Natural-language task capture: plan your day in one line
By Alejandro Rioja
Natural-language task capture lets you type a task the way you'd say it — "renew insurance next friday, urgent, ~30m #admin" — and have the app parse out the due date, priority, estimate, and project automatically. It matters because the friction of adding a task is what quietly breaks most to-do systems: if capture is slow, you stop capturing, and the list stops being trustworthy.
Why forms kill your to-do list
Every dropdown between you and a saved task is a tiny tax. Pay it enough times and you start keeping tasks in your head, or in a chat message you'll never find again. Fast, one-line capture removes the tax entirely, so the list captures everything — which is the whole point of having one.
What good capture understands
- Dates: today, tomorrow, next friday, in 3 days, or a specific date — with a way to mark a hard deadline.
- Priority: urgent/asap, or low-priority/whenever.
- Estimates: ~30m, 2h, 1d.
- Structure: #project tags, and an @agent handle to assign it to an AI agent.
How to use it well
Type the whole thought in one line and let the app structure it — don't stop to fill fields. Capture first, organize later (or let the app do it). And when a task is really something an AI agent should handle, add the @agent handle right in the same line, so delegating is part of capture, not a separate step.
Frequently asked questions
What is natural-language task capture?
It's the ability to type a task in plain language — "call the dentist tomorrow, urgent" — and have the app automatically parse the due date, priority, estimate, and project, so you don't fill out any form.
How does Done's quick capture work?
Type or speak one line and Done parses dates (today/tomorrow/next friday/…), priority (urgent, low priority), estimates (~30m, 2h), #project tags, and an @agent assignment — then strips them from the title.