My writing tool of choice is the 11inch 2020 iPad Pro with the attached Smart Keyboard Folio. I get asked, “what apps do I keep in my dock and on my home screen.” I have to admit that while I have tons of apps on my iPad, the placement of the apps is essential. I spent a lot of time organizing the apps to be at their current location, so without further ado, this is what’s on my iPad’s widgets and dock.
Widgets
With iPadOS 13, Apple added widgets to the home screen instead of keeping them on their own page. I find this useful. The first app on my widget bar is NordVPN, my VPN of choice. VPN’s provide a secure connection to the internet while connected to public wifi networks. Since I do a lot of work at Starbucks, a quality VPN is essential to protect my data. Batteries status bar. This is self-explanatory. This widget displays the battery percentage of the iPad and any accessories I have connected like my AirPods Pro, Magic Mouse 2, or Apple Pencil 2. The last of the pinned widgets to the home screen is WordPress This Week. This gives me a quick and dirty day by day look at how active my websites are doing. Other widgets I have installed are the Music widget, to suggest music to play while I work. Fantastical to show upcoming appoints. Weather, another self-explanatory widget. Shortcuts, to run any of my top 25 shortcuts. And lastly, the Merriam-Webster widgets, to give me a new word to use daily to grow my vocabulary.
Dock
I used Apple’s Mail app for all my e-mail needs. It’s not the best e-mail client, but it’s the most convenient. In my option, the only web browser I use on the iOS ecosystem. It’s lightning-fast and handles passwords and two-factor with ease that Apple is known. I subscribe to Apple Music, so I have the music app right in the dock so I can open it up in slide over while I work. Scrivener is my writing app of choice. I write everything in Scrivener. Grammarly is my first round editor. I dump everything I write into Grammarly to check the basics like spelling and grammar but also word usage and flow. It makes my caffeine-filled scribbles into a presentable dislodge. The files app is used to transfer data between my Mac and iOS devices. Notes is somewhere I can keep quick notes, whether typed or handwritten with the Apple Pencil 2. The WordPress app is the control panel for my website, so I can post articles and keep a close eye on status. Reminders are my task manager of choice for its simplicity. It just gets out of my way and lets me focus on the work at hand without needing consent attention.
Those are all the apps that are in my widgets and dock on my 11inch 2020 iPad Pro. These aren’t the only apps I use, but they are the ones that I use daily to write this blog and my novels. I hoped you enjoyed another look into my writing process and tool kit. Please comment below what apps do you use?