Camiel Schoonens

Product and Technology enthusiast

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How I stay productive and go through my tasks

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I received a text message from a former colleague and friend about how I stay productive and avoid procrastination. This colleague is not the first to notice my strengths in this area and ask for tips, tricks, and book recommendations. So here I go.

First things first, there is no silver bullet to doing things right. Many things that work for me might or might not work for you. Ultimately, you need to design a system that works for you. Staying productive in my work and private life comes down to building habits, being consistent, and optimizing what needs improvement.

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How I use iOS focus modes

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I’m a fan of iOS focus modes, and I use them every day for different activities.

Recently, some people around me noticed this setup on my phone and started asking questions about it. Instead of explaining it offline only, I thought it would be better to write a post about it, too, so that it can be shared with others.

I’m curious to know if you use focus modes, too, and if so, what you do differently from me.

Focus modes that I use

My current setup includes different focus modes for the following activities. I will explain each of them below.

  • Personal
  • Work
  • Do Not Disturb
  • Fitness
  • Sleep
  • Travel

Personal and Work Focus

The most used focus modes are Personal and Work, both of which are time-activated. These modes help me focus on work during work hours and keep work out of sight during times when I shouldn’t think about it.

Personal Focus

  • From Monday to Friday 18:30 – 08:00
  • From Sat till Sun 00:00 – 23:59

Work Focus

  • From Monday to Friday 08:00 – 18:30

The power of focus modes lies in the fact that you can assign custom home screens and focus filters to each of them. I do both when I activate these modes.

By activating specific screens on my iPhone and Apple Watch while in Personal Focus mode, I’m able to get work apps and work notifications out of my immediate sight when not working. The other way around, I’m able to do the same while working. During workdays and work hours, I see no personal apps, email, or personal browser tabs while using my phone. During ‘personal’ hours, it’s the other way around.

Next to these two profiles, I have two different phone numbers registered with my phone: one business number and one private number. By consistently sharing the right number with the right people, I’m able to filter incoming calls from phone numbers that are not in my contacts.

I’m quite happy with this setup (focus mode, different home screens, focus filters, and separate phone numbers) as it enables me to do everything with just one phone without constantly being distracted by apps, notifications, or calls during times when I don’t want to be distracted or reminded by them.

Do Not Disturb

This is a manual-activated focus mode that does what it says it does. It blocks out disturbances and doesn’t allow calls to come through except from the people in my favorite contacts list or from anyone who calls twice within 3 minutes (e.g., an urgent call).

Fitness

Fitness mode is activated when I start an activity on my Apple Watch or when I launch the Nike Run Club app on my phone or watch. When activated, all notifications are blocked, including calls, as I can’t pick them up when exercising anyway.

Sleep

In the Health app, sleep focus mode is activated based on my sleep schedule. The schedule is different on weekdays and weekends. All notifications and calls are blocked, except for calls from people in my favorite contacts list. Sleep mode also activates a different home screen, one that has dark wallpaper on a very small group of apps. The intent of this home screen is to make using the phone during off-hours not attractive at all.

Travel

Travel mode is location-activated, and I added new locations to this focus mode while traveling. This is usually a train station or airport that I expect to visit more often. The primary purpose of travel mode is to activate different home screens on my iPhone and a different watch face. The screens and watch face bring the essential widgets and apps upfront while traveling. These include the latest flight details from Flighty.app and details from my calendar so that I don’t forget about the other things that I need to do while traveling.

Ready for 2024

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My tiny sabbatical ‘in between jobs’ is almost over. I’m finishing this unique period with a short family holiday break on the island of Lanzarote.

Per 2024, I will start with a US-based Product and Tech company and look forward to the journey ahead. My role will be based in the Netherlands, and similar to my previous role, it involves quite some travel due to working with an international team.

