Learn OmniFocus

Learn OmniFocus Office Hours
2021-04-27 16:00 - 17:00, 2021-04-13 11:00 - 12:00, 2021-04-08 08:00 - 09:00, 2021-03-25 16:00 - 17:00, 2021-03-18 11:00 - 12:00, 2021-03-10 08:00 - 09:00, 2021-02-25 16:00 - 17:00, 2021-02-03 08:00 - 09:00 (America/Vancouver) and 13 more dates
Learn OmniFocus Office Hours gives you the opportunity to discuss and ask questions about your OmniFocus setup and workflows in a video-conferenced virtual conference room. This session will be facilitated by Learn OmniFocus Founder, Tim Stringer.
To allow for maximum interactivity, registration in this session is limited to 10 participants. When you register you’ll be asked to agree to join with your video camera turn on and to keep what’s shared by other participants confidential. To help protect the privacy of participants, sessions won’t be recorded.
You’re welcome to discuss and ask questions about anything related to OmniFocus and complementary third-party apps. You can optionally share your Mac or iOS screen with the group to add a visual element to the discussions. In order to share your iOS screen, you’ll need to join the virtual meeting from a Mac that’s on the same network as your iOS device.
If you register and discover that you’re not able to attend, please let us know ASAP so that we can make your spot available to another Learn OmniFocus Member.

OmniFocus Workflows with Allen Pike
2021-03-31 10:00 - 11:00
OmniFocus aficionado and entrepreneur Allen Pike will be joining us from Vancouver, Canada to share how he uses OmniFocus to help run his app design and development company, Steamclock Software.
Allen has been using OmniFocus since 2015. He’ll be taking us on a tour of his OmniFocus setup and workflows, highlighting his use of tags and custom perspectives. Along the way, he’ll highlight some of the mental models he approaches OmniFocus with that help him support his team, and will touch on some of the other productivity apps that help him be organized and intentional.
To get a taste of Allen’s approach to OmniFocus (and life), check out his recent interview on The Omni Show. Allen also contributed an article titled Blowing Up Your Workflow with OmniFocus 3 to the Omni Group’s Inside OmniFocus site and reflects on his use of OmniFocus (and much more) on his personal blog.
About Allen Pike
Allen co-founded Steamclock Software in 2010 after working as a Software Engineer at Apple. He runs a team of designers and developers who produce polished apps for iOS, iPadOS, and Android.
He has a wealth of knowledge and experience that he’s cultivated over his many years working in the software industry. Allen enjoys teaching and sharing stories that encapsulate his experience. He’s a called-upon speaker and podcast guest and co-hosts the monthly Fun Fact podcast with Arik Devens.
Allen is also the director of Two Spies, a turned-based game for iPhone and iPad that made its debut on the App Store in December 2019.
In his downtime, Allen enjoys playing his guitar and writing articles for his personal blog.
You can follow Allen Pike on Twitter @apike.

Linking OmniFocus: Beyond Task Management
2021-03-03 10:00 - 11:30
Learn how to build a productivity system that centres around OmniFocus and is tightly integrated with apps for schedule management, planning, note-taking, researching, and more.
It’s no secret that we’re fans of OmniFocus. There are many things that make OmniFocus uniquely useful for managing personal tasks. OmniFocus is highly customizable and, since it’s a native app, it’s well integrated on Apple platforms. OmniFocus also sports some unique features, such as Review and Forecast, that help foster a proactive approach to life and work.
Beyond OmniFocus
Despite its considerable strengths, OmniFocus isn’t very well suited to some types of activities.
For example, OmniFocus is generally not the best place to perform higher-level planning. This is where an app such as MindNode or OmniOutliner shines. And OmniFocus isn’t well suited to keeping track of reference information. Instead, it makes more sense to use an app that’s designed to be an information repository, such as Apple Notes, DEVONthink, or Craft.

Building the Ultimate Productivity App
This session focuses on developing a productivity system that consists of a collection of best-of-breed apps and services. Think of it as creating the ultimate productivity app in a way that combines the best features of a suite of thoughtfully chosen apps.
This system is most useful when there are quick and convenient ways to navigate between the various components. For example, if you have an OmniFocus action prompting you to spend 30 minutes researching a specific topic, it’s very helpful if you have seamless access to the relevant research material and a place to keep the notes that you’ll be capturing in the process.
Creating a Space for Deep Focus
Once we’ve covered the mechanics of linking apps and services to OmniFocus, we’ll look at a variety of ways that you can quickly shift into the context that’s most relevant. These strategies are the digital equivalent of clearing everything from your desk, except what’s required to work on a specific project or area of life.
For example, if you’re working on a novel, you’ll likely want to have OmniFocus-related projects and actions at the forefront and have convenient access to the app that you’re using to do your writing (e.g. Ulysses). To enter a focused, productive state, everything that’s not relevant to the task at hand needs to fade into the background.
After spending some time on your literary masterpiece, you may choose to shift to working on your company’s annual budget. Again, you’ll want to be able to bring all the relevant tasks and resources to the forefront and relegate anything that’s not required to work on this budget out of sight (and out of mind).
What You’ll Learn
Attend the LIVE session and learn:

