I've added an idea that builds on this, particularly for iOS: https://noteplan.canny.io/general-feature-request/p/add-a-bu…
This can be accomplished currently with a Note or the plugin. Therefore, I would prioritize other things which there is no alternative. Downvote
Javier Escribano: Except the note is far down below all the folders and not easily accessible, the note is just a note not an inbox, the plugin you mention doesn't exist on mobile, etc. **Inbox is where uncategorized items go**. If you put on a date or on a note, then it's already categorized.
Having a dedicated Inbox, like one in Things 3, would ve very useful. It shouldn't be required, and there should be an option to hide it if you do not want to use it.
Please don’t make this a mandatory inbox. I am not a fan. Inboxes are just a place to collect stuff. I’m not opposed to an option but please don’t make it mandatory usage.
Downvote
Reopened and renamed for tracking upvotes.
I don't know what this plugin is, or where to get it. A daily note is different from an Inbox because it changes every day. On creating notes, there is a reason Things created an Inbox and not just suggested creating a Project named Inbox. You can read about it here, it's right at the top https://culturedcode.com/things/guide/
We have the Quick Capture plugin to send things to an inbox note or you can create an inbox note manually and add things there. The daily notes also act as inbox. With all these options, I’m not sure how a fixed inbox item (note?) in the sidebar provides extra value. Let me know if you have some ideas.
Eduard Metzger: I don't know what this plugin is, or where to get it. A daily note is different from an Inbox because it changes every day. On creating notes, there is a reason Things created an Inbox and not just suggested creating a Project named Inbox. You can read about it here, it's right at the top https://culturedcode.com/things/guide/
Leo: I understand why Things has added it. It’s todo based but NotePlan is note based. And you can review your todos from past days easily. The calendar shows which past days still have tasks in them and you can use the Review to get a list of overdue tasks. It seems an inbox is superfluous.
Eduard Metzger: things that go on days have a date associated with it. The inbox doesn’t. Things that go on notes are sorted and categorized. That comes after the inbox, which is where you brain dump. Please read what an inbox is on things system
Eduard Metzger: I just remembered to buy milk and send an email to the president. Where do these go on NotePlan? Not on daily notes because they’re not date related, and not on any notes because I’m driving and have no time to categorize. Is it clear now the purpose of the inbox?
Eduard Metzger: There is nothing on Noteplan that replaces or serves as an Inbox. I often have to use Thing's inbox before I move things into Noteplan.
Leo: An introduction to NotePlan plugins is here: https://help.noteplan.co/article/65-commandbar-plugins and the one Eduard is mentioning is the Quick Capture plug-in, which allows you to use NotePlan's global shortcut to quickly add to an "Inbox" note: https://github.com/NotePlan/plugins/tree/main/jgclark.QuickC…
Eduard Metzger I would be interested in improvements to "quick capture" functionality for NotePlan that are hard to achieve within the plug-in structure. A few that you see with the Things and OmniFocus quick-capture flows that are really useful: - One-keypress to inbox entry: The keyboard shortcut goes right into quick capture, rather than needing to select that function. - Persistent & in-front entry: The entry window is persistent, i.e. you don't lose your entry if you click away, for example to copy-paste some information into the entry screen, or for example if you need to unmute yourself in a meeting in the middle of capturing an action item. - Optional fields available at capture time: The entry capture defaults to putting things in your inbox, but you can optionally specify a different note by clicking or tabbing over to the relevant field.
Illya Bomash: thanks, but we really need a proper Inbox, especially for mobile where it is most useful. If I am on the desktop I might as well put the tasks where they belong
Illya Bomash: 95% of the time I use the inbox on mobile (things)
Illya Bomash: Inbox is useful on mobile most of the time. You're driving and remember to email the president or buy milk.
Leo: I agree that mobile is where we need fast access to an inbox. I'd be very happy for my 'Inbox' plugin functionality to get drawn into the main app, not least because it could then have a dedicated button on the iPhone app. That said, I still think there is much value in having the 'inbox' capture actually drop into today's note. If that's the place we tend to live during the working day, then it's more natural to get to triage things there, and get reminded about the milk. Though if it's really urgent I would argue it doesn't live in either Things or NotePlan, but in a specialised reminder system, such as Due.
Leo: Thanks for the screenshot, yes I've read that. To me this is 100% today's daily note. I drop in things in there at first and after a few days I sweep them all up into their right places by using the overdue markers on the calendar (red color behind days on the Mac). An inbox note would overwhelm me personally, because I capture a lot of things. Keeping this in the daily notes has the advantage that you have it distributed across days and see the context in which you captured a task. Well, I have opened and renamed the request to track upvotes.
Eduard Metzger: That only works if you clean the inbox every day. If you don't do it for 10 days, then you have to go back each day 10, 9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 and copy and paste the tasks. No thanks. The inbox is where things go Eduard. Just because you write them in the daily to-do doesn't mean it's the right place for it.
Leo: To me personally daily notes work much better than an inbox, because an inbox note would overwhelm me over time. So I fear we are adding a feature, which is already covered, and start to overload NotePlan. But I keep this request open to see what other users have to say, since my personal experience isn't necessarily what most users think.
Eduard Metzger: Imagine writing your new items on a different page of a notebook instead of a single page. There is no reason to spread new items amongst different days, that is not where they go. **New items go in the inbox until they are categorized. **
Please check out the Inbox feature in the Quick Capture plugin. Sounds like this does what you want already.
Yes please! I'm a Things exile, specifically because I need to store knowledge, context & reference material alongside my tasks. I've used Things for ~15 years. I've tried Obsidian, Craft and a bunch of other less well known systems. Note plan is the closest thing I've found to Things in terms of polish and native Mac featureset and being markdown-based is a massive bonus. However, I follow GTD. A key part of GTD is having a trusted system, having an inbox is part of that. I need to trust that creating an "un-processed" task is safe, it won't get lost if I miss or skip a daily note. From what I understand, placing tasks into daily notes is "the noteplan way", but now I don't have a single bucket with stuff I need to process, instead I have an infinite number of buckets, and it's up to me to corral these unprocessed notes and keep them safe - every day. The implication is that every day I need to keep that ball in the air, if I miss this things are at risk of falling through the cracks and being lost. I want to use Noteplan so badly, maybe the developers don't realise how close they are to building a `Things Pro` and mopping up all of the disgruntled power users who need more from Things where Cultured Code refuses to deliver. Embrace us! 😁