[pash85]

Hi All...

I know this question has been asked many many times by a lot of users out here.. I have read quite a bit on the forums etc but have not been able to find an answer to my questions.. sigh !
I have pretty much tried every task management APP out there but not happy with any.. Omnifocus definitely tops the list and I am sure it is very very powerful..

Before I get to my question wanted to include a little bit about myself to help put my request in perspective.

I am a technical marketing engineer, work for an IT company and primarily responsible with building collateral, presentations, whitepapers etc.. end up attending a lot of meetings.. and doing different things..
Sometimes I end up spending the day in my Inbox..

The way I work is purely based on "whats imp at that time"..
How do I decide it.. Agh thats always a struggle. I tried Franklin coveys methodology of breaking it down to A,B,C.. I tried the GTD concept but really struggle with Contexts..
What I end up doing is just work based on when things are due and always end up being in a reactive mode of things..

What I want to achieve from OF is the ability to be Pro-active with my to-dos..

So now some specific questions..
- How do I use contexts based on what I mentioned above.
I am always in front of my computer (spend about 12 hours at work)
Am online all the time
Dont need to use the phone much
Dont rely on other people..

Will appreciate some help here with contexts.. I have tried using the start dates and due dates.. but again all the dates are so fluid I cant use this strictly.. I love the flag feature and so far I have been able to accomplish getting things done today based on items I flag..

Thanks again..
Pash

[pvonk]

I use GTD (read the book, bought the T-shirt, but wore it out) and have tried using contexts as suggested in the book. Trouble is... I'm always by a phone, always have a computer near me, whatever I need to do, I can just go do it (if it's shopping, I go shopping - I don't shop *when* I happen to be near the mall; i.e. my time is very flexible).

In the end, I gave up on contexts such as "phone", "computer", etc. I just use them to identify areas of responsibility and some special situations, like "Responsibility-Personal", "Responsibility-Academic", "Waiting", "Omnifocus" (and subcontexts), etc. I could just as well have one main context for all things to be done, and perhaps add "Omnifocus" for maintenance (but even that isn't necessary).

As for start/due dates, there are always some tasks that will have to be done, but can't be done now, so I add a start date. If, when the date arrives and I'm still not ready to start, then I redefine the start date. Some things need to be done by a certain date - so I add a due date. Other tasks can be ongoing without a need to be done by a certain time - these have no due dates.

[FMiguélez]

.

Hello, Pash.

You may want to read the following link.
They talk about the concept of contexts by "mood" or "energy levels".

I liked it so much that I ended up adapting that to my own needs. Works great! (this is towards the bottom of the article)
http://www.asianefficiency.com/task-...ith-omnifocus/

[DrJJWMac]

That is an interesting way of approaching contexts. Thanks.

[Stargazer]

I approach contexts by asking myself at various points during the day, "What kind of list of tasks do I wish I could pull up right now?" and the answers to that question are candidates for possible contexts. So for example, like you, I always have a computer and phone with me, and therefore never find myself thinking, "I wish I had a list of things I could do on the computer right now." Instead (and this is completely personal to me), I find myself thinking things like, "I have a block of time to work on a big project, I wish I had a list to choose from" or "I only have a couple of minutes, what can I do?" and so on. So I have contexts for large projects and small items. And so on.

[pash85]

thanks to all for your replies.. After a lot of browsing and paying great attention to how I actually get things done (w/o a system) I was able to design a successful system on OF.
Just putting it out there for someone like me who struggles with contexts..:-)

Again to remind everyone, I am an engineer with lots of small projects, whitepapers to write with conflicting priorities..
I do the usual stuff that OF recommends.. Capture stuff to do in my Inbox and then process them towards the end of every day. ( i have a repeating task to remind me of that).
However, the one thing that I do differently (and i am sure many would argue that its not wht GTD is.. but works for me:-) )
I have contexts broken down in time-slots. 15 min, 30 min, 1 hour, 3 hour, smoke break, before work, weekend.
Depending on how much time I think I need for a task I will assign a context.
Then I use the OF sync to iCAL feature.
Being in marketing, I have lots and lots of meetings. So i have iCAL open all day. the tasks show up on the right side bar. Depending on my day's schedule I start dragging those tasks to my iCAL calendar.
I do this exercise every morning - so I have my day planned with meetings & with tasks that I need to get done.
And thats it. I then "get the things done" by following my calendar.
Once done, I will check the task off and it shows completed on my OF list as well.
Smoke break is a physical based context. I ask myself what are the things I can get done while I am smoking. A call to AT&T perhaps (perhaps not as it takes more than 15 min to get hold of someone ;-)) but you get the idea...

That said, i REALLY WISH OF ADDS A SENSE OF CALENDAR TO THIER APP. that would really complete this APP 100%.

IN any case, since there is a solution, I am extremely happy.. OF is a great app for sure :-)))

Thanks,
Pash