For the next step in my career, I wished to experience what working for a British or US-based company would be about, and I’m happy that it worked out like that. I believe I will benefit from my previous experience working with teams in EMEA, APAC, and LATAM, and I look forward to putting what I have learned into practice in this new environment.

It was an absolute joy to have some time off from work. It gave me time to reflect and to be a good friend, husband, father, and son. I’ve enjoyed the ‘me’ time by visiting some brilliant museums, reading lots of books, running 4-5 times a week, working with my hands, and planning to return to work.

I’m ready for 2024 and feel happy and fortunate to have good mental and physical health. I wish you the same. 🍀

De boeken die ik las in 2023

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Een overzicht van de boeken die ik las in 2023. 2023 was een jaar met veel crime verhalen.

In de ‘Munch & Krüger’ serie las ik:

  • Ik reis alleen – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • De doodsvogel – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • De jongen in de sneeuw – ⭐⭐⭐
  • Sneeuwwit – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • De terugkeer van Mia – ⭐⭐⭐⭐

In de ‘Robert Hunter’ serie las ik de eerste vier, naar het Nederlands vertaalde, boeken:

  • Handtekening van het kwaad – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Gezicht van het kwaad – ⭐⭐⭐
  • Jager in de nacht – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • De beeldhouwer – ⭐⭐⭐⭐

In de ‘Harry Hole’ serie van Jo Nesbø, las ik het nieuwste en voorlopig laatste boek:

  • Bloedmaan – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Andere boeken die las:

  • Help, ik heb een puber! – ⭐⭐
  • De overlevenden – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • De hulp – ⭐⭐
  • De lessen van meneer Picquier – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Het Koninklijk Huis – ⭐⭐⭐
  • De spion en de verrader – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • De zeven vinkjes – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Nirwana – ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Default Apps

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Following many others, this is my list of default apps in 2023. The categorization comes from the Hemispheric Views Podcast and should be equal to all others submitting their default apps.

  • 📨 Mail Client: Outlook
  • 📮 Mail Server: Office365
  • 📝 Notes: Agenda and Tot
  • ✅ To-Do: Things
  • 📷 iPhone Photo Shooting: Camera
  • 🟦 Photo Management: Adobe Lightroom Classic for editing and Photos for organization
  • 📆 Calendar: Fantastical Calendar
  • 📁 Cloud File Storage: iCloud Drive
  • 📖 RSS: Reeder with FreshRSS
  • 🙍🏻 ♂️ Contacts: Apple Contacts on iOS and CardHop on MacOS
  • 🌐 Browser: Safari
  • 💬 Chat: Messages and WhatsApp
  • 🔖 Bookmarks: Linkding
  • 📑 Read It Later: none
  • 📜 Word Processing: Word
  • 📈 Spreadsheets: Excel
  • 📊 Presentations: PowerPoint
  • 🛒 Shopping Lists: Things
  • 🍴 Meal Planning: Paper and pen
  • 💰 Budgeting and Personal Finance: Banktivity
  • 📰 News: NRC, NOS and Tweakers.net
  • 🎵 Music: Apple Music
  • 🎤 Podcasts: Pocket Casts
  • 🔐 Password Management: 1Password

Some additional categories:

Updates:

2023/12/25: 290 people submitted their default apps. All submissions are listed here.
2023/11/27: Updated the list with the emojis per category provided by Gabz.

Strategic ambiguity

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I heard a good reflection on the ambiguity that employees experience regarding the company’s direction/strategy.

As a manager, you are often confronted with employees who say they do not understand the business strategy. Your manager’s default reaction is to clarify the strategy again through a 1:1 explanation or by creating the next version of your strategic PowerPoint, which you then put on the agenda in a team meeting.

Usually, the problem is much simpler.

The employee understands the company’s long-term direction but does not know how they can contribute to it today.

Don’t forget, as a manager, it is often better to focus on the following action(s) for the employee (and yourself) instead of returning to work on the next version of your strategic plan.

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”