Everywhere you are
Widgets
Widgets remove the step where you open the app.
Why you'd care
Opening an app is a decision, and decisions are where capture dies. A widget turns writing something down into one tap from wherever you already are.
If you set up one thing after installing NewTwos, make it this.
Where they live
iPhone and iPad
Home screen, lock screen and Control Centre. The lock screen one is the most valuable, because it skips unlocking into an app entirely.
Android
The home screen, including quick actions and a widget that shows a list you choose.
Mac, Windows, and Linux
The menu bar, with quick actions and a chosen list, plus the global capture hotkey. See Quick Capture.
Configuring them
- Settings Advanced Quick Actions Widget chooses the actions on the widget.
- Settings Advanced Widget List chooses which list a widget displays.
Setup instructions per platform are shown in settings, since the steps are the operating system's rather than ours.
Going further
Widgets refresh on the system's schedule, not instantly. A thing you just wrote may take a moment to appear on the widget. That is the operating system, not sync.
Capture widgets beat display widgets. A widget showing a list is nice. A widget that writes is transformative.
Tips
- Put it on the lock screen or the first home page. A widget you have to swipe to is a widget you will not use.
- Point the list widget at whatever you are actually working on this month, and change it when that changes.