Connecting Notes and Task Lists

I

ivanjay205

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Hi everyone,

I currently use Omnifocus for my task list and apple notes for my supporting documents. As I am 95% on Apple (my home computer is a PC but other than that all apple) this works well. However, I recently found the PARA system from Tiago Forte which feels like frankly a bit of a copy of GTD but more for the reference sections of GTD. I really can see the synergy.

However, I am finding a lot of friction by having the two tools….. I am wondering if anyone has found any really good synergies between systems. I am debating on trying evernote as I know I can link to notebooks in evernote which means I could create links between omnifocus and evernote to jump back and forth. I have OneNote through work already so that is another option…..

But I am also not enjoying that I need to create a project in Omnifocus and create a project in my note taking system. And when they are done in omnifocus archive in my note taking system. Just feels like lots of steps and micromanagement.

Curious if anyone found any advanced workflows that really do help here
 
I differentiated further in my supporting documents, as I found, like you, a bit of friction. I believe there is a significant difference between project support documents and a reference system.

I’ll try and explain…

I am mainly Microsoft Office based using a work PC based on MS Office along with a home PC on MS Office, but using iPhones and iPads, with MS Office installed. My work project supporting documents go into OneNote. I find that works well as these projects tend to be relatively short lived (<6mths). Once a project is completed I move the OneNote project material into an Archive section in my OneNote file. I do the same for home projects.

But for a personal based reference system which holds, among other things, my Horizons of Focus details, books I am reading/ have read, tv shows to watch, interesting websites, interesting people, career documents, property maintenance items and a lot more, in The Brain. I have even, on occasion, moved some home based projects that have been completed into The Brain so I have a long term copy. I looked at Tiago Forte's PARA system and it just didn't work for me, and again like you, thought it was a kind of copy of GTD with a few tweaks.

Hope that helps.
 
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I looked at PARA, thought about it, started to implement it, and quickly found it was extra work I didn’t need. I left behind Evernote years ago because it did not play well with others apps and was pricey to boot. And I have not gone back to look at all the stuff I saved in it. Linking notes between apps is fragile, and I don’t even try anymore. Of course this is just my experience, and there is usually no harm in trying new things.
 
ivanjay205 said:
Hi everyone,

I currently use Omnifocus for my task list and apple notes for my supporting documents. As I am 95% on Apple (my home computer is a PC but other than that all apple) this works well. However, I recently found the PARA system from Tiago Forte which feels like frankly a bit of a copy of GTD but more for the reference sections of GTD. I really can see the synergy.

However, I am finding a lot of friction by having the two tools….. I am wondering if anyone has found any really good synergies between systems. I am debating on trying evernote as I know I can link to notebooks in evernote which means I could create links between omnifocus and evernote to jump back and forth. I have OneNote through work already so that is another option…..

But I am also not enjoying that I need to create a project in Omnifocus and create a project in my note taking system. And when they are done in omnifocus archive in my note taking system. Just feels like lots of steps and micromanagement.

Curious if anyone found any advanced workflows that really do help here
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I understand the challenge you’re facing with the manual steps between OmniFocus and reference systems like Evernote and OneNote. I’ve had similar hurdles in my workflow, particularly with integrating Outlook and Todoist. I was fed up with duplication and constant micro manual steps, so I started looking at my GTD workflow and ecosystem through a Lean lens—focusing on eliminating defects and waste throughout the execution process.

In my case, I managed to automate a large portion of the process using VBA in Outlook, combined with API calls to Todoist and OneNote. This allowed me to streamline my GTD workflow and greatly reduce the manual effort needed to manage tasks and reference material.

I know little of Omnifocus so I made some quick research for you, there are some automation possibilities, but they are more limited compared to the integrations you can achieve with systems like Todoist, Outlook, and OneNote.

