[skitle]

Just wanted to comment on how I really enjoy using OmniFocus. My only complaint is, now that I have all the things I need to eventually remember to do in front of me, I need OmniMotivation installed to give me a kick in the butt to do those things. :)

Thanks for making a great product.

[filmgeek]

Skitle, I know you meant this is a joke...

What I find keeps me motivated is a short GTD morning/evening review of my contexts. Really makes the difference.

[skitle]

It really was only meant half-way as a joke. I thought that I was using the excuse that I was not organized to get anything done. I know I am getting better organized, but still have to get into the full GTD swing. I am still focusing on too many tasks instead of what I should do next. Sometimes having too many things in front of you is overwhelming, and I just need to take it in stride.

[BevvyB]

I get the feeling that if you have too many things in front of you then you are not really GTD/OF-ing as well as you could be

OF should help you only have important stuff in front of you that is it's purpose. Perhaps you need to make greater use of perspectives to cut down on the amount you're looking at.

One of the things missing in OF is a 'last step' of choosing exact next actions - i.e. the things you REALLY have to do

I use a perspective that only shows me flagged events. This is my 'ultimate' final final 'these must be done now' list.

All I do is flag a few items from my main do list to create this flagged ultimate list. And then do those things NOW/TODAY. I don't allow myself to look at any other perspective until they're all done.

Of course, if you are still having problems procrastinating over even the things that take less than 2 minutes as per GTD then even GTD/OF may be unable to help you :)

Here's a good tip though: OF has the column 'Estimate' where you can try and guesstimate how long a particular something can take to do. If you are having problems more with GTS (Getting Things Started) than GTD, then putting in how long you think each thing will take then gives you a less overwhelming experience as when you are realistic with these times, most things only take less than an hour, some only even half an hour. Putting a time on these things also gives you a short term goal and can act as a challenge - Can I REALLY finish tidying up that website in the next hour? or can I really see if I can tidy the room in the next 45 minutes?

Give it a try may help. THINGS TAKE LESS TIME THAN YOU THINK. Your brain looks at lists and think 'Oh no this will take days' - it's a very bad judge of time. When you break things down by giving them estimates, suddenly you realize you can do almost everything before lunchtime and then choose to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for the rest of the day should you choose.

Staring at lists makes them appear bigger. Stop it.

[skitle]

Thanks for the advice. I am still trying to get into the full GTD swing. Its been a big transition from my prior organizational style (none, plus a dash of chaos).

You did hit part of the problem on the about GTD not gonna help all the motivation problem, but it has definitely helped.

Thank you for tips. And I'm gonna stop staring at the lists. Sounds like a good tagline.

[whpalmer4]

The OmniFidget widget isn't a bad way to avoid some paralysis if you're running 10.5. You can get it off the OmniFocus product page. It just pops up one action/task at a time from whichever context(s) you've selected, and you either do it or pass. You can add in Curt Clifton's WhereToFocus widget that shows you a graph of which contexts have the most actions to do (also 10.5 only).

[frankmcma]

There needs to be a real set of goals and missions, weekly, monthly, yearly that proceed any GTD setup. Otherwise its just a big list with no "juice" to it. Every time you tick off a task, it needs to be taking you one step close to your larger goals.

Put another way, if you are a sculptor and you just "chip away" at all different random sculptures its hard to see the progress. Instead if you are working on one or two large scultpures, each chip is closer to your bigger goals. You can look behind and see progress, look ahead and see momentum.

This may help...here is a shameless plug for my podcast:

RSS - http://www.fmstudio.com/podcasts/rss2
iTunes - http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/M...st?id=73331288

I talk a lot about the methods and concepts that happen before you even set up your GTD

Bear in mind this happens a lot, and yes you can set up omnifocus different ways, but that does not always help.

Good luck!

Frank
http://www.fmstudio.com/

[MacBerry]

Originally Posted by whpalmer4

The OmniFidget widget isn't a bad way to avoid some paralysis if you're running 10.5. You can get it off the OmniFocus product page. It just pops up one action/task at a time from whichever context(s) you've selected, and you either do it or pass.

Do you know how OmniFidget selects the next action to display? it did appear to be the next action as shown in OF when I tried it.

I might find it useful, but need to know how it works before I can trust it I think.

Mark

[BevvyB]

that was really scary frank please don't do it again

[whpalmer4]

Originally Posted by MacBerry

Do you know how OmniFidget selects the next action to display? it did appear to be the next action as shown in OF when I tried it.

I might find it useful, but need to know how it works before I can trust it I think.

Mark

What, are you afraid it's going to give you someone else's actions? :-)

I believe it just goes down the available list of actions for each context selected, but it isn't convenient for me to confirm that at the moment. If you read the original discussion when it came out, I think you'll see suggestions that it was just intended as a proof of concept, but that people found it useful for focusing in the face of too much to do. It isn't intended to make decisions for you about what to do, just help you get moving. Better to get something done, than to sit around debating what to do next and accomplishing nothing.