#Omnifocus priorities for mac
#Omnifocus priorities mac

Omnifocus gives you five dates, of which you control only two: the start date and the due date. Many apps focus on the due date and assume that the date on which you entered a task can serve as a start date. Use start dates to defer tasks that you are not quite ready to tackle yet and change the start, rather than the due date, date to postpone tasks. Yes, you really need to renovate that bathroom, but how much time will you realistically be able to devote to that project, what with a conference next week and your daughter’s birthday the week after? By reviewing your ‘time budget’ and placing projects on hold you can drastically reduce the number of tasks on your horizon.Ĥ. One of the things to consider during your weekly GTD review is whether a project can go on hold for a while. Paste the note link into the notes field of the Omnifocus task and when you are ready to complete the task, you can bring up the Evernote document by clicking on its hyperlink.ģ. I then right-click on the note in Evernote and select ‘copy note link’. If one of those notes requires action, I will copy the note header and paste it as a task in Omnifocus to maintain the integrity of the trusted system. Like millions of others, I use Evernote as my default app for capturing information. Link your Evernote documents to tasks in Omnifocus. This is the heart of GTD®: using a single trusted system.Ģ. I do not use any other reminder app if it is a task, it is in Omnifocus. Assign a due date only for tasks with a real deadline (such as a due date for a job application or a bill payment). At the end of the day I work through the inbox, completing tasks that take two minutes or less and assigning a category, context, expected duration and start date to all others.

I use it all day long for capturing new tasks, ideas, reminders. Use the power of the inbox. Omnifocus was designed with the GTD® approach in mind and its inbox is a fantastic tool for the collect phase. The mobile versions have some features (such as calendar integration) that are not available in the desktop app.ġ. The three versions work very well together, syncing via the Omni Sync Server, WebDAV or Bonjour.

#Omnifocus priorities mac

Omnifocus comes in three versions: a desktop version for the Mac (1.10.3) and excellent versions for the iPhone (1.15) and the iPad (1.6). If you are not a Mac user, or you want to look further afield, I recommend Priacta’s interactive table comparing productivity apps that are compatible with David Allen’s Getting Things Done® (GTD)® approach. I am not in any way associated with the Omni Group.

#Omnifocus priorities for mac

In this post I want to share my learning and workarounds with you in the hope that you will try, or stick with Omnifocus, which I consider the best productivity app around for Mac users. For me, my ongoing struggle with Omnifocus has been how best to filter the multitude of my tasks in the absence of tags and using only the tools that are provided in the app: perspectives, start dates, due dates and flags. Most promising new apps start revealing their flaws or limitations once you have used them for three or four weeks. By contrast, your trusted old task manager, with its hundreds of tasks collected over the years, can seem like a lumbering nineteenth-century frigate returning from a long ocean voyage, slowed down by the shroud of built-up seaweed on its keel. They signal the new you, who will wake up clear-headed, have days of stellar achievement and seemingly effortlessly accomplish life goals… Any new app feels sleek and fast, like a regatta boat. Part of the attraction of entering tasks in a brand new app is the sense of exploration, coupled with a feeling of control: those first fifteen tasks stand there, neatly lined up, tagged and prioritised.

Right now, I am tinkering with asana and Donedesk (if you subscribe to my blog you will be notified by email as soon as the respective reviews go live).

While I have settled upon Omnifocus as my preferred task manager, I am virtually always exploring one or two other apps at the same time. I find it fascinating that developers come up with so many different approaches to the questions of what do I want/have to do and what is the best way for planning and keeping track of all these activities. Unless, of course, you really enjoy exploring new productivity apps. At some stage you have to make a choice, stick to it and make it work. Finding a task management app that appeals and blends in with your working style can take quite some time.