Creative Year-In-Review

I’m going to try to make this my final year-end blog post, I promise. This time last year, I did a recap of my creative output for 2022 and found it quite motivating, so I’ve decided to bring it back. Welcome to my second annual—and yes, I’m allowed to call it that now—creative year-in-review.

Writing is still one of my absolute favorite things to do, and I’m constantly trying to make more time for it. My success or failure at that is reflected in my blog post output. I published 57 articles this year (58 if you include this one). That’s an average of more than one per week, way up from the one per month I wrote last year.

I’m really happy with that number. Back in what I consider my “golden era” of blogging, I was putting out a post every single week without fail. While my schedule this year wasn’t as routine, I still managed to write a lot more than I expected.

There was more variety in what I wrote on the blog this year, too. In addition to discussing apps and Apple stuff, I published some personal stories, linked to other writers, and complained about the Fast Saga movies. Talk about range!

This blog has been my home on the internet for twelve years now, and it means so much to me. I love that I get to keep coming back here to share what I’m thinking, doing, and using, and the fact that anyone cares enough to read it just means the world. Thank you to everyone who read, shared, and responded this year. It’s been a great year for the blog.

I also do a lot of personal writing in my journal, which has become more and more of a creative outlet for me this year. It’s a place to process the day and write about feelings, sure, but I’ve also been using it as a way to record and remember special moments in my life. The number of times this year I’ve said to my wife, “Guess what I found in my journal from a year ago,” has been astonishing, and it’s made me want to invest even more energy into journaling. It’s a practice that I just get so much out of.

Sigmund and I published 39 episodes of our Apple TV podcast Magic Rays of Light this year. I took parental leave from the show for a bit, so we didn’t quite hit that weekly mark every time, but we did get into a really good groove this year. It’s been a great experience making this show with my buddy, and I’m excited for what we have in store for next year.

Sticking with podcasts, I made an appearance on Tim Chaten’s show iPad Pros again this year. I have so much respect for the work Tim does, so it was an honor to get to chat with him and to even have him on an episode of MROL.

One of my random little projects this year was creating a new website for my family, which was a good bit of fun. I did some shuffling around of domain names behind the scenes and set up iCloud email for a bunch of domains. It’s not flashy, but I get a lot of enjoyment out of poking around the backend of these things.

Of course, my favorite thing I “made” this year is my son, Noah, who was born in August. He’s happy, healthy, secure, and growing, and any small role I get to play in that is my greatest accomplishment in life. Some of my creative endeavors had to take a back seat when he arrived, but I’d take being a dad over anything. Plus, I can always blog while he’s napping, right?

Doing a wrap-up like this feels like a highlight reel of my life over the past year. Of course, these are just the things I share publicly, so it’s only a partial view. But when it comes to what I’ve made this year, I can certainly say that I am pleased and proud.

I’ve enjoyed all the writing, podcasting, and tinkering I’ve been able to do this year. And beyond that, it’s been a downright pleasure connecting with everyone who’s come across my work and decided to say hello. Here’s to a great year that was, and to an even better one ahead in 2024!

My Favorite Movies and Shows of the Year

Let the end-of-the-year lists continue! Yesterday, I shared my favorite apps of 2023. Today, it’s TV shows and movies.

I’ve already discussed my top film list on the latest episode of Magic Rays of Light, but Sigmund and I aren’t getting into our top shows until the podcast returns in January. I guess you can consider this an exclusive preview. 😉

Without further ado, these are the best movies and shows of 2023 according to yours truly.

Movies

  1. Killers of the Flower Moon: I left the theater speechless after seeing this film. It’s a masterpiece—such an important story so well executed. By far the best movie I saw this year. Give Lily Gladstone all of the awards, because her performance was beyond compare.

  2. Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour: Hard as we tried, my wife and I couldn’t get tickets to see The Eras Tour live. But thanks to the magic of movies, we now feel like we were there. The show itself was a spectacle, and it was captured beautifully by the team at Taylor Swift Productions. This is Taylor at her best, doing the thing she loves most, and I had a wonderful time watching and singing along.

  3. Barbie: Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling embody these characters perfectly. They are Barbie and Ken in my mind. Diving into Barbie’s world was a lot of fun, and I laughed the entire time. I appreciated the movie’s message as well, reclaiming Barbie as the true icon of female empowerment she was always meant to be.

  4. The Marvels: Two words: Iman Vellani. The superhero teamup was a good time, but Ms. Marvel stole show. She’s the future of the MCU franchise, and it’s a bright future indeed.

