Who is using Omnifocus and Why ?

Oogiem

Registered
Is it the right way to organize this according to GTD ?
What do you think about this ?
What coud be the best way do do it ?
Is my setting of folders is correct ?
Does it work for you? Then it's the right way.

Personally I found that having someday/maybe projects in Omnifocus did notwork for me. But that's partly because I typically have between 150-250 active projects and at last count my someday/maybe list of projects were in 63 different text files and included around 1800 separate projects. Dealing with that all in Omnifocus, esp. the review times, was painful and trying to set a review interval in OF was also painful since it was never right and sometimes I'd suddenly end up with hundreds of someday/maybe projects that took several clicks to mark reviewed during my weekly review. Lots of the S/M project lists don't need to get looked at except when a projec tin that category is done or at certain times of the year so separating them is best for me.

I also do not keep any reference in Omnifocus. So I'm not really sure what tasks are reference or why you'd hve it in your task manager.

I have an active projects folder and then Weekly, Monthly, and quarterly folders for recurring projects that start or need to repeat at those times.

I do keep blank (undated) versions of less common projects that I need only occasionally so I don't have to rethink the steps to do them in a folder I call checklists.

I'd play with whatver structure you want for a while. Then fine tune it if you find things that don't work for you.
 

dtj

Registered
I wish there was a bi-directional connection with the reminders app, or whatever other one, that would actively maintain a single list, based upon say a tag, by OF. That would take the GUI complexity out of it when I was gitin' er done. Let's say I have an "@today" tag for todays tasks, and OF would populate a clean list on say 2Do with those @today items, and when it senses of 2Do completed task, it would mark it complete in OF as well. I am basically doing a hybrid manual form of that with 3x5 cards, so that tactical keeps strategic informed, and vice versa.
 

FocusGuy

Registered
I had some little diificulties with omnifocus this week. I was so desesparate that I thought for a while going back to paper list. But a quick test made me realize that is was complicated. It is difficult to use paper only and also with numeric. Missing Links to files and items are also a real problem. So I came back to my omnifocus.

As I was confuse, I updated a lot of datas and realized my setup on OF had to be optimized but I did not know really how...

So I tested again NIRVANA what is for me one of the best software for GTD I ever met and focus on the way I was doing things with it. As I often said If I had to choose a software I would choose Nirvana. But as there are still no possibilities to make a local safe I can import again even in .csv what is just unbelievable ! Imagin if there is a crash as it has happened recently with OVH... It's a breaking point.

But this doesn't mean I can't get any inspiration from NIRVANA I could apply to Omnifocus.

So I add some projects in Nirvana and observed how I worked with it again. I realised there was some crucial point to add in omnifocus. Time (I dont like the way it works, energy, and priorities. I put that in tags. I also simplified my perspective and did a new setting in my folder Project adding 5 mains areas wich are AC (my company) Business, Finance, structuration (for what I want to set up) and at last personnal. I also simplified the way I formulate projects and re formulate only but my next action + added Tags

Now, Omnifocus works great ! I feel comfortable. It is now easy to use and powerfull. I (again) realize I have a tendency to over complicate omnifocus. I had to be : more focus, more essential and to do "the further thinking" as the coach said.

Sometime things blocks not because of the next action but because the way we formulate the next action is simply wrong. it doesn't give us the very next step to do it right and then comes procrastination... At last When this crucial work is done Omnifocus does it perfectly. It is fast, secure and incredibly powerfull.

My next result to obtain is now mooving my horizons in mindmap outside of Omnifocus. it and create confusion instead.
I think I will use Xmind. I have a free version and it is nice for this.
 
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