I’d like to know what use cases or how are you using the mark as done feature? Aside from using it as a single-task note which acts like ticking off a checklist, do you use it for other things?
Still figuring out how I can incorporate agenda to what I do. So far I’m using it for meetings, project notes, and some content writing. I use tags and created saved searches for open/due items then just delete the tag when I’m done.
Now I’m exploring the other features like Mark as done. But I don’t see it used in any other way so I’d love to hear how others are using it.
I use it to indicate that I’m done processing a note, whatever that may mean for that specific note. I don’t intend to add anything to it; it doesn’t have any open loops; I’ve identified any actions that may have resulted from that note and moved them elsewhere. I am keeping that note around purely for reference.
As of today, Agenda has no behavior around Done - it’s purely a visual indicator. I believe that a future version will allow us to search notes based on Done state, in which case I will find it much more useful. But even today it’s still quite useful. When viewing a collection of notes, one with a circle next to it means that there’s some action I want to take related to the note. One with a check means there’s not, and I can ignore it unless I need to refer to it for some reason. So I suppose I mentally do the filtering of Done vs not Done notes - I’m just looking forward to the day when Agenda will do that filtering for me.
To give you a concrete example: I had a meeting the other day with one of our partners. I recorded action items into the meeting note as they came up. After the meeting, I emailed a meeting summary to interested parties along with the different action items, who was responsible, and when we agreed to complete them. I then moved the action items out of that meeting note and in to my project plan note so I could keep track of them in context of the rest of the project. Then I marked the meeting note as done to indicate that there’s no more action for me to take related to it.
I use like Pat, but with a slight difference. You have to understand how I use OTA first!
My prefs are set so all new notes are OTA. This means that any notes i create on the fly - eg notes of a phone call - will always be OTA. Because I’ve created on the fly, i often don’t have time to process them right away. Eg, tidy up hasty typing, extract to dos from the conversation, file in correct project etc.
I also use OTA to mark notes I’m going to work on today (I can’t use TODAY, because I don’t want to mess with the date assigned to the note - eg a note in prep for a future meeting, that is associated with the calendar event).
So…
OTA = needs prompt action: either “tidy and file” or “work on today”
Unchecked/Open = needs action. This isn’t always to dos, it’s often a draft of a blog, paper or report.
Checked/Closed = no further action required. A project with all notes closed is archived.
There are a few exceptions that break this! Notes that are references, like bank account details, instructions for technical issues etc, that I need to refer to from time to time, I leave open. But they are in projects with names like “tech ref” so I don’t confuse them with notes needing action.
I also use OTA for a few special notes like “Goals”. Because of the order of categories, i force these special notes to the top of OTA, so OTA shows a me my Goals above my Plan for Today. This helps be prioritise my Plan for Today taking account of my Goals. Below this are the notes I’m going to work on.
Indeed, the done status is purely visual at the moment (whereas you can filter on On the Agenda). As @Pat_Maddox says, the plan is to make this a searchable property later this year, as well as something you can build overviews with. However, even though this is still pending, I personally use it for exactly that as a visual indicator what I have done and what still has to be done in a project. In that role it also works really nicely in tandem with the table of contents feature when clicking/tapping the project title:
Thanks for this. I think I can use this simple method. I’m already applying this somewhat for my meetings. Might be good to add this behavior.
For example, I add tags for #open items and #waiting for other people with some due dates to remind me when it’s due. These have saved searches/overviews.
Then after they are done, I Remove the tag. Following this tip, I’ll mark it as done once every action item /waiting item is finished.
