Sync. (EVERYTHING!!!)

This was originally written in September 2021 for the Hemispheric Newsletter as part of One Prime Plus for the Hemispheric Views podcast.

It’s probably more common given this last year, but I personally work in two different offices during any given week. This presents some challenges when it comes to technology setups. I don’t imagine I am that unique in thinking that the more equal these two environments are, the more productive I can potentially be, so I have gone to some pretty great lengths to ensure my setups are very close to equal from a hardware and software perspective, given a few constraints.

Hardware

This is the area with the most constraints because for my home office I do not require a laptop for any reason, where as with the work office, I do. Both locations utilize Mac hardware. This is, and has been a requirement for employment for some time, and yes I absolutely understand the massive privilege that this is. On to the hardware..

Home Office 🏡

24” iMac M1 (2021)
Razer Viper Ultimate Mouse (Mercury)
Apple Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
Apple Magic Trackpad
13” iPad Pro (2018) w/Pencil
AirPods Max + Shure Microphone (Same stuff I use for the podcast)
iPhone 12 mini

Work Office 🏢

13" MacBook Pro M1 (2020)
32” LG UltraFine 4K (32UN880)
Razer Viper Ultimate Mouse (Black)
Apple Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
Apple Magic Trackpad
13” iPad Pro (2018) w/Pencil [Same iPad as above]
AirPods Pro
iPhone 12 mini [Same iPhone as above]

This gives me basically the same hardware setup for muscle memory.

macOS + Big 4K+ Monitor + Keyboard and Mouse

*I am not a dual monitor person

Software

Email 📧

When it comes to email applications, I have used them all. When it comes to managing work and personal email, I have landed on Apple Mail as a means of managing both. For personal mail I use the wonderful Fastmail and my work mail all runs through Office 365. Both of which sync perfectly between all devices. I was using Airmail for a long time, but the differences between the iOS and macOS versions drove me a bit mad.

Calendar 📅

This is an easy one, the only calendar app I use and regularly recommend is Fantastical and it works flawlessly with both Fastmail CalDav calendars as well as Office 365.

Notes 📝

This is going to shock you.. I keep all my personal notes in my main space in Craft and all my work notes in a separate space.. IN CRAFT! Can you believe it!?

Tasks ✅

Like email, I have also tried every task manager that exists. They all have their trade offs. The one that most closely fits my needs and way of thinking is Things. It could be argued that I should keep all my work related stuff in Office 365 tasks app, but I am still pretty resistant to managing multiple task apps.

File storage 📁

This one is a little convoluted, but it’s by necessity, not choice. My personal files are 100% in iCloud Drive. It works great for me. All my work related stuff is in Microsoft OneDrive because of the integration with all other work related services. I also have Dropbox for collaboration with external engineering teams. It’s a bit annoying having work stuff spread across both OneDrive as well as Dropbox, but it’s easier for me to manage that versus managing other people on how to use stuff outside their normal workflow.

Messaging 💬

This one is pretty straight forward. Personal stuff mainly runs through iMessage and Discord. All work messaging goes through Microsoft Teams. Is it my favorite? Definitely not. Does it work on all my devices and get the job done? Yep.

I think the biggest point of this whole article is not really what I am using for each task or area of life / work, but rather the power of using a single platform of architectures and software. Using a single platform that I am comfortable and very familiar means my work is not impacted by the tools. This is not a template for how to be productive, or how to be a power user. Think of it as a bookmark to look at how you work in multiple locations and see if there are some small ways you can make things easier on yourself. 😀 👍