OmniFocus Field Guide

Wrangle Your Tasks Like a Boss.

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The OmniFocus Field Guide

Version 3.0, September 2018


The OmniFocus Field Guide is a video course that takes you, soup to nuts, through the Omni Group's supremely bad-ass task manager. This screencast can turn an OmniFocus novice into a task-managing ninja.
This course includes 69 videos totaling over 5 hours of content.

Topics Include:

Introduction and Overview
Learn what makes OmniFocus unique and learn how to download and install the apps and a basic overview of how the apps work on the Mac, iPad, and iPhone.

Syncing OmniFocus
This section also demonstrates how to set up the OmniSync Service.

Capture
Emptying your brain into your task manager should be fast and efficient. OmniFocus is both. In this section, you'll learn how to quickly capture tasks into your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Process
This is the meat and potatoes of OmniFocus. This section teaches you how to set up projects and contexts along with their different types and flavors. There is also an extensive explanation of defer and due dates and full tutorials on how you can use OmniFocus to put these tool to use. This section also demonstrates the rational use of flags and how to set repeating tasks. With version 3, OmniFocus added tags. There is a lot of content concerning how tags work and the best strategies for implementing them.

Perspectives
There is also an extensive demonstration of OmniFocus perspectives. Understanding how the built-in perspectives work (and how to roll your own) will make all the difference in your OmniFocus ninja-hood. This portion of the video walks you through, step-by-step. Once you figure out custom perspectives, you'll wonder how you ever got by without them. This section also explains how to use the OmniFocus Forecast feature to get ahead of the curve and plan your days out into the future.

Action
Next, you'll learn about how to crank through your days and complete your tasks. This section also has practical advice about how to make sure you spend your time completing tasks and not fiddling with OmniFocus. Once you've got process sorted, action will be where you get things done, and it will feel great.

Review
Adding a regular review practice to your tasks can make a huge difference in your productivity (and sanity). OmniFocus supports this, and this section teaches you how along with some common sense tips for everyday use.

Settings and Interface
Learn how to customize the app to work and look the way you want it.

Automation
OmniFocus has some mighty automation chops if you know how to use them. In this section, learn about automation through text, Siri Shortcuts, and an entire mini-course on creating project templates.

The Apple Watch
OmniFocus has an impressive Apple Watch application. Learn how it works.

Systems
OmniFocus has a lot of power. So much that there are a lot of different ways to harness it. In this section I cover several of the best systems for managing your tasks in OmniFocus.

Additional Concepts
This course wraps up with further discussion about advanced task management concepts like how to deal with too many projects and tasks, the relationship between managing tasks and creativity, and the difference between your internal manager and your internal maker.

The OmniFocus Field Guide, by the numbers

* 69 videos
* 5+ Hours
* One appearance by a lovable alien, far from home.



Your Instructor


David Sparks
David Sparks


David Sparks was lucky enough to grow up alongside the computer revolution. He programmed his first computer in 1980, and since then, he’s been on a never-ending quest to be more productive with his Apple technology.


David is a past speaker at Macworld, the American Bar Association’s TechShow, and many other technology events. David publishes the popular MacSparky Blog and has been making The MacSparky Field Guides since 2012, and he authored several books about productivity and Apple technology before that. David is also a co-host of the popular Mac Power Users, Automators, and Focused podcasts. David also produces the MacSparky Labs, where he goes even deeper on workflows and the productive use of technology.


Since the beginning, getting your technology to work for you instead of against you has been David’s North Star. He’s honed those skills over his 28-year career as an attorney and 15-year career as MacSparky, where he has conducted countless experiments and interviews.


In a world where technology is increasingly conspiring to steal our focus and attention, David aims to teach you how to be more productive with Apple technology. David wants to help you achieve what is most important to you and simultaneously enjoy your life. Everything he makes points at that destination.



Course Materials


  Syncing Data
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days after you enroll
  Completing Tasks
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  Review
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  The Apple Watch
Available in days
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  Wrapping Up
Available in days
days after you enroll

Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.

I have been an OmniFocus wannabe for many years, always thinking it a good way to keep my stuff moving in the right direction. During this time, I fell off the GTD and OmniFocus wagons many times and more than once assuming the wagon had tipped over and that this app was not for me.

Watching the OmniFocus field guide has provided tons of insight and renewed my excitement in getting back to the application. In addition to the easy to follow instructions and guidance AND the exceptional willingness David has to answer questions from customers to help keep us on path is awesome.

If you’re an OmniFocus beginner or seasoned veteran and want to try new uses or learn more, I cannot recommend this content enough. Thanks for the great content.

— Derek Schauland, DerekSchauland.com

Omnifocus can be life changing. It can help you order your work and home life in a way that makes you in control, at ease, and organised in the best possible way. When you open the app for the first time however it can feel incredibly daunting with a steep learning curve that may be off putting for some (it was for me). The Omnifocus Field Guide is the answer to this. Clear. Considered. Well paced. David Sparks knows the app and knows the task management processes that will help you get control of your life. Purchasing this course is a no-brainer.

— Rich

While I've been using OmniFocus religiously for quite some time, I almost instantly learned a few new tricks to make myself even more productive. This is probably the best $29 I've ever spent.

— Amrik

Upon opening Omnifocus the first time, the robust set of features feels a bit intimidating. So I found the Macsparky field guide on Omnifocus to get me started. At first, I was a bit hesitant – being a totally blind individual, web based video courses often tend to be inaccessible to me, as "click here and drag this" leaves a lot to be imagined.

I was thrilled to find out that not only the MacSparky field guide's website is accessible, the video guides are extremelly well explained and voiced. All UI elements and paths were clear and understandable immediately. This fieldguide made me believe again into inclusive teaching via the web. I am happy to say, that Omnifocus doesn't feel intimidating any more. :)

— Jakob

Although now retired from a career in TV, I’m still a really busy person. Am I organised? NO!

I've had OmniFocus for years on my Mac, iPhone and Pad. Do I know how it productively works? Not one jot. I have tried various OmniFocus experts on YouTube and frankly given up. Especially when asked to add to inbox “brush your teeth” please!

I was at the stage of deleting OmniFocus and maybe looking for something else when I came across an article from David Sparks on a MacSparky link comparing OmniFocus and Things.

Its clarity and precision impressed me. I checked further and noticed David’s Field Guides. I played the Digital Paper Trial guide and straight away I knew this was the business.

Maybe it's David’s background as a lawyer that gives his Field Guide Courses clarity and precision. No waffle, just one step leading superbly to the next. In our overcrowded world, it's pure delight to get something in the digital world actually worth paying for.

— Keith

I'm thrilled to have found the MacSparky Field Guides. David's teaching style makes even complex software such as OmniFocus easy to understand and use. I've implemented many of the ideas I found in the OmniFocus Field Guide, and I'm already feeling more focused and productive as a result. I'm looking forward to learning more from MacSparky in the future.

— Cindy

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