Summary

Raycast is a highly customizable Mac app that enhances productivity by acting as a command center for task management and integrating with various productivity tools.

Abstract

Raycast is a productivity tool designed for Mac users that serves as a central hub for managing tasks and integrating with other productivity platforms like Trello, Asana, and GitHub. It leverages natural language processing to streamline task execution and offers a range of features such as clipboard history, calculator, timezone converter, floating notes, and window management. The app is praised for its speed, efficiency, and the ability to minimize task-switching, making it particularly valuable for individuals with busy schedules, such as a work-from-home mom. Raycast is noted for its extensive customization options, allowing users to tailor the app to their workflow with custom shortcuts, hotkeys, and a library of integrations. Despite its advanced capabilities, the app is free to use and can be gradually incorporated into one's workflow, starting with simple tasks and expanding as the user becomes more accustomed to its features.

Opinions

The author is a strong advocate for Raycast, emphasizing its efficiency and time-saving benefits.
Raycast is seen as superior to Alfred, another Mac productivity app, due to its lack of limitations and extensive customization capabilities.
The app's real-time search and filtering capabilities are highly regarded for their ability to quickly locate tasks or commands.
The author appreciates the convenience of performing tasks without leaving the current screen, which helps maintain focus and productivity.
Raycast's floating notes feature is particularly useful for jotting down quick thoughts during calls or meetings.
The calendar extension, which connects to Notion Calendar, is highlighted for its ease of viewing and adding events.
The ability to run Apple Shortcuts directly from Raycast is mentioned as a significant advantage for streamlining habit tracking and other routine tasks.
The developer community's contributions to the Raycast library, including source code sharing, are seen as a major plus for users who value control and customization.
The author recommends Raycast as a valuable tool for others' workflows, indicating a belief in its widespread utility.

This might be the best Mac app you didn’t know you needed.

How Raycast makes me super efficient

Learning shortcuts for your computer can make things so much easier and more efficient in the long run. When I switched to a Mac after being a long-time Windows user, I got the suggestion to download Alfred. As I began to learn Alfred, I quickly ran into limitations, which led me to search for alternatives. Enter Raycast.

(btw, this post is not sponsored; I’m just a huge fan. I do have some invite links available if you want one, just leave a comment)

Raycast is a productivity app for Mac that acts as a command center. It’s designed to speed up navigation and task management. It uses natural language processing, streamlining the process of performing tasks quickly and efficiently. Rayast can increase productivity for any Mac user looking to save time and simplify their workflow.

The app integrates with a ton of popular productivity tools, such as Trello, Asana, and GitHub, allowing for centralized task and project management. Users can create custom workflows and shortcuts, which tailor the app to their specific needs and preferences. Raycast also provides real-time search and filtering capabilities, enabling you to find app-specific tasks or commands quickly.

How I Use Raycast

Instead of opening Notion, navigating to my notes database, and starting a new quick note, I can use the ALT+ Space shortcut to open Raycast, type “NNote,” and create a new page in any database. On top of that, Raycast is incredibly fast. With custom shortcuts and hotkeys, you can speed up this process even further.

For example, I can take a whole page screenshot in one click. Or open AI in one shortcut. I can add tasks to ToDoist, my Notion projects, or my client’s Asana dashboard from any screen.

Instead of opening a specific app to take action, I can do 90% of my tasks directly in Raycast. This makes it super simple to take a note, add a task, send a message, or search for a webpage without leaving the screen I’m working on. There are so many moments during the day when I remember a grocery item during a meeting or need to access a bookmark I saved. Instead of clicking away from my current work, I can do it in seconds with Raycast.

As a work-from-home mom, every second counts with my schedule. The less task-switching I do, the faster I can get back into my flow. Raycast helps me process a quick thought without a multi-step process.

Some of my favorite tools are:

Clipboard history for all those times you needed something you copied and accidentally hit CTRL C instead of V
Calculator: I use this 10x a day minimum
Timezone converter: I use this constantly when booking client meetings
Floating Notes is the perfect pop-up sticky note for jotting down thoughts or notes to sort out later. I use this all the time during phone calls or short meetings that don’t require a full meeting note in Notion
Window Management makes sorting my windows on my ultra-wide a breeze. It’s super easy to split my views, move apps, or organize my work with two clicks.
The calendar extension connected to Notion Calendar is incredible. I can quickly view upcoming events, get notifications or reminders even when my calendar app is closed, and add events in a few clicks.
Apple Shortcuts can be run from Raycast in just a click. I have all my Notion habits linked to my Apple shortcuts to work with my NFC tags, but if I want to log a habit quickly, I can do it with Raycast in a second.

Customization at Your Fingertips

Everyone’s workflow is different. Being able to customize the apps you need and customize the shortcuts is important. Raycast has a huge library of integrations and apps to connect as well as the ability to create your own quicklinks and scripts.

Each extension can be customized to take the actions you want. The developers contributing to the library share the source code as well, so much like Obsidian, you have full control over what you choose to install and use.

Free & Easy

One of the best things about Raycast is that it’s free. You can install it today and only use it to open apps quickly. It’s really simple to build onto your existing workflow, and the more you use it, the more you’ll find yourself wanting to use it for everything.

You don’t have to spend hours getting it all set up; just install and use it for simple tasks to start. You can add more functionality as you get used to the system.

I recently shared Raycast in my list of apps I’m paying for this year, and it’s because of how much the app has grown on me over the past two years. I use it multiple times a day, every day, and I think it can also be a super valuable tool in your workflow.

Grab Raycast here.

What apps do you consider “essential” to your workflow? I’d love to check out some new apps for myself!