6 Responses to “New GTD and OmniFocus Setup Guide”

1. Massimo // Nov 18, 2012 at 2:54 pm

   Just bought and downloaded but I’m finding it not very rich in contents… surely useful but for an “official document” in sale I thought it was something much in-deep. In example you can’t find any idea/solution for a tickler system well organized inside the software (it’s simply suggested to avoid starting date in future…) and no mention to Weekly Review inside the software. Not bad but not great value.

   -Massimo

2. DAC Education Team // Nov 19, 2012 at 11:08 am

   Hello Massimo,

   Thanks for the feedback. Please write to our customer service team to request a refund of the Guide you purchased. We’d never want you to feel like you bought something that was not valuable.

   There is no calendar or tickler built into OmniFocus, so we did not focus on those in the Guide. The concept of Tickler File is also typically not a “list” concept (what OmniFocus does), but is more about your Calendar.

   We do a whole section on how the Weekly Review ties it all together, including the 11 steps recommended by David Allen. We do mention how we don’t find the built-in Review function in OmniFocus to be a requirement for doing the GTD Weekly Review.

3. Massimo // Nov 19, 2012 at 2:51 pm

   Dear Team,

   thanks for the prompt feedback. Really appreciated.

   I appreciate your availability and I hope the guide will be improved in the future, for this reason I don’t want to ask for a rebate, but thank you.

   Yes, the tickler is a concept better related to a Calendar but now we are largely paperless I supposed to integrate it in Omnifocus (for example with a single-step project called “Tickler” as the only place where to use “Start date”). Regarding the Weekly review yes, there is a short paragraph about it but in my expectations was thinking of something deeper. It’s a matter of expectations I though.

   Kind Regards,
   Massimo

4. Les // Nov 25, 2012 at 9:38 am

   on December 22, 2009 I think there are two types of tasks that lend themselves parlicutarly to use of the pomodoro technique, within a GTD context. Both are helped by taking proper breaks:Tasks which you’ve been procrastinating on, due to their size, or inability to break down into a more manageable first step ( Next Action in GTD terms). The fact you are going to take a break in 25 mins lowers the barrier to entry and makes you dread starting the task a little less.Tasks which either involve a high degree of concentration and/or involve a significant amount of learning. For example, today I’m working through a book on CSS in 25 min chunks. I find the breaks are essential for properly absorbing material, especially if the first thing I do after taking a break is review what I learned in the last pomodoro. It’s possible to tackle even the most mundane learning outcomes (I rank CSS as pretty mundane FWIW) without resorting to reading and re-reading each paragraph because it’s just not going in.PS. I find the font on this blog too small it’s one of the few pages on the web where I routinely reach for the browser zoom option.

5. Mary Harper // Dec 10, 2012 at 7:51 pm

   I find everything since the paper planners unsatisfactory. Where is Next Actions, Waiting For and Project planners? I haven’t been nearly as productive without that stuff. Suggestions?

6. Rob // Feb 4, 2013 at 12:05 pm

   I agree with Mary. I like the reliability and ease of paper and have not found anything to match GTD in an existing system. I am only half way through the book and am working on my own paper pages as well trying to use Omnifoucus. It is at the moment a bit cumbersome. I trust as I get more from the book by system will improve.