Focus mode

When you need to concentrate on planning without distractions, focus mode strips away the surrounding interface and gives you the full screen for your Workplan canvas. This page covers how to use focus mode, along with three canvas tools that pair well with focused planning: connectors, sticky notes, and the drawing layer.

What focus mode does

Focus mode hides the sidebar navigation and other UI elements so that the Workplan canvas fills your entire screen. This is useful when:

• You want to maximise canvas space for a large or detailed plan
• You are presenting your board to someone else and want a clean view
• You find the sidebar distracting during deep planning sessions
• You are working on a smaller screen and need every pixel for your cards

Focus mode does not change any functionality. All tools, cards, connectors, and drawing capabilities remain available. The only difference is that non-essential interface elements are hidden.

Enabling and disabling focus mode

To enter focus mode

1. Open the Workplan from the sidebar
2. Click the focus mode button in the Workplan toolbar (the expand icon)
3. The sidebar and header disappear, and the canvas fills the screen

To exit focus mode

1. Click the exit focus mode button (the collapse icon) that appears in the toolbar while focus mode is active
2. The sidebar and header return to their normal positions

Focus mode persists across board switches. If you change to a different board while in focus mode, the new board also displays in focus mode.

Working with connectors

Connectors are lines drawn between cards to show relationships, dependencies, or flow. They are one of the most powerful tools for turning a flat collection of cards into a structured plan.

Creating a connector

1. Hover over a card to reveal its connection points (small circles on each edge)
2. Click one of the connection points
3. Drag toward another card
4. When you reach the target card, its connection points highlight
5. Release on a connection point to create the connector

Each card has four connection points: top, right, bottom, and left. You can connect any point on one card to any point on another.

Editing connectors

Once a connector is created, you can modify it:

• Select: Click the connector line to select it
• Reconnect: Drag either endpoint to attach it to a different card or connection point
• Delete: Select the connector and press the Delete key

Connectors update automatically when you move a card. If you drag a card to a new position, all connectors attached to it follow along and re-route.

When to use connectors

Connectors are most valuable when your plan has structure beyond a simple list:

• Task dependencies: Draw arrows from prerequisite tasks to dependent ones
• Information flow: Show how research feeds into a design, which feeds into implementation
• Grouping relationships: Connect related entries without physically placing them next to each other
• Sequential steps: Use arrows to indicate the order of a process or workflow

Sticky notes

Sticky notes are small, colourful text elements you can place anywhere on the canvas. Unlike cards, they are not linked to entries in your knowledge base. They exist purely on the Workplan as lightweight annotations.

Creating a sticky note

1. Click the sticky note icon in the toolbar, or press N on your keyboard
2. Click anywhere on the canvas to place the note
3. Type your text
4. Click outside the note to finish editing

Customising sticky notes

Sticky notes offer several customisation options:

Colours:

• Yellow
• Pink
• Blue
• Green
• Purple

Click a sticky note and select a colour from the options to change its appearance. Use different colours to distinguish between types of notes (for example, yellow for questions, pink for blockers, green for decisions made).

Size:

• Drag the corners of a sticky note to resize it
• There is a minimum size to ensure text remains readable
• Make notes larger for important annotations or when they contain more text

Moving:

• Click and drag a sticky note to reposition it anywhere on the canvas

When to use sticky notes

Sticky notes complement cards rather than replacing them:

• Questions and blockers: Mark areas where you need more information
• Decisions: Record decisions made during a planning session
• Context: Add background information that does not belong in an entry
• Annotations: Label sections or regions of your canvas (for example, "High priority" or "Revisit next week")
• Talking points: Prepare discussion topics for a meeting by placing notes near relevant cards

Drawing layer

The drawing layer lets you sketch, annotate, and mark up your canvas freehand. Drawings sit on a separate layer, so they do not interfere with cards or connectors.

Drawing tools

The Workplan includes two drawing tools:

Tool	What it does	Best for
Pen	Freehand drawing with a solid line	Circling groups, drawing boundaries, free sketching
Highlighter	Semi-transparent freehand marking	Emphasising areas without obscuring content underneath

How to draw

1. Click the pen icon in the toolbar, or press D to enter drawing mode
2. Select your tool from the drawing toolbar that appears
3. Choose a colour and stroke width
4. Draw on the canvas by clicking and dragging
5. Release to finish each stroke
6. Click the pen icon again, or press D again, to exit drawing mode

While in drawing mode, the cursor changes to a crosshair to indicate you are drawing rather than interacting with cards.

Drawing settings

You can customise the appearance of your drawings:

Setting	Options
Stroke width	Thin, Medium, Thick
Colour	10 colour options
Opacity	Adjustable for the highlighter tool (other tools use full opacity)

Tips for the drawing layer

• Use the highlighter to group cards visually. Draw a coloured wash behind a cluster of related cards to make the group stand out.
• Keep freehand drawing minimal. A few purposeful annotations are more useful than a canvas covered in scribbles.
• Use connectors for structure. Freehand lines can look messy; prefer the connector tool for card-to-card relationships and reserve drawing for highlighting or circling areas of the canvas.
• Exit drawing mode when done. It is easy to forget you are in drawing mode and accidentally draw when you meant to pan or drag a card. Press D to toggle back to select mode.

Combining tools in focus mode

Focus mode works best when you combine multiple tools to create a rich, structured plan. A typical focused planning session might look like this:

1. Enter focus mode to maximise your workspace
2. Arrange entry cards for your current priorities
3. Draw connectors between dependent tasks
4. Add sticky notes for questions and blockers
5. Use the highlighter to group related cards by theme
6. Zoom out to review the full picture
7. Exit focus mode when you are ready to return to other parts of Ultrathink

Next steps

For details on navigation, grid settings, keyboard shortcuts, and practical tips for getting the most from the Workplan, see the Progress tracking page.