Macpreneur

Skyrocketing Your Solopreneur Productivity on Mac with Emily Guerra

• Damien Schreurs • Season 6 • Episode 118

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In this episode, Emily Guerra, a productivity life coach and founder of The Productivity Flow, shares her experiences and strategies for managing productivity, particularly on the Mac system.

Links and video version available at https://macpreneur.com/episode118

Connect with Emily:

Highlights:

  • [00:00] Teaser  
  • [01:53] Emily's Mac Setup and Productivity Boost  
  • [03:08] The Power of Dual Screens and Eye Health  
  • [05:14] Journey into the Mac Ecosystem  
  • [08:46] Essential Apps for Productivity  
  • [14:05] The Magic of Chrome Profiles  
  • [17:59] Apple Podcasts and Transcription Features  
  • [20:21] Keyboard Shortcuts and Desktop Organization  
  • [23:11] Emily's Wishlist for Mac Improvements  
  • [28:40] Connecting with Emily
  • [29:11] Applying to be a guest too


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Skyrocketing Your Solopreneur Productivity on Mac with Emily Guerra


Teaser

Emily Guerra: One of the biggest things that my coaching clients come to me with is that they have a bajillion tabs open and feel overwhelmed because each tab has a purpose. They don't want to close it because they might lose it, but they can't work on it because there are just too many, and it's so distracting.

Having tab groups to organize your tasks and keep everything together is honestly life-changing if you are the kind of person who has a bajillion tabs open.

Nova AI: Welcome to Macpreneur, the show for seasoned solopreneurs looking to streamline their business on a Mac. Unlock the secrets to saving time and money with your host and technology mentor, Damien Schreurs.

Damien Schreurs: Hello, hello! Today I have the pleasure of having Emily Guerra on the show. Emily is a productivity life coach, mindful productivity speaker, and founder of the Productivity Flow. Her mission is to empower self-employed women to overcome mindset barriers and optimize systems, tools, habits, and routines so they can effectively boost their productivity and achieve the work-from-home lifestyle of their dreams.

Through her blogs and freebies, one-on-one coaching, online courses, and public speaking, Emily combines lessons she has learned from therapy with the trials and errors of working for herself from home to offer realistic and sustainable ways to boost both productivity and a positive frame of mind.

Emily, welcome to the show.

Emily Guerra: Thank you so much. I'm so excited to chat with you!

Damien Schreurs: Yeah, I'm glad to have you. We had a nice pre-show, and I remember your energy, so I'm really looking forward to this interview.


Emily's Mac Setup and Productivity Boost

Damien Schreurs: So, let’s actually start with your current setup. Which Mac do you have right now?

Emily Guerra: I have a MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro chip. Just to add a little extra context there.

Damien Schreurs: And how do you like it?

Emily Guerra: I honestly love it, and I think there are several reasons why. The MacBook I had before this was the Mini, and I can't believe I worked on that tiny screen and keyboard for so long. I was missing out on so much. Once I made the switch and expanded my screen, I got myself a monitor, an actual keyboard, and a mouse. I really took up my desk space.

It has transformed my productivity in so many ways because I feel like I'm better able to go back and forth between things and have dual screens. It's just so effective and efficient. I definitely wish I had made this transition earlier.


The Power of Dual Screens and Eye Health

Damien Schreurs: Some people use a monitor attached to their MacBook in clamshell mode, only looking at the big monitor. What's your take? Do you use both screens?

Emily Guerra: I do. I'm strategic about how I use both screens. My monitor is much larger, so I do most of my work on it. My monitor doesn’t have a camera, so anything camera-related I always do on my actual laptop. I use my laptop more for notes.

For example, when I'm writing a blog, I do the writing on my monitor but keep my notes and bullet points on my laptop. This way, I can reference my computer while working on the monitor. It’s nice to have multiple screens up.

A pro tip is to have a purpose for each screen for each task. This way, you ensure it works in your favor and you’re not distracting yourself.

Damien Schreurs: That's a very good strategy. It's funny how, for you, the main screen is the laptop screen, and the big one is the main one.

