Day Automation: Rapid Logging with OmniFocus

Update 07/19: Now with OmniFocus task notes

Update 07/20: Fixed unintentionally re-used task note

I shared my Rapid Log Shortcut for Agenda the other day, and it serves its purpose, but I am an OmniFocus user, and so really, my rapid logged tasks need to land there. As such, I have been fine-tuning my Shortcut for use with it, and with some bonus features.

I won't rehash too much about what I already posted, but this Shortcut:

• Asks for input
• Takes input, line by line, and appends it to a Daily Agenda Log
• If the line of input starts with - (a dash and a space):
  • The appended line in Agenda becomes a checklist item instead of a bullet
  • A task is created in the OmniFocus inbox with that line's name
  • That appended Agenda line is linked to the task created in the OmniFocus

Here's what is bonus cool, though:

• The task is created in OmniFocus using TaskPaper addition
  • This means your task could include something like @due(tom) to show that it is due tomorrow, and the OmniFocus task created will honour it
  • ... but that content is stripped from the text appended to Agenda for elegance
  • @flagged is the exception, because if that is added, the Agenda line will be prefaced with a 🔶 to indicate the flagged state
• You can include tags inline as #tag1 and #tag2 (no spaces), and they will be honoured by OmniFocus
  • The Shortcut parses those in to TaskPaper format @tags(tag1, tag2) accordingly
  • You can write tags inline in TaskPaper format too, of course
  • None of that content is in the Agenda line appended (again, elegance)
• You can also include +(Project Name) inline
  • This will become the project to which the task is added (instead of the Inbox)
  • This is a search of Projects in OmniFocus, and the first match returned, so use clever keywords
  • Spaces are allowed for multi-word names/searches
  • The use of a + here is a nod to todo.txt, which used + as the signifier for projects
    • In case anyone cared?
  • Still, elegance
• Lastly, you can use // as a notes delimiter (that's a space, two slashes, and a space)
  • Everything after that delimiter will be added to the notes field of OmniFocus
  • This content will be ignored in Agenda (assumed that this is in service of noting the task, not the journal)

Read about TaskPaper notation you can include →

There is no enforced order here, so one could totally thoughtstream the entry (which I do). For example:

- Call Marie about the budget #Urgent @flagged +(budget presentation) @due(fri) #Calls // The budget presentation is on our shared folder

Metadata does not need to be entered in a particular order.

I find that by rapid logging this way, I capture my commitments in OmniFocus, but I also diary that capture in Agenda, and also give myself the freedom to capture non-actionable things I have discovered or know.

I'd love to hear what you think!