Master GTD with OmniFocus [Mac, iPhone, Touch]

Posted on October 15, 2009 by Bruce Keener

Although my primary computer for the past 3 years has been an iMac, I have tried to stick with GTD tools that also work on Windows. The tool I predominately used was Toodledo.

However, I recently realized that I spend almost all of my computer time on my iMac, and that I might as well check out some of the Mac-only tools for task management. I did brief reviews of two of the tools that I tried out: Things and TaskPaper.

When my friend Jason Spencer read those reviews, he suggested that I give OmniFocus a try, and he helped arrange an evaluation license for me for the desktop and iPhone versions. I must say that it is the most powerful GTD system I have ever seen, and it is easy to use.

I am not going to try to sell you on OmniFocus, or on any GTD app. Rather, I am just going to tell you some of the things I like about it. The best way for you to see if it’s for you is to download the trial version and view the excellent screencasts available on the OmniFocus site.

I like to integrate some elements of Covey’s teachings into GTD, so I am pleased that OmniFocus makes it easy for me to do that. One of the ways it does so is by enabling me to group projects into folders that correspond to my various Covey Roles [click image to enlarge]:

OmniFocus Project List

At this point, I have not fully integrated with all of my Covey Roles, and I might not. I rather like just having a Personal folder, which actually “houses” projects related to several of my roles (Financial Manager, Self Developer, Property Manager, …). Currently there are about 12 projects grouped under “Personal,” which is not such a large number that I feel a need to break it into smaller chunks.

Of course, I can also view my action lists by context (Home, Office, Computer, Errands, …) instead of by project, if desired. I switch between the views pretty often. I haven’t mastered all of the “view possibilities” that OmniFocus provides, but it is not limited to just contexts and projects: there are several predefined views, plus you can create custom views (or “perspectives”).

It is extremely easy to enter data into OmniFocus. If you are entering new tasks, all you have to do to generate a new one is hit the enter key. If you are outlining a new project, this enables you to quickly enter the actions for the project, without having to use your mouse to click a “create new item button” or anything.

And, I can even be in another application and enter a task into OmniFocus by just using Quick Entry. With Quick Entry, you just assign a Hot Key combo (such as Control + Option + Space), and any time you press that combo you are presented with a quick entry box:

OmniFocus Quick Entry

Once I’ve entered the item, I can save it as is, in which case it is placed into the OmniFocus Inbox, or I can assign it to a project and give it a context. Assigning to a project is easy, because you can select the project from a dropdown box. Ditto with the context assignment.

I really love this feature because I am an action-generating machine … very often I am viewing a web page, or typing a document, and have a thought about a new task, so this quick entry method lets me capture such thoughts/tasks before my brain loses them by overwriting them with a new thought.

OmniFocus also has a Clipping feature that lets me clip information from web pages and other types of documents, and put it into the OmniFocus Inbox. This clipping feature is available for several applications, although, surprisingly, Firefox doesn’t appear to support it. I like the fact that it is available for the Finder application, enabling me to attach (link to) a document:

OmniFocus Link To File

I can use this to add a new action that links to a file. Then, when viewing the action from within OmniFocus, I can click on the link and edit the file. This is a great feature for some of my web development activities.

A few more features that come to mind are

  • Ability to select a Focus, so you can focus on only one project
  • Set start dates, if desired, so actions are kept hidden from view until the start date (very handy for large lists)
  • Growl integration
  • A handy Review feature, to facilitate weekly reviews … you can also set different review periods for selected projects, such as once a month for projects that do not need a lot of attention.

And, finally, I love how well the desktop and iPhone versions integrate and that they sync painlessly. I use the iPhone version a good bit, even for entering tasks, because it is so easy to use.

Those of you who have used OmniFocus for long while, like Bia, may want to add other points. Again, I am not trying to sell you on OmniFocus, but I do think highly of the app and think it deserves to be brought to your attention so you can check it out if you want to.

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  • Ellen Sweeney

    Great article Bruce. I’m a windows user but love to read about how people are using different GTD methods.

    • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce Keener

      Thanks, Ellen. Glad you liked it.

  • Anthony

    I just wish that during all this time that Omnifocus has been around, that someone would be developing something similar for Windows. I’m using Bonsai which is great in many ways, and I’ve played a bit with some others like MyLifeOrganized etc. While I love Bonsai, there are so many things that are missing when I look at Omnifocus writeups – details that would solve so many workflow problems. It seems like I have to create dozens of filters and manage them etc. just to be able to do some “simple” things – so many programs just end up getting too complex… It seems from reviews that Omnifocus hits the mark between ease of use and power. I’m pretty sure Omni isn’t going to port it, so when will a Windows company step to the plate and make something similar?

    • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce Keener

      I know what you mean, Anthony. (There are also Windows apps I wish were ported to the Mac.)

  • Thomas R. Hall

    Great post, as always Bruce. This was an impressive article after your sabbatical (if it is over). OmniFocus is pretty impressive. The only issue I’ve had that has prevented me from using OmniFocus is the syncing to multiple machines via MobileMe. The syncing between the iPhone and Mac are fine, but multiple Macs has been an issue. Otherwise, it’s excellent. The UI and user experience is amazingly impressive.

    • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce Keener

      Thomas,
      Thanks for the feedback, my friend — your positive comments always uplift me.
      Thanks also for pointing out the problem with MobileMe and syncing across multiple Macs. I was not aware of that: (a) I only have the one Mac, for now, and (b) I dropped my MobileMe account a few months ago (may reinstate it later … pretty happy with Google Cal and Contacts for now).

      • Thomas R. Hall

        Quick follow-up on OmniFocus sync. You can use Dropbox to sync OmniFocus, but it requires that you exit out of OmniFocus when on other computers. Also, see the caveats from an OmniGroup employee in the post.

