Setting up OmniFocus (again)

I go away but have found I always come back to OmniFocus (OF). OF still remains one of the quickest ways for me to enter new items to my inbox (I have SIRI disabled) using text entry and using a combination of due times and flagging I’ve been using it well this week and kept on top of things.

I’m still in the process of sorting myself out and setting some personal goals but I’ve settled on OF. I was going to go all in with Reminders but a few things put me off using Apple apps

  1. Sync has been unreliable across devices for me, especially macOS
  2. I don't have any confidence in the Apple development team to keep the app updated. It'll always be a small part of iOS for Apple and I don't want to wait a year between updates for bug fixes
  3. If you need support, good luck. I'm almost a month in on my second attempt to get my iCloud sync sorted and Apple keep breaking their promises of calling me back with updates or even looking like they care about my data. I'm paying for iCloud storage and Apple aren't taking me as a customer seriously, I don't want to put my life into Reminders then hit a problem and be stuck trying to sort it out on my own

Ok, rant over.

So how am I’m setting up OF?

I’m starting pretty simple and mostly chucking items into the inbox via the app or Shortcuts. Anything that I think is urgent or want to get done today ideally I’ll put a flag against. I can quickly view everything flagged as almost a wish I could get this done today list or a reminder of items that are going to cause me some pain if I don’t get done.

Project wise I’m using folders to divide my projects into areas of focus. It’s pretty simple for now but I have one for my writing and another for personal, which includes any goals. I’ll share more on this one I’ve got my project structure sorted. I’m expecting it’ll be financial, work etc.

Everything else in OF I’m pretty much ignoring. The beauty is that it can be as simple or complicated as you need it.

Lee Peterson @LJPUK