  5. The Super Mario Bros. Movie: What can I say? It’s my childhood brought to life. My biggest hope with this one was that Illumination wouldn’t screw it up too badly; they far surpassed my expectations. Chris Pratt actually did a good job as Mario, but Anya Taylor-Joy’s Princess Peach had to be my favorite.

Shows

  1. Lessons in Chemistry: I was expecting dry humor and the inspiring story of a woman overcoming societal expectations, but what we got was so much more than that. Lessons in Chemistry is about love, family, community, faith, and the way we’re changed by the people who come into our lives. And yes, there are a few chemistry jokes mixed in there, too. I was utterly surprised and delighted by this one, and I can’t wait to watch it again.

  2. The Last of Us: Come for the zombie action sequences and post-apocalyptic landscape, stay for one of the most beautiful portrayal of chosen family I’ve ever seen. I went in with no previous knowledge about the video game this show is based on, but having seen it, I understand why people loved the game so much. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey give grounded, award-worthy performances against a twisted and chaotic landscape.

  3. Loki: Everyone’s favorite antihero is back in what could well be Tom Hiddleston’s last outing as the god of mischief. Around him is situated a well-rounded ensemble cast including the addition of Key-Huy Quan this season. If you’ve been rooting for Loki all along or if you’re curious about the underpinnings of Marvel’s Multiverse Saga, this show is for you. (Note: Jonathan Majors does feature prominently in this season. After its release, Majors was convicted of domestic abuse and immediately fired by Disney from future projects. I applaud their decision and stand with all survivors of abuse.)

  4. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off: I still can’t believe they got the entire cast of the original film back together for this anime adaptation. It was so cool revisiting the world of Scott Pilgrim, and I love the new story the show tells featuring characters I’ve loved for years. I won’t say more because I don’t want to spoil it, but if you enjoyed the 2010 film, I think you’ll like this show, too.

  5. The Changeling: This series debuted on Apple TV+ right after my wife and I came home from the hospital with our newborn son. The show features LaKeith Stanfield and Clark Backo as new parents trying to keep their son safe in a dangerous world riddled with dark magic. It’s an intense and difficult watch, but I resonated strongly with the main character, whose only motivation is trying to be a good dad. The Changeling a modern fairy tale worth watching to the end.

It’s always hard putting together lists like this. There are so many other titles I considered including, like The Crowded Room, Fargo, Silo, Flora and Son, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. But you have to draw the line somewhere, so we’ll just call those honorable mentions.

Do any of these picks stick out as something you enjoyed this year? What did I miss? I’d love to hear your favorite shows and films of 2023, so let me know in the comments section or on social media.

My Apps of the Year

Last December, I was inspired by Lachlan to share my favorite app of the year. Actually, I cheated and chose two: Structured and Up Ahead, which I dubbed my favorite new app of 2022.

Independent app developers have continued to amaze me with their work in 2023, so I couldn’t resist doing another retrospective. Instead of picking just one or two picks, though, I’d like to cheat again and share the handful of the apps that I’ve enjoyed most this year.

New-to-Me Apps

Mango Baby

The app that’s had the most impact on my life over the past year has to be Mango Baby, a newborn tracker by Yilei Yang. It’s not a new release, but since my son Noah was born, Mango Baby has been an indispensable tool for keeping track of his care.

The app is so well-designed and makes it simple for me to log feedings, diapers, and more. The information I need most is always right at hand, often not even requiring that I open the app thanks to Mango Baby’s extensive set of widgets. Shortcuts actions allow me to log diaper changes hands-free, and the iCloud-based collaboration is rock-solid, keeping everything in sync between my devices and my wife’s.

I’m a fan of anything that helps my kid and makes my life a bit easier. Mango Baby does both of those things every day.

Sequel

After nearly giving up on the category as a whole, I finally decided to try Romain Lefebvre’s media-tracking app Sequel, and I’m glad I did. It feels like it was made for just the way I like to track things.

I mostly use Sequel for keeping tabs on shows and films, but it can be used to track video games, books, and audiobooks, too. The design is intuitive and puts your content at the forefront, and the app as a whole does its job well: helping you enjoy your favorite media.

Sequel has become my source of truth for where I’m at in a particular show, as well as my go-to way of seeing when new episodes are coming out. At this point, I can’t imagine how I’d be able to keep up with everything I watch without it.

New Apps

Bridges

I’ve been intrigued by the concept of Jonathan Ruiz’s link-saving app Bridges since I first heard about it in beta. On the surface, it works a lot like any other app in the category: You share a link to the app and save it to use later. But Bridges takes that idea a few steps further.

