[prominence]

Thank you so much for the in-depth reply! It is very helpful, but I guess where I get hung-up is when trying to decide what exact folders to make and what constitutes taking the time to put into OmniFocus or if I should just leave it in the back of my head.

I guess my major problem is that I just don't (or feel like I don't) "have enough" to put into OmniFocus to really harness its power.

So it's just a matter of commiting every single thought that comes into your head into OmniFocus? What's the best way of starting out -- thinking of big areas of responsibility like you mentioned before, then digging into them and planning out the goals and actions to reach those goals within those areas of responsibility? It seems like areas of responsibility = folder, goals = project, actions to reach goals = single-action items in projects.

But like I said.. just feels like I don't "have enough" to put into OmniFocus.. any responses/advice to this?

[brianogilvie]

Originally Posted by prominence

But like I said.. just feels like I don't "have enough" to put into OmniFocus.. any responses/advice to this?

Can I send you some of my work?

But seriously, I think you've raised the crucial point here:

I guess where I get hung-up is when trying to decide what exact folders to make and what constitutes taking the time to put into OmniFocus or if I should just leave it in the back of my head.

If you can leave stuff in the back of your head and trust that you won't forget it at the opportune moment, then more power to you. I can't trust myself to do that. I could, more or less, when I was in my 20s and early 30s, but either aging or a broader set of responsibilities makes that impossible for me.

These days, if something pops into the front of my head, I have a simple decision tree that I use:

Is this at all potentially important or interesting?

• NO: Do nothing
• YES: Can I do it now, ideally in less than two minutes?
  • YES: Do it now
  • NO: Enter it in OmniFocus or in an inbox that will make its way to OmniFocus

Once I know it's in my "trusted system" (as David Allen says), I no longer need to devote any effort to remembering it. That's a liberating feeling for me.

As for your hierarchy, I think you're spot on: folders are areas of responsibility that don't have a clear end (or, if there is an end, it's because you've changed jobs/children are out of the house/whatever), projects are concrete goals that can be completed, and actions are steps toward that goal. For me, "House" is a folder, "Reorganized garage" is a project, and "Install wall hooks for hand tools" is an action. (A purist might make "Install wall hooks" a project, since it might involve buying hooks, getting the tools required to install them, etc. Since I have them on hand, it's effectively a one step action for me.)

In the end, I think OmniFocus or any task manager is most useful if you enter just enough detail to make sure you won't forget anything. If you do something habitually--e.g. a morning stretching routine, brushing your teeth, etc.--it doesn't need to go in OmniFocus. If there is some other prompt that will get you to do something--like a sink full of dirty dishes that prompts you to load the dishwasher--it doesn't need to go into OmniFocus. If it's in your calendar and scanning your calendar will be a good enough reminder, it doesn't need to go into OmniFocus. But if you can't count on a concrete reminder, then it should go into OmniFocus.

[wilsonng]

I got into OmniFocus slowly.....

I intentionally started out with pen and a small binder clip of 3x5 index cards. After I got comfortable with GTD, I eased into OmniFocus (desktop version).

I'd suggest getting comfortable with GTD and pen & paper first. Get the GTD habits down first before trying to push OmniFocus into your life. I adopted this habit first as suggest at zenhabits.net. They suggest keeping GTD simple and adopting one habit at a time until it becomes second nature for you.


I've been using OmniFocus took about a year now. It was fun using OmniFocus during the collection phase. During my weekl review, I'd do my usual brain-dump and go through all my inboxes and put everything into OmniFocus. At least I know it's there.


I think OmniFocus clicked for me when I finally used it for the daily and weekly review.

I use OmniFocus to do a daily review and a weekly review more consistently now. I use OmniFocus' review mode during my weekly review to focus in on a particular project or Area of Responsibility. I would use it to delete projects/tasks that I no longer considered important to me. Of course, I'd block out about 30 minutes to an hour (put the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door) for my weekly review.

OmniFocus helps me a lot with my "on hold projects". By default, I put all new projects in the Someday/Maybe folder and set the status to "Inactive". From there, I would "activate" certain projects and move it out of Someday/Maybe and make sure to set the project to active mode. I'd also move some active projects back into Someday/Maybe when I'm not not making progress.

This helps me keep my plate full enough. Just have enough active projects to keep me busy and put all the other projects on the backburner in the Someday/Maybe folder.

The weekly review is where you do your housecleaning. Keep the projects that you think are still important. Then delete all the projects that you no longer consider important to you.


When I first got my iPod touch, the first program I bought was the OmniFocus app. That's a lifesaver for me. If I'm not near my computer, I can have my context list available for me. I'll find myself waiting in line at the grocery store or waiting for my wife while she is shopping. I would just whip out my iPod touch and start looking at my current context list and do a mini-review. I'd be able to squeeze in a little bit of my daily and weekly review here and there. When I get back home, I'd sync back to my MacBook.

Having the iPod touch and OmniFocus has finally made it easy for me to integrate OmniFocus into my life. I always keep my iPod touch and a stack of 3x5 index cards within easy reach. I never know when inspiration hits me and I'll want to capture it easily. So I'd write my random idea on an index card or enter it into the OmniFocus ipod inbox.

It's amazing to have my context list at my fingertips. At work I'll use OmniFocus. If I leave the office, I'll just do a quick sync to my iPod touch and have it available for me anywhere....