In this part of my ongoing series, we take a look at an app I cannot imagine myself doing without in the area of time and project management.
I am sure there are dozens of time/project management apps out there for iOS, but for me, there is only one – OmniFocus. In fact, I am sure there are many cheaper ones out there too.
OmniFocus needs to be purchased for your Mac and iPhone/iPad separately, but I have discovered it is worth every penny. And admittedly, you could certainly try and proceed with only the app on only of your platforms.
OmniFocus follows the GTD method for project management, which is simply Getting Things Done. This is a perfect system for me since I am one of those who is doing an awful lot over three major areas in my life: family/personal, work, and extra income. Of course, OmniFocus allows me to setup projects across these three major areas.
Using OmniFocus is incredibly simple, and it is certainly one of the reasons it works for me. You begin by dumping everything you need to do into an Inbox. I mean everything you need to do. The makers of OmniFocus suggest you gather up all those outstanding emails, notes, and voicemails that represent to-do items and dump them into your Inbox. Don’t forget about your family’s Honey Do List!
From there, you do the things you can easily take care of a in a few minutes, just checking them off from the Inbox list. You can Delegate items, or even Defer them.
For larger, ongoing projects that you have Inbox items for, you can easily create major categories (like my Family/Personal, Work, and Extra Income categories) and then create projects within those categories.
In a very short time, you have a well-organized view of your action items in life with several flexible views at your fingertips. The Pro version (which I did not need), even allows you to create your own custom views of things.
If you are like me, always having a ton of items you want or need to do every day, OmniFocus might just be for you. Since it is rather pricey, a free trial is certainly the way to start to ensure you love this tool as much as I do.
