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A funny thing happened after I stopped using Clicks, the keyboard case that effectively turns an iPhone into an oversized Blackberry: The phone by itself suddenly seemed punier. I mean that in terms of both size and mightiness. Because while Clicks’ four rows of physical keys stretch an iPhone to comical length, they also add a bunch of powerful shortcuts for getting things done. My typing hasn’t gotten any faster with Clicks, but things like copying, pasting, and switching between apps has become more efficient. The first Clicks keyboard cases launched a year ago, with tech YouTuber Michael Fisher and Crackberry blog founder Kevin Michaluk co-founding the company to scratch a highly specific itch. The iPhone 16 versions, which just launched in January, have a more sculpted key design that’s easier to type on, while also adding MagSafe accessory support and USB-C data transfer. They are no less niche, though. As before, the price is $139 for regular-sized iPhones and $159 for the Pro Max and Plus modelsnot the kind of purchase one makes without being super committed to the concept. But the most I used Clicks, the more I wished for a version that included everything but the keyboard. Not faster, but more satisfying I’ve been using Clicks on an iPhone 16 Pro Max for the past few weeks now. While there’s a learning curveespecially with using modifier keys for punctuationI’ve become pretty adept at thumb typing on Clicks’ physical keys. Still, every time I perform a typing test, the results are about the same with or without Clicks. The reality is that on-screen keyboards have become pretty efficient on their own. Between gesture typing and auto-correct, a practiced touchscreen typist can rattle off emails or text messages without having to scrutinize each letter, so there’s little time gained from having physical keys beneath the thumbs. And while Clicks does free up screen space that an on-screen keyboard would normally occupy, the evolution of smartphone design plays against Clicks here as well: Our phones have gotten taller in large part to accommodate the on-screen keyboard, with apps becoming increasingly adept at keeping important details within view. Rarely did I feel like Clicks was freeing up essential space. At best, the typing upside with Clicks is vibes-based. While I never owned a BlackBerry and don’t feel the nostalgia of using a modern-day homage, the tactile keys still feel substantial in a ways that software keys don’t. On some level, writing with Clicks feels a little more like an accomplishment, even if it’s not any faster. Keyboard command center The Clicks keyboard is about more than just typing, though. The real utility is in its ability to execute commands. On the most basic level, Clicks supports the same keyboard shortcuts you’d get by connecting your iPhone or iPad to a Bluetooth keyboard. Instead of shaking your phone or using the unreliable three-finger swipe gesture to undo, you can just click Cmd+Z. Instead of tapping the exact point of text insertion and waiting for the tiny “paste” button to pop up, you can just click Cmd+V. You can even use app-specific shortcuts, such as Cmd+T and Cmd+W to open and close new browser tabs in Safari. Navigational shortcuts are even better. Hitting Cmd+Space brings up Spotlight, where you can access apps, contacts, and Shortcuts just by typing a letter two and hitting Enter. Unlike the touchscreen version, which requires a return to the home screen, the keyboard shortcut works from anywhere, even inside other apps. Combined with some other navigational shortcutsCmd+H for Home, Globe+N for notifications, Globe+C for Command CenterClicks lets you quickly get around iOS without taking fingers off the keyboard. There’s also a hidden feature that goes a step further, letting you set up custom keyboard commands to run automations from the iOS Shortcuts app. It requires some rooting around in Accessibility settings, but in the end you can have keyboard shortcuts for things like launching a favorite app, taking a quick note, or opening your preferred AI assistant. It’s kind of like having a bunch of iPhone 16 Action Buttons lined up on the bottom of your phone.