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todoist

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Original

English
🇨🇳

Translation

Chinese

Todoist — Triage the Inbox by the 5-Minute Rule

Todoist — 用5分钟规则整理收件箱

James keeps a single flat Todoist inbox (no projects, no due dates) as his capture pile. Todoist is capture + a scratchpad for tiny check-offs only — it is not where real work lives. His pipeline:
Capture (Todoist) → Organize (Obsidian inbox) → Process (schedule onto Calendar / Deep Work) → Execute.
So when run, sort the Todoist inbox by effort, not by idea-vs-errand:
  • Quick check-off (≤5 min) — a tiny thing he just ticks off (pay a bill, order X, a one-line reply, a quick lookup). Leave it in Todoist; he executes these directly there.
  • Everything else (>5 min / needs real time, thought, building, or scheduling) — task, idea, reference, or someday item alike. Capture it into the Obsidian 
    _inbox
     (typed + labeled) and complete it in Todoist. He wants substantial work "out and captured, ready to execute in the future" — later pulled onto the calendar into a Deep Work block, usually next-day or later.
The goal of a run: Todoist ends empty or holding only quick check-offs; everything substantial is in the Obsidian inbox, tagged and ready to schedule.
The Todoist MCP tools are deferred. Load them with 
ToolSearch
(e.g. 
select:mcp__todoist__find-tasks,mcp__todoist__complete-tasks,mcp__todoist__reschedule-tasks
). Use 
reschedule-tasks
for any date move, never 
update-tasks
(it destroys recurrence).
Obsidian capture target: 
/Users/james/Vaults/zettelkasten/_inbox/Captured from Todoist - <YYYY-MM-DD>.md
(today's date). Append if it already exists for today; create it if not.
James 将一个扁平化的Todoist收件箱（无项目、无截止日期）作为他的任务收集池。Todoist仅用于任务收集和小任务快速勾选——并非实际工作的承载工具。他的工作流程如下：
收集（Todoist）→ 整理（Obsidian收件箱）→ 规划（排入日历/深度工作时段）→ 执行。
因此运行此流程时，需按任务耗时而非“想法/跑腿事”来排序Todoist收件箱中的任务：
  • 快速勾选任务（≤5分钟）——只需简单完成的小事（支付账单、订购商品、单行回复、快速查询）。保留在Todoist中；用户将直接在Todoist中完成这些任务。
  • 其他任务（>5分钟 / 需要投入实际时间、思考、构建或规划）——包括任务、想法、参考资料或未来待办事项。捕获到Obsidian的
    _inbox
    中    （标注类型与标签），并在Todoist中标记为已完成。用户希望将重要工作“移出并妥善记录，为未来执行做好准备”——之后通常会在次日或更晚将其排入日历的深度工作时段。
执行此流程的目标：Todoist最终为空或仅保留快速勾选任务；所有重要任务都存入Obsidian收件箱，已标记标签并可随时规划。
Todoist MCP工具将延迟加载。通过
ToolSearch
加载这些工具（例如
select:mcp__todoist__find-tasks,mcp__todoist__complete-tasks,mcp__todoist__reschedule-tasks
）。如需调整日期，请使用
reschedule-tasks
，切勿使用
update-tasks
（该操作会破坏重复任务设置）。
Obsidian捕获目标路径： 
/Users/james/Vaults/zettelkasten/_inbox/Captured from Todoist - <YYYY-MM-DD>.md
（当日日期）。若当日已存在该文件则追加内容；若不存在则创建。

Workflow

工作流程

1. Pull up the inbox

1. 调取收件箱

Fetch the inbox with 
find-tasks
, 
projectId: "inbox"
, limit 100. If empty, say so and stop.
使用
find-tasks
工具获取收件箱内容，参数
projectId: "inbox"
，限制数量为100。若收件箱为空，告知用户并终止流程。

