Beginners Tip

[chensta]

Hey guys, William here.

I just got my first iPhone on the weekend (4S), and one of the first things I looked for was a powerful todo/task manager, and from reading reviews, it seems Omni is as powerful as it gets.

But I also understand that, Omni's power comes in the way it handles workflow, rather than all out features list.

And I have done some beginner reading on GTD, and also bought the book, which should be arriving in a week or 2.

However, I was wondering if anyone here will be willing to give me a nice run down of:

1) How you use Omni for iPhone (examples/scenarios I love examples, and real life scenarios on how it applies!)
2) When would you use Projects vs Actions
3) What is the best way to use contexts? Is it a bit like tagging?
4) Any other power tips you have to get the most out of Omni and general productivity

I understand that I am asking alot, but I believe the answers will help alot of newbies, and perhaps even people who have been using Omni for a while, but not in the right way.

But to help things along, I will offer $20 on Paypal to the best answer (Or 2 x $10...for 2 best answers/guides). I'll decide by Friday :)

Thanks again guys, and looking forward to being a part of this community!

Will

[Christian]

Hello William,

welcome to the community.

This website might interest you http://usingomnifocus.com/ (also see the resources section there).

If your questions still stand afterwards we will be glad to provide some insight.

Enjoy

[chensta]

Thanks Christian,

Should I still go through the whole GTD book first, or this site and its resources should be sufficient for now?

[Christian]

Having read the book helps to understand the fundamentals. If you have ordered it anyways I would read it since it also assists you in getting the right global mindset. If you are on a budget and can still cancel it I think it would not set you back too much.

The page I linked sells its own book which is specifically written around OF and is more modern than the "old" GTD which does not really reflect modern times where everybody has a smartphone with them...

[chensta]

Ahh right, that makes sense, I can try to cancel, if not, then I'll leave it for bedtime reading :)

There is quite alot of resources, and I noticed alot of it is talking about the Mac App in particular. Unfortunately I don't have a Mac, and I don't think I will any time soon. Just how much can I get done purely through iPhone? Or do you recommend me use any other things on the iPhone/Web to augment this?

[Tedallen]

I would disagree with Christian a bit in that I think that Getting Things Done helps a lot in explaining what the GTD methodology is, why it works and how to do it.

[emory]

If you haven't read Getting Things Done and aren't already using that type of prioritization and workflow, you should probably stick to Reminders in iOS 5 until you have a need for OmniFocus.

Edit: especially if you don't have a Mac and aren't going to use OmniFocus for Mac OS X.