We're Getting Married

Intro

Hello there.

I’m Julian and I'm really pleased that you've chosen to download and listen to this episode.  I really appreciate you taking the time to listen to little 'ol me! 

If you're new here, then welcome to the Productivity Matters podcast.

This is a bit of a special episode as I’m going to talk about planning a wedding.  In fact, planning my wedding.  

So, I’m just going to pop the champagne open and pour myself a glass…. would you like one too?  Alright then.

Enjoy it, as you listen to this weeks episode

Getting Married

Yes.  I’m getting married.  This coming Sunday in fact.  And if you’re listening after the event, then it’s the 17th March.  It’s an amazing feeling; and we’re both very excited.  In fact everyone is very excited.

Karen, my fiancée is a wonderful lady (lady?)

Does the word ‘lady’ make you think of an older person?  At what point does someone go from being a young man/woman, to a man or woman.

Should I say that my fiancée is a wonderful woman?  Wonderful girl?  'Girl’ sounds too patronising?

Whatever - Karen is wonderful.  In every sense.  She’s beautiful, caring, generous, loving and I can’t wait to marry her.

We’ve been together for over 7 years, and the time has flown.  7 years?  Yes - this is the 7 year itch - in reverse… haha!

Between us, we have 5 children; and before you start shouting at me - they don’t all live with us, all the time.

I Do

So, whilst this is all very exciting, it’s a really, lovely, tenuous link to talk about some of the apps we’ve been using to help prepare for the  big day.  

These won’t come as a surprise to regular listeners, but explaining them in a real-world scenario may help you to better understand the benefits they bring.

Karen is not a huge fan of using lots of different technology - a pad and pen are more her style.  Which is absolutely fine, and it works.  It just makes it more difficult if you need to share tasks and information.

So; what have we been using?

ToDoIst

First of all; as with all big events, there are to do lists on top of to do lists!  Whilst I use Todoist (and totally love it) I wasn’t going to ‘force’ it on Karen, so we set up a shared Reminders list on iCloud.  Now I can see all the tasks, when they’re added and, more importantly, when they’re checked off as complete.

I would have liked to have these in Todoist - however, since I use Fantastical 2, I set the specific Reminders list to show in my calendar, so I only needed to see one list; and it’s easy to add to a Reminders list from Fantastical 2 as well.

I did create my own list, in Todoist, for some things that I needed to do - like write my speech, sort out my clothes etc, and in this way could keep my individual tasks separate from the main tasks.

Calendar

Of course, there are many people involved in planning and delivering an event as big as a wedding, those who are providing services; such as the caterer, florist etc etc.  Meetings for all these were all managed using a shared iCloud Calendar.  

Again, as I use Fantastical 2 on my MacBook and iPhone; the calendar is available there, and I could continue to use that without any changes.

So, Fantastical 2 has proved itself very versatile in bringing together two applications together to minimise the number of apps that are needed.

With all the emails flying back and forward, I use Spark email, and the integration with Todoist helped me to save time, by just adding the emails to the relevant service, for following up later.

Evernote

Now, as the groom, I needed to write, and deliver, a speech.  I agonised and spent a rather inordinate amount of time going over it, finessing it.. and I needed a tool to keep it with me everywhere, so I could access it whenever I needed to. 

That tool was Evernote.  

I have been an Evernote user for over 8 years now, and whilst I have tried others, such as Bear and OneNote, Notes on Apple devices and Google Keep, regardless of the bad press that Evernote has received over the last few months, it’s still the service that I naturally turn to for taking notes.

A big benefit of Evernote is the Web Clipper. It's a fantastic way to take clips from pages on the internet and save them for later. Maybe you're researching a new car, or holiday or anything you like; you see something on the internet that you want to keep for reference.

The Web Clipper, which is installed as an extension on you browser, will let you either capture the entire screen, just a snippet or a text version and save it straight into your Evernote. You can even set the notebook you want it stored in, along with any notes and tags.

I use Evernote in conjunction with Scannable, so it was useful to capture invoices and important information we received, to store them in a single place.

I also use it for work, to capture notes from meetings, as well as somewhere to brain-storm ideas.

The search functionality within Evernote is second-to-none. If you've scanned in documents, the OCR capability for documents, means that when you search for something, Evernote won't only look at the notes that you've created, but also inside the documents (whether word or pdf). It will also search any text that's part of a photo.

This means, that even without the notebooks, if you're looking for something, then there is a very high probability of finding it just entering a key phrase or word.

This does mean that the number of results returned from this search could be daunting; and another reason why you could use the tagging functionality to help filter and focus on what you're looking for.

Evernote also has Templates; ideal if you’re using the same format for many notes.  When you start a new note, opt to use a template, and the screen will be pre-filled with tables, or format, for you to complete.  Great for agendas, or journal keeping or a telephone message pad etc.

Back to my speech… 

Google Sheets and Docs

Another HUGE part of planning a wedding is managing the finances!  Weddings aren't cheap and keeping tabs on the expenses is a must, to make sure you don’t go mad.  Of course, this is relevant for all things in life, not just weddings!!

I created a Google Sheet into which I added 4 columns.  The reason for the expenditure, the total expected cost, the deposit paid and the final column is a calculated value based on B-C (the expected cost minus the deposit paid).

Because this is a Google Sheet, I could share this with Karen, so she could also update the figures.

We also created the guest list and the table plan in Google Sheets.   We used Google Docs for some Reserved signs we wanted to put on some chairs.

Wrap Up

Planning a wedding is a lot of fun, and we’ve really worked as a team to make sure it’s going to be a day to remember.

Here’s a recap of the productivity tools we’ve used to help us.