Beyond just saving links, the app enables you to organize and share them in really helpful ways. Sorting links into folders and categories makes it easy to keep everything tidy. And once you’ve compiled your list of links into a folder, you can share them all in a variety of formats with a single button press.

I use Bridges to compile the show notes for my podcast Magic Rays of Light every week. The app has made this process simpler, speedier, and just plain fun. Bridges is now a central part of my creative workflow, and I really enjoy the time I spend using it.

Chronicling

First-time app developer Rebecca Owen came out with Chronicling this summer, and it is quite the app. Self-described as a way to “track anything,” Chronicling is a flexible and powerful tool that’s been a pleasure to explore.

The open-ended nature of the app is its strong suit. It can be whatever kind of tracker you want it to be. While I imagine a lot of people will use it for habit-tracking, I’ve gone a different route. Chronicling has become my trusty tool for staying on top of my chore schedule, something I needed some external assistance with after the birth of my son. It helped a lot!

I plan on doing a full write-up of Chronicling and how it works in the new year, but suffice it to say that it’s one of the most impressive new entries I’ve come across in 2023. I’m constantly looking for new ways to use Chronicling it because I just like it, and that’s one of the best compliments I can give to any app.

Updates

A few of my long-standing favorite apps received major updates this year:

A few things you’ll notice these apps have in common is that they’re made by independent developers, they’re continually updated, and they offer versions for Apple’s various platforms that sync between each other via iCloud. I consider them the best-designed offerings in their respective fields, and each one has a unique identity and use case that makes my life better in a real way.

For me, 2023 has been an incredible year for discovering new apps and continuing to benefit from the apps I already love. Maybe that’s why this list is so long. 😅 But it represents a group of apps that have defined the year for me, and I’m grateful for each one of them and the great developers who work so hard to make them.

What have been your favorite apps this year? I’m always looking for new ones to try (and to write about), so I’d love to hear your picks! I’m always down to talk about apps, so feel free to reach out anytime.

Merry Christmas

A baby can change everything.

I certainly learned that this year. The arrival of our son marked a major shift in the history of our family. Things would never be the same—not for us, anyway.

Today, we celebrate the arrival of a different baby, after which things would never be the same for anyone. God With Us, Immanuel, has come. The birth of Christ changed the course of history itself and the hearts of countless many.

He is the greatest gift that could ever have been given, and today especially, I cherish his presence here with us. Jesus is born! And because of that, we celebrate.

Life is filled with marvelous gifts, big and small, the best of which are the people who make our lives rich. I’m thankful for my son, my wife, my dog, family, friends, and for all the kind people I get to interact with and learn from daily, including you. My heart is full this holiday.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Structured Adds Shortcuts Actions

This morning, Unorderly released version 3.3 of Structured, the day planner app that’s been my go-to for nearly two years now. The headlining feature of this update is the introduction of Shortcuts actions, which give users the ability to make the app work for them in all-new ways.

For those unfamiliar, Shortcuts is an app made by Apple that lets you create automations on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. App developers create actions that can be customized and combined to make your device do all kinds of things for you automatically.

Structured 3.3 comes with some prebuilt shortcuts you can use right out of the box. These include Today’s Schedule, which will instantly bring up an overview of your day plan, and Focus Now, an action for starting a focus timer in the app as well as a live activity for the current task. I’ve already added Focus Now to my iPhone’s action button.

I’m glad the app’s development team included these premade options, but I’m even more excited about the possibilities of creating my own shortcuts using the great set of actions Structured offers. Here are all the actions included in today’s update:

  • Check Schedule

  • Delete Tasks

  • Duplicate Tasks

  • Edit Tasks

  • Find Tasks

  • New Task

  • Open Day

  • Open Inbox

  • Open Task

  • Show Inbox

  • Show Tasks

  • Start Focus Timer

This is a fantastic set of building blocks that unlocks a whole new level of functionality and customizability for the app. I’ve already used a couple of these actions to create a custom shortcut that clears my day plan for tomorrow in case I want to start fresh. And I have lots of other ideas for Structured shortcuts that I can’t wait to try.

These actions can be used in combination with other apps as well. People often ask if Structured is compatible with third-party task managers and calendar apps. Until today, the answer was no; now, it’s yes! With the power of Shortcuts, anyone can combine their favorite apps with Structured’s excellent day-planning tools.

Shortcuts actions are a huge boost to a productivity app, and when they’re done this well, they unlock unlimited possibilities. It’s an exciting day to be a Structured user. My thanks and congratulations to the team for a great release.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some work-in-progress shortcuts to attend to.