OmniFocus became a time suck for me because I was spending more time planning than actually doing. I’ve learned to either be in Planning/Reviewing mode and use OmniFocus and then write down a few tasks and a Big Rock into my BuJo. Then I work from my BuJo instead of from OmniFocus (or whatever task manager).
If that’s all your current demands are today then that’s a great setup. When life changes or a new situation arrives, thankfully it’s up to us to move up or down when choosing the next task manager.
This was essentially where I ended up. Over the last few years, I had realized I was feeling resistance every time I opened OmniFoucs. I didn’t understand it, but I discovered the problem and it was not the app’s fault it was my own process. On my quest to figure out what was wrong, I studied a lot of what was working for other people and check out this guide.
I found my problem was that my OmniFocus set up had gradually morphed into this system that just served as my task master for things I didn’t want to do but had to do. I’d see long list of past due “chore-like” activities and all my “creative” projects were buried and un-findable. Part of that problem lies in the danger of GTD. To GTD every next action is equal to every other next action. It’s just something to be done. We, the practitioners, make decisions about what tasks to prioritize etc. I modified my perspectives to enable OmniFocus to better automate my prioritization so all the important things that I want to do get done, without dropping the ball on those “have to do” administrative chores.
This could be a separate involved discussion. I know there are two big views about using OF as a list keeper or reference material keeper. @timstringer, I believe is in the camp of keeping non-actionable lists out of OF. I agree with some of his (and others’, who share that view) arguments on that point. You risk winding up where I was if you have a bunch of “clutter” in your database.
On the other hand, I don’t want to have my reading list in GoodReads, my movie list in IMDb, my music wishlist on Discogs, or OmniOutliner documents or the like. My system breaks down when I have too many tools that I have to manage. I like to have all my GTD lists (projects, next actions, goals, areas of focus, checklists, someday/maybe, agendas), my wish lists, and the like all in one place. I’m not sure it’s workable as a practice, though. If I use the standby tag and exclude it from most perspectives, those “list” tasks do stay hidden. But it’s also simple enough to have a kick-off task in OF that tells you to go check a list outside OmniFocus. I don’t have an answer yet, but I enjoy learning about the things others have tried.
I do have very little problem keeping reference material out of OmniFocus because in my head the purpose of OF is to have items that you check-off and then go away. I can accept that my reference material should not go away and i don’t want to keep a task in OF “forever.”
The one thing I would like is to keep my read-reviews as tasks in OmniFocus (but those are still check-off items, anyway). Right now, I have a task in OF and the actual reading material in a dropbox folder. I do it this way because it’s a pain on iOS: open the task, go to the attachment, open the share sheet, send to PDF Expert or Word or whatever, annotate, and then save somewhere else. I’ve made a feature request to the OmniGroup to enable OmniFocus to be a file provider in the Files App so that would streamline this process (and enable OF to always have the current version of the file).
I to have adult ADHD and also have used Omnifocus. I find that sometimes it is just to much for the way my brain works.
I have been using Todoist and really like it. I like the way you can just write for example. Eat lard at 5pm and it will set a reminder to eat lard at 5pm. It has tags also as well as projects.
I know how you feel but maybe it is just not the right app for you. I hope I’m wrong and good luck.
Don’t put work-only stuff in there. Put some fun projects like vacations, building a beautiful deck patio, or a project to track a hobby. If it’s all work and no play in the task manager, it’s no fun and you won’t do anything. Procrastination is also something that I’m sensing here. I still struggle with procrastination myself and I’m very aware of that. But that’s a whole other topic and can of worms to open for another day. Perhaps looking at this from a procrastination problem point of view might be something to work on?
Evernote tries to be an everything tool but I wasn’t quite sold on it myself.
I found it easier to track my tv show watchlist in another iPhone app and prefer it that way.
I also like using mind maps to start project planning something complex instead of starting right away in OmniFocus.
I keep Omnifocus for current active projects and repeating projects that will start at some future date but are routines. I also have some on hold projects for common tasks that I create a new copy of when I need to do that task (get guest house ready for new guests, or clean after guests leave)
All the rest are in DEVONThink. That gives me one of 2 places to look for stuff. OF for current and upcoming and DT for everything else.
This is excellent advice. But i wasn’t intending to imply a procrastination problem of mine. I was only observing that the way I designed my OmniFocus the good stuff was getting buried and had to be found more manually. The ratio of chore-like tasks to the “creative” tasks was out of whack in my system before re-designing it.
It was so because I have many more discrete chore-like tasks and because GTD itself does not distinguish the value of one task over another. I would be looking for a particular needle in a stack of needles. I fixed the problem by designing better perspectives that would surface these more meaningful tasks—without ignoring the other tasks. So all the needles are still getting done, and getting done when they should be.
Your setup and mine are quite similar, except I have not embraced DevonThink yet. I’ve been experimenting with it, though, and like the idea of it quite a bit.
I agree; this is such a helpful entry method for people who are or feel like they may become overwhelmed. I really hope OF adds this for text entry. It’s already there via Siri.
What app do you use to track your TV shows? I used an app that I can’t remember the name, but it was discontinued last year. I use TV Time now after Jason Snell suggested it. I need it just to know when stuff comes on since my wife and I cut the cord over six years ago.
