The Omni Group recently mitigated the most cited impediments1 to productivity when using Omnifocus as a task manager: the drudgery of getting complete information into the system because of a lack of automation.
OmniFocus tasks (right) can be dragged and dropped into iCal (the Apple calendar app, left). The day view is helpful here. BTW, the blue and orange calendars contain the same information. They are (manual) copies and are handled by two different servers. Not that good for reflection/reflective learning. Main problems so far are. What is most important is to get things done. If you want to get up and running as quickly as possible, you’ll definitely want to check out two great resources – The OmniFocus Field Guide by David Sparks and the extremely well-done website Learning OmniFocus by Tim Stringer. Be realistic about what you can get done. Don’t put fifteen.
Entering tasks in Omnifocus on the iOS or macOS is slow; it requires too many keystrokes (macOS) and taps (iOS). Using keyboard shortcuts and TextExpander snippets helps increase entry speed, but task entry is still more difficult than it should be.
After a recent upgrade, almost every aspect of Omnifocus (e.g., due dates, defer dates, notes, project structure) can now be automated on iOS (and only iOS)2. Automation of Omnifocus on iOS is done through URL schemes and/or TaskPaper formatted text.
If you understand URL schemes and are familiar with TaskPaper formatting, skip to the automating Omnifocus using Drafts and Workflow section.
URL Schemes
URL schemes allow you to use a URL (the same kind you type into your web browser) to pass information into Omnifocus. Typing a URL schemes into a web browser launches applications and can also pass information to the launched app. For example, clicking on a restaurant review in the Yelp section of Apple Maps without having the Yelp application installed quickly launches Safari and pastes in the URL scheme which opens iTunes and displays the Yelp application.
Try clicking the link below on an iOS device without Yelp installed and see if you can catch being directed first to your web browser and then to iTunes:
The first part of the URL (https://itunes.apple.com/us) directs the device to open the US iTunes store. The remaining code directs the device to the target app (in this case Yelp) within the US store (app/yelp), provides a description of the target app for the user (the-best-local-food-drinks-services-more), provides the unique id for the item in the iTunes store (id284910350?), and tells the user the media type is an app (mt=8)3. This same process is used by iOS to pass information to and from apps. Alex Guyot wrote a detailed description of URL schemes on MacStories.net that is a great resource for understanding URL Schemes.
TaskPaper
TaskPaper is a way of writing ToDo lists in plain text files using special formatting (e.g., @due, @flagged(true)). There is also an app that supports the TaskPaper method of ToDo lists. However, many other text editors such as Editorial support TaskPaper formatting4. Omnifocus has been updated to accept TaskPaper formatted text through the “paste” command in its URL scheme. TaskPaper format is simple and can be quickly typed into a text editor to create complex sets of tasks (see example below).
Combining URL schemes and TaskPaper format allows you to quickly use an app like Drafts or Workflow to enter tasks to specific projects in Omnifocus.
Automating Omnifocus Using Drafts and Workflow
Automating Omnifocus Using Drafts
Omnifocus automation requires building URL schemes with the appropriate structure. Many iOS apps like Drafts make this process easier. Using URL schemes, drafts can match the title of a note to a project in Omnifocus and use the body of the note (written in TaskPaper) as the task(s). The URL to make this happen is:
You can install this action directly in the Drafts App here.
Omnifocus Automation
Just like the iTunes Yelp app URL discussed earlier, this URL instructs the device to open Omnifocus (omnifocus:///) and use the (paste) command to paste into the target project (target=/task/[[title]]) using the TaskPaper text (content=[[body]]). The end code of the URL (x-success=drafts4://) instructs the device to return to the Drafts app after writing the task(s) to Omnifocus. The Omni Group wrote the paste action so you do not need to know the exact name of the project in which you would like put the task(s). Omnifocus will match the name of the project with what you type in the title of your Drafts note.
Omnifocus accepts the following TaskPaper tags (from Omnifocus blog):
Omnifocus Tutorial
- @autodone(bool) – whether the item automatically completes itself when its children are complete (true) or not (false). Named to match @done.
- @context(string) – the context to assign
*@defer(date) – defer until date, e.g. 2016-04-19 5pm or next Thursday -3d - @done(date) – completed on date
- @due(date) – due on date
- @estimate(time span) – time estimate, e.g. 2h for 2 hours or 3w for 3 weeks.
- @flagged – present when an item is flagged
- @parallel(bool) – whether children are parallel (true) or sequential (false)
- @repeat-method(method) – the repeat method: fixed, start-after-completion, or due-after-completion
- @repeat-rule(rule) – an ICS repeat rule (see RFC244557), e.g. FREQ=WEEKLY;INTERVAL=1
TextExpander makes entering these Omnifocus tags even faster as snippets can be created for each tag and can place the cursor in between the parentheses [e.g., ddue = due()]. You can download my TaskPaper to Omnifocus snippet library here.