Emily Guerra: Yeah, I just got new glasses, and I had to do my vision test. I was shocked at how much worse my vision had gotten. I really blame looking at a tiny computer screen for so long and not taking into account my actual physical health as I worked on my computer. It was never something I considered.

Getting new glasses and realizing how much worse my vision had become made me prioritize using a bigger screen to avoid squinting and ruining my vision even more. Plus, it helps prevent wrinkles—trying not to squint always helps.


Journey into the Mac Ecosystem

Damien Schreurs: You mentioned your previous MacBook. What was your first Mac? How did you arrive in the Mac ecosystem?

Emily Guerra: My mom always had a PC, and then she transitioned when my brother went into high school because he needed a laptop. We transitioned to Mac then, but I wasn't given my own computer yet because I was super young at the time—like five years old. There was no reason for me to have one.

My middle school transitioned from textbooks to iPads, so we had no choice but to use iPads as our everyday tool, even replacing notebooks. That transition happened for me around 2009 or 2010, when I was in sixth grade, and I think that was my introduction to the whole Apple ecosystem because I had absolutely no choice.

I started getting a little obsessed with learning how to use the iPad to my advantage, figuring out how to use it as a textbook and notebook. I wanted to see how else I could make it work for me. I think that really kickstarted my interest in productivity and my devotion to Mac.

Damien Schreurs: When did you buy your first Mac?

Emily Guerra: I got my first Mac in high school, although I didn't buy it; my parents got it for me. I definitely needed it for school. At that point, it was a requirement since I had already been using iPads in middle school.

Damien Schreurs: Maybe we can transition to applications. Were you obliged to use the Microsoft Office suite on the Mac for school, or was it completely open?

Emily Guerra: It was mostly Google. I remember using Google Classroom, Google Drive, and all of the Google applications. I remember my teacher having us create our first email accounts with Gmail. We never really tackled Microsoft; I feel like that wasn't included in any of the curriculum I went through.

That being said, now in the professional world, I would say it's very 50/50. I find it interesting that my schools went the Google route, and I wonder why, given how prevalent Microsoft is in the professional arena. 


Essential Apps for Productivity

Damien Schreurs: Apart from Google, which basically requires just a browser for all these web applications, what other applications do you use now for your business?

Emily Guerra: An application that I think is super underrated but has so many awesome productivity hacks and systems within it is the Notes app. It's already on your computer and phone, and they sync with each other, so whatever changes you make on one device automatically show up on the other.

Utilizing hashtags helps organize your notes, and you can share notes and collaborate with others. For instance, my boyfriend and I use the Notes app for our grocery lists because we can both add to it easily. I share notes with my virtual assistant all the time to collaborate quickly and easily. 

I think the Notes app is underutilized. You can pin notes, keep track of things, and the use of hashtags is so important. I always use hashtags in my notes app so I can remember topics and keep them organized. This matters because we can have so many notes that we get overwhelmed and give up, leaving them there forever. Using hashtags is a great way to overcome that.

Damien Schreurs: For the listeners who might not understand what you're talking about, could you explain the difference between putting things in folders, adding hashtags, and maybe combining both?

Emily Guerra: Absolutely. You have folders in the Notes app, and when you create a new note, it automatically goes into one folder. You have to create other folders and purposefully add notes to them to keep things organized.

For example, if I have several different notes about blog topics I want to write about, I can add them all to one folder. But I can also add hashtags to the actual notes. That way, anything related to rituals can have the ritual hashtag. I can just search that hashtag, and all of my ritual blogs will come up along with all related notes. 

It's a great way to go deeper in your organization. Often, that's the missing piece to organizing our notes and assets. We do it at a very basic level but don't go that step deeper. The Notes app makes it easier to go that layer deeper, and it's a no-brainer—why not just add a hashtag in front of it to keep it organized on a granular level?

Damien Schreurs: What’s nice about the hashtag feature that Emily is using is that you can use it as criteria for smart folders in Apple Notes. A smart folder is like a folder, but you define different criteria, including tags. Whenever Emily adds a new hashtag to a note, if that hashtag is used for the filter, that note will automatically appear in that smart folder.

Emily Guerra: Exactly.

Damien Schreurs: What other applications do you use a lot?

