I stopped actively using OmniFocus several years ago when I retired from technical consulting. I’d now like to resume using OmniFocus to manage household, church, and pro bono activities. I’d prefer to (1) start fresh with today’s projects and (2) retain my consulting projects for reference when the need arises (which happens from time to time).
Is there a way for OmniFocus for Mac to manage two separate databases?
I don’t believe so, but if you find otherwise, I’m interested!
I use Omnifocus for my workflow for both Work and Personal. I would also like to have 2 distinct databases. (E.g. my work laptop shouldn’t have access to my doctor’s appointment next steps, and my personal devices shouldn’t have access to my work next steps)
The forums here helped me find one hack: You can install 2 versions of Omnifocus3 on one Mac – one from the AppStore, and one from Omnigroup’s website. Those two distinct apps will each manage a distinct database.
This is the solution I use. I have “OF3-Personal” and “OF3-Work” on my personal Mac, and on my work devices I only have “OF3-Work”
It’s not a complete solution for me, because I can’t get one unified view across all of my to-dos. But it’s a helpful step that allows me to at least standardize on Omnifocus as my workflow.
I wouldn’t fret on different DBs, rather you can organize your projects. For example, I use several folders in my OF. I have one that is all Work with subfolders for further organization. I can then use Perspectives to view Professional vs Personal tasks.
While it can feel good to have a physical divide, the reality is you are one person and all the tasks would be done by you so splitting them doesn’t really do anything other than add overhead. But, OF is powerful enough that you are able to filter your view with whichever project or tag scope is relevant at the moment is helpful. I especially like the Forecast view where I can see everything I need to do today (both Professional and Personal). But, if I want to limit my view to a subgroup, I use Perspectives for whichever is appropriate to me in the moment.
