How-to.
Practical guides, including the ones that do not involve this app.
How to stop using your inbox as a todo list
Unread emails as reminders, flags that pile up, messages sent to yourself. Why the inbox makes a poor task list, and a gentle way to move your todos out of it.
How to use quick capture on a managed work PC
Work laptops come with rules about what you can install and where data may live. How to set up fast capture on a managed PC without causing a problem with IT.
How to make a packing list you reuse for every trip
You forget the same charger every time. How to build one packing list from your own past trips, keep it on your PC, and spend five minutes packing instead of thirty.
How to remember to cancel a free trial before it charges you
Free trials are designed for you to forget. A ten-second capture habit that reminds you before the charge, plus how to keep track of subscriptions you meant to keep.
How to set up quick capture in your first week at a new job
A new job means a flood of names, systems and tasks in the first week. How to capture all of it without a system yet, and turn it into one by Friday.
How to track what you are waiting on from other people
Half of a busy person's open loops depend on someone else. A simple waiting-for list, how to capture it at the moment you hand something off, and when to chase.
How to take notes on a webinar or training course you will actually use
Most training notes are never read again. How to capture the few things you will apply, turn them into actions, and skip transcribing the slides.
How to hand over your todos before a holiday
A good handover means a colleague can cover your work without calling you on day two of your break. How to turn your personal list into a handover note in thirty minutes.
How to do a year-end review of your notes and todos
A year of captures holds more than unfinished tasks. A one-hour year-end review that closes old loops, finds what mattered, and starts January with a short list.
How to capture sources while researching so you can cite them later
The quote you need is in a tab you closed last week. How to capture sources, quotes and page numbers as you research, for essays, reports and anything you will cite.
How to keep a bug log while you code without losing your place
You notice a second bug while fixing the first. Stop and you lose the thread; ignore it and it is gone. A lightweight capture habit for developers on Windows.
How to remember what people tell you
The colleague whose daughter just started school, the client who prefers calls to email. How to capture small personal details respectfully, and why it matters at work.
How to keep a personal decision log
Six months later, nobody remembers why a decision was made. A personal decision log takes thirty seconds per entry and saves you from re-arguing settled questions.
How to keep a reading list without forty open tabs
Open tabs are a reading list that slows your PC and never gets read. How to capture articles in one line, keep the list short, and actually get through it.
The two-minute rule and quick capture
If it takes less than two minutes, do it now. A good rule with a trap in it. How to combine the two-minute rule with quick capture so small tasks do not eat your day.
How to triage a pile of captures in fifteen minutes
Fast capture creates a pile. A fifteen-minute triage routine that turns a week of one-line notes and todos into a list you trust, without reorganising everything.
How to keep a running agenda for your one-on-one
The best one-on-one topics occur to you on Tuesday, not ten minutes before Thursday's meeting. How to collect them as they come up and arrive with a short, useful list.
How to turn Teams and Slack messages into tasks before they scroll away
Requests arrive in chat, get a thumbs-up, and vanish under fifty newer messages. Simple ways to move a chat request into your task list in seconds, on Windows.
How to capture tasks from a phone call without asking them to repeat it
Phone calls produce tasks at the worst moment, when you are listening and your hands are busy. What to write during the call, what to do in the minute after, and why.
How to keep a gift ideas list all year so December is easy
The perfect gift idea arrives in March and is gone by December. How to capture gift ideas the moment you hear them, and turn the list into a plan in November.
How to build an end-of-day shutdown routine that actually ends the day
Closing the laptop is not the same as stopping work. A five-step shutdown routine that clears your head, sets up tomorrow, and takes under ten minutes.
How to do a brain dump on Windows in ten minutes
When your head is full of half-remembered tasks, write everything down in one go, then sort it. A ten-minute method that works with any app, and why one line each matters.
Windows keyboard shortcuts for capturing anything
Screenshots, clipboard history, voice typing, emoji, and a thought before it goes. The built-in Windows shortcuts worth learning for capture, and the one gap they leave.
How to prioritise when everything is urgent
Twelve things are due today and all of them are "urgent". A practical triage method - real deadlines, consequences, and the conversation with your manager - for overloaded days.
The daily note habit - what to write each day and why it compounds
A daily note is one dated page for whatever happened today. How to keep one in under five minutes, what to put in it, and why it beats elaborate journaling systems.
How to take notes in a one-on-one with your manager
One-on-ones are where careers move, and most people leave them with nothing written down. What to capture before, during and after, and how to keep a running record.
Recurring tasks without the clutter - what to repeat and what to drop
Recurring tasks are great until your list fills with daily items you ignore. Which tasks deserve a repeat, which belong in a checklist or calendar, and how to keep them honest.
Windows clipboard history (Win+V) and quick capture - a fast pairing
Win+V keeps a history of everything you copy. Paired with a capture shortcut, it turns copied numbers, links and snippets into notes and todos in seconds. Plus privacy tips.
How to write todos you will actually do
The way you word a task decides whether you start it. Seven rules for writing todos - verbs, sizes, dates and context - with before and after examples.
Task bankruptcy - how to clear an old backlog without guilt
Your task list has 300 items and you trust none of them. When declaring task bankruptcy makes sense, how to do it safely, and how to avoid ending up there again.
