The thought of trying David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” method never crossed my mind before, just for the reason that I didn’t want to be bothered to learn new (and possibly complex) stuffs. And I didn’t want to join any cults.

But I am using the company’s MacBook right now – that makes me a cult member already, right. So what the heck. If GTD could save my life, I’ll do it even if it means I have to succumbs to the dark side of being an Apple fanboy.

GTD can be applied using traditional equipments such as papers and physical folders. But I think using a software that is specifically tailored for GTD really helps beginners to get started and understand its workflow.

Reading 5 Mac Apps to Boost Your Productivity, I decided to go with OmniFocus. The article said that OmniFocus is heavily built around David Allen’s GTD method. Keep in mind that this application is not free (it’s a Mac app, what do you expect).

OmniFocus includes a PDF file that is really handy for OmniFocus and GTD beginners alike. I recommend you to read the first two chapters of David Allen’s book, then you can easily relate to what the PDF says.

To get started, you can capture stuffs by pressing Control+Option+Space. It will go into the inbox until you specify a project or context for it.

There are two ways to view your stuffs – by projects or contexts.

Project view is fine, but I am a bit bothered by the Miscellaneous box. Since all project-less stuff (i.e single action task) will go to the Miscellaneous box, it will become too populated and eventually discourages you too look at it. And it doesn’t really make sense when tasks of different purposes are grouped together in Miscellaneous.

While defining project is straightforward, defining context does takes some time to learn. Remember – break big problems into smaller ones. So if you find your ‘home’ list growing uncomfortably long, break it down to smaller, more accurate context such as ‘two-minutes’ or ‘leisure’.

I haven’t tried creating any folder to group anything, so I wonder how can it be of any use.

One simple yet useful feature I found absent from OmniFocus is the ability to drag and drop stuffs into the sidebar. OmniFocus also had this weird behavior where suddenly a task is ‘focused’, then all the other will be hidden, and I don’t know what the heck should I do to get it to function normally again.

It’s been a great 10 days I have spent trying OmniFocus, and I must say it is a good application. Now I am going to try Things, and see how this other one compare.

You can download free trial of OmniFocus from OmniGroup or purchase it for $79.95