Add TODO Workflow

Purpose

Add new TODO items to inbox.org or directly to todos.org sections.

When to Use

User wants to create a new TODO
Capturing a task or action item
Adding follow-up work
Creating project tasks

Decision: Inbox vs Direct

Add to Inbox (Recommended for most cases)

Use inbox.org when:

Quick capture during work
Not sure which section it belongs to
Want to process later
Batch capturing multiple items

Add Directly to Section

Use todos.org directly when:

Clear which section (Work, Systems, Projects, Personal)
Part of existing project
Well-defined task with all details

Quick Add to Inbox

Basic Format

* TODO <description>

With Priority

* TODO [#2] <description>

With Context

* TODO <description>
:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED:       [<current-date>]
:END:

<additional context or notes>

Add Directly to Section

1. Identify the Correct Section

Work Section (* Work):

Job-related tasks
Upstream work
Team collaboration
Work meetings prep

Projects Section (* Projects):

New projects or features
Multi-step initiatives
Both work and personal projects

Systems Section (* Systems):

Homelab tasks
Infrastructure changes
NixOS configuration
Network setup

Personal Section (* Personal):

Life admin
Appointments
Personal errands

Routines Section (* Routines):

Recurring meetings
Regular check-ins
Habit tracking

Health Section (* Health):

Health appointments
Exercise tracking
Medical tasks

2. Choose the Right State

TODO: Default for new tasks
NEXT: If it’s the next action to take
WAIT: If waiting on something/someone

3. Set Priority (Optional)

[#1] - Highest/Most important
[#2] - High priority
[#3] - Medium priority
[#4] - Low priority
[#5] - Lowest priority

4. Add Scheduling (Optional)

SCHEDULED: When to start

SCHEDULED: <2025-12-05 Fri>

DEADLINE: When it must be done

DEADLINE: <2025-12-10 Wed>

Repeating: For recurring tasks

SCHEDULED: <2025-12-08 Mon ++1w>

Templates

Simple TODO

** TODO <description>

TODO with Priority

** TODO [#2] <description>

TODO with Scheduling

** TODO <description>
SCHEDULED: <2025-12-05 Fri>

TODO with Context

** TODO [#3] <description>
:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED:       [2025-12-04 Thu 15:30]
:CATEGORY: work
:END:

<background information>
<links to relevant resources>

Project with Subtasks

** TODO <project-name> [0/3]
:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED:       [2025-12-04 Thu 15:30]
:END:

*** TODO First subtask
*** TODO Second subtask
*** TODO Third subtask

Recurring Task

** TODO <description>
SCHEDULED: <2025-12-08 Mon ++1w>
:PROPERTIES:
:STYLE:    habit
:LAST_REPEAT: [2025-12-01 Mon 13:40]
:END:

Workflow Steps

Using Inbox (Quick Capture)

Open inbox.org
```
# Location: ~/desktop/org/inbox.org
```

Add Entry

# Append to end
echo "* TODO Fix authentication bug" >> ~/desktop/org/inbox.org

Refile Later
- During daily review
- Use Refile workflow
- Move to appropriate section

Direct Add to Section

Read Current Section

# Example: Read Work section
sed -n '/^\* Work/,/^\* [A-Z]/p' ~/desktop/org/todos.org | tail -20

Find Insertion Point
- After section header
- Before archived items
- Near related TODOs
Format the Entry
- Use ** for level-2 heading
- Add state (TODO, NEXT)
- Add priority if needed
- Add properties if needed
- Add scheduling if needed
Insert Entry Use Edit tool to add at appropriate location

Examples

Example 1: Quick Inbox Capture

User asks: “Add a todo to review the upstream PR #123”

# Add to inbox
echo "* TODO Review upstream PR #123

https://github.com/org/repo/pull/123
" >> ~/desktop/org/inbox.org

Example 2: Direct Work TODO

User asks: “Add a high priority work task to update documentation by Friday”

Find Work section, then insert:

** TODO [#2] Update project documentation
DEADLINE: <2025-12-05 Fri>
:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED:       [2025-12-04 Thu 15:30]
:CATEGORY: work
:END:

Update getting started guide and API reference

Example 3: System Configuration Task

User asks: “Add a todo to configure MQTT on rhea”

Find Systems section, then insert:

** TODO [#3] Setup MQTT broker on rhea
:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED:       [2025-12-04 Thu 15:30]
:CATEGORY: systems
:END:

- Install mosquitto
- Configure authentication
- Setup firewall rules

Example 4: New Project with Subtasks

User asks: “Create a project for keyboard firmware improvements”

Find Projects section, then insert:

** TODO Keyboard firmware improvements [0/3]

*** TODO Implement leader keys
SCHEDULED: <2025-12-05 Fri>

*** TODO Standardize nav/media/mouse layers

*** TODO Add combos for common symbols

Example 5: Recurring Meeting

User asks: “Add weekly 1:1 meeting every Monday at 10am”

Find Routines section, then insert:

** STRT Weekly 1:1 with Manager
SCHEDULED: <2025-12-08 Mon 10:00 ++1w>
:PROPERTIES:
:LAST_REPEAT: [2025-12-01 Mon 10:00]
:CATEGORY: work
:END:

Meeting notes: <link-to-notes>

Tips

Default to inbox: When in doubt, add to inbox and refile later
Keep it brief: You can add details when you start working on it
Link resources: Add URLs, file links immediately while you remember
Set realistic dates: Don’t over-schedule
Use NEXT sparingly: Only for truly next actions
Break down large tasks: Create projects with subtasks
Add creation date: Helps track how long tasks sit
Use categories: Makes filtering and agenda views easier

Common Patterns

From Email/Message

“Add a todo to follow up with Alice about the deployment”

* TODO Follow up with Alice about deployment
:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED:       [2025-12-04 Thu 15:30]
:END:

Context from email: <paste relevant part>

From Code Review

“Add a todo to refactor the authentication module”

* TODO Refactor authentication module
:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED:       [2025-12-04 Thu 15:30]
:CATEGORY: work
:END:

See PR comments: https://github.com/org/repo/pull/456

From Meeting

“Add a todo to prepare slides for next week’s presentation”

* TODO Prepare presentation slides
DEADLINE: <2025-12-10 Wed>
:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED:       [2025-12-04 Thu 15:30]
:CATEGORY: work
:END:

Topics to cover:
- Project overview
- Timeline
- Next steps

From Note

“Add a todo based on this learning note”

* TODO Apply learned Rust patterns to auth module
:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED:       [2025-12-04 Thu 15:30]
:END:

Integration

With Git Workflow

After committing, create follow-up task:

last_commit=$(git log -1 --oneline)
echo "* TODO Test changes from $last_commit" >> ~/desktop/org/inbox.org

With Notes

Reference TODO in note:

* Implementation

TODO created: [[file:~/desktop/org/todos.org::*Implement feature X][Implement feature X]]

With Calendar

Convert calendar event to TODO:

** TODO Prepare for team meeting
SCHEDULED: <2025-12-05 Fri 09:00>

Validation

Before adding, check:

Clear, actionable description
Appropriate section (or inbox)
Priority set if urgent
Scheduling if time-sensitive
Links to context/resources
Not a duplicate

Next Steps

After adding TODO:

If added to inbox → Plan to refile during review
If high priority → Consider marking as NEXT
If urgent → Set SCHEDULED or DEADLINE
If part of project → Link to project heading
If needs research → Link to relevant notes