I haven’t listened to people who told me I couldn’t work from my iPad. I was initially forced into my new iPad-first workflow by frequent hospitalizations and a general inability to use my MacBook Air for long writing sessions after the initial “What do I do now” moment and annoyances, I’ve come to like iOS – and the iPad – more and more. In the past year – as people who have been following this site know – I have realized that I can be as efficient on my iPhone and iPad as I am on my Mac. Most of my work activities are related to writing: whether it’s an article, a quick research note, an email, or chatting with my co-workers, I spend a lot of time typing and assembling words in a way that (I hope) makes sense to my readers and colleagues. But, in the past year, I’ve found myself using them less and less because I enjoy working from iOS more.
I fall into the category of OS X power users and I’m fond of the apps and utilities I rely upon. I have Keyboard Maestro macros to automatically resize and generate screenshots for my reviews I have assigned hotkeys to actions that I run frequently if necessary, I can trigger a Python script or AppleScript-based workflow and have OS X take care of a complex task for me.
I’ve always been the kind of Mac user who likes to enhance his OS X experience with little scripts, shortcuts, and automation tools to save a few minutes every day and speed up tedious work tasks.
Because my Mac was also the only device that could allow me to manage MacStories, I had to bring it with me on trips or longer vacations.
From 2008 and until the better part of 2012, my MacBook Pro (and then the Air) was my primary computer: it was the device I used to write, browse the web for research and leisure, respond to emails, and do all the other tasks to get work done on a daily basis. When I started MacStories in April 2009, I had a late–2008 MacBook Pro and an original iPhone I had bought from the United States and unlocked to make it work in Italy. I don’t need my Mac as much as I used to.