OmniFocus supports AppleScript and JavaScript for automation on macOS and iOS, which allows for custom scripts to move data between OmniFocus and other applications. However, it doesn’t have a traditional RESTful API, which makes it harder to create seamless integrations, like those available with Todoist, where you can interact directly with other apps through API calls.

That said, if you’re working within the macOS/iOS ecosystem, it’s possible to reduce some manual work. AppleScript or JavaScript can automate data transfer between OmniFocus and your reference systems, although it may require more effort than with apps that support direct API integration, such as Evernote (which has a robust API) or OneNote, which can be accessed via Microsoft’s Graph API.

I hope this provides some clarity on the possibilities. If you’re interested in exploring automation with OmniFocus, there are ways to reduce manual steps, but the integration may not be as seamless as with other platforms.

PS: APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are tools that allow different software applications to communicate with each other. They set rules and protocols that developers use to access an application’s features or data without needing to understand its internal code. In systems like Todoist or Evernote, APIs can automate tasks, retrieve notes, or sync data between apps, helping to minimize manual work.
 
Thanks for all the feedback. It feels like thus far everyone kind of agrees but there hasnt really been a found good solution. The problem is I often need supporting documents, files, and notes as I develop some of my larger projects. Omnifocus doesnt work well for holding those.

But once the project is done, I dont necessarily need them again. So the idea of being able to place them into an "archive" retrievable if I ever need them because well why not in the modern age but not in my active view.

I have thought about dabbling with notion, maybe time to do that. I feel like one all encompassing system would really be beneficial. But I need the agility of a good mobile solution, quick access, and polished interface or it will turn me off to it
 
I have something similar to what I think you want.

I have a project list in Obsidian. It's not my GTD project list, more a list of projects requested from a client.

It is a bullet-pointed list of projects in Markdown, formatted like this:

- [[Conquer the Mushroom Kingdom]]
- [[Kidnap Princess Peach]]
- [[Defend Against Mario and Luigi]]

The double square brackets indicate an internal link in Obsidian, and the Obsidian software creates blank pages the first time I follow the link. So, for the price of four keystrokes, each project in the list, has a linked document.

The way I use my notes, one page is usually enough for a project, but sometimes it is not and it is trivially easy to link more pages from that main project page.

This is all out-of-the box functionality in Obsidian with no extra plugins. It is so convenient that I am highly tempted to move my project list from paper into Obsidian.
 
I've been experimenting with linking notes and my list items as well. I'm in an Apple environment. My reference materials are stored in one of three places: my file system, Bear Notes, or Zotero. My lists live in Things.

It's a 2-click effort to create a link to a Bear note, which I then copy into Things. For complex projects, I might need more than one page in Bear. In this case I'll either connect them using tags, or create a project overview note, with linked pages for subtopics, as @cfoley describes. Markdown in Bear or Obsidian makes this easy.

I've used Obsidian in the past and creating a URL to a note is just as easy. While I love Obsidian's ability to visualize links between notes, I've found the overall experience lacking on my phone. Hence, Bear provides similar flexibility with a better mobile experience. Large research projects still live in Obsidian because I rely on visually seeing the links between reference notes. I used Apple Notes for many years, but sharing the link to my task lists is too cumbersome.

For linking files, I'll simply reference where I keep them locally. My digital file system is a flat list of folders, so my project notes may include a mention of "See Insurance folder". PDFs and other publications are managed in Zotero, which allows me to create citations and copy them into my project notes. Big projects get their own folder in Zotero.

In the end, though, I probably don't need to link things with as much detail as I think. As long as I'm doing my weekly reviews I tend to not forget where items are stored.
 
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cfoley said:
I have something similar to what I think you want.

I have a project list in Obsidian. It's not my GTD project list, more a list of projects requested from a client.

It is a bullet-pointed list of projects in Markdown, formatted like this:

- [[Conquer the Mushroom Kingdom]]
- [[Kidnap Princess Peach]]
- [[Defend Against Mario and Luigi]]

The double square brackets indicate an internal link in Obsidian, and the Obsidian software creates blank pages the first time I follow the link. So, for the price of four keystrokes, each project in the list, has a linked document.

