5.3.1 Closing items

The most basic logging is to keep track of when a certain TODO item was finished. This is achieved with⁵²

(setq org-log-done 'time)

Then each time you turn an entry from a TODO (not-done) state into any of the DONE states, a line ‘CLOSED: [timestamp]’ will be inserted just after the headline. If you turn the entry back into a TODO item through further state cycling, that line will be removed again. If you turn the entry back to a non-TODO state (by pressing C-c C-t SPC for example), that line will also be removed, unless you set org-closed-keep-when-no-todo to non-nil. If you want to record a note along with the timestamp, use⁵³

(setq org-log-done 'note)

You will then be prompted for a note, and that note will be stored below the entry with a ‘Closing Note’ heading.

In the timeline (see Timeline) and in the agenda (see Weekly/daily agenda), you can then use the l key to display the TODO items with a ‘CLOSED’ timestamp on each day, giving you an overview of what has been done.