An Ode to My Apps

Software
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My Fantastical subscription is up for renewal this week and my Todoist is due in about 3 weeks. I review my app subscriptions regularly, but these two apps continuously clear the bar for me. And it’s not even close.

I’ve tried Outlook, Calendars 366, Apple stock calendar, Readdle Calendar, Time Page etc, and they all have limitations that I just can’t get past when compared to Fantastical. I know this is highly subjective and everyone’s mileage varies, but what keeps me using their app:

  • Ability to hide an event without deleting it.
  • A well performing, functional Apple Watch app that shows more than a day or two at a time
  • Calendar sets
  • The best interface in terms of visually looking nice AND good functionality
  • Natural language input
  • Easy access to “interesting calendars” like F1, NHL, MLB. And they’re accurate AND they work all the time (side eye’s Outlook).
  • Great widgets for iOS and iPad
  • Integration with my Todoist account (my account w 2-way sync, not a subscribed calendar) for time blocking

Thanks to an old MPU podcast I have a discount too, so that lessens the blow. I still grimace a bit come payment time, but the rest of the year I have an app that causes me the least amount of friction of all the ones I’ve tried.

Todoist is in a similar boat. I’ve tried Things 3, iOS Reminders and a few others, but Todoist just works EXACTLY the way my brain works. We are in full synchronization.

I guess I’m here because I want to share that I feel a bit of guilt about this. My friends, my wife; I hear things like “you PAY for a calendar app? WHY?” or “wait, you pay for an app to track a todo list?”. If not for their commentary and the never-ending “I hate subscriptions” dialogue online, I could probably go guilt-free a little longer.

I’m not going to feel guilty about it anymore. I run my life out of these apps, and the daily cost breaks down to a number that’s more than manageable.

We all buy too much takeout, too many coffee’s, online sports betting, alcohol – pick your poison. I’m guilty of the second only btw. But yes, a few app subscriptions aren’t the hill I’m going to die - or inconvenience myself on.

So if you’re $100+ into NotePlan or Omnifocus or whatever – join me in raising a glass to the apps that keep us organized and look good doing it. :beers:

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Cheers! When you understand yourself and your needs, it’s so nice to find developers who also understand and meet you capably. :beers:

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I’m the same with OmniFocus, Drafts, due, Ivory, Up Ahead, Callsheet, flicks, and Overcast

All software I happily pay my subscriptions or regular perpetual upgrades for.

The money they ask provides me value which I find worthwhile.

Edit Also 1Password

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the only calendar that comes close to Fantastical is Busycal. On my Mac I dare saying they are almost equal, at least for my needs. On my iPhone instead, Fantastical is still unbeatable.
For almost one year I have used Busycal on my Mac and the free version of Fantastical on my phone but then I gave up and subscribed to Fantastical.
I also agree on Todoist, for me it’s the best task manager out there.
But I can’t use my Mac or my phone for work as my company restricts the app I can use to a very specific list (and on Windows + Android), so all my Apple devices are for personal use only. So I can’t really justify that money and I think I’ll go back to Busycal+free Fantastical sa soon as my subscription expires… and I already pay for Devonthink which is the ONE tool I’ll never stop using.
But if I could, I’d go for Fantastical + Todoist with no doubt.

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Interesting thread, thank for starting it @AppleGuy

I re-up without question Curio, Craft, DEVONthink and Fantastical.

Every year I stop and think about whether I still have a daily reason to subscribe to Drafts, Tana, Tinderbox, and OmniFocus.

Obsidian is an odd one in this mix – I wouldn’t pay for the core app if it was subscription, but I continue to pay for the sync. (Should probably get rid of sync, actually.)

Katie

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My experience with Obsidian has been terrible: I kept working on having a nice setup instead of focussing on my notes. I installed so many plugins and, at the end, it was really nice to see. But a nice tool isn’t all that matters, it’s more important an effective tool. So I removed it and all its plugins and went back to DTP for note taking too. I must admit it’s not so nice to see like in other tools (I tried Bear, Agenda and others), but it does its job. Sometimes I use Apple notes, which I think is a good tool.
Omnifocus is really nice…if only I could use it for work :frowning:
And Craft… again, I end up spending more time on “making it nice looking” instead of getting things done. So I removed it too.
I wanted to try Tinderbox but never did, I don’t want to loose time again on a fancy tool that, for my needs, isn’t more effective of DTP.

