TODOs

TODO Management with Org-Mode

Purpose

Help manage TODO items in ~/desktop/org/todos.org and ~/desktop/org/inbox.org following org-mode best practices and your personal workflow.

Context Detection

This skill activates when:

• User asks to add, view, update, or manage TODOs
• User mentions tasks, action items, or things to do
• Working with files: ~/desktop/org/todos.org or ~/desktop/org/inbox.org
• User asks about work items, projects, or personal tasks
• User mentions scheduling, deadlines, or priorities

Workflow Routing

When the user's request matches specific TODO operations, route to the appropriate workflow:

File Structure

~/desktop/org/todos.org

Your main TODO file with these top-level sections:

1. Work

• Archive: archive/work::
• Category: work
• Generic work todos and tasks

2. Projects

• Archive: archive/projects::
• Holds both personal and work projects
• Each project is a sub-heading with its own tasks

3. Systems

• Archive: archive/systems::
• Category: systems
• Related to homelab, infrastructure, and system configurations

4. Personal

• Archive: archive/personal::
• Category: personal
• Personal tasks and life management

5. Routines

• Archive: archive/routines::
• Recurring meetings, scheduled events, and habits

6. Appointments

• Archive: archive/appointments::
• Category: appointments
• Specific appointments and time-based events

7. Health

• Archive: archive/health::
• Category: health
• Health-related tasks and tracking

~/desktop/org/inbox.org

Capture inbox for quick entries before refiling to todos.org sections.

TODO States

Active States

• TODO: Not started, dormant
• NEXT: Next action to take
• STRT (Started): Currently working on it
• WAIT: Waiting on external dependency

Completed States

• DONE: Completed successfully
• CANX (Cancelled): Cancelled or no longer relevant

Priority System

Use priority cookies: [#1] through [#5]

• [#1]: Highest priority / most important
• [#2]: High priority
• [#3]: Medium priority
• [#4]: Low priority
• [#5]: Lowest priority

Lower numbers = higher importance (relative priority).

Scheduling and Deadlines

SCHEDULED

When you plan to start working on the task.

** TODO Implement feature X
SCHEDULED: <2025-12-05 Fri>

DEADLINE

When the task must be completed by.

** TODO Submit report
DEADLINE: <2025-12-10 Wed>

Repeating Tasks

Use repeaters for recurring tasks:

** TODO Weekly review
SCHEDULED: <2025-12-08 Mon ++1w>
:PROPERTIES:
:STYLE:    habit
:LAST_REPEAT: [2025-12-01 Mon 13:40]
:END:

Repeater syntax:

• +1w: Repeat every week from the original date
• ++1w: Repeat every week from completion date
• .+1w: Repeat every week, skip if missed

Properties

Common properties used in your TODOs:

:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED:       [2025-12-04 Thu 14:17]
:ID:       unique-id-here
:CUSTOM_ID: h:readable-id-here
:CATEGORY: work
:ARCHIVE:  archive/work::
:END:

• CREATED: When the TODO was created
• ID: Unique identifier for org-roam links
• CUSTOM_ID: Human-readable ID for links
• CATEGORY: Categorization (work, systems, personal, etc.)
• ARCHIVE: Where to archive when done

Logbook Tracking

Track state changes, notes, and rescheduling:

:LOGBOOK:
- State "DONE"       from "STRT"       [2025-12-04 Thu 11:18]
- Rescheduled from "[2025-12-03 Wed]" on [2025-12-04 Thu 17:12]
- Note taken on [2025-12-04 Thu 14:18] \\
  Additional context about this task
:END:

Organization Best Practices

1. Capture to Inbox First

Quick capture to inbox.org, then refile to appropriate section:

# Quick capture
echo "* TODO Fix bug in authentication" >> ~/desktop/org/inbox.org

Then refile using workflows or Emacs.

2. Use Sub-headings for Projects

Projects should have their own section with sub-tasks:

** TODO Keyboard firmware improvements

*** DONE Handle altgr+shift on moonlander
CLOSED: [2025-11-25 Tue 23:23]

*** TODO Make nav/media/mouse layouts consistent
SCHEDULED: <2025-12-05 Fri>

*** TODO Use leader keys on both keyboards

3. Keep Active Tasks Visible

• Active tasks: NEXT, STRT, SCHEDULED, or with DEADLINE
• Inactive tasks: TODO or WAIT without scheduling

4. Archive Regularly

Move DONE and CANX items to archive sections to keep the main file clean.

