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I can't comment on the books suggested above, but I'll try to tackle a few of your specific queries.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jables View Post
Projects - One of my initial concerns is regarding my organization of projects and project folders in OF. I'm having a difficult time figuring what should be a folder and what should be the actual project. In my first pass of Organization, I noticed that I had a lot of folders with projects underneath them, that had the exact same name as the folder itself. While the organization of it all seemed decent, the project itself didn't seem like an actual project.
I think the key you're looking for is the "single action list" type for projects.
Here's a structure a lot of people seem to use:


[Folder] My House
[Project] Repaint Basement
[Action] Pick up paint chips --> context: home repair store
[Action] Bribe kids to pick up their toys
[Action] Find the drop cloths (in the garage?)
[Project] Get Roof Replaced
...(some actions go here)
[Single Action List] Maintain My House
[Action] Buy 40w bulb for guest room --> context: home repair store
[Action] Fix the back gate
These actions in "maintain my house" are independent things, but they're towards a loose shared goal of "don't let the house fall down around my ears".

Quote:
Contexts - This makes it a little difficult to determine what stuff really goes where.
I think it takes a little trial & error to find out what your most useful contexts are. A lot of things that might have been a "Computer" action for me 5 years ago (when OmniFocus started) are now "Anywhere" because I have a computer (iPhone) always at hand. I actually have separate contexts named "Work" and "Omni". The latter is for things which can only be done when I am at the office. But the "Work" context includes things which can be done from my home computer (like answering this forum post).

Quote:
I'm just curious if there are any tips you all might have for contexts. I'm somewhat torn as to whether these are things that should focus what I do or just tell me when I'm actually can do something and leave the "whether or not" up to me.
I find contexts most useful:
- When you look at an action, quickly noticing where you need to go physically to get it done. (Eg Go to the home repair store to get the light bulb.)
- When you are going to or already in a place (or state of mind) and think "what should I get done while I'm here?" (Eg Since I'm already going to the home repair store for light bulbs, I should also pick up paint samples for repainting the basement.)

For each context, consider whether it meets one of these needs. How do you decide what to do for your workout? If having a single list of workouts you'd like to do soon will help you decide what to do next time you lace up your sneakers, put them all in your workout context. If you do better pre-committing to your workouts (or have workout classes), maybe they should be recorded as Calendar events?

Contexts and Projects are not locked in. Make an appointment with yourself perhaps once a month (at first) to review your organization, and think about what's not working, and how you can improve it. (I say an appointment, because I have a nasty habit of deferring these sorts of "to do" items if I don't pre-schedule a specific time.)

Hope that helps.

Last edited by Lizard; 2013-01-13 at 11:45 PM.. Reason: formatting for clarity