I must admit that all the helpful suggestions are doing my head in. I mentioned not getting into the weeds, and the amount of detailed information is overwhelming. If I hadn’t already paid for Omni Focus, i probably wouldn’t want to use it now. Now I’m wishing I hadn’t bought it.
I had a similar realization recently and it has inspired some different time management approaches. I was thinking about my pantry and how if I treated it like I was treating OF, I’d feel everything would need to be cooked and somewhat out of context of an actual meal:
Cook eggplant
Eat almonds
Spread jelly
I never cook like that. I look in my pantry and think “what do I want to make?” Or “what am I hungry for?” And I wondered if OF could be that way, too. A cabinet full of all sorts of things — some more appetizing than others, some that expire soon, some that are particularly good for me — that I could go to and make choices based on how I felt and what I wanted.
@MarcL - I want to apologize for my part in this. I never meant to contribute to co-opting your thread by getting into weeds you never wanted to explore. Please do not let this conversation that has drifted far from your original goals discourage you. OmniFocus can be as simple or as complicated as you need it to be. At it’s most basic, you set one or more projects, create tags, and check off items as you do them. You don’t have to get into the nuances of competing productivity systems unless and until you want. The discussion we are having is not the result of faults with OmniFocus, but a byproduct of any method of organizing your tasks–whether by paper or electronically. Your goal is to make the tool serve your needs, not for you to serve the tool. Most of the disgression here is about enabling a tool we like to effectively implement the goals we have for using the tool. Again, sorry to have contributed to making overly-complex, a thread you expected to produce simple (but not simplistic) advice.
@beck - The pantry is the perfect analogy for this. Nicely done! I’m going to respond to the how I fixed the situation in my case, but I’ll do it in a new thread so that I don’t further take this one beyond what @MarcL was hoping for. I’ll tag you and quote from here to consolidate some of this discussion.
So pick what looks like it will work, try it out for a couple of months and then add on if required. Omnifocus is very flexible. You can go from extremely simple to extremely powerful without re-learning a whole new system. That is one huge benefit.
Also give yourself time, GTD is not something you learn in 30 days or even in a year. It takes about 2 years of diligent practice in the methods to get fairly good at them and you will never stop improving.
I think that’s why the martial arts symbology fits with it so well. Somewhere I had a copy of an interpretation of GTD tied to belt colors… Let me see if I can go find it.
Got it, I can’t remember who wrote it and that was before I started making sure I had attributions for important notes.
"White Belt
You recognize that workflow management is something you want to improve
You’ve set up an inbox and started to collect unprocessed stuff
You’ve completed at least one full mind sweep
You’ve identified key areas to purge and organize at work and home
You have begun to create and work with lists of action reminders
You’ve begun to write things down as they occur to you, before they are urgent
Yellow Belt
You have set up some sort of portable capture tool
You have purged and organized your reference and and project files
You have started a Projects list
You’ve gotten your email box to zero at least once
You are actually putting things in your own in-basket, and getting it empty every few days
You have purged and organized at least one black hole storage area in your home or office
You label all binders and other items within work areas
You have done a complete site walk-around, at work and at home, capturing what has your attention
Green Belt
You encourage and challenge others to implement the GTD principles
You said, “What’s the next action?” at least three times at the end of work-related discussions or meetings
You said, “What are we trying to accomplish?” at least three times in work-related discussions
You regularly use a portable note-taking device
You have completed your first thorough weekly review
You create and use lists such as @Action, @ Office, @ Computer, @Calls, Projects, Lists, Someday/Maybe, and Waiting For
You utilize the 2 minute rule on a consistent basis
You are comfortable with what to do with random thoughts about projects
You carry a self management tool on a regular basis
Brown Belt
You stop procrastinating on actions and projects
Your @Action list is really a list of next actions and not mini-projects
All paper on your desk is stored in an appropriate file
No miscellaneous papers remain in your accessories longer than a few hours
You’ve stopped complaining about email
You’ve read something on the road from your Read and Review file
You move items from your Someday/Maybe list to your Project list
You move items from your “projects” list to your “Someday/Maybe” list
You enjoy processing your inbox
Your email box is at zero at least once a week
You conduct regular weekly reviews (at least 2x a month)
You’ve stopped feeling like you need other people to “get” GTD, for you to stay in control
Black Belt
There is little distinction between work and personal life – just a focus on whatever you’re doing
Your system can move between locations as you travel
You finished one major project that originally seemed overwhelming
Your reference files are reviewed and/or purged within the last year
You no longer complain about lack of quality thinking time
You fully trust your system and don’t stress about uncaptured items
Your project list is 75% complete and current
You have to look at your @Calls to know who to call
You maintain working checklists of 20,000- to 50,000-ft horizons
Your mind is, indeed, like water
When your mind is NOT like water, you recognize that, and know how to get back to that state."
Side note: As I’ve been cleaning up my own GTD system one thing I wanted to improve was my ability to find important and useful info I have collected. I thought this would take me at least 5-10 minutes to locate but I decided to time it and see. I found it in less than a minute. So for me the benefits of a disciplined approach based on GTD has proven its value.