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Originally Posted by prominence
But like I said.. just feels like I don't "have enough" to put into OmniFocus.. any responses/advice to this?
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Can I send you some of my work?
But seriously, I think you've raised the crucial point here:
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I guess where I get hung-up is when trying to decide what exact folders to make and what constitutes taking the time to put into OmniFocus or if I should just leave it in the back of my head.
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If you can leave stuff in the back of your head and trust that you won't forget it at the opportune moment, then more power to you. I can't trust myself to do that. I could, more or less, when I was in my 20s and early 30s, but either aging or a broader set of responsibilities makes that impossible for me.
These days, if something pops into the front of my head, I have a simple decision tree that I use:
Is this at all potentially important or interesting?
- NO: Do nothing
- YES: Can I do it now, ideally in less than two minutes?
- YES: Do it now
- NO: Enter it in OmniFocus or in an inbox that will make its way to OmniFocus
Once I know it's in my "trusted system" (as David Allen says), I no longer need to devote any effort to remembering it. That's a liberating feeling for me.
As for your hierarchy, I think you're spot on: folders are areas of responsibility that don't have a clear end (or, if there is an end, it's because you've changed jobs/children are out of the house/whatever), projects are concrete goals that can be completed, and actions are steps toward that goal. For me, "House" is a folder, "Reorganized garage" is a project, and "Install wall hooks for hand tools" is an action. (A purist might make "Install wall hooks" a project, since it might involve buying hooks, getting the tools required to install them, etc. Since I have them on hand, it's effectively a one step action for me.)
In the end, I think OmniFocus or any task manager is most useful if you enter just enough detail to make sure you won't forget anything. If you do something habitually--e.g. a morning stretching routine, brushing your teeth, etc.--it doesn't need to go in OmniFocus. If there is some other prompt that will get you to do something--like a sink full of dirty dishes that prompts you to load the dishwasher--it doesn't need to go into OmniFocus. If it's in your calendar and scanning your calendar will be a good enough reminder, it doesn't need to go into OmniFocus. But if you can't count on a concrete reminder, then it should go into OmniFocus.