Unleashing the Fun Side of Productivity: A Guide to Utilizing The New AI Features in OmniFocus, The Powerhouse of To-Do Lists

“How to Use the New AI Features in OmniFocus, the Power User’s To-Do List”

“Forecasting the future is tricky. But when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), we are confident enough to make one bold statement: As AI takes over more of our lives, it will become similarly ubiquitous in our productivity tools.” Welcome to the world where our lives are stripped down to organized productivity, aptly epitomized by the cutting-edge AI-infused task manager, OmniFocus.

Lord save the digital hoarders. Is nothing sacred, except efficiency and productivity? So thought OmniGroup, who quickly decided to springboard into the AI pond, by adding AI features to the OmniFocus app. In the spirit of fairness, or as close as is possible in this cutthroat world, a momentary pause to applaud their unbridled ambition. Yet what does this say about our society’s obsession with productivity?

AI-equipped features, with the amusingly quirky name of ‘Forecast tags’, bulldozed their way onto the scene. A touch of whimsy, don’t you think? These tags peer into the future, provide a glimpse of tasks due over the next fortnight and – brace yourselves – even predict when these might be accomplished. Think an omnipresent sentinel playing fortune-teller with your upcoming tasks.

Furthermore, users are encouraged to label their most important tasks with ‘tags’, a system that mirrors real-world contexts. The app’s predicted completion time for each task, dear reader, will have you chuckling, should your actual completion time glaringly diverge. Hey, all’s fair in love, war and productivity.

Meanwhile, the ‘Forecast view’ feature flaunts a visual timeline of our tasks spanning over days, weeks and months, for those who fancy their lives regimented. All while whispering reassuringly, “Don’t worry, leave your planning anxiety at the door. We’ve got you.”

Then there’s the ‘Focus mode’. It adopts a ‘one thing at a time’ philosophy, muting all but the selected task, akin to putting blinkers on a racehorse. It does this under the pretext of minimizing distractions, but let’s be real, your relentless email ping is probably still taunting you in the background.

There’s no denying that AI in productivity tools represents progress—or at least a relentless march towards it. Yet the musings linger— is our desperate grasp for heightened productivity neglecting the essence of being human? Is the warm novelty of spontaneity being replaced by the cold precision of an AI-generated schedule?

However, fret not, friends. For now, the freedom to decide whether to enroll in this regimen of automaton-like efficiency resides solely within our fumbling human hands. After all, who wouldn’t want a digital fortune-teller dictating their every move? AI in productivity tools, indeed. The future is here, it seems. Or is it? The jury, cloaked in detached amusement, is still out.

Read the original article here: https://www.wired.com/story/ai-features-in-omnifocus/