Todoist and Reminders

Apple Calendar and Fantastical 2

Google Docs

Google Sheets

Evernote

Wedding Phrases

Whilst I was pulling the details of this episode together, I got to thinking about phrases to do with weddings.  The most common one, that I can tell, is to tie the knot.  

Where does that phrase come from?

There is a suggestion that this expression derives from the nets of knotted string which supported beds prior to the introduction of metal-sprung bedframes. The theory goes that, in order to make a marriage bed, you needed to 'tie the knot'. Like many such folk-etymological explanations, there's not a shred of evidence to support this idea.

It isn't clear whether this expression derives from an actual knot used in marriage ceremonies or whether the knot is merely symbolic of a lasting unity. Knots have a   place in the folklore of many cultures and usually symbolize unbreakable pledges. Actual knots have certainly been used in marriage ceremonies for some time and the tradition of trying the wrists of the bride and groom with twine continues today in marriages in the use of sashes which are placed over the principal's wrists. The word 'knot', although not in the phrase 'tie the knot', has been associated with marriage since at least the 13th century. The Legend of St. Katherine, circa 1225 used the Middle English 'cnotte', that is, 'knot', to mean 'the tie or bond of wedlock; the marriage or wedding knot’.

What about - Plight my troth.  A very old-English saying.

Troth is faithfulness, loyalty, honesty. Troth is not something you just trot out. It is something that is a commitment. It is something you plight. So the magic spell could be I promise you I will be true.

Other, more common, slang terms include Getting hitched and Getting spliced

Podcast of the Week

Before I finish, it’s time for “Podcast of the Week” - my weekly look at another podcast that you might find interesting / enjoyable.

I don’t normally do national radio podcasts; but one I listen to every day is from BBC Radio 2 - it’s the daily pop quiz, called Pop Master.

Hosted by Ken Bruce, this quiz is part of the weekday, mid-morning show, and pits two listeners against each other to get the highest score, to get the chance to win a digital radio.  The podcast splits this segment and presents it in a nice, roughly 15 minutes, episode.

As I said, I would normally promote an independent podcaster, but since this one is a lot of fun to listen to; especially as I try my best to answer as many questions as possible, then I thought I’d include it.

That’s Pop Master, from BBC Radio 2 - it’s available wherever you normally listen to you podcasts.

Thank You

And that’s it for another week.

I’m going to prepare to tie the knot and plight my troth!!  

I hope you’ve found this episode interesting.

If you have any questions about anything I’ve mentioned, or anything else, then please get in touch via Twitter @prodmatters

Please don’t forget to press the subscribe button in your podcast app of choice, then you’ll get a notification ding when a new episode has been released, so you won’t miss another episode.

Thank you very much for listening and until next time, remember, Productivity Matters.

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The End Of The Series

Hi everyone.  Welcome to another episode from Productivity Matters.

In fact, this is the last in the current series; but don’t worry, I’ll be back in the new year. 

I've had a lot of fun making these, so in the great tradition of end of year shows; I thought I'd take look back at what I've talked about over the last 18 weeks.

What is productivity

If we're to understand how the tools and methods can help us, then we need to get to the heart of productivity, and what it actually is?

Productivity means different things to each of us; but one thing I think we can all agree on is that it’s the means to getting things done in the most efficient manner. 

It may be that the easiest way to do this is using good old-fashioned pen and paper.

The tech world has been overtaken with all sorts of apps to help us do something better. 

ToDoIst

Task managers are designed to help you make sure you've done what needs to be done.  Tasks are either one-off single jobs that need completing, or they are a bigger project broken down into more manageable chunks.

The market is a flood with task manager apps; GoodTasks, Things3, Wunderlist, and even Google have one called Keep.

I use ToDoIst for my task management; and the main reason I chose this is ease of use and the integrations into the other tools I already use.

One of the strengths of ToDoIst is the ability to use natural language to set dates and times, for reminders. It's simple to type 'Call Mum every Wednesday at 6pm'

ToDoIst will automatically create a recurring task, that appears each Wednesday. On the paid-for service, you can also set a reminder for 10 mins before (or whatever time you decide), to pop-up on your mobile phone, or desktop, so you'll never forget again.

On the paid for version you get extra functionality, including:

• Task Labels & Reminders - adding more control to the way you can filter and be reminded of tasks
• Add tasks via email - This is a good one. Simply forward emails direct to ToDoIst; either to the default Inbox, or straight into a project. A real time-saver
• Task comments & file uploads - Add extra comments to your tasks, and upload files to support the tasks
• Productivity tracking and charts
• iCal synchronization - Add your tasks into your calendar, so you can see them in one place.

I use the premium version; which at the time of recording is $36 per year (about £28).

www.todoist.com

Evernote

ToDoIst integrates nicely with Evernote, so that any reminders I set are automatically created in ToDoIst.

Evernote is my note-taking app of choice.  I have tried others, such as Bear and OneNote, but I just can't seem to get on with them as well.  Maybe that's because I've been using Evernote for so many years, and it's second nature.  Certainly, Evernote have had some negative press over this last year, with their new brand image; but the product itself is very stable.

I use Evernote for almost everything, from scanning documents to store them, for storing e-receipts that arrive by email, and their webclipper which I use to capture and save information from the web.

Evernote has a basic, free, version which will be just fine for many.  There is also a premium offering which unlocks a boatload of functionality.  

www.evernote.com

Online Security

On the subject of the web - how safe are you?  In one episode I talked about security, not only of your passwords, but also general steps you can take to make sure you don't fall for the scammers that are so prevalent, and increasingly clever, nowadays.

