View TODOs Workflow
Purpose
Display and filter TODO items to help plan and prioritize work.
When to Use
- User asks “what should I work on?”
- Show active tasks
- Review scheduled items
- Check deadlines
- Daily/weekly planning
View Categories
1. Active Tasks
Tasks currently in progress or ready to start:
- State: NEXT or STRT
- Has SCHEDULED date (today or past)
- Has DEADLINE (coming up)
2. Scheduled for Today
Tasks scheduled for today’s date.
3. Upcoming Deadlines
Tasks with deadlines in next 7 days.
4. By Priority
Filter by priority level [#1] through [#5].
5. By Section
View tasks from specific sections (Work, Systems, Projects, etc.).
6. By State
Filter by TODO, NEXT, STRT, WAIT states.
Grep Patterns
Show NEXT Tasks
grep -n "^\*\* NEXT" ~/desktop/org/todos.org
Show STRT (In Progress) Tasks
grep -n "^\*\* STRT" ~/desktop/org/todos.org
Show Today’s Schedule
today=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d")
grep -B2 "SCHEDULED: <$today" ~/desktop/org/todos.org | grep "^\*\*"
Show This Week’s Deadlines
# Deadlines in next 7 days (requires date calculation)
for i in {0..7}; do
day=$(date -d "+$i days" +"%Y-%m-%d")
echo "=== $day ==="
grep -B2 "DEADLINE: <$day" ~/desktop/org/todos.org | grep "^\*\*"
done
Show by Priority
# High priority (1-2)
grep "^\*\* \(TODO\|NEXT\|STRT\) \[#[12]\]" ~/desktop/org/todos.org
# Specific priority
grep "^\*\* \(TODO\|NEXT\|STRT\) \[#2\]" ~/desktop/org/todos.org
Show by Section
# Work section TODOs
sed -n '/^\* Work/,/^\* [A-Z]/p' ~/desktop/org/todos.org | \
grep "^\*\* \(TODO\|NEXT\|STRT\)"
# Systems section TODOs
sed -n '/^\* Systems/,/^\* [A-Z]/p' ~/desktop/org/todos.org | \
grep "^\*\* \(TODO\|NEXT\|STRT\)"
# Projects section
sed -n '/^\* Projects/,/^\* [A-Z]/p' ~/desktop/org/todos.org | \
grep "^\*\* \(TODO\|NEXT\|STRT\)"
Show Unscheduled TODOs
# TODOs without SCHEDULED or DEADLINE
awk '
/^\*\* (TODO|NEXT)/ {
p=1
todo=$0
scheduled=0
}
p && /SCHEDULED:|DEADLINE:/ {
scheduled=1
}
p && /^$/ {
if (!scheduled) print todo
p=0
}
' ~/desktop/org/todos.org
Smart Filters
What to Work On Now
Combine multiple criteria for actionable view:
# High priority NEXT tasks
grep "^\*\* NEXT \[#[12]\]" ~/desktop/org/todos.org
# Or tasks scheduled for today
today=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d")
grep -B2 "SCHEDULED: <$today" ~/desktop/org/todos.org | grep "^\*\*"
# Or upcoming deadlines (next 3 days)
for i in {0..3}; do
day=$(date -d "+$i days" +"%Y-%m-%d")
grep -B2 "DEADLINE: <$day" ~/desktop/org/todos.org | grep "^\*\*"
done
Weekly Overview
# Count by state
echo "=== Task Summary ==="
echo "NEXT: $(grep -c '^\*\* NEXT' ~/desktop/org/todos.org)"
echo "STRT: $(grep -c '^\*\* STRT' ~/desktop/org/todos.org)"
echo "TODO: $(grep -c '^\*\* TODO' ~/desktop/org/todos.org)"
echo "WAIT: $(grep -c '^\*\* WAIT' ~/desktop/org/todos.org)"
Recently Created
# Tasks created in last 7 days
week_ago=$(date -d "7 days ago" +"%Y-%m-%d")
grep -A5 "CREATED:" ~/desktop/org/todos.org | \
grep "$week_ago\|$(date +%Y-%m-%d)" | \
grep "CREATED:"
Output Format
Simple List
Just show the TODO lines:
** TODO [#2] Review upstream pull request
** NEXT Setup MQTT broker on rhea
** STRT Keyboard firmware improvements
With Context
Show TODO with scheduling/deadline info:
** TODO [#2] Review upstream pull request
SCHEDULED: <2025-12-05 Fri>
** NEXT Setup MQTT broker on rhea
DEADLINE: <2025-12-10 Wed>
With Line Numbers
For easy navigation:
142:** TODO [#2] Review upstream pull request
156:** NEXT Setup MQTT broker on rhea
Summary Counts
For overview:
Work Section:
NEXT: 3
TODO: 12
High Priority: 5
Systems Section:
NEXT: 2
TODO: 8
High Priority: 2
View Templates
Daily Planning View
What to show for “what should I work on today?”:
-
In Progress (STRT)
- Show current work first
-
Scheduled for Today
- Tasks with today’s SCHEDULED date
-
Urgent Deadlines
- Deadlines today or tomorrow
-
High Priority NEXT
- NEXT tasks with [#1] or [#2]
-
Available TODO
- Unscheduled high-priority TODOs
Weekly Planning View
What to show for weekly review:
-
This Week’s Schedule
- All SCHEDULED items this week
-
This Week’s Deadlines
- All DEADLINE items this week
-
Project Progress
- Active projects with subtask counts
-
Stale TODOs
- Old TODOs without scheduling
Section-Specific View
When user asks about specific area:
# Example: "Show my work todos"
section="Work"
echo "=== $section Tasks ==="
echo ""
echo "In Progress:"
sed -n "/^\* $section/,/^\* [A-Z]/p" ~/desktop/org/todos.org | \
grep "^\*\* STRT"
echo ""
echo "Next Actions:"
sed -n "/^\* $section/,/^\* [A-Z]/p" ~/desktop/org/todos.org | \
grep "^\*\* NEXT"
echo ""
echo "High Priority:"
sed -n "/^\* $section/,/^\* [A-Z]/p" ~/desktop/org/todos.org | \
grep "^\*\* TODO \[#[12]\]"
Interactive Examples
Example 1: “What should I work on?”
Response:
Here are your active tasks:
Currently Working On (STRT):
- Keyboard firmware improvements
Next Actions (NEXT):
- [#2] Review upstream pull request (Work)
- Setup MQTT broker on rhea (Systems)
Scheduled for Today:
- Update project documentation (DEADLINE today)
High Priority TODOs:
- [#1] Fix authentication bug (Work)
- [#2] Configure wireguard (Systems)
Example 2: “Show my work todos”
Response:
Work Section Tasks:
In Progress (STRT):
- Weekly 1:1 with Manager (scheduled Mon 10:00 +1w)
Next Actions (NEXT):
- [#2] Review upstream pull request
- [#3] Update CLI roadmap discussion
High Priority (TODO):
- [#1] Fix authentication bug
- [#2] Tracability on tektoncd/pipeline
Other TODOs: 15
Example 3: “What’s due this week?”
Response:
Deadlines This Week:
Today (2025-12-04):
- Update project documentation
Friday (2025-12-05):
- Submit report
Monday (2025-12-08):
- Prepare presentation slides
Scheduled This Week:
- 8 tasks scheduled
- 3 recurring meetings
Advanced Views
Blocked Tasks (WAIT)
echo "=== Waiting On ==="
grep -A5 "^\*\* WAIT" ~/desktop/org/todos.org
Subtask Progress
# Projects with completion tracking [n/m]
grep "\[.*/..*\]" ~/desktop/org/todos.org
Recently Completed
# Show recent DONE items (last 7 days)
week_ago=$(date -d "7 days ago" +"%Y-%m-%d")
grep -B2 "State \"DONE\".*\[$week_ago\|$(date +%Y-%m-%d)" ~/desktop/org/todos.org | \
grep "^\*\*"
Tips
- Start with NEXT: Focus on NEXT and STRT items
- Check deadlines daily: Avoid surprises
- Use priorities: Filter by [#1] and [#2] when overwhelmed
- Limit NEXT: Keep NEXT actions to 3-5 items
- Regular reviews: Daily for schedule, weekly for backlog
- Context matters: View by section for focused work
Common Questions
Q: “Too many TODOs, what’s important?” A: Show NEXT + high priority + deadlines
Q: “What can I work on now?” A: Show NEXT without blockers
Q: “What’s on my plate this week?” A: Show scheduled + deadlines for this week
Q: “What work tasks do I have?” A: Show Work section, filter by active states
Q: “What’s in my inbox?” A: Read inbox.org, show count and recent items