[wilsonng]

Originally Posted by svsmailus

I'd be a bit cautious about this. Just because something has been mentioned as a possibility does not mean it will become a reality. Omni does not have a speedy development cycle. The current version of Omnifocus was initially released in 2008. That makes it just over 6 years old. Version two, apart from the iPhone, is not out yet.

Speedy development cycles also have their detractors. We see people complain about how Adobe pushes out a new Adobe Suite upgrade every year. It appears that the changes are incremental but we pay the full upgrade price or just skip every other version upgrade. We see yearly updates to the iPhone and people complain that it isn't revolutionary enough. There seems to be a new FileMaker Pro update every year with small incremental changes and an upgrade price.

On the other spectrum, Omni has been steadily updating OmniFocus without charging for it. Omni has been also busy trying to keep up with the various iOS updates and adding features that we didn't have before. Things like iOS Reminder integration, an iPad app, and two iPhone apps (OF 1 for iPhone and OF 2 for iPhone).


Heck, we also see programs get long in the tooth all the time. Microsoft Office hasn't been updated since 2011 is one example. Within the last week, there was a huge outcry about Apple taking 4 days to address a security program with Mac OS X.

So there is no real definition about speedy development process. Omni had to deal with keeping their programs compatible with multiple versions of Mac OS X and iOS and slowly adding features at the same time.

Basing your use of omnifocus on the possibility of multiple contexts could cause you considerable investment financially and you may not see multiple context for a number of years.

I don't know about this. There are many people who have been working just fine with single contexts. No serious considerable financial investment lost here. But of course I also would love to see tags and am willing to wait for it. But for now, many folks have their system humming along just fine or have switched to other tools with the intent of coming back to OmniFocus to see what the future holds.

I use omnifocus less and less as it is too inflexible for my productivity focus. I use Covey matrix. Omnifocus is great if you work the way it wants you to. If not you'll end up endlessly tweaking it and not being effective.

I've found that OmniFocus has actually been quite flexible. Its flexibility lends itself to becoming difficult to use. But its flexibility has also allowed me to change my folder structures and use of contexts over the years.

I've also found that it made me challenge myself. We can have well baked ideas and philosophies that may have worked in 2010 but no longer work in 2014. Sometimes, it is a good idea to face one's self in the mirror and find other ways. I've used the Covey matrix a few years ago. I've found other similar philosophies that actually support the Covey matrix and expanded on it. I don't see a reason to stay with one philosophy. I like changing my productivity system as my needs and demands change over the years. In high school and college, an ABC priority method may have worked well for me but it won't work now. My life is very different and needed a different productivity system to handle a different workload. I know that when I retire, I'll probably not need the capabilities as much because my work demands will have dramatically changed or been reduced.

As always, we're always looking at one software package or another. It's good to switch when you need to. But every time I've tried switching, I find features of OmniFocus that I can't seem to find in other programs and end up coming right back. The last time, I had tried out Things 2 for a month. It didn't take. I just missed so much of OmniFocus. I switched back. But I did find several aspects of Things that I would love to have. But it's not enough to keep me in Things.