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Ulysses for iPad Now Has Split-Screen Editing  →

On Monday I officially ran out of feature ideas and improvements for Ulysses. Because the iPad app now offers split-screen editing, and it’s fantastic.

I mostly use Ulysses from my iPad, and this was the last remaining feature request for me.

I don’t need a split screen editor all the time, but it is something that I often incorporate as part of my writing workflow. Usually I will have an outline on one side and my working draft on the other.

Before Ulysses offered split-screen edition on the Mac version, I had a Keyboard Maestro macro that would open up a new editing window and re-size. On the iPad, if I wanted to do side-by-side document work, I would usually copy all the text from my outline out of ULysses and put it into Bear so I could work with those two apps in split view (since iOS supports it, but Ulysses did not).

The way that they’ve implemented split view in Ulysses is just perfect. There are lots of little nuances in it to make it delightful, and it feels just perfect on the iPad. It’s an excellent example of an iOS app feature done right.

And it’s power-user friendly, too, of course. You can use the keyboard to enable the second editor and switch between which document is in focus. Or you can drag a document out of your library and over to the “side” to open that document in the second editor.

(This is one feature that now makes me wish ever-so-slightly that I would have held on to the 12.9-inch iPad Pro instead of trading it in for the 11-inch.)

On the Sweet Setup, we put together a review of this newest version of Ulysses that also walks you through exactly how the new split-screen editor works and how you can use it.

(And, of course, if you’re a Ulysses user — or want to be — we have a pretty fantastic series of training videos for you.)

Ulysses for iPad Now Has Split-Screen Editing

Last Call: Focus Course Spring Registration Closes Today  →

Just a friendly reminder our spring registration period for The Focus Course is currently open for just a few more hours…

thefocuscourse.com/course

The Focus Course is a proven system that will help you:

  • Get control of your schedule.
  • Free up precious hours in your day.
  • Stop living in a constant state of overwhelm.
  • Keep the important things from falling through the cracks.
  • Get better at dealing with distractions and diversions so you can be present in the moment or focus on the task at hand.
  • Spend more time on what matters while delegating or eliminating the things that aren’t worth your time.

How long have you been trying to gain traction on your projects? How many hours of your day are you spending on things that truly matter? Are your relationships strained because of work or side projects? When was the last time you had the chance to truly rest and recharge?

The Focus Course walks you through all of that.

I’ve actually heard from a handful of long-time readers who’ve been following along from the outskirts with the Focus Course, but they said that life is at a point where they are finally ready to sign up and dive in.

If you’ve been thinking about the Focus Course, now is your chance to get access. But you will need to hurry, because I am closing the doors later tonight.

Here’s the link to the course page where you can then sign up to get instant access:

thefocuscourse.com/course/

Last Call: Focus Course Spring Registration Closes Today

We Just Opened Spring Registration for The Focus Course  →

Spring is upon us. Well, maybe. But that’s another story.

For me, when the seasons change, I often get the desire to reassess my goals and to make sure my time is being spent on the right areas.

As we are fast approaching the half-way mark of 2019, if you are looking to improve your schedule and be more intentional with how you spend your time, then The Focus Course can help.

There is an extreme amount of depth within the course. I walk you through the exact process for how to align your values, your tasks, and the time you have in the day.

What you’ll discover are the very same things that have helped me overcome that feeling of overwhelm, grow my career while doing meaningful work that I’m proud of, and have plenty of time to spend with my family and my personal interests and growth.

What I teach in The Focus Course is the very same content that has changed my life. (Not to mention it has changed the lives of thousands of others who have already taken it.)

And, as a side note, you might want to hurry, because registration is only open for the next few days.

We Just Opened Spring Registration for The Focus Course

Consider Margin  →

Have you ever felt at your limit? Perhaps emotionally you’re feeling on the edge. Or perhaps there is little to no breathing room with finances right now. Or physically, you’re just tired and feeling overwhelmed.

We all need breathing room in our lives. As my friend James Clear says, that margin of safety acts as a buffer against the unknown and the unseen.

