[wilsonng]

I got into OmniFocus slowly.....

I intentionally started out with pen and a small binder clip of 3x5 index cards. After I got comfortable with GTD, I eased into OmniFocus (desktop version).

I'd suggest getting comfortable with GTD and pen & paper first. Get the GTD habits down first before trying to push OmniFocus into your life. I adopted this habit first as suggest at zenhabits.net. They suggest keeping GTD simple and adopting one habit at a time until it becomes second nature for you.


I've been using OmniFocus took about a year now. It was fun using OmniFocus during the collection phase. During my weekl review, I'd do my usual brain-dump and go through all my inboxes and put everything into OmniFocus. At least I know it's there.


I think OmniFocus clicked for me when I finally used it for the daily and weekly review.

I use OmniFocus to do a daily review and a weekly review more consistently now. I use OmniFocus' review mode during my weekly review to focus in on a particular project or Area of Responsibility. I would use it to delete projects/tasks that I no longer considered important to me. Of course, I'd block out about 30 minutes to an hour (put the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door) for my weekly review.

OmniFocus helps me a lot with my "on hold projects". By default, I put all new projects in the Someday/Maybe folder and set the status to "Inactive". From there, I would "activate" certain projects and move it out of Someday/Maybe and make sure to set the project to active mode. I'd also move some active projects back into Someday/Maybe when I'm not not making progress.

This helps me keep my plate full enough. Just have enough active projects to keep me busy and put all the other projects on the backburner in the Someday/Maybe folder.

The weekly review is where you do your housecleaning. Keep the projects that you think are still important. Then delete all the projects that you no longer consider important to you.


When I first got my iPod touch, the first program I bought was the OmniFocus app. That's a lifesaver for me. If I'm not near my computer, I can have my context list available for me. I'll find myself waiting in line at the grocery store or waiting for my wife while she is shopping. I would just whip out my iPod touch and start looking at my current context list and do a mini-review. I'd be able to squeeze in a little bit of my daily and weekly review here and there. When I get back home, I'd sync back to my MacBook.

Having the iPod touch and OmniFocus has finally made it easy for me to integrate OmniFocus into my life. I always keep my iPod touch and a stack of 3x5 index cards within easy reach. I never know when inspiration hits me and I'll want to capture it easily. So I'd write my random idea on an index card or enter it into the OmniFocus ipod inbox.

It's amazing to have my context list at my fingertips. At work I'll use OmniFocus. If I leave the office, I'll just do a quick sync to my iPod touch and have it available for me anywhere....