The way I use my notes, one page is usually enough for a project, but sometimes it is not and it is trivially easy to link more pages from that main project page.

This is all out-of-the box functionality in Obsidian with no extra plugins. It is so convenient that I am highly tempted to move my project list from paper into Obsidian.
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And you keep your next actions in there as well or no? I guess that is what I am trying to figure out.... How do I connect my next actions, project lists, and notes and supporting documents (not long term file storage) together? And bonus points if I can connect Higher Horizons as well....

Ideally I want to have a project with next actions much like I do with Omnifocus. In addition with that I want supporting documents. For example, I have a project to Train someone in a specific way. Within that project in Apple Notes I have a document "What success looks like" so I can brainstorm what I am looking for out of this person. Out of that I can birth specific communication points, subprojects, and next actions.

Right now I have to bounce between my mind map (areas of focus), omnifocus (projects and next actions) and apple notes (projects and supporting information for those projects) to work on it. I want to connect all of those dots into one hub
 
ivanjay205 said:
And you keep your next actions in there as well or no? I guess that is what I am trying to figure out.... How do I connect my next actions, project lists, and notes and supporting documents (not long term file storage) together? And bonus points if I can connect Higher Horizons as well....

Ideally I want to have a project with next actions much like I do with Omnifocus. In addition with that I want supporting documents. For example, I have a project to Train someone in a specific way. Within that project in Apple Notes I have a document "What success looks like" so I can brainstorm what I am looking for out of this person. Out of that I can birth specific communication points, subprojects, and next actions.

Right now I have to bounce between my mind map (areas of focus), omnifocus (projects and next actions) and apple notes (projects and supporting information for those projects) to work on it. I want to connect all of those dots into one hub
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When I used to use Omnifocus and Apple Notes, I'd add a reference to the note into the project in Omnifocus - e.g., "AN: What success looks like". This was a reminder to myself that I should look in Apple Notes for more information whenever I saw the project in Omnifocus. I review my Areas of Focus only once a quarter or so. For this, it's an all-day event on my calendar with a reference to the file in the notes field.
 
This might come off a bit rude, however that's not my intention. This is just another example of trying to find the "perfect"/"ultimate" GTD app. It doesn't exist, unfortunately. Even mine has limitations that aren't worth overcoming. There would be so many disparate tools (incl. tools others use to collaborate) to integrate and collate together that it is impossible.

If it helps: having such a simple workflow of creating mirror projects/notes to match the opposite entry and then just archiving both when done is pretty good, actually. Even if just takes you a minute or so, it's not something worth automating since the time invested to automate it will far exceed the time to just do it manually.

Put another way, is spending a few minutes every week cleaning up each app to be consistent (ideally, in a review whereby doing the clean up may prompt you for more actions/follow-up tasks as part of just putting eyeballs on it again) the biggest improvement opportunity or most value-added use of your time?
 
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Matt_M said:
This might come off a bit rude, however that's not my intention. This is just another example of trying to find the "perfect"/"ultimate" GTD app. It doesn't exist, unfortunately. Even mine has limitations that aren't worth overcoming. There would be so many disparate tools (incl. tools others use to collaborate) to integrate and collate together that it is impossible.

If it helps: having such a simple workflow of creating mirror projects/notes to match the opposite entry and then just archiving both when done is pretty good, actually. Even if just takes you a minute or so, it's not something worth automating since the time invested to automate it will far exceed the time to just do it manually.

Put another way, is spending a few minutes every week cleaning up each app to be consistent (ideally, in a review whereby doing the clean up may prompt you for more actions/follow-up tasks as part of just putting eyeballs on it again) the biggest improvement opportunity or most value-added use of your time?
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Excellent response! Keep it simple!
 
Here is a simple idea that connects projects, actions and notes.

