UNFINISHED TASK - MINIMAL RETURN MARKER
Task reference:
Last completed point:
One next operation:
Missing information / unresolved step:
Where the material and note belong:

MEETING ENTRY AND EXIT - ONE ACTUAL TRANSITION
Meeting purpose / current role:
Material or question needed now:
Confirmed decision or agreed action:
Open question and review cue:
Next choice: return / changed priority / break / ask / stop

ORIGINAL ENTRY CARD
Purpose | What this meeting is intended to decide, explain or coordinate. | A vague title may need one clarifying question.
Role | What you are expected or able to contribute. | Listening, asking and taking an agreed note are different roles.
Material | The relevant agenda, document or accessible equivalent. | Do not collect unrelated material while the discussion is starting.
Current cue | The person speaking, current question or agenda item. | A difficult thought may remain present; no calmness threshold is required.

ORIGINAL EXIT CARD
Confirmed decision | A proposal was actually accepted through the meeting’s process. | Record the decision in the appropriate place; do not broaden its scope.
Agreed next action | Who will do what, with timing only if agreed. | Check missing ownership or timing rather than filling it in.
Open question | A point still needs information or a later decision. | Keep it labelled open, with a real review cue when known.
Next personal choice | Return, changed priority, break, ask or stop. | Choose from present conditions; returning is not compulsory.

FOUR FICTIONAL TRANSITIONS - NOT PERFORMANCE TESTS
Draft paused before a coordination meeting | Saved marker: Costs heading, next check two known figures. | No changed priority confirmed; return to that operation. | The record locates a step; no completion speed is measured.
Meeting ends with a missing figure | The source figure is still unconfirmed. | Ask or locate the agreed source before drafting its claim. | A breathing or attention round cannot supply the missing fact.
Meeting agrees a different current task | The new action and scope were confirmed. | Update the appropriate task record; leave the old draft’s status clear. | A suggestion alone would not be enough to create the new assignment.
There is no workable return interval now | Another actual responsibility or a need for rest remains. | Keep a minimal marker and choose the feasible next responsibility or break. | The card does not require immediate return or ignoring somebody’s needs.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWER NOTES
1. You have thirty seconds before joining. Must all five unfinished-task fields be completed?
No. Save the actual work and leave a minimal stopping point or next operation if practical.
The template is optional. It should not delay a necessary meeting or urgent responsibility.

2. Your note says “They might want me to rewrite everything.” Has a new assignment been confirmed?
No. It records an interpretation or suggestion, not an agreed action.
Clarify actual scope and ownership through the meeting’s normal process; do not invent a commitment.

3. The meeting ends but a figure needed for the draft is still missing. What should the next operation address?
Find or request the agreed source information.
Repeating an attention exercise cannot produce a missing fact or validate an unsupported sentence.

4. You still feel worried as the meeting starts. Does the entry card require waiting until you feel calm?
No. Use the present purpose, material or speaker as an accessible cue, or skip the exercise.
The card has no emotional pass mark; change or stop a practice that increases distress.

5. A necessary responsibility interrupts the return to your draft. Has the transition card failed?
No. Respond to the actual need and keep a small return marker if useful.
The next choice depends on present conditions, not a rule that the original task always takes priority.

6. APA discusses task-switching costs and quotes a possible productive-time percentage. May this card promise to recover that percentage?
No. The cited research and quote do not measure this original meeting worksheet.
The examples are fictional. Record actual next steps without inventing time savings, clinical outcomes or performance guarantees.

SOURCES
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/tips-and-support/mindfulness/
https://www.apa.org/topics/research/multitasking