Turn Slack DM Ideas Into Task Sheet Entries
Great ideas come up in casual Slack conversations and then disappear. This automation captures task ideas from your DMs and logs them to a tasks sheet so nothing gets forgotten.
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
Append Values to Spreadsheet
Tool to append values to a spreadsheet. use when you need to add new data to the end of an existing table in a google sheet.
Why this helps
ADHD founders have sudden task ideas in Slack but forget to capture them in their task manager, leading to lost opportunities and context-switching when trying to remember what was discussed.
- Capture ideas in the moment without switching tools
- Build a backlog of potential tasks
- Review ideas later with fresh perspective
- Reduce mental load of remembering tasks
- Easy to prioritize tasks in Sheets
Setup
Build it in a few focused steps.
- 1Connect Slack and Google Sheets to Notis.
- 2Create a new automation with 'Direct Message Received' as your trigger.
- 3Write your prompt: 'When I send a task idea in a DM, append today's date, the task description, priority (if mentioned), and any relevant context to my tasks sheet.'
- 4Choose which channel to get Notis status updates.
- 5Send yourself a test task idea DM and verify it appears in your sheet.
Questions about this workflow
What if I have a lot of casual conversations? Won't this log everything?
In your prompt, specify a trigger word: 'Only log messages that start with "task:" or "idea:" to avoid capturing every DM.' Or use a dedicated DM channel with Notis just for task captures.
Can Notis extract priority levels from how I write?
Yes. Tell Notis to look for urgency keywords: 'If I mention "urgent," "asap," or "ASAP," mark priority as High. Otherwise, mark as Normal.'
How do I handle duplicate task captures?
You can review your sheet weekly and manually mark duplicates, or ask Notis to include a 'notes' column where you can flag duplicates after the fact.
When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
Supported Triggers and Actions
Notis builds workflows that link Slack to Google Sheets. A trigger fires from one place; an action lands in another.
Slack triggers
Google Sheets actions
New Channel Created Trigger
Triggered when a new channel is created in Slack.
Add Sheet to Spreadsheet
Adds a new sheet (worksheet) to a spreadsheet. use this tool to create a new tab within an existing google sheet, optionally specifying its title, index, size, and other properties.
Channel Message Received
Triggered when a message is posted in a Slack channel (public, private, or multi-party IM). Does NOT match direct messages.
Aggregate Column Data
Searches for rows where a specific column matches a value and performs mathematical operations on data from another column.
Direct Message Received
Triggered when a new direct message (DM) is sent to a user in Slack. Catches all DMs across all DM channels.
Append Dimension
Tool to append new rows or columns to a sheet, increasing its size. use when you need to add empty rows or columns to an existing sheet.
Message Reaction Added
Triggered when a reaction is added to a message in Slack. Supports optional filtering by channel and emoji name.
Batch get spreadsheet
Retrieves data from specified cell ranges in a google spreadsheet; ensure the spreadsheet has at least one worksheet and any explicitly referenced sheet names in ranges exist.
Message Reaction Removed
Triggered when a reaction is removed from a message in Slack. Supports optional filtering by channel and emoji name.
Batch update spreadsheet
Updates a specified range in a google sheet with given values, or appends them as new rows if `first cell location` is omitted; ensure the target sheet exists and the spreadsheet contains at least one worksheet.
Reaction Added Trigger
DEPRECATED: use `SLACK_MESSAGE_REACTION_ADDED` instead. Triggered when a reaction is added to a message in Slack.
Batch Update Values by Data Filter
Tool to update values in ranges matching data filters. use when you need to update specific data in a google sheet based on criteria rather than fixed cell ranges.
Reaction Removed Trigger
DEPRECATED: use `SLACK_MESSAGE_REACTION_REMOVED` instead. Triggered when a reaction is removed from a message.
Clear Basic Filter
Tool to clear the basic filter from a sheet. use when you need to remove an existing basic filter from a specific sheet within a google spreadsheet.
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.
Clear spreadsheet values
Clears cell content (preserving formatting and notes) from a specified a1 notation range in a google spreadsheet; the range must correspond to an existing sheet and cells.
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When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
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