OmniFocus

What is it?

This app is made for people who manage multiple projects in their work and personal life at the same time. It walks users through the process of collecting ideas, processing them into manageable tasks, reviewing priorities, and completing tasks. It is the best app on the market for organizing your life and helping you get things done.

How does it work?

The first time you use OmniFocus, you perform what is called a “mind sweep” and enter everything that is on your mind that may require an eventual action into the Inbox. You enter everything including tasks, ideas, Web sites, daydreams, e-mails, and telephone calls into the Inbox. To make it easy, a variety of tools are provided for entry into the Inbox including an Inbox screen, a New Inbox Item button, a Clippings shortcut, and an e-mail shortcut. OmniFocus also pulls data from Siri and the iPhone calendar app to collect all your tasks into 1 app.

Once all the tasks and ideas that are cluttering up your brain are entered, OmniFocus provides a variety of tools to help you process and organize your life. Tasks can be checked off, grouped into projects, placed On Hold as a delegated task, marked as Waiting if it depends on another action, or placed in a Someday Maybe file. Organization is also aided by Ticklers including start dates, due dates, contexts (eg, home, office) and flags. Finally, folders can be created to organize projects into life roles (eg, work, home, personal) or areas of focus (ie, publishing, medical societies).

When it is time to start working, OmniFocus provides you with a variety of views to easily see what needs to be done. Context view allows you to view tasks based on the tool, person, or place needed to complete the task. Project view allows you to view tasks based on the projects you are currently undertaking. You also can view tasks based on those that are due today or those that you flagged as important. Finally, you can easily create views such as a “today view” that only displays tasks you can complete today.

How can it help me?

This app has been a lifesaver for me. Between my work life, home life, and community life, I am constantly juggling several projects at once. This app allows me to have a busy life and never miss an important deadline because something slipped through the cracks. However, OmniFocus does have a steep learning curve, so I would only use this app if you need to balance many projects in your life; many people can get by with a paper to-do list or an e-mail list.

Learn more about the Getting Things Done system and OmniFocus by reading “OmniFocus, GTD, and You”.

How can I get it?

OmniFocus can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store for your iPhone and/or iPad and the product Web site. OmniFocus is not available for Android devices at this time.

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