2. Classify each task by the 5-minute rule

2. 按5分钟规则分类每个任务

Sort every task into Quick check-off or Capture:
  • Quick check-off (≤5 min) — trivial, single-sitting, no real thought: pay Y, order X, one-line reply, quick lookup. → leave in Todoist.
  • Capture (>5 min / needs real work) — anything that takes meaningful time, thought, building, research, or scheduling. → capture to Obsidian.
    • Watch for disguised work: a task phrased like a one-shot action can really be a project/system (e.g. "migrate email to Proton" = a multi-step workflow, not a 5-min errand). If doing it well takes more than ~5 minutes, it captures to Obsidian.
    • When in doubt, capture it. Better in the Obsidian inbox tagged and ready than lingering in Todoist.
Present the proposed split as two short lists so the user can veto or reclassify before anything moves. Honor any correction. (Default to auto-running unless genuinely ambiguous — the user wants this fast, not a per-task interview.)
将所有任务分为快速勾选或捕获至Obsidian两类：
  • 快速勾选任务（≤5分钟）——琐碎、可一次性完成、无需深度思考：例如支付Y账单、订购X商品、单行回复、快速查询。→ 保留在Todoist中。
  • 捕获至Obsidian（>5分钟 / 需要实际工作）——任何需要投入可观时间、思考、构建、研究或规划的任务。→ 捕获到Obsidian中。
    • 留意伪装成简单任务的复杂工作： 有些任务看似是一次性操作，但实际是一个项目/系统工程（例如“将邮箱迁移至Proton”是多步骤工作流，而非5分钟就能完成的跑腿事）。若妥善完成该任务需要约5分钟以上时间，则将其捕获至Obsidian。
    • 存疑时，优先捕获至Obsidian。 与其让任务滞留在Todoist中，不如存入Obsidian收件箱并标记标签，随时可处理。
将初步分类结果以两个简短列表呈现，供用户否决或重新分类后再执行后续操作。尊重用户的任何修改。（默认自动执行流程，仅当任务分类确实存在歧义时才暂停确认——用户希望快速完成整理，而非逐个任务确认。）

3. Capture the >5-min items to Obsidian, then complete them

3. 将耗时>5分钟的任务捕获至Obsidian，然后在Todoist中标记为已完成

For each capture item, append an entry to today's capture note (
_inbox/Captured from Todoist - <YYYY-MM-DD>.md
). Create the note if missing, starting it with 
[[Home 🏡]]
and an 
# Captured from Todoist — <date>
heading.
Type each captured item so the unprocessed inbox is scannable at a glance (search 
tag:#task
etc.). The 
Status:
line carries 
#to-process
, then exactly one type tag, then the task's Todoist labels (see below):
  • #task
    — a real thing to DO that will need executing/scheduling (e.g. buy more FICO, migrate email to Proton, set up a cron). These are the don't-lose-it items; be precise, don't inflate.
  • #idea
    — something to develop, build, or decide before it's actionable (app ideas, skills to build, "should I…").
  • #reference
    — material to read/mine/compare, not build (a gist, an article, links to triage).
  • #ephemeral
    — someday/low-stakes, fine to lose (a film to watch, a stray musing).
Carry the Todoist labels over as tags. Each Todoist task's 
labels
(e.g. 
productivity
, 
dev-work
, 
app-idea
, 
security
, 
investing
, 
to-consume
) map one-to-one onto Obsidian inline tags, appended after the type tag. This keeps Todoist and the vault in sync so the user never re-tags. Labels are already hyphenated (
dev-work
), which is tag-safe — use them verbatim with a 
#
prefix.
If a task has no labels, still capture it, but note it in the wrap-up so the user can add a label next time (e.g. "breathing-app idea had no label — what should it be?"). The user tries to label everything; your job is to remind them of the ones that slipped through, not to invent labels yourself.
Each entry:
undefined
对于每个捕获至Obsidian的任务，将条目追加至当日的捕获笔记（
_inbox/Captured from Todoist - <YYYY-MM-DD>.md
）。若笔记不存在则创建，开头添加
[[Home 🏡]]
和
# Captured from Todoist — <date>
标题。
为每个捕获的任务标注类型，以便未处理的收件箱内容一目了然（可通过搜索
tag:#task
等筛选）。
Status:
行需包含
#to-process
，然后是一个类型标签，再加上该任务在Todoist中的标签（见下文）：
  • #task
    ——需要执行/规划的实际待办事项（例如购买更多FICO、迁移邮箱至Proton、设置定时任务）。这些是不可遗漏的任务；描述需精准，无需夸大。
  • #idea
    ——需要进一步完善、构建或决策后才可执行的内容（应用创意、技能学习计划、“是否应该……”的疑问）。
  • #reference
    ——需要阅读/挖掘/对比的资料，而非需要构建的内容（Gist代码片段、文章、待整理的链接）。
  • #ephemeral
    ——未来待办/低优先级任务，丢失也无妨（想看的电影、零散想法）。
将Todoist标签同步为Obsidian标签。 每个Todoist任务的
labels
（例如
productivity
、
dev-work
、
app-idea
、
security
、
investing
、
to-consume
）将一对一映射为Obsidian行内标签，追加在类型标签之后。这样可保持Todoist与Obsidian库的同步，避免用户重复打标签。标签已采用连字符格式（
dev-work
），符合Obsidian标签规范——直接添加
#
前缀后使用即可。
若任务无标签，仍需捕获该任务，但在收尾时提醒用户下次添加标签（例如*“‘呼吸应用创意’无标签——应为它添加什么标签？”*）。用户会尽量为所有任务添加标签；你的职责是提醒遗漏标签的任务，而非自行创建标签。
每个条目格式如下：
undefined

