Academic physician, educator and researcher, Jeffrey Taekman shares how he uses OmniFocus and complementary apps to manage his multifaceted life.
Jeffrey writes about using technology to enhance academic productivity on his WiPPP blog (Workflows in Personal and Professional Productivity). OmniFocus is a common theme in his posts, and he shared an overview of his OmniFocus setup in a two-part series he posted in 2016 (Part 1, Part 2).
Session Overview
In this session, Jeffrey takes us on a tour of his OmniFocus setup, sharing how he’s chosen to structure his database and walking us through his daily workflows.
Jeffrey’s system draws upon the Eisenhower Decision Matrix that Stephen Covey documented in his book, First Things First. He identifies the quadrant where each project resides by adding specific text strings (tags) to each project’s notes field. Similarly, actions within the project are given a tag based on the required energy level. With this structure in place, Jeffrey uses perspectives to quickly home in on a specific quadrant and to reveal tasks that are aligned with his current energy level. This helps Jeffrey make consistent progress while productively focusing the bulk of his time and attention on Quadrant 2 (Important, Not Urgent).
Jeffrey also talked about the weekly review he does on Sundays and how this helps to ensure that he’s appropriately focusing his time and attention as he goes through the weeks. And he shared some of the complementary apps and services he uses regularly, including Focus by Masterbuilders, TaskClone, TextExpander, OmniPlan, and AirMail.
About Jeffrey Taekman
Jeffrey Taekman’s focus is on revolutionizing healthcare quality, safety, and learning through technology and innovation.
He’s the Assistant Dean for Educational Technology, the Director of the Human Simulation and Patient Safety Center, a Neuroanesthesiologist in the Duke University School of Medicine and faculty in the Duke Clinical Research Institute.
Jeffrey was one of three inaugural elected officers and served on the Board of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare during its formation. He served on the inaugural Editorial Board of the Journal of Simulation in Healthcare and founded the Special Interest Group on Serious Games, and was the inaugural moderator or the Society’s Listserv. His work has appeared in the Huffington Post, Fast Company and Wired, as well as on CNN, CBS, and ABC News.
He lectures on subjects related to technology, simulation, distance learning, patient safety and productivity. He’s directed the interdisciplinary, interprofessional Human Simulation and Patient Safety Center since its inception. The HSPSC configuration, with clinicians working side-by-side with human factors engineers, has been cited as a 21st century model for improving patient safety.
His interests include healthcare simulation (especially virtual environments/games-based learning) for education and process improvement, mobile computing, informatics, and research on research, and most recently, the microbiome. He’s currently working on several projects that touch upon the Impact of the microbiome on physical and mental health.
In 2016 he began his journey to integrative medicine. He’s currently enrolled in the University of Arizona Integrative Medicine Fellowship, directed by integrative medicine pioneer, Dr. Andrew Weil.