📝 Essential Workflows
Daily Capture Routines
Build sustainable daily habits for capturing thoughts, priorities, and insights
Daily Capture Routines
⏱️ 2-10 minutes setup • 📊 Beginner • 🆓 Free Transform scattered thoughts into organized insights with proven daily capture systems. These routines take just minutes but create hours of clarity throughout your day.Quick Start: The 2-Minute Brain Dump
Perfect for beginners - start here:1
Set Your Daily Trigger
Choose a consistent time: while coffee brews, during commute, or before checking email
2
Open Cleft and Record
Hit record and speak everything on your mind for 60-90 seconds:
- Today’s top 3 priorities
- Anything you’re worried about
- Ideas or thoughts from yesterday
3
Quick Review
Listen back while getting ready, extracting any actionable items
Why this works: Your brain processes better when it’s not trying to remember everything. This simple routine clears mental RAM for actual thinking.
The Complete Daily Capture System
Morning: Mind Clearing (5 minutes)
Best Time: First 30 minutes after waking, before reactive tasksMorning Capture Template
Morning Capture Template
Record these areas in order:
-
Brain Dump (90 seconds)
- Everything on your mind, no filtering
- Worries, random thoughts, overnight ideas
-
Today’s Focus (60 seconds)
- Top 3 priorities for today
- One important decision you need to make
- Energy level and how you’re feeling
-
Intentions (30 seconds)
- How you want to show up today
- One thing you’re grateful for
- Quick win you can accomplish early
Workday: Transition Captures (30 seconds each)
Capture thoughts between major activities:Pre-Meeting
- Key points you want to make
- Questions you need answered
- Your agenda priorities
Post-Meeting
- Action items and owners
- Decisions made
- Follow-up needed
Task Switching
- Current task status/next steps
- Context for when you return
- Any blocking issues
Idea Capture
- Solutions that pop up
- Improvements you notice
- Random good ideas
Evening: Day Review (3-5 minutes)
Best Time: End of workday or before dinnerEvening Review Template
Evening Review Template
Reflect on these areas:
-
Wins & Progress (90 seconds)
- What went well today
- Progress on important projects
- Problems you solved
-
Lessons & Insights (90 seconds)
- What you learned
- What you’d do differently
- Patterns you’re noticing
-
Tomorrow Setup (60 seconds)
- Priorities for tomorrow
- Preparation needed
- One thing to remember
Advanced Routines
Weekly Planning Session (15 minutes)
Every Sunday or Friday:1
Week Review
Record a 3-minute reflection on the past week’s wins, challenges, and lessons
2
Priority Setting
Voice-record next week’s top 5 priorities and why they matter
3
Energy Planning
Consider your energy patterns and schedule demanding tasks accordingly
Monthly Reflection (20 minutes)
End of each month:Monthly Deep Dive
Monthly Deep Dive
- Progress Review: Major accomplishments and project advancement
- Pattern Recognition: What worked well vs. what didn’t
- Goal Adjustment: Refine or pivot on quarterly objectives
- System Optimization: Improve your capture and review processes
- Gratitude & Growth: Acknowledge progress and areas for development
Customization Ideas
For Different Work Styles
- Pre-focus ritual: Clear mental distractions before deep work sessions
- Progress logging: Quick updates during breaks to maintain flow
- Session wrap-up: Capture key insights while they’re fresh
Integration with Your Existing Tools
Apple Notes: Export daily summaries to your main note-taking system Calendar: Use voice notes to prep for upcoming meetings Task Manager: Convert capture sessions into actionable items Journal: Transform evening reviews into longer-form reflectionCommon Challenges & Solutions
I forget to capture regularly
I forget to capture regularly
- Solution: Stack capture onto existing habits (coffee, commute, etc.)
- Tip: Set phone reminders for first week until habit forms
- Alternative: Use Apple Shortcuts to automate capture triggers
My thoughts are too scattered
My thoughts are too scattered
- Solution: Start with pure brain dump, organize later
- Tip: Use custom instructions to structure rambling thoughts
- Remember: Messy capture is better than no capture
I do not have time to review everything
I do not have time to review everything
- Solution: Focus on actionable items, archive the rest
- Tip: Use quick scan mode - just listen for key points
- Alternative: Set up automation to process routine captures
Success Metrics
Track these to measure your capture routine’s effectiveness:- Clarity: Do you feel more organized and less scattered?
- Follow-through: Are you completing more of your stated priorities?
- Insight generation: Are you recognizing patterns and making better decisions?
- Stress reduction: Do you feel less mental pressure to remember everything?
Next Steps
Once daily capture is habit, level up with Meeting Notes System or Task Management workflows.