I used to think the same way too, and I toyed around with the workflow app (before it was acquired by Apple and renamed Shortcuts) for more than 2 years without much to show for it. It was only recently that something clicked and I began to tinker with the shortcuts app with renewed focus.
The trick I learned with automation is that you need to always be on the lookout for repeated actions you carry out on a regular basis. These are ripe to be streamlined.
For instance, I was charged with planning relief for teachers who were away from school last term (Jan to March). Based on my experience last year, I came up with 4 shortcuts.
1) Relief - I have a google calendar to record the staff who will be away from school for that day. This shortcut lets me quickly enter the necessary details into a new entry in google calendar.
2) Who needs relief - grabs the number of calendar events in the relief calendar and shows it to me. Basically shows me who will not be around for that day.
3) Open google doc - a ton of the google documents I use for planning relief is there, such as teacher timetables. I use this for quickly accessing them.
4) Email relief lesson plan - sends an email to the entire school, containing the link to the relief planning document. I had a variable to insert the date for that day, so it saves me having to type a different date every day.
The improvement here isn’t just time, but also the removal of friction, especially when these shortcuts are activated with Siri. The draw is that I only have to code them once. I am done with my relief stint for the year, I used those shortcuts every day (some multiple times), and they will still be around for when my turn comes again next year.
The funny thing here is that I have never touched the Automator app. It’s probably a very powerful and versatile tool for whatever the hardcore users here use it for. I just never got the hang of it, and maybe that’s the issue. Apple is not going to waste resources supporting a niche feature that only a small, albeit vocal group of users use. Better to just bring shortcuts to macOS, where the Apple team can better focus on just maintaining one feature set rather than 2.
I think what Apple wants to do is automation more accessible to the masses. I am not sure if I will use shortcuts as much on the Mac, but I am willing to give it a go.
