Master the App That Masters Your Tasks.
OmniFocus is the most serious task manager on the Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. It can also feel intimidating on day one. This Field Guide takes you, soup to nuts, from your first project to custom Perspectives and automation. I’ll turn you into a task-managing ninja.
Task management is hard. OmniFocus can make a difference.
Open OmniFocus for the first time and the wall of features can stop you cold. Projects, tags, defer dates, due dates, flags, Perspectives, the inbox. There’s a lot in there.
That power is the whole point. It’s also why so many people install OmniFocus, poke around for a week, and quietly give up. I’ve watched smart friends bounce off it more than once.
Here’s what I know. The people who stick with OmniFocus run their entire lives out of it and never look back. The gap between bouncing off and never looking back is a system. Nobody is born knowing it.
That’s what this Field Guide is. The system, taught one piece at a time, so OmniFocus stops feeling intimidating and starts doing the heavy lifting for you.
A task manager that grows and adjusts to you
I started using OmniFocus in its earliest betas over fifteen years ago. I’ve run it as a trial lawyer, a professional nerd, and a dad. It has never once let me down.
The reason is the pieces fit together. Projects hold your work. Tags cut across it by context, energy, or place. Defer dates hide a task until it matters. Due dates flag the ones that truly can’t slip. Custom Perspectives then slice all of it into exactly the view you need right now.
Once you understand how those parts combine, you stop fighting the app and start trusting it. You drop a thought in the inbox, knowing it will resurface at the right moment.
This guide walks you through every piece in plain language, then shows you the systems I use to keep it all running. By the end, OmniFocus works the way you do.
Watch a sample of the course
Want to see the teaching style before you commit? Here you go. A free sample lesson, the same clear, walk-a-friend-through-it pace as the rest of the course.
If it clicks, the other ninety-plus videos will too. If it doesn’t, no hard feelings.
The whole app, one piece at a time
Every part of OmniFocus gets the full treatment, from your first capture to the systems that keep it all running. By the end, nothing in the app feels off limits.
Capture & the Inbox
Empty your head fast on Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Mail Drop, Siri, the inbox, and why getting everything in one trusted place changes everything.
Projects & Tags
Build projects and subprojects that match how your work really flows. Then layer in a tag strategy by context, energy, and place that actually holds up.
Defer & Due Dates
The heart of OmniFocus. Hide tasks until they matter with defer dates, protect the ones that can’t slip with due dates, and set repeating tasks that handle themselves.
Custom Perspectives
The feature that turns OmniFocus into your OmniFocus. Master the built-in views, build your own from scratch, and lean on Forecast to plan your days ahead.
Automation
OmniFocus has serious automation chops. Text capture, Siri Shortcuts, TaskPaper, Omni Automation, and a mini-course on building project templates that fire on demand.
Review & Real Systems
Build a regular review habit that keeps you sane, then copy one of the proven systems I teach. Defer-based, flag-based, tag-based, or the full MacSparky System.
A task system you actually trust
By the end you’ll run OmniFocus with confidence, tuned to how you actually work, on every device you own. No more poking around hoping it clicks.
- A clean capture habit that empties your head fast.
- Projects and tags that mirror how your work really flows.
- Custom Perspectives that show you the right tasks at the right time.
- Automation and templates that do the repetitive setup for you.
- A review practice that keeps the whole thing from drifting.
“Sparky did it again”
“I’ve been using Omnifocus for ages, and I learned some very useful tricks to make it work harder for me. I love the way David talks about real-life use cases for the features and how to use it to help you not just get more done, but get the right things done. If you want to use OF to organise your life a single place then you need this Field Guide.”
“As a long time user of Omnifocus, I was eagerly awaiting David’s OmniFocus 4 Field Guide. Boy, he didn’t disappoint. Not only does David do his usual high quality job of explaining how to use OmniFocus 4. He provides a wonderful overview of the systems you can implement to manage your daily tasks. Whether you are new to OmniFocus or a long time user, David has you covered. Highly recommend.”
“Sparky did it again. He took an app I barely understood and made me a power user.”
“An exceptionally well-thought-out course. It provides new insights for those already using OmniFocus, yet is simple enough for people who have not used it previously.”
“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 have tried various OmniFocus experts on YouTube and frankly given up. 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.”
More from people who took the course. Hover any card to pause.
“The video guides are extremely well explained and voiced. All UI elements and paths were clear and understandable immediately. OmniFocus doesn’t feel intimidating anymore. :)”
“I came away with ideas to tweak it for my own use-cases AND the skills to do so.”
“David is slowly but surely building out a suite of Field Guides to help us manage our digital lives.”
