Mastering Omnifocus

[ivanjay205]

Hi everyone,

After lots of back and forth recently I decided to give Omnifocus a try and really do love it. I can feel how powerful it is for sure. However, I am finding it to be a bit daunting. I bought the GTD setup from DavidCo but found it is such a short high level document.

Is there any really good tutorials or training out there? I saw this YouTube class from a Peter but he is not GTD focused so trying to stat true to that if I can?

Specifically, my first challenge is my routines.... I have three routines I setup as recurring tasks:

Workday Startup Routine
Workday Shutdown Routine
Evening Shutdown Routine

I am setting them all to repeat but I am struggling with should they be nested tasks? A parallel project? And how do I get them to show in the forecast review without it overtaking the view? Ideally I would love to just see Workday Startup Routine with a due time of 9:30 AM and see all of the tasks nested under it collapsed by default. When I am ready to work on it I can expand that section.

I am also struggling on setting up perspectives that seem to balance clutter with focus. I have 30 minute and 15 minute views which are great when I am time constrained. But my Next Action view is just a laundry list and trying to figure out what works best there.

Thanks! Clearly a powerful tool once mastered.

 

[mcogilvie]

Daily routines are difficult to implement in most task managers. Omnifocus offers lots of possibilities, but it’s really not the first thing I would tackle when starting Omnifocus. I think what most people want is something like a pointer (“do morning routine”) which leads to a checklist. This is pretty easy to do in Things (each action can have a checklist) but clumsy in OmniFocus. One way is to have a single action list, with one pointer task due daily. This appears in Forecast. The actual routine items appear in your list as repeating daily after completion, so they don’t clutter up Forecast. How do I know how to do this? Because I used, or tried to use, OmniFocus for years, and happily left it for Things. Peter Akkies has a YouTube video on daily routines for Things which might be useful, and he might have a similar one for OmniFocus.

 

[ivanjay205]

Daily routines are difficult to implement in most task managers. Omnifocus offers lots of possibilities, but it’s really not the first thing I would tackle when starting Omnifocus. I think what most people want is something like a pointer (“do morning routine”) which leads to a checklist. This is pretty easy to do in Things (each action can have a checklist) but clumsy in OmniFocus. One way is to have a single action list, with one pointer task due daily. This appears in Forecast. The actual routine items appear in your list as repeating daily after completion, so they don’t clutter up Forecast. How do I know how to do this? Because I used, or tried to use, OmniFocus for years, and happily left it for Things. Peter Akkies has a YouTube video on daily routines for Things which might be useful, and he might have a similar one for OmniFocus.

I had tried things and it doesnt have any ability to use the waiting for as an indepenedent list. That was a big frustration for me.

 

[ckennedy]

Omnifocus allows you to create links to tasks. I would tend to create a recurring task Called "Shutdown" with a link to the Shutdown project (which is put on hold to prevent it from showing up on your task lists.

 

[Peter Van Harmelen]

Hi @ivanjay205 ,

I have been using Omnifocus for a year-and-a-half now and really like it. I came from Nozbe with brief stopovers at a host of others, including FacileThings, but have now found a home with OmniFocus. It's not perfect but I do really like it.

Many people talk about the steep learning curve with OmniFocus, but I don't think it is any more complicated than other systems. It is what you make of it and you can make OmniFocus extremely complicated or keep it very simple. The GTD guide that you reference is a very simple, basic GTD set up and can work well. I started with that but over time have also been influenced by these resources:

Learn OmniFocus - a website dedicated to, well, learning OmniFocus, by fellow Canadian, Tim Stringer. Lots and lots of free stuff here and the paid subscription brings you more plus online sessions to ask your OmniFocus questions and seminars. Highly recommended.

Then there is David Sparks and his OmniFocus FieldGuide. Reasonably priced and well worth the money

Finally, I've been very influenced by the flow that psychiatrist Kourosh Dini has created in OmniFocus. His book: Creating Flow with OmniFocus is excellent. You don't have to adopt everything he does - after all, it is your system that you are creating - but he has some great ideas.

A YouTube search for OmniFocus also turns up a lot of good stuff.

Peter Akkies - I'm not a big fan. He doesn't practice GTD at all.

Hope this helps

Peter

 

[mcogilvie]

I had tried things and it doesnt have any ability to use the waiting for as an indepenedent list. That was a big frustration for me.

