Currently on Newsstands: The Productivity Issue

Our favorite apps, gear, and tips for helping optimize your life.

Whether you’re a photographer, a marketing director, or a freelancer who works from the comfort of your own home, this issue is here to offer a variety of tips (as well as apps and gear) to help you be more productive.
 
Technology Meets Conservation
Can iPhones Help Save Our Wildlife?  
 

Add Events to Your Calendar from the Mail App
There’s a feature in Settings that allows for Events Found in Mail to automatically be added to your Calendar app. Go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars and toggle Events Found in Mail on, if it’s not already. Now when you receive an email with an event in it, a notification will appear at the top of the email. Tap Add to create the event in your Calendar app. Tap Add again to save the event.
 
Search All Your Notes Folders at Once
Search in the Notes app is limited, since you can only search within one folder at a time. Fortunately, you can use Spotlight to search all your notes at once.  Go to Settings > General > Spotlight Search and enable Notes. The next time you want to search Notes, swipe down from the center of your Home screen to open Spotlight and then type your search term. The note should appear in the search results. Tap the note to open it.
 
Make Reminders Extra Helpful
Setting reminders based on time or location makes them even more useful. After you enter a reminder, tap the info icon to set specifics. To set a day and time for your reminder, turn on "Remind me on a day" then tap on Alarm. To set a location-based reminder, turn on "Remind me at a location" and then either tap on your current location or type in a location. Then choose to be reminded when you arrive at or you leave that location.

 

Day One 2 Diary ($4.99)

This updated version of Day One offers all the familiar features of its predecessor—namely the ability to add tags, include weather and location information, and capture music track information—but the revamped Day One 2 differs in that it allows you to upload up to 10 photos per entry as opposed to 1 (something that drove many crazy in the classic Day One). You can also keep up to 10 color-coded journals at once. For example, you can use one for standard journaling and another for creative writing and story ideas.
 
Boomerang from Instagram (Free)
Share fun tidbits from your day with Boomerang, an intuitive app that essentially transforms a one-second video (which is then looped back and replayed for a total of four seconds) into a GIF that you can then upload and edit within Instagram. Use the front-facing camera to capture an animated selfie or, better yet, document a busy street scene or someone doing cartwheels. Within seconds, Boomerang captures a lightning round of 10 shots that form a mini video.
 
PackPoint (Free)
We’ve all made a mistake or two when packing for a trip, no matter the length of time or distance. Unfortunately, sometimes those forgotten items can make or break a vacation. That’s where PackPoint comes in. Simply input a destination, a length of time, and whether the trip is business or pleasure. The app will create a list of common items, as well as necessities to pack based on your input.