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Productivity
It’s definitely no secret that Alfred is one of AppStorm’s all-time favorite apps. Several of us use it daily and thoroughly enjoy the extended capabilities it brings to OS X.
One of these awesome features is the ability to set up custom searches. These allow you to quickly launch a search on almost any website straight from Alfred. Today I’ll show you some of the custom searches that I’ve personally set up and use daily.
This post is part of a series that revisits some of our readers’ favorite articles from the past that still contain awesome and relevant information that you might find useful. This post was originally published on August 6th, 2011.
Automation is one of my favorite topics. There’s something about sitting back and watching my Mac perform tasks for me that makes me smile every time.
Today we’re going to take a look at Task Till Dawn, a simple and free little automation tool that will allow you to schedule files and applications to launch automatically.
When it comes to apps in the getting things done (GTD) realm, OmniFocus stands head and shoulders above the rest. It’s powerful, it’s flexible and it can sync with the iPad and iPhone versions as well. But as great as it is — and we’ve already told you that it’s pretty cool — it can still use a few tweaks here and there to make it a bit more workable.
So with that it mind, let’s take a few moments to share a few tips and tricks for OmniFocus. You may not need all of them, but if just one tip makes you more productive, then it’s worth it, right?
Time is valuable. This is not just true for freelancers, but for everyone who has to be accountable for the time spent on a task. When you are in a creative mood, eager to start on a project, or when you are drowning in work, hastening to get everything done in time, the last thing you want to be doing is working through a complicated time tracking process.
With Tictoc, a new app to be found in the Mac App Store, you can set up time tracking in a matter of seconds and then get to what you do best.
Read on to find out how Tictoc can integrate into your workflow…
One of the key factors to becoming more productive while working with your Mac is to master keyboard shortcuts. Mac OS X includes a set of standard keyboard shortcuts that allow you to switch applications, close windows, quit programs, open new documents or browser windows/tabs and copy and paste between files.
Many Mac programs ship with application specific keyboard shortcuts as well, all in the name of streamlining your workflow and allowing your hands to remain on the keyboard. You can shave precious seconds off mundane, repetitive tasks, allowing you to focus more of your time and energy on the task at hand – rather than locating that rogue window, buried beneath 10 other applications.
Keyboard Maestro is an application that takes the idea of keyboard shortcuts and injects it with steroids. The result of which is a super-charged automation program, allowing you to execute several different actions with a single command. Read on to find out more, and see an example of just how powerful this app can be!
ClipMenu is an incredibly neat little app that we’ve mentioned in several recent articles here on AppStorm. However, we’ve never given it a proper review and wanted to take the time to show you just how cool it is.
If you’ve downloaded ClipMenu before and only given it a brief try, there is a lot of functionality that you might have missed. Below we’ll walk you through the full feature set so you can be sure to take full advantage of all that the application does.
If you’re a developer, you’ve probably come across a few snippet managers before. If you haven’t prepare to have your life become a whole lot easier.
For those that are familiar with the idea of saving small sections of code, you’ll definitely want to check out Snippets, an amazing snippet manager that will be an instant must-have for anyone looking to improve or build a personal code database. Below we’ll go over what Snippets is and how to use it to improve your workflow. Then we’ll discuss how it performed during our review process and whether or not you’ll be able to find a decent free alternative. Let’s get started!
If you are anything like me, you have scraps of paper lying around with dates, times, and names all over the place. Hopefully, you aren’t relying mainly on your head to keep yourself on-time and in the right location. Maybe you are stuck in the world of iCal misery, with syncing problems and duplicating events.
This is where BusyCal from BusyMac proves to be something of a lifesaver. If you are familiar with iCal, the transition to BusyCal shouldn’t be too difficult. Plus, you will enjoy some added bonuses such as powerful synchronization tools and live data built into the Month view.
Automator is an incredibly handy automation assistant for OS X. Instead of writing lines of code as in AppleScript, Automator allows you to string together preset actions through an easy to use drag-and-drop interface. The result is no-brainer automation on the fly.
This tutorial will cover a number of basic Automator features including how to work with application-specific actions, creating variables, embedding AppleScripts, and recording custom actions. Let’s get going!
