[jdh]

Like others have suggested, I enter everything into OmniFocus that doesn't have an obvious, external trigger.

For example, I'll enter most of my household maintenance chores since it's better to be somewhat proactive with them, and it's sometimes too easy to let things go in that regard. Even then, however, some are obvious... For example, "Take Garbage Out" doesn't get an OF entry because I'll generally notice it piling up at the door and do something about it without needing an OF task to remind me of that. "Clean Bathroom" on the other hand does get a task, because that's an easier one to forget or let slip (usually when I'm in the bathroom I'm busy with things unrelated to actually cleaning it, and when I'm not, it's easy to ignore :) ).

I've setup OF to use two key things to keep important tasks on track: Start Dates and Flags. I tend to avoid due dates except for actions that have actual deadlines that include consequences (e.g. "Pay mortgage" gets a due date, "Clean Desk" doesn't). Instead, anything important gets a flag and a start date, as required. The latter is particularly useful for recurring, routine items -- I set a start date and then use "start after..." as the repeat interval. When I've performed a routine task and checked it off, it disappears from my lists and contexts until the next repeat interval arrives, at which point it pops right up again and the flag makes sure I see it.

Certain recurring or future tasks remain flagged no matter what -- important routine household maintenance, bill payments, reminders to buy gifts/cards for important events, project deadlines, etc. The use of start dates means that I can schedule things that I know will be important far in advance -- for example I have tasks to do things like renew my drivers' license, which only comes up every 5 years, but it's there, ready to "light up" when the start date passes in a couple of years.

Lower priority items get picked up during my weekly review, where I apply flags and start dates to those additional smaller things that I think I will (or really should) get around to doing that week.

Everything else is safely tucked away out of sight until the next review except in those rare cases where I run out of flagged actions, in which case I dig into specific contexts like "Home" and see what else I can tackle.

In addition to the use of normal contexts, I've created a "Hotlist' perspective that lists everything that is available and due or flagged, grouped into a single list. On the desktop, I've actually configured this context to open in a separate OF window with all other controls and extraneous fields hidden, so it effectively just becomes a simple task list that I can tuck away in the corner of my screen. This perspective also becomes my primary "doing" view on the iPhone side (and on the iPad, in principle, although I really use the iPad more for planning).