Capture Thoughts Before They Disappear
3am idea. Shower thought. Sudden insight mid-meeting. Your brain works in bursts, but you forget things unless they're captured instantly. This workflow turns Slack DMs into timestamped Google Drive notes, so every thought is safe and searchable.
Trigger
Direct Message Received
Triggered when a new direct message (DM) is sent to a user in Slack. Catches all DMs across all DM channels.
Action
Create a File from Text
Creates a new file in google drive from provided text content (up to 10mb), supporting various formats including automatic conversion to google workspace types.
Why this helps
ADHD and autism often involve racing thoughts and sudden insights that vanish if not captured immediately. Slack is fast to access, but it's not a reliable thought journal. Neurodivergent founders need a frictionless capture system.
- Capture thoughts the instant they arrive with zero friction
- Build a searchable archive of your thinking over time
- Timestamp each thought to spot patterns in your productivity
- Never lose an insight to a Slack scroll again
Setup
Build it in a few focused steps.
- 1Connect Slack and Google Drive.
- 2Create an automation: 'When I send you a direct message, save it as a timestamped note in my Quick Thoughts folder in Google Drive.'
- 3Select 'Direct Message Received' as your trigger.
- 4Choose whether to save all DMs to Notis or only ones tagged with a keyword (e.g., 'Note:').
- 5Test by sending Notis a few DMs and checking Drive for the notes.
Questions about this workflow
Won't this save every DM to Notis, cluttering my thought folder?
You can tag notes with a keyword (e.g., 'Note: my thought here') so only tagged messages are saved. Or Notis can use a dedicated channel for thoughts.
Can I search these notes across my other documents?
Yes. They're Google Drive docs, so Drive's native search finds them. You can also tag them with labels for extra organization.
Can I export or organize these into a cohesive document later?
Absolutely. Once you have a collection of thoughts, Notis can compile them into a single doc (e.g., weekly thought digest) if you'd like.
When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
Supported Triggers and Actions
Notis builds workflows that link Slack to Google Drive. A trigger fires from one place; an action lands in another.
Slack triggers
Google Drive actions
New Channel Created Trigger
Triggered when a new channel is created in Slack.
Add file sharing preference
Modifies sharing permissions for an existing google drive file, granting a specified role to a user, group, domain, or 'anyone'.
Channel Message Received
Triggered when a message is posted in a Slack channel (public, private, or multi-party IM). Does NOT match direct messages.
Copy file
Duplicates an existing file in google drive, identified by its `file id`.
Direct Message Received
Triggered when a new direct message (DM) is sent to a user in Slack. Catches all DMs across all DM channels.
Create Comment
Tool to create a comment on a file. use when you need to add a new comment to a specific file in google drive.
Message Reaction Added
Triggered when a reaction is added to a message in Slack. Supports optional filtering by channel and emoji name.
Create Shared Drive
Tool to create a new shared drive. use when you need to programmatically create a new shared drive for collaboration or storage.
Message Reaction Removed
Triggered when a reaction is removed from a message in Slack. Supports optional filtering by channel and emoji name.
Create File or Folder
Creates a new file or folder with metadata. use to create empty files or folders, or files with content by providing it in the request body (though this action primarily focuses on metadata creation).
Reaction Added Trigger
DEPRECATED: use `SLACK_MESSAGE_REACTION_ADDED` instead. Triggered when a reaction is added to a message in Slack.
Create a File from Text
Creates a new file in google drive from provided text content (up to 10mb), supporting various formats including automatic conversion to google workspace types.
Reaction Removed Trigger
DEPRECATED: use `SLACK_MESSAGE_REACTION_REMOVED` instead. Triggered when a reaction is removed from a message.
Create a folder
Creates a new folder in google drive, optionally within a parent folder specified by its id or name; if a parent name is provided but not found, the action will fail.
New Bot Message Received Trigger
DEPRECATED: use `SLACK_CHANNEL_MESSAGE_RECEIVED` with `is_bot_message=true` instead. Triggered when a new bot message is posted to a Slack channel.
Create Reply
Tool to create a reply to a comment in google drive. use when you need to respond to an existing comment on a file.
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When this happens · Trigger
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