How to Separate Tasks,
Events, and Notes
A Daily Log contains things you need to do, events already scheduled, and thoughts or information that appear during the day. If all of them are written in the same way, it becomes harder to see what requires action and what simply needs to be remembered.
The simplest way to classify a Daily Log entry is to ask: “Do I need to take an action? Is this something scheduled or something that happened? Or is it information I only need to remember?”
A Daily Log Holds Three Different Kinds of Entries
They can live on the same page while still serving different roles
Different kinds of information appear throughout the day.
In the morning, you may list something you need to do.
In the afternoon, you may have a scheduled meeting.
During the meeting, you may write down information worth remembering.
These entries do not need separate pages.
They can stay in the same Daily Log as long as their roles remain clear.
Something you personally still need to do.
Something scheduled for a specific time or something that actually occurred.
Information or thoughts worth remembering rather than acting on immediately.
If You Need to Do Something, It Is a Task
A task should lead to a future action
A task is not simply something important.
The key is that you still need to take an action.
These items can later be completed, moved, canceled, or sent to RE-PLAN if necessary.
is there a specific action I still need to take?”
If the answer is yes, it is probably a task.
If It Has a Time—or Actually Happened—It Is an Event
Preparing for an event is different from the event itself
An event can look similar to a task, but it serves a different role.
Suppose you have a meeting at 3:00 p.m.
Preparing for the meeting is a task.
The 3:00 p.m. meeting itself is an event.
It looks like an action item even though it is actually a scheduled event.
You can immediately recognize it as something fixed in time.
Events that already happened can be recorded the same way.
If Remembering Matters More Than Acting, It Is a Note
Information, observations, and ideas do not need to become tasks immediately
Some things are worth remembering even though they do not require immediate action.
Those belong in notes.
Writing something as a note does not mean you must turn it into a task immediately.
If action becomes necessary later, you can convert it then.
One Event Can Produce All Three Types of Entries
The same situation can create an event, a note, and a new task
Imagine you had a project meeting at 3:00 p.m.
That one meeting may generate several different entries.
The meeting itself is an event.
What you learned during the meeting is a note.
If that information creates something you now need to do, it becomes a task.
One situation does not have to end as one entry.
An event can produce a note, and a note can produce a new action.
When You Are Unsure, Use Three Quick Questions
Do not overclassify—just think about the next role of the entry
You do not need to spend much time deciding which category is “perfect.”
The purpose of the symbols is not to build a flawless classification system.
It is to make the next action easy to understand when you return to the page.
Do Not Turn Every Note into a Task
Having a thought does not automatically create an obligation
While journaling, many thoughts can feel as though they should become tasks.
“I should look into this sometime.”
“I want to try that someday.”
If every passing interest becomes a task, your Daily Log quickly fills with obligations.
A simple interest can become an obligation before you have decided whether it matters.
You can decide later whether it is worth turning into an action.
If Action Becomes Necessary Later, Convert the Note into a Task
The role of an entry can change over time
Something that begins as simple information may later require action.
The note preserved the information.
Once that information created a real need for action, a separate task appeared.
Entries can connect and change roles like this over time.
Soontancheojeol Also Treats State as a Kind of Note
Leave background information that can later be viewed beside your actions
A Daily Log can include not only information but also brief traces of emotion or condition.
For that, Soontancheojeol uses the Emotion symbol.
This is not an attempt to analyze the cause immediately.
It simply leaves state information that can later be viewed alongside the action record during a Weekly or Monthly Review.
A Daily Log Does Not Need Separate Boxes
The symbols separate roles, so the page itself can remain flexible
Separating tasks, events, and notes does not mean you need to divide the Daily Log into three columns.
One of the strengths of Bullet Journaling is that you can use as much or as little space as the day requires.
A task can be followed by an event, then a note, then another task.
A Daily Log is not a page for filling predefined boxes.
It is a flexible space for leaving the flow of the day in the amount of detail you actually need.
The symbols distinguish the roles.
The space remains free.
Reclassify three lines from today’s notes
Choose any three entries you wrote today.
Then ask:
Do I need to act? → • Task
Is it scheduled or did it happen? → ○ Event
Do I only need to remember it? → - Note
The goal is not perfect classification.
If the page makes it obvious what you still need to do and what you only need to remember, that is enough.
Entries Can Share a Page Without Sharing the Same Role
A day is not made only of tasks.
There are actions you need to take, scheduled events, unexpected events, information, and thoughts worth remembering.
If all of them become tasks, the journal quickly feels heavy.
If all of them become notes, it becomes hard to find what actually requires action.
So we separate the roles.
What you need to do becomes a task.
What is scheduled or happened becomes an event.
What you only need to remember becomes a note.
And the roles can change later if needed.
If you can tell what needs action, what happened, and what only needs to be remembered, the Daily Log can remain completely flexible.