How to break down a vague task that has been on your list for weeks
A task like "sort out the website" can sit on a list for a month. Why vague tasks never get done, and a five-minute way to turn them into a next action you can start today.
How to turn emails into tasks without living in your inbox
Using the inbox as a to-do list is how things get lost. Practical ways to turn emails into tasks on Windows - flags, To Do, forwarding, and quick capture.
GTD on Windows - setting up a capture inbox that actually works
Getting Things Done starts with capturing everything into a trusted inbox. How to set up the capture step of GTD on a Windows PC, with tools and habits that stick.
How to capture ideas and tasks while gaming on PC without alt-tabbing
Alt-tabbing out of a full-screen game can crash it, minimise it or lose your place. Ways to jot a thought mid-game on Windows, and the trade-offs of each.
Windows Focus sessions and quick capture - protecting deep work from your own thoughts
Focus sessions silence notifications, but your own thoughts still interrupt. How to pair Windows 11 Focus with a capture habit so stray ideas don't break concentration.
How to write meeting minutes fast - a one-line-per-point method
Minutes don't need full sentences or a template. A one-line-per-point method that sorts decisions, actions and questions as you go, and leaves almost nothing to tidy.
Why reminders fail - and how to set ones that actually work
You set the reminder, it went off, and you still didn't do the thing. The reasons reminders fail, from bad timing to vague wording, and how to fix each one.
How to set up a capture workflow on a new Windows PC in 15 minutes
New laptop? Set up quick capture, reminders, a single inbox and backups before your old habits re-form. A 15-minute checklist for Windows 11.
Where to put the thought you have at 3am
Late-night thoughts about work keep you awake because your brain doesn't trust you'll remember. A simple capture habit for nights, commutes and showers.
How to remap the Copilot key on Windows 11 to something you'll use
New Windows laptops have a Copilot key. If you rarely use it, Windows lets you point it at another app. How to remap it, and good uses for a single spare key.
How to plan tomorrow in five minutes before you shut down
A short end-of-day shutdown routine - empty your captures, pick tomorrow's first task, check the calendar - so you stop working at night in your head.
Quick capture for ADHD brains - getting thoughts out before they vanish
For people with ADHD, the gap between having a thought and writing it down is where it disappears. Practical capture habits and tools that reduce that gap on Windows.
How to use tags in a task app without making a mess
Tags start useful and end as forty labels nobody trusts. A small set of rules for tagging notes and todos that stays useful a year later.
How to stop forgetting follow-ups after meetings
You promised to "send that over" and didn't. Why meeting follow-ups slip, and a simple system for catching every one of them, with or without special tools.
How to keep a work log on Windows that you will actually keep
A work log makes standups, reviews and "what did I do last week?" easy. A low-friction way to keep one on Windows, what to write, and how to search it later.
How to find which app is using a hotkey on Windows
Your shortcut does nothing, or the wrong app opens. Windows has no tool that tells you who owns a global hotkey. Here is how to track it down anyway.
A ten-minute weekly review for people who hate weekly reviews
The full GTD weekly review takes an hour and most people quit it. A ten-minute version that keeps a task list trustworthy, with the steps in order.
How natural-language dates work in task apps, and where they go wrong
Typing "next Friday 3pm" instead of using a date picker is faster - when the app reads it the way you meant. The common traps and how to phrase dates so they parse.
How to set a reminder on Windows 11 without opening an app
Windows has no built-in "remind me at 3pm" shortcut. The options that come closest - Cortana's gone, so what's left - and how to make one from scratch.
How to capture tasks during a Teams call without anyone noticing
You are on a Teams or Zoom call and a task comes up. Five ways to write it down without leaving the call, sharing it on screen, or missing the next minute.
Windows 10 extended updates end in October 2026 - moving your notes and todos
Consumer Extended Security Updates for Windows 10 run out on 13 October 2026. A practical checklist for getting notes, sticky notes and task lists safely onto Windows 11.
How to send meeting minutes people actually read
Send them as a reply to the invite, within the hour, with decisions first and actions grouped by person. A practical format, and how Jot's next release does it for you.
How to capture action items during a meeting without losing focus
A practical Windows workflow for recording meeting tasks, notes and reminders in seconds without leaving Teams, Zoom or the document in front of you.
Choosing a global hotkey that nothing else has taken
Windows has hundreds of reserved and squatted combinations, and it will not tell you who owns one. A practical method for picking a shortcut that works everywhere.
Read your own capture database
Jot stores everything in one SQLite file with no proprietary format. Here is how to open it, query it, export it, and confirm for yourself what is and is not in there.
Backing up a local-first app, properly
The trade you make for owning your data is that nobody else is holding a copy. Here is what that actually requires of you, in about fifteen minutes of setup.
Getting more out of Microsoft To Do
It is already installed, already on your phone and already wired into Outlook. Most people use about a third of it. Here is the useful third, and the parts that are genuinely weak.
Quick capture on Windows without leaving your current app
Compare Sticky Notes, OneNote, Microsoft To Do and AutoHotkey for capturing a task or note on Windows without breaking your concentration.
How a capture on your desktop ends up as a buzz in your pocket
Jot has no phone app and no server, and it still gets a reminder to your phone. It does that by writing into Microsoft To Do, which already lives there - here is exactly what that involves.