Reconciling Beautiful iOS Tools with Automation

Things 3 is beautiful but I also found it lacking.

Currently, I’m using Todoist, because of the 3, it’s the one with the best automation support outside of Shortcuts.

Inside of Shortcuts, however, Omnifocus reigns supreme. Things 3 has gotten a lot better. Todoist is just OK.

This is the sort of stuff that, as an automator, I’m constantly trying to reconcile.

Evernote was kind of a dumpster fire at the end there…but it had the best Zapier integrations.

Now I’m using some combination of Notion and Bear Notes. And while I need to play with Notion’s new automations, its Shortcuts integration is basically nonexistent.

Bear Notes has some really fantastic Shortcuts integration, and is a beautiful app to use for quick capture. But there’s zero web-based automation.

I think about this because as a podcaster — nay, a content creator — I’m trying to simplify my workflows by leveraging the best apps.

And I feel like a house divided right now.

I’m using Notion for some things, Airtable for some things, and Bear as a general notes app.

One of the best things about Todoist is the Make.com integration. When a new guest onboards, I have post-production tasks automatically created and put in the How I Built It project.

As an aside, if you know a way to get tasks from Notion literally anywhere else, let me know.

I would love to have that in Omnifocus because its views and Shortcuts support are superior.

But as it stands, I need to reconcile the fact that the most beautiful iOS apps are likely focused on that ecosystem. Truly great web automations alongside excellent Shortcuts support doesn’t seem to exist.

…unless you can run a Pushcuts server on a space iOS device, that is.