Steps, Notes, and Documents: When to Use Which

1. The Why: The Problem of Information Clutter

Every piece of information in your workday has a different lifespan and purpose:

• A phone number you need for a 3-minute call is ephemeral.
• The 5 sequential steps to deploy a release are tactical and transient.
• The complete quarterly product roadmap or meeting minutes are durable and referenceable.

When users confuse these three layers, two common failure patterns emerge:

1. The Bloated Task Card: Users try to paste entire meeting transcripts, code snippets, or lengthy strategy briefs into task descriptions. The card becomes unwieldy, hard to read on mobile, and painful to manage.
2. The Fragmented Wiki: Users create external Google Docs or Notion pages for minor 2-step tasks, resulting in dozens of orphaned files that get lost and never linked back to the actual to-do item.

DoneIsGood cleanly partitions information into three purposeful tiers.

2. The Decision Matrix

Use this quick decision table whenever you capture new information:

3. Step-by-Step How-To in DoneIsGood

Tier 1: Working with Checklist Steps

• When to use: When a task has multiple sequential hurdles before it can be marked complete.
• How to use:
  1. Open any task card.
  2. Under the Steps section, type an action item and press Enter.
  3. Or click the AI Breakdown wand to generate steps automatically.
  4. Tick items as you execute. Ticking steps updates task progress indicators and logs completion intervals.

Tier 2: Using Task Notes for Execution Context

• When to use: Storing links, contact names, credentials, or meeting codes needed during task execution.
• How to use:
  1. In the task modal, use the Notes text field.
  2. Paste links to relevant artifacts (e.g., Google Drive links, Figma files, GitHub PRs).
  3. Keep it brief. Once the task is completed and archived, these notes remain attached to the task record for your audit history.

Tier 3: Authoring Rich Documents & Knowledge Specs

• When to use: When drafting project briefs, standard operating procedures (SOPs), prompt collections, whiteboard session notes, or research dossiers that inform one or many tasks before or during execution.
• How to use:
  1. Navigate to the Documents tab in the main sidebar or top navigation.
  2. Click New Document.
  3. Use full rich-text and Markdown formatting: headings (#, ##), tables, bold text, and blockquotes.
  4. Inline Images vs. Cloud Document Attachments:
     • Inline Images: Drag and drop or paste screenshots, wireframes, or whiteboard snapshots; they render directly inline within your text.
     • File Attachments: Attach supporting documents (PDFs, spreadsheets, datasets). Files upload securely to Google Cloud Storage and appear as clickable links.
  5. Read-Only Document Sharing: Share documents directly with any DoneIsGood account holder. Sharing is read-only—collaborators can view text and download attached assets, but only the originator retains editing rights, safeguarding document integrity.
  6. Task Linking: Link an entire Document to one or multiple tasks, or reference a standalone Note from inside a task card.

Instant Screenshot Paste on Tasks

Often while working on a task, you take a quick screenshot of a bug, receipt, mock-up, or error message. Rather than creating a separate document manually, uploading the image, and linking it by hand:

1. Open any task in the Task Detail Modal.
2. Keyboard Paste (Desktop): Press ⌘V (Mac) or Ctrl+V (Windows) anywhere inside the modal (or drag and drop an image file into the window).
3. Mobile Paste & Camera Capture: On mobile phones and tablets, tap the "Paste / Attach Screenshot" button. If you have an image on your clipboard, DoneIsGood reads it immediately; if not, it automatically opens your photo library or camera so you can select your screenshot directly.
4. Smart Tagging (#screenshot): DoneIsGood automatically tags the created document with #screenshot.
5. Intelligent Document Separation: If your task already has a linked document (such as a product specification or meeting brief) that does not carry the #screenshot tag, DoneIsGood will never pollute your existing document. Instead, it creates a separate dedicated #screenshot document and links both to your task.
6. Subsequent Pastes Append Automatically: Future screenshot pastes automatically append directly to the bottom of that #screenshot document, keeping all visual assets in one organized place.
7. Document Selector Dropdown: Tasks can have multiple linked documents. When a task has more than one document attached, a dropdown appears at the top of the reading pane so you can switch between your specifications and screenshot galleries with one click.
8. Shared Collection Awareness: If you link or paste a document into a task that belongs to a shared collection or project, DoneIsGood automatically asks if you want to share the document with the same teammates. You can keep it private, share it so others can view it, or allow teammates to edit it.

4. Pro Tips & Power Workflows

• Instant Visual Evidence (⌘V / Ctrl+V): Whenever you capture a screenshot, you don't need to save it to your desktop first. Simply click into the task details and paste. DoneIsGood immediately turns it into a durable, linked document that stays with the task through completion.
• Direct Document-to-Task Linking: When launching a complex initiative, create the overarching strategy as a Document (e.g., "Q4 Product Launch Plan"). Then create specific tasks in your Eisenhower Matrix that link to this document. Collaborators can review the spec in one click without cluttering the matrix board.
• Brainstorming to Execution: Conduct your design or strategy session in a Document, attaching whiteboard photos and reference PDFs. Once aligned, highlight key deliverables and spin them off into distinct Eisenhower tasks across your matrices.
• Offline Access: All documents and notes in DoneIsGood are locally cached. If you are on an airplane or away from network coverage, you can read and draft markdown documents freely; they will sync automatically with the cloud once you reconnect.

5. Common Anti-Patterns to Avoid

• Creating a Document for a 1-Hour Chore: If something can be accomplished in a single sitting with a few checkboxes, do not make a Document. Use a Task with 3 Checklist Steps.
• Writing Novel-Length Task Titles: Avoid "Review the Q3 metrics, prepare slides, send email to Mark, and order lunch". That is one Task, one Document (the slides), and three Steps.
• Orphaning Documents: Always tag documents to their relevant project or corporate matrix so team members don't have to search blindly.

6. Next Steps & Related Guides

• Creating Meaningful Tasks: Craft crisp, executable task titles that keep momentum moving.
• Project Management in DoneIsGood: Organize multi-task initiatives with shared matrices and linked documents.
• Time Recording & Timesheets: Automatically log billable hours as steps and tasks are completed.