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Hi all,

Just reviewing my GTD process and I got to this: David Allen says that Calendar should contain: fixed appointments, day related items and day related information.

Syncing with iCal by context don't provide this since flags and not contexts are used to mark day related items. So I would like to suggest a feature where you can choose to sync only flagged items.

This way we could flag all that *have* to be done today by flagging, transfer that to calendar (which is in full accordance with GTD), and work the rest out of next actions list.

What do you say?

Last edited by tmilovan; 2009-02-02 at 11:52 AM..
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by tmilovan View Post
Hi all,

Just reviewing my GTD process and I got to this: David Allen says that Calendar should contain: fixed appointments, day related items and day related information.

Syncing with iCal by context don't provide this since flags and not contexts are used to mark day related items. So I would like to suggest a feature where you can choose to sync only flagged items.

This way we could flag all that *have* to be done today by flagging, transfer that to calendar (which is in full accordance with GTD), and work the rest out of next actions list.

What do you say?
I say that OmniFocus doesn't sync appointments at all, and that what it does sync it syncs as To Do entries, which makes it a bit awkward to use for planning your day. Also, your suggestion of how the flag is to be used is only one possible use. As I recall, one of the primary motivations of the sync to iCal feature was to make OmniFocus data available to mobile devices prior to the advent of iPhone syncing -- you remember those old coal-fired cell phones and PDAs, don't you? :-)

Given that the actions synced won't show up as blocks of time on your calendar, how would what you propose actually help you? Send your feature request to omnifocus@omnigroup.com, or use Help->Send Feedback. Those two mechanisms are the only guaranteed ways to have the Omni developers see your request and consider it.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by whpalmer4 View Post
Given that the actions synced won't show up as blocks of time on your calendar, how would what you propose actually help you?
They will show as to-do items that can be turned into fixed appointments or just serve as all day reminders, just as David Allen suggests for day related items. Calendar is the integral part of GTD process and OmniFocus itself doesn't offer that functionality.

Quote:
Originally Posted by whpalmer4 View Post
Send your feature request to omnifocus@omnigroup.com, or use Help->Send Feedback. Those two mechanisms are the only guaranteed ways to have the Omni developers see your request and consider it.
But I wanted to see what other OmniFocus users think before sending it :).
 
This thread also contains some discussion that probably relates to this topic. I could see syncing flagged items, but it would be most likely that we would to so as ToDos, not as calendar items.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by tmilovan View Post
They will show as to-do items that can be turned into fixed appointments or just serve as all day reminders, just as David Allen suggests for day related items. Calendar is the integral part of GTD process and OmniFocus itself doesn't offer that functionality.
Your insistence that this was useful led me to the discovery that one can drag a To Do into the body of the calendar and make it into an event :-)

It does seem that your proposal is approximately the equivalent of selecting your list of "today" items, setting a due date of today, and syncing to iCal. A disadvantage of course is that everything is synced and you might want to keep a different due date on the actions while still flagging them for action today. An advantage is that it isn't necessary to clutter up the UI with an option that supports one particular interpretation of a general-purpose UI element, which I'm going to guess the Omni developers will be reluctant to do.

But if you're going to paraphrase DA at me on this matter, turn to page 40 of the book and read the section about 'No More "Daily To-Do" Lists' where he says:

Quote:
Originally Posted by David Allen
First, constant new input and shifting tactical priorities reconfigure daily work so consistently that it's virtually impossible to nail down to-do items ahead of time. Having a working game plan as a reference point is always useful, but it must be able to be renegotiated at any moment. Trying to keep a list in writing on the calendar, which must then be rewritten on another day if items don't get done, is demoralizing and a waste of time.
To me, that's another way of saying if it doesn't have to be done today, it probably doesn't belong on the calendar.

Quote:
But I wanted to see what other OmniFocus users think before sending it :).
Of course. I just wanted to make sure you know how to do the part that helps the OmniFocus developers know what you think :-)
 
iCal is a strange creature indeed. It doesn't put the task items on the monthly calendar itself. All tasks are placed in a separate window pane.

My old Now Up-To-Date allowed me to put tasks on the calendar itself so I can get a graphic view of where to put tasks. Sometimes I like to see my tasks in monthly calendar view. Sometimes I like to see it in list view (like OmniFocus does).

Hopefully the long-awaited Now NightHawk will let me use OmniFocus -> iCal -> NightHawk. OmniFocus syncs to iCal and transfers its tasks over. iCal is the repository for all data to be shared by any application. Then I tell NightHawk to sync to iCal and all tasks will show up in my monthly calendar view.

Yes I know SOHO Organizer is out there but I have no confidence in their company's tech support and software....
 
iCal is a strange creature indeed. It doesn't put the task items on the monthly calendar itself. All tasks are placed in a separate window pane.

My old Now Up-To-Date allowed me to put tasks on the calendar itself so I can get a graphic view of where to put tasks. Sometimes I like to see my tasks in monthly calendar view. Sometimes I like to see it in list view (like OmniFocus does).

Hopefully the long-awaited Now NightHawk will let me use OmniFocus -> iCal -> NightHawk. OmniFocus syncs to iCal and transfers its tasks over. iCal is the repository for all data to be shared by any application. Then I tell NightHawk to sync to iCal and all tasks will show up in my monthly calendar view.

Yes I know SOHO Organizer is out there but I have no confidence in their company's tech support and software....


What I'd personally like to see is to sync a folder of actions to the iPhone. I create a folder called "Sync to iPhone". Then I create smart lists containing tasks that I want. Then I can tell OmniFocus to sync all items in this folder. Or heck, all items in this playlist.

It's like the iPod syncing. I create a smart playlist of all the songs I want. Then I tell iTunes to sync only the playlists I have checked on.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by whpalmer4 View Post
But if you're going to paraphrase DA at me on this matter, turn to page 40 of the book and read the section about 'No More "Daily To-Do" Lists' where he says:
:))
But that (daily to do lists) is exaclty what I try to avoid. In "Making it all Work" the role of calendar is pretty clearly stated:

"The calendar is the most basic focusing tool on the runway. It charts your next actions specific to particular days and times, and therefore provides critical pinpoints around which you’ll manage most of the rest of your work. While you’re probably already using your calendar for appointments, we have discovered that it holds a lot more power than most people realize.", [DAVID ALLEN, Making It All Work]

"The calendar should represent what I refer to as the “hard landscape” for your day— the mostly stationary events and information around which you must negotiate everything else. It’s what I pay attention to first, as I start and then proceed through the day; and it is usually open and available to me for most of that time.", [DAVID ALLEN, Making It All Work]

"The calendar is the best place for three things— appointments, day-specific things to do, and information I need or want to be aware of on that day. The contents of my calendar mean, specifically, “everything I definitely need to know and do today.”", [DAVID ALLEN, Making It All Work]


And indeed, putting those things in Calendar instead of working them from the lists greatly improve my use of GTD and OmniFocus. I just whish I don't have to do that manually, or by changing the context of those items to "today".
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by tmilovan View Post
So I would like to suggest a feature where you can choose to sync only flagged items.
Take a look at the script at the end of this thread. I use it all the time and it will do exactly what you want. The script adds the currently selected task to iCal, or if no task is selected, adds all flagged items to iCal.
 
Exactly what i needed :))). Sure I'd like to have progress indicator and finishing sound notification as with built in syncing, but until then (if ever:)) script will do fine.

Thanks.
 
 


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