In a class by itself
December 12, 2017
In a class by itself
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with OmniFocus
OmniFocus is the core accountability and planning tool of my legal practice. I use it to keep track of deadlines, to plan cases from start to finish, to keep track of legal or factual issues that pop up, and as a reminder for keeping clients informed as to case status and surprises that inevitably occur.
OmniFocus works along with my calendar and my practice management apps. That said, I use OmniFocus far more than I use either one. OmniFocus is far more powerful for planning and tracking than either my calendar (Fantastical) or my practice management app.
OmniFocus works along with my calendar and my practice management apps. That said, I use OmniFocus far more than I use either one. OmniFocus is far more powerful for planning and tracking than either my calendar (Fantastical) or my practice management app.
Pros
- Planning. I have created templates for case management that I can cut and past into new cases. I use OmniFocus not only to stay on track with big picture items, but to keep in mind interesting thoughts that occur to me.
- Accountability. I am better able to work ahead of deadlines using OmniFocus. OmniFocus is OS agnostic. My daily planning is done on my MacBook. I often add tasks using OmniFocus for iOS. I often use Siri to add tasks to OmniFocus while in the car ("Siri, open OmniFocus"). The dictated action items go into my Inbox, and I organize them (and clean up the almost inevitable grammar errors) when I am back in front of my computer.
- Organizing by life focus. This is my default way to organize in OmniFocus. My big categories are Family, Work, Heath, Household. Work is then broken down by (1) administrative tasks (e.g., trust accounting, billing), (2) client matters, (3) business development, (4) miscellaneous. I can get as granular as I want to get, but can always back out to the 30,000 foot view.
- Organizing by deadline. You don't have to assign deadlines to every task, which makes it helpful to keep in mind what is really important (e.g., the deadline to file an appeal).
Cons
- I would really like to see graphic presentations of how I allocate my time, what categories of tasks don't get accomplished, etc.
- I would like to see OmniFocus include Gantt chart functionality, such as allowing me to see how long it took me to accomplish a task from start to finish. Allowing me to actually input time spent, and seeing it on a Gantt chart, would be icing on the cake.
- OmniFocus keeps me ahead of deadlines. I certainly feel better when I file a brief early.
- OmniFocus keeps me focused on my clients and their needs and concerns.
- OmniFocus has made me more pleasant -- less stress from deadlines.
- Trello and Wunderlist
The closest analog to OmniFocus is Todoist. OmniFocus, however, runs circles around Todoist and every other to-do list and reminder system. OmniFocus is not just best in class, it is in a class by itself.
I feel somewhat incompetent saying more about how powerful OmniFocus is. I know that there are others who have done far more with OmniFocus. I am quite comfortable using it, but want to learn more so that I can improve the usefulness of OmniFocus.
I feel somewhat incompetent saying more about how powerful OmniFocus is. I know that there are others who have done far more with OmniFocus. I am quite comfortable using it, but want to learn more so that I can improve the usefulness of OmniFocus.
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