Capturing Tasks

What to do when you have something to do

Capturing a task is as simple as using the keychord C-c c, selecting a template, and recording your task. When done recording, use the keychord C-c c again, and your task is then moved into refile.org where you can address organization later.

The keychord C-c c is available globally within emacs (in my configuration - this is a customization, spelled out in configs/org/keybindings.el).

Capturing tasks is easy. When getting started with org-mode, deciding on what tasks to capture is the hard part. Referencing GTD®, my recommendation is to capture everything that’s on your mind. If you have to do it, capture it.

Org-mode is flexible. Some tasks you will want to set a deadline for. Some tasks you will want to capture how much time you spent on them. Some tasks you’ll want to track when it’s in progress and when it’s done. With others you just want to note down something you’ve completed. Because everything is text based, treating tasks differently is pretty simple.

The best way to go about things is to keep it simple. Start tracking tasks. Mark them as in progress or complete as you work on them. Learn more advanced functionality as you get used to working in the system. You aren’t going to memorize 30 keybindings today. You aren’t going to memorize workflow. For now, just remember C-c c. Remember everything gets tracked in refile.org (until you refile it). Work your tasks directly in refile.org for the time being. When you’ve done 10 or 20 tasks, learn how to refile them.

Selecting a template

After pressing C-c c, you are presented with a list of existing templates.

You’ll notice that there’s a letter inside brackets ([]) on the left, and a capture template name on the right. Press the letter of the capture template that you want to use. In my experience, most tasks are going to follow the todo template, so C-c c t is a keychord that I have memorized. It takes me effort to slow myself down enough to choose a different template.

Filling out the template

Your cursor starts right after “TODO”. Just start typing a description of the task right away. If it’s more than a few words, write a descriptive title and add more detailed text to the bottom.

You’ll notice a few other things in this template. It created a “LOGBOOK” - inside the logbook is simply a timestamp. It’s for tracking time worked on tasks. You can leave it or delete it.

You’ll also see a timestamp just below the logbook. When you export task lists to html for sharing, the :LOGBOOK: and any :PROPERTIES: that are defined are generally not exported. The timestamp within the task body is helpful for sharing.

You’ll also see a hyperlink to the source of the task. That can be helpful or not. If it won’t be helpful, simply delete it.

Any details can be added either right after your task title, or at the bottom of the buffer.

When you are done, C-c C-c again, and the task is captured to refile.org.