[wilsonng]

OmniFocus is my master list of projects and tasks. I pull out my due tasks and several projects/next actions that I want to focus on for this week.

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I've personally learned to streamline my projects into as few steps as possible. Sometimes, I'll plan just the next two to four steps and no further. If I do try to plan out the steps, I'll look at a project during the weekly review and see if the next actions needs tweaking/refining. I'll modify a project's next action list based on the progress and whatever unforeseen circumstances occur.

I've learned to ween myself off of OmniFocus. In the beginning, it was my crutch and I did everything and anything with it. Over the years, I've learned to keep stuff in OmniFocus but only reference it when I need it.

I would do my weekly review and look at my due/due soon perspective.I write on the whiteboard all due/due soon projects and their next actions on my white board. I know that these are time-sensitive tasks/projects that I'll need to focus on. I don't put due dates on anything unless it really has a hard deadline.

Then I'll select one or two other big rock projects and the next action. These are the important/non-urgent projects that I would like to make major progress on this week.

Afterwards, I'll hide OmniFocus and focus on the projects/tasks that are on my whiteboard:

• Due/Due Soon
• Big Rock Projects (Important/Non-Urgent)

The only reason I will go back to OmniFocus is to enter in new tasks/projects when inspiration hits me or when something comes into my inbox that I must record. Sometimes I won't even use OmniFocus. I might get distracted and start looking at other next actions to do instead of focusing on what is already on my whiteboard. I often just get out my trusty notepad and write down project ideas/tasks as they come in to my inbox. At the end of the day, I'll process those into OmniFocus.

If I feel I have sufficiently completed as much as I can today on all the whiteboard items, I might just pop back into OmniFocus and look at my "Next Actions available" perspective to se if there are any random tasks that I can accomplish. I will only look at this perspective when I have attained enough progress on my whiteboard items. By hiding OmniFocus, I never get tempted to look at trying to look for another more pleasing/easy next action to accomplish. Or I might get distracted and start tweaking projects/next actions once again. This usually ends with me just burning an hour away and pretending that I actually got something because I was "planning."

I know that OmniFocus will always be there for me when I need it. But I try not to keep the OmniFocus program visible on my computer or on my iPod touch.

Previously, I would feel glorified in keeping OmniFocus open and seeing all those distracting next actions that make me sick. I would feel sick because I'd see a long scrolling list of next actions. But now that my whiteboard holds just the projects/next actions that I want to work on, I feel more "focused." Or should I say I feel more "OmniFocused"? ;-D