Emily Guerra: I love the Chrome application for many reasons, but one of the newer features that isn't talked about enough is tab groups for organizing your tabs. One of the biggest things my coaching clients come to me with is that they have a bajillion tabs open and feel overwhelmed because each tab has a purpose. They don't want to close it for fear of losing it, but they can't work on it because there are too many, and it's so distracting.

Opening different screens and having tab groups to organize your tasks and keep everything together is honestly life-changing if you tend to have a bajillion tabs open. Using Chrome has so many amazing features, but I think that one can jumpstart your productivity on another level by reducing mental overload and overwhelm, which often prevents us from being productive. If we can reduce that reason, we’ll naturally be more productive. I love the tab groups; I know that's more of a feature than an app, but I love it that much that I needed to bring it up.


The Magic of Chrome Profiles

Damien Schreurs: Something I've been using recently, and I'm amazed it has taken me so long, is Chrome profiles. I have so many Google accounts that I didn't realize the benefit of creating different profiles for each account. This means I can open a Chrome window, choose a profile, and have only the extensions, bookmarks, and passwords for that profile. It's super quick, and on the Mac, if Chrome is open and you right-click on the icon in the dock, you can quickly open a new window for a given profile.

Emily Guerra: Oh, I love that feature! I have four different Gmail accounts, and I tried some apps where you add all your emails into one app, but those apps were slow. They didn’t work as well as just opening my Gmail accounts.

Using Chrome profiles is so effective, and you can have fun with it too. Each of my profiles has a different color, photo, and theme. I enjoy having fun with it, and another hack is that sometimes my clients struggle with a couple of things on their own. If they are transparent with me and willing, they allow me to log into their Chrome profile. This way, I can see what their Chrome looks like, all the extensions they have, and help them optimize it. It’s a great way to collaborate, as long as there’s trust in the relationship.

Damien Schreurs: For the color, you can change the theme based on the profile. Just to clarify, it's possible to log into multiple Google accounts within the same profile. Google has a solution for that. If you do that, in the top right corner of your Google account, you will see the currently active account. Clicking on that will show you the other Google accounts that are signed in. I always felt it was a bit clunky, and I didn't want to have multiple Google accounts signed in at the same place. The profile feature really solved that.

Emily Guerra: I agree with you.

Damien Schreurs: For those who prefer Safari, the good news is that Apple has finally brought the profile feature to Safari. Since last year, I have my EasyTECH profile, a Macpreneur profile, and a personal profile. The same feature is available for Safari as well.

Emily Guerra: Good to know. I actually didn't know that.

Damien Schreurs: What other applications do you enjoy using?


Apple Podcasts and Transcription Features

Emily Guerra: This might sound kind of silly, but I absolutely love the Apple Podcasts app. I listen to it weekly, if not daily. What I really like is that once you search for a show, it saves all the shows you searched before, which many apps don’t do well. It's easy to organize, and since I listen to it so often and enjoy podcasting, it’s one of my fun passions. 

Utilizing it seamlessly between my phone and laptop is great. When I'm out walking and listening to a podcast, I can easily transition to finishing my work without hurdles.

Damien Schreurs: What do you think about the new transcription features?

Emily Guerra: I've used it a lot because there have been instances where I don't have time to finish listening to a podcast. I go in and read the rest quickly to know what I missed. I can save the podcast to my downloads or saves, and then read the transcripts to refresh my memory on what I wanted to save. I wish they had added it earlier; it was much needed.

Damien Schreurs: I have the impression we’ve already had a bunch of "aha" moments with the apps we've talked about, but let’s do one more. What tip or trick have you discovered on your Mac that you wish you knew before?


Keyboard Shortcuts and Desktop Organization

Emily Guerra: Honestly, I feel like I discover a new keyboard shortcut all the time. There are so many that I don't know, and I'm constantly learning. We have the standard shortcuts like copy and paste, but switching from one tab to another or one screen to another can be done without using your mouse. 

Oh my god, that blew my mind! I only learned that a couple of weeks ago. I realized I no longer have to lift my hand, which sounds kind of lazy, but when you're in the flow of things, distracting yourself with movement can take you out of that flow. 

