# Capture: get everything out of your head

Step 1 of 5 · 3 min read

Dmytro Sokolnikov, maker of Tasker · October 21, 2026

**In short.** Capture is the habit of writing down every task, idea or promise in one trusted place the moment it comes to mind, and keeping nothing in your head. No sorting at this point: that is a separate step — clarify.

## Why your head is a bad place for tasks

Your head is great at ideas and bad at storage. It remembers the email you owe a reply on the subway, and the bill when the office is already closed. Every unwritten task spins in the background as a small “don’t forget” and eats your attention.

When everything is written down, your head is free for what you are doing now. That is the main promise of GTD, and it starts with capture.

## What to write down

Anything you catch yourself thinking “I should…” about. Not only tasks:

- tasks big and small: “call the bank”, “fix the tap”;
- promises to others: “send Olya the holiday photos”;
- things you are waiting for: “reply from the accountant”;
- ideas and “someday” plans: “learn Spanish”, “gift for mom”;
- thoughts that nag you: even “sort out my subscriptions”.

Don’t filter on the way in. “Is this important?” is a question for the next step; right now it only slows you down.

## One place, not five

Notes on your phone, sticky notes on the fridge, messages to yourself in a chat — and you are no longer sure nothing got lost. Capture works only when there is one place, or a few places you are sure to check.

The main rule: writing it down must be faster than remembering it. A few seconds — no picking a date, a folder or a priority.

## Your first big capture

Start with one “brain dump” of 15–20 minutes: just write down everything that comes to mind. To miss nothing, walk through the areas of your life:

- work and study;
- home, repairs, chores;
- money, bills, documents;
- health;
- family and friends;
- shopping;
- plans and dreams for “someday”.

Don’t be scared if you end up with 50 or 100 items. They were in your head anyway — now you can just see them.

## How to keep it going

- Write it down right away, not “later” — later never comes.
- Keep a way to capture at hand: phone, computer, voice.
- Don’t clarify while capturing — they are two different steps.
- Every day or two, clarify what you have captured so the place doesn’t turn into a dump.

> Writing it down must be faster than remembering!

## How it works in Tasker

In Tasker the place for capture is the Inbox. Press “+” at the top, write the thought and press “To Inbox” — no date, no choosing a place. Or type it into the “Add to Inbox” line at the bottom of the section.

If the task is already clear, the same window can schedule it right away for “Now”, “Today” or “Tomorrow” — it becomes a task with a date and skips the Inbox.

Next to Inbox in the section menu you see how many items are waiting — a quiet reminder that it is time to clarify.

And in Telegram you can write or say a task or a reminder to the Tasker bot — it adds it for you. A task you gave no date to, the bot puts on today.

The Inbox is part of Tasker’s advanced mode.

[All Tasker features](https://tasker-me.app/#features)

Next: [Clarify and the two-minute rule](https://tasker-me.app/gtd/clarify/)

## Try GTD in Tasker

Write your first thought into the Inbox — the rest gets easier.

[Start for free](https://tasker-me.app/app/)