Better ways to triage?

[jprint]

I expect others have raised this query before in some form or another, but here’s my situation…

I’ve set up my OF with appropriate Projects & Tags, but have trouble triaging task items. Long ago, I followed the instructions for Asian Efficiency’s “Setting Priorities in Omnifocus” and have also relied on using OF’s Due dates – and created a “Due Now!” perspective for items that are due, overdue, or are about to be due.

I understand that the true way of managing OF through the “GTD Workflow” is to order items in order of importance within a Project, but this feels like a of onerous curating. And so, my OF process breaks down, and I tend to use it as a reference for my tasks, and then jot down tasks on a paper four pane Priority Matrix grid.

I’m wondering what other users would suggest as far as better, more efficient approach to prioritizing, triaging, and organizing tasks in OF.

Thanks!

[Janov]

This works for me:

Do Due Defer - I really want a Action Date ie a Do Date

I use a mix of defer dates / flags and manage them during a daily review at the start of the day. I adapted the workflow from this idea Justin dRose explained in this Learn Omnifocus interview: I set defer dates on tasks and flag the most important tasks for the day, each day at my daily review / work day startup routine. If a task that was deferred to this day is either not ready, or I don’t think I can / need to do it, then I either remove the date, or defer it out further into the future. …

[MattJ]

If you follow GTD as outlined by David Allen, your task system is not designed to decide what you should be working on next but to help you decide what you need to do. It does this by tracking your projects and next actions so you are freed up to be more creative and present. David Allen says that GTD begins to fall apart if you don’t maintain a weekly review. Both Weekly Reviews and Daily Reviews are essential to help you decide what you need to do.

I have a similar set up to the one that Janov referenced. I’m sure I read some of the same articles to put it together. Here are some of my processes. Sorry this isn’t a complete walkthrough.

START UP ROUTINE
I have a startup routine that I do every weekday built into OmniFocus.

- Startup Routine @parallel(true) @autodone(true) @context(Habit) @tags(Habit) @defer(2020-09-28 07:00) @time-zone(current) @repeat-method(start-after-completion) @repeat-rule(FREQ=WEEKLY;BYDAY=MO,TU,WE,TH,FR)
	- Morning Habits @parallel(true) @autodone(true) @context(Habit) @tags(Habit)
		- Consider reading Bible @parallel(true) @autodone(false) @context(Habit) @tags(Habit)
		- Consider making tea @parallel(true) @autodone(false) @context(Habit) @tags(Habit)
		- Consider drinking water @parallel(true) @autodone(false) @context(Habit) @tags(Habit)
	- Review & Plan Day @parallel(true) @autodone(true) @context(Habit) @tags(Habit)
		- Create Daily Log, note down any events for the day @parallel(true) @autodone(false) @context(Habit) @tags(Habit)
		- Write down tasks for today @parallel(true) @autodone(true) @context(Habit) @tags(Habit)
			- Review any recurring items in OmniFocus @parallel(true) @autodone(false) @context(Habit) @tags(Habit)
			- Review my Calendar @parallel(true) @autodone(false) @context(Habit) @tags(Habit)
				omnifocus:///forecast
				

			- Review project reference material for any hanging items @parallel(true) @autodone(false) @context(Habit) @tags(Habit)
	- Process Inboxes @parallel(true) @autodone(true) @context(Habit) @tags(Habit)
		- Inbox: Slack @parallel(true) @autodone(false) @context(Habit) @tags(Habit)
		- Inbox: Spark @parallel(true) @autodone(false) @context(Habit) @tags(Habit)
		- Inbox: Asana @parallel(true) @autodone(false) @context(Habit) @tags(Habit)
		- Inbox: Todoist @parallel(true) @autodone(false) @context(Habit) @tags(Habit)
		- Inbox: OmniFocus @parallel(true) @autodone(false) @context(Habit) @tags(Habit)
		- Inbox: Jira @parallel(true) @autodone(false) @context(Habit) @tags(Habit)
	- Evaluate Myself @parallel(true) @autodone(true) @context(Habit) @tags(Habit)
		- What am I feeling as I start work? @parallel(true) @autodone(false) @context(Habit) @tags(Habit)

PERSPECTIVES
I use several custom perspectives to help me decide what I am going to work on next. I put these in the sidebar and the menu bar up top.

[Trager]

@MattJ This is a great post.

[MattJ]

Glad to offer some help!