The List Manager is Excel and the notes app is Obsidian.

In Excel:


I haven't used Obsidian URIs much, but I see that there are options to create, open and append to files. I would hope that it is possible to create a link with the semantics: open file, creating it if it does not exist.

How to use:

  • To add a project with an action, enter a new row.
  • To complete an action, clear the cell with the action. Take the opportunity to enter a new action.
  • To complete a project, delete the row.
  • To view a context list, filter by column B.
  • To view the project list, clear the filter.
  • To see the project notes, follow the link in column D.

Limitations:

  • Every action must have a project. (or you could leave the project column blank for those actions.)
  • Each project can only have 1 next action.
  • Excel makes some people sad.
 
Sorry, that all seems to much work. The system needs to work for you instead of working with it. That has been discussed many times of course but it's so important. When you have a simple and light GTD system it does less to repel. I use Nirvana HQ for all GTD and Onenote for reference and project support using P.A.R.A. For me I cannot find anything simpler except paper but even that is more work to maintain.
 
At this time, I’m using Things more or less as the GTD setup guide suggests, with context lists separate from projects. I generally put project support as items under each project, which works well. Projects and next actions get an Area of Focus label, so I can get an overview of all Health et cetera projects and actions very easily. This replaces linking for me and works well. I do use Bear for some notes, which works well with Things due to Markdown. I don’t generally put in place a link, but sometimes do. I also use Apple Notes and 1Password for specialized note types. Things links well to email, so I generally don’t move email to a notes app. In all, having Things as a central hub works well, is fast, and handles both simple and complicated projects without fuss. Of course, it did take me a long time to get where I am….
 
bobusa said:
Sorry, that all seems to much work. The system needs to work for you instead of working with it. That has been discussed many times of course but it's so important. When you have a simple and light GTD system it does less to repel. I use Nirvana HQ for all GTD and Onenote for reference and project support using P.A.R.A. For me I cannot find anything simpler except paper but even that is more work to maintain.
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I happen to agree with you. I use paper for my lists. Nothing is linked explicitly in my system, only in my head and really enjoy using it.

Just out of interest though, what do you consider to be too much work in the Excel system?
 
cfoley said:
I happen to agree with you. I use paper for my lists. Nothing is linked explicitly in my system, only in my head and really enjoy using it.

Just out of interest though, what do you consider to be too much work in the Excel system?
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It would be too much work from my point of view and my use case. NHQ is completely setup for GTD out of the box, for me that's great, one can step right in. If Excel and paper works for you then that is great. It looks like Excel is second nature for you and you do not have to think about using it. I could use Excel for GTD and am experienced enough but there are too many options and steps to consider which takes you away from creativity and thus that system would not work for me. Anyone should use the system that they are happy with, that's what's great about GTD. What David Allen conceived is a true miracle and life changing methodology!
 
ivanjay205 said:
But I am also not enjoying that I need to create a project in Omnifocus and create a project in my note taking system. And when they are done in omnifocus archive in my note taking system. Just feels like lots of steps and micromanagement.
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If you are willing to change the tool then I suggest to select a lists manager with section for comments, notes and attachments. It should significantly reduce the using of your outside note taking system.

But overall I would suggest keeping your support materials in their most natural place – for emails – in your email software, for files – in your PC folders, for papers in your manila desk folders etc.

Work your framework where you have easy access to all of your support materials (it will reduce the friction) instead of trying to merge all of them (it will increase the friction).
 
TesTeq said:
@mcogilvie So why don't you store Project notes in Things?
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Sorry if I was confusing. Most of my project notes are in Things. Every so often I have a document that is a little too long for that: a syllabus or a report on a manuscript. Those I put in Bear. Also, Bear, GoodLinks and Omnivore are all pretty good at turning web pages into Markdown, but sometimes one works better than the other. So there’s some messing around some times if I want a lot of web content accessible offline, or available for editing.
 
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