Spending long hours at my computer, constantly moving between projects and tasks, I found myself repeatedly losing focus, often due to excessive context switching.
Context switching is the act of interrupting one task to move to another. While it enables multitasking, it comes at a cost: reduced productivity, higher error rates, and mental fatigue. For knowledge workers, it’s one of the most silent yet persistent drains on concentration.
In my case, the biggest source of friction was deceptively simple: switching applications just to jot down a note or capture a task. Every time I left the application I was working in, my attention fragmented—and distractions crept in.
To truly stay in the flow, I needed a system that would let me capture a thought instantly (creating a note in Obsidian or a task in Todoist) without ever leaving my current app. The goal was to preserve momentum, not interrupt it.
The core idea is straightforward: use global shortcuts (shortcuts that work regardless of which application is in focus) to trigger “new note” in Obsidian and “new task” in Todoist.
Fortunately, on macOS, setting this up is surprisingly simple.
How to launch Obsidian using a global shortcut
In Obsidian it’s very simple: install the Global Hotkey plugin and in its settings decide which shortcut to associate with the “Create new note” command.
Now, at any time and from any application, when you use that hotkey, Obsidian will be brought to the foreground and a new note will be created.
The plugin works very well and allows you to associate a keyboard shortcut with any Obsidian command. For example, I also have a hotkey to invoke the search function, which I can therefore use from any application.
Note that this plugin works well with other plugins too: in my case, for example, I use the Templater plugin to create notes with the “Templater: Create new note from template” command, while to search through notes I use the Omnisearch plugin with the “Omnisearch: Vault search” command.
And that’s it!
A global shortcut for Todoist
In Todoist it’s even simpler and there’s no plugin to install:
1 – Open the Todoist desktop app.
2 – Click your avatar at the top-left.
3 – Select Settings.
4 – Click the Desktop tab.
5 – Find the Quick Add global shortcut.
6 – Click the dismiss icon.
7 – Set your unique global keyboard shortcut to open Quick Add.
And that’s all you need to do!
BONUS – Creating a global “hyperkey”
Although the procedure indicated above allows you to associate any key combination to launch Obsidian or Todoist, I find it very convenient to create a “hyperkey.”
A Hyperkey is nothing more than a key that simulates pressing a combination of keys: in my case, I’ve remapped CAPS LOCK (which I never use) to simulate pressing SHIFT + CONTROL + COMMAND + OPTION, so my shortcuts become:
HYPER + N: Creates a new note in Obsidian;
HYPER + T: Create a new task in Todoist;
To remap the CAPS LOCK key and make it simulate pressing SHIFT + CONTROL + COMMAND + OPTION, unfortunately you need an external utility: in my case I use Karabiner Elements, but there are others available (for example, I’ve heard good things about HyperKey)
And that’s it!
Reducing context switching isn’t about rigid productivity rules or squeezing more tasks into the day—it’s about removing friction. With a couple of well-chosen global shortcuts (and, optionally, a hyperkey), capturing ideas and tasks becomes instantaneous and almost invisible. Thoughts go exactly where they belong, without breaking concentration or pulling you out of the flow you worked hard to get into.
Once this setup becomes muscle memory, you stop thinking about note-taking or task capture altogether. You just do it—and keep working. For me, that small change has had an outsized impact on focus, calm, and consistency. If you spend most of your day in front of a keyboard, this is one of those low-effort, high-leverage tweaks that’s well worth adopting.