Massive list of the best macOS and iOS automation tools.

“I’m lazy.”

That’s how I responded to someone who interviewed me and asked “What’s one quality that makes you good for this job?”

After he picked up his jaw from the desk, I went on to explain — “I hate doing anything multiple times and always look for ways to automate repetitive tasks.”

This is as true today as it was then. Only now, there are way more tools to help me automate the mundane parts of my life.

It was that desire to automate everything that I discovered the great Automators podcast. Rosemary Orchard and David Sparks go deep into the apps and processes to automate your life via Apple products.

There are so many great tools in this podcast there is no way you can listen without spending money.

I began to pull together a list of all the great apps that they discuss on their podcast. I’ve shared it below.

JoeCotellese / Awesome Automators · GitLab

Hidden Omnifocus Settings

I’m a long time Omnifocus user but only recently discovered that there are hidden settings you can tweak to further customize how Omnifocus works.

I could not find a definitive list that wasn’t out dated. I did a little spelunking through the Omnifocus application bundle and found them all.

Stop doing, start delegating

“Yeah, everyone thinks they’re a designer.”

Years ago, my company hired a branding agency. During one of our sessions I made a suggestion about a creative direction the firm could take.

I was quickly shut down by the owner of the firm with those words that have stuck with me all of those years later.

Stay on task with macOS Shortcuts

For effective work, you need to get into “the zone.” This is hard for me when I’m working at my computer. The call of social media is sometimes too great for me to resist.

Recently, I’ve turned to automation via Shortcuts, introduced in macOS Monterrey. I think I’ve finally hit on a process that works for me. In this post, I’ll break down how I do it.

Optimizing for Mediocrity

When you lose your best team members because of poor management you’re optimizing for mediocrity.

Want to optimize for high performance?

Invest in management training. Especially for people who are moving from the role of individual contributor to people management.

This is an investment that will level up your team and keep your best people from leaving.

If you are a new manager or a manager of new managers and want to get started check out the book The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers (and their employees) by Patrick Lencioni.

The author does a great job of teaching management principals through a fable about a former CEO who goes to work at a pizza shop.

New Stanford Marshmallow Test

Good scientists (and product managers) constantly test assumptions and change their minds based on new data.

I read a lot about Behavioral Psychology / Economics which is a fascinating subject area if you are a product manager.

One of the studies I will often find in books is the Marshmallow Test. If you’ve never heard of it the concept is easy to summarize.

When product veterans make rookie mistakes

Sometimes “veterans” make rookie mistakes.

This week was my turn, if you’re in #productmanagement come along and learn from my mistake.

When I coach product teams and they ask me to review their user stories or roadmap, I’ll always ask them “How will you know if you’re successful?” Often times teams will scratch their heads and say something vague like “they’ll use it.”