Common TODO Patterns

Work Task

** TODO [#2] Review upstream pull request
SCHEDULED: <2025-12-05 Fri>
:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED:       [2025-12-04 Thu 11:17]
:CATEGORY: work
:END:

Link to PR: https://github.com/org/repo/pull/123

Project with Subtasks

** STRT Personal finance tracking [0/3]
:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED:       [2025-11-03 Mon 15:49]
:END:

*** TODO Setup hledger configuration
*** TODO Download bank statements
*** TODO Create initial accounts structure

System/Infrastructure Task

** TODO [#3] Setup MQTT broker on rhea
:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED:       [2025-11-27 Thu 21:49]
:CATEGORY: systems
:END:

- Install mosquitto
- Configure authentication
- Setup firewall rules

Personal Task

** TODO Schedule dentist appointment
DEADLINE: <2025-12-15 Mon>
:PROPERTIES:
:CATEGORY: personal
:END:

Recurring Meeting

** STRT 1:1 with Manager
SCHEDULED: <2025-12-11 Thu 10:45 +1w>
:PROPERTIES:
:LAST_REPEAT: [2025-12-04 Thu 11:18]
:CATEGORY: work
:END:
:LOGBOOK:
- State "DONE"       from "STRT"       [2025-12-04 Thu 11:18]
:END:

Meeting notes: https://docs.example.com/...

Linking TODOs

Link to Notes

** TODO Write blog post about NixOS setup

From: [[file:~/desktop/org/notes/20251203T151822--nixos-configuration__nixos.org][NixOS Configuration Note]]

Link to Other TODOs

** TODO Deploy new configuration
:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED:       [2025-12-04 Thu 22:33]
:END:

Depends on: [[file:todos.org::*Backup current configuration][Backup current configuration]]

Link to Code

** TODO Fix bug in authentication module

See: [[file:~/src/myproject/src/auth/login.ts::42][login.ts:42]]

Emacs Org-Mode Integration

If you're using Emacs, these commands are available:

Quick Capture

• C-c c - Org capture (opens capture template)

TODO Management

• C-c C-t - Cycle TODO state
• C-c C-s - Schedule task
• C-c C-d - Set deadline
• C-c C-w - Refile to another heading

Agenda Views

• C-c a a - Weekly agenda view
• C-c a t - Global TODO list
• C-c a m - Match tags/properties

Navigation

• C-c C-j - Jump to heading
• TAB - Cycle visibility
• S-TAB - Global cycle visibility

Using the Org Skill for TODO Operations

This skill integrates with the Org skill for programmatic org-mode manipulation. The Org skill provides the org-manager tool for reliable TODO operations.

Tool Location

~/.config/claude/skills/Org/tools/org-manager

Common Operations

List TODOs:

# All NEXT tasks
org-manager list ~/desktop/org/todos.org --state=NEXT

# All STRT tasks
org-manager list ~/desktop/org/todos.org --state=STRT

# Tasks scheduled for today
org-manager scheduled ~/desktop/org/todos.org

# High priority tasks (1-2)
org-manager list ~/desktop/org/todos.org --priority=1,2

# Tasks in specific section
org-manager by-section ~/desktop/org/todos.org "Work"

Modify TODOs:

# Add new TODO
org-manager add ~/desktop/org/todos.org "Task description" \
  --section=Work --priority=2 --scheduled=2025-12-10

# Update state
org-manager update-state ~/desktop/org/todos.org "Task heading" DONE

# Schedule task
org-manager schedule ~/desktop/org/todos.org "Task heading" 2025-12-10

# Set priority
org-manager priority ~/desktop/org/todos.org "Task heading" 2

# Archive completed
org-manager archive ~/desktop/org/todos.org

Statistics:

# Count by state
org-manager count ~/desktop/org/todos.org

# Get all sections
org-manager sections ~/desktop/org/todos.org

# Search for term
org-manager search ~/desktop/org/todos.org "wireguard"

All commands return JSON for easy parsing:

org-manager list ~/desktop/org/todos.org --state=NEXT | jq -r '.data[] | "[\(.todo)] \(.heading)"'

Fallback: Direct Command Line (Legacy)

If org-manager is not available, you can use grep/sed:

# All NEXT tasks
grep -n "^\*\* NEXT" ~/desktop/org/todos.org

# Tasks scheduled for today
today=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d")
grep -B1 "SCHEDULED: <$today" ~/desktop/org/todos.org

