DayDeck

Your day, compiled.

DayDeck is a cognitive task management dashboard for Obsidian designed to bridge the gap between strategic thinking and immediate execution. It replaces traditional linear to-do lists with a flexible, visual multiple group system that adapts to your workflow.

🧠 The Philosophy

In the "Two Hat" workflow:

• Hat 1: The Strategist - High-level sections (Learning, Admin, Backlog). This is your conceptual workspace where you organize what needs to be done, not when.
• Hat 2: The Operator - "Today" and "Next". This is your execution engine. Time is the only resource here, so tasks must be specific and actionable.

DayDeck ensures you never lose sight of the big picture while staying focused on shipping today's work.

🚀 Quick Start

1. Install DayDeck from the Obsidian Community Plugins store
2. Open DayDeck via the ribbon icon or Ctrl+P → "Open DayDeck dashboard"
3. Start capturing tasks using the Quick Capture bar at the top
4. Organize your workflow by dragging sections and tasks to fit your needs

📸 Interface Overview

Light Mode

Dark Mode

Tag Filtering

Task Reminders

Section Settings

Tag Settings

Waiting Time Counters

🌟 Key Features

📊 Responsive Section Grid

• Drag-and-drop sections (Today, Next, Waiting, Focus Hub, Learning, Ideas, Watch, etc.) to organize your workflow
• Customizable sections with unique icons, colors, and widths
• Resizable sections - drag the right edge to adjust width (240px-900px)
• Section descriptions - add tooltips with purpose and examples for guidance

⚡ Smart Capture

• Quick Capture bar for instant task entry
• Inline tagging with #tag syntax to instantly categorize tasks
• Tag suggestions appear as you type with keyboard navigation
• Multi-tag support - assign multiple tags to any task

🏷️ Semantic Tagging

• Custom tags with unique colors (e.g., the built-in #Focus tag)
• Tag filtering via clickable pills in the Quick Capture bar
• Multi-tag filtering - combine multiple tags for precise filtering
• Visual indicators - task cards show color-coded tag indicators

⏰ Task Reminders

• Date/time reminders with intuitive pickers
• Visual highlighting for overdue reminders
• Desktop notifications when reminders are due
• Date-only reminders for daily/weekly check-ins

⏱️ Waiting Time Counters

• Track elapsed time for tasks in waiting sections
• Enable per-section - perfect for "Waiting for Review" or "Blocked" sections
• Automatic formatting - shows time in human-readable format

📦 Archive System

• Historical ledger of completed tasks grouped by month
• Search functionality to find past completed work
• One-click restore to bring tasks back to active sections
• Task metadata preserved including tags and completion dates

🛠️ Installation

Option 1: Community Plugins (Recommended)

1. Open Settings → Community Plugins
2. Disable Restricted Mode
3. Browse plugins and search for "DayDeck"
4. Click Install and then Enable

Option 2: Manual Installation

1. Build the Plugin:

   • Make sure you have Node.js and npm installed
   • Run npm install to fetch dependencies
   • Run npm run dev for continuous development mode

2. Install in Obsidian:

   • Navigate to your Obsidian vault's plugin folder: .obsidian/plugins
   • Copy the entire docket folder there
   • Restart Obsidian
   • Go to Settings → Community Plugins, disable Restricted Mode, and enable Docket
   • Click the "Docket" button on your left sidebar to open the view

⚙️ Configuration

Open the DayDeck Settings tab from the plugin's sidebar menu to customize:

Sections

• Rename sections to match your workflow
• Change icons using emoji or short text
• Adjust order by dragging sections in the settings
• Set width for each section (240px-900px)
• Choose colors for visual organization
• Enable waiting time counters for sections that track elapsed time
• Add descriptions and examples to guide your workflow

Tags

• Add custom semantic tags with unique colors
• The DeepWork tag is automatically created for focus filtering
• Assign colors to tags for visual distinction
• Tags appear as clickable filter pills in the Quick Capture bar

