Hand off a task
Hand one task line from a note to a colleague, with a memo and a due date. They open the original line directly.
Applies to Web · Mac · iPhone app · you need edit access to the note
A handoff hands over the line in the note — with an owner, due date and memo — instead of retyping “please do this” in a chat. The recipient doesn’t just get a memo — they land on that line in the original note, with everything around it. Who received it, whether they saw it and whether they accepted it are all recorded.
Before you start
- You can hand off tasks. Every checklist item is a task; a plain bullet or numbered item becomes one when you add a standalone checkbox. See Turn checklist lines into tasks.
- The recipient must already share the note with you. If nobody does, the dialog says “No one else is on this note — share it first.” Share the note or notebook first.
- On To-dos task cards, the Hand off button doesn’t appear for tasks that are done or already handed off. In a note’s item actions, Hand off on an already handed-off task opens that handoff’s history.
Hand off a task
- Hover over the right end of the line and click the :: chip (Open item actions).
- Click Hand off. To write a memo you can also choose Hand off with a memo from the more menu.
- Choose the Recipient. You can pick several people; for people you already work with, their open tasks, overdue tasks and handoffs waiting on them are shown so you can see who has room (others appear without these figures).
- Optionally choose By when: Today, Tomorrow, This Friday, Next week (7 days out) or a specific date. Dates use Korea Standard Time.
- Optionally write a Handoff memo (up to 300 characters): what, why and how far to take it.
- Click Hand off with memo (if you wrote one) or Hand off.
What happens next
| Who | What they see |
|---|---|
| Recipient | A notification, plus the task in the Incoming handoffs strip at the top of every screen. The memo also appears in your Messenger conversation, with Open handed-off task leading to the original line. |
| You | The To-dos → Handoffs tab shows whether it is waiting, declined (with a reason) and whether it has been seen. |
| The note | The original line stays where it is. When the recipient accepts, a checklist line with a link back to the source note and the due date is added to their daily note (the chosen due date replaces the date at the end of the line; if a date sits mid-text, remove or change it before handing off). |
When the recipient accepts, the task becomes theirs and a line linking back to the source is added to their daily note. If they decline, you are notified with their reason (if they gave one). The rest is covered in Accept or decline a handoff and Follow up on tasks you handed off.
Tips
- Put a “done means…” line in the memo, e.g.
Draft only — I’ll fill in table 2. - If you only want someone to check the result without changing who owns it, send a review request instead.