Best way to manage higher horizons in OmniFocus (or another tool?)

ivanjay205

Registered
Hi everyone, I use OmniFocus now. I am trying to figure out how to best handle the higher horizons from an organizational standpoint.

Any suggestions or thoughts on how to best organize the higher horizons from GTD? I came from FacileThings where purpose was linked to vision which was linked to goals which was linked to areas of focus, projects, next actions. So I could clearly see what I was paying attention to and moving on and what I am not.

In Omnifocus while I could setup a folder structure like this it is not quite that clear. So with areas of focus as my folders it really wouldn't work. Any best case examples on how to organize this and see the link between these areas and my work to ensure I am paying attention to it all?
 

René Lie

Certified GTD Trainer
At an early point, I realized that my list manager (Asana) was not a place to keep my Horizons of focus, so I keep them in Notion.

I know this is not what you were asking for, but I am just making a point that a list manager might not meet all your GTD needs... I usually use the analogy of a handyman; he does not have just one tool in his toolbox!
 

ivanjay205

Registered
At an early point, I realized that my list manager (Asana) was not a place to keep my Horizons of focus, so I keep them in Notion.

I know this is not what you were asking for, but I am just making a point that a list manager might not meet all your GTD needs... I usually use the analogy of a handyman; he does not have just one tool in his toolbox!
Appreciate this advice and completely a fair answer. (even why I put maybe another tool in the title) as I know I might be forcing it. I really like one app especially one like OF because I am in it all the time. However, maybe not.... So for Notion how do you do this? I am not familiar with Notion but have heard of it. Do you have to maintain your projects lists in both? That is what I am afraid of. I know, inherently, I not going to keep a replica of both with the speed in which I create projects
 

mcogilvie

Registered
Using Things, I started out with a conventional structure as the developers intended: areas, projects, actions.I’ve also used different structures, such as Things areas for GTD contexts, as recommended in GTD set-up guide. In that case, I used tags for areas of focus. The higher horizons have always been simple lists, and I have now put Areas of Focus (roles if you prefer), in a similar list. So Level 2-5 of the GTD model are all just simple lists now, and I suspect they will stay that way. I have to come to realize that these levels are all important, but not every day or even every week. I have found that constant review of these levels is a distraction from projects and next actions, and actually detracts from making progress towards important goals. At worst, paying too much attention to these higher level can induce feelings of failure: why am I not making faster progress? Answer: I am making progress; ignore the voice that demands immediate gratification, I realize that this may be an issue of mine, and not at all yours. It is certainly not an answer to the technical issue you asked about, but I think David Allen’s advice is solid: they’re just lists, and you can put them where you like.
 

cfoley

Registered
Here is what I would do if I wanted to store my higher horizons in my list manager.

1. Create a list for each horizon.
2. Create a list item for each thing (AOF, life purpose, etc) at each horizon.
3. Optionally, create a folder called "Higher Horizons" and put each of the lists in there.
 

ivanjay205

Registered
Thanks all, although I have thought about hte idea of Notion the idea of a separate place means a very good chance I will not view and review them. I think I like the idea of just making a "separate" Higher Horizon area in OmniFocus and having them live there. Plus with the built-in review feature I get the ability to ensure I review them in appropriate timelines which is a nice bonus
 

René Lie

Certified GTD Trainer
Appreciate this advice and completely a fair answer. (even why I put maybe another tool in the title) as I know I might be forcing it. I really like one app especially one like OF because I am in it all the time. However, maybe not.... So for Notion how do you do this? I am not familiar with Notion but have heard of it. Do you have to maintain your projects lists in both? That is what I am afraid of. I know, inherently, I not going to keep a replica of both with the speed in which I create projects
Notion is to me an advanced form of "powered paper"...

I know many people who keep their Horizons of Focus in a simple word processing document. There are many nice guides online on how to set up Notion for GTD use - I even know a guy who has created a complete GTD system in Notion - a bit too complex for my taste, but very impressive!

I think that the key here is habit, not tool. To ensure that I revisit my Horizons as often as I need, I schedule monthly, quarterly and yearly reviews in my calendar, and in my appropriate checklists (which I also keep in Notion), I am prompted to review the appropriate Horizons of Focus.
 

jkorentayer

Registered
I've been struggling with this for a while now - gradually I've been coming to the realization that while Omnifocus is my power tool for the universal inbox, runway, projects, deadlines, and so on.... it is not properly built for the GTD higher altitudes - it takes a lot of "work arounds" to get a decent engagement with my higher horizons to be displayed in Omnifocus.

I'm currently playing with Trello to map out my higher horizons, and then sync big milestones and goals to my calendar so that I get a nice blend of my actual hard landscape, mixed with higher goals from 30K and up. I move the big pieces around on Trello in its Kanban view, and adjust the calendar deadlines to be accurate to my current focus in a given month or quarter.

So far, so good, but we'll see if this sticks for the long term. All I know for sure is that I was driving myself crazy trying to make Omnifocus the "one tool that rules them all" for my entire GTD map room, but I think it's better that I use if for what its super-power is.
 

ivanjay205

Registered
I've been struggling with this for a while now - gradually I've been coming to the realization that while Omnifocus is my power tool for the universal inbox, runway, projects, deadlines, and so on.... it is not properly built for the GTD higher altitudes - it takes a lot of "work arounds" to get a decent engagement with my higher horizons to be displayed in Omnifocus.

I'm currently playing with Trello to map out my higher horizons, and then sync big milestones and goals to my calendar so that I get a nice blend of my actual hard landscape, mixed with higher goals from 30K and up. I move the big pieces around on Trello in its Kanban view, and adjust the calendar deadlines to be accurate to my current focus in a given month or quarter.

So far, so good, but we'll see if this sticks for the long term. All I know for sure is that I was driving myself crazy trying to make Omnifocus the "one tool that rules them all" for my entire GTD map room, but I think it's better that I use if for what its super-power is.
This is the one thing I missed about FacileThings which is where I started on my journey. The only piece of software connecting the dots but the rest of it was really a struggle.
 

Oogiem

Registered
Any suggestions or thoughts on how to best organize the higher horizons from GTD?
I use omnifocus but all my higher level stuff is in Obsidian. I tried to put it into OF originally but it is too difficult when projects cross AOF lines and not everything serves your purpose in life sometimes it's just stuff you have to do.
 

bishblaize

Registered
I put my Projects into folders that match my Areas of Focus. Occasionally you get Projects that overlap your areas of focus, but as a rough and ready way of helping you think about how much work you have in different job areas, it works pretty well.

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In terms of the higher horizons, I don't think that Omnifocus is a tool that suits me. We have our long range business strategic plans in a sort of kanban Board, and I keep my personal goals in a mindmap and as recurring themes in my journals. I think when you get to those higher levels, lists don't always match the complexity of what you're thinking about.
 

FocusGuy

Registered
Finally I think Omnifocus is able to manage highest Horizons.
Of course it depends on your main structure. Mine is simple and efficient
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The advice of Cfoley is right for me. My highest Horizons goes into Reference.

I could do it with mind map but list is better.
One principle for me low horizons = detail, High horizons = simple list as short as I can.

Here is what I would do if I wanted to store my higher horizons in my list manager.

1. Create a list for each horizon.
2. Create a list item for each thing (AOF, life purpose, etc) at each horizon.
3. Optionally, create a folder called "Higher Horizons" and put each of the lists in there.
 
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