Since I have a stand-alone Waiting For list in Things right now, it can be done. As David Allen says, any good list manager can work well for GTD. I“ve read/listened/watched a lot of material from many sources, including Stringer and Dini. But I want my own system to be as simple, fast and clear as possible. The two best pieces of advice I have: listen carefully to what David Allen and his associates are saying, and then work towards a simple system which works for you based on your own experiences.

 

[ivanjay205]

Omnifocus allows you to create links to tasks. I would tend to create a recurring task Called "Shutdown" with a link to the Shutdown project (which is put on hold to prevent it from showing up on your task lists.

Oh that is an interesting idea. How do you get the link?

 

[ckennedy]

right click, copy as link

 

[ivanjay205]

right click, copy as link

Should have tried lol. Thanks

 

[ivanjay205]

Since I have a stand-alone Waiting For list in Things right now, it can be done. As David Allen says, any good list manager can work well for GTD. I“ve read/listened/watched a lot of material from many sources, including Stringer and Dini. But I want my own system to be as simple, fast and clear as possible. The two best pieces of advice I have: listen carefully to what David Allen and his associates are saying, and then work towards a simple system which works for you based on your own experiences.

Yes understood. My challenge is I have a lot of projects that cannot kick off on my side until others complete their items. SO I really need a compiled list manager where if the first item is "Waiting" everything else is deferred so I cannot see it yet. As I am involved in the tail end and review of many projects others are doing.

 

[mcogilvie]

Yes understood. My challenge is I have a lot of projects that cannot kick off on my side until others complete their items. SO I really need a compiled list manager where if the first item is "Waiting" everything else is deferred so I cannot see it yet. As I am involved in the tail end and review of many projects others are doing.

I was once like you, and I tried hard to find the Omnifocus setup that was perfect for me, or at least really good. I never did find it, but I hope you have better luck. I am beta-testing Omnifocus 4, mostly on iPad. It does improve on Omnifocus 3 in some ways.

 

[ivanjay205]

I was once like you, and I tried hard to find the Omnifocus setup that was perfect for me, or at least really good. I never did find it, but I hope you have better luck. I am beta-testing Omnifocus 4, mostly on iPad. It does improve on Omnifocus 3 in some ways.

So far Omnifocus does solve this problem. I just started with Omnifocus 3. Now what I am trying to figure out is how to filter by time when I am in my project view or one of my perspectives. I did add a perspective for 30 minutes and one for 15 minutes. I guess that is how you do it, cannot add it specifically as a filter to one of the other views. It needs to be its own perspective maybe?

 

[schmeggahead]

Specifically, my first challenge is my routines.... I have three routines I setup as recurring tasks:

Workday Startup Routine
Workday Shutdown Routine
Evening Shutdown Routine

I am setting them all to repeat but I am struggling with should they be nested tasks?

For routines, I rely on checklists in a separate app from next actions. Only the top item is in next actions (complete x checklist).
Eventually,, though, my habit was to open my [footstep emoji] AM Checklist. I could check checklist items off in any order and review the list as a whole.

My checklist tool requires unchecking to reset the checklist for next time. The surprising thing about having to do that extra step: it allowed me to reflect on how well I had done on the routine yesterday.

I only needed the NA for a bit until it became habit to open up the checklist first, to start my day.

Checklists can do a lot of heavy lifting in your GTD system.
A solid checklist system might be a different tool than your Next Action list manager.

Clayton.
Today's discovery: A benefit of having separate tools for different activities is it helps reinforce habits & efficiency using the tools, as long has they can be used largely independently. Distraction is reduced.

 

[ivanjay205]

For routines, I rely on checklists in a separate app from next actions. Only the top item is in next actions (complete x checklist).
Eventually,, though, my habit was to open my [footstep emoji] AM Checklist. I could check checklist items off in any order and review the list as a whole.

My checklist tool requires unchecking to reset the checklist for next time. The surprising thing about having to do that extra step: it allowed me to reflect on how well I had done on the routine yesterday.

I only needed the NA for a bit until it became habit to open up the checklist first, to start my day.

Checklists can do a lot of heavy lifting in your GTD system.
A solid checklist system might be a different tool than your Next Action list manager.