\ Unforeseen consequences Too bad these extra capabilities come with some significant trade-offs. Obviously, there’s the size of the thing. The iPhone 16 Pro Max with Clicks just barely fits in my pants pockets and isn’t comfortable to sit with, so I’ve been more prone to just plopping it onto the nearest table. Other annoyances are just inherent to using a physical keyboard instead of the on-screen one: If you use a third-party password manager like Bitwarden, there’s no persistent bar above the keyboard for accessing passwords or two-factor authentication codes. You can auto-fill logins through an on-screen pop-up, but this doesn’t let you select alternative logins and sometimes failed to work properly. One-handed typing takes more effort, especially with the phone being more top-heavy. While Clicks has a button to bring up the on-screen keyboard, it’s still more cumbersome to type on with a full row of physical keys under your palm. Cicks’ backlit keys don’t light up until you press them, so a lot of times I had to guess at the first keystroke while trying to type in the dark. (I wish the keys lit up whenever you tapped on a text entry field, but I’m not sure if iOS allows for that.) Clicks’ unusual shape can lead to some awkward charging and docking scenarios as well. Clicks doesn’t fit at all in my car’s wireless charging tray, and I have to flip the phone upside down to use the upright wireless charger on my nightstand. And while Clicks for iPhone 16 has MagSafe support, it’s too tall and heavy to fit on the MagSafe vent mount in my wife’s car. The case for a keyboard-less Clicks In the end, Clicks’ slightly more satisfying typing experience doesn’t seem worth all those trade-offs to me. But when I went back to using my iPhone by itself, I missed having all of Clicks’ extra shortcuts under my thumbs. What I really want from Clicks, then, is everything but the thing for which it’s best-known. Instead of a full keyboard, give me a version with just a single row of shortcut keys, allowing me to efficiently manipulate text, navigate iOS and trigger my most-used Shortcuts. Take the iPhone’s Action Button, in other words, and multiply it by eight or 10 at the very bottom of the phone. Dispensing with physical keys for typing wouldn’t slow me down at all, but it would sidestep Clicks’ biggest compromises while preserving its greatest strengths. Would a company founded by former Blackberry addicts countenance such a thing? I don’t know, but I’d probably buy one.
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Last week, in an article for Fast Company, author and tech executive Rebekah Bastian wrote about why she doesnt read productivity books. The vast majority of these books are written by men who dont shoulder the majority of parenting duties, she says. Like so many working women, I carry a substantial portion of the second shift at home: cooking, homework help, bedtime routines, and general emotional support, she writes. The big chunk of uninterrupted time that these authors count onwhether its a 5 a.m. stretch of ‘sacred hours’ or a mini-sabbatical to reboot creativityjust doesnt exist in my life. If I tried to follow their advice, Id be setting myself up for failure or burnout. Bastian discusses some of the more sustainable habits that she incorporates into her life, including multitasking when appropriate. While fixating on maximizing productivity can lead to burnout, there are reasonable ways, such as this, to try to get more done in less time: Embrace No Sometimes the best way to make space for what you want or need to do is to decline opportunities that dont advance your goals. Of course this doesnt work for every situationsometimes we all have to take on projects that we dont want to do. But its still worth practicing pausing before agreeing to new assignments, writes Mikaela Kiner, founder and CEO of uniquelyHR. Its sometimes helpful to ask, If I dont do this, will it matter in three weeks, three months, three years from now? says Kiner. This way, youll get a more accurate picture of whether your lack of participation is genuinely critical. Prioritize creativity and rest As we race to our jobs, churn through never-ending to-do lists, and run from meeting to meeting, eyes glazed over from the frenzied nature of our daily lives, many of us believe that we need to work this way in order to deserve rest, writes Katina Bajaj, cofounder and chief well-being officer of Daydreamers. But downtime is critical to happiness and well-being, she says. The antidote to our productive nature is simple, but often overlooked. The key is to wake up a part of ourselves that weve numbed in order to exist on the hamster wheel: our naturally creative minds. Pursuing creative projects and prioritizing rest help make the time you spend working more productive, says Bastian. Creative hobbieslike aerial arts or art projectsare also productive, because they nourish my mental health. And rest is productive, because it replenishes the energy I need to show up fully in work and life.
