Defer

Support

Getting Started

Learn the basics of using Defer to quickly capture and manage tasks.

Overview

Defer is a simple yet powerful task management app designed to help you quickly capture tasks and organize them for later processing. Available for both Mac and iOS, Defer focuses on getting tasks out of your head and into a system where you can deal with them at the right time.

Core Concepts

Defer organizes your tasks into three main views:

  1. Now: Tasks that need your attention today
  2. Later: Tasks you’ve snoozed for future dates
  3. Done: Completed tasks

Adding Tasks

Quick Entry

  1. On Mac: Use the menu bar app or keyboard shortcut to quickly add tasks
  2. On iOS: Open the app or use the share extension
  3. Type your task and press Enter/Return

Smart Task Creation

Defer automatically processes your tasks as you add them:

  • URLs: If you include a URL, it’s automatically extracted and stored separately
  • Natural Language Dates: Type phrases like “tomorrow” or “Monday” to automatically snooze tasks
  • Combined Entry: You can include both dates and URLs in a single entry, e.g., “Call John about project next Thursday https://project.com”

Managing Tasks

Basic Actions

  • Complete: Swipe right on iOS, or use the checkmark button on Mac
  • Edit: Tap the task to edit (iOS) or use the pencil icon (Mac)
  • Delete: Swipe left on iOS, or use the delete option on Mac
  • Snooze: Use the “Snooze until…” option to defer tasks to a later date

Keyboard Shortcuts (Mac)

  • Open Defer: Customizable in Settings
  • Paste Into Defer: Quickly add clipboard content
  • Complete Task: Press ‘E’
  • Edit Task: Press Return/Enter
  • Add Link: Press ‘K’
  • Snooze: Press ‘Z’

Task Organization

Snoozing Tasks

Tasks can be snoozed in several ways:

  • Use natural language when creating tasks (“tomorrow”, “next week”)
  • Use the snooze button on existing tasks
  • Bulk snooze multiple selected tasks

Task Views

  1. Now View

    • Shows tasks due today
    • Includes newly added tasks without snooze dates
    • Can optionally show today’s completed tasks

  2. Later View

    • Shows all snoozed tasks
    • Tasks automatically move to “Now” on their snooze date

  3. Done View

    • Shows completed tasks
    • Configure in settings whether to show completed tasks in the Now view

App Badge

You can customize the app badge to show:

  • Total number of tasks
  • Only “Now” tasks
  • Only “Later” tasks
  • No badge

When you add a task containing a URL:

  • The URL is automatically extracted
  • Stored separately from the task text
  • Easily accessible and clickable
  • Keeps your task list clean and organized

Bulk Actions

Select multiple tasks to:

  • Complete them all at once
  • Delete multiple tasks
  • Snooze multiple tasks
  • Copy tasks as a formatted list