Best Macros for Streamlining Daily Tasks - Emmanuel Katto

Questions & Suggestions
1

Hi everyone,

My name is Emmanuel Katto. I’m looking to optimize my workflow with Keyboard Maestro and would love to hear about the macros that have made a significant difference for you. Specifically:

  • What are your go-to macros for daily tasks?
  • Any tips on combining actions for efficiency?
  • How do you troubleshoot issues with complex macros?

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!

Best,
Emmanuel Katto

1 Like
2

Those are very different questions and might be better asked individually in their own topics.

3

I have a macro for my Daily Shutdown. At the end of the day, I do a daily shutdown review which includes:

  1. Open Apple Mail so I can check for any messages that I didn't process yet.
  2. Open various direct messages apps like Slack, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram Messenger for any other DMs I need to check.
  3. Open various apps to check on each item (the Agenda app, Drafts) for possible items that were captured. I use the Agenda app to capture meeting notes. I often capture items in the Drafts app.
  4. Open OmniFocus and visit various lists/perspectives such as my OmniFocus inbox, follow-up items, Review perspective, and Completed tasks.
  5. Open Fantastical to time block tasks for tomorrow.

The first thing I do is create an outline of what my Daily Shutdown workflow. What are the apps I check every day? Why am I checking them? Write down a note about each workflow item.

Then I create a new macro group called "Daily Shutdown".

Macro group
Macro group1244×396 94.8 KB

I create the individual macros for each step. Here is a sample of my OmniFocus inbox macro.

Sample action macro
Sample action macro1608×1678 141 KB

This particular action opens up my OmniFocus inbox view. Then I show a prompt with a series of questions. Why am I here? What questions do I have and what are the answers I am looking for?

Create all the macros for each step.

The next step is to create a "master" workflow macro. This macro can be triggered from a hotkey or a menubar. Here's a sample of my KM Workflow menu.

Screenshot 2024-10-11 at 19.38.36

The Master workflow macro of "Daily Shutdown" look like this:

show master workflow macro
show master workflow macro1104×1482 129 KB

I added the "Execute Macro" action for each step. I arrange them in the order I wanted. If I wanted to move a daily shutdown step, I just move the macro up or down the list.

The macro group holds all the subroutines. It is easier to debug macros in the action group instead of having one master workflow with a long list of macro steps.

I tried it once before where it was just one long macro. That was nightmare to work on if I wanted to move a step up or down.

Over time, I got a sense of what I wanted for my daily shutdown. What steps could be replaced? Are the prompts giving me the questions I want to ask? Did each step clarify things for m? What can I take out? Do I need to move a step earlier in the process or later in the process?

This takes time and practice. The more I did the daily shutdown, the clearer I got about what I wanted. Don't be afraid to take something out or add something in. The daily shutdown will change over time to fit your current needs.

Here are some older KM videos I made for YouTube as a demonstration.

I had introduced this KM workflow in a Mac Power Users thread about a year ago here: