Ask NewTwos
To-do detection
NewTwos can recognise when a thing you wrote reads like a task, and offer to give it a checkbox.
Why you'd care
The difference between a note and a to-do is carry-over. A to-do follows you until you deal with it. A note does not.
People write tasks without marking them constantly, and then wonder why nothing followed up. Detection closes that gap.
The three levels
- Off. Settings Lists & <i>Things</i> Detect to-dos turns it off entirely.
- Ask. Settings Lists & <i>Things</i> Auto-prompt for to-dos offers to convert, and you decide.
- Automatic. Settings Lists & <i>Things</i> Auto-apply verb detection converts without asking.
Ask is the sensible default. Automatic is worth it only if nearly everything you write is a task.
Going further
It reads the verb. "Call the bank" is a task. "The bank called" is not. Phrasing is the whole signal, so writing in the imperative gets better results.
It does not carry anything over on its own. Detection sets the type. Carry-over is a separate behaviour that then applies. See carry-over.
It will be wrong sometimes. A quote containing an instruction can look like a task. That is why the default asks.
Settings that change this
- Settings Lists & <i>Things</i> Detect to-dos turns detection on and off.
- Settings Lists & <i>Things</i> Auto-prompt for to-dos asks before converting.
- Settings Lists & <i>Things</i> Auto-apply verb detection converts automatically.
- Settings Lists & <i>Things</i> Default <i>thing</i> type is the alternative: make everything a to-do by default.
Tips
- If you find yourself accepting nearly every prompt, change the default thing type instead and skip the question.
- Write tasks as instructions to yourself. It reads better later and detects more reliably.