# Capture tasks in one place

Published by Pawel Jozefiak. [About this project](https://adhd100.jock.pl/about/), [How we check sources](https://adhd100.jock.pl/methodology/)

- Canonical: https://adhd100.jock.pl/single-task-inbox/
- Language: en
- First published: 2026-09-29
- Evidence checked: 2026-09-29, using AI-assisted source verification
- Clinical review: Not clinically reviewed
- Number 66 of 100 in the list: https://adhd100.jock.pl/#single-task-inbox

Give new tasks one reliable place to land, so there's less to hold in your head.

**The number:** Keep one central place for tasks and reminders ([Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, 2026](https://www.leicspart.nhs.uk/while-you-wait/adhd/strategies-and-support/))

## The evidence

- How sure: Certainty of evidence: Not rated. Measured in people with ADHD.
- Evidence grade: C. Grade C: small or mixed studies, expert consensus or clinical practice. Worth knowing, not worth betting on.
- Basis: ADHD clinical guidance and programme content; the isolated strategy has no separately rated efficacy estimate.
- Benefit: 44/100. The benefit score is an editorial prioritization for the general list, weighted by certainty. It is not a prediction of what will happen for you.

## Why it matters

Scattered notes make it harder to find what needs doing. One task list is part of ADHD skills programmes and NHS practical advice, but its own effect has not been established. The programme evidence is not proof that a particular notebook or app treats ADHD.

## How to do it

1. Pick one notebook or simple notes list that's easy to reach.
2. Put new tasks there as they come up, without sorting them first.
3. At a regular daily check, move dated commitments to your calendar and pick a next action.

## Putting it into practice

### Start now

- 1 minute: Pick the place your next task will go, somewhere you already use, and picture opening it.
- 5 minutes: Make a single inbox and put three loose tasks into it.
- 15 minutes: Collect tasks from one other list, move appointments to your calendar and choose one next action.
- 30 minutes: Consolidate your currently active task lists, leaving old archives alone; test whether the new inbox is easy to reopen.

### What it looks like

- Put 'return library book' beside 'reply to repair email' in the same inbox.
- Dictate a task into your existing notes app when typing is awkward.

### Common mistakes

- A perfect filing system can delay capture, so write a rough task first.
- An inbox that is never reopened becomes storage, so attach its check to a regular daily event.

### A structured start

**Make capture easy to repeat**

1. Use one inbox for new tasks.
2. Check it at the same daily cue.
3. Remove a capture step if you keep avoiding it.

### Trusted how-to guides

- [Strategies and support (ADHD: while you wait)](https://www.leicspart.nhs.uk/while-you-wait/adhd/strategies-and-support/), Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust
- [Support Available (Adult ADHD Services)](https://www.elft.nhs.uk/adult-adhd-services/support-available), East London NHS Foundation Trust

## Sources

- [Strategies and support (ADHD: while you wait)](https://www.leicspart.nhs.uk/while-you-wait/adhd/strategies-and-support/), Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, 2026 (Tier 1 guideline)
- [Description and Demonstration of CBT for ADHD in Adults](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3874265/), Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 2010 (Tier 2 study)

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General information about ADHD, not a diagnosis or an individual treatment plan. Tailoring changes the order of suggestions; it does not assess you. Medication decisions belong with you and a qualified clinician.

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