[toolusr]

Hi 'yall,
Recently moved into GTD/OmniFocus and have experienced it as a life changing event, because the system is basically how I operate, but with the help of an external tools and better organization. Background, I work as a software developer both in my day job and privately, my wife takes care of much of the family business so most of my time is spent on a computer at work or computers at home. Projects are easy, but how to do my contexts?

My first cut at contexts was as a classification system, Software:Bug, Software:Feature etc. While useful and necessary (looking forward to Tags to help me there) it's hardly canonical. After poking around and reading other thoughts on the subject I realized that I can use contexts not just as a productivity tool but an ergonomic one, because much of my work can and should be done away from the computer. I've often said that if you can't solve a problem away from the machine then you don't really understand it. The problem is that I don't follow that advice myself! I just sit down and start working, and by the end of the day am frapped from sitting down at the computer for so long.

But with this approach, it will encourage me to break many tasks up into steps in OF. For example, 'Do new screen' would turn into 'Design screen' (away from computer) and 'Implement screen' (at computer). Presumably now Do new screen would get promoted to a mini project with these mini steps, which seems like a good idea anyhow for partitioning work.

Here's what I've come up with, thoughts?
Areas of Focus
- Top level folders containing all the projects
- Miscellaneous
- Private business
- Personal
- Research
- Future

Contexts
@Desktop (kneeling chair and full desk)
- Graphics work, major jobs
@Laptop (regular desk)
- Email, small jobs, etc
@iPad (couch)
- Research jobs, surfing, thinking etc
@On Hold
@Time
:Dedicated
- Tasks that require focused time and no machine, like a decision.
:Idle
- Tasks that can be done in idle time, but don't require a computer/iPad etc.
@Reading
@Creative
@Surfing
@People

Note I don't track my day job as we use a different system there.

Edit: had a realization. Most of my tasks have two parts, a thinking and a doing. Instead of splitting my tasks up I can just _change it's context_. So 'Do Feature X' is first in some thinking context (iPad/research, idle time or dedicated time), then after I solve the problem or make a decision, move it to a computer (or phone call or whatever ) to finish out. Nice!

Also I use flags for bugs now as they are by definition hot.
Thoughts?

[hypotyposis]

In the spirit of your 'Dedicated' context, somewhere DA mentioned his tech guy having a context @Brain_Dead (stuff he can do with zero energy and thought). I've tried to implement it myself but so far haven't put anything in it (I'm probably too lazy to assign tasks to be done when I'm that tired).

[GeoffAirey]

Interesting ideas. Like the contexts, it's one of my goals to spend less time sat at my desk processing and more time creating, thinking and strategising.

By 'True' GTD, the thinking / Doing is two actions and should be a project, but I often work things as you've described. The only time I don't is when I want to be able to trace when I did things.