Switching from OmniFocus to 2Do

This is a quick guide on switching from OmniFocus to 2Do. I assume that you have access to a Mac, some free time, and a bit of patience.

Moving your tasks

There is no magic script that will move all your tasks and projects from OmniFocus to 2Do. There are some scripts that can help, but you shouldn't go searching for the perfect script. It doesn't exist. None of them will do the job perfectly if you have even a moderately complex OmniFocus database. That's fine, and it actually make sense — there are fundamental differences in the way OmniFocus and 2Do are structured. I did not use any scripts to help me switch.

For a long time, my OmniFocus database had been growing unruly. Switching was a chance to start, if not fresh, then fresher. You should use switching as a chance to review all of your projects and tasks. Just trust me that you'll be happier if you do. Pour your drink of choice and settle in for a fun night or two.

I downloaded the trial of 2Do¹ for OS X, and began the tedious process of copying all the tasks from each OmniFocus project, and pasting them into 2Do, one project at a time. Then I had to configure start dates, due dates, and repeating schedule, if appropriate. I won't lie - this part sucks. I have a ton of projects, and a ton of tasks.

I took the time each project, each task. Quite a few didn't make the transition - they were no longer relevant. I wouldn't have killed them if not for the big switch. At the end, I was left with a more relevant database of tasks & projects.

2Do Hierarchy

In OmniFocus, there's a complex hierarchy. There are folders, subfolders inside those folders, projects inside those subfolders, subprojects inside those projects, subsubprojects inside those subprojects, etc. I'm not sure if there's a limit to how deep you can go. This sounds great in theory, but gets gross pretty quickly. It's especially troublesome if you accidentally mark the wrong project, or subproject, as sequential, and then set repeat on the wrong one. It's easy to get lost in the complexity, and lose tasks.

2Do has a less complex, more clear, still powerful hierarchy.

Group
    List
        Project
            Task
        Checklist
            Task

That's it. That's the entire hierarchy. It is even entirely possibly to use 2Do with a single Group and without checklists, if you prefer. In fact, I encourage you to do just that. Don't use Checklists until you find a need. Until then, feel free to pretend they don't exist.

Groups are basically OmniFocus folders. They group projects together by a main theme. I have three - Work, Home, and Smart Lists².

Projects are OmniFocus projects. There is no Sequential Project concept in 2Do - all projects are parallel.

Checklists are a special kind of project where individual tasks cannot have separate start or due dates. Only the checklist itself can have a start or due date.

Tasks are the same as OmniFocus tasks. They can have start dates & times, due dates & times. They can repeat, or not. If you want, you can star a task though I never do.

A new item is always created with the Plus sign in the bottom right. By default it's a Task, though it's just a single tap to change it to a Project to Checklist.

Set up Sync

Use Dropbox. Seriously, just use Dropbox. There are other options, and none of them matter because you should use Dropbox.

Perspectives

Don't forget to take some time to set up your Today Perspective. Just kidding; 2Do already did that for you. It's called Today, and it lives just below All in the sidebar. It works exactly as a reasonable person would expect it to work.

Set up your Start and Due time shortcuts

Settings -> Advanced -> Default Due Time
Settings -> Advanced -> Default Start Time

You're welcome.

Use OmniFocus and 2Do in tandem

I may not have loved OmniFocus, but I trusted it. I knew how OmniFocus worked. I knew it's strengths and weaknesses. I knew it's flaws. I knew that it would do what I told it to do. Even after carefully importing all my tasks & projects, I did not yet trust 2Do. So for the first two or three days, I used both task management systems in tandem. Not once did 2Do fail to do what I expected it to do. It earned my trust very quickly, and I went all-in. I disabled all OmniFocus notifications on my devices and moved the apps into a folder.

Links³ and a final note

Buy 2Do for iOS. At the time of publishing, it's on sale for $7.99. That's ridiculous. The regular price of $15.99 is ridiculous. This app is awesome.

Buy 2Do for OS X. At the time of publishing, it's on sale for $24.99. The regular price of $49.99. If you spend much time on a Mac at all, it's a steal. It's a very good app. I just don't sit at my Mac much these days. Plus, the iOS app is just so good.

I'm sure some have switched to 2Do using only iOS. I could have done this, but it was, in my case, much easier to use a Mac for the switch. I have many dozens of projects, and hundreds of tasks.