Staying safe online doesn't have to be hard, and must be considered all the time. 

Here are a few simple steps:

• Don't write passwords down where they can be easily found
• Never give out your credit or debit card PIN
• Change passwords frequently and
• Use different passwords everywhere
• Be aware of phishing attacks too - if an offer looks too good to be true; then it probably is.

I also talked about using multi-factor authentication, also known as two-factor authentication, as an added layer of security.  It sounds more complex than it actually is.  Simply, set up a second device to act as a barrier for the scammer.  When you log in to an online account, then you'll need to use your mobile phone to authorise the login.  Even if the scammer has your login and password, without your second device, they won't get access to your account.

A good password manager will help you to manage all your passwords - I use LastPass; but others are available, such as 1Password and Dashlane.  They're well worth investigating.

www.lastpass.com

Online Photos and Online Storage

When I looked at these, in separate episodes, I claimed that Google was the winner in both cases.  I still maintain that. As a service, Google really is second-to-none and since they are available across all platforms, then you're not constrained by the device you use.

Plus, they're free to use.  Although I did caveat that statement; since Google don't charge you, they do make their money by selling information for advertising purposes.  So, whether you class the services as free is probably semantics.  The majority of us have a Google Gmail account, or use their Photos app, or Drive, for storage. 

Or used one of their other plentiful services; like Maps; Translate and more. 

I did also look at Apples photos and Amazon also have a Photos app; which is free for Prime members.  For online storage, as well as Google Drive there are also offerings from Microsoft OneDrive, Apple (iCloud, for Apple users only), Dropbox and Box.

Fantastical 2

Time management in a busy life is important, and I use Fantastical 2 for my calendar.  

I know that each operating system has their own calendar; like Calendar on iOS, or Google Calendar; but I prefer the way Fantastical 2 can be used to enter information.  It's natural language capability means I just type the entry, without really thinking about the format.

Available on iOS and Mac, with some great Apple Watch integration; Fantastical 2 is also integrated very well with ToDoIst.

On the iOS version you can choose your default maps application, to open directions; from either Apple Maps or Google Maps. You can also choose the default browser, for opening links.

On the MacOS version, I have a work calendar that will automatically be displayed when I arrive in the office. This allows me to concentrate on what's ahead of me for the day, and not be distracted by personal events. When I return home, my personal calendar will be displayed.

Calendars can also be set up in 'sets', which allows me to limit certain calendar views. Calendars I've subscribed to can also be set up within these 'sets', so I can see them too.  The Mac app also offers the choice of light or dark theme.

This isn't a free app; like many others, but you do get a whole lot of bang for your buck.

www.flexbits.com

Notion

Billed as the workspace for all your online 'stuff'.  Lego bricks for software.  Notion can be used for pretty much anything and is possibly this years fastest growing app.  You can capture notes, add tasks, use tables, include a calendar, upload images, link to other sites and much much more.

The note-taking isn't quite as good as Evernote; in my opinion, and the task manager doesn't yet allow for recurring tasks, so is a little limited.

However, it is one app that really does cater for everyone and everything, and is definitely worth a look.

It's free to use (if you don't use up all 1000 blocks) but you can delete blocks and free up space if you need to; so it genuinely is free.

www.notion.so

Feedly, Pocket & Pocket Casts

There are two apps that I use daily, usually multiple times a day, to get my fix of the news and articles I'm interested in reading.

Feedly is a news aggregator and is brilliant at serving up the news I chose to receive.  They've recently been undergoing some enhancements, and the upcoming new version is totally brilliant.

The other app is Pocket, and they have had a makeover this year.  Pocket is where I capture all the articles and news items that I want to read later.  It syncs up to be able to read offline, if necessary, and the update makes this a seamless and smooth experience.  They have also made their read-out-loud functionality more prominent - so you have have the app speak the stories.  It's spookily good! o

Talking of reading out loud - podcasts are a great way to listen to interesting discussions, reviews or entertainment - although I don't need to tell YOU that!

Pocket Casts is a great podcast app, and has also had a new release in the last few weeks.  I use Pocket Casts daily to listen to the podcasts I subscribe too.  There are others on the market, including Castbox, Overcast and more and I will take a look at some of them in the new year.

Feedly, Pocket and Pocket Casts are all free to download and use; but they also have premium versions available.

www.feedly.com

www.getpocket.com

www.pocketcasts.com

IFTTT & Zapier

Automation is probably the biggest part of being as productive as possible.  Using technology to streamline your workflows, means you can spend more time doing what matters most.

I gave some examples of the relatively simple ways I use automation; using IFTTT (If This Then That) to update a shopping list, and using Zapier to update a Google Sheet. 

For Zapier, one of the main uses I have is to add a line to a spreadsheet whenever I buy something from Amazon.  Whenever a confirmation email is received, I have set up a Zap that will look in the email, take the information and add to a line on a Google spreadsheet.  Now, I can see at a glance what I’ve bought!

Again, both of these are free to use.  IFTTT is available via the web and as an app. Zapier is only available via the web; and does have a cost if you need more than the basics on offer. 

www.ifttt.com

www.zapier.com

Drafts 5

Drafts 5 is an app purely for capturing text.  It's brilliant at that; but with some formatting, and integrations, I can update a field on a Draft 5 document, then run an Action which will, bear with me, run a Zap, from Zapier, and add a line to a Google Sheet.  It's really quick to do, and saves having to open the sheet, navigate to the row and type the info.

I also use Drafts to add to my To Do list, in ToDoIst.  Entering the task details, I then run an action to create a task directly.

