A day with the all-new Fantastical 3

This is in no way meant to be a totally comprehensive feature set review of Fantastical 3, but rather a quick take on my thoughts. There are way better reviews out there if you want a deep-dive regarding every corner of the app. In fact, David Sparks (MacSparky) has written a great field guide to Fantastical 3, and it’s free. 

Where I am using Fantastical 3

Literally, everywhere. Mac, iPad, iPhone and Apple Watch.

In the Omni Group’s Omni Show Episode #53 I spoke about how I like to work with OmniFocus - which is in the same way, regardless of where I am. That means that if I want to curl up with an iPad under a blanket and get things done, I should be able to. Or if I am at my home office desk bashing out the keys on the MacBook Pro, or by the pool with the iPhone and Watch, I should be able to know what I am working on at all times. With Fantastical 3, it’s no different. 

To get the Apple Watch app along with the bevy of new and exciting features, I am plunking down $40/year in one shot. When you live by the calendar, it’s worth it. With the Apple Calendar I never used to time block (or at least, hold myself accountable with the time blocks), but with Fantastical I do. I have used Fantastical on and off since 2015, but with this upgrade, I love interacting with it. It’s like a trusted friend.

How I am using it

As I stated, I am time blocking, which looks like this.

01302020_Fantastical_1.png

My tasks, of course, live in OmniFocus. My compass, or North Star, or whatever you want to call it - my daily direction - lives in Fantastical. I color-code based on my life’s area of responsibility - whether it be personal (blue), for the mortgage business (green), or for Bowers Voice (orange) - and that helps me get a really quick overview with the day ticker features as to what I will be focusing on.

Every night at around 5pm I check off an OmniFocus task that says to update my Fantastical for tomorrow. It keeps me honest with the work that I said I was going to do this week.

01302020_Fantastical_2.png

Reasons to upgrade

There are a myriad of reasons to go all-in with Fantastical 3 using their subscription model.

  • Full-screen support for day, week, month, and year. I love having the full screen “time tiles”, similar to Apple Calendar, but with the option to pull or push on the screen surface to get a completely different view. 

  • Collaboration features. You can propose event times with your invitees!

  • Event templates. That feature is huge for my business, where I do similar work quite a bit, and now I will not have to spend time typing the same things over and over when entering new events. 

All of these features and more can be read about here.

Many people will balk at $5/month or $40/year for a calendar. If you never check your calendar, don’t buy Fantastical. Use the Apple Calendar if you ever need one, because it is free.

However, if you seriously want to effect change and take control of the 24 hours that you are given, check out the full subscription to Fantastical.

ProductivityEric BowersCalendar