# Desk nudges, notifications and the Attention count

> How Attention reminds you: desk and plan nudges on the Attention page, notifications for due items and closed loops, and the count in the header.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/attention-nudges
Section: Focus and flow > Attention
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-15

Attention reminds you of things in three ways, each quieter than the last:

- **Notifications** on your computer, for an item due within a day, a **Know** item whose date has come, a calendar block about to start, and a short receipt when you close something.
- **From your desks**, a list on the Attention page of desks and plans that are due soon or have gone quiet.
- **The Attention count**, a bell with a number in the header, showing how many items need you.

This article explains what each one shows, when it appears, and how to quieten the desk nudges you do not need.

> **Note:**
> Attention is off until you switch it on. Turn on **Attention layer** in Settings, on the **AI** tab, under **Attention**. While it is off, the Attention count is hidden. See [Turn Attention on or off](https://plexiidesk.com/help/settings-ai-attention).

## Before you start

- Nudges, notifications and the count are available on every plan.
- To see notifications, PlexiDesk must be allowed to show notifications in your computer's own notification settings.

## From your desks

**From your desks** appears on the Attention page, under the queues, whenever one of your desks or plans needs a look. It is worked out from your desks each time you open the page; nothing is added to your Attention items.

It lists:

| Nudge | When it appears | Its line says |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A desk that is due | The desk has a due date within the next seven days, or already past | **Due today**, **Due tomorrow**, **Due in 4 days** or **Past due** |
| A desk inside a plan that is due | As above, for a desk that belongs to a plan | The same, followed by the plan's name |
| A plan that is due | The plan has its own due date within the next seven days, or already past | **Plan due tomorrow**, **Plan past due** and so on |
| A quiet desk | Nothing has changed on the desk, its widgets or its activity for seven days or more | **Quiet for 9 days** |

Desks marked done, parked desks and archived desks are left out. Due nudges come first, soonest first, then quiet desks, quietest first.

### Open a nudge

Click the nudge. A desk nudge opens the desk. A plan nudge opens the plan.

### Mute a nudge

1. Rest the pointer on the nudge.
2. Click **Mute this nudge** (the bell with a line through it).

The nudge disappears from the list.

When you have muted three nudges of the same kind, **Quiet this whole source?** asks whether to mute every nudge of that kind:

- **Mute all of these**: no more nudges of that kind, for example no more quiet-desk nudges, appear.
- **Just this one**: mutes only the nudge you clicked.

The three kinds are due desks, due plans (including desks inside plans) and quiet desks, and each is counted separately. Mutes are kept on this computer.

## Notifications

PlexiDesk shows a notification on your computer for these:

| What happened | Title | Message |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A **To Do**, **Review**, **Decide**, **Respond** or **Meet** item is due within the next 24 hours | The item's title | **Due within 24 hours.** |
| A **Know** item's date has arrived | The item's title | **Its date arrived.** |
| A calendar block is about to start | The block's title | A reminder, about five minutes before the block starts |
| You closed an item | The item's title and the word it closed with, such as **completed** or **answered** | **Loop closed.** |

Each is sent once: one due notification per item per due date, one reminder per calendar block, and one receipt per closure. Archiving an item does not send a receipt. Quiet desks never send a notification; they only appear in **From your desks** and in the **Stale desks** section of the Attention widget.

Click a notification to bring PlexiDesk to the front.

If a lot arrives at once, for example when you open PlexiDesk after a few days away, PlexiDesk shows up to five notifications an hour for each queue, and five for calendar reminders. After that, it rolls the rest into a single notification that says how many updates are waiting.

## The Attention count

When items need you, a bell with a number appears in the header, just left of the search button. Its tooltip says **Attention — what needs you**.

- The number counts every open item in Attention: anything not yet closed, archived or let go. Snoozed items are still counted.
- Notices that PlexiDesk raised itself are not counted.
- Above 99 it shows **99+**.
- When nothing needs you, the bell disappears.

Click the bell to open the Attention page. The count updates as you close and capture items, and at least once a minute.

## Tips

- Mute a quiet-desk nudge when the quiet is expected, such as a desk you are deliberately leaving for later. If you never want them, mute three and choose **Mute all of these**.
- Give the desks you care about a due date. They then show up in **From your desks** in the week before they are due.
- To stop a desk showing as quiet for good, mark it done when the work is finished. See [Track a desk's status and time](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-status-time).

## Common questions

**I am not getting any notifications.** Check that notifications for PlexiDesk are allowed in your computer's settings. Due notifications only come for **To Do**, **Review**, **Decide**, **Respond** and **Meet** items that have a due date.

**Can I unmute a nudge?** Not from the Attention page in this version. Mutes are kept on this computer, and a muted desk stays muted even if its due date changes, so mute only what you are sure you do not need.

**Why is the count higher than the number of rows I can see?** The count includes snoozed items and every queue. The page hides snoozed items until they come back, and a queue tab shows only its own items.

**Why do I not see the bell at all?** Either nothing needs you, or Attention is switched off.

## Related tasks

- [Attention: everything that needs you](https://plexiidesk.com/help/attention-overview)
- [Turn Attention on or off](https://plexiidesk.com/help/settings-ai-attention)
- [Close, snooze, archive and edit an item](https://plexiidesk.com/help/attention-work-an-item)
- [Stalled desk widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/home-widget-stalled-desk)
- [Track a desk's status and time](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-status-time)
- [The header bar](https://plexiidesk.com/help/app-header)