Over the years of using Org I often have a need to add a short note
about how to proceed with some task:
***** REVIEW check again, subscribe | sindresorhus/awesome: 😎 Awesome lists about all kinds of interesting topics :BOOKMARK:
:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED: [2020-03-15 Sun 18:59]
:Source: https://github.com/sindresorhus/awesome
:END:
:LOGBOOK:
CLOCK: [2020-03-17 Tue 16:18]--[2020-03-17 Tue 17:46] => 1:28
CLOCK: [2020-03-17 Tue 16:03]--[2020-03-17 Tue 16:18] => 0:15
- Refiled on [2020-03-16 Mon 23:59]
:END:
In the above example, the short note is "check again, subscribe".
The note is not fixed, but changes as I progress with completing the
task.
Everyone has their own workflows, but I think the way you are approaching this problem is "wrong". Under the GTD methodology, there is the concept of a project (some higher goal to be achieved) and next actions (the concrete tasks to do next to achieve the project). You would only track the next action in your regular toto list. In Org mode, this would look like:
* PROJECT make babel support org file links in header args (:file or :dir)
** TODO Finish the text prop org-mode
My anecdotal impression is that many people using Org do this (see
https://orgmode.org/worg/org-gtd-etc.html), so they have no need for a "last note taken embedded in headline" feature. As a practical matter, I would find it inconvenient to have both the "last note take"/"next action" and the overall project headline appear in the agenta view because it makes the text too wide. If I need to associate the next action with the overall project, I take advantage of the CATEGORY property:
* PROJECT make babel support org file links in header args (:file or :dir)
:PROPERTIES:
:CATEGORY: BabelLinks
:END:
** TODO Finish the text prop org-mode
Which would show in the agenda as:
BabelLinks: TODO Finish the text prop org-mode
I have only been partially paying attention to this discussion thread, but this sounds like both a feature with limited appeal and significant complexity to implement, so I would suggest implementing it yourself for your own use case, and then bringing it to the mailing list to share. Once you have a dozen people using it, it will likely have developed into a mature enough form to include in Org mode.
Just my 2 cents.
This is even more useful for delegated or HOLD tasks where I often need
to add a short note why the task is delegated or put on hold:
** HOLD Finish the text prop org-mode | make babel support org file links in header args (:file or :dir) [[id:468e0645-68aa-4e14-86de-e5ce153538e3][[2017-09-22 Fri] CuNbARBshearstrength]] :HOLD:
:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED: [2020-07-20 Mon 16:53]
:SHOWFROMDATE: 2020-08-15
:END:
:LOGBOOK:
- State "HOLD" from "NEXT" [2020-08-10 Mon 15:16] \\
Finish the text prop org-mode
- Refiled on [2020-07-20 Mon 17:15]
CLOCK: [2020-07-20 Mon 16:53]--[2020-07-20 Mon 16:54] => 0:01
:END:
Seeing this note directly in the headline without a need to dig into the
task body / LOGBOOK drawer is really handy.
In this last example, I had to duplicate the note taken using built-in
note mechanism into headline, which was inconvenient. It would be handy
if I could simply add a [!] cookie (similar to [/] or [%] cookies) to
the headline to show the last note taken for this task. Then, I could
easily see the reason why the task is blocked or what I am supposed to
do with the task right in agenda view or in the folded headline.
Something like the following
** HOLD [!] make babel support org... :HOLD:
:LOGBOOK:
- State "HOLD" from "NEXT" [2020-08-10 Mon 15:16] \\
Finish the text prop org-mode
- Refiled on [2020-07-20 Mon 17:15]
CLOCK: [2020-07-20 Mon 16:53]--[2020-07-20 Mon 16:54] => 0:01
:END:
The cookie would be replaced by the last note text, according to
user-defined format (say, "[%s] |"):
** HOLD [Finish the text prop org-mode] | make babel support org... :HOLD:
:LOGBOOK:
- State "HOLD" from "NEXT" [2020-08-10 Mon 15:16] \\
Finish the text prop org-mode
- Refiled on [2020-07-20 Mon 17:15]
CLOCK: [2020-07-20 Mon 16:53]--[2020-07-20 Mon 16:54] => 0:01
:END:
What do you think?
Best,
Ihor