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+1 OF

Keyboard Maestro for me. I renew it every year even if I don’t need to.
humblebrag: I let the upgrade discount to expire and happily pay full price

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Nice to see Curio mentioned. I don’t use it universally for notes, but often enough.

It’s also great for dummying up what a web site or desktop-published layout should look like.

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Thoughts inline on the above as a longtime Fantastical user :arrow_up:

Have you taken a look at Vimcal? Tempting but still lacking last time I tried.

What I love about this one is that it’s so widely supported. Can be quite useful. Search needs work though.

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OmniFocus, Fantastical, Drafts, 1Password all make my top tier sub list!

If I add more through the year then so be it! If it makes your life easier and allows greater organisation/productivity, this in turn allows greater amounts of time with the family! That time is priceless!

My dad has always said to me “There’s only one thing you can’t buy any more of, that’s time.”

I’m sure we’ll all be forgiven for our app addictions!

Raising a glass to you all! :beer:

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1Password is a must for me too. :joy:

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1Password is essential for me. I have the family plan so I can have my parents on it, too.

I briefly considered switching us all over when sharing became possible in Apple’s Passwords app, but decided against it. My parents like and regularly use 1Password, and it makes sense to them. While they’re certainly capable of learning a new app, I don’t think it’s worth the time and temporary frustration.

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1Password
Fantastical
Adobe Photography Plan (Photoshop + Lightroom)
ChatGPT Pro
Carrot Weather
SetApp

Like you, I’m happy to pay for software that solves problems or creates opportunities. Unlike you, I don’t feel the least bit guilty!

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Just convinced me to try Fantastical!

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I spent hours* rewriting this as an actual ode:

Ode to My Apps

O faithful Fantastical, guardian of time,
you order my hours with elegant rhyme.
Your colours and grids, your quiet refrain,
turn chaos to calm, and confusion to plain.

Others have tried—Outlook, Timepage, the rest—
but none have the heart that beats in your chest.
You hide what I fear, yet keep what I need,
you listen with grace, then silently lead.

And thou, dear Todoist, companion of thought,
you capture the dreams that sleep turns to naught.
Each task that I whisper, each duty I dread,
you cradle with care, till it’s gently done, said.

They mock me for paying—“a list and a date?”—
as if peace of mind were cheap to create.
Yet pennies for purpose, and dollars for grace,
are wiser than wagers or coffee’s embrace.

So here’s to you both, in code and in light,
who steady my soul and steady my night.
My loyal machines, precise yet humane—
I’d lose my whole day, were you not in my brain.

Footnote: * minutes, with you know who.

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My dad was fond of saying, “If the tool isn’t right, the mechanic is not bright.” That could just as easily apply to digital tools. :grinning:

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1Password Family Plan. Complete non-negotiable every year!

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Kudos to Flexibits for ensuring Fantastical has an API for linking, per the Manifesto for Ubiquitous Linking. Can’t say the same for Todoist which can only be controlled via UI scripting, not a proper linking API.

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I still struggle with the shortcuts/popups/integrations mainly on macOS but it is indeed the best in spite of the haters of late.

Use it for work too.

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WIth Fantastical, I agree with all your functions that are great. I have a couple more that Fantastical does that I haven’t found elsewhere:

  • the ability to duplicate an entry from one calendar account to another calendar account, and it then graphically collapses it into a single entry (so they aren’t two identical entries on my day), but with a nice two-tone account icon indicator showing it’s on both accounts. I guess this is niche, but sometimes I duplicate something on my Outlook (work) account into my google (personal) account, so my wife can see what’s going on. Really works well - I have found no one else that quite replicates this so smoothly and elegantly.

  • also on my Mac I have the full month view, but then simultaneously a sidebar with an agenda/list-type view. I like having both instantly viewable at all times. If there is another calendar on Mac that does this I have not found it yet.

Before using Fantastical I hadn’t thought about these issues too much, but once I got accustomed to them I would hate to lose them.

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