Over on The Focus Course blog, we just published an article about how to include in Margin as part of your decision-making process. It includes some questions you can ask yourself when you are setting goals and planning out your week or you month. It also includes a few bullet points to help you identify if you are good on margin or if you’re lacking it.

It’s a fantastic article, and it was written by my production manager, Isaac Smith.

Check it out: How to Include Margin as Part of Your Decision-Making Process

Consider Margin

Ulysses, Bear, or Apple Notes?  →

Over on The Sweet Setup, Curtis McHale wrote a detailed comparison between what we think are three of the best note-taking, writing, and research apps: Ulysses, Bear, and Apple Notes.

Now, I realize there are LOT of other apps out there in this space. I can think of several other excellent apps right the top of my head. But we chose to focus on three apps that are most commonly top-of-mind for most folks right now.

For me, personally, it’s no secret that I use Ulysses for just about everything. (I’m writing this very link post in Ulysses right now.) I also use Bear quite a bit — as my central spot for “throwaway notes” such as shopping lists, errands, and other tidbits of short-term data. I would prefer to use Apple Notes, but its UI is a deal breaker for me.

Ulysses, Bear, or Apple Notes?

Kevin Kelly: Backpacker and Photographer in Asia in the 1970s  →

This article by Kevin Kelly is absolutely delightful and fascinating. Don’t miss out on page 2, where he shares a whole bunch of interesting tidbits about his photography and film during his travels:

I was photographing with 35mm film. I left home with 500 rolls of film in my backpack. I had 500 rolls of cellophane-wrapped boxes of film, worth a lot of money in those parts back then, and yet over 10 years, no one ever looked inside my backpack, incuding coming back to the US.

I would send home maybe 20 or 30 rolls of film at a time in a box. I asked my mom to put them in a freezer when she got them. The first thing I would do when I was back home and earning money was to start getting my rolls of film developed. It was close to $5 a photo in today’s money just to develop and print the photos. So I had to really think about it each time I pressed that shutter. It was almost too expensive to experiment. It sounds crazy now, but I often didn’t see my pictures until years after taking them! So as you could imagine, there was this really long feedback loop between when I took the picture and when I got to actually see what it looked like. That’s a horrible way to do photography where you never see your images. To make it worse, I only had a manual camera, not automatic, so my exposure and focusing could be off and I wouldn’t know it. Every few months I would buy a roll of black and white film and get it developed locally just to make sure my cameras were working.

I was shooting two rolls of film a day while traveling, about 70 photos. When I was growing up, my family would shoot a roll of 24 photos in a year, which was pretty typical. You’d have three holidays on one roll. It was considered radical, extreme to be shooting as many photos as I was. When I would tell people I shot 70 per day their jaws would drop. They couldn’t imagine how you could find 70 things to take a photo of in one day! That many pictures in a day was considered insane.

It’s amazing how much the accessibility of photography and its workflows have changed since then. And as a result, it seems as if the general interest in and love of photography is exploding.

Kevin Kelly: Backpacker and Photographer in Asia in the 1970s

Keep Going  →

Austin Kleon’s new book just came out a few days ago. My copy arrived on Tuesday, and I’m excited to read it.

The book starts out with Austin sharing about how he has been writing and making art for over a decade, and yet it has not been getting any easier.

He writes:

Everything got better for me when I made peace with the fact that it might not ever get easier. The world is crazy. Creative work is hard. Life is short and art is long.

Whether you’re burned out, starting out, starting over, or wildly successful, the question is always the same: How to keep going?

Austin’s book came out at just the right time for me. Today — April 4 — happens to be the 8-year anniversary of when I began writing and blogging as my full-time gig. Yay!

I can definitely attest that it does not get “easier” and there is always a challenge to keep going. A lot has changed in the past 8 years. But wow, what a fun time and what a great job it has been so far. Let’s keep going!

Keep Going

How to Customize the Look of Ulysses  →

This is what my Ulysses writing interface looks like on my iPad (which is where I spend about 90% of my writing time):

I’m currently using a modified and simplified version of the default Freestraction theme along with the custom font, iA Writer Duospace.

What I like about Ulysses’ ability to let you adjust your own theme is that you can design the look and feel of your writing app to suit your own writing needs and preferences.