There are times when I'll receive an email with lots of different dates for various meetings.  In Drafts, I will enter each one on a separate line, along with the date and time.  I then run an action called Fantastically Good Event Parser.  Then it will take each line and create a separate event in Fantastical 2, using the natural language ability of the app.  This has saved tons of time.

Unfortunately, Drafts 5 is only available on iOS; with a Mac version in the works.  It's free to download and use, but the pro version does unlock additional functionality - but this is not necessary to get the main benefits of this great app.

www.draftsapp.com

Thank You

So, that's it.  I've looked at ToDoIst, Evernote, IFTTT, Zapier, Drafts 5, Feedly, Pocket and Pocket Casts, Google Drive,  Fantastical 2 and Notion. 

I hope you’ve found this episode, indeed, this series, interesting. 

Links to all the apps I've mentioned are in the show notes. 

If you have any questions about anything I've talked about, or have any suggestions for future episodes, then please get in touch via Twitter @prodmatters

The series will return in the new year, with a fresh look at some of these apps, and a look at more productivity apps and ideas to help you be better at getting things done.  

Of course, all the previous episodes are available to listen to wherever you normally listen to podcasts, and don’t forget to subscribe, so that you're ready for the new series.

If you've already subscribed, then thank you very much; I really do appreciate it.

Have a great time over the festive period and wishing you all a very productive New Year.

Until next time, remember, Productivity Matters.

---

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Being Productive

Introduction

Hello and welcome to episode 15 of my Productivity Matters Podcast. 

What does being productive mean to you?  It’s all very well having some great apps to help you organise, but if they don't help you to actually be productive, then what's the point.

I’m Julian and on this episode I'm going to look what it actually means to be productive.

Coming up on Productivity Matters.

What is Productivity?

We need to get to the heart of productivity, if we're to understand how the tools and methods can help.

Productivity means different things to each of us; but one thing I think we can all agree on is that it’s the means to getting things done in the most efficient manner. 

It may be that the easiest way to do this is using good old-fashioned pen and paper.  A chart on the wall to track tasks.

However, as we know, and the main reason for this podcast, the tech world has been overtaken with software and apps to help you do something better.  Throughout business there are tons of methods designed to help navigate the swathes of red tape and challenges of project work. 

Tools

If you've heard previous episodes, then you’ll know that I’m a proponent of using the tools available. 

They’ve helped me to get organised and they should help you too. 

However, using apps is a habit forming process. Sometimes we actually need to remember that we have them; and with all the options available it can sometimes be easier to not bother. 

On the other hand. Do you actually need the app?

Does having an app make you more productive or does it, in reality, slow you down?  Until you have used the app or software for a while, it can seem to take longer to do something.

Consider you have a big task to complete.  Alongside it, there are smaller pieces of work that also need to get finished. 

What do you do first?

Well, and remember this is my opinion, what you should do is focus on that one big task. The one that looks hard. Get it done and out of the way!

You’ll feel a great sense of achievement once it’s complete, knowing that, finally, you’ve got it done. 

Now you can work on all the smaller tasks. 

ToDoIst

Let’s look at the apps that I use that help me. Now, these aren’t in a particular order, because what comes first? Is it the note-taking or the information?

I use ToDoIst for managing individual tasks. Now, admittedly, it took me some time to get into the habit; but now everything I need to do goes in there. 

There are quick entry methods to capture them and it takes little to no time to record what I need to do. I even forward emails to ToDoIst so the info is there.

In my ToDoIst, I have a number of projects; from work to personal and the Cubs group.  I have a project called ‘Routines’, which is broken further to Daily, Weekly and Monthly - this is for all the recurring tasks.  

Now that I’m in the habit, absolutely everything I need to do is entered, and it sits in the default ‘Inbox’ until I review them.  I have recurring task to review everything at the end of each day.  Whether that’s to prioritise them, categorise them or simply delete them, because they’re no longer relevant.

I use dates and reminders, so that I can stay on top of what needs to be done.

Evernote

Next, there’s Evernote. I’ve recorded a couple of podcasts about Evernote and it’s my number one choice for taking notes and capturing info for later use. I scan pretty much every official letter or document that comes through the post and I collate clippings from the web; using their Web Clipper; which is just brilliant.

It’s a terrific app for storing notes and thoughts and important information - instantly available. 

I can set reminders for notes, to pop-up at a certain time; and I have also created a Zap (through Zapier) that has that reminder appear in ToDoIst!

Email

Using a good email client will help manage the mail; I use Spark at the moment; on my phone and MacBook.  The Smart Inbox means I always have a Zero inbox - since I clear messages almost immediately.  

Then I use Fantastical 2 as my calendar; also on my phone and MacBook. I like the natural way that events can be created. 

Feedly and Pocket

For news I use Feedly and I use a recipe on IFTTT to add items to Pocket for reading later. 

Does that class as being productive? Well, it may not help to get things done, but it streamlines some of my workflow. 

Thank You

And there you have it.  A quick look at some of the apps I use.  

Being productive to me means getting the best result in the most efficient way. The tools I’ve mentioned help me to do that. 

What does being productive mean to you? What motivates you to get things done? Get in touch via Twitter @prodmatters

I hope you’ve found this episode interesting.

Don’t forget to subscribe where you normally listen to your podcasts and until next time, remember, Productivity Matters.

Equipment I use to make my podcasts:
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If you purchase from these links then I may receive a commission.  This does not affect the price you will pay.  Thank you.

Google Products

Introduction

There is one tech company on this planet which has worked its ways into the very fabric of our technical lives. 

Without them we would be one verb less, and even though we don’t pay for it, we would probably the poorer without it. 

I don’t need to Google this answer. 

It is, of course, Google. 

