The Omni Group's getting things done (GTD) desktop application for the Mac, OmniFocus, has both proponents and detractors. Many people who buy into David Allen's Getting Things Done workflow philosophy (and who take the time to learn more about how GTD is done) find OmniFocus to be a powerful tool for creating and organizing tasks. Others, confounded by OmniFocus' occasional complexities, wonder if maybe they'd have more time to get things done if they spent less time trying to figure out how OmniFocus can aid their organizational efforts. It's likely OmniFocus for the iPhone‚ although not as deep as the desktop version‚ will be similarly viewed.

And in what ways is the iPhone version shallower? There's no support for repeating tasks or syncing with the iPhone's Calendar application, for example. The interface has been simplified so that all elements are accessible on the iPhone, so there's no Perspective feature (for creating custom views of your data). The iPhone version includes smart groups, which resemble pre-built perspectives that include Due Soon, Overdue, and Flagged, but you can't create your own smart groups.

Nonetheless, the overriding organizational philosophy remains. For those unfamiliar with OmniFocus, it works like this: You create actions (To-Do items) within the Inbox--found on the Home screen--by tapping a Plus button, entering the name of the action (Wash the Car, for example), and, if you choose, assigning it to a Context (a location or state in which you're likely to take on the task) and a Project. If you like, also assign start and due times to it, and either flag it or not. You can also append a note to the action.

Additionally, with the iPhone version you can add a picture to the action by tapping the Take Photo button and using the iPhone's camera to grab an appropriate picture. (Unfortunately you can't append a picture from the iPhone's Photos area.) And you can record a bit of audio and attach it to the action. (Although OmniFocus works on the iPod touch as well, these two specific features are not supported, as the touch lacks a camera and microphone.)

Using contexts and projects you might create something like this: Create Build Sandcastle and Go Surfing actions and file them in a Beach context you've created. Create another Mountains context and file your Go Skiing and Resole Hiking Boots actions there. Then create a broader Relax project where you file all your leisure to-dos. (These would include those activities and tasks associated with the beach and the mountains.) Once you've created these actions and assigned context and project categories to them, you can then view all of them by tapping the Relax project or choose the subset Beach or Mountains actions by tapping their respective contexts.

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