[MichaelShapiro]

Is this possible? (Doesn't seem to be, but you never know what kind of functionality is squirreled away somewhere obscure.)

[ext555]

no it's not possible in context view sorry

[KenBotwinick]

I also wanted to sort in context view. This is what I hope happens:

1) I hope Omni adds the preference to only sync flagged actions. Then I can sync flagged actions of particular contexts to iCal.

2) I've alread asked the author of Anxiety if he would let us reorder tasks manually. I mean it's possible in iCal, so we should be able to do it there. Maybe it already is possible, but I'm just missing something.

Then, once those two things are done, I can just look at Anxiety to see "Today's" list of "Must Do's" and manually organize them into what I think the most logical order will be. Then I only need to go into OmniFocus for more tasks if I complete those basic ones or if I need a specific context or to review/organize for the future.

[pvonk]

Originally Posted by KenBotwinick

I can just look at Anxiety to see "Today's" list of "Must Do's" and manually organize them into what I think the most logical order will be.

Am I right in guessing that you don't rely on contexts?

[KenBotwinick]

I do use contexts, but I don't rely on them heavily for needed resources because I'm almost always in every resource context. I always have my phone and access to communicating to whoever I need to communicate to. Unless I'm running errands, I always have access to my computer (even from work via vnc). So I use contexts to fine tune certain things. For instance I'll put a Mac action in the Home context if it's something I can only do at the physical computer (like scan docs, work on video editing, etc.). Otherwise, Mac actions can be done from the office via VNC. And even if it's an office computer action, I can do that from home via VPN/VNC if really necessary. (I don't currently organize my job's actions via GTD, since there is already a well established workflow there which I must follow and don't have much control over.) So every resource context is usually an option unless I'm totally unplugged, and if that's the case I probably don't care about being productive at that time anyway.

I use contexts more for the mood I'm in, or I should say, the mood I should be in based on the time of day. For most of my location/resource contexts I have a mood subcontext of Need to do, Should do, and Want to do. In the morning, I try and tackle as many Need to do's. Midday, or after I've successfully done a good number of Need to do's, I'll try to get some Should do's done. Then in the evening, or when I'm in a lazy mood, I'll just focus on Want to do's. So I like the Anxiety overview I mentioned, because maybe I have 5-10 Need to do's that are in multiple contexts and I have a very flexible schedule for the day. Well if my schedule is flexible, I will change my schedule to accommodate the contexts of the Need to do's. And manually sorting the order helps create a "schedule" that flows. And even if my schedule is not that flexible, this short list is a good little reminder of my overall top priority issues.

Of course if my schedule is not currently flexible at all, then I do pay more attention to resource/location contexts (as opposed to mood contexts), but also when that's the case, I pay more attention to whether something is due, flagged, or the amount of time I have to accomplish it... And I'd use OmniFocus's finer control over perspectives for figuring that out.

GTD is more important to me for having a trusted system where I can organize and review personal projects (so I don't feel like anything is ever slipping though the cracks), and so that I have an archive of what I did when including any notes on the results (since my memory is awful). I don't really want to be 100% as efficient as possible at all times based on location or resource context. That makes me feel like a slave to my own lists.

Now on to research the two things I logged on for... 1) There doesn't appear to be a hard review workflow where Omnifocus tells me I need to review a project. I don't want to have to remember to do that. I want my trusted system to do it for me... And 2) I want to find more information about how actions are archived. Hopefully there's a way to export completed actions if desired, so I don't have to always keep them in Omnifocus.

[pvonk]

Originally Posted by KenBotwinick

Now on to research the two things I logged on for... 1) There doesn't appear to be a hard review workflow where Omnifocus tells me I need to review a project. I don't want to have to remember to do that. I want my trusted system to do it for me...

This may not appeal to you, but I have a singleton defined that tells me to do a review (a start date is defined). It is defined to repeat every 1 week from the assigned date. When I check it off, the task disappears and reappears the following week on the day it's due.

[KenBotwinick]

Thanks. I figured I'd have to make my own manual task...

This is why I was excited by Midnight Inbox. It REALLY focused on implementing the workflow and that's what I would prefer. The automated workflow. But it just doesn't have the functionality to pull it off...

[ext555]

I just have a repeating task set up to " review projects " .
Switch the filter to " next review " and get started .
Project reveiw becomes a vital part of the GTD process once you get used to it. Omni Focus has pretty much done away with the " weekly review " drudgery for me ..