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Adam Galinsky is a social psychologist and professor of leadership and tthics at Columbia Business School. He conducts behavioral science research, having published more than 200 scientific articles. He has been a damage expert in numerous defamation cases and is also a producer on two documentaries shortlisted for Best Documentary at the Academy Awards. Whats the big idea? Every leader leaves their mark on the hearts and minds of a workforce. This can go one of two ways: Leaders can leave behind a legacy of inspiration, or infuriation. Based on thousands of perspectives collected from around the globe, Adam created a systemic formula for choosing and earning the lasting impact you want to have on others. Below, Adam shares five key insights from his new book, Inspire: The Universal Path for Leading Yourself and Others. 1. Inspiring leadership is made up of three universal factors Inspiring and infuriating leaders exist on an enduring continuum that is made up of three universal factors. The exact same characteristics emerge in every culture and country across the globe. The three universal factors are: Being a Visionary, which represents how we see the world. Being an Exemplar of desired behavior, which represents how we are in the world. Being a Mentor, which represents how we interact with others in the world. We can inspire others through our words, actions, and interactions. There are three universal factors because each one fulfills a fundamental human need: Being Visionary fulfills the need for meaning and purpose. Being an Exemplar fulfills the need for protection and passion. Being a Mentor fulfills the need for belonging and status. These universal dimensions are demonstrated by a remarkable pilot, Tammie Jo Shults. She was the captain of Southwest Airlines 1380, traveling from New York to Dallas when an engine exploded and tore a hole in the side of her plane. During the crisis, Tammie Jo was visionary, helping her passengers understand what was happening. As the plane was descending, she gave her passengers a reassuring WHY: We are NOT going down, we are going to Philadelphia. Those simple words transformed the cabin from pure panic to possibility. After Tammie Jo amazingly landed her plane with no additional injuries, an EMT evaluated her, asking, How do you get through security? When Shults looked confused, he replied, How did your nerves of steel not set off the metal detector? Youre completely calm. Throughout the crisis, she was an exemplar, a calm and courageous protector. After the plane landed, Tammie Jo Shults went row by row, making sure her passengers were okay. She understood her role as mentor, to not only protect but also to comfort her passengers. 2. Both inspiring and infuriating leaders are a big deal Leaders either inspire or infuriate because their behavior greatly impacts others. I call this the Leadership Amplification Effect. When we are in a position of leadership, all our words and expressionspositive and negativeget amplified. Constructive comments feel like humiliating criticism when they come from a leader. The phrase I need to talk to you sends shivers down our spine when it comes from our boss. And when leaders dont respond to our queries, their silence can feel deafening. But its not all bad news. When a leader compliments or shares credit with others, it becomes glorious praise. The Leader Amplification Effect occurs because when we are in a position of leadership, all eyes are on us. We are onstage. That means all our utterances, gestures, and interactions are intensely attended to and scrutinized. As my research shows, attention amplifies the impact of any stimulus and intensifies our reactions to it. We will have an impact, whether we like it or not. The Leader Amplification Effect tells us that leaders rarely produce neutral reactions. That means we will have an impact, whether we like it or not. However, we have control over the type of impact. We always have a choice of whether we inspire or infuriate. We have control over the words we use and the visions we set. We can be better exemplars by regulating our emotions and tapping into our passion. And we have the capacity to be a motivating mentor by empowering and elevating others. 3. Inspiring leaders are made, not born We are not born as inspiring or infuriating individuals. Rather, our current behavior inspires or infuriates us. Because there is a universal and systematic set of inspiring attributes, those skills can be taught, nurtured, and developed. Lets consider how we can become more visionary. We must present the right message in the right way at the right time. Inspiring leaders offer a big-picture, optimistic vision of the future, while infuriating leaders are small-minded pessimists. But how you present the vision matters, too. Inspiring leaders simplify their big ideas to their essence and then bring them to life with vivid language. For example, make our customers satisfied is not as motivating as make our customers smile because we can viscerally see and feel that smile. My research with Vita Akstinait shows that politicians who use more visual language in their nomination speeches are more likely to be elected. Equally