⌨️ Usage Quick Reference

💡 Tips & Tricks

Workflow Optimization

1. Use the Two-Hat System Effectively

• Keep strategic sections (Learning, Ideas, Backlog) separate from execution sections (Today, Next)
• Review your strategic sections weekly and move actionable items to Today/Next
• Use the "Waiting" section for tasks blocked on external dependencies

2. Leverage Tag Filtering for Focus

• Create tags for different work modes: #DeepWork, #Admin, #Communication
• Filter by #DeepWork during focus sessions to eliminate distractions
• Use #Urgent for time-sensitive items that need attention

3. Optimize Section Layout

• Resize sections based on your typical task volume
• Wider sections for high-volume areas like "Today"
• Narrower sections for reference areas like "Ideas"
• Order sections left-to-right by priority or workflow stage

4. Use Section Descriptions

• Add clear descriptions to each section explaining its purpose
• Include 4 practical examples in the section settings
• This helps maintain consistency when adding new tasks

Task Management

5. Quick Capture Best Practices

• Use inline tags when capturing: Review PR #DeepWork #CodeReview
• Be specific with task descriptions to make them actionable
• Use the Quick Capture bar as a scratchpad - type and press Enter quickly

6. Smart Reminder Usage

• Set date-only reminders for recurring tasks (weekly reviews, monthly reports)
• Use specific time reminders for time-sensitive deadlines
• Overdue reminders are visually highlighted - check these daily

7. Archive as a Learning Tool

• Review your Archive monthly to identify patterns in your work
• Use the search function to find similar completed tasks
• Restore tasks when similar work comes up again

Advanced Techniques

8. Multi-Tag Filtering

• Combine tags for precise filtering: #DeepWork + #Backend for backend focus sessions
• This is powerful for specialized work modes or project-specific filtering

9. Waiting Time Tracking

• Enable counters on "Waiting" sections to track response times
• Use this data to identify bottlenecks in your workflow
• Follow up on tasks that have been waiting too long

10. Section Color Coding

• Use colors to indicate section types: red for urgent, blue for strategic, green for active
• This creates visual hierarchy and makes scanning faster

11. Keyboard Shortcuts

• Use Ctrl+P → "Open Docket dashboard" for quick access
• Press Escape in Quick Capture to clear filters and blur input
• Use arrow keys to navigate tag suggestions when typing

12. Context Menu Power

• Right-click any task to access all available actions
• Move tasks between sections quickly via the context menu
• Toggle tags directly from the context menu without editing

Maintenance

13. Regular Reviews

• Weekly: Review strategic sections and move items to execution
• Monthly: Clean up Archive and review completed work patterns
• Quarterly: Reassess your section structure and tag taxonomy

14. Tag Hygiene

• Keep your tag list focused and meaningful
• Remove unused tags periodically
• Consider tag hierarchy (e.g., #Work/Backend, #Work/Frontend)

🎨 Customization Examples

Example Section Layout

[Today (400px)] [Next (320px)] [Waiting (280px)] [Focus Hub (350px)]
[Learning (300px)] [Ideas (280px)] [Backlog (320px)]

Example Tag System

• #DeepWork (red) - Focus sessions, no interruptions
• #Admin (blue) - Administrative tasks, meetings
• #Communication (green) - Emails, messages, calls
• #Learning (purple) - Study, research, skill development
• #Urgent (orange) - Time-sensitive items

Example Section Descriptions

Today Section:

• Description: "Tasks I will complete today. Keep this focused and achievable."
• Examples:
  • "Review PR #123"
  • "Write documentation for API"
  • "Fix bug in login flow"
  • "Deploy to staging"

🤝 Contributing

I welcome pull requests, bug fixes, and contributions from the community! If you'd like to contribute to DayDeck, please check out the CONTRIBUTING.md guide for details on how to get started.

🤝 Support

Found a bug or have a feature request? Please open an issue on GitHub.

☕ Buy Me a Coffee

If you find DayDeck helpful and want to support its development, consider buying me a coffee!