Android notifications might become useful for productivity with this shortcuts tool

Like many fellow tinkerers and power users, I’m always on the lookout for new ways to get the most out of my phone, both in terms of functionality and customization. A while back, I started a new job that required me to constantly jump between a couple of apps and regularly call a few contacts. Naturally, I added those apps to my home screen for quicker access. The result? My clean setup quickly turned into a mess. And even with those shortcuts on the home screen, I still found myself going through multiple taps just to perform the same few actions over and over. That’s when I thoght about Messaging apps and how we launch them mostly through the notification so why not do the same with everything else I use frequently? What if I could pin what I use most into my notification shade for quick access? That idea turned into a weekend experiment, which eventually became NOOTI, the app I want to share with you today. The current situation on shortcuts for android Now, I’m not the first person to think of building a shortcut app. Before creating mine I tried quite a few existing options, but I kept running into the same set of issues. Most of them either created icons or folders directly on my home screen, which completely defeated the purpose of keeping things clean and minimal. Others relied on gesture-based navigation, which sounds great in theory but many times apps accidentally launched just because my phone detected a gesture while going into my pocket. Or worse, the gesture didn’t register at all when I actually needed it. And then there were the apps that looked promising but were either completely overrun with ads or had free tiers so limited they were basically unusable without paying upfront (which I don't mind if is a small one time fee but nowdays everything is an expensive subscription). So I create my spin on shortcuts. Introducing Nooti a simple yet surprisingly powerful tool NOOTI is a free (with some limitation I will touch later on) shortcuts creator that puts the shortcuts in your notification shade instead that on your homepage or side of the screen. With NOOTI you can create shortcuts to:

Apr 15, 2025 - 13:17

Android notifications might become useful for productivity with this shortcuts tool

Like many fellow tinkerers and power users, I’m always on the lookout for new ways to get the most out of my phone, both in terms of functionality and customization. A while back, I started a new job that required me to constantly jump between a couple of apps and regularly call a few contacts. Naturally, I added those apps to my home screen for quicker access.

The result? My clean setup quickly turned into a mess. And even with those shortcuts on the home screen, I still found myself going through multiple taps just to perform the same few actions over and over.

That’s when I thoght about Messaging apps and how we launch them mostly through the notification so why not do the same with everything else I use frequently?

What if I could pin what I use most into my notification shade for quick access?

That idea turned into a weekend experiment, which eventually became NOOTI, the app I want to share with you today.

The current situation on shortcuts for android

Now, I’m not the first person to think of building a shortcut app. Before creating mine I tried quite a few existing options, but I kept running into the same set of issues.

Most of them either created icons or folders directly on my home screen, which completely defeated the purpose of keeping things clean and minimal. Others relied on gesture-based navigation, which sounds great in theory but many times apps accidentally launched just because my phone detected a gesture while going into my pocket. Or worse, the gesture didn’t register at all when I actually needed it.

And then there were the apps that looked promising but were either completely overrun with ads or had free tiers so limited they were basically unusable without paying upfront (which I don't mind if is a small one time fee but nowdays everything is an expensive subscription).

So I create my spin on shortcuts.

Introducing Nooti a simple yet surprisingly powerful tool

NOOTI is a free (with some limitation I will touch later on) shortcuts creator that puts the shortcuts in your notification shade instead that on your homepage or side of the screen.

With NOOTI you can create shortcuts to: