OmniFocus

I need to reboot my GTD (Getting Things Done) system. Last August I started using Thinking Rock as my trusted GTD system. After several months I had accumulated tons of "stuff" and stopped using it. I found that Thinking Rock gave me so many ways of slicing and dicing my "stuff' that I often got overwhelmed looking at it.

I continue to read and research GTD tools and methods, and I discovered OmniFocus. I used the trial version for a couple of weeks. One thing I liked about it is the Quick Entry window which integrates with Mail and other applications. No longer do I have to copy and paste information into my GTD system; with OmniFocus I just highlight the relevant text in an email, web page, or whatever text in whatever open window, hit a hotkey sequence, and the information goes into the a Quick Entry window and from there into my GTD Inbox. From here on this is a new must for me; any GTD application I use has to integrate with other Mac applications in an easy manner.

OmniFocus has a Review function, and by trying it out I have learned one of the areas of GTD where I need to improve. I need to learn that the Review activity is separate from the Process activity. The Process activity is a stage in which I decide what each email (or other item in my Inbox; not everything comes into my world through email), decide what it means. Do I need to respond, take action, can I delete it, do I just need to read it and delete it, or do I want to file it for future reference?

I need to keep in mind that the Process stage is separate from the Do It stage. When I am muddled about which stage I am in then I get overwhelmed by the numbers of items that I process. When I remember that I am in Process mode and am intentional about it then I am more effective and productive.

Process mode is about deciding what an item means to me. Review mode is about making sure each project has a Next Action associated with it and is generally moving along. Some projects are my front-burner projects. I review them more frequently, perhaps every day, or every two to three days. For these projects I need to have a clear Next Action. Review mode is about making sure that my front-burner projects have a clear Next Action and that my back-burner projects have a scheduled Next Review date.