoczos8881]

Thank you, Carl. I would happy to watch your idea about building up the BASB (Building a second brain by Tiago Forte) system in the Apple ecosystem. 🙂🙏🏻

[@cooldispatch]

In a nutshell it is just folder organizing inside Apple Notes. Tiago himself made the video you wish 🙂 I watched it several days ago.

[@Carl_Pullein]

You probably already have something set up. BASB is all about how you organise your notes, so they mean something to you and can be accessed quickly. It doesn't have to be organised by PARA (Projects, Areas, Resources and Archive). It can be something else. The key is it means something to you and you know how to fins something quickly.

[@omim1155]

I would love to see a video about BASB from you. I just started my productivity/2nd brain journey and I’m testing a couple of 3rd party apps. But the Apple apps work very well together and super simple

[@Carl_Pullein]

Ooh, there are already a lot of videos on that subject, and I don't really consider my notes as a second brain. My brain's never been good at remembering stuff. I use it more for creating ideas.

[@rudyelizondo1935]

Oh yeah man, you’ve got some really great tips and organized ideas. Great vids

[@Carl_Pullein]

Thank you, Rudy. Glad you liked it.

[@neilstagner1961]

Is there a way to track customers/prospects or leads inside the Apple universe that syncs with calendars, reminders, notes, etc.?

[@Carl_Pullein]

No. Apple will never open up their system enough to allow the synchronisation required to do that.

[@joshuanolan4581]

Fantastic video… now utilizing the COD method to help myself organize!

[@Carl_Pullein]

Happy to help, Joshua.

[@lahmyaj]

Nice video 👏🏻 Subscribed 👍🏻 I’ve always used Apple’s default apps because I feel it simplifies things and also is the same across all my Apple devices. One app I for whatever reason never started using was Reminders. I essentially use a rough To Do List in Notes and constantly re-jigging calendar events for non-specific date to do’s and so looking to learn how to use Reminders now by watching videos like yours 👍🏻

[@Carl_Pullein]

Reminders has, in the last two years, become an excellent task manager.

[@landexplorer]

Thanks Carl. How do you manage appointment slots in the Apple Calendar? I would like to ensure that by sharing a calendar with my client he can choose the date and time and I can see the choice in my calendar... a bit like what happens with Google Calendar and the new "appointments" features

[@Carl_Pullein]

That's not yet available. I doubt it will come either, as it would put services such as Calendarly and Acuity out of business. Don't think Apple need that kind of negative publicity.

[@landexplorer]

@@Carl_Pullein A shame because with these features you wouldn't leave the Apple ecosystem...

[@kamranurrahman6434]

If you don’t mind a paid app one I use for exactly that is called Fantastical and it’s heavily integrated with Apple apps

[@eurekapg]

Thanks for this Carl - you've been hard at work since the new iOS - curious what this means for your own system - Todoist / Evernote etc?

[@Carl_Pullein]

My own system's settled and works well. The only thing that changed somewhat is my increasing use of Apple Notes.

[@maxgolaz1]

Thanks Carl, been following you for a while and there is real power in your “keeping it simple’ approach. I use many of the tools you use, but keep projects in excel as I love the plasticity it affords - do you know if it is possible to paste a link to an excel workbook within Apple reminders , Apple notes and Todoist, such that I can click on ‘work on project x’ and it will open the excel workbook. That would be awesome!

[@Carl_Pullein]

If you're using Office 365 and OneDrive, you can always get the link from the web version of the file, and that will open the workbook. Whether Microsoft allows the Excel app to be opened, I'm not sure.

[@timthesheriff]

Do you think that the Apple tools are appropriate for collaboration between teammates and maybe even project management?

[@Carl_Pullein]

Yes, but most companies are either in the Windows or Google ecosystem so unless everyone you work with are using Apple devices it won't work well.

[@yorgosvoyiatzis7527]

Yes! And ditto for a money management system.

[@VelazquezDuran]

I always use the apple’s apps because it simple share the info between apps.

[@peterc2248]

I find it utterly bizarre that I can drag an email from Apple Mail into Things 3 and trun it into a task but I can't do that with Reminders - unless I've missed something obvious? About 80% of my work tasks are created from emails or phone calls, the rest are scheduled routine tasks. That's why I can't make the leap away from Things 3 even though I'd like to

[@sofia-m2u9t]

I recently learned you can do it just by telling Siri "remind me about this" from the email. Not obvious, but it works!

[@arkhurdler7308]

Works for me, I just drag the email to my reminders inbox.

[@drnomad16]

I have to admit that one of the best decision I have made was to follow you on KZbin and sign up for your courses! I have not regretted that one bit! Thank you!

[@Carl_Pullein]

Aww thank you. Very happy to have been able to help.

