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Handling "hot potato" work items effectively in OmniFocus Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
When delegating work, as I understand it from some other threads, the OmniFocus way is to create a task to represent task delegation, give it a start date in the future, and put it in a project/context dedicated to these kinds of tasks (Agenda, @WaitingFor, whatever.).

At my job I frequently manage half a dozen or more tasks that bounce back and forth between me and others like a hot potato (usually involving reviews of my work or other approvals for particular actions I'd like to take). If I don't have a small-number-of-clicks way to represent the toggling of these "hot potato" tasks between me and the delegate I'm finding I just don't bother. This seems bad, as I'd like to trust OmniFocus to remind me about delegated task X at some point in the future.

These approvals might take 5 minutes to get back to me, or they might take 5 days (sometimes a month!). I often don't know how long it'll be before I hear back.

What I find myself wanting is a quick way to:

- mark the current task as done (e.g. "polish document to Stan's liking, send it back to him for review *again*.")
- add a task to remind me to prod Stan in one day if he hasn't gotten back to me

Problem is, I am in context view when I want to check off my task, and there is no bone-simple way to add another task to the same project as the currently selected task -- true?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MattArmstrong View Post
Problem is, I am in context view when I want to check off my task, and there is no bone-simple way to add another task to the same project as the currently selected task -- true?
True, but you can switch to reveal that task in Project view with a menu-command or toolbar button before checking it off. That's something I find myself doing pretty often.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Craig View Post
True, but you can switch to reveal that task in Project view with a menu-command or toolbar button before checking it off. That's something I find myself doing pretty often.
Or you can use Quick Entry to create a new reminder action in the relevant project.
 
Suggested workflow:

Option-clicking the check box on a task performs two actions:
  1. Marks the current task "Done"
  2. Opens Quick Entry with the current Project selected
That way you just option-click a task, type "Waiting for x [tab][tab]w-a-i" and you're back to the races...
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dbyler View Post
Suggested workflow
This is a suggested feature for OF, not something that people can presently do, right?

It sounds like a great idea to me.
 
pjc: Yes, it's just a suggestion.

That said, I actually caught myself trying to do it a couple times yesterday before realizing that it wasn't a real feature. (Seems intuitive enough to me: option-click = close an item with the "option" for a next step...)
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Craig View Post
True, but you can switch to reveal that task in Project view with a menu-command or toolbar button before checking it off. That's something I find myself doing pretty often.
Excellent Craig! What menu command? What toolbar action?

When I select a task in context view and then hit the project view toolbar the task nor its project is selected. When I just tried it the entire folder the project and task was in remained collapsed.

I also second the utility of a "quick entry of next task upon completion of current one."
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MattArmstrong View Post
Excellent Craig! What menu command? What toolbar action?

When I select a task in context view and then hit the project view toolbar the task nor its project is selected. When I just tried it the entire folder the project and task was in remained collapsed.
Menu command: View > Show in Project View

Toolbar button: Icon looks like a magnifying glass looking at index cards (not in the default set as I recall, but can be dragged to the toolbar via View > Customize Toolbar...

(Or do what I do: Option-Command-R)
 
 


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