Continuing the discussion from New OmniFocus extensions for iOS 8:
Still getting the hang of these forums–thought maybe making this its own linked topic could be worthwhile.
Is there any way to do what I describe above? And if not, any power users have a recommended workaround?
Same question. Really, wish we could set the due date in the extension widget.
Yes please!!
can we set defer dates and due dates in the current iOS* sharing extension? The point of an extension is to file and not have to go into Omnifocus to process again. but, without being able to set some of the basic parameters of a task, why bother with extensions?
While I agree that this would be useful, it’s worth pointing out that for some people it’s less of an issue as much of the original GTD approach that OmniFocus was designed to handle was to separate the capture process from the the processing aspect.
Everybody works differently, but the GTD model suggested that capturing your thoughts and getting back to what you’re doing is a more efficient way to work than getting bogged down in the details each time. It breaks out deciding what to do with what you’ve captured into a separate phrase where your brain might be in a better mode to lay things out properly, and that you’re not taking your attention away from whatever you’re working on in order to “shift gears” and now start trying to figure out where a new task fits into your organizational model.
For instance, I can see something relevant on a web page, fire it into my OmniFocus Inbox, and then be assured that it will be there waiting for me when I’m ready to plan my day or my week. Or, perhaps I might know where something will need to be filed (e.g. project and context), but I can wait until my normal weekly review to figure out what to do with it.
Again, to each their own, and not everybody’s brain works in the same way, but just figured I’d provide some thoughts on what I believe the design philosophy originally was, since OmniFocus was originally pretty tightly based on the GTD methodology, and in fact this is the very reason why we have the “Inbox” and “Review” structure so tightly baked into OmniFocus.
That said, I’m not arguing against the feature request, and I believe I’ve asked for it somewhere along the way to, as I’d occasionally use it. I’m not a hardcore GTD adherent, and sometimes you do already know exactly where a task is going to fit into your plans, so in that case of course it makes sense to assign those properties right away. As always, the best path is to send an email to omnifocus@omnigroup.com and make a feature request, as that will ensure that your vote gets added to the chorus :)
iOS 8, actually :)
This is an excellent point. I completely understand what you mean, and you are absolutely correct that GTD promotes the work flow/habit of segregating the capture step from the processing aspect of task organization/management. However, there are instances when a particular due date is absolutely clear when capturing. For example, an email arrives requesting something to be submitted by a certain date. In those instances, it is useful to have the option of entering the date when capturing. Providing the option allows the user to determine whether or not to utilize the field. It makes the software more flexible to a wider range of users in my opinion. Indeed, users vary a lot in how they implement GTD; in fact, even a single user varies in how he/she implements GTD depending on different situations. Thanks!
Exactly. Realistically the main reason I haven’t missed this field that much in my own use is that when I’m on the iPhone, I’m more likely to want to quickly capture something and move on, as that’s the nature of a mobile device (iPad use would of course be a different case entirely). However, I do use it frequently in the Quick Entry dialog on the Mac side, and in fact I have my workflow that captures from Mail setup to use Quick Entry rather than sending directly to the Inbox for this very reason.