[@lorenaortega7504]

😊Thank you for all your videos. I have learned a lot! A quick kind feedback. Sonoma has an accent in the middle of the word so[no]ma 😊🙏🏼

[@Carl_Pullein]

Hahaha, I’m originally from Yorkshire (UK) and that’s difficult to pronounce. (Try saying Worcestershire - you’ll understand)

[@lorenaortega7504]

@@Carl_Pullein Yorkshire is the best county in England … Greetings from Leeds ✌️

[@javiernigard136]

Thank you Carl. Here is a question for you. I´ve always loved Apple, have the MBP and Ipad. But the last 2 years I have been using and Android phone. The thing is that I cannot find the right solution yet to mix these 2 systems with each other. How would you solve it? Thanks in advance.

[@Carl_Pullein]

I wouldn't try and build a productivity system using only Apple's tools. If I were using a cross-platform system, I would look at third-party tools. Todoist, Evernote and Google Calendar, for example. These three tools all talk to each other, so you would be able to create a seamless system.

[@brainscott]

Thanks for the encouragement

[@Carl_Pullein]

You're welcome.

[@Stasyssinkevicius]

System it can call when it’s connected different apps together. Reminders, Notes and Calendar not

[@Carl_Pullein]

Interesting POV.

[@gwsaltspring]

Hmmm... I wonder if Google will follow along. That would be sweet!

[@Carl_Pullein]

They are doing some interesting things. Although I think they have a different approach.

[@jayro240]

I love to consolidate my life admin systems, but I don’t know how people use the Apple Work Suite if they have to consistently engage with the regular world? I HAVE to use Google apps for work, so I don’t see a point in deviating from it if they do the same thing haha

[@Carl_Pullein]

I've never found it a problem. I use Numbers, and my accountant uses Excel. Once I've finished adding my expenses for the month, for example, I simply send them as an Excel file. Similarly, my publisher wants my manuscript in Word, so I send him my file as a Word document. (I prefer to write it in Pages)

[@jayro240]

@@Carl_Pullein Totally, that seems like a good flow. The iWork apps are amazing for the iPad, but in my experience they do not interact well with the Google Suite which is the biggest downfall for me.

[@maikeru86]

Can you please 🙏🏻🙏🏻 split this two channels or topics for Apple-only and the rest? It's moment at every Sunday: I see Carl upload video, click click with enthusiasm and... oh... Apple again :(

[@Carl_Pullein]

That would be difficult as each video I do covers a principle. I occasionally demonstrate each principle with a different tool to bring some variety to the videos. However, everything I demonstrated in this video can be done almost the same way in Todoist (and other apps)

[@wakinglife7065]

I wish Apple would release a OneNote like program. Then it would be brilliant

[@Carl_Pullein]

Have you looked at Freeform?

[@techiguy4188]

Love from Pakistan ❤

[@cybermonkeyusa]

Apple calendar is pretty bad. I have sent meeting invites and you get a weird mixture of how to accept them. Then if you send a meeting request to an iCloud user, it is a horrible experience. Sorry, but I am not sold on the Apple ecosystem. I tried it and want to like it, but there is so much that make users work much harder than needed.

[@_ped_]

Hey Carl, where's Raycast? 👀

[@Carl_Pullein]

It’s not an Apple product.

[@SethLigo]

I guess these are all words?

[@Giusie79]

Why would you create standard lists called next week etc? If these are not smart it would be a nightmare to move them continuously. You can add dates and smart lists so easy now. Not very inviting to start your training course.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Ultimately, I want to be in control of what I do each day. I do not want a computer's algorithm deciding that for me. I use smart lists where appropriate, but I remain in control.

[@cooldispatch]

Apple productivity apps are maturing steadily but slowly. They simply do not wish to make them too good to canibalize 3rd party apps sales and collect their percentage 😉💸💰

[@Carl_Pullein]

You're probably correct there.

[@kimbapslayer1995]

Literally the biggest draw back i see to apple notes, is the lack of being able to turn a single note into a template. Then I'd be able to just fillout my note. With a structured title, section for tags, lists etc alreay ready to go. Huge dissapointment.

[@Carl_Pullein]

Thast’s why we have Pages where you can create as many templates as you like. And of course we also have Keyboard Shortcuts which enables you, in seconds, to create pretty much anything you like in Notes.

[@antcooper]

🐟

[@DanBuell]

Suh-no-muh

[@martinspedding4210]

I would thought he you want to be productive avoid apple devices and software

[@reamster273]

Hi Carl pullien, I'm a big fan of your content, I'd love to help enhance your videos through editing, and I'm willing to do it for free. I'd be happy to edit one of your videos as a sample. If you like the result, we can discuss working together on more projects. Let me know if you're interested!