Automating Omnifocus Using the Workflow App
Automating Omnifocus using the Workflow app requires a basic understanding of the creation of workflows using the Workflow app5. Knowing how to create workflows in the Workflow app allows the creation of simple workflows to input task(s) to specific projects in Omnifocus. Additionally, the Workflow app enables the creation of templates (that are stored within the Workflow app). Time factory for mac.
Using The Workflow App to Get Tasks Into Omnifocus
Inserting tasks directly to the omnifocus inbox or projects field is easy with the Workflow app. It requires creating a workflow that can be accessed using the share sheet that accepts text 6.
Once the workflow is created, all that is required is to write TaskPaper formatted text in a text editor and share it using iOS’s built in share sheet.
Using The Workflow App to Make Templates for Omnifocus
There is no limit to the length of TaskPaper formatted text Workflow can pass to OmniFocus. Thus, entire projects (or multiple projects) can be stored in the Workflow app until they are needed allowing the templating of tasks, projects, or both. This means that any repeating complex tasks can be made into templates in the Workflow app that can instantly populate OmniFocus when needed. For example, as a professor, there are a number of classes that I repeatedly teach each year that require certain tasks to be completed every time the courses are taught (e.g., create syllabus and all the subtasks that apply to that project). Having these tasks templated in the Workflow means faster creation, but more importantly, less error as I am significantly less likely to forget a task.
You can also hold multiple TaskPaper formatted templates in a single workflow and have the workflow prompt you to select which one to send to Omnifocus. These workflows can get quite complex and are immensely useful. Gpx editor for mac.
Automating Omnifocus For the First Time
If you have never automated Omnifocus, I encourage you to try. Once you understand the basic structure of the method you are using, you can create templates and enter tasks in Omnifocus extremely quickly. The short time spent up front learning the method will result considerable time savings with repeated use.
- This assumes that you are already using Omnifocus for task management and have gotten over the largest barrier to entry: Omnifocuses steep learning curve. ↩
- Although I wish automation could happen on macOS, having the automation only available on iOS is not deal-breaker as the database synchronization provided by The Omnigroup (OmniPresence is rock solid. ↩
- For a wonderful primer on iTunes URL links see The Comprehensive Guide to Affiliate Links on MacStories.net. ↩
- You can write TaskPaper format in plain text files and not view them on a TaskPaper enabled app although you will not get the benefits of syntax highlighting making TaskPaper less useful. ↩
- There is an abundance of resources to learn how create workflows in the Workflow App: The hosts of the Canvas podcast did a multi-part series on the Workflow App: (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7); Federico Viticci wrote a wonderful article on how to use workflow; David Sparks created a Workflow Video Field Guide; The Workflow app developers have great documentation available at the Workflow App Web site. ↩
- The Add TaskPaper to Omnifocus action has two options: one places the TaskPaper formatted text in the Omnifocus inbox and the other places it in the Projects field. This option can be found in the action itself. ↩
2014 UPDATE: In OmniFocus 2, we changed terminology from “start date” to “defer date”.
Hello! Welcome to the second article in an ongoing series documenting my experiences using OmniFocus as a task manager n00b. The first post is here.
I've been using OmniFocus pretty diligently for a couple weeks now and I'm still learning new stuff every day. It's amazing how much there really is to this app, and I think one of the biggest challenges to making the most of it all is figuring out what sorts of options work best for you. I know there's that helpful book and everything, but the nice thing about OmniFocus is that it's flexible—you don't have to be a hardcore GTD person to benefit from it. Which is good for me, since just between you and me I started reading Getting Things Done but got sidetracked by something shiny about halfway through.
(BTW: has anyone written Doing Things Half-Assed yet? I would totally read that.)
That might explain my approach to projects, which a couple people asked about. If you take a look at my OmniFocus document, you'll notice that the projects I've created are more categories (or buckets) than anything else—they don't have a beginning and an end.
This is just what seems to be most useful for my working style, maybe because I have more ongoing activities than I do projects with steps towards completion. You can, however, specifically tell OmniFocus that something is not a project if you like. Click on a project, open the inspector, and click the Single Actions icon under Type. This will change the way your tasks are styled (in my document, remaining tasks become blue instead of gray); it's just another way to organize your info.
