Today I’m offering up another admission. and it’s a big one.
It’s true. I’ve gone back to OmniFocus.
Sort of.
I’m still using Asana for any tasks or projects that involve communicating with others – basically anything collaborative. I really enjoy the way Asana operates in this regard; I can use it (especially with the recently-added Inbox feature) and the person on the other end has no need to actually use Asana for me to keep tabs on collective work.
But why am I going back to OmniFocus for my own work?
It’s not because of the iOS app experience that OmniFocus offers (although it is stellar).
It’s not because of the sheer power of the app.
It’s not because I’m not convinced Asana cannot handle my individual tasks as well as it does collaborative ones.
The reason I’m making a return to OmniFocus is because I don’t have to be online to use it, and that’s not the case with Asana.
During my trip to the Yukon it became apparent to me that I needed to have a task management app that I could use whether connected or not. In fact, by being offline for a large part of my two weeks up north I was better able to connect to my tasks, goals and projects far better when I was disconnected rather than when I was connected to the Internet. This isn’t exactly a revelation for most of you, but when the absence of online activity is thrust upon you and you have no control over it, you have no choice but to really look at what’s available to you.
In essence, being offline was a “context”.
And in that context I realized that having access to OmniFocus was ideal. I had already handled much of my “had to” work and OmniFocus allowed me unfettered access to so much more than that. With Asana all I got was an unable to connect message, leaving me unable to connect with far less than what I’d like.1
(Admittedly, my podcasting partner’s Launch Center Pro setup for Omnifocus also played a factor. Kudos, Mr. Schechter, for playing a role in my return to OmniFocus.)
By making a return to OmniFocus for individual task management and sticking with Asana for team-based task management, I’m going to have the best of both worlds aat my disposal. And because I’m well-versed in using both apps, I’m convinced that balancing the two won’t be an issue. Both developers have put together some impressive work – and continue to do so – and rather than go “all in” on one, I’m going to use the strengths of each to enhance my overall productivity. It’s a win-win, really.
You can expect posts here on how I balance these two apps in the future. For now, I’m getting on with achieving that balance. That way I can ensure that this new workflow actually…works.
Photo credit: The Omni Group
1 I’m not saying that I need to be referring to OmniFocus all the time – or any productivity app for that matter – but since I wasn’t on a “pure” vacation I did need to check in with these tools regularly. And since I didn’t have online access very often, I couldn’t connect often enough with my stuff. That was less than ideal in this situation.
