Workflow restriction due to "no duration"

[edwardro]

Hi evereone....I am enjoying my ipad version a lot!!!

One issue I am having with it though is that it will affect my workflow if I wanted to use the ipad as the main "Omnifocus Device" as I was dreaming to.

Let me explain, just in case I am missing something.

Every week I flag all the actions I want to do during the week, then I assign a "5m" duration to those actions I want to do "today". That gives me my "to do list"

Well, they ipad version (same as iphone) does not seem to support "duration".

Am I missing anything?

Please help.

Thanks,

Edward

[rrklever]

Hi Edward,

Perhaps this can help: Make a perspective (on the desktop version) in which you can select the duration as a filter. That way it only shows you the to-do items with a limited time frame.

In your case, you might set the limit to 5m but allow it to select from any project/context. Now, it will show you your to-do-list for today (which updates automatically).

On the iPad, you can find the perspectives in your basic toolbar. You cannot make new perspectives on the iPad itself, you need the desktop version for that.

Good luck!

[edwardro]

Hi rrklever, thanks for your quick response.

I already have the "today's" perspective created on my imac and it carries over the ipad nicely.

The problem is if I wanted to create actions on the ipad to do today, which to me, it means "to do today" by means of adding a "5m" duration.

So if I create the action on the imac, no problem, it will carry over the ipad, but in the ipad I don't find a way to do it.

Being able to do this is important to me because during the morning reviews on the ipad I would be able to select the actions to do today just by adding the "5m" duration.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Edward

[curt.clifton]

As you've noticed, the ability to set duration didn't make it to the iPad in version 1.0. Use Contact Omni in the gear menu to submit your feature request.

In the meantime, do you use the flag field? That's how I'm identifying today's must-do items when the piles of work get deep.

[edwardro]

Hi Curt¡¡¡

Yes, I use the flag feature but for compiling a set of action s that I want to do this week. From there then I choose the ones I want to do today by means of adding the 5m duration.

The flags would be my weekly target, the 5m would give me my today focus.

Would you have any other ideas of implementing this type of workflow on the iPad?

Thanks.

[curt.clifton]

This is much more drastic, but I'll post it as food for thought. What if you put all the projects on hold, other than your weekly goals? That would free up your flag field for today. (I'm experimenting with something similar by having many fewer active projects, though I'm doing it on a monthly basis instead of weekly. Weeks just go by too fast these days!)

[edwardro]

Thanks Curt....the problem with me is that I have a lot of projects that come and go during a week. So it could be a project that lasts 3 days for example. Others last a lot longer of course.

The main thing though it that putting them on hold will take a lot more "thinking" resources though each weekly review.

I understand that this is probably why you said it is more "drastic", however, I think that If I think about Active Projects to concentrate during the month, it may make things more palatable.

I think I will have to give it a try since I need to make it compatible with the ipad.

Thanks again,

Edward