A Personal Touch in my Org Agenda

2024-05-26

orgmode

Hello there!

Today, I want to delve into my custom Org Agenda settings, shedding light on how my workflow compares to the default configurations.

Why Customize Org Agenda?

The default Org Agenda in Emacs is powerful, but with a few tweaks, it can be tailored to fit your personal workflow like a glove. Here’s a peek into my settings and why they make a difference.

Cleaner and Clearer Layout

First up, I’ve removed tags from the agenda view:

(customize-set-variable 'org-agenda-remove-tags t)

This keeps my agenda clutter-free and focused on the tasks at hand.

I’ve also customized the prefix and keyword formats:

(customize-set-variable 'org-agenda-prefix-format " %-12c %?-14t% s")
(customize-set-variable 'org-agenda-todo-keyword-format "%-10s")

This ensures everything is neatly aligned, making it easier to scan through my tasks.

Distinct Scheduling and Deadlines

To clearly differentiate between scheduled tasks and deadlines, I’ve set up specific leaders:

(customize-set-variable 'org-agenda-scheduled-leaders
                        '("[S] : " "[S] x%3d d.: "))
(customize-set-variable 'org-agenda-deadline-leaders
                        '("[D] : " "[D] +%3d d.: " "[D] -%3d d.: "))

This visual cue helps me prioritize my day at a glance.

Enhanced Time Management

I’ve refined the time grid and added a current time string:

(customize-set-variable 'org-agenda-time-grid
                        '((today require-timed remove-match)
                          (000 1200 2400)
                          ":  " "┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈"))
(customize-set-variable 'org-agenda-current-time-string "ᐊ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ now")

These adjustments make it easy to keep track of my schedule and current time visually.

Custom Commands for Specific Views

I’ve added custom commands to cater to different needs:

Weekly Overview:

(add-to-list
 'org-agenda-custom-commands
 '("w" "THIS WEEK"
   ((agenda ""
            ((org-agenda-overriding-header
              (concat "THIS WEEK (W" (format-time-string "%V") ")")))))))

Daily Agenda:

(add-to-list
 'org-agenda-custom-commands
 '("d" "DAY'S AGENDA"
   ((agenda ""
            ((org-agenda-overriding-header
              (concat "TODAY (W" (format-time-string "%V") ")"))
             (org-agenda-span 'day)
             (org-agenda-sorting-strategy
              '((agenda time-up priority-down category-keep)))
             (org-agenda-show-log t)
             (org-agenda-log-mode-items '(clock)))))))

Custom Overview:

(add-to-list
 'org-agenda-custom-commands
 '("c" "CUSTOM OVERVIEW"
   ((tags-todo "+PRIORITY=\"A\""
               ((org-agenda-overriding-header "PRIO A")))
    (agenda ""
            ((org-agenda-overriding-header
              (concat "TODAY (W" (format-time-string "%V") ")"))
             (org-agenda-span 'day)
             (org-agenda-sorting-strategy
              '((agenda time-up priority-down category-keep)))
             (org-agenda-show-log t)
             (org-agenda-log-mode-items '(clock))))
    (agenda ""
            ((org-agenda-overriding-header
              (concat "FOLLOWING DAYS (W" (format-time-string "%V") ")"))
             (org-agenda-skip-function
              '(org-agenda-skip-entry-if 'unscheduled))
             (org-agenda-span 6)
             (org-agenda-start-day "+1d")
             (org-agenda-start-on-weekday nil)))
    (tags-todo "+private"
               ((org-agenda-overriding-header "PRIVATE TASKS")
                (org-agenda-skip-function
                 '(org-agenda-skip-entry-if 'unscheduled))))
    (tags-todo "+work"
               ((org-agenda-overriding-header "WORK TASKS")
                (org-agenda-skip-function
                 '(org-agenda-skip-entry-if 'unscheduled))))
    (tags "CLOSED>=\"<-7d>\"|DONE>=\"<-7d>\"|CANCELLED>=\"<-7d>\""
          ((org-agenda-overriding-header "Completed in the Last 7 Days\n"))))))

These commands offer tailored views, whether I need a weekly snapshot, today’s agenda, or a categorized task overview.

Optimized Display

Finally, I’ve configured the display settings to ensure the agenda doesn’t obstruct my main workspace:

emacsCopy code(add-to-list 'display-buffer-alist '("\\*Agenda Commands\\*" (display-buffer-in-side-window) (side . right) (window-width . 0.4)))
(add-to-list 'display-buffer-alist '("\\*Org Agenda\\*" (display-buffer-in-side-window) (side . right) (window-width . 0.5)))

This keeps my workflow smooth and my screen space efficiently used.

Conclusion

By customizing my Org Agenda settings, I’ve crafted a tool that fits my workflow, enhancing both productivity and task management.

Happy tweaking!

Disclaimer

This abomination of a post was written by ChatGPT 4o. The prompt:

The following is my org agenda config in my Emacs... I want you to write me a post in the style of my other posts about my org agenda settings and if possible also the advantages compared to the default settings in emacs:

...
Org Agenda Config code
...

The first draft was an non-starter which required some addition prompting:

This does not feel like my style. Its just like a bulleted list. Feel free to browse my blog and see how my style ist.

(see my Org Mode Config)

I think it’s gonna be a while until I either am happy with the results or am a passable “prompt engineer” to get a good post with just LLM Chatbots.

But since I did put in some minimal effort… here are 😜

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