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Quote:
Originally Posted by Avrum68 View Post
Truly, I never understood the hysteria surrounding contexts/GTD. I tried using them - thinking I was missing something - and abandoned them when I realized that I work according to energy, motivation, etc... not "Hey, I'm near a phone, whom shall I call". .
Well, you know if you wanted to those could be your contexts -
contexts that captured those energy levels
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by gcrump View Post
CatOne: On you next item not having a context and therefore note making it a next action. I share your concern. There is a script that Curtis has developed that I use (Thanks Curtis) that scans for projects with no next actions, I wonder if i can be modified to look for "next items" that don't have a context assigned?.
Go to context mode. In the sidebar, at the very top, is a bin labeled "No Context" which contains everything that has a project assigned but not a context. Select that, put up the view bar, set the action selector to Next Actions, and you should see all of the next actions which don't have a context assigned.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by whpalmer4 View Post
Go to context mode. In the sidebar, at the very top, is a bin labeled "No Context" which contains everything that has a project assigned but not a context. Select that, put up the view bar, set the action selector to Next Actions, and you should see all of the next actions which don't have a context assigned.
Ah, this gives me a workaround to my issue as well.

I'll just modify my "Due Soon" perspective such that I have "No Context" _and_ "Contexts" selected (it seems to also work as long as I have _no_ contacts selected, given the built-in specifically doesn't have this set).
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by CatOne View Post
Ah, this gives me a workaround to my issue as well.

I'll just modify my "Due Soon" perspective such that I have "No Context" _and_ "Contexts" selected (it seems to also work as long as I have _no_ contacts selected, given the built-in specifically doesn't have this set).
Okay, just a word of caution -- the stuff contained by the "No Context" bin is NOT filtered by the view bar settings, despite what my previous message suggested. You'll get all of the "No Context" actions whether or not they are placed such that they would be a Next Action if they had a context assigned.
Adding the "No Context" actions bin to any perspective where you are going to look at Next Actions or Due Soon will help make sure nothing falls through the cracks, at the cost of possibly showing you some actions which aren't really actionable. Of course, you could always just relentlessly empty that "No Context" bin, too...
 
* Another vote for multiple (nested) contexts (or tags, at which I regard in the same way).
An example: I want to call a software developer who makes custom databases to make an appointment. I need a database for my store, made with Filemaker to replace the SQL database I use now. I don't want do this yet as I have more urgent things on my mind, and this project takes quite a bit of preparation from my part. Thus I make an action in a "Move database to Mac" project of it, that would have to be assigned to the contexts work, phone, mac and on-hold.
This doesn't add another level of complexity to the program at all, since no on has to assign multiple contexts to their actions. It just adds flexibilty to work the way you want to OF.

* While we're at it, a replacement for the Perspectives in a sidebar with some kind of smartgroups would be a very nice improvement too. There is a thread about that on the forum already. Basically it’s a remake of the UI to something more "Things" like, easier to use for starters.

* A third wish for me is improved iCal syncing. Some people requested a calendar view, this could be done with iCal syncing. If you use OF as your GTD system, you naturally put your appointments int their appropriate projects. It would be nice to have them synced as events i iCal next to the tasks we can already sync now.
 
I'm very impressed by THL and the direction it is taking. I've been looking for something simple but flexible and it seems to fit the bill. And it looks great.

The downsides of the current beta are the number of bugs that it has (a lot) and the lack of an iPhone component (although Appigo's Todo and Sync can achieve the same thing). The other problem is the feature creep that a number of people on their mail list push - "it can't possibly be useful unless it supports obscure feature xyz". It will be a challenge to retain the current simplicity if the Potion Factory cave in and bolt on too many features.

Still, as other have said, competition is good. And trying all these GTD applications lets me procrastinate rather than getting things done...
 
I've just started playing with The Hit List a few days ago, and I find the interface rather appealing. It (along with Things) generally feels like a native Mac OS X app; OmniFocus generally feels like a pre-Mac OS X app brought forward.

Of course, I'm a long-time OF user, and I don't see myself leaving it anytime soon, though an interface overhaul would be greatly appreciated!

One reason I won't be leaving OF is because it actually works as a GTD application. The others are really cool "to do" applications which don't seem to understand the idea of GTD.

For example The Hit List doesn't provide a way of moving items in your Inbox out of your inbox easily (that is, process your Inbox to zero). If you find that an item is a project, you have to:

1. Create a new project ("list") (command-shift-N)
2. Return to the inbox (command-option-1)
3. Enter File mode (F)
4. Enter the name of the project you're filing to

In OF, you

1. Press command-[. The item selected is moved into your projects list.

Another example of not-good-for-GTD is THL's inexplicable insistence on showing items which have a start date in the future in my list of actions. Not seeing actions you can't do is a basic GTD principle.

I fully understand it's an early beta, it just seems inexcusable to release a "GTD" application that, for me, is unusable for GTD.

There are a lot of other reason not to like THL, and one big one to like it: it's a beautiful application. The subtle animation, the large text, the card view... it feels great.

If THL adds many of the basic GTD-ish features to move it out of the "powerful to-do list" category, OF will have a true contender.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jasong View Post
I've just started playing with The Hit List a few days ago, and I find the interface rather appealing.
Maybe I need to try THL firsthand, but after seeing the screenshots I can't help but feel turned-off immediately. I simply don't like apps that try to recreate the look and feel of real-world objects in cyberspace; I think they're invariably doomed to be awkward, uncomfortable reproductions that don't truly match real-world behavior but also feel out-of-place in a virtual world.

This is particularly true with audio production software, where apps and plugins are often designed to look like real-world studio equipment. IMHO, it makes for a poor user experience. I'm fine with folder and document icons emulating their real-world counterparts on the desktop, but an entire app interface is stretching the metaphor too far.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jasong View Post
It (along with Things) generally feels like a native Mac OS X app; OmniFocus generally feels like a pre-Mac OS X app brought forward.
I'm surprised to hear this. I can't think of anything in OmniFocus' UI that feels particularly "old school." Can you bee more specific about what it is that gives you this impression?

-Dennis
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Toadling View Post
I'm surprised to hear this. I can't think of anything in OmniFocus' UI that feels particularly "old school." Can you bee more specific about what it is that gives you this impression?
While I love Omnifocus, I kind of agree with him. When comparing UIs, I heard someone once say Things felt like a Mac app while Omnifocus looks more like a Windows counterpart. It's just style, I guess.
 
 


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