“Its clarity and precision impressed me. I played the guide and straight away I knew this was the business.”
“He took an app I barely understood and made me a power user.”
“It provides new insights for those already using OmniFocus, yet is simple enough for people who have not used it previously.”
“David’s teaching style makes even complex software such as OmniFocus easy to understand and use.”
Who this is for, and who it is not
This is for you if
You want to run your life out of OmniFocus.
- You bought OmniFocus, felt overwhelmed, and want a clear path through it.
- You’ve used it for years and suspect you’re only scratching the surface.
- You live in the Apple ecosystem on Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch.
- You want custom Perspectives and automation working for you, not against you.
- You’re ready to commit to one serious task manager and learn it properly.
This is not for you if
Be honest with yourself on these.
- You’re on Windows or Android. OmniFocus is Apple-only.
- You want a lightweight checklist, not a full task management system.
- You’re not willing to spend a few evenings setting things up the right way.
- You already run OmniFocus like a master and have no questions left.
Soup to nuts, one section at a time
More than 90 lessons across capture, processing, Perspectives, automation, and review, plus a 6-part webinar series that goes deeper. Captioning in a dozen languages throughout.
Setup, Capture & Processing
Get OmniFocus installed and synced on every device, then learn to capture fast and process what lands in your inbox.
- Install and sync across Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Watch
- Capture with Siri, Mail Drop, and the inbox
- Projects, tags, flags, defer dates, and due dates
Perspectives & Action
The part that turns OmniFocus into a tool that fits you. Master the views, build custom Perspectives, then crank through your day.
- Built-in and custom Perspectives, step by step
- Forecast, completing tasks, and a real review habit
Automation & Every Platform
Push OmniFocus further with automation, then learn how it works on the web, on Apple Watch, on Vision Pro, and in every widget.
- Shortcuts, TaskPaper, Omni Automation, and templates
- OmniFocus for the web, Apple Watch, Vision Pro, widgets
Systems & the Webinar Series
Copy a proven task system, then go further with a six-part webinar series on advanced concepts, with guests and group Q&A.
- Defer, flag, tag, Forecast, and the MacSparky System
- Six webinars on advanced concepts, automation, and strategy
- Questions and answers, all recorded for replay
One price. Everything included.
No subscription. No upsells. One purchase, the full course plus the webinar series, all yours.
Everything, $99
- 90+ video lessons, over seven hours, soup to nuts
- Capture, projects, tags, defer and due dates, and custom Perspectives
- Automation with Shortcuts, TaskPaper, and Omni Automation
- A 6-part webinar series, all recorded for replay
- Lifetime access, on every Apple device you own
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Start learning
Everything is waiting in the MacSparky community, webinar series included.
David Sparks
David started MacSparky in 2007 and has spent the years since teaching people to get more out of their technology and their time. He got his hands on his first computer in 1980 and has been chasing a calmer, more productive way to work ever since.
He started using OmniFocus in its earliest betas over fifteen years ago and has run it as a trial lawyer, a professional nerd, and a dad, all to great effect. This guide is his complete brain dump on the app.
He publishes the MacSparky blog, cohosts the Mac Power Users, Automators, and Focused podcasts, and runs the MacSparky Labs.
Frequently asked
Do I need to own OmniFocus already? +
Yes. OmniFocus is a separate app from the Omni Group, sold on its own. This Field Guide teaches you how to use it. The course shows you how to download and install it, but you’ll need an OmniFocus license to follow along.
I’m brand new to OmniFocus. Is this too advanced? +
Not at all. The course starts at the very beginning with installation and basic capture, then builds up step by step. Longtime users tell me they still learn plenty, but you do not need any experience to start.
Which devices does this cover? +
The full Apple lineup. Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, plus OmniFocus for the web and the Vision Pro app. There’s no Windows or Android version of OmniFocus.
What is the webinar series? +
A 6-part webinar series that goes deeper than the core videos. Modern task management concepts, even more Perspectives, systems and strategy, automation, working with external apps and analog tools, plus a session of questions and answers. All webinars are recorded and added to the course once edited.
How is the course delivered? +
The Field Guide lives in the MacSparky community on Circle. After you buy, you get two emails: a receipt from the payment processor, then an invitation with your access link. Click it, set up your account, and everything is waiting, webinar series included.
What’s the refund policy? +
14-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. If the course isn’t for you, write in within the first 14 days and you get a full refund.
Turn OmniFocus into your task-managing superpower
OmniFocus can run your whole life if you let it. The gap between feeling overwhelmed and never looking back is a system. This Field Guide hands you mine.