Several suggest that OmniFocus is too complicated. But it does not have to be. One area in which we can view things simply is through its preferences. We can add complexity only as we need it.

Set the preferences to their simplest settings as follows:

  • Go to preferences (Command-,)
  • Go to the Layout tab
  • Select Columns
  • Uncheck everything.

This way, instead of seeing your tasks like this:

You’d see them as:

Of course, you might want certain parts of the task visible while looking at them from other perspectives. For example, while you’re looking at your Tag perspective (Command-3), you might want to see what project your individual tasks are a part of. To do this,

  • Open the View Settings (Shift-Command-v) for that particular perspective

For example, while in the Tag perspective, opening view settings to see:

  • Select Columns.
  • Select Project:

  • Select Save:

You’ll now have a list with only what you want to see:

If there are even more details you want, you can always open the Inspector (Option-Command-i) to really dive in.