I’m Julian, your host, and in this episode, I’m going to take a look at the various products they offer and how they might be able to help you.

Coming up on Productivity Matters.

Google

Google appeared on the scene back in 1998; a newcomer to the world of search. Started by a couple of students to improve how they could search what was, then, an internet far removed from what we know now; it has grown into a monolith of a corporation. 

Like most businesses, Google exists for their shareholders, to make money. And although there is a philosophical approach Google makes their money from advertising and selling data. I’m not going to spend time going into details, but as I’ve mentioned in previous episodes; since you don’t pay Google for their services, then they sell data about you; so advertisers can better target their products. 

Apart from their famous search engine, over the years they have built a portfolio of products that enable you to completely run your life.... they have developed a range of products and services that without them; well, who knows!

In no particular order....

<Fade out as I start reading this>

Allo, Android, Calendar, Cast, Chrome, Contacts, Docs, Drawings, Drive, Duo, Earth, Forms, Gmail, Keep, Maps, Sheets, Sites, Slides, Tasks,, Translate, Waze, YouTube....

Gmail

Gmail is probably the most well known product, and has become quite the most popular email client in the world!

It's been designed to be very easy to use; with a lot of functionality built over time.  In fact, Google release a new email client called Inbox, which had a host of functions not available in their main offering.  Recently, they announced that Inbox would be shutting down - and the functionality has been ported to Gmail.

You can run Gmail pretty much anywhere.

In the main, Gmail is no-frills service that is easy to set up and manage.

Calendar and Contacts

In conjunction with Gmail, there is Contacts for managing, yep, your contacts.  It's easy to use, and changes are synchronised between your devices.

As is Google Calendar.  A very fully-featured calendar, that makes it super simple to keep track of appointments.  You can create multiple calendars, subscribe to calendars, invite and respond to events, see it in different views; day, week, month etc.  Again, you can install this on your device and it's all synchronised beautifully.

Keep

For note taking, they offer Google Keep.  This is actually quite a good note-taking app.  It's available on all platforms and works very well at sorting your information.  You can use tags to 'filter' into related notes.  You can even create a Google Doc from the note; so you can start an idea briefly, and then build on it in a full document.

Maps

For travellers, there is Google Maps.

This is an app I use quite a lot; especially as it can now be used with Apple's CarPlay.

I believe it's the best mapping service; with so many integrations to traffic and transport management.  Enter a start and end point, and it will tell you how long the journey will take.  Using the data history of the route, Google will also give you an idea of the length of the journey at any given point in time.  If you want to travel tomorrow at 2pm; then Google will tell you the average journey time then!

Want to use public transport; then these services can also be applied, and Google will advise route number or train times to help you plan.

Colour coding on the roads on the map will tell you if it's busy or quiet; and alternatives are also displayed.

If you're going to a specific place, it will tell you if you are due to arrive after the place as closed - again based on the raft of data and information Google has built up.

Translate

Going overseas - take Google Translate with you.  Ideal for understanding menus in a foreign restaurant.

You can translate either into another language, or back into your native language.  The app will allow you to hold the camera up to a sign or document and you will see the translation in real-time on the screen.  You can then take a picture, highlight text and it will translate that too.  Use the microphone to translate voices.

It might not be perfect, but it is an incredible tool.  

Photscan

I've previously discussed Google Photos, which uses machine learning to help search for photos by colour, building, person - and there is also their PhotoScan app, for capturing those 'old' prints and converting them to a digital image.

Hardware

In this episode I've only talked about their software services.  Google also has a range of hardware, that is designed to work hand-in-hand for the full experience.  Products such as their mobile device, Chromebook, Chromecast, Google Home.  I'll save those for another time.

The End

I hope you’ve found this episode interesting.

Do you have a favourite Google product?  Have I missed one that should have been included?

If you have any questions about Google services then please get in touch via Twitter @prodmatters

Don’t forget to subscribe where you normally listen to podcasts.

Thank you very much for listening and until next time, remember, Productivity Matters.

Show Notes

Links to the products mentioned here:

Gmail

Google Calendar

Google Contacts

Google Maps

Google Translate

Google Photos

Google Photoscan

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Google Docs and Microsoft Word

Intro

Hi.  Welcome to episode 12 of this Productivity Matters podcast.

Do you write a lot of documents? Have you thought there maybe an alternative to the tools you use?

I’m Julian, your host for this episode, and I’m going to take a look at online document creation, and two of the main tools available, Google Docs and Microsoft Word.

Coming up right after this...

In the beginning..

35 years ago Microsoft began introducing the world to their software suite of office products - starting with Word (for word processing), followed up with Excel (for spreadsheets) and Powerpoint (for creating presentations).

Suddenly, it became possible to write and save documents, do calculations and present all of it relatively quickly and simply - if you had a computer of course.

Over the years, Word became the defacto application for creating all things related to the written word.  It has grown in functionality and has never, quite, been beaten for what it can do.  Apple created their own version, called Pages, but it's not that intuitive; in my opinion.

Welcome Google

All of that changed in September 2007 (yes, just over 10 years ago) when Google launched their own, online, versions; called Doc, Sheets and Slides.  I’m sure you can guess their equivalents. 

It was quite basic, but the gauntlet had quite clearly been thrown down.  Let's face it; Google shook up the browsing world, with Chrome, and now they were set to do the same for office productivity.

Word

Microsoft Word is a fully-featured word processing application that allows you to write and write and write; and format your text into various fonts (and there are a multitude to choose from), not forgetting setting paragraphs, columns, styles, borders and colours to bring a document to life.  Once created, you can save your work to continue later, or, if ready, it can be printed out or shared via email.