What OmniFocus is well suited for…and where it falls short.
Why it’s important that the path of least resistance be the most productive one.
Practical ways to conveniently shift into a specific mode of working that’s conducive to performing deep, focused work.
Strategies for using your calendar app to help ensure that your most important projects and tasks get the attention they deserve.
How to build a Project Dashboard using an app such as Apple Notes or Craft.
How to use URL links to reference specific information from OmniFocus. We’ll look at examples of both native (e.g. DEVONthink) and web apps (e.g. Asana, Google Docs).
Practical ways to use Hook (Mac) to connect related items together (e.g. connecting an OmniFocus project to both an OmniOutliner document and project support notes contained in a note-taking app).
How to switch modes and keep project resources at your fingertips using Workspaces (Mac).
How to use Keyboard Maestro (Mac) to add speed, convenience, and flexibility to switching between related apps and services.
Practical ways to use Omni Automation to quickly jump between OmniFocus and other apps and services.
And more…

Recommended Prerequisites
Especially if you’re new to OmniFocus, it’s recommended that you go through the Start Smart with OmniFocus 3 course before watching this session. You might also want to watch the recording of the OmniFocus 3: Beyond the Basics course to get better acquainted with OmniFocus’ more advanced features.

Learn OmniFocus Office Hours (FULL)
2021-02-16 11:00 - 12:00

Using OmniFocus with Drafts
2021-01-20 10:00 - 11:00
Is your OmniFocus Inbox overflowing with tasks, random thoughts, ideas, and more? Consider capturing into Drafts instead.

Available in Our Course Library
Did you miss the LIVE session? Using OmniFocus with Drafts is now available in our growing course library along with other courses that cover a wide variety of topics.
While it may feel good to dump your thoughts into the OmniFocus inbox, you may soon discover that you quickly end up with an unmanageable OmniFocus inbox where critical actions get lost in the noise. An alternate strategy is to capture into the Drafts app (Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch) and use Drafts actions to quickly and easily transform and redirect what you’ve captured.
Drafts can also be a great complement to OmniFocus when it’s time to get down to work. You can store project templates in Drafts and easily transform them into projects. Drafts can also be an excellent place to store your project support material. And it’s quick and easy to link what you’ve stored in Drafts to the relevant projects and actions in OmniFocus.
Drafts: “Where Text Starts”
At a basic level, you can think of Drafts as the digital equivalent of a notepad.

When you launch Drafts, you’re presented with a blank note and can type (or, if you have an iPad with an Apple Pencil, Scribble) whatever’s on your mind — whether it’s an interesting idea you had while out walking the dog or a promise that you just made to a client. You simply capture what has your attention into Drafts’ inbox, without worrying about where this information belongs and what (if any) action needs to be taken.
Your Drafts inbox may contain information or tasks that are time-sensitive, so it’s a good idea to regularly “clarify” (in Getting Things Done terms) what you’ve captured in Drafts. This process includes determining whether what you’ve captured is actionable, or if it’s something that you’ll choose to keep for future reference. Actionable captures can be transformed into actionable tasks and sent off to OmniFocus. Things that aren’t immediately actionable, but still potentially have future value (e.g. the great idea that you had in the shower) can be sent off to the appropriate repository for future review, or even tagged and archived in Drafts itself.
The real magic of Drafts is its support for actions. In a nutshell, actions allow you to quickly and conveniently process your Drafts. For example, one action might transform a Draft into an OmniFocus action and another might send it off to your idea repository in DEVONthink. Drafts comes pre-installed with a variety of actions. And you’ll find many more in the Drafts Directory. If you have the Drafts Pro upgrade you can modify actions written by others and create your own from scratch.
Drafts: Free & Pro Subscription
There’s a free tier of Drafts that allows you to create, edit, and sync drafts and make use of all of the actions in the Drafts Directory. Drafts Pro is an optional subscription-based upgrade that, among other things, lets you create and edit actions, organize your drafts into workspaces, and make use of widgets.
Much of what you’ll learn in this session can be accomplished using the free version of Drafts. Though, we’ll also show some of the features that are exclusive to Drafts Pro to give you a taste of what’s available if you choose to upgrade.
Everyone is welcome. No previous Drafts experience is required.
You’re very welcome to attend, even if you’re new to Drafts. This session includes an overview of the Drafts app for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, highlighting how it’s a natural complement to OmniFocus.
Session Overview
Join this interactive session and learn:

