The best productivity tools get out of your way. The worst ones make you work just to start working.
Opening an app to capture a thought takes four steps at minimum: wake your phone, unlock it, find the app, tap it. By the time you're staring at a blank input, the idea has already started fading. You're capturing a memory of the thought, not the thought itself.
The iPhone Action Button fixes this. And now Todobo supports it.
What Is the Action Button?
The Action Button is a physical button on the left side of iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, and newer models. By default it controls silent mode, but Apple lets you map it to any shortcut or action you want.
It's positioned exactly where your thumb naturally rests when you're holding your phone. One press, and something happens — immediately, without unlocking your device.
How It Works with Todobo
With the Todobo Action Button integration, a single press starts a voice recording session — instantly. The moment you press it, Todobo begins listening. Say your task. Stop. Done.
No unlock. No app-open. No navigation. Just press, speak, release.
When you next open Todobo, your recording has already been processed. Your AI-extracted tasks are waiting in your list, complete with due dates and reminders — exactly as if you'd recorded them inside the app.
This is the shortest possible path from thought to task list.
Setting It Up
Getting started takes about 30 seconds:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone
- Scroll down and tap Action Button
- Swipe to Shortcut, then select the Todobo recording shortcut
- Press the Action Button from anywhere — you're recording
You don't even need to be on the home screen. Works from the lock screen, from another app, from anywhere.
Why Speed of Capture Matters
There's a well-known productivity principle: capture friction kills follow-through. If it takes more than a few seconds to record a thought, a huge percentage of thoughts never get captured at all. They get filed under "I'll remember this later" — and they don't.
The Action Button eliminates capture friction entirely. It doesn't matter if you're:
- Driving and a task pops into your head
- Mid-meeting and you don't want to look distracted
- In the middle of a workout and don't have time to fumble with your phone
- Cooking, showering, or walking — anywhere your hands aren't free
One press. Done. Move on.
This Is a Pro Feature
Action Button recording — like all voice capture in Todobo — is part of the Pro plan. If you're already on Pro or Lifetime, it's available right now. Just set up the shortcut and you're ready.
If you're on the Free plan, this is the upgrade that makes Todobo genuinely hands-free. Voice capture is the core of what makes Todobo different from every other to-do app — and the Action Button takes it one step further.
Ready to try it? Download Todobo and get 7 days of voice capture included on new installs.