        Another disadvantage is lack of iPhone sync. So looks like if you want a server-based sync for OmniFocus on Mac and iPhone, a WebDAV solution is the best option (be that MobileMe or another WebDAV provider)…

        FYI – I have re-read this post a few times now and think it’s spot-on, Bruce. Great post.

      • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce Keener

        Thanks for the comments, Thomas. The iPhone app does sync with OmniFocus, though. In fact, I did a sync just a little while ago. That of course applies to the case of the data being on my Mac … perhaps if it resided within DropBox, that would be a problem, and that’s probably what you are talking about. I just wanted others reading this to know that it does work for the case in which the data is on the Mac drive.

      • Thomas R. Hall

        Sorry I was unclear, Bruce. I was referring to sync over the Internet. OmniFocus supports sync between the desktop Mac and iPhone versions via MobileMe or WebDAV. I wanted to use Dropbox, as I found MobileMe syncing unreliable specifically for OmniFocus (see my original comment above).

        OmniFocus desktop sync (via Wifi) between the Mac and iPhone works VERY well. I just like going through the server as I sync with more than one Mac (a mini and MacBook). Thanks for helping me clarify! I apologize for the confusion.

  • http://www.garotasemfio.com.br Bia Kunze

    Bruce, check this whitepaper from the guys of OmniGroup, with an endorsement from David Allen. It’s named “Omnifocus, GTD and You”:

    http://goo.gl/OQ8q

    Nice article, thanks!

    • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce Keener

      Thanks Bia. That’s a great white paper … summarizes very nicely how to use OmniFocus for GTD.

  • Andrew Berrigan

    Bruce,

    Since your blogging was rather instrumental in my finding OmniFocus and GTD, it brings a smile to my face to read that you think well of OF. I’ve certainly enjoyed using it myself!

    I’m presently on the road (and will be for quite some time), and although I have a laptop with me, it’s Windows-based, so I’m unable to have the full OF experience. However, I have my iPod Touch with me (I’m actually using it to type this message), and it’s loaded up with the mobile version of OF and the Kindle edition of GTD.

    One trick I use (which is reall only useful if you happen to be without your Mac) is to email myself typed out actions from my laptop or another computer with access to the Internet. Later, I check my email with the iPod Touch and then copy and paste the actions into OF. It saves a little typing, and so you get to spend a little less time organizing.

    I’ll eventually start saving for a Macbook in our budget–when I paid for the OF license, I sprung for the Family Pack, knowing there would be another Mac or two in our future!

    • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce Keener

      Great to hear from you, Andrew, and glad you’re making great use of OF. I like the way you’re using email to input the tasks from Windows. That’s a good tip.

      Since you are probably using your Touch a good bit, you might also want to check out TextExpander, a utility which lets you define some shortcuts for typing. I use the heck out of it on my Mac, although I haven’t made much use of it on the iPhone (only because I don’t do much text entry on the iPhone). But, if you do much text entry on your Touch, or would like to, it’s a pretty neat utility (based on my experience with the desktop version).

      Thanks for the comment. And good luck in travels.

  • Andrew Berrigan

    After reading your reply, I went and checked out TextExpander (again). I’d considered it before (I think also after reading a blog entry of yours discussing it), but wasn’t sure if I’d use it enough to justify the purchase. As luck would have it, though, it was on sale when I checked it out this time around, so that made the decision much easier.

    I downloaded the app a couple of days ago and have played with it a little bit, and so far I’m impressed. It really does make entering in often repeated words and phrases much easier. Now all I need to do is figure out what some of my most used words/phrases are. Do you know of any programs I could use to scan my Word docs for the words and phrases that appear most often?

    I also ended up downloading Alfons Schmid’s Notebooks app. It was listed as being compatible with TextExpander, and it also happened to be on sale. So far, I really like this app. It’s a great complement to OF, as it’s a sort of portable, digital file drawer. I see this as becoming the repository for all of the notes I take at staff meetings at work, all the notes I take regarding almost everything else as well (solving the problem I always seem to have of not knowing which “real” notebook my notes are in!). It’s also a place I can dump all the emails and other bits of information which, along the lines of GTD thinking, are “unactionable,” and yet are important to keep for future reference. Notebooks allows me to organize them for easy searching, retrieval and editing.

    I think one of its neatest features, though, is the ability to create tappable URL links which take one directly to the associated “Note” (the program’s catch-all term for each email, PDF, website, photo, Word doc, Pages doc, etc. (you get the idea) that you stow in it). This works in any app that translates URLs into tappable links.

    An example of how this works: you’ve got to a work project in OF, and one of the actions in the project references the notes you took from last week’s staff meeting. In the notes field of your action, you could probably just paste the entire contents of your meeting minutes, but now you also have the action of pasting a link directly to the Note in Notebooks. When you tap it, Notebooks immediately opens up to that Note.

    In the white paper that Bia posted the link to above, the author discusses the need to have some sort of electronic filing system like Yojimbo to hold your digital reference material. This app seems to fit that need. Moreover, after contacting the developer, I’ve learned that they’re exploring options for a desktop companion application (it may be a Mac/Windows version of Notebooks, or it might end up being a way to interface with an existing desktop electronic filing system).

    • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce Keener

      Andrew,
      Thanks for the great follow-up comment! I appreciate you mentioning Alfons Schmid’s Notebooks app — I’ll have to look into that app myself.

      As for a utility that does word frequency analysis, I just entered the phrase “word frequency analysis” into Google, and lots of online apps came up … looks like many are free, and some links are reviews of software that you can download or purchase.

      I like the depth of your comment so well that I am going to link to it from a new post, to draw attention to it from those who have not subscribed to comments.

      Thanks again, Andrew. Best wishes.