Thanks for this, it’s an excellent breakdown of how the iPad can be used to remove complexity and accomplish tasks quickly and efficiently. I guess it’s an issue of making the limitations of the OS work for you rather than against you.
Maybe there is a little bit of rethinking that needs to go on (for me and others) when it comes to desktop operating systems. Maybe it’s part of a paradigm that requires a complete rethink of how tasks can be automated and executed without the need for a full desktop OS and traditional programs.
Thank you. I realise it feels like an inherent contradiction, but I find that my experience with an iPad is that it is less convenient, but has led to me being more productive overall.
For starters, I find that I don't really bother automating on my Mac at all, because I know I can brute-force my way through any task. For example, for some time a couple of years back, I had been sending a weekly update to my Social Studies teachers on how to go about teaching the new syllabus. The process involved me copying a bunch of instructions from copied, attaching files from dropbox, then sending to a group of teachers. Rinse and repeat 5 more times (for 6 different levels). Doing so took me about 30 minutes each week, and I had little incentive to try and improve that process. The macOS interface was just good enough that no one instance of that action warrants investing the time into automating the whole process.
It was now the following year and since the resources were already there, I thought I may as well repeat the process for a new batch of teachers. And it got me thinking about how it could be done any more quickly, while continuing to look professional (so no forwarding emails from the previous year).
On my iPad however, the same process was so cumbersome (even via drag and drop) that I was compelled to find a way to streamline that process. After an hour of messing around with the shortcuts app (then known as workflow), I was able to shorten the process to 10 minutes. And the plus side is that said workflow that was originally intended for my iPad was also available on my iPhone which meant that - bonus! I could now get the same task done when I was outside, without needing access to my Mac at all.
One thing I like to do on my iPad is that when I want to read an article or brainstorm a certain idea, I detach the iPad from my Smart Keyboard and either lean back or stand up and walk around the house. Doing so is a nice mental break, especially after having sat hunch over the screen for some time.
I also find that full-screen apps help me stay focused and less easily distracted, because the tendency to check twitter or reddit is less when they aren't just hiding a browser tab away, and I don't have excess space on the left of the screen that I might be tempted to fill with tweetbot.
In addition, for all the complaints of the friction between macOS and iPadOS, the bright side is that my iPhone and iPad complement each other very well, and these are the two devices I have on me at all times on a normal working day. They share nearly identical apps and workflows (eg: shortcuts I design for one device is available on the other), meaning that data from one is readily available on the other.
Maybe for consumption tasks but not for productivity tasks. On iPadOS and even Android it requires more steps and longer to get the same tasks done than a desktop OS. If I could only bring one device Windows x64 > Windows on ARM > Chrome > Android > iPadOS. This video sums it up. For example, can fill out IRS 1040 form and sign easily and quickly on Windows x64 & ARM all within single Edge browser but on Android and iPadOS requires multiple apps and a paid/subscription PDF app to even be able to edit IRS 1040 and you can't sign the document directly but have to go through multiple steps to create signature, copy/paste to PDF and resize signature.
I find that all this talk of consumption vs productivity to be a meaningless distinction ultimately.
As a teacher, part of my work involves, yes, reviewing teaching material prior to a lesson. And where do you think they are stored? Right on my iPad, organised in notability. And it's so easy to unlock my iPad and launch an app, vs trying to unlock a laptop and drill down to the appropriate file in the network drive or even through a thumb drive (which makes it even more cumbersome).
My students are giving a presentation in the classroom. What do you think I use to record the process with? My iPad.
And when the footage is on my iPad, it's a natural move to edit it in Lumafusion, vs waiting to airdrop it to my Mac and using iMovie.
For so many tasks in the teaching profession, I have been able to streamline them using my iPhone and iPad. It doesn't mean I no longer need a laptop, but there are certainly days where I have gone without switching on my school laptop (at work) or my iMac (at home) at all. Just me, and my trusty iPad in school and at home when I am lounging on the sofa playing "Slay the Spire".
As for taxes, I haven't had to fill one in 10 years. Part of the perks of working for the civil service, where there government already knows my salary better than myself, and has been automatically managing it for me. I just need to log in once a year to make sure the numbers are correct, and they are.
Not bad for an oversized iPod touch.
