Dini - Creating Flow with OmniFocus

Creating Flow with OmniFocus 2

Mastering Productivity

by Kourosh Dini, MD

Creating Flow with OmniFocus2

Mastering Productivity

2009-2014 Kourosh Dini

All rights reserved. This document may be printed for personal use by the owner of the digital file. Otherwise, no part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Kourosh Dini.

ISBN - ePub: 978-0-9860192-9-6, PDF: 978-0-9863152-0-6,
mobi: 978-0-9863152-1-3

The Dini Group, Ltd.

Chicago, IL 60603

Cover design and format direction by Matt Strieby of New Leaf Design.

Editing by Alyse Aiello of .

OmniFocus is a registered trademark and is used under license by the Omni Group. For more information on The Omni Groups products the user may visit their website at www.omnigroup.com. For OmniFocus, please visit http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omnifocus.

This product uses or is based on Getting Things Done or GTD Principles. It is not affiliated with, approved or endorsed by David Allen or the David Allen Company, which is the creator of the Getting Things Done system for personal productivity. GTD and Getting Things Done are registered trademarks of the David Allen Company For more information on the David Allen Companys products the user may visit their website at www.davidco.com.

Apple, Mac, Mac OS, iPad, Multi-Touch and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc. Other company and product names including Berklee College of Music, Coursera, DEVONthink, Due, Duolingo, Evernote, Hazel, iFlash, iThoughts, iThoughts HD, Keyboard Maestro, MindNode, MindNode Pro, OmniOutliner, OmniPlan, Scrivener, TextExpander, Yojimbo, and any others written of may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Versions of OmniFocus used are Desktop 2.0.3, iPhone 2.3.1, and iPad 2.0.2.

It is not the purpose of this book to cover the full range of information that is otherwise available on this topic, but instead to complement, amplify, and supplement other texts. You are urged to read all available material and tailor the information to your individual needs.

Every effort has been made to make this book as accurate as possible. However, there may be mistakes, and with all the rapid changes online, some details may be inaccurate by the time you read this. Therefore, this text should be used only as a general guide and not as the ultimate source of information on the topic.

The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the information contained in this book.

... create an oasis, where your mind can come out to play.

- John Cleese

Many thanks to Teresa for her ever-wonderful support, caring, and general awesomeness, to Viviana and Mila for sharing their joy of the world, to Don for his inspiration and feedback, to Badri and Morteza for their guidance, to Alyse and Matt who help me realize these works, to Brent and Gene who have listened to my wild ideas, to my clients and colleagues who continue to teach me, to Barrie for helping me to be me, to Marie who nurtured the spirit of play, to the souls of Nitida who give that spirit a home, to Doug, Jacco, and the beta readers of this book for their excellent feedback, to David Allen for creating such an excellent system to do and enjoy work, to the Omni Group for making such neat programs, and to my readers whose words of encouragement and appreciation make writing such an enjoyable experience.

To Don

A man of

Strength, honor, and integrity.

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C HAPTER 1

When I began writing the first edition of Creating Flow with OmniFocus, I thought it would be a 50-page PDF at most. Years later, its now quite a bit longer.

And I wonder, What did I even write about?

After the first edition of Creating Flow, I wrote what eventually became Workflow Mastery. That text was an attempt to better understand what a workflow could or should be, regardless of tool or environment. In that writing and into this books, my use of OmniFocus shifted.

More and more, there are times where I just touch upon the program throughout the day. Towards the end of this book, a section titled A Day in the Life shows my use of the program during a typical non-review day. The section is only a few pages long and shows me barely using the program.

And yet, OmniFocus remains my central hub for managing work.

I can still work with it heavily from time to time, if Im doing some major planning or a weekly review, for instance.

As another example, while working in a session of creative work, I might use the Inbox extensively, entering more than a dozen tasks. After the session, though, I go back to process the Inbox.

More importantly, I can then better choose my focus for the present moment. I may decide to address something I just stored or do something I had planned long ago. With OmniFocus functioning as a well considered map of my work and play, I can make a better decision.

All the principles of this text still go into my use of the program.

Know, however, that you do not need to read the entirety to become adept at getting it to support you. Beyond the section Folders and Horizons of Focus Introduced, the text becomes more about adapting it to various scenarios of daily life. Some may be universal, while others may just show off my own quirks.

I hope this book helps you to develop whatever you find to be meaningful in your life in a way that supports you where you want it to and stays out of your way otherwise.

Learning the use of OmniFocus is not only about learning the program but also your own habits. Whatever workflow you design should be adaptable, feel natural, and be readily maintained. As you make your way through this book, hopefully it will become less about the tool itself and more about what it can help you to create.

Creating Flow with OmniFocus aims to help you anywhere from creating small lists to organizing and pursuing major life goals. It begins with the more basic components of the program and develops into means of organizing larger systems.

Throughout this text, I hope to describe how you can build a well-honed structure from which your priorities, habits, and tasks can be designed and arranged. Large scale projects and daily routines should rest side-by-side, though with enough space between them to allow you to decide quickly and focus on whatever it is you may like to do.