jialuohu Todoist Task Planning
Todoist is the source of truth for actionable work. Google Calendar is the source of truth for time commitments. Use the connected tools to persist records; ChatGPT or Codex conversation history is not a task database.
Prefer the connected Todoist app when it is available. Use the official todoist
MCP as a Codex CLI fallback when the app tools are unavailable and that MCP is
authenticated. Choose one Todoist tool surface per request. Never write the same
operation through both, because that can create duplicate tasks.
Safety and intent
- Read and search before changing external data.
- Treat an explicit request such as "add this task" as authorization for that one Todoist creation. Do not ask for redundant confirmation.
- Confirm before any Google Calendar write, guest invitation, deletion, bulk change, or ambiguous update. Show the exact proposed record first.
- Never infer permission for unrelated cleanup, task completion, rescheduling, or invitations.
- Ask when the date, timezone, duration, task identity, calendar, or attendee email could materially change the result.
- Search for an existing matching record before creating one. Match on stable ID or URL first; use title plus relevant date only as a candidate, not proof.
Classify the request
Deadline-only tasks
Create or update one Todoist task with the title, deadline, and useful private details. A deadline time still describes when the task is due; it does not imply a work session. Do not create a Google Calendar event unless the user explicitly asks to reserve time, names a work interval, or schedules a meeting.
Examples:
- "Submit the report by Friday" -> one Todoist task due Friday.
- "Submit it by Friday at 5 PM" -> one Todoist task due Friday at 5 PM.
- "Remind me to renew the certificate next month" -> one Todoist task after resolving the intended date; no all-day calendar marker.
Focused work
For a request to reserve focused effort, use a Todoist task plus a Google Calendar time block. Search Todoist for the task and Calendar for conflicts first. If the user gave a broad window, find free time inside it and preview a specific start, end, timezone, calendar, and title for confirmation. After approval, create the calendar time block and add reciprocal IDs or URLs when the tools expose stable links.
Do not turn the task's deadline into the calendar time block. Preserve the deadline in Todoist and schedule the work block early enough to make completion realistic. Use a busy event by default and omit attendees. Keep private task notes in Todoist.
Meetings
A meeting is a Calendar record by default, not a Todoist task. Preview its title, start, end, timezone, attendees, shareable description, location, and conferencing before creation. For a remote meeting, add Google Meet only when requested or clearly implied, and verify each attendee's email before inviting them.
Do not create a Todoist follow-up task unless the user asks to track follow-up work or provides a concrete action item. Do not invent future action items. If a follow-up is requested, link it to the event after the event exists.
Calendar descriptions may be attendee-visible. Put only shareable agenda and joining details there; keep private preparation notes, sensitive context, and internal links out of attendee-visible fields.
Execute and verify
- Resolve relative dates against the current date and report the absolute date in the preview or result. Use the connected calendar's timezone when available.
- Search the authoritative service for an existing record and inspect likely duplicates.
- Preserve user wording for the title; place supplemental context in the description instead of silently expanding the commitment.
- Apply only the scoped change. When both services are involved, write the primary record first, then add cross-links only if doing so will not duplicate records.
- Read back the created or updated record when the tool supports it. Report the service, title, due date or time range, and stable link. Never claim ongoing bidirectional sync from a one-time cross-link.
Reviews and failures
For a review, query Todoist for overdue and upcoming tasks and use Calendar only to evaluate available capacity or existing commitments. Do not silently schedule tasks from a review.
If Todoist is unavailable, say that the task was not persisted; do not substitute conversation memory. If Calendar is unavailable after a Todoist task is saved, keep the task and report that the requested time block or meeting is still unscheduled. Never report partial work as fully synchronized.