# Write a handoff note with Resume > Resume writes a short note on where a desk stands, its decisions, open questions and next three actions, and keeps it with the desk for when you return. Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-resume Section: Desks and the canvas > Desk tools Plans: All plans Updated: 2026-10-10 Coming back to a desk after a day away can cost you a slow start while you work out where you were. **Resume** asks Plexii to write a short handoff note for the desk you are on: where the work stands, the decisions you have made, the questions still open and the next three things to do. The note is saved with the desk, so it is waiting the next time you open Resume. Use it before you stop for the day, before you switch to other work for a while, or whenever you want a quick read on where a desk has got to. ## Before you start - Resume works the same on every plan. - It needs AI to be set up: PlexiDesk credits while you are signed in, or your own Anthropic key. See [AI credits and where your AI runs](https://plexiidesk.com/help) and [Add your own API keys](https://plexiidesk.com/help/api-keys). - Plexii writes the note from what is on the desk: its name, notes and status, and the content of its widgets, such as stickies, notes, tables, documents and the pages open in browsers. The more of your thinking is on the desk, the more useful the note. ## Write a resume note 1. Open the desk. 2. In the header, find the desk's quick actions to the right of centre. Click the button with the document icon. Its name, **Resume handoff document**, shows when you rest the pointer on it. 3. The **Resume** window opens, with the desk's name in its title. If the desk has no note yet, the window says so. 4. Click **Generate resume**. The button reads **Generating…** while Plexii writes. 5. The note appears in the window and is saved with the desk straight away. Under the title, the window shows when the note was last updated. 6. Click **Close**, or press `Esc`. ## What the note contains Plexii keeps the note short, under 250 words, and sets it out under four headings: - **Where you are**: two or three sentences on what has been worked on. - **Key decisions**: the decisions noted on the desk. - **Open questions**: what is still unresolved. - **Next 3 actions**: a numbered list of concrete next steps. Writing the note does not change anything on your desk. ## Read the note later or bring it up to date - **To read the saved note,** open the desk and click the **Resume** button again. The last note you generated is there, with the time it was updated. - **To bring it up to date,** click **Regenerate**. Plexii writes a new note from the desk as it is now, and the new note replaces the old one. The note is written from the desk, so it is not edited in the window. To add something to it, put it on the desk, for example as a sticky, and click **Regenerate**. > **Tip:** > Before you stop for the day, jot what you were about to do on a sticky, then generate the note. The next 3 actions will start from where you really left off. ## Resume, the status button and other ways to catch up - **The status button.** On a parked desk, the first button in the quick actions also reads **Resume**, with a play icon. That one changes the desk's status back to **To do**. The handoff note is the button with the document icon. See [Track a desk's status and time](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-status-time). - **What was I doing?** In the Plexii panel, **What was I doing?** sums up your recent activity rather than the desk's content. See [Catch up with 'What was I doing?'](https://plexiidesk.com/help). - **Desk history.** To see how the desk itself looked earlier, or to go back to it, use **History** on the tool rail. See [Restore or branch a desk from its history](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-history). ## Common questions **The window says Generation failed.** Plexii could not write the note. Check that AI is set up: sign in to use PlexiDesk credits, or add your own Anthropic key in **Settings > AI**. Then click **Generate resume** again. See [AI settings](https://plexiidesk.com/help/settings-ai). **The note is thin or general.** Plexii can only use what is on the desk. Add a sticky or note with your current thinking, decisions or blockers, then click **Regenerate**. **Is the old note kept when I regenerate?** No. Each desk keeps one note, and **Regenerate** replaces it with the new one. **Does every desk have its own note?** Yes. The note belongs to the desk it was written for, and the **Resume** button always opens the note for the desk you have open. ## Related tasks - [Desk quick actions in the header](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-quick-actions) - [Restore or branch a desk from its history](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-history) - [Set up a desk with AI](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-build-with-ai) - [Meet Plexii, your assistant](https://plexiidesk.com/help/ai-assistant) - [AI credits and where your AI runs](https://plexiidesk.com/help)