<task title>

<task title>

<one or two sentences of context — what it means / the open question, pulled from the task description and what's known. Enough that future-me knows what they meant.> Status: #to-process #<task|idea|reference|ephemeral> #<label1> #<label2> …

Then mark those tasks complete in Todoist with `complete-tasks` (they now live in Obsidian).
<一到两句上下文说明——任务含义/待解决问题，提取自任务描述及已知信息。内容需足够清晰，让未来的自己能理解当时的意图。> Status: #to-process #<task|idea|reference|ephemeral> #<label1> #<label2> …

之后使用`complete-tasks`工具在Todoist中标记这些任务为已完成（它们现在存储在Obsidian中）。

4. Leave the quick check-offs

4. 保留快速勾选任务

Don't touch the ≤5-min check-offs — no rescheduling, no completing. Just list what remains so the user sees the quick wins still on his plate.
不要改动≤5分钟的快速勾选任务——无需重新规划，也无需标记为已完成。只需列出剩余任务，让用户清楚哪些小任务仍待完成。

5. Wrap up

5. 收尾

One line: "N items captured to Obsidian (
_inbox/Captured from Todoist - <date>.md
), M quick check-offs left in Todoist: …" Note any captured item that arrived unlabeled. The user later pulls the captured items onto his calendar/Deep Work himself.
用一句话总结：“已将N项任务捕获至Obsidian（
_inbox/Captured from Todoist - <date>.md
），Todoist中仍保留M项快速勾选任务：……” 提醒用户所有无标签的捕获任务。后续用户会自行将捕获的任务排入日历/深度工作时段。

Rules

规则

  • >5 min → Obsidian (typed + labeled) + complete in Todoist; ≤5 min → leave in Todoist. That's the whole job. Never treat substantial work as "staying in Todoist."
  • Auto-process by default. Only pause to confirm when a task's classification is genuinely ambiguous.
  • Always write context, not just the title — a bare title is useless to process later.
  • Capture to the Obsidian note before completing the Todoist task, so nothing is lost if something fails.
  • Use 
    reschedule-tasks
    (never 
    update-tasks
    ) if a date ever needs moving, to preserve recurrence.
  • Keep lists compact and scannable.
  • >5分钟任务→Obsidian（标注类型与标签）+ Todoist中标记完成；≤5分钟任务→保留在Todoist中。 这是核心工作内容。切勿将重要任务留在Todoist中。
  • 默认自动处理。 仅当任务分类确实存在歧义时才暂停确认。
  • 务必添加上下文说明，而非仅保留任务标题——仅靠标题无法为后续处理提供有效信息。
  • 先将任务捕获至Obsidian笔记，再在Todoist中标记为已完成，避免流程失败导致任务丢失。
  • 如需调整日期，使用
    reschedule-tasks
    （切勿使用
    update-tasks
    ），以保留重复任务设置。
  • 列表需简洁明了，便于快速浏览。