Google Docs, on the other hand, has had 30 years to catch-up on.  After a rudimentary offering, they have built on the functionality each year, and they now offer a very advanced application.

Don't be misled by the bare-bones look and feel.  You won't find it lagging too far behind Microsoft.

One of their biggest selling points was in collaboration.  Whilst Microsoft offered all the bells and whistles to create a beautiful looking document, Google used their cloud presence as a huge advantage.  Share your document, in real-time, with colleagues, and make changes live.  

Suddenly, the Google offering, whilst not as fully-featured, offered something not previously available.  The ability to share and work together, and be able to see the history of all the changes - just in case!  Having said that, the need to be online was also a negative; as you had to be connected to the internet to use it.  That has now changed, with Google having now enabled the ability to create and edit offline.

Integration with Google Drive soon followed, and now any documents (or spreadsheet or presentation) created in Google Drive will not count towards the storage space.

This is a huge advantage for those with buckets of documents.  

Using Google Docs

I use Google Docs and the others, quite extensively.  They're easy to use and easy to export to various formats; whether that be PDF or even to the native Microsoft Word format, so that anyone with Word can open the document.

Google even created a business offering, called G-Suite; giving companies an enterprise version, with the controls they need. Of course, this isn’t free, but it is a fraction of the cost that Microsoft charge for their suite of products. 

Cost

We also need to look at the cost.  It may come as no surprise that Google Docs, Sheets and Slides are free to use.  Totally.  No gotchas.

Although, as we know with free YOU are the product and should expect Google (in this instance) to use your data to further enhance its marketing capabilities.

Microsoft Word is not free - in fact, you will usually buy it as part of a bundle together with their Office suite of software (which allows up to 6 users) 

This is £80 per year.  

If you use all 6 licences, that works out at just over £13 per person, per year. 

That gives you access to Word, Excel, Powerpoint, the email manager, Outlook, OneNote (their alternative to Evernote), Publisher and Access (both of which are only available on PC - and I don't know who uses them anymore, anyway!)

It’s not an unreasonable cost for a family. 

Conclusion

So, how do we summarise this. 

There is no need to buy Microsoft Office if all you need is available from Google.  Their Docs application has everything you need to do what you want; it's less cluttered than it's counterpart (which can seem quite bloated at first) and it’s fairly intuitive to use.  You will need to have a play with it to see how it works for you.

Whilst there are others on the market, but for the purposes of this podcast, to get the familiar looking experience with all the functions you would ever want, then you have no choice but to pay up and get Office.  It's not cheap; but you will never want for anything again, when it comes to writing documents, creating spreadsheets or presentations.

Thank You

I hope you’ve enjoyed this episode.

If you have any questions about Google Doc, Microsoft Word, or anything else related to office applications, then please get in touch via Twitter @prodmatters

Don’t forget to subscribe where you normally listen to podcasts.

Thank you very much for listening and until next time, remember, Productivity Matters.

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If you purchase from these links then I may receive a commission.  This does not affect the price you will pay.  Thank you.

Online Photo Storage

Intro

Hi.  Welcome to episode 9 of my Productivity Matters Podcast.  I’m Julian, you host for this podcast, and on this episode I’m going to take a look at online photo storage, and some of the various options available to you.

Coming up after the intro jingle. 

The Past

If you're over 30, you probably remember taking cartridges of film from the instamatic camera you had, or the 35mm rolls from your SLR camera, to a local chemist, to have the pictures developed.

You'll remember receiving an envelope with a print of each photo, along with the strips of the negatives. Some of the pictures may have had stickers on them, advising low light, or blurry!

You then put the packet of photos in a box, and every now and then, would retrieve them and reminisce. Some of the photos may have made it into an album - particularly when relating to an event, like a wedding or family holiday.

Over time, the advent of digital photography took the place of physical film, and we were using Compact Flash cards, or SD cards to store the pictures.

All that changed in the not too distant pass, with the advent of cameras on mobile phones.

The Current

They say that the best camera you own is the one that you have with you. With a mobile phone, that means you always have a camera with you.

Today, the top-of-the-range mobile phones really do provide quality of images that rivals those captured on traditional cameras.

Since these are then available to post online and share with friends and family, instantly, the camera on the phone is usually a selling point of a device.

Higher density of pixels and the ability to capture in low-light along with cameras on both sides of the phone (yes, the blessed selfie was born!) has led to a whole new industry.

However, there is one downside of all this technology.

The printing of photos is now the exception, rather than the norm.

Taking Pictures

As there is no film to purchase and have developed; the cost of taking photos has diminished, to almost nothing! There are no processing costs to be able to see the pictures, so it means we can take many more photos.

Rather than frame the subject and taking a couple of shots, we now have the ability to take tens of pictures, then choose the favourite. Or do we? Do we choose? Do we delete the photos we don't want? In a lot of cases, we just have lots of the same thing - because memory is cheap.

And because memory is cheap it's now normal for a phone to have a minimum of 64GB of storage. Taking out the amount used by the operating system of the phone, this leaves you with space to store 1000s, literally thousands, of photos!

Where to Store

So; here's the thing. You have all the pictures, but the mobile screen isn't THAT big. Yes, it might have a retina display and stretch from corner to corner; but you want to see your pictures on a bigger screen.

That's where the need to store the photos somewhere else comes in.

I'm not going to talk about downloading photos to a computer hard-drive. This podcast is about online storage. So, what are your options.

Google Photos

The first choice, available across iOS, Android and via the web, is Google Photos.

This is an obvious choice, mainly because you get a whole lot of goodness, for absolutely zero pennies. Some might argue that you're giving up your privacy, but if you use other Google services, then there's nothing else to lose.

