David Sparks on what I think is the most powerful, and underutilized feature of OmniFocus:
Conversely, I rarely use due dates on tasks unless they truly are something with a deadline. Arbitrarily assigning due dates to tasks means that you’re going to be getting lots of alarms for missing due dates on tasks that really aren’t overdue. Eventually you’ll start ignoring the alarms entirely and then you’ll miss a deadline on something that is important. Use your due dates sparingly and make them count.
Start dates, or defer dates as they are now called, are so powerful. Get yourself into the habit of thinking about time spans instead of due dates. Yes, paying your pills needs to be done by the 5th, but it could also be done anytime between the 1st and the 5th. So defer it to the 1st, and make it due the 5th. Then you can see it and maybe act on the action before it becomes urgent.
I am forever grateful to Mr. Sparks for showing me the light on that one.