Peter Binder In the second part of the OmniFocus series, focusing on the Getting Things Done method, we will continue with the first part and we will focus on the version for Mac OS X. It appeared at the beginning of 2008 and started the successful journey of this application among users.
I think that if OmniFocus is deterring potential users, it might be the price and graphics. As for the Mac application, during the first steps, the user will definitely ask himself several times why it looks like it does. But appearances can be deceiving.
Unlike the iPhone version, you can adjust almost everything on the Mac, whether it is the color of the background, font or icons on the panel. Thus, anything that bothers you can with a high probability be adapted to your image. And I am sure that after a few days of use, you will not regret the seemingly high purchase price. If you're comfortable with the iPhone version, you'll be really surprised at what the Mac version can do.
After installing the application, you have only two items in the left panel, the first is inbox and the second Library. inbox is again a classic inbox, into which users transfer their notes, ideas, tasks, etc. To save an item to the Inbox, all you have to do is fill in the text and you can leave the rest for later, more detailed processing.
In addition to text directly in OmniFocus, you can also add files from your Mac, marked text from an Internet browser, etc. to the Inbox. Just right-click on the file or text and select the option Send to inbox.
Library is a library of all projects and folders. After final editing, each item goes from the Inbox to the Library. Folders including projects are created very easily. The user can use a number of keyboard shortcuts that will greatly facilitate his work in the application. E.g. pressing enter always creates a new item, be it a project or tasks within a project. You then use the tab to switch between fields for filling in (information about the project, context, due, etc.). So you are able to create a ten task project and it really only takes a few minutes or a few seconds.
Inbox and Library are included in the so-called PROSPECTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS (we will find here Inbox, Projects, Contexts, Due, Flagged, Completed), which is a kind of menu in which the user will move the most. The individual elements of this offer can be found in the first places of the top panel. Projects is a list of all projects including individual steps. contexts are categories helping better orientation and sorting of items.
Due means the time to which the given tasks relate. flagged is again classic flagging used for highlighting. Review we will discuss below and the last element PROSPECTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS is a list of completed tasks or Completed.
When looking at OmniFocus, the user may also get the impression that the application is confusing and offers many functions that he does not use. However, upon closer examination, you will be convinced of the opposite.
What scared me personally the most was the apparent lack of clarity. I've already tried several GTD tools and switching from one to another is definitely not pleasant. I was afraid that after I transfer all the projects, tasks, etc. to the new tool, I will find that it does not suit me and I will have to transfer all the items again.
My fears, however, were misplaced. After creating folders, projects, single-action lists (a list of tasks that do not belong to any project), you can look at all data in OmniFocus in two ways. It is the so-called Planning Mode a Context Mode.
Planning Mode is the display of items in terms of projects (like when you select All Actions for iPhone projects). In the left column you can see all folders, projects, single-action sheets and in the "main" window individual tasks.
Context Mode, as the name suggests, is to view items in terms of Contexts (again like when you select All Actions in contexts on iPhone). In the left column you will now have a list of all Contexts and in the "main" window all tasks sorted by category.
The top panel is also used for better orientation in the application. Like most things in OmniFocus, you can edit it as you like – add, remove icons, etc. A useful function located by default on the panel is Review (otherwise it can be found in perspectives/review) used for better evaluation of items. These are sorted into "groups": Review Today, Review Tomorrow, Review within the next week, Review within the next month.
You mark individual items after you evaluate them Mark Reviewed and they will automatically move to your Review Within the Next Month. Or, this feature may be useful for those users who do not review regularly. When OmniFocus shows you some tasks like Review Today, so you go through them and click off as Mark Reviewed, then they move to "evaluate within the next month".
Another panel matter that we can find in the view menu is Focus. You choose a project, click a button Focus and the "main" window is filtered for this project only, including the individual steps. You can then fully concentrate on carrying out these activities.
Viewing tasks in OmniFocus is also very flexible. It only depends on the user how they set up sorting, grouping, filtering according to status, availability, time or projects. This allows you to easily slim down the number of displayed items. This flexibility is also aided by options directly in the application settings, where, among other things, we can set the already mentioned appearance (font colors, background, font styles, etc.).
OmniFocus creates its own backups. If you don't use synchronization with, for example, your iPhone, you don't have to worry about losing your data. You can set the backup creation interval to once a day, twice a day, at closing.
In addition to syncing with iOS devices, which I discussed in the first part of the series, OmniFocus for Mac can also transfer data to iCal. I cheered when I saw this feature. After trying it, I found out that the items with the set date are not added in iCal to individual days, but "only" in iCal to Items, but maybe the developers will work on it if it is in their power.
