How to add tasks fast with Quick Capture
Select + New task, type what needs doing and press Enter. Words like "tomorrow 2pm 45m" fill the Date, Time and Duration chips as you type, and you can select any chip to change it. If a date sends the task to another day, the Added to … notice has Show and Undo.
Quick Capture is the small card that opens when you select + New task. You type a task in plain words, and Dayplan picks out the details, such as when, how long and which area, so you can add a complete task without filling in a form.
Add a task
- Select + New task at the top of Today, Inbox or All tasks. A card opens in the middle of the screen with the prompt What needs doing?
- Type the task. For example:
review deck tomorrow 2pm 45m. - Press Enter, or select the arrow button.
The card closes and the task is saved. Escape or clicking outside the card throws the draft away.
For the first few tasks you add, the card suggests an example under the empty field, such as Try "send invoices friday !must". Select it to fill it in and watch the chips change.
Where a new task goes
The Date chip shows where the task will land before you save it:
- From Today or All tasks, it reads Today.
- From Inbox, it reads Inbox.
- If you type or pick a date, it shows that day, such as Tomorrow or Fri, Oct 23.
- If you choose Move to the next week or two or Move to Someday, it reads Backlog.
To understand the difference between these places, see Understand Inbox, Today and Backlog.
Set details with the chips
Under the text, a row of chips holds the task's details:
Chip | What it sets |
|---|---|
Date | The day, or Inbox or Backlog. You can also type a date, such as "next friday", in its search field. |
Time | A start time. A task with a time also appears in your calendar. |
Duration | How long you expect it to take. |
Area | Which area it belongs to. |
Priority | Must do, High, Medium or Low. See Priorities and Must do. |
More options (…) | Add note, Energy and Repeat. See Repeating tasks. |
A chip fills with colour once it holds a value. You'll notice that once you set a chip by hand, your typing no longer changes it. That's because a choice you made yourself wins, so a date you picked won't be replaced by a word you type afterwards.
If your text makes the task a break, such as "coffee break 15m", a Break chip appears and the Area and Priority chips go away.
Type details instead of clicking
While you type, Dayplan highlights the words it understands, such as dates (friday), times (2pm), durations (45m), areas (#work) and priorities (!must), and fills the matching chips. You'll notice that highlighted words are missing from the saved title. That's because they've become the task's details, so review deck tomorrow 2pm 45m #work !must saves as "review deck".
The full list, including what stays in the title, is in the Quick Capture cheat sheet. To keep a word that Dayplan would read, wrap it in quotes: read "next monday" newsletter.
Check where the task went
If a date in your text puts the task somewhere other than the page you're on, a notice tells you, so a task never vanishes from view without a word. For example: Added to Fri, Oct 23 or Added to Fri, Oct 23 at 2:00 PM. It has two buttons:
- Show opens the task on its day.
- Undo puts the date words back into the title and moves the task back to where you added it.
Add tasks from a list or day column
Lists and day columns, including the day columns on Horizon, Dayplan's home view, end with an Add task row. In Inbox it reads Add to Inbox - anything, triage later. It understands the same words as the Quick Capture card, with a few differences:
- A time without a date goes on that column's day.
- When you type a date or time, a small chip next to your text shows where the task will land. Select its ✕ to keep those words as plain text instead.
- Pasting a list with one task per line creates one task per line. Bullets and numbers at the start of lines are removed.
- Clicking away saves what you typed. Escape discards it.
If something goes wrong
You reloaded the page while typing. The Quick Capture card reopens with your text in the same browser tab, for up to an hour. Chips you set by hand aren't kept, but anything you typed is read again.
A task couldn't be saved. Dayplan keeps it and shows Some tasks weren't added. Your drafts are kept here — retry when you're ready. Select Retry or Dismiss.
Nothing happened when you pressed Enter. Look for a message about the Must do limit or the Free task limit.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a keyboard shortcut for Quick Capture?
No. Select + New task instead. See Keyboard shortcuts for the shortcuts Dayplan has.
Why isn't there a + New task button on Horizon or the Backlog?
Those pages add tasks where you're looking instead. Use the Add task row under a day on Horizon, or under a horizon on the Backlog page. The Backlog's + Add task button adds to Someday.
Can I add a deadline from Quick Capture?
No. Words like "by friday" set the task's date. Add the task, then open it and set Deadline. See Deadlines vs scheduled dates.
Verified October 19, 2026 · Reviewed by the Dayplan team
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