In the series “Homescreen!” we regularly present the home screens of people from the social media, marketing, media and tech industries – including app recommendations and tips for everything from to-do lists to a quick game to play in between. Today: Fabian Rang, co-founder and CTO of the AI start-up Paretos.
Fabian Rang: I use my smartphone primarily to be reachable and to make phone calls, to write down ideas and not to lose important thoughts. Otherwise, my motto is: focus, focus, focus. That's why I try to minimize distractions as much as possible and have configured my phone so that it doesn't disturb me for long periods of the day.
A phone so that I can be reached by my wife and my co-founder Thorsten. When it comes to communication, I only use WhatsApp (for Android) and Signal (for Android), but I deliberately don't have them on the homepage to minimize distractions.
I find it important to have my communication apps under control so that I'm not constantly interrupted and can focus better on my work.
Fabian Rang: Todoist, Notion, Payhawk for efficiency and organization
Every new task that pops into my head or comes out of a meeting, I either do right away according to the Eisenhower principle – or write it down immediately so I don’t forget anything.
I prefer to use Todoist (for Android) because the app is super intuitive, works across platforms, and has the option to set priorities with due dates. Todoist helps me to structure my tasks clearly and focus on what's important.
I use Notion (for Android) to capture thoughts and ideas – it's basically my digital notebook that helps me organize everything and find it easily. I love how flexible Notion is and how good the tool has become over time. I use it almost obsessively now.
And for spending and getting a quick overview of my finances, there is no better app than Payhawk (for Android) because it helps me keep track of my finances without having to remember to collect receipts or sort them later.
The home screen of Fabian Rang, co-founder and CTO of the AI start-up Paretos.
Mails mit KI: Superhuman Email Program
A really cool app that has revolutionized the way I deal with emails is Superhuman (for Android). Through intelligent functions and the use of AI, Superhuman minimizes the time I spend checking and responding to emails. Superhuman is not only fast, but also incredibly efficient and makes it easy for me to process and prioritize emails in a flash.
This has made me faster and more efficient and gives me more time for the really important tasks. I use this Apple feature to control my app usage. From 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., for example, all apps are blocked by default so that I can work in a focused and productive manner.
Screentime helps me be conscious of my time and ensure I'm focusing on the most important tasks. It's amazing how much you can get done when you reduce distractions and set clear boundaries.
Otherwise, I only have a few work apps on my phone that I use regularly, like the DB Navigator (for Android) and the weather app.
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Source: https://www.basicthinking.de/blog/2024/06/17/homescreen-das-smartphone-von-paretos-cto-fabian-rang/