It sounds kinda obvious, but I actually think it’s a big deal.

You and I have have different writing styles, goals, and preferences. And having the ability to create a writing environment that you actually like is important.

For me, I want my text formatting to be nearly invisible.

Because, when writing, you want to focus on the feel of the text not the think of it (which is the entire point behind why John Gruber created Markdown in the first place).

Anyway…

With all that said, today we just posted a quick-start guide that shows you how to find, download, install, and customize your own themes within Ulysses.

When you are writing, what is the feel of the text that best helps you to focus and do your best work? If you don’t love the feel of Ulysses, here’s how to change it to suit your mood. Heck, you could even set up a Day Theme and a Night Theme.

How to Customize the Look of Ulysses

The All-New Learn Ulysses Course  →

True story. I was up until 11:45 last night getting a few final details in place for this new course launch. (For context, I normally go to bed at 9:30.)

Even though we’ve been working on this update to Learn Ulysses for the past 4 months, a few things still came down to the wire (for me, at least).

And I have to say that wow, I am just so happy with how this course turned out! It never would have happened without the incredible team at The Sweet Setup — everyone worked together on this new course to make it something world-class. A huge thanks to Mike, Matthew, Josh, Jeff, Isaac, Chris, and Joanna!

I am someone who is constantly trying to wrangle ideas and keep my writing organized. And I am so glad that I went “all in” with Ulysses a few years ago — it has been a game changer for me. And even more so now that I use my iPad for just about everything. (The Ulysses iPad app is phenomenal.)

The whole reason The Sweet Setup exists is to help people find and use the very best apps. And so I love being able to put together these training courses for my “must-have” apps like Ulysses, et al.

Anyway…

Right now, since it’s the launch week, the new Pro tier of Learn Ulysses is on sale for 20% off. (That will be until Friday.)

And if you are one of the 2,500 folks who bought the original version of Learn Ulysses before today’s update then we’ve got upgrade info for you right here.

The All-New Learn Ulysses Course

The Ultimate Guide to Quick Capture in Ulysses  →

Matthew Cassinelli put together this fantastic guide for quick capture in Ulysses on iOS. He goes over the built-in share sheet (which is what I use about 5 times a day). And he also gives several examples of custom Shortcuts (with download links) for automating the capture of ideas, notes, and more.

Side note: On this Tuesday 26 March, we are shipping a huge update our Learn Ulysses course over on The Sweet Setup. This article on Quick Capture is taken from one of the lessons in the new course.

The Ultimate Guide to Quick Capture in Ulysses

A Day In The Life of Chef Nozomu Abe, Sushi Master  →

This is a short video showing a day in the life of Chef Nozomu Abe, who owns and operates Sushi Noz in New York.

It is so fascinating and educational to watch and learn the small habits, routines, mindsets, and idiosyncrasies of people who are masters at their craft.

I love that when he puts on his chef’s apron his whole mindset shifts from preparing the food to now putting on a presentation and hosting his dinner guests.

And I love how every single detail within the whole restaurant is considered.

And I love how he starts with the goal of having an excellent dining experience for his guests and then develops the constraints based on that goal. Such as the fact that they only serve dinner to 16 total people in an evening: only 8 people at a time, with only 2 dinner seatings per evening. An entire day’s worth of hard work with a team, all to serve dinner to 16 people. Depth over breadth…

What do a blog and a sushi restaurant have in common? Not much. But I love seeing how masters like Chef Nozomu approache their work. It gives me inspiration for ways I can improve and grow in the creative work I do and the websites that I run.

This video brings to mind a quote from George Leonard’s book, Mastery…

“Consistency of practice is the mark of the master.”

A Day In The Life of Chef Nozomu Abe, Sushi Master

My iPad Writing Setup  →

Over the past two years, my usage between Mac and iPad has flip-flopped. And these days I use my 11-inch iPad Pro for just about everything. Especially all writing. So over on The Sweet Setup I just posted an article that gives a look at what I’m using these days to do all my writing.

(Side note: If you’re looking for the wallpaper I’m currently using on my iPad, it’s from my Blurry Kansas City photos which you can find along with the the high-res versions here.)

My iPad Writing Setup