I’ve been playing with the OmniFocus 3 beta. So far the newest functionality that stands out for me are the changes to repeats, the ability to multi-select, and tags. There are other adjustments in the works and on the horizon, but these are my focus at the moment.
For today’s post, I’ll focus on repeat. While the repeat function is still in its early stages, it’s looking pretty neat. OF1 and 2 had the following choices:
- Repeat Every
- Defer Another
- Due Again
OF3 dispenses with these distinctions, instead presenting a more unfolding approach. For example, when you select repeat in the task’s inspector, you start with the option to repeat or not:
Then you have options as to the interval and days of the week involved:
If you had specified a defer or due date before entering the repeat inspector, you also have the option to repeat from the completion or assigned date:
You also get the option to mess with days of the month at a more granular level:
And, you can also choose options such as first weekend day of the month.
Particularly the last option is a welcome addition. Previously, I might have a Repeat Every task for the beginning of the month that said, “Schedule [a task] for the first Saturday”. This option dispenses with the need for such a meta-task.
I’m off to explore more OF3….
Does this mean that I will have the possibility to defer a task to “next Thursday after completion”?
I have always missed that kind of repeat.
I have some tasks that intend to do weekly, so I make them repeat with start every Thursday. But if I am not at home for some time, I can not do those tasks.
When I come home and check off the task a new one immediately appears. So I have to click done as many times as weeks I’ve been away. If I could defer it to “next upcoming Thursday after completion” it would be perfect.
If I’m understanding your question, and the functionality, then yes it seems to be true. I just tested a task with a deferred date of three weeks ago, a repeat interval of every Tuesday, and to repeat based on the completion date. It appropriately set the task for next Tuesday when I completed it.
That sounds perfect 🙂
I don’t know what I think of tags instead of context, but other features look good in OF3.