important is when you present your vision. You want to present it again and again and again because repetition increases clarity and understanding. When Blaine Horton and I analyzed TED Talk viewership and investments in entrepreneurial pitches, we found that repeating a core idea was the key to success. So, how can we become more visionary? We can do so by attending to our core values. In one of my recent studies, unemployed individuals who contemplated their values for 15 minutes were twice as likely to find a job over the next two months as those who didnt. Reflecting on our core values helps us see the big picture and be more hopeful. To be more visionary, we can also practice simplifying and visualizing our messages. Similarly, we can guide ourselves to be more calm and courageous protectors through daily practices like meditation and visualization. And we can be better mentors by training ourselves to let go of the reins and stop micromanaging others. 4. Inspire people by thinking like an architect Just as an architect designs a building to produce specific reactions within people and facilitate certain interactions, we can design policies and protocols to encourage desirable responses and behaviors. As leaders, we are affecting people even whn were not present. The policies and processes we set up influence people daily, encouraging some actions while discouraging others. Lets consider designing a weekly meeting. The goal of many meetings is to learn from each other so we can make wiser decisions and produce more innovative ideas. We could take a laissez-faire approach, believing that a lack of constraints will unleash creative insights. But that design choice often invites chaos, conflict, and inefficiencies, where the loudest people reign supreme. Making wise decisions requires staying on track and encouraging participation. Thinking like an architect helps us be more visionary by recognizing the need to craft a clear and well-thought-out agenda. It helps us solve an offshoot of the Leader Amplification Effect: the Leader Silencing Effect, where authority silences other voices. One design choice we can make is when to speak. When we speak first as a leader, it sets a powerful anchor that can weigh the whole discussion down and make it harder for people to share their perspectives, especially if it doesnt align with what we just said. In contrast, when a leader speaks last, others feel free to share their thoughts. Similarly, what we wear can reinforce or reduce the Leader Silencing Effect. During mission debriefs in the U.S. Army, one thing is left outside the room: uniforms. The military needs every perspective to ensure a full understanding of the completed mission, so they reduce rank differences by having these discussions in civilian clothing. When we speak first as a leader, it sets a powerful anchor that can weigh the whole discussion down. We can take the idea of empowerment one step further by designing a rotational system of responsibility for meetings. Sherry Wu of UCLA has found that letting workers run a 20-minute weekly meeting not only increases their satisfaction but also boosts their productivity. Thats how I run my doctoral seminars: Each week, a different student co-leads the class discussion with me. Thinking like an architect can also help us resolve conflict. By establishing voting rules in advance, my colleagues and I reduced the discord that had permeated our hiring meetings. Similarly, I turned my warring sons into more loving siblings simply by changing their drop-off order at schooldropping my more impatient son off first made all the difference. 5. Reflecting makes you more inspiring Reflecting on times when we felt powerful and in control turns us into inspiring exemplars: it makes us more authentically confident, calm, and courageous. And when we want to improve at elevating and empathizing with others, we can reflect on their perspectives. Two broad but powerful reflections can help us stay on the inspiring end of the continuum. Once a month, reflect on when you were inspiring and also when you may have been infuriating. When did you see, or fail to see, the big picture? When were you anxious and cowardly rather than calm and courageous? When did you empower, elevate, and empathize with othersor fail to do so? Second, engage in the same reflection Ive shared with thousands of people worldwide. Consider an inspiring leader from your own life and how you can emulate that person to foster a similar sense of hope and possibility. Also, reflect on a frustrating leader and how to avoid making others blood boil. Finally, turn those reflections into practice. Here is one daily practice guaranteed to inspire those around you: Every morning, reach out to at least one person and praise a task that person did well or thank them for making your life easier. A CEO told me it takes him only minutes over his daily coffee to brighten someones day. But heres the amazing partit brightens his day too. His morning missives receive effusive replies that put a spring in his step. His daily gestures have created a virtuous cycle of inspiration. This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.
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