Mind Like Water

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People & delegation ​

People in MLW are person-category tags. Tag a task or note with @name and that person becomes a first-class entity — searchable, filterable, with their own per-person view.

Tagging a person ​

Anywhere you can type a task title (Inbox capture bar, Quick Capture, task detail) you can tag a person with @name. That creates a person-category tag (if new) and attaches it to the task.

Examples:

  • Reply to @sergio about Q2 scope
  • @kim — ask about trip dates

Person tags show up inline on Waiting-For tasks so you can see at a glance who each item is blocked on.

Setting Waiting For on a task ​

Open the task detail pane and use the Waiting For chip. It opens a picker that lists your existing person tags — pick one (or type a new name to create it). That attaches the person tag and you can then set the status to Waiting.

, o (comma + o) focuses the context chip, , t focuses tags; the Waiting-For chip is part of the status row.

Waiting view ​

Press w to open it (when you're not already in a text field). The Waiting view:

  • Lists every task with status = Waiting
  • Groups by Person by default — all items you're waiting on per person, collapsible
  • Shows the waiting_date timestamp so you can see how long something's been sitting

Change the grouping with the Group selector in the header if you'd rather sort by Area, Project, or none.

The person sheet ​

Click any @person mention — in a note body, in the tag tree, anywhere — and a sheet slides in from the right showing everything connected to that person:

  1. Waiting tasks tagged with them
  2. Paragraphs from daily pages that mention them — the specific paragraph containing the mention, dated, chronological
  3. Regular notes tagged with them

It's the fastest way to answer "what's the state of things with @sergio right now?" without filtering and clicking through.

Notes and person tags ​

In the Notes list (l), the tag tree includes a section for people — clicking a person filters the list to notes that mention them. You can also reach the same place by clicking any @person mention inline in a note body.

Inside the note editor, typing @ opens an autocomplete that surfaces:

  1. Existing people — picking one inserts a clickable mention pill
  2. Tasks and projects — for linking actions and outcomes
  3. Create "..." — appears when the name doesn't match anything; picking it creates a new person tag

Tips ​

  • Tag delegations at capture time. Reply to @sergio is cheaper than opening detail later to add a tag.
  • Review Waiting weekly. The list accumulates fast and reminders get stale. The Weekly Review surfaces old items.
  • Click a person to drill in. The person sheet is much faster than navigating Waiting → filter → group when you want a single person's full picture.

Next: Checklist templates →

  • Tags — @person is a tag category
  • Reminders — waiting follow-ups nudge you on stale @person tasks