I’m going to write a bit more about the Forecast and Forecast Tag in OmniFocus 3, because I think it’s just a plain great thing.
One thing I have found about the Forecast Tag is that it will show in the Today view of Forecast, even if it’s deferred until later.
In some cases, this is super handy (knowing a thing is coming up this afternoon even at the beginning of the day saves me from being surprised later), but in other cases, it’s a bit cluttery.
I have, for example, a repeating project on weekdays called Morning Routine, which walks me through the things I need to make sure I remember to address during my hectic mornings (arrange tasks for the day, check to see if I need to sign any forms or homework for the kids, review chore charts, etc.).
Now, I could have this project due, but to me, that badge is sacred, and this is routine stuff. So no. Not due. The Forecast Tag is perfect for this, though. At the same time, however, that becomes an automatic twelve things right there all mucking about with my ability to see the other Today things (also, twelve feels like a lot of things, even if they’re tiny).
My solution? Forecast-Tagged things do not show up if blocked, since that view can’t know when something will become unblocked. This is where Action Groups (which I’ll be writing about soon) and serial projects come in: by making something (like my morning routine) serial (even if it isn’t actually a serial project in a strict sense), I can hide and then progressive show all the next actions about that routine. True, it forces me into doing them in a particular order, but a couple of tweaks and tries, and that’s just fine.
As always, your mileage may vary, but this could be a neat way of tidying and leveraging the Forecast Tag and its view.
What are your great Forecast tricks and strategies? Please comment and share your wisdom!
