How Highlighting Works | Kyōfolio

Highlighting in Kyōfolio is a focus aid, not a filter.

It helps you spot what’s most relevant right now—without hiding everything else, and without turning your task list into a guilt-based leaderboard.

In this guide

What highlighting is (and what it isn’t)
What can cause a task to be highlighted
What never happens (spoiler: your tasks don’t disappear)
How to adjust highlights when they feel “off”
Common questions and quick fixes

Highlighting is emphasis, not exclusion

Kyōfolio uses highlighting to visually emphasize tasks that are likely a good fit for today.

That means:

✅ You can still see your other tasks
✅ You can still work on anything you want
✅ Highlighting is a suggestion, not a commandment

If you’ve ever used an app that “helpfully” hides half your life… Kyōfolio is not that.

What can trigger highlighting

Kyōfolio can highlight tasks based on a few signals, including:

1) Your Day Type + Energy

When you set up Today, you choose:

a Day Type (Work / Personal / Mixed / Rest)
an Energy level (Low / Medium / High)

Kyōfolio uses these to help emphasize tasks that match the shape of the day you picked.

Think of it like: “Given what you said today is… these are the tasks that make sense to look at first.”

2) Target dates

If a task has a Target date, it will highlight on that date.

This is great for:

“Do this on Friday” tasks
reminders that matter on a specific day
time-sensitive work that isn’t tied to a block

3) What’s in Today (Flow + Canvas)

Tasks that are already part of Today—especially things you’ve pulled into your plan—are naturally more prominent.

(Shocking, we know.)

4) Priority signals (if you use them)

If you mark tasks as higher priority or categorize them in a way that ties into your day setup, those signals may influence what gets emphasized first.

What never gets hidden

A few important promises:

Highlighting never hides tasks.
Kyōfolio does not “lock you in.”
You can always choose a different task.

The one thing that can make a task disappear temporarily is a Defer date.

Defer date ≠ highlight

Defer date: hides the task until that date (on purpose)
Target date: highlights the task on that date
Highlighting: visual emphasis to guide focus

If something “vanished,” it’s almost always deferred. There's an option to turn off the hiding of deferred tasks.

How to work with highlighted tasks

A simple workflow that plays nicely with real life:

Use highlights as a shortlist
Pull what matters into Today (Current / Later / Today Inbox)
Keep your “Current” list small (your brain is not a CPU)
If your day changes, adjust the plan—don’t fight it

If the highlights feel wrong

Totally normal. Here are the most common fixes:

Change your Energy level

If today is turning into a “Low energy” day, updating Energy will usually make the emphasis feel more realistic.

Change your Day Type

If you chose Work but you’re actually doing personal life admin all day, switch it. Kyōfolio won’t be offended.

Check for Defer dates

If a task is missing entirely, look for a Defer date—it won’t show until that date arrives.

Don’t overtrust the system

Highlighting is guidance, not judgment. If you know what you need to do, do that.

Common questions

Why isn’t a task highlighted?

Usually because it doesn’t match today’s signals (Day Type / Energy / Target date), or it isn’t part of Today yet.

Can I turn off highlighting?

If you remove the filters in your view (Queue or Projects), the highlighting should shut off.

Do highlighted tasks automatically appear in Today?

No — highlighting is emphasis. You choose what you pull into Today.

Something disappeared. What happened?

Most likely it has a Defer date. Deferred tasks won’t show again until that date. Turn off the "Hide Deferred" filter and you will see it again.

What if Kyōfolio highlights the “wrong” things?

Adjust Day Type / Energy, and then trust your judgment. Kyōfolio is here to help—not to boss you around.