21–30 of 84 posts
The only thing I can think of is writing a blog if that's of interest to you. If you use wordpress of blogspot you can use their app to write drafts then edit whatever you wrote on a desktop.
This is a great question! I think other commenters miss the basic point that mobile is frictionless and can be used anywhere. I think OP is thinking along the following lines: I’m on the bus / in the loo / waiting for my lunch to heat in the microwave. How can I use these moments to produce creatively? I already have a great tool that I know can deliver content efficiently and accessibly to me in these situations—I u…
I feel your pain for writing. This morning, I accidentally deleted all my notes from yesterday and could not recover them from my phone because there is no undo (!!? How can phones still not have an undo?) in my note-taking app. I had to get up and recover the version from my desktop because I wasn't signed in to dropbox on my phone.
- listen to podcasts and take notes, which I then turn into mini mind maps (it helps me remember concepts and linking ideas together)
- I do brand and marketing work, so I often use phone time to doodle early logo concepts, draft storyboards, start composing shots for photo shoots... etc. I find the constraints of the small screen quite interesting as it obliges me to veer towards simpler designs (I use Google Keep which allows for zooming in and out easily, and seamlessly integrates with the laptop version)
- whiteboarding (again in Google Keep or Miro) is also something I love to do on a phone, usually for processes and/or identity systems where I’d collate references for a projects into a single document for future use
- photo editing / story editing using VSCO and Over is a great way to use phone time productively. I often prepare visuals for blog posts or social stories that way,
- financial planning (probably less creative than the rest, but also a good way to spend phone time and many workflows are actually faster on mobile): I use a virtual bank (Monzo, in the U.K.) so I use phone time to label/categorise spend, visualise budgets, pay anything that needs paying and create simpler invoices with a Google Sheet template and pdf exports to Dropbox
Many more options, but these are my major uses. Looking forward to reading the other answers!
This is a great question! I think other commenters miss the basic point that mobile is frictionless and can be used anywhere. I think OP is thinking along the following lines: I’m on the bus / in the loo / waiting for my lunch to heat in the microwave. How can I use these moments to produce creatively? I already have a great tool that I know can deliver content efficiently and accessibly to me in these situations—I u…
I really dislike long form articles, I feel like the author never gets to the point, only jumping from one digression to another. Perhaps difficulty in writing could be an incentive to write shorter and more focused articles :)
If you have a phone with a pen (e.g., Galaxy Note), sketching is rather fun. FWIW, I use Adobe Sketch, for which I get a license through work. Not quite creating but also not quite passive consuming: Anki or other apps for learning (when I am in a good period, downtime becomes opportunities for buffing up geography and music).
This is a great question! I think other commenters miss the basic point that mobile is frictionless and can be used anywhere. I think OP is thinking along the following lines: I’m on the bus / in the loo / waiting for my lunch to heat in the microwave. How can I use these moments to produce creatively? I already have a great tool that I know can deliver content efficiently and accessibly to me in these situations—I u…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
So much this. To get real work done (creative or not), you want a desktop OS and a big screen, keyboard and mouse.
Yeah, I want that, but if I’m standing in line at the grocery store, I’m not at my desk, I don’t have a monitor, keyboard, or mouse. Those tools may be good for some situations. But what about all the other situations? Some of the best art is created under adversity. To be clear, the grocery line isn’t an adverse situation. But being in prison, working a physical / manual job, poverty—these are all adverse situations…
Try making some art. You can use art apps to remix old photos and also to generate completely new pieces. Not sure about iOS, but on Android there are fantastic apps like Glitch Lab, Mirror Lab, and so on. Here is a link to art made on Android using Mirror Lab: https://www.instagram.com/mirror_lab/
This is a great question! I think other commenters miss the basic point that mobile is frictionless and can be used anywhere. I think OP is thinking along the following lines: I’m on the bus / in the loo / waiting for my lunch to heat in the microwave. How can I use these moments to produce creatively? I already have a great tool that I know can deliver content efficiently and accessibly to me in these situations—I u…
Yes, this is exactly what I mean. I feel your pain for writing. This morning, I accidentally deleted all my notes from yesterday and could not recover them from my phone because there is no undo (!!? How can phones still not have an undo?) in my note-taking app. I had to get up and recover the version from my desktop because I wasn't signed in to dropbox on my phone.
https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guideline...