I saw a few posts on the boards asking for OF to be more of a nag or do alerts better. The reality is that no single solution or app is going to make every individual happy all of the time. OF is a great start, but is it a task manager app's job to tell you to go review your task list? Seems to me that the problem is not that OF does not offer alarms. The problem is that we as users need to better train ourselves - or get Mommys or personal assistants to poke us and tell us to go check our task list.
If you have something on your task list and you have to do it at a certain date and time, then it is not a task. It is an appointment and belongs on your calendar. If it is a project step or milestone, it probably belongs on both OF and your calendar.
I use a web app called http://www.iwantsandy.com/ as my "Tickler". It's free and if, for example, I know that I am bad about remembering to check my Inbox or task list or OF, I can just shoot off a quick email message from my BlackBerry or mail client to Sandy. In the body of my message I put:
Remind me at 8am Monday to do my daily review in OmniFocus @daily
After clicking send I get a confirmation message that she received it and has scheduled it. When that time comes around Monday morning, I am automatically sent both an email and a SMS text message on my mobile phone alerting me to remember to head over to OF to review my list. The addition of the "@daily" tag above tells Sandy that I want to be reminded of this EVERY morning at 8am until I cancel the tickler.
Or I could similarly create a nudge sent to me by email and SMS text message that tells me I need to go check my @Tickler entries at 8am each morning to which I need to A) Add to the day's calendar/schedule or B) Move to the day's tasks to be done.
Those of you who are asking for alerts in OF for Ticklers, there really is no reason to have alerts on Ticklers in OF if you do a daily review of @Tickler context entries. The problem is not that OF is not reminding you that you have to follow-up with John about a widget on Monday. The problem is that you're not checking your @Tickler context Monday morning and you need to be reminded to do so. That's where Sandy comes in.
It's the same if you had a paper-based Tickler File with 43 folders. A system is only as good as its owner. If you don't check your folders for three days, you can't blame the system for not slapping you in the face and telling you to check the folders.
I would encourage anyone here who has not yet tried Sandy to get a free account. I use it for email as well by taking an item from the sent items folder and forwarding it to Sandy to set a tickler to be reminded to follow up on specific messages I've sent two days after I've sent them. It is wonderful, and like others here have said, it also works with Jott.
Would love to hear some creative ways that OF users are using Sandy with OF and also would love to see more integration between OF and Sandy, similar to what Jott has done.
http://www.iwantsandy.com/
Adam Boettiger
Digital Marketing Consultant
http://www.adamboettiger.com/
If you have something on your task list and you have to do it at a certain date and time, then it is not a task. It is an appointment and belongs on your calendar. If it is a project step or milestone, it probably belongs on both OF and your calendar.
I use a web app called http://www.iwantsandy.com/ as my "Tickler". It's free and if, for example, I know that I am bad about remembering to check my Inbox or task list or OF, I can just shoot off a quick email message from my BlackBerry or mail client to Sandy. In the body of my message I put:
Remind me at 8am Monday to do my daily review in OmniFocus @daily
After clicking send I get a confirmation message that she received it and has scheduled it. When that time comes around Monday morning, I am automatically sent both an email and a SMS text message on my mobile phone alerting me to remember to head over to OF to review my list. The addition of the "@daily" tag above tells Sandy that I want to be reminded of this EVERY morning at 8am until I cancel the tickler.
Or I could similarly create a nudge sent to me by email and SMS text message that tells me I need to go check my @Tickler entries at 8am each morning to which I need to A) Add to the day's calendar/schedule or B) Move to the day's tasks to be done.
Those of you who are asking for alerts in OF for Ticklers, there really is no reason to have alerts on Ticklers in OF if you do a daily review of @Tickler context entries. The problem is not that OF is not reminding you that you have to follow-up with John about a widget on Monday. The problem is that you're not checking your @Tickler context Monday morning and you need to be reminded to do so. That's where Sandy comes in.
It's the same if you had a paper-based Tickler File with 43 folders. A system is only as good as its owner. If you don't check your folders for three days, you can't blame the system for not slapping you in the face and telling you to check the folders.
I would encourage anyone here who has not yet tried Sandy to get a free account. I use it for email as well by taking an item from the sent items folder and forwarding it to Sandy to set a tickler to be reminded to follow up on specific messages I've sent two days after I've sent them. It is wonderful, and like others here have said, it also works with Jott.
Would love to hear some creative ways that OF users are using Sandy with OF and also would love to see more integration between OF and Sandy, similar to what Jott has done.
http://www.iwantsandy.com/
Adam Boettiger
Digital Marketing Consultant
http://www.adamboettiger.com/
Last edited by boettiger; 2008-01-27 at 03:55 AM..
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