[bigcloits]

Originally Posted by Frosty Crunch

I have found that "losing stuff" has been a great motivator and route to my actually learning how to use OF.

;-) I feel motivated enough by actually needing to, y'know, GTD!

Obviously struck on something others have been noticing. Can't remember the last time I've seen "I agree, I agree, I agree" in multiple replies in a forum thread about anything, anywhere! I appreciate all the replies — I don't feel so alone now.

And great to have reassurances from Omni that there's a light at the end of this tunnel. Thanks, Omni. It's great that you're keeping on eye on your forums.

[miller]

Hello there. I don't want my first post to be negative, but....
I have to agree that the fact that OF is so incredibly flexible has made my experience a somewhat frustrating one.

Eventually, I sat down and worked my way through all 50 pages of the manual, which has been very beneficial in getting things to make more sense.
I'm now at the point where I am going to sit down and do a (very) thorough review of everything that is in my system and ensure that all of the properties are correct, as well as making sure that my projects, contexts and perspectives make sense.

I'm sure that once my system is ticking over, everything will be great, but the amount of time it's taken me to get there is absolutely insane.

On a side note, I would say that I think the single reason that "Things" has been so warmly received in the OSX community is that it is far more intuitive. I think that if OF had a simple set of perspectives in the toolbar on first launch, people would better understand the features that are causing them so much pain. As it is, many people don't even know that perspectives exist, which is why it feels like actions and projects are disappearing - which is definitely not what you want from a 'trusted system'.

[BwanaZulia]

I don't think I have lost anything yet.

BZ

[bigcloits]

Originally Posted by BwanaZulia

I don't think I have lost anything yet.

Well, good to know someone isn’t as befuddled as I am! What’s your secret ...? Do you do anything in particular with OF to prevent these “do’h” moments that so many other users are having? Or are you just a bit brighter? ;-)

Or perhaps you are calmer. I am inclined to “panic” when I can’t find data. I jump to conclusions. I assume the worst (not without some justification). If I would only just stay calm and realize that, in the case of OF, it’s just a matter of perspective (pun intended), I’m sure this wouldn’t happen. But, of course, lots of computer users respond to the appearance of lost data in this way ...

[Toadling]

Hmm, I don't think I've lost anything yet either, at least not recently, and I'm not particularly bright. :) In fact, I didn't have any trouble figuring out OmniFocus in general; I found it to be quite intuitive, despite some of the criticisms I've read from others. I guess people just think differently.

I think the key for not losing stuff just comes down to learning all the ways you can filter your data. Because OmniFocus has so much power in that area, it's easy to fool yourself if you haven't "been around the block" a few times.

Originally Posted by miller

I think that if OF had a simple set of perspectives in the toolbar on first launch, people would better understand the features that are causing them so much pain.

They're not in the toolbar, but there are four default perspectives under the Perspectives menu: Remaining Items, Due Items, Completed Items, and All Items.

[BwanaZulia]

Originally Posted by bigcloits

Well, good to know someone isn’t as befuddled as I am! What’s your secret ...? Do you do anything in particular with OF to prevent these “do’h” moments that so many other users are having? Or are you just a bit brighter? ;-)

Or perhaps you are calmer. I am inclined to “panic” when I can’t find data. I jump to conclusions. I assume the worst (not without some justification). If I would only just stay calm and realize that, in the case of OF, it’s just a matter of perspective (pun intended), I’m sure this wouldn’t happen. But, of course, lots of computer users respond to the appearance of lost data in this way ...

I am a bit calm but not too bright.

Here is what I did/do.

- Set up perspectives for Waiting For, Daily To Do, Work Context, Needs Review each with a different window with a size/placement that makes sense.

- I take OmniFocus away from the doing. I only use it to CAPTURE not to do. You know what
you are supposed to do by looking at lists.

- I use the repeating a lot. If I build a great project with lots of tasks and I know I have to do it again, I set it to repeat.

- I made OF part of my Weekly Review, meaning I now "Review stalled projects @ OmniFocus" and "Review Projects on Hold @ OmniFocus" and "Empy OmniFocus inbox @ OmniFocus" and I put that all in a weekly repeating project at the ROOT of OF (start on Friday, Due on Sunday)

- I created folders for logical separation but not too many (Home/Finances/Health/Websites/Business/ and a few others) and make sure there are under 10 active projects in each.

- I use the ToodleDo script so I can enter tasks from FireFox at work (no Mac).

- I try not to set due dates unless it is ACTUALLY do on that day

- I put a lot of projects on hold since I know they will bounce back up in my weekly review and I trust that.

- I made my project review default 1 month

- I have gotten over the "this is a new fun tool to play with" feeling and have moved into "this is a tool to help me be proactive and organized"

- I start up OF every morning and check to see if there are things burning (Red) or simmering (Yellow) and since I don't set things to due dates unless the NEED to be, this is not crazed or a lot.

- I get enough Contexts so each context has no more than 10 things on it any time. This makes context list scanning and priority easier.

- I waste a lot of time here! :)

BZ

[Toadling]

@BZ: Wow, it's amazing how similar our approaches are. With only a few minor differences, I do basically the same thing.

[Robejazz]

Originally Posted by BwanaZulia

I am a bit calm but not too bright.

Here is what I did/do.

- Set up perspectives for Waiting For, Daily To Do, Work Context, Needs Review each with a different window with a size/placement that makes sense.

- I take OmniFocus away from the doing. I only use it to CAPTURE not to do. You know what
you are supposed to do by looking at lists.

- I use the repeating a lot. If I build a great project with lots of tasks and I know I have to do it again, I set it to repeat.

- I made OF part of my Weekly Review, meaning I now "Review stalled projects @ OmniFocus" and "Review Projects on Hold @ OmniFocus" and "Empy OmniFocus inbox @ OmniFocus" and I put that all in a weekly repeating project at the ROOT of OF (start on Friday, Due on Sunday)

- I created folders for logical separation but not too many (Home/Finances/Health/Websites/Business/ and a few others) and make sure there are under 10 active projects in each.

- I use the ToodleDo script so I can enter tasks from FireFox at work (no Mac).

- I try not to set due dates unless it is ACTUALLY do on that day

- I put a lot of projects on hold since I know they will bounce back up in my weekly review and I trust that.

- I made my project review default 1 month

- I have gotten over the "this is a new fun tool to play with" feeling and have moved into "this is a tool to help me be proactive and organized"

- I start up OF every morning and check to see if there are things burning (Red) or simmering (Yellow) and since I don't set things to due dates unless the NEED to be, this is not crazed or a lot.

- I get enough Contexts so each context has no more than 10 things on it any time. This makes context list scanning and priority easier.

- I waste a lot of time here! :)

BZ

I like this - anyone else with Specific Examples?? I am still learning and love to see what others have as a set up.

I have a question: Is someday/maybe a context or a project???

[steve]

BZ- Your explanation was really interested. I didn't really understand this. . .

Originally Posted by BwanaZulia

- I take OmniFocus away from the doing. I only use it to CAPTURE not to do. You know what
you are supposed to do by looking at lists.

-
BZ

Once you have captured everything, are you working out of contexts?

Steve

[Toadling]

Originally Posted by Robejazz

I have a question: Is someday/maybe a context or a project???

I originally tried it as a Context, but I've since switched to assigning an item its real context (e.g. @home) instead of the @someday context. Then I just put the project on hold. If it's a single item, I put it in my "Future" Single-Action List, which is on hold.

Of course, you should use whichever method seems to work best for you.