Is there a clever way of generating a graph of report of the overall reduction in tasks in Omnifocus over time. It might lie outside the app perhaps using the DB or an export?
For example: I started out with perhaps hundreds of tasks (a lot relating to preparing for a house move) and I’ve continued to close out on these. In theory, perhaps contrary to popular wisdom, I want to see that I am reducing my overall mountain of things to do to simplify my life so as to speak.
Anyone who does any software dev and see agile graphs of progress against tasks might know the kind of thing I mean
Any ideas most welcome?
I can’t provide a direct answer for you but I can share my thoughts.
Even if I reduce the number of tasks by completing them, life acts in funny ways and will always add more actions in our lives. I fiddle with my projects constantly. In the case of a house move, I might plan 50 tasks to complete. But then my wife will remind me about a bunch of other tasks that need to be added on. I won’t feel let down because my list just got longer. I don’t worry about looking back at all I’ve done. I am content in knowing that I am making progress towards the end.
If I want to simplify my life, I either delegate as much of the project as I can to other people to help lighten the load or I drop all the tasks but the most essential.
BTW, I love decluttering and getting rid of stuff before the house move. Life is good when I don’t have to take care of stuff that I really don’t use.
I would say don’t worry about what you’ve closed out. It’s in the past. Reward yourself with a little celebration (a nice steak dinner, a night at the movies, whatever). Then restart again.
I think I’ve tried the Coach.me app on my iPhone to keep track and reward myself. I logged in with my Facebook account or Google account, check in to a habit such as “declutter for 15 minutes” or exercise for 30 minutes. Or whatever it is I want to repeat. I set a weekly goal (3 times a week, 7 times a week). Then I check in, mark it off. If you wanted to, you can publish your rewards goals to the Coach.me community and get a pat on the back.
If you want to add agile graphs of progress, you can enjoy the intimate details but in the end, all that matters is that you make progress towards the end. No amount of statistics, analysis, and graph charts will be more satisfying than finally finishing a project.