Google Photos will let you back up photos with a resolution up to 16 megapixels in size, free. You can also backup videos up to 1080p in resolution.

When I checked, there are over 16,500 photos and videos in my account! Now, I don't normally spend long looking through them.

There is one aspect of the Google service that I love. The fact that, on a given date, Google will show me photos of that day in history.

It's wonderful when suddenly I'm seeing pictures of my children from 8, 9, 10 years ago! Or photos from a holiday or an event.

And, because this is Google, then searching is a breeze.

Look up a date. Search for a place. Find a landmark. Search for photos with the colour blue (or red, green, yellow - you get the idea) and they will be displayed.

You can create albums and you can share these albums, or individually photos with whoever you like. You can also create a shared album, so that other people can add their pictures.

I should also mention that there are basic photo editing capabilites as well; to crop, or add a filter to a photo. Want to create a movie from your photos? No problem.

It's definitely my 'go to app' when I've spent a day taking photos. Then, it's just a case of deleting the pictures on my phone, to free up space.

It should go without saying, that since the photos are attached to my Google account, I can view them wherever I can access Google.

iCloud

For Apple users, there's also iCloud Photos. With this switched on, then any photos or videos you take are automatically backed up to your iCloud account; making them available across all your Apple devices.

However, the big drawback is that these are not free, and count towards your storage quota. Whilst the included, free, storage is 5GB, you'll soon eat into this, and may end up spending 79p (yes, a whole 79p per month) to get an additional 50GB of storage.

It's very simple to use, but the 5GB limit puts me off from using it.

Prime Photos

If you're an Amazon Prime member, then you could use their Amazon Photos app. This also offer unlimited free uploads of full resolution photos and 5GB of videos. They also have a 'This Day' recollection too.

There's a Family Vault for sharing photos.

I use this as a duplicate for Google; although it’s relatively new, so there are only 5300 photos stored here!! This is equivalent to 10.3GB.

Other Options

Other online options include Box, Dropbox and Flickr. Flickr is more reserved for professional photography and offers 1TB of storage space. Whilst I have an account, I rarely use this service.

Conclusion

As you might have concluded yourself; Google Photos is the winner when it comes to online photo storage.

It's easy to use, has a mass of features; with more constantly being developed and most importantly, it's free to use.

Thank You

I hope you’ve found this episode interesting.

If you have any questions about online photo storage or anything else, then please get in touch via Twitter @prodmatters or via the comments below.

Don’t forget to subscribe where you normally listen to podcasts.

Thank you very much for listening and until next time, remember, Productivity Matters.

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If you purchase from these links then I may receive a commission.  This does not affect the price you will pay.  Thank you.

Fantastical 2

Intro

Do you use a calendar app on your phone? I'm going to take a look at Fantastical 2, a calendar app for iOS and Mac.

Welcome

Calendars are one of the most useful and used apps on a device, simply because they help us keep track of what we’re doing; and because we use it so often, it helps to have an app that you enjoy using.

I use Fantastical 2 on my iPhone and Mac, and it’s also available on the iPad.

I know what you're going to say - "I already have a calendar app, that’s pre-installed". Absolutely; but I find the native Apple app very flat, and since I have multiple calendars, not easy to manage. Not only that, but adding events to the calendar is really rather clunky.

Fantastical 2

With Fantastical 2, one of the major benefits is the ability to use natural language to enter events. Just type "Lunch with Jack tomorrow at 1pm" and the event will be created.

Maybe you have a recurring appointment; just add "Tennis every wednesday at 7pm" and the event will be created on a repeating schedule.

With the app open, just click the '+' and start typing. You'll see the details populate as you type - it's quite clever. If you have multiple calendars, you can select which one you'd like to use.

Of course, you can also invite others to the same event, by entering their email address. When they reply, the event will be updated automatically.

iPhone

Looking at the iPhone version; Since it works with existing accounts, as created in my iPhone settings, then it's easy to see each calendar. The number of settings is quite ridiculous, giving granular control of how you are alerted to events; whether you want to see the number of remaining events, or tasks or both. You can set the view to monthly or weekly, just by turning the phone on it's side (or a quick swipe down).




If you have reminders set, which, let's face it, most of us will have a notification of an event, then you can set Fantastical 2 to remind you when you reach a specific location. Handy if you don't want to be disturbed.

You can choose your default maps application, to open directions; from either Apple Maps or Google Maps. You can also choose the default browser, for opening links.

If you prefer your app theme to be dark, then Fantastical 2 offers this option too.

Mac

On the Mac, things work slightly differently. You can still use natural language to create your events, and the breadth of customisations is remarkable.

On the one hand, you can set the badge app icon to display remaining events, or reminders, but you can also have multiple calendars that will show up depending on your location.


For example, I have a work calendar, that will automatically be displayed when I arrive in the office. This allows me to concentrate on what's ahead of me for the day, and not be distracted by personal events. When I return home, my personal calendar will be displayed.

Calendars can also be set up in 'sets', which allows me to limit certain calendar views. Calendars I've subscribed to can also be set up within these 'sets', so I can see them too.

The Mac app also offers the choice of light or dark theme.

Then there's the quick-access mini window, which is accessed via the menu bar - this icon also displays todays date. Within this mini window, there's a text bar at the top, so you can quickly enter an event without going to the full calendar.

You can also view maps of the locations for your events.

You can set your notifications to remind you when it's time to leave; which can be a great help when you need to be somewhere.

iPad and Watch

Fantastical 2 is also available on the iPad - using the iOS version of the software, but the formatting is specific to the iPad, and looks terrific.
If you use Apple Watch, then there’s also an app for that. You can use force-touch on the screen to add events via speech; and you'll receive notifications directly on your wrist too.

