Stay at home dad, wondering if OF would be a worthwhile investment

Hi everyone. I first want to apologize if this is nothing more than a repeat of other questions, I couldn’t find anything specific to my circumstances but I could just be a terrible searcher.

I’m trying to figure out something that I can use with my family to help organize things. But my concern is whether or not I can spend the close to $100 (with the custom perspectives) for this app.

I’ve been ineffectively using reminder apps since I got my PPC in the early 2000s, the main one I used was Pocket Informant and I never actually got comfortable enough with the interface to use it to its potential.

This Christmas my wife was desperately wanting to get me a combined birthday/Christmas gift so I suggested an Apple Watch which I’m in love with. It’s been fantastic so far and I’m trying to find something to fill a task void that I clearly have.

Basically, I have standard events that happen regularly. My kids are in a great many activities and I, personally, have lots of varying doctor appointments. The reason I mention these is that I almost certainly forget about them coming up and have yet to figure out a good system that would work to help my terrible memory.

As well, things such as household tasks which just seem slightly cumbersome to do in reminders due to limited settings are just that, cumbersome.

Is there much of a learning curve with OF? Is it something I can jump in and just get running with, or do I need to set aside a decent amount of time for prep and adjustments? I rarely get time to sit and do things (I generally dont get a chance to sit and do until the late evening and by then I’m relaxing), so buying something that will take much tweaking will likely get stuck on the back burner for a while.

Also, I’ve seen a lot of talks about custom perspectives, but because I’ve not used the app I’m unsure the impact stuff like that will make on me?

I just hesitate because it is so expensive in Canada and I’ve spent a lot on some potentially great apps in the past and they sit, collecting electric dust for that one day when “I have free time”.

Again thanks in advance, and if this has been asked and there’s an existing thread I’m more than happy to have this one shut down.

Most of the things you mentioned sound like calendar appointments, and they belong on a calendar. All the kids activities and your doctor’s appointments should be on a calendar.

Then you need to get into a habit of checking your calendar a couple times a day. The Apple Watch can help a ton with this - use the “modern” face and put the next appointment in the middle and you’ll always know what’s next.

As far as the chores: I dunno. I could easily manage that with Reminders.

OF does have a learning curve. It’s very powerful, but it’s fairly structured around the “Getting Things Done” workflow with its separation between contexts and projects and if you’re looking for something to just help keep your sanity, it may be overkill.

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I agree that a lot of this can be handled with a calendar and disciplined checking thereof. If your wife is also on an Apple platform, I’d recommend setting up a shared iCloud calendar & reminders list for family stuff – that has been a huge help for my household.

The biggest advantage of OmniFocus from what you describe would be its ability to defer stuff, i.e. set things up so they only appear when you’re ready to do them (or a few days before). It’s easy to get overwhelmed with a long unorganized list of things to do, and OF is good at controlling that. But I’d concur that it may be overkill, especially if it’s going to be difficult to block out a few hours to really get to know it.

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Thank you both for saving me a heck of a lot of money and confirming my concerns.

What I did was investigate a more comprehensive reminder/calendar app and I remembered about Fantastical.

Looking at the customization I’m wanting, and the need for me to see more easily what’s up next, it’s already more than I could have asked for.

Maybe one day I’ll have use for something like OF, but it sure does sound like something that would be the best solution for many people, just not me.

Knowing there’s a community like this that’s so willing to provide help means the world to me. Thank you both, and maybe one day I’ll see you back here! 😁

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Fantastical is great - I use it constantly on all devices. Glad the comments were helpful.

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+1
Fantastical is awesome. I was a faithful user of another calendar app but Fantastical won me over on the iOS platform and the Mac platform.

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