When and why it makes more sense to capture into Drafts instead of OmniFocus.
A variety of ways to use existing Drafts actions to transform drafts into OmniFocus actions.
How to use Drafts to store project support materials, and when it makes sense to use tags and workspaces (Drafts Pro).
How to create OmniFocus projects in Drafts using the TaskPaper syntax.
How to create and make use of OmniFocus project templates that are stored in Drafts.
A quick and convenient way to capture on the Apple Watch using Drafts.
How to create Shortcuts (iPhone/iPad) that automate the creations of drafts that are linked to new OmniFocus actions.
How to link Drafts and OmniFocus using Hook (Mac).
And more…

An Interactive Experience
During the live session, you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and share insights using the chatbox and audio/video conferencing.
You’re welcome to join the live session 15 minutes before the start time to familiarize yourself with the online meeting technology we’re using and for an informal chat with other participants. The live session will remain active for 15 minutes after the completion time for additional questions and sharing.

Learn OmniFocus Office Hours
2021-01-07 08:00 - 09:00
﻿Learn OmniFocus Office Hours gives you the opportunity to discuss and ask questions about your OmniFocus setup and workflows in a video-conferenced virtual conference room. This session will be facilitated by Learn OmniFocus Founder, Tim Stringer.
To allow for maximum interactivity, registration in this session is limited to 10 participants. When you register you’ll be asked to agree to join with your video camera turn on and to keep what’s shared by other participants confidential. To help protect the privacy of participants, sessions won’t be recorded.
You’re welcome to discuss and ask questions about anything related to OmniFocus and complementary third-party apps. You can optionally share your Mac or iOS screen with the group to add a visual element to the discussions. In order to share your iOS screen, you’ll need to join the virtual meeting from a Mac that’s on the same network as your iOS device.
If you register and discover that you’re not able to attend, please let us know ASAP so that we can make your spot available to another Learn OmniFocus Member.

OmniFocus Workflows with Rev. Michael L. Wilson
2020-12-02 10:00 - 11:00
Rev. Michael L. Wilson (aka “The Tech Pastor”) is joining us from San Lorenzo, California to share how he uses OmniFocus and complementary apps to manage his multifaceted life and work.
Michael adopted OmniFocus in 2010 after picking up a second-hand iPhone 3G and a MacBook Air. He was drawn to OmniFocus’ flexibility and is a fan of the Omni Group’s talented team of people. Michael’s Apple devices have seen some major upgrades over the years. He now has a 27” iMac, a 16” MacBook, a couple of iPads, and an iPhone.
Michael has been a member of the Learn OmniFocus community since 2018. He regularly participates in the small-group Learn OmniFocus Office Hours gatherings on Zoom. He continues to hone his OmniFocus setup and workflows through these sessions and generously shares his productivity wisdom with other participants.
Michael’s Approach to OmniFocus
During the LIVE session, Michael will share details of his OmniFocus setup and workflows, including:

How he manages the ever-changing landscape of his life and work.
The variety of ways that he uses OmniFocus on his Macs, iPads, and iPhone.
How he makes productive use of defer dates.
Details of the three custom perspectives that he uses to hone in on his most important tasks.
Other custom perspectives that provide him with customized views of his OmniFocus database and help him deal with specific situations.
How his foundational routines help him navigate the uncertainties of life and work.
Ways that he’s adapted his system to meet the challenges that have come with the COVID-19 pandemic.
His innovative approach to using MindNode to track interactions with people in his parish.
How and why he uses the Due app alongside OmniFocus.
How OmniOutliner fits into his productivity system.

