Posts Tagged ‘productivity’

Launch Center Pro 1.1 will blow your iOS mind

If you feel like you’re tapping too often in iOS to get some things done, Launch Center Pro can make some serious improvements to your iOS life. It’s an automation utility, a little bit like Alfred or LaunchBar, but tuned for the unique challenges of working in iOS. It also happens to support a ton of third-party apps and be fantastic.

LCP basicFor some basic examples, I have a bunch of actions that take the text or URL I copied to my clipboard (say, from a browser, article, or Mail) and:

  • open it in a new tab or search box in iCab, my favorite browser
  • search 1Password for clipboard text or open the URL in the built-in browser
  • create a new App.net post or tweet with my clipboard auto-inserted
  • create a new OmniFocus task with the URL inserted in the notes field for posterity

If you really want to go power user, Federico Viticci has plenty in his Launch Center Pro 1.1 review that include chaining actions together from multiple apps.

Launch Center Pro 1.1 makes things even better by bringing a number of core actions under its roof, adding a “add the last photo taken” action, and significantly opening up clipboard and TextExpander abilities. Now you can create actions that tweet the last photo you shot, or create a mail message right in Launch Center Pro that prompts you for a subject, attaches your last photo, and inserts a custom email signature from TextExpander. I use Day One for my journaling, but another popular use is to journal by creating new Dropbox text entries with the day’s date automatically inserted.

Yeah, mind blowing. Go get Launch Center Pro, it’s even on sale right now.

flattr this!

Fraser Speirs – Beyond Consumption vs Creation

As I’ve written before, the question what you want to do with your computer has never had more impact on exactly the device you should buy. Therefore, it’s still relevant and worthwhile to ask the question of the iPad: what are you capable of, and what are you best at? Further, as the iOS ecosystem has developed, another question: if I add these accessories to you, what can you do now?

Still, I feel that the consumption/creation split is far too simplistic a curve to grade these devices on. It recognises almost nothing about the user’s task beyond whether it’s an input task or an output task. There’s far more subtlety that we can reach for.

flattr this!

An AppleScript to switch from Things to OmniFocus, by Hendrik Volkmer

If you, too, have had enough of Cultured Code’s glacial development pace on Things, or any number of other problems, Hendrik Volkmer has an AppleScript with your name on it.

There are some catches to know about before you start, including one Volkmer missed, so be sure to read his post before downloading. It sounds like Volkmer didn’t use Areas of Responsibility, which don’t really translate to anything in OmniFocus, so all Areas tasks get added as project-less. If you have Areas, do yourself a favor and ⌘-⇧-N some new projects in Things with the same name as your Areas, ⌘-A your tasks in each Area, and drag them to their new projects. Then use Volkmer’s script (download it, double-click to open in AppleScript Editor, and click the big green Run button) and your Areas will fulfill their OmniFocus project destiny nicely. Update: I noticed something else: the script didn’t bring over any tasks from Things’ inbox. I suggest you process your inbox tasks before running the script or just manually recreate them afterwards.

I still feel like OmniFocus is too much for my needs, but Things is also too little. I just can’t handle how slowly Cultured Code moves and, more importantly, it doesn’t seem to want to participate in the community and add features the users want.

I just ran Volkmer’s AppleScript on Things 2.1.1 and OmniFocus 1.10.4 and closed Things for what is probably the last time.

flattr this!

Alfred 1.0 is out, and it’s great. It’s become my favorite replacement for Quicksilver and a powerful, flexible alternative to LaunchBar and Butler. While the main app is free, its Powerpack costs about $24 (on sale right now for just … Read more →

“Very often when we talk about the skill of ‘productivity’ what we are really talking about is ‘self-control.’” — The Future of Self-Improvement, Part I: Grit Is More Important Than Talent :: The 99 Percent via my wife

Diacarta looks like a refreshing, unique approach to scheduling your day with an iPhone. Instead of plodding through menus and time spinners, you drag icons that represent typical events around a clock and can add as much tertiary information (name, … Read more →