How To Quickly Capture Ideas Into OmniFocus

Here’s my system for getting ideas into my OmniFocus task management system.

On my Mac, I use this keyboard shortcut:

To get this Quick Entry box:

I don’t have to complete all the fields. Rather, I type just enough to remember the idea, hit Return, and my task goes to the OmniFocus inbox. I can later elaborate on it, create a project and next actions, and so on. Similarly, if I want to capture supporting material along with the idea, I use the clipper shortcut:

This opens a Quick Entry box along with the highlighted text, URL, or email — the text or link is captured in the Note field. I also use this method for linking back to To-Dos in Basecamp. Very useful!

Away from my Mac, I dictate or type text into Drafts on my iPhone, then send it to OmniFocus as an action. Alternatively, I use Siri to dictate a Reminder, which gets synced with OmniFocus. I process the task when I return to my Mac.