About Michael Wilson
Rev. Michael L. Wilson is a native of Alameda County in the San Francisco Bay Area. He and his wife of 32 years continue to call the Bay Area home.
Michael’s interest in technology dates back to his days in the United States Air Force (USAF). During his time in the military, he was introduced to the Zenith Heath Kit Computer and the BASIC programming language.
After leaving USAF, he was hired by Seagate Technologies in Scotts Valley, California to write test software for drives and drive interfaces.
Michael’s productivity experience also spans many years. He’s a fan of David Allen, Hyrum Smith, and Stephen Covey. He previously used a Franklin Planner to track all the requests for software features and to schedule releases. And in 1999, he bought a Palm V and started storing and tracking his notes and tasks electronically.
For the past 15 years, Michael has served as the pastor of the Cornerstone Fellowship, a Baptist Church in San Lorenzo, California, the same church that he attended as a child.
Michael wears many hats at the church. In addition to being the pastor, he’s the landlord (his church rents space to other churches), network administrator, counsellor, building manager, project manager for church-related projects, and much more. His love for tech has earned him the nickname, “The Tech Pastor”.
An Interactive Experience
During the live session, you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and share insights using the chatbox and audio/video conferencing.
You’re welcome to join the live session 15 minutes before the start time to familiarize yourself with the online meeting technology we’re using and for an informal chat with other participants. The live session will remain active for 15 minutes after the completion time for additional questions and sharing.

Using OmniFocus with MindNode
2020-11-05 10:00 - 11:00
Are you faced with a large project? Do you have more ideas than you know what to do with? Mind mapping can be very helpful.
Before creating projects and actions in OmniFocus, it’s a good idea to have at least some sense of where you’re going and the scope of the work. Mind mapping can be a very helpful way to bring form to scattered ideas and can help make even the loftiest of goals manageable.
Featured App: MindNode
This session features MindNode, a beautifully crafted, intuitive, and highly functional mind mapping app for Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
We make extensive use of MindNode at Learn OmniFocus. Appropriately enough, this session and much of our content began in MindNode. It’s also the app that our friends at The Sweet Setup selected as the best mind mapping app.
While this session centres around MindNode, the strategies that we’ll be sharing can be applied using virtually any mind mapping app, including iThoughts and MindMeister.

Free MindNode Editor and MindNode Plus
MindNode offers a free editor, that includes many of the features that we’ll be showcasing in this session. You also have the option of subscribing to MindNode Plus to tap into their full feature set, which includes Visual Tags, Focus Mode and Quick Entry.
MindNode is available on the App Store (iPhone, iPad) and the Mac App Store. You can upgrade to MindNode Plus through an in-app purchase. MindNode Plus is also included with a Setapp subscription. Visit MindNode’s pricing pagefor more information.
Everyone is welcome. No previous MindNode or mind mapping experience is required.
You’re very welcome to attend even if you’re new to MindNode, and mind mapping in general. This session includes an overview of mind mapping, practical examples of where mind mapping can be very useful, and an introduction to the MindNode app. Most notably, we’ll look at how MindNode can be used alongside OmniFocus.
Session Overview
Join this interactive session and learn:

The basics of mind mapping.
Why OmniFocus generally isn’t the best place to plan your work.
The many ways that MindNode can be used as a complement to OmniFocus.
How to transform a MindNode mind map into one or more OmniFocus projects, action groups, and actions.
How to use the Tasks feature in MindNode to keep track of the progress being made on projects that you’re managing in OmniFocus.
Guidelines for determining what belongs in MindNode and what’s better managed using OmniFocus.
How to use MindNode to incubate ideas that may one day become projects and actions in OmniFocus.
How to use MindNode to design and structure your OmniFocus setup (i.e. folders and tags).
How Visual Tags (MindNode Plus) can be used to easily visualize work that’s currently being managed using OmniFocus.
How and when to use OmniOutliner alongside MindNode and where OmniFocus fits into this picture.
And more…

An Interactive Experience
During the live session, you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and share insights using the chatbox and audio/video conferencing.
You’re welcome to join the live session 15 minutes before the start time to familiarize yourself with the online meeting technology we’re using and for an informal chat with other participants. The live session will remain active for 15 minutes after the completion time for additional questions and sharing.

OmniFocus Workflows with Robby Burns
2020-10-03 10:00 - 11:00
Teacher, musician, and technologist, Robby Burns will be joining us from Ellicott City, Maryland to share how he uses OmniFocus and complementary productivity apps to keep his active life on track. Robby has been using OmniFocus since 2010. He has a long history with Apple technologies and was originally drawn to OmniFocus’ deep integration with Apple’s operating systems. He especially appreciates that the Omni Group is quick to add support for new Apple technologies.
Robby Burns’ Approach to OmniFocus
During the LIVE session, Robby will share details of his OmniFocus setup and workflows, including:

How and when he uses OmniFocus on his iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Adjustments that he’s made to his use of OmniFocus and complementary productivity apps since switching from in-person to virtual teaching.
His strategy for using tags.
How he uses the Forecast perspective to keep his calendar lined up with his commitments.
How he uses defer dates to relieve the stress of seeing too many things at once.
Custom perspectives that help him hone in on his most important tasks, including his “Top 3” perspective that narrows his focus to only three items.
How he creates OmniFocus projects based on templates stored in Drafts.