So, it’s a productivity hack in many ways. I think keyboard shortcuts are something I'm always learning. Another fun one I recently learned is that you can color code your desktop folders. How fun! I didn't know that. I made some folders green, some pink, and some blue using all my favorite colors. 

Now, when I look at my sometimes cluttered desktop, I don’t feel as bogged down because at least it's pretty. I organized it in a way that works for me, and I process it easily. Color coding is something I’ve been doing since I was a kid. When I realized I could do that, I thought, “Oh my God, this will help me so much!” It allows me to keep track of things at a glance much faster than when everything was the same color and font.

So those two things are simple but significant. Sometimes I can't believe I didn't know that, but we’ll take what we can get and just maximize it.

Damien Schreurs: It’s a great tip. For the listeners, whenever you’re in an application, try Command 1, Command 2, Command 3, and Command 4. You’ll be surprised. Sometimes it’s as simple as that.

Emily Guerra: Totally! I think I accidentally realized it too when I was trying to take a screenshot using Command Shift 4, but then I accidentally did Command 4 and switched tabs. I was like, “Oh, what did I just do?” 


Emily's Wishlist for Mac Improvements

Damien Schreurs: If you were in charge of the Mac division at Apple, what would be your first priority?

Emily Guerra: Coming from a productivity background, one of my favorite things that Mac does is when your computer gets updated, you open Chrome, and it shows you what's new. Many people skip over that, but I love finding out what's new and what I can do. However, after I go through it, I lose it and have to search again to find it.

Making that information more accessible year-round, even when new updates come, would be great. Whether it's an app on the computer or something on the desktop in Spotlight, it should be easy to find. It shouldn't go away because that’s such an underutilized tool that many people regret not diving deeper into. They always wish they had looked at it.

Just making that more accessible and reminding users about it would be beneficial. A quick reminder on how to use it would take only 30 seconds.

Damien Schreurs: I agree with you. Apple has made some progress with the Tips app on the iPhone and now on the Mac.

Emily Guerra: Exactly.

Damien Schreurs: As you said, it’s underutilized. It should be the default whenever they have a new keynote or application, creating small tips that continuously grow with what has been added. 

Emily Guerra: Exactly. Help your users! Don’t just help them once; come back and continuously assist them. We need that constant reminder. We won't remember just by looking through it once.

Damien Schreurs: The solution I came up with is using the keyboard shortcut Shift Command 4 to take a screenshot. If you do Shift Command 4 and then press the Spacebar, it switches to the small camera icon, allowing you to position the mouse over a window to automatically screenshot it. It’s a great way to capture new features quickly, but I end up with a "graveyard" of screenshots in my operations tools subfolders.

Emily Guerra: That’s so smart! I might steal that idea. Hopefully, I won’t create a graveyard, but I’d love to have a nice selection that serves as a reference point.

Damien Schreurs: What’s missing is text recognition and automatic filing. That would be nice, but I haven’t found a way to do that yet.

Emily Guerra: I wish we could automate all the manual, tedious tasks. That would be magic.

Damien Schreurs: Thank you for all of that, Emily.


Conclusion and Where to Find Emily

Damien Schreurs: Where can people find you online?

Emily Guerra: People can find me at theproductivityflow.com.

Damien Schreurs: Very good. I will put a link to Emily's website and social media profiles in the show notes, as well as links to all the tools we've mentioned in today’s episode. Thank you, Emily, for being on the show today.

Emily Guerra: Thank you so much for having me! I had so much fun chatting.

Damien Schreurs: If, like Emily, you would like to share how you are using your Mac to run your solopreneur business, it’s simple. Just visit macpreneur.com/apply.

If you’re already on Podmatch, click the button, and you’ll land on the show profile. If you’re not on Podmatch, it’s okay. There’s an application form you can fill out, and I’ll get back to you within a few days. Once again, it’s macpreneur.com/apply.

If you found this episode helpful, please share it with a fellow solopreneur and tag Emily and me on Instagram. Emily is @TheProductivityFlow, and my handle is @MacpreneurFM.

Until next time, I'm Damien Schreurs, wishing you a great day!

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