Cost

OK. So I've talked through some of the functionality, but what does this cost. This is one of those apps that, on the Mac at least, has quite a high initial cost - at £39. However, before you all start shouting at me, bear in mind that this is a one-off cost. If you consider this against subscription models for other productivity apps, which charge annually, then this works out quite reasonably. The iOS and iPad cost are between £3 and £4.

We shouldn't baulk at these costs. Developers spend a lot of time and effort creating these apps, so why should we get them for free. In fact, the people that make Fantastical 2, flexibits, regularly release updates, which is always nice to see.

Alternatives

Now, of course, there are plenty of alternatives which offer similar functionality.

Firstly, as I mentioned earlier, there's the built in calendar apps. They're quite plain, and I don't get on with them very well. But, they are free to download and use and functional.

Google Calendar is also free to use (as is all of Googles suite of software). It's a very capable calendar, but isn't quite as polished as Fantastical 2, and there is no natural language capability. It does offer integration with Apple Health to track your workouts. You can also use Google Calendar via the browser on your PC or laptop.

Calendars by Readdle is available for iPhone and iPad (but not the Mac) and costs £6.99. It's a suitable calendar, but I find it's not as good an experience as Fantastical 2, and again, there is no natural calendar entry.

Conclusion

As you might have guessed; I like Fantastical 2. The one huge benefit is the ability to capture events using natural language. Typing in the way that you speak makes it easier and quicker to enter the details. I also appreciate the high cost of entry could be a turn off for many.

Thank You

I hope you’ve found this post interesting.
Do you use Fantastical 2, or can you recommend a calendar app that you use. If you have any questions about Fantastical 2 or any other calendar app, then please get in touch via the comments below.

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If you purchase from these links then I may receive a commission.  This does not affect the price you will pay.  Thank you.

Online Storage

Intro

In this post I'm looking at online storage.
With the majority of our lives now in 'the cloud', what options do you have for storing your data. And what are the associated costs?

Choices

When it comes to online storage, there are a vast array of choices, depending on your personal preference, and even what you want to do with it.
You might have a lifetimes worth of photos that need to be backed up.
You might have a whole host of documents that you've accumulated over the years.
There is something out there to suit you.
This post takes a quick look at 3 of the most popular services, each of which offers an app on iOS and
Android, making access to your files quick and easy.

Google Drive

For basic, online storage, that won't cost an arm and a leg, then you can't go wrong with Google Drive.
Most people have a Google account. I said 'most' people!
Google Drive is your online storage for all types of document. Word documents, spreadsheets, presentations, photos, as well as audio and video.
Google offer a minimum of 15Gb of storage completely free. For many, this is more than enough.
For just £1.59 per month, you can increase this to 100Gb.
Bear in mind that Google Photos, the standalone storage for your pictures, is free for High quality photos, but full resolution photos will count against your quota.
Within Drive, you can create folders and sub-folders and add files as necessary. You can also create files using Googles own Docs, Sheets and Slides software. These documents don't count towards your storage limit.
If you need to share documents, this is as easy as sending an email.
Google Drive is really the first port of call for online space.

Apple iCloud

If you are invested in the Apple ecosystem, you're probably using iCloud. Here you get 5Gb of storage included; with a charge of 79p per month to raise this to 50Gb.
Documents created in native Apple apps are still counted, so this isn't as beneficial as Google.
However, it provides easy access, and items stored on your Mac desktop are automatically sync'd to iCloud, so you can retrieve them on other Apple products.
Do you use the iCloud Photo Library? This also uses your quota of storage.
Your iCloud storage will also be used for backups, both for your device and the apps you have installed, which means you're likely to use up the free space much more quickly.
It might be worth changing some settings, to save the apps backing up, to preserve space.
Having said that, 79p per month won't break the bank, for another 50Gb.
I should mention that iCloud is only available via Apple products, and therefore not available on Android devices.

Microsoft OneDrive

The final one to be included here is Microsoft OneDrive.
There are a couple of flavours here. If you have Office 365 Home or Personal, the OneDrive is bundled into the package and you get a whopping 1Tb of storage (on the Home version you get 1Tb each for up to 5 people!)
Should you not have access to Office 365, then there is a free storage plan offering 5Gb of space.
If you need more space, then this costs £1.99 per month, for 50Gb of space.
As with the others, it's easy to access and share documents from anywhere you can login to the service. There's also the obligatory app for iOS and Android.

Cost

Looking at a base of 50Gb per year; the costs would stack up like this:

• Google Drive. You get 15Gb free, and the minimum additional payment is £19.08 per year. For that you get 100Gb
• Apple iCloud. They include 2Gb free, with an annual cost of £9.48 - you get 50Gb. The next plan is 200Gb!
• Microsoft OneDrive gives you 5Gb for free then a cost of £1.99 per month - £23.88

Conclusion

On the face of it, iCloud represents the best value; but this is really only suitable for those with an Apple ID. Otherwise, Google is the winner.
I have had my Google account for a number of years, and so far, I've only used about 20% of the space, which equates to just under 9Gb.
You get the 15Gb included free when you sign up, and it's only £1.59 per month IF you need more.

Do you use an online storage provider? If so, which service do you use? Is there a better value alternative, in your opinion, to the three mentioned here?

I hope you’ve found this post interesting.

If you have any questions about online storage, or have any suggestions about a subject you'd like me to discuss, then please let me know in the comments below.

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If you purchase from these links then I may receive a commission.  This does not affect the price you will pay.  Thank you.