Question on managing errands so they're not overwhelming.
 

I just did ANOTHER overhaul of my whole GTD system, which means I'm one step closer to the perfect setup:) but I'm running into a problem. I just started really taking advantage of the power of next action items - the problem is....I have a single actions errands list for each of my folder categories (personal, business, photography mgmt, etc, etc) which contains items I'd like to (or NEED TO) complete. The problem is, there are a lot of them, and being that they're on a single action items list, they're ALL showing up as next actions which is just creating an overwhelming list for me. Initially I had put my errands lists on "hold" so that they wouldn't show up there but then they also don't show up on my badge count next to the category when I have things due. So what's the best way to manage these? How is everyone managing their errands? Does anyone know if there's a way to go into settings and change the "badge" preferences to that the badge count includes items on lists even if the list is on a hold status?

Thanks in advance!

Have you tried making them parallel projects instead of single action lists? Then you'll only get one next action per list.

Yeah, I did that, thank you. I was just wondering if there were any other ways. Is there any way to change the setting for what shows up in the badge count?

Yes and no. You can control whether you have a badge count or just a visual indication or nothing at all, but it is done on a per-class basis. For example, you could set it to just put a dot next to project or context names where you have actions that are available but not yet due soon or overdue, and have the counts for those which are. You can read about how to do this [URL="http://forums.omnigroup.com/showpost.php?p=95831&postcount=7"]here[/URL].

As far as I know, there is no way to prevent actions in one class of projects from showing up in badge counts, which seems to be what you are requesting.

Are the errands something you can set into a "leaving" or "arriving" context? I do this with a bunch of "errand" type actions.

I also use a separate application for checklists (e.g.: shopping list), with tasks in OmniFocus only existing to remind me to update the external checklists. I don't want to afford "buy spicy nibbles" the same level of attention as "book car in for service". Never ever! So "buy [grocery X]" goes into its own special application.

Hey Grail..Sorry I've been away from this post for the past few days, I wasn't getting many replies - I hope you read this. Can you elaborate on that a bit? At the risk of sounding uninformed, what exactly do you mean by leaving/arriving? I feel like there's something I'm missing here. Can you give me an example - this might be very helpful! Thanks for the reply.

[QUOTE=Grail;106236]Are the errands something you can set into a "leaving" or "arriving" context? I do this with a bunch of "errand" type actions.

I also use a separate application for checklists (e.g.: shopping list), with tasks in OmniFocus only existing to remind me to update the external checklists. I don't want to afford "buy spicy nibbles" the same level of attention as "book car in for service". Never ever! So "buy [grocery X]" goes into its own special application.[/QUOTE]

OmniFocused, I'm with Grail and suggest you consider devolving certain categories into other Apps.

I have a folder on my iDevices labelled GTD that holds c. half-a-dozen Apps inc. OF. For routine shopping and errands, I use [URL="http://highfivelabs.com/honeydo_landing.htm"][U]HoneyDo[/U][/URL], which in my case is ideal as it is multi-user. This means that if I'm in a supermarket I can see what other members of my family (and a neighbour) need. Likewise, errands such as 'wash car' can be picked up by someone else if they happen to be nearby the service. We also have several 'groups' that include a circle of friends, where we list games, dvds, tools, etc. which we can loan and borrow.

For another example, vacations and business trips are handed off to [URL="http://www.silverwaresoftware.com/TravelTracker.html"][U]Travel Tracker[/U][/URL], ie. if I book a flight the confirmation email automatically loads and gives me a range of info. inc. departure delays, gate numbers, boarding etc. with a range of customisable alerts.

The young'uns have moved over to [URL="http://istudentpro.com/"][U]iStudiez[/U][/URL] for their university course planning.

etc. etc.

I still use OF, but was forced to devolve when our business went with another product as it was decided that our main priority was to go multi-user. I realised then that it was more important for me to actually get things done (and that certain tasks were better handled by dedicated Apps) rather than me trying to shoehorn everything into OF.

However, as always, YMMV!