The advantages of the Mac version are enormous. The user can adapt the entire application to his needs, wishes and also according to the extent to which he uses the GTD method. Not everyone uses this method 100%, but it is proven that if you use only a part, it will be beneficial and OmniFocus can help you with that.
For clarity, different settings or two display modes are used, with which you can sort the items according to projects and categories. It offers intuitive movement in the application. But this belief will only last until you find out how this software works.
Function Review helps you with your evaluation, you have several options to filter out certain tasks. Using the option Focus you can focus only on a certain project that is important to you at that moment.
As for the shortcomings and disadvantages, so far I have not noticed anything that bothers me or is missing in this version. Maybe just fine-tune the synchronization with iCal, when the items from OmniFocus would be assigned to the given date. The price could be considered a possible disadvantage, but that is up to each of us and whether the investment is worth it.
For those of you who have the Mac version and don't know how to use it yet, I recommend watching the video tutorials directly from The Omni Group. These are excellently mastered extensive educational videos, with the help of which you will learn the basics and more advanced techniques of OmniFocus.
So is OmniFocus for Mac the best GTD app? In my opinion, definitely yes, it is functional, clear, flexible and very effective. It has everything a perfect productivity app should have.
We should also be seeing OmniFocus 2 inspired by the iPad version later this year, so we definitely have a lot to look forward to.
Link to video tutorials
Mac App Store link - €62,99
Part 1 of the OmniFocus series
Hello,
thanks for the nice review, so I managed to throw away pen and paper and started organizing my work electronically.
To iCal in sync with google cal. I was looking for a GTD tool, but I have a problem that in my job I have 2 other people working on it, and in the ideal case we need to have tasks synced, and in addition, we each have slightly different HW (1x Win, 2x Macbook, 2x Iphone, 1x Android). Web tools are not fast enough, especially on the phone - paper is faster.
We then failed to find a 100% perfect tool. Then we use Evernote, I fulfill almost everything, including the connection with the calendar.
It's probably the 1st GTD solution that really forced me to throw away pen and paper - speed - keyboard shortcuts for throwing notes into the inbox, just as quickly adding text/photo notes on the phone...
I have notebooks by area, big projects in separate notebooks and priorities to help the system with TAGS. Progress in the given project is marked by the help of the to-do check-box. I was inspired here: http://www.straightpathsql.com/archives/2010/07/getting-organized-a-tasks-life/
Sync in the cloud works in the free version, at least for reading, if nothing better is found, we will probably go to the paid version.
Anyone else using GTD in the cloud with other people? What worked best for you?
In my opinion, an ideal tool should be able to:
– connectivity with email (need to return links to the email client)
- cloud sync
– possibility of attachments
– some calendar solutions (automatically falling to today as Things should)
– application – i.e. it can run in the background and keyboard shortcuts work, for example
– multiplatform – it is not always possible to go through the whole group on Mac+iPhone just because of GTD
- stability
– GUI clarity
- easily found
...
I haven't solved Evernote, especially the calendar, if I only leave out the input plugin for web google cal. is it possible to send an email from the calendar via a notification to the inbox.
Does anyone know the holy grail? :)
Thanks,
You take
Thanks for the interesting comment. I have to admit that I have no experience with Evernote at all, and moreover, I personally don't see much use for it.
As for the problem you described, it is certainly an excellent solution. It is clear that it is very difficult to find a tool that works on all devices. In addition, I know of almost no such application that works on all devices. Maybe you can try the Wunderlist app. This is for all devices, it is synced via the cloud to the created account. So that could be a possible solution. It can handle most of the requirements you described. The Wunderlist app will also be discussed more in the third and final part of the OmniFocus series. It is then a question whether it would be good to combine Evernote with another app or wait until a multi-platform one comes out that can do everything.
Thanks for the type
I tried Wunderlist, it doesn't look bad, unfortunately it's too simple, probably not suitable for the GTD method - it doesn't support tags, links to e-mail, attachments, screenshots...
So I'll probably stick with Evernote.
Thanks,
You take
I have to say that I've tried almost everything on iTunes in terms of todo apps, calendars and GTD tools, but pocket informant wins for me so far. I've been using omnifocus for a long time, but after I tried informant, everything else feels unfinished - I'm always missing something there. Although it costs about 10 bucks and I admit that it is my most expensive app that I have honestly bought :D:D It can synchronize all kinds of accounts, there can be several of them, it has a calendar with all the necessary previews and in addition it has a perfect ruler - you can even choose if you want use the Franklin Covey/Getting things done/Toodledo style I still don't understand how so many people don't know it?? :)
Hi, thank you for the interesting article. Please, give me an advice. I'm trying evernote right now and unlike the writer, with me
when selecting text and clicking on it with the right mouse, it does not offer "add selection to evernote"
I have to copy the text manually. Please advise..?
Thank you