[whpalmer4]

Originally Posted by cellmatrix

My mac is a lap top and I take it with me when I go - a situation that I suspect is very common. And when I am on the go, and I do have my lap top on, I am not always connected to the internet, unless I am at a starbucks or something. So if I send myself an email, I often wouldn't get a chance to check it on my laptop until long afterwards.

As I said, it's only necessary to have it on continuously if you want it to work continuously. You feel this won't work for you, and that's fine. But I speak from years of practical experience not having ubiquitous internet access that such an approach can work, and feel that other readers of the thread ought to examine their own needs carefully rather than just taking it as gospel that an always-on Mac is a necessary component.

Many of the tasks I input DO need attention sooner rather than later. So with your solution, every time I think of a task, I will have to first determine when is it that I next plan to work on my lap top, specifically at a time when I plan to be in the presence of wifi, and then having determined that, I will have to decide do I need to do this task before or after that estimated time.... well thats a lot to think about. And then afterwards, I would worry what if I do not log into my lap top as soon as I had originally thought I would, then the task is not going to get worked on as soon as I had hoped it would.

You're asking the wrong question. The question should be "do I need to work on this right away?" and if the answer is yes, you should enter and process it right away, even if that means doing it by hand instead of voice recognition.

One of the most important requirements of GTD is having a trusted system without worrying about things falling thru the cracks. So, while I appreciate this solution works for you, and I thank you for your suggestions, for me, I will likely be manually inputting tasks into omnifocus until a more definitive solution is reached.

If you've put something in your inbox, unless you fail to process your inbox, it isn't going to fall through the cracks. The real issue here is when you process your inbox and move those actions into projects where they will be done. Your problem with a potential lack of internet access is no different than neglecting to process your inbox for a few days.

You can also use OmniFocus' built-in audio recorder and the Quick Entry feature to get something immediately in your inbox without a lot of typing or any internet access (or a device that supports Siri, for that matter). Launch OmniFocus, tap the Quick Entry button, tap the record audio button, speak your piece, save it with an action name like "a" (it won't let you save without something in the field). Now it is in your inbox, the thought has been captured, and when you have a little more time you can give it a proper name, assign project, context, and dates, etc.