While You’re Waiting
While you’re waiting, you can get a taste of Robby’s approach to OmniFocus. Check out the Staying On Top Of Teaching Responsibilities With Omnifocus Perspectives and Never Miss A Task, With Project Templates posts on his blog.
About Robby Burns
Robby Burns is a music educator and freelance percussionist based in Ellicott City, Maryland. Robby has taught everything from elementary school classes to university ensembles and currently teaches band at music at a middle school in the Howard County Public School System. He also teaches private percussion lessons and is a called upon adjudicator, arranger, ensemble coach, and clinician. Robby has taken deep dives into a variety of technologies and has presented sessions at conferences for music educators all over the country on the subject of music production software, cloud services, Apple products, and their connection to productivity and creativity in the music classroom. Robby’s book, Digital Organization Tips for Music Teachers, was published by Oxford University Press and is available for purchase. He writes and speaks about music, education, and technology on his blog and podcast, Music Ed Tech Talk.
An Interactive Experience
During the live session, you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and share insights using the chatbox and audio/video conferencing. You’re welcome to join the live session 15 minutes before the start time to familiarize yourself with the online meeting technology we’re using and for an informal chat with other participants. The live session will remain active for 15 minutes after the completion time for additional questions and sharing.

Using OmniFocus 3 with Asana
2020-09-22 10:00 - 11:00
OmniFocus is fundamentally a personal task manager. It’s a tool that allows you to organize objectives and actions tied to your own personal commitments. You get to decide what goes in OmniFocus and can organize OmniFocus in whatever way makes the most sense to you. But, what about work that involves collaboration? This could be anything from planning a vacation to projects in your day job that involve a team of people.
Pairing Team Collaboration with Personal Task Management
This session features Asana, a well-established project management solution that can be used to manage collaborative projects large and small. It can also be a helpful place to keep track of the big picture and to store ideas, customer requests, meeting agendas, and more. We’ll explore some features and integrations that can be used with the free version of Asana, which supports teams of up to 15 people. We’ll also delve into some of Asana’s more advanced features, looking at how they can be put to good use alongside OmniFocus.
Everyone is welcome. No previous Asana experience is required.
This session doesn’t assume any previous experience with Asana and is suitable for anyone who collaborates with other people, whether it’s your family or your team of colleagues at work. Asana can also be very helpful for teams of one. For example, if you’re a solo podcaster, you could use Asana to keep track of themes to cover on your podcast from idea to inception. Asana can also be an excellent place to track and manage the bigger picture of your life and work, with OmniFocus being used to help ensure that your carefully-crafted strategy is given the appropriate amount of attention.
Session Overview
Join this interactive session and learn:

About the variety of ways that Asana can be used, both individually and in a team environment.
Why Asana may be a good choice for managing your collaborative activities.
How using Asana can dramatically reduce your email volume.
About criteria for deciding what to keep in OmniFocus and what belongs in Asana.
How to transform Asana tasks into OmniFocus projects and actions.
Techniques for creating links between Asana and OmniFocus.
How to use OmniFocus to help ensure that you’re paying appropriate attention to Asana. For example, repeating OmniFocus actions can prompt you to process your Asana Inbox, review specific Asana projects, and review Asana Reports and Portfolios.
How to use Zapier to automate the process of creating OmniFocus actions based on Asana activity. For example, if you’re assigned a task in Asana, a Zapier “Zap” can automatically create an OmniFocus action with a link back to the Asana task.
And more…

How We Use Asana at Learn OmniFocus
We use Asana to manage our collaborative work at Learn OmniFocus, including the development and maintenance of the Learn OmniFocus website. During the session, you’ll learn about some of the ways that we’re making productive use of Asana internally.
Asana Certified Pro
This session will be led by Learn OmniFocus Founder, Tim Stringer. Tim has been using Asana since 2011 and was one of the first people in the world to become an Asana Certified Pro when Asana launched this program in 2018. He has provided Asana consulting and training to a wide variety of organizations over the years, ranging from small startups to large universities. Visit the Technically Simple website to learn more about Tim Stringer’s Asana Consulting and Training services.
An Interactive Experience
During the live session, you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and share insights using the chatbox and audio/video conferencing. You’re welcome to join the live session 15 minutes before the start time to familiarize yourself with the online meeting technology we’re using and for an informal chat with other participants. The live session will remain active for 15 minutes after the completion time for additional questions and sharing.
