I have been doing some work to integrate my iOS devices with Obsidian. the iOS Shortcuts tools is amazingly powerful and well designed.
Many in TfT community are using this to integrate workflows with @obsdmd and @RoamResearch, and probably other tools.
2/ If you haven’t used it before, it is a tool for non-developers and developers to build commands that automate various workflows. For example, in my current Shortcut, I am extracting all my calendar agenda items for today and dumping them out to Obsidian in my DNP.
3/ Though I have to say on iOS 15 the Shortcut building tool is super buggy. Constantly constantly crashing. I think @viticci mentioned this during the 15 beta…. Seems its not better.
But ok, you can make it work with patience.
4/ I think iOS shortcuts is a model for a plugin for Roam or Obsidian, building on SmartBlocks. Instead of writing code, having a builder tool that enables drag and drop action steps.
What do you think, would this make building workflows in TfT tools easier?
5/ Obsidian has a plugin called QuickAdd which is a good first start.
But I think for mass adoption (non-devs building smart workflows), a UI like iOS Shortcuts is needed long-term.
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ReadWise is a “Stealth Tool for Thought”, under the surface at periscope level, working away at their ideas & steadily bringing great tools to the surface.
2/ Reader which is currently in private beta is proof.
I use “stealth” because they are perhaps underrated and overlooked since they seem niche.
Reader will change that. We are getting a set of tools that help us with our workflows from capture to reuse of what we read.
3/ They are not stealth though in community engagement. The opposite! They are proving to be partners in the Tool for Thought community.
Partnership is crucial while TfT space develops.
Partnership should be a criteria in any tool we choose to put into your TfT toolbox.
1/ FLEXIBLE SYSTEMS - Structure with the rewards and not the pain.
So many of us when starting our PKM journey want the perfect tool & perfect system for how we will take notes, resurface / reuse knowledge.
Sorry to tell you, there is no perfect tool and no perfect system.
2/ We should not expect perfection, rather be in the pursuit of a good, flexible & adaptive system.
The fact is our lives change, interests, priorities, needs & desires. If we had a perfect system, it would require freezing our lives into a period of time. None of us want that.
3/ Therefore, a long time ago I got over the illusion that there is a perfect system and embraced the concept of a flexible system.
A flexible system should help us to accomplish our PKM needs, but not lock us into a rigid way of doing things.
1/ I am super happy to announce that the “Obsidian42 - Text Transporter” plugin was released to the @obsdmd community plugin list and is available for general download.
Text Transporter is the Swiss Army Knife of text manipulation plugins.
1/ 1st Impressions of the @readwiseio Reader Beta.
I have been testing the Reader Beta for about 2 weeks and I have to say I am super satisfied. It is just a beta, but has already entered deep into my psyche & something I see myself using for years to come.
1/ Over last 2 weeks been playing with @craftdocsapp while working on my newest @obsdmd plugin. For all you #roamans, it is Roam42 workBench, but tailored to Obsidian. I am calling it Text Transporter (for you Star Trek fans) since there is already a plugin with workbench name.
2/ anyhow @craftdocsapp is beautiful. For those looking for excellent block centric authoring with export MD support, this is amazing.
Some of my #roaman friends (@beauhaan) preach the gospel of Blocks. And I agree, blocks are the best unit for work. Craft supports them natively
3/ While Craft is amazing, I still can't see it's future. It is a little between Roam and Obsidian, but not a totally fair comparison. It is simpler and easier to learn. Uses more standard UX metaphors, which makes it a snap to learn.
2/ The word "Complex" sounds negative, but is not.
TfT tools enable new possibilities, but they require effort and commitment.
Is is not just about learning new software & features, but learning new things about ourselves.
We are the tool of thought, software is the helper.
3/ TfT tools are complex because we have to make changes to ourselves - the way we think, process & use knowledge. We have to be willing to invest time, energy & in some cases money to learn new techniques, processes & workflows.