What are To-dos in RemNote?
To-dos (in RemNote) are a way to assign a note as a task that needs to be accomplished. They are distinguished from other Rem by a checkbox that you can click later when you finish the task.
Why Use To-dos?
To-dos allow you to seamlessly integrate your workflow into your notes, tracking tasks for future work, grouping all tasks in one place across all notes, and giving you a way to strike tasks off the list when finished.
How to Use To-do’s in RemNote?
You can transform any Rem (individual bullet of notes) into a to-do by adding the Todo Power-Up Rem.
If you add the to-do power up a second time, it will mark the task as complete, and a third time will remove the task and return the to-do to an ordinary Rem.
Activating the To-do Power-Up
Creating Individual To-dos
You can hit Ctlr+Enter (Cmd+Return on Mac) to turn a Rem directly into a to-do.
You can type /todo or /task and select the Todo option from those that appear.
You can also use the Power-up Tag by typing # twice, followed by todo, and select the todo Power-Up from the options that appear (power-ups are marked with the circle with an upwards arrow in it).
Creating multiple to-dos at once
You can also turn multiple Rems into a whole stack of to-dos simultaneously. Select the Rem you wish to transform into to-dos (you can click and drag to highlight multiple Rem) then turn them all into todos with any of the above methods: hit Ctrl+Enter (Cmd+Enter on Mac) or type ##todo or /todo.
✨ Power Tip: Pressing Enter to add another rem while you are on a To-do will also automatically add the new rem as a to-do to save you time. If you press Enter again, you can immediately turn it back into a normal Rem.
Completing a Todo
When you finish the task, you have several options for completing the to-do.
First, you can click the checkbox. This marks the todo as done and adds a grey font and strikethrough formatting to it. This helps see the tasks you have already completed but might get in the way of reading it or your other formatting.
You can also mark it as completed by typing /todo or /task again and once again selecting the to-do power-up.
Hitting the Ctrl+Enter (Cmd+Return on Mac) shortcut again will also mark the todo as complete.
Note: Once you have marked a todo as complete you can of course, return and unmark it again.
Removing the To-do Powerup
Alternatively, you can remove the to-do Power Up entirely if you wish to return the Rem to an ordinary note. Select a completed to-do and then use any of the methods (##todo, /todo or Ctrl/Cmd+Enter) a third time on the completed to-do and it will return to an ordinary Rem.
You can also remove it by hand by zooming into the Rem in question (by clicking on its bullet). Select show tags, then hidden tags to see any power-ups. Finally, click the x on the todo tag to remove it, RemNote will ask you if you are sure, click yes to remove the todo tag.
Finding ALL your To-dos
If ever you want to check all your active tasks, you have two options for quickly consulting every Rem tagged with the todo power-up.
Option 1: the To-do Tag
You can find every To-do Rem by clicking on the todo tag itself (following the steps above for deleting one, but instead of selecting the x, click on the tag).
Alternatively, you can find it with a search. Just type todo in the search box, and select the power-up.
Either way, you will be taken to the todo power-up Rem itself. There you can find all the Rems tagged as tasks, as well as which ones are completed and not.
Option 2: A Search Portal
If you want to find your active todos from anywhere in your knowledge base, you can use a search portal. Open one by typing / followed by isp.
On the left, select the first option (labelled Visual Query Binding). This opens advanced search options. Select “tagged with” from the drop-down menu on the left, then type todo on the right and select todo power-up from the options that appear.
Now a portal will open below onto all your todos, including their parent Rems so you know where they are in your notes. Here you can interact with them, and even mark them as complete if you want to.
This is perfect for quickly consulting all active todos!
Examples of How to Use Todos for Your Workflow
To-dos are perfect for the workplace, but researchers and students may also find them coming in handy regularly!
Using to-dos in the workplace
There is no shortage of uses for task management in the workplace, but here are some ideas and strategies for how to use the tool to bolster your productivity even further.
Turn meeting minutes into to-do’s and Tag them with the teams that need to complete them and the deadlines.
Tag your to-dos with labels to indicate progress or stages such as “urgent”, “planning”, “in process” or “overdue”.
Make to-dos whenever you have to leave notes unfinished or take them in a hurry as a reminder to go back and add more or finish the task, it only takes five keystrokes!
Using to-dos as a student
Both in and out of the classroom, todos can be an essential asset for your coursework at any level of education, from high school up through to the most advanced degrees.
Keep track of assignments by making them to-dos, tagged with their deadlines. Later you can even attach your finished product or a link to it to quickly find it.
When taking notes in class or while reading textbooks or papers, make any note you don't understand fully into a todo so you can return to it and read/research further.
Come up with questions to ask as questions in class or during office hours and label them as tasks as a reminder to ask them; then, you can even write out the answer underneath!
Using to-dos for research
Research often involves long-term objectives and steps, todos can be an excellent way to track progress and set intermittent deadlines.
Every time you come across a new paper or hear about a possible source, make a set of todos to find it, read it and take notes from it.
When working on a prolonged project, make yourself a to-do for every day or every week (using the daily docs system) with an incremental objective as a way of planning ahead and incentivizing/tracking progress.