Clayton.
Today's discovery: A benefit of having separate tools for different activities is it helps reinforce habits & efficiency using the tools, as long has they can be used largely independently. Distraction is reduced.

I am of a little different school of thought there. I really like everything in one place. That is why I moved to Omnifocus. I think I am getting the hang of it. There is a lot to this program.

 

[Peter Van Harmelen]

I was once like you, and I tried hard to find the Omnifocus setup that was perfect for me, or at least really good. I never did find it, but I hope you have better luck. I am beta-testing Omnifocus 4, mostly on iPad. It does improve on Omnifocus 3 in some ways.

Since I have a stand-alone Waiting For list in Things right now, it can be done. As David Allen says, any good list manager can work well for GTD. I“ve read/listened/watched a lot of material from many sources, including Stringer and Dini. But I want my own system to be as simple, fast and clear as possible. The two best pieces of advice I have: listen carefully to what David Allen and his associates are saying, and then work towards a simple system which works for you based on your own experiences.

Very true, @mcogilvie a simple system is very effective. Like you, I've watched and read a lot about GTD and GTD & OmniFocus, but my system remains my own and it doesn't stray that far for the OmniFocus guide for GTD. Tim Stringer does have a lot of great resources for learning how to use GTD and what I like about Dini is that he combines productivity with creating a workflow that encourages mindfulness and calm, which I have been more into the last few years.

 

[Eric Bowers]

I've used Things and OmniFocus and you know what? I've settled in with Reminders (each Context gets its own list), Notes, and Calendar. The extra project overhead was not worth it in Omnifocus nor Things for me.

 

[Gardener]

Thanks! Clearly a powerful tool once mastered.

I find that it's a mistake for me to use much of its power. With software that has a gazillion features--like OmniFocus and, as another example, Scrivener--I try to use the most basic bare-bones elements of the feature seat for a long, long time and then use added features only when I feel a strong need for that specific feature.

I realize you're not me. And that strategy may not be a good one for you at all. I just was reading your post and thinking, "That's a lot of complexity to be using early on...."

 

[Eric Bowers]

Very true, @mcogilvie a simple system is very effective. Like you, I've watched and read a lot about GTD and GTD & OmniFocus, but my system remains my own and it doesn't stray that far for the OmniFocus guide for GTD. Tim Stringer does have a lot of great resources for learning how to use GTD and what I like about Dini is that he combines productivity with creating a workflow that encourages mindfulness and calm, which I have been more into the last few years.

Stringer, Dini, and David Sparks all have wonderful, comprehensive content. It's that old trigger in my brain that says "but look at all that you can do with those lists!" that after watching their videos makes me want to use OmniFocus again!

 

[Peter Van Harmelen]

Stringer, Dini, and David Sparks all have wonderful, comprehensive content. It's that old trigger in my brain that says "but look at all that you can do with those lists!" that after watching their videos makes me want to use OmniFocus again!

Ha, I think that trigger mechanism lives in all of our brains to some extent. Even though, I use OmniFocus, I keep it as simple as possible and as complex as I need. That optimal point is different for everyone no matter what tools you use. I confess that I have a weakness for over complicating and it is is a constant struggle to not let that happen. I’ve also been a tool hopper, which is equally unproductive. I’ve been using OmniFocus for 18 months or so, I’ve been good both on the fiddle with my system front and the tool hopper front. It’s a good tool for my GTD system anyway.

 

[Eric Bowers]

Ha, I think that trigger mechanism lives in all of our brains to some extent. Even though, I use OmniFocus, I keep it as simple as possible and as complex as I need. That optimal point is different for everyone no matter what tools you use. I confess that I have a weakness for over complicating and it is is a constant struggle to not let that happen. I’ve also been a tool hopper, which is equally unproductive. I’ve been using OmniFocus for 18 months or so, I’ve been good both on the fiddle with my system front and the tool hopper front. It’s a good tool for my GTD system anyway.

Thanks for the insight, Peter. I can totally relate. I love OmniFocus. Perhaps I will start over with just a Next Actions perspective, sorted by context. The Reminders app is super simple, and I am reminded each morning of David Allen when I look at items that show up in Today that were future dated yesterday. "Keep it as simple as possible, and no simpler"..as I shuttle tasks onto context-appropriate lists for the day I then think "Can't a computer do this for me?", and I am back to OmniFocus in my brain, LOL.