Rapid Task Capture

Rapid task capture without breaking flow.

When to Use

• When a task pops into your head while working
• After identifying something that needs to be done
• When someone assigns you something in a meeting
• Any time you need to remember to do something later

Syntax

/task [task description]
/task !high [task description]
/task !low [task description]

Examples:

/task Fix the data loader bug
/task !high Review PI's comments before meeting
/task !low Refactor the plotting utilities
/task Update documentation for preprocessing script

Execution Steps

1. Parse Input

Extract priority and task text:

Priority flags must be at the start of the task text.

2. Add to tasks.md

Append task to the appropriate section in tasks.md:

Format:

- [ ] [Task description]

3. Confirm (Brief)

Single-line confirmation:

✅ Added to [priority] tasks.

Examples:

✅ Added to high priority tasks.
✅ Added to tasks.
✅ Added to low priority tasks.

Behavior Notes

Speed is Priority

• No confirmation dialogs
• No follow-up questions
• Minimal output
• Get the user back to work immediately

Task Format

Tasks are added as unchecked markdown checkboxes:

- [ ] Task description here

Append Position

New tasks are added at the end of the relevant priority section, before any blank lines or the next section.

No Deduplication

If the user adds the same task twice, add it twice. They may have a reason, and checking for duplicates slows things down.

Edge Cases

Empty task

/task

Response:

What's the task? Usage: /task [description] or /task !high [description]

Task looks like it should be an issue

If task description suggests >2 hours work (mentions "implement", "build", "create new", "research"):

✅ Added to tasks. (This sounds substantial - consider creating a GitHub issue for tracking)

Only suggest this for obviously large tasks.

Task with context

User can add any context they want:

/task Fix preprocessing bug - see note from 10:30am

Just add it as-is.

Example Session

User: /task Fix the edge case in validate_input.py

RA: ✅ Added to tasks.

User: /task !high Respond to reviewer comments

RA: ✅ Added to high priority tasks.

User: /task !low Someday refactor the whole pipeline

RA: ✅ Added to low priority tasks.

Resulting tasks.md:

## High Priority
- [ ] Respond to reviewer comments

## Normal Priority
- [ ] Fix the edge case in validate_input.py

## Low Priority / Someday
- [ ] Someday refactor the whole pipeline

Related Skills

• note - For observations/thoughts (not action items)
• plan-week - Organize tasks into weekly plan
• summarize-meeting - Extracts tasks from meeting notes automatically