Build Your OmniFocus Workflow

by Rosemary Orchard, Ryan Dotson

OmniFocus is a remarkably flexible app that can adapt to practically any workflow. As such, everyone must go through the process of building their own workflow with it, whether from scratch or based upon someone else’s. Build Your OmniFocus Workflow, written with the insight of two long-time OmniFocus users, offers practical advice on top of solid technical information to guide and assist you in building or improving your OmniFocus workflow.


Ryan and Rose guide you through the most basic concepts through to custom perspectives and automation. Throughout the book they give their own interpretations of how they use features in their workflows and conclude with more details about how their systems work for them.

Genres: Productivity, Nonfiction

ebook

First published December 18, 2018

Reviews

[Heather Pagano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good breakdown of a complex tool. I liked the examples given of how different users personalized their own workflows.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

At $30 I was hesitant to buy it, but eventually did because I’m a nerd. Ve us d Omnifocus since version 1 and am well acquainted with GTD, Stephen Covey, Drucker, Eisenhower, and other systems. I already have trigger lists and plenty of articles about reviewing and philosophy of work. I also know my way around OF very well.

Personally I got zero out of this book and wasted $30.

However, saying that, if a friend just bought OF and felt overwhelmed, especially on iOS (because OF3 on iOS is horrid in design)m I would not hesitate in the slightest to recommend this book. Because while I personally received nothing in return from this book, I recognize what it offers. I kept it from being a 5 star because the formatting (page breaks after small one sentence sections were annoying) and the lack of more creative perspectives.

Read if your are new to OF, but honestly, skip it if you know the difference between a serial and parallel project and know what defer dates are. The rest just isn’t worth $30.

[Michiel Rutjes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resource on getting a better workflow in OmniFocus. I've been using the app for about a year and I could skip over the basics fast. The most value was in the explanation of how to use different parts in the right way to create a better total flow. I was for instance able to make a better structure based on folders, projects and tags. Beforehand there was lots of overlap and therefore confusion.

I wouldn't recommend to advanced users of OF3, but everyone from a beginner to intermediate user can benefit from this book.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have thoroughly admired Rosemary Orchard’s work as I’ve dug into ways to maximize OmniFocus. Her workflow and perspective setup first caught by eye in the Learn OmniFocus series on YouTube. This book further fleshed out the philosophy behind her setup and gave practical advise on how to customize it for my needs. This eBook is worth the read!

[Andy Doyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very practical guide to using Omni Focus. I wish I had this book when I bought the app! Would highly recommend it to anyone using the app. As a daily user I still found a lot of useful information in this.

[Caleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was pretty good, however a a significant chunk of the book was focused on what I would consider quite basic functions of omnifocus and I was more interested in the last few chapters where the authors went over how they personally used omnifocus.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well-written, a comprehensive book on OmniFocus, and how to get the most from using it. Heartily recommended.