Tag Archives: OmniOutliner

Essential software for academic work on Mac: 2021 update

It’s been seven years since I listed 25 apps essential for academic work on Mac. This list has proven to be very popular and relatively stable, but over the years I dropped or significantly reduced using 13 of these applications and … Continue reading

Posted in Automation, Bibliographies, Collaboration, Files, Graphics, Notes, Presentations, Projects, Tasks, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

What software do I really need for academic work on Mac?

A reader has just challenged me to re-think the software I use for academic work on Mac. Well, there are over 250 items in my Applications folder, but how many do I need to remain productive? So imagine that I have a completely new Mac with no … Continue reading

Posted in Automation, Bibliographies, Email, Files, Graphics, Notes, Presentations, Projects, Tasks, Workflows, Writing | Tagged , , | 97 Comments

Should PowerPoint be banned?

Originally posted on Academic workflows on a Mac:
My favorite podcaster Lucy Kellaway went into an open attack on PowerPoint (for those who wonder, Power Point is Windows presentation software also used by Mac users who have not discovered Apple Keynote). Not…

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Disciplining the mind with software

One of the challenges with writing is switching between different mindsets. Theoretically it is possible to switch between these mindsets within a single writing environment like Microsoft Word or even on a sheet of paper. The problem is that when … Continue reading

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OmniFocus 2 and OmniOutliner 4 on their way … at last!

The OmniGroup announced its plans to release OmniFocus 2 and OmniOutliner 4 in the first quarter of 2013. Both are very welcome and some would say long overdue. In the last couple of years the group focused on developing the … Continue reading

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Academic presentations: ideas, workflows, and a Mac

I recently commented on the declining quality of academic talks driven by the logic of conference organizers, for whom ‘a presentation’ often means nothing more than a set of slides. We can counteract this decline by taking the preparation of our … Continue reading

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Collaboration in academic writing: software and beyond

Unfortunately, collaboration in academic writing often causes frustration. Academics are used to think that co-authoring a manuscripts means emailing back and forth Microsoft Word documents with endless “Track Changes” and “Comments” layered on top of each other. Whereas writing is … Continue reading

Posted in Bibliographies, Collaboration, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 17 Comments

Overcoming OmniFocus’ myopia: OmniOutliner and the yet-to-be-discovered academic planning software

One of the five things that should be kept out of OmniFocus are project plans. There are several good reasons for that. OmniFocus is designed to provide an unambiguous list of concrete things that both should and can be done … Continue reading

Posted in Collaboration, Projects, Tasks, Time | Tagged , | 26 Comments

Three stages of the academic workflow and Mac software

The’academic workflow’ is a representation of scholarship as a series of stages or steps connected to each other without gaps or duplication. Although simplified, the idea of the workflow helps to structure, develop, and communicate tools, knowledge and experience across … Continue reading

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Microsoft Word: 5 misuses and 7 alternatives

If you work on a Windows PC your life most likely revolves around Microsoft Word. It does not need to be so on a Mac. I still need MS Word to exchange files with Windows-based colleagues and also because it … Continue reading

Posted in Workflows, Writing | Tagged , , , | 18 Comments