OPML is the glue of the workflow, as you have been ardently pointing out. I also use Mindnode, Omnioutliner and Scrivner for writing and Omnifocus for managing my time and attention. Either way, the big outline is done and looks great. I attribute this to the iPad (which didn’t exist when I outlined Mac at Work), which makes mind mapping more intuitive (for me). With this new book, those numbers reversed. With Mac at Work, this work was about 90% OmniOutliner and 10% mind map ( MindNode Pro is my favorite mind mapping app on Mac OS X). When things started shaping up, I synced the file (as OPML) over Dropbox to my Mac and looked at it in OmniOutliner Then I sent it back to the iPad and iThoughts HD. Most of the rough work was done at Peet’s over tea. I started in iThoughts HD with a single entry in the middle, “iPad at Work.” Then I started adding branches. So outlining such a book is not that difficult. There are no plot twists, things usually move linearly, and the butler never did it. Writing a tech book is fairly straightforward. I have, however, received several e-mails asking me to share some of the workflows so I will make occasional post about what I’m up to. When I announced the new book, I promised I wouldn’t torture readers with the tedious (and often) boring details of writing a book.

Ithoughts for mac os