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-   -   Am I Missing Something? Newbie attempting to customize font colors (http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=30134)

Brother A 2013-06-24 08:00 PM

Am I Missing Something? Newbie attempting to customize font colors
 
Greetings,

[B][I][COLOR="Purple"]I need color!!! [/COLOR][/I][/B]I just plunked down the [COLOR="Green"]$80[/COLOR] to hopefully begin working with OmniFocus and am coming up against some initial yuck factors...

[U][COLOR="Blue"]I am mainly really dis-satisfied that I am not finding an easy to customize the look of my Project lists [/COLOR][/U]and other area's via changing the font / size / color - especially for the master project list on the left side. I of course found the universal settings in the preferences and would prefer to change the fonts and colors more individually than globally. [B][I][COLOR="Teal"]Is this possible in OF?[/COLOR] [/I][/B]

[I][COLOR="Red"]For me, it is critical to give colorful life and distinction to my lists[/COLOR][/I] or else it is a flat uninspiring list that does not compel action! And, the way my brain works, I can loose things in lists without more ways to customize the look of them. I am posting below an example of the kind of color options I am hoping to make happen in OmniFocus. Again, sure am hoping there a trick I am missing.

Also, am surprised a simple feature like "prioritizing" is not in this expensive program. Will also add a screenshot of "Process" which WAS my favorite organizing software until Jumsoft stopped supporting it and it started "bugging". I believe that company is crazy for not taking that software to the next level. For me, it already surpassed Things and could go neck and neck with OF.

[B][COLOR="Purple"]Thanks for your support![/COLOR]
(^_^) [/B]

~ A ~

[IMG]http://i1-mac.softpedia-static.com/screenshots/Growly-Notes_1.jpg?1363346521[/IMG]

[URL="https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/15698/process"]https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/15698/process[/URL]

brentajones 2013-06-25 08:49 AM

I'm amazed people pay $80 without doing a little research about what the software is capable of.

[url=http://www.workenplay.com/2009/12/little-things-how-to-change-omnifocus-theme/]Here's[/url] one tutorial about how to customize the look of Omnifocus, including a link to a repository of themes.

Brother A 2013-06-25 11:19 AM

Thank for your reply and the link to the templates. I guess by "people" you referring to me and, yes, I did plenty of research. And, was obviously not paying attention to the obvious. Having used Process and Growly Notes (which is Free) for so long, I was not even thinking to look if it would be possible for a premium software of this kind to accomplish something that I would consider to be a "no-brainer" such as customizing the color or type for a font in a list. I was more looking at and attracted to the work flow and systemic level of OmniFocus which I like. But in this moment the lack of customization might be a deal breaker for me... Guess its time to look into return policy info.

wilsonng 2013-06-25 05:16 PM

Priorities are fluid labels that we arbitrarily assign to events or tasks that reflects the current state of mind. Priorities is a relic from previous generation task management or time management systems such as Franklin-Covey Day Planner and can't keep up with today's fast changing environments.

I can put a label on a bunch of tasks that says "High", "Medium", and "Low".

I may have 3 high priority tasks that I need to get done. But then something else happens. The servers go down and your "high" priority tasks suddenly become secondary while you try to hustle and bustle to get the servers back up.

Then your kid gets into an accident at school. You know that you should drop your work and go check on your kid if there is something life threatening.

You'll have your high priority tasks all lined up today but then a natural disaster such as a sudden tornado or earthquake puts everything else on the backburner.

You're working on your high priority tasks and suddenly the boss comes in and says "stop the presses. We've got a new front page story and I want all hands on deck to work on this today!"



There is a movement of people who learned that priority labels are no longer a tool that can be used effectively.

Here's another way to use "priorities" in OmniFocus.

Assign due dates to tasks/projects that [bold]must be done by that date[/bold].

In the morning, look at the all due soon and overdue items. You should try to complete overdue items first and then try to get ahead of the game by finishing due soon tasks.

Use flags to indicate medium priority items. These items have no due date and are not high priority. The flagged items are tasks/projects that you would like to focus on in the next 7 days. You do these tasks [bold]after[/bold] you finish your due tasks.

All other items that are not flagged and due are low priority. Don't do any of these items unless you're in low energy mode or have finished as many of your due items and flagged items that you can do for the day.


In the default OF theme, overdue items will be red. This indicates a task that you should've done already. But if you ignore it, that's your choice and at your own peril. Go to the Due perspective and rename it High Priority if you wish.

Then visit the Flagged perspective to look at Medium priority items. Rename it to Medium Priority or "This Week's Focus".

Yes, I know that we all want the program to wrap around [bold]our own workflow[/bold]. But sometimes learning another system or workflow can provide new insight and a new workflow that you can adapt to your setup.

I know that I have to change modes when I switch from one language to another. It wasn't easy for the first six months of fumbling my way through Mandarin Chinese but I eventually got the hang of it.


I've learned to steer away from priority labels such as high, medium, low. Life is too fluid. What you may think is high priority is actually a lower priority to your boss/spouse/kids/whomever.

Using perspectives to show views of High, Medium, and Low priorities will do wonders. Heck even creating custom perspectives for "Summer Projects 2013" or "Kid's Activities and Ideas" or "Office Work Only" can help you narrow in on things you should or want to be doing. Using colors isn't the only way to help you classify or label project/tasks.


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