two contexts for one action?

[Tanja108]

Hi there.
I am new at Omnifocus and wondering if it is possible to relate two contexts to one action.

My wish is to relate an action 1. to the place (eg computer, telephone) and 2. to the person doing it (eg. my son, my husband, myself)

Is there somehow a possibility? maybe I do not oversee the possibilities with nesting one context into the other in the right way?

Thanks for your help,

Tanja

[Tanja108]

and one more thought: sometimes there are tasks parts of the family or all members of the family do together....

[RobTrew]

OF is really for planning your own actions.

If you are trying to manage your family members as project resources (and can win their cooperation without creating tension) you may be better off with Omniplan.

[Toadling]

A fair number of people have asked for the ability to assign multiple contexts. Search this forum and you'll find at least one very long discussion. But for now, OmniFocus only supports a single context per action.

You can do some fancy stuff with nesting contexts, like:

@computer : @son or @son : @computer

But that has its limitations too.

Personally, I've had good results from just choosing the single most appropriate context when multiple ones apply. The best context is the one that is the "critical path" or the most limiting circumstance affecting the action. For example, if your son lives out of the house or in another town, then his availability is a much greater limiting factor than the availability of the computer on your desk. On the other hand, if your son lives at home and is frequently around but your computer is a laptop shared among family members, then your computer is likely the critical path.

I actually really like the clarity and simplicity of this approach. I've tried another app that allows multiple tags per action but, after fiddling with it for a few days, came to the conclusion that I just didn't need the multiple contexts as much as I had thought and it brought unnecessary complication to my project planning.

[keone]

Tanja, I suggest you consider using folders for your family, and keep your contexts as universal as possible (phone, e-mail, etc.). You could have a folder titled FAMILY, then have nested folders within that folder for each of you: you, your husband & your son. I use folders all the time, with much success. For example, I have a WORK folder and a PERSONAL folder, and then folders within each of those that pertain to my projects. Combining folders with OF's FOCUS feature, which allows the user to look at the contents of just one folder at a time, works pretty well for me. Play around with this idea. I think it may address your needs.

Hope this helps.

John

[Toadling]

Tanja, I suggest you consider using folders for your family, and keep your contexts as universal as possible (phone, e-mail, etc.).

That's a really good suggestion, John. I do the same thing to a certain degree. I think the ability to focus in OmniFocus is often overlooked. It's a great organizational feature and a nice way to narrow-down your lists.