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Originally Posted by KlassicJazz
I'm having a little difficulty configuring and understanding the repeating function for OmniFocus.
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They do need enough repetition of use to keep them straight, I agree!
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I intend to have a task (or group actually, but same difference) have a 3 day deadline, and repeat on completion, giving it a further 3 days to complete once again, starting from the moment it was completed. I'm not too sure how to do this. I'm sure its much easier to do than I'm making out, but I can seem to get the hang of it.
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I would do this by setting the repeating item to be Due Again 3 days after completion. Whenever you complete it, it creates a new one, with a due date of the same due time, 3 days hence. If you want it to be due exactly 3 days later, to the minute, I think you need to adjust the due time yourself. For most purposes, the provided behavior makes sense, but it is possible to imagine cases where one would want Due Again to adjust the due time to the time of completion, too.
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Also, could someone give me a couple of practicle examples of exactly how the start again and due again options of the repeat section play out. I've never fully understood those.
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There are four options:
- Don't repeat
- Repeat every
- Start again
- Due again
"Don't repeat" hopefully needs no explanation :-)
"Repeat every" causes the repeating action to be duplicated the amount of the repeat interval in the future, with start and due dates (if present) adjusted by the same amount. If neither a start date nor a due date is present, the new action will have a due date of the current date and time + the repeat interval.
An example where you would use this construct would be to put the trash out for collection. You want it to happen every week at the same time, even if one week you put it out a day or two early when you went out of town.
Note that if you complete the action late enough that the repeat interval + the due date or start date is in the past, you'll get a repeat that is immediately overdue, or started in the past. For example, if you set up an action to "Feed goldfish" due at 5 PM with a Repeat every 1 day specification, and then you go out of town for 3 days, marking the now overdue "Feed goldfish" action will get you one that has a due date in the past. Similarly, setting up an action with just a start date and a Repeat every 1 day policy would get you a new action with a start date in the past.
"Start again" causes the repeating action to be duplicated the amount of the repeat interval in the future, with a start date of the completion date + the repeat interval. The due date, if any, is set to be the same amount of time after the start date as it was in the repeated action. An example here might be getting a haircut. If it takes 3 weeks for your hair to grow to the point where you need it cut, there isn't any point to starting before that amount of time has passed since the last one, and you don't want the next one to be earlier just because you might have let the last one go a little longer.
The example given for "Start again" in the "Setting up repeating actions and projects" section of the OmniFocus help is flawed, in my opinion, because if you do it on a different day, your repeat will also move to a different day; better to do it with a "Repeat every" repeat if you might have to bend the schedule now and then.
"Due again" works like "Start again", except that it is driven by due dates instead of start dates.
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