[HappyDude]

Hey everyone...seems I only frequent these forums now when I'm stalled in OF (Not too often :-)) or look for tips on evolving my system.

So I spent last night re-reading the "Struggling with Contexts/Start Here!" thread in this forum and totally brought me back to thinking how my system has evolved.

But straight to the point:

I've re-vamped my contexts, essentially having

Car (Nissan Altima)
College
Phone
Waiting
&
Home
Errands
Online
Offline.

The car, college, phone and waiting contexts have worked out pretty well for me, keeping it simple, so I won't touch base with you guys here today...rather, i'd like to focus on the others.

First with the Online & Offline contexts, where I was debating whether to settle on Online:Macbook Pro....or switch it around and instead of having 2 main "Online & Offline" contexts have "Macbook Pro" & "iPad" contexts, having Online & Offline as child contexts. The only reason I went the route of making Online & Offline as the main, housing MBP & iPad within them is thinking some actions will fit nicely in either/or the MBP or iPad context; as long as the online or offline context is right. You may also notice both the online and offline context have a sub-context with the same name; this is where i'm seeking help/advice/critique. I only did this cause I like to have all of my actions in specific spots; a mentality subconsciously suggesting that if most actions are gonna be in child contexts then all actions much be in them...none lurking around in the main parent context...iono, again, advice is truly appreciated. (By the way, you may notice the Home:home context too; some actions aren't well suited for doing in the bathroom, kitchen or desk..but can only be done at home for whichever reason.)

[Brian]

That looks pretty straightforward. One question, though - what's the intended use of the "Online : Online" and "Offline : Offline" contexts? I use a similar setup, but instead of having a child context with the same name, I just assign actions to the parent context...

Edit: Okay, re-reading your post, I see what you're going for there. I think I'd worry about stuff accidentally being assigned to "Online" instead of "Online : Online" and then falling through the cracks.

Overall, I'd lean towards one parent and two child contexts, just because it eliminates the possibility of a situation like that. One and only one context for each action list, you know?

[HappyDude]

Originally Posted by Brian

Edit: Okay, re-reading your post, I see what you're going for there. I think I'd worry about stuff accidentally being assigned to "Online" instead of "Online : Online" and then falling through the cracks.

Overall, I'd lean towards one parent and two child contexts, just because it eliminates the possibility of a situation like that. One and only one context for each action list, you know?

Hey Brian,

So i'm curious now...having one parent and 2 child contexts, do you still place actions in the parent context? Assuming an action is applicable for either of the 2 child contexts?

[Brian]

Yep! Child contexts are only used for actions which can only be done in that context. Actions which can be done in any of the child contexts go in the parent.

Examples: "Pay At&t bill" would go in "Online", since I could do it from any of my devices. "Install latest OmniFocus for iPad" would go in "Online : iPad".

[HappyDude]

Originally Posted by Brian

Yep! Child contexts are only used for actions which can only be done in that context. Actions which can be done in any of the child contexts go in the parent.

Examples: "Pay At&t bill" would go in "Online", since I could do it from any of my devices. "Install latest OmniFocus for iPad" would go in "Online : iPad".

Once again thank you, I just got rid of the 3rd child context with the same parent title and moved everything into the parent context. I'm sure this will work out better, if not i'll come back and make sure to write about it here.

Thanks again!

[dhm]

I'm curious about what goes in the Bathroom context. ;)

[whpalmer4]

Originally Posted by dhm

I'm curious about what goes in the Bathroom context. ;)

The obvious stuff: clean the toilet, unstop the shower drain, re-caulk the bathtub, catch up on Omni forums reading :-)

[HappyDude]

Originally Posted by whpalmer4

The obvious stuff: clean the toilet, unstop the shower drain, re-caulk the bathtub, catch up on Omni forums reading :-)

Took the words right out of my mouth.

..hey, guess what room i'm typing this in?







(Correct)