How can I use Forecast View to plan my daily task list?

OmniFocus OmniFocus for Mac
#1

Hello friends! I’m having a heck of a time trying to figure out how to make plans in the forecast view. My goal is to create a list of things I plan to do each day in the forecast alongside the list of due items.

The problem is that neither due dates nor defer dates seem to adequately achieve my goal. Setting a due date for an item I want to get done on a certain day gets that item on the list for that day, but does not distinguish between those items that are truly due and those that I just want to do. Using defer dates and turning on the defer date view in forecast gets the item into forecast and distinguishes between due and my plan, but hides those items if I am viewing by context.

Thanks for your time!

#2

You set due dates for actions that you want to do and for actions that you have to do. That is two separate decision paths. When you review the actions in an otherwise unranked list, how is your mind supposed to distinguish them at first glance?

Use flags for actions that you want to do. Use due dates for actions that you have to do. Create a custom perspective (Do Today) that shows Due and Flagged to show them both.

–
JJW

2 Likes
#3

JJW, thanks for your response!

You’ve hit the nail on the head as to the problem I’m experiencing. I want to use due dates for “must” tasks and flags for plans. However, I can’t flag an item for “this Saturday” like I can set a due date for “this Saturday”.

For example, say I want to take out the trash this Saturday but I could do it earlier. I’d like to set a flag for Saturday as my “plan”, but still have it appear in my context list in case I get to it sooner. (Using defer dates to plan confounds planned items with things that really can’t be done until a certain date.)

#4

Unfortunately, there’s not really any easy way to accomplish what you’re looking for, since of course you’ve only got one set of dates to play with, and they work pretty much how you’d expect them to.

If you want to take out the trash on Saturday as your plan, then maybe setting a Due Date for Saturday is what you should be doing. While there may or may not be “hard consequences” to not taking out the trash, the reality is that if you expect to do it that day, and want a kick to get it done on that date, that’s still arguably what a “Due Date” is for.

The other option is to use flags combined with a weekly/daily review cycle, which is the method I tend to use… Things like household chores will live in their contexts, unfledged, and when I start my day, I tend to glance through all of my contexts, and then flag those things that I want to do “today” so basically build my “Do Today” list. Using that method, you might see “Take out the Trash” in your “Home” context each day you review, and just pass on by, but when Saturday comes, you tell yourself that you do want to actually take out the trash, so you flag it, and then work from your “Do Today” perspective on that day, where it will be sitting there, waiting for you.

You could take it another step further as well and create a repeating item with a “defer again” date on it, so that once you check it off, it will pop back up again a certain number of days later. It will remain hidden from your contexts until then (you don’t need to take out the trash if you’ve just done it in the past couple of days), but once the defer date passes, it’s ready to go again the next time you look at your “Home” context, or right away if you’ve flagged it as such.

The reality is that as great as the Forecast view is, it’s not really ideal for dealing with tasks that don’t have a hard landscape to them. This is why I tend to do all of my work from custom perspectives instead, only using the Forecast view to get a birds-eye-view of those more critical things that are upcoming, or to get a quick list of high-priority tasks that need to be done today.

1 Like
#5

@Teltrix: If you also have OmniOutliner, Curt Clifton’s new AppleScript is fantastic for moving items from the Forecast view into a new OO outline. From that point you can add other actions without due dates so that you do not have to change metadata on a task (false due dates, temporary projects). To grab a bunch of other tasks from OF to OO use this other script which would create a new outline from a selection in OF. Cutting and pasting into your Forecast export would be easy at that point

(*
	This script generates an OmniOutliner outline from the selected items in OmniFocus.
	
	version 0.1.2, slight edit by Benjamin Crist brings OO4 window upon creation
	version 0.1.1, by Curt Clifton
	
	Copyright © 2007, Curtis Clifton
	
	All rights reserved.
	
	Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
	
		• Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
		
		• Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
		
	THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
*)

tell front document of application "OmniFocus"
	tell document window 1
		set theItems to value of selected trees of content
	end tell
	if ((count of theItems) is 0) then
		display alert "Select an item to turn into an OmniOutliner outline."
		return
	end if
	-- FIXME: OF doesn't yet support this:
	-- set theItems to expel descendants theItems
end tell

tell application "OmniOutliner"
	make new document at before documents with properties {name:"Items from OmniFocus"}
	activate front window
end tell

createRows(theItems)
return

on createRows(theItems)
	if (theItems is {}) then return
	createRow(item 1 of theItems)
	createRows(rest of theItems)
end createRows

on createRow(anItem)
	set rowData to getRowData from anItem
	tell front document of application "OmniOutliner"
		set aRow to make new row at end of every child with properties {topic:(rowTopic of rowData), note:(rowNote of rowData)}
	end tell
	createChildren(anItem, aRow)
end createRow

on getRowData from anItem
	using terms from application "OmniFocus"
		set theTopic to name of anItem
		set theNote to (note of anItem)
	end using terms from
	return {rowTopic:theTopic, rowNote:theNote}
end getRowData

on createChildren(anItem, aRow)
	using terms from application "OmniFocus"
		set itemChildren to every task of anItem
	end using terms from
	createChildrenHelper(itemChildren, aRow)
end createChildren

on createChildrenHelper(itemChildren, aRow)
	if (itemChildren is {}) then return
	set childItem to item 1 of itemChildren
	set childData to getRowData from childItem
	tell front document of application "OmniOutliner"
		set childRow to make new row with properties {topic:(rowTopic of childData), note:(rowNote of childData)} at after last child of aRow
	end tell
	createChildren(childItem, childRow)
	createChildrenHelper(rest of itemChildren, aRow)
end createChildrenHelper
#6

I try diligent never to use dates for what I want to do. I have custom perspectives that work to show me what I must do (due dates), want to do (flags), and can do (next actions). Once I finish the must do list, I move to the want to do list. After that, I look at the next actions.

To use your analogy …

  • When the garbage will stink to high heaven by Saturday, then I must
    take it out by Saturday. The task gets a due date.
  • When the garbage will be just as well-off forever until or unless I decide otherwise,
    then I can take it out whenever.
    • When the task is created, it sits in my next actions list.
    • When I appreciate that I want to do it, it gets flagged.

–
JJW

2 Likes
#7

Yup, this is exactly my approach as well… In my case, the garbage truck comes once a week, so there’s an actual deadline to have the garbage in the bin and out by the curb if I want it to get picked up by the truck.

That said, I don’t even bother with tasks to simply empty the garbage… While I did that in the early days, it occurred to me some time ago that was a case of overplanning … I may need a task to remind me to get the garbage bin out to the curb for collection, since that happens on a fixed date, but in terms of getting the garbage into the bin on a semi-regular basis, there are fairly obvious triggers that are far more effective than OmniFocus to remind me to deal with that :)

#8

Thanks so much for the help guys! I think, perhaps, the most accurate answer is that I’m overthinking things. So I have a major follow-up question that strikes at the foundation of GTD:

I’ve found places for everything, my maybe list is populated, my action list is populated. And yet I don’t feel like things are off my mind at all. Everything is where it should be, but I’m still thinking about it all. I’ve found just having a list of next actions doesn’t calm me, I’m still worried about everything I have to do. Any thoughts on that?

#9

GTD advises reviewing your lists weekly, or as often as you need to feel like things are under control. The system has to be trusted to be effective, so at first I found myself reviewing much more frequently than I do now. David Sparks uses this to great effect in his advice on using project-level review frequencies in OmniFocus:

OmniFocus’s review feature does not get enough credit. The ability to regularly go and audit your projects is tremendously useful. One variation I’ve made to the GTD system is variable review periods. Using OmniFocus 2, I can set review periods on projects for any duration of time. I set reviews out much longer than the recommended one week for certain projects. For example, if I have a work project that isn’t particularly intense, I may set the review frequency to be every three months. That way, I don’t have to see it every week but it does show up often enough for me to make certain nothing goes sideways.

#10

I agree, I’ll need to be making more regular use of the review feature.