# High priority tasks
grep "^\*\* TODO \[#[12]\]" ~/desktop/org/todos.org

Suggested Workflows

1. Daily Review

Morning routine to plan your day:

1. Check inbox.org - refile items
2. Review SCHEDULED items for today
3. Check DEADLINE items coming up
4. Pick 2-3 NEXT actions from TODO
5. Mark one as STRT to start working

2. Weekly Review

End of week cleanup:

1. Archive all DONE and CANX items
2. Review all NEXT tasks - are they still relevant?
3. Reschedule stale items or cancel them
4. Plan next week's priorities
5. Update project progress

3. Quick Capture

When something comes up:

1. Add to inbox.org immediately
2. Don't worry about perfect formatting
3. Refile during daily/weekly review

4. Project Planning

Starting a new project:

1. Create project heading in Projects section
2. Break down into 3-7 sub-tasks
3. Set SCHEDULED date for first task
4. Link related notes and resources

5. Task Completion

When finishing a task:

1. Mark as DONE (automatically timestamps)
2. Add closing note if valuable context
3. Create follow-up tasks if needed
4. Archive during weekly review

Tips and Best Practices

1. Keep TODO specific: "Fix authentication bug" > "Work on auth"
2. One task per TODO: Break large tasks into sub-tasks
3. Use NEXT sparingly: 3-5 next actions maximum
4. Schedule realistically: Don't over-schedule
5. Review regularly: Daily and weekly reviews keep system healthy
6. Archive often: Move DONE items out of sight
7. Link liberally: Connect TODOs to notes, code, docs
8. Add context: Brief note about why/what when not obvious
9. Use properties: CREATED, CATEGORY help with organization
10. Trust the system: Capture everything, review regularly

Common Grep Patterns

Find Overdue Items

# Items with past deadlines (requires date math)
grep "DEADLINE:" ~/desktop/org/todos.org | grep -v "$(date +%Y)"

Find Unscheduled TODOs

# TODOs without SCHEDULED or DEADLINE
awk '/^\*\* TODO/ {p=1; todo=$0}
     p && /SCHEDULED:|DEADLINE:/ {p=0}
     p && /^$/ {print todo; p=0}' ~/desktop/org/todos.org

Find Tasks Created This Week

# Tasks created this week
week_start=$(date -d "last monday" +%Y-%m-%d)
grep -A5 "CREATED:" ~/desktop/org/todos.org | grep "$week_start"

Integration with Other Tools

Create TODO from Git Commit

# After making a commit, create follow-up task
echo "** TODO Test deployment of new feature
:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED:       [$(date +'%Y-%m-%d %a %H:%M')]
:CATEGORY: work
:END:

From commit: $(git log -1 --oneline)
" >> ~/desktop/org/inbox.org

Create TODO from Note

When working in denote notes, reference TODOs:

* Implementation Plan

See TODO: [[file:~/desktop/org/todos.org::*Implement feature X][Implement feature X]]

Summary

Your TODO system is organized around:

• Work: Job-related tasks
• Projects: Both personal and work projects
• Systems: Homelab and infrastructure
• Personal: Life management
• Routines: Recurring events
• Appointments: Scheduled appointments
• Health: Health tracking

Key practices:

• Capture to inbox first, refile later
• Use states: TODO → NEXT → STRT → DONE
• Priority with [#1] to [#5]
• SCHEDULED for start date, DEADLINE for due date
• Archive completed tasks regularly
• Link to notes, code, and documentation

Active task indicators:

• NEXT or STRT state
• Has SCHEDULED date
• Has DEADLINE
• Otherwise considered dormant (TODO, WAIT)

Examples

Example 1: Listing today's TODOs

User: "What do I need to do today?"
→ Searches org files for TODO and NEXT states
→ Filters by today's date and SCHEDULED items
→ Shows high-priority items first
→ Includes deadlines and time estimates
→ Result: Prioritized list of today's tasks

Example 2: Creating TODO from conversation

User: "Remind me to review the Tekton PRs tomorrow"
→ Creates TODO in appropriate org file
→ Sets SCHEDULED date for tomorrow
→ Adds context and links
→ Tags appropriately (:tekton:review:)
→ Result: TODO captured for tomorrow

Example 3: Completing and archiving TODOs

User: "Mark all backport tasks as done"
→ Finds TODOs matching "backport"
→ Changes state to DONE
→ Adds CLOSED timestamp
→ Archives completed items
→ Updates project status
→ Result: Clean TODO list with completed work archived