OmniFocus: the next best thing for task management

I admit, I have a tendency to forget stuff. My attention can easily jump from one task to another and there may be casualties in the process. That's why I like to organize my tasks in lists. However, I have yet to find a task manager which fits the way I think. Until now.

My main problem with existing task managers is their inability to create outlines, a multi-leveled structure. I was trained to think in outlines. I write in bullets which have sub-bullets. Making me think of tasks as a flat list, all at the same level, confuses me. The span of items I can see and contain is limited. Thus, if the list is too long I just get stuck. I must break it into a hierarchy which I can visualize and comprehend. It works the same way with code, by the way.

That's exactly what makes OmniFocus different and a clear winner, from my point of view. It has an incredible flexibility when jotting down the tasks outline. Creating tasks is as easy as writing in bullets with a word processor. On top of that, OmniFocus adds very useful views for planning and execution. You can focus on a project or a subtask, or focus on your next actions. It also complies to the GTD method (Getting Things Done), which seems to be very trendy nowadays.

OmniFocus is the latest application from The Omni Group. It's a small software company which makes software solely for the Mac platform. I got OmniOutliner bundled with my Mac and it quickly became one of my essential tools. It is just plain useful. I can baldly say that the Omni products are a strong reason to switch over to the Mac. Surprisingly, you will not find parallel tools in Windows.

OmniFocus is currently in private alpha and can be pre-ordered for 50% discount. If you use a Mac and you're swamped with tasks, this is something you need to check out.

Comments

[Aviad Ben Dov]

Speaking of Omni products, I purchased OmniPlan and it proved to be a great tool for team work, and especially useful is their export to HTML web site. Did you try it?

[Zviki Cohen]

I don't have a large team working with me, so I didn't find a need for a project management software. So I didn't try it. I manage my tasks with OmniFocus and my software progress with OmniOutliner Pro.

I have a long history with Microsoft Project, though. I even worked on a system which was built around MS Project, so, you can say I have some intimate knowledge of it. I worked on this system around 1996. When I came back to use it, almost 10 years later, I was surprised to find that it's the exact same product with some niftier interface. There was a lot to do there, but nothing was done. It's really insulting to users. I really hope I'll get a chance to work with a different program once I'll get a bigger team up and running.

[Ken Liu]

Thanks for the tip on OmniFocus..I'd heard about it some time ago, but had no idea it was nearing release.