Omnifocus without having a mac
 

Hello, I am a PC user (so far, currently wondering to buy a mac...) and bought recently an iPhone. I know the GTD system and I am searching for a tool to use it.

Looking at the omnifocus software I would like to know if it is worthy if you do not have a mac. In fact, although I buy a mac for home I will allways have to use a PC for work.

Thanks

Luis Romanos
Spain

[QUOTE=luisromanos;72019]Hello, I am a PC user (so far, currently wondering to buy a mac...) and bought recently an iPhone. I know the GTD system and I am searching for a tool to use it.

Looking at the omnifocus software I would like to know if it is worthy if you do not have a mac. In fact, although I buy a mac for home I will allways have to use a PC for work.

Thanks

Luis Romanos
Spain[/QUOTE]
I, too, use a PC at work, but bought OmniFocus just recently for my iPhone. There is no need to have a Mac to use this software, and it might only be strance if you've used the Mac prior to the phone. I am thrilled to have it on the iPhone (only) as it is absolutely workable. I'd bet many Mac users will not look to their desktops as much if they have the iPhone version as well. I recently spoke to the "Support Nijas" on another topic, and was lead to believe that a web UI verion is in the works for a possible release. Don't let that be a concern, as the iPhone software rocks if you are familiar with the GTD system.

Luis,

I used it for months without a Mac. It works even better on the iPhone than on the Mac. I just bought a beautiful iMac and I still use the iPhone version more.

One suggestion. Set up a free WebDav account (I use mydisk ) and backup your information there. If you should delete the application or need to retrieve it, you can do it from there!

Saludos a la bella Espana, a Asturias, que guapa yes y a mi tierra, Gora Euskadi!

I use a PC at work and use OmniFocus on the iPhone exclusively. It works really well for me, though there are a couple of things that I think I could benefit from more if I used the Mac version.

1. Sometimes it is harder to plan stuff out just using the iPhone app due to limited visibility (for example, being able to view a project with all tasks and sub-tasks expanded). If I need to, I'll plan out a project in OneNote on my PC and then dump it manually into OF.

2. Typing. This isn't a flaw of OF for iPhone and I've gotten pretty fast at using the iPhone keyboard. Obviously though, text entry would be faster on the Mac and I could add more robust Notes and information to my tasks.

@patgallant,

hey man, didn't we meet in the Things forum? I came back to Omnifocus as of yesterday and deleted Things from both my iPhone and Mac. Enough is enough and you can only go so far with good looks.

I had used Omnifocus for quite a while befoer but never on the Mac. It's the best there is at least for me. I handle about 50 projects with around 250 tasks. I also use it as a customer filer.

Cheers

[QUOTE=Mango Himself;72142]@patgallant,

hey man, didn't we meet in the Things forum? I came back to Omnifocus as of yesterday and deleted Things from both my iPhone and Mac. Enough is enough and you can only go so far with good looks.

I had used Omnifocus for quite a while befoer but never on the Mac. It's the best there is at least for me. I handle about 50 projects with around 250 tasks. I also use it as a customer filer.

Cheers[/QUOTE]

Yup, I pop in over there once in a while. :)

iphone app is great, but . . .
 

I agree that the OF's iPhone app is the best GTD app for iPhone out there, however, if you are in your GTD all day like I am, and working many projects (I currently have 46 active projects, with hundreds of tasks) and almost as many on hold or about to start, you'll appreciate entering and updating tasks on a desktop or laptop. There are things that cannot be done on the iPhone app. The most serious for me is entering a complete date for the task. If you tick each task off right when it is completed, the iPhone will work, however, I am so busy most days that I like to use downtime to tick off completions and sometimes that doesn't happen until the next day. I like to have the real date of completion instead of today's date that is always applied when ticking tasks with the iPhone app.

Another feature I miss is my full list of perspectives, though the OF folks are making some headway here, and my scripts which automate things like waiting for replys are also of course not available on the iPhone. Just my take for what it's worth, John.

Customer Filer?
 

[QUOTE=Mango Himself;72142] I also use it as a customer filer.[/QUOTE]
@Mango Himself - care to describe how you're using OF as a customer filer?

I too keep coming back to this as the "all in one" solution for my business, and a client information repository is a very important feature I haven't figured out how to implement well yet. I need a good workflow to track client communication / support tickets.

A description of your system would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Jake

@Jake

The way I do it is quite simple but works for me.

1. I create a CUSTOMERS folder

2. I create subfolders such as ACTIVE CLIENTS, DELIVERED, PENDING PAYMENT, etc.

3. I create a project for each existing client and place it in its corresponding folder.

4. In the client's memo, I capture phone, email, address, contact info, etc. In short, as much information as possible so I can have it handy. I also write a short recap of the client's personality, line of business, etc.

5. Every time I call a client or send an email or receive an email, I enter a date in the client's memo and write a quick reference to the communique (ie. "Sent her email re pictures" or "called her about colors") That way I keep a dated log of all activities. Note: now that I have a Mac I just drag and drop the email and it creates a link for future reference but the way I described is for iPhone/iPod alone.

6. Every task I must perform, I enter within the customer's project as usual and just prioritize it, context it or date it depending on the system I use.

7. When a client has ben delivered and owes money, I move the entire project to another folder. In this case, it would be moved to PENDING PAYMENT. You can create as many folders as needed buy I try to keep it to the bare minimum.

The work method I use is a combination of GTD and Franklin Covey. I create a context for phone calls, another one for emails, one for NEXT. I do not use contexts for places since I am pretty much at the same place every day.

It works for me and there is permanent record of all my relationship with the client form the original approach all the way to the final delivery and payment. Some of my clients are under a maintenance plan and it also helps me to bill them and show them what actions have been performed.

Let me know if you have any doubts and if it worked for you.
Cheers

Gui

[QUOTE=ScottPBelanger;72044]I, too, use a PC at work, but bought OmniFocus just recently for my iPhone. There is no need to have a Mac to use this software, and it might only be strance if you've used the Mac prior to the phone. I am thrilled to have it on the iPhone (only) as it is absolutely workable. I'd bet many Mac users will not look to their desktops as much if they have the iPhone version as well. I recently spoke to the "Support Nijas" on another topic, and was lead to believe that a web UI verion is in the works for a possible release. Don't let that be a concern, as the iPhone software rocks if you are familiar with the GTD system.[/QUOTE]

Thanks Scott