Now that I've got my tasks all squared away into projects and contexts, it's time to add info to the tasks so they're more meaningful to me. I start assigning due dates, which is easy enough: just click the task, open the inspector, and click in the Due field to assign a date and time. Many of my tasks are recurring—blog posts that are due each week, for instance—so for those I start selecting the Repeat Every … option and pick the appropriate interval of time.
After I've been working with due dates for a few days, I realize I can customize the way tasks repeat. Some tasks are due on specific days each week, while others fall into more of an “every so often” category. For example, I have a task reminding me to take receipts out of our checkbook so I don't let scraps of paper build up in my wallet and cluelessly empty our checking account because I bought too many zombie-themed comic books one month, not that I have ever done such a thing, ha ha ha *cough*.
I want this task to repeat every three days, and but I want it to show up three days from whenever I complete it. Maybe I'll take out those receipts on a Monday, maybe I'll do it again one day later in a fit of wallet-tidying. Whenever I do it, I want to be reminded three days later, so I choose the Repeat from: Completion date option. Now whenever I mark it as completed, OmniFocus knows to make it due three days later.
This receipt reminder is such a small example, and yet I can't tell how handy it's been. My checkbook is always up to date now, and my wallet isn't straining at the seams with nine thousand “Walking Dead” sales slips. BRAAAINNS! I mean, WIN!
Okay, so now I have lots of repeating tasks, and I can't help but notice the act of marking things as completed is starting to feel unpleasantly Sisyphean in nature. For only the briefest nanosecond do I get to enjoy the reward of checking something off and watching my task get that satisfying strikethrough, then KERBLAM. The task repeats and there it is AGAIN. Almost like it's back from the dead or something.
This really bugs me, maybe because so much of my life is steeped in the sense of continually working at something only to have to do it all over again (hi, please enjoy the typical fruits of my housecleaning efforts). I whine to a few Omni peeps about this issue, and they school me on the concept of a Start date.
For some reason I thought a task's Start date was referring to when you were supposed to start the actual task, but it really means something more like “Make this task available by” (which is of course too long to fit in the inspector, and can I just say I'm only recently starting to really appreciate the myriad challenges of UI design?). So here's what I do for a blog assignment that's due every other Wednesday: I assign a Start date that's two days before the Due date.
Drawing free for mac. Now OmniFocus knows to make that task show up as available every other Monday, rather than just having it lurk in my document all the time. If I filter my tasks to show what's actually available to me, that task will not appear.
It's still there, of course, it's just not cluttering up my document and making me feel burdened with that continually-rolling-a-boulder-up-a-hill feeling. Awesome!
After two weeks I'm falling into some usage patterns with OmniFocus, and I notice that I'm using the phone only as a reminder when I'm out shopping. I should probably get more used to capturing items on the go. I also need to put more thought into how I actually want to view my Focus document contents—there are a million options, and I'm still figuring out what's most useful for me. That's the subject for the next post: filtering, viewing, Perspectives, oh my.
ROOKIE MISTAKE MADE:
- When I was first setting up my repeating tasks, more than once I accidentally marked something as completed when it wasn't. I'd finish this week's task, mark it off, it would repeat (this was before I customized any Start dates), and I'd mark it off again, having stupidly forgotten that I'd already done so for the week. One way to avoid this is to show the Due Date column, so you can tell at a glance which task you're looking at.
A WORKAROUND:
- You can repeat tasks by minutes, hours, weeks, etc, but you can't yet tell OmniFocus you have a task that's due every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. How to deal? Make three separate tasks that repeat each week.
WEIRD SIDE EFFECT I DID NOT EXPECT:
- The first time I had a task go overdue and the little red badge showed up? I HAD HEART PALPITATIONS. Note to self: dude, it's okay. Calm down. Everyone gets behind, at least this way you're not forgetting it altogether.
RELATED LESSON I AM LEARNING:
- Managing tasks with OmniFocus will get you partway there, but you still have to, you know, do them. Just because it's in the document doesn't mean it's going to magically get completed all on its own. Now that the initial ooh-I'm-so-productive glow has worn off, I'm realizing the no-duh concept: it's about planning your work, then working the plan. I've got all the tools, now I just have to figure out how best to use them.
CONCLUSION THUS FAR:
- I am really and truly finding OmniFocus to be a big help—I'm staying more organized, I'm remembering a bunch of things I know I would have otherwise forgotten, and I don't feel that it's too much of a chore to keep my document up to date. At this point, I think I need to figure out the best way to view/review my data, and maybe establish some habits of when to check in with OmniFocus. I'm going to go back to the comments on this post to find some workflow inspiration, and if you've got any more tips to share, I'd love to hear them!
PS: Last time, when I said I'd try and keep the next post shorter? I LIED.