Tasks
Task keys, the six statuses, priorities, labels, estimates, descriptions, Done when lists, sub-tasks and dependencies, and the difference between canceling and deleting.
A task is one piece of work. Besides its title, it has a key, a status, a priority, two dates, an estimate, labels, a description, a Done when list, sub-tasks, and someone who does it.
Keys
Every task gets a key when it's created: the area's key and the next number, such as WRK-12. The number is one more than the highest in use, so deleting the newest task frees its number for the next one. Tasks created in the Inbox, without an area, get INB keys, such as INB-3.
A key never changes. Moving a task to another area or project keeps its key, so WRK-12 can end up in the Personal area, and renaming an area changes only the keys its new tasks get. Agents and the command menu find tasks by key, in any letter case.
Status
| Status | Meaning | Set by |
|---|---|---|
| Backlog | Kept for later; not planned yet. | You |
| Todo | To do. New tasks start here. | You; also Close session, for a task in progress |
| In progress | Being worked on. | You; PacedMind when a session starts on the task |
| In review | Handed back by an agent, with its report, waiting for you to check it. | The agent, when it hands the task back |
| Done | Finished and checked. | You |
| Canceled | Won't be done, but kept for the record. | You |
Each status has its own icon: a dashed circle for Backlog, an empty circle for Todo, a half-filled circle for In progress, a three-quarters-filled circle for In review, a navy circle with a check mark for Done, and a gray circle with a cross for Canceled.
Click a task's status icon in a list to mark it done, or to set a done or canceled task back to Todo. The details panel offers all six statuses.
Done and canceled tasks leave the Inbox and Upcoming. Today keeps a task that was due today and got done today, crossed out, until the day ends. In area and project lists, finished tasks collect in the Done and Canceled groups, which start collapsed. Marking a task done records when; any other status clears that time.
Priority
| Priority | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Urgent | What must happen today, or causes harm if it slips. |
| High | This week's important work. |
| Medium | Normal work that has a place in the plan. |
| Low | Nice to have. |
| No priority | The default. |
Urgent shows as an exclamation mark in a square; High, Medium and Low as three, two and one lit bars; no priority as three faint bars. The Inbox and the area and project lists sort by priority within each status group, Urgent first; Today and Upcoming sort by date and time first. See Views. The auto-planner also plans Urgent and High tasks that have no dates. See The auto-planner.
Labels
Labels are short lowercase words, such as finance or car. Add them in the details panel (+ Add, then Enter) or type them with # in quick add, as in #finance. A task row shows its first two labels. Click a label in the details panel to remove it. Agents can filter tasks by label.
Estimate
The estimate is how long the task takes, in minutes. New tasks get 60 minutes. The details panel offers 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 180 and 240 minutes; quick add reads phrases like for 30m or for 2h, and agents can set any value from 5 minutes to 24 hours.
The estimate decides:
- how much focus time the auto-planner reserves for the task (for a task in progress, only the share of its sub-tasks still open, but at least a quarter);
- how long its bar is on the Timeline when it has no deadline, counting 8 hours per day.
Description and sub-tasks
The description holds what won't be obvious later: why it matters, context, constraints and links. What the result must be goes in the Done when list (below).
Sub-tasks are checklist items. Add them in the details panel (+ Add sub-task, then Enter), tick them off, or hover one and select its × to delete it. The panel shows how many are done. Agents working on a task tick off sub-tasks as they go and add the ones they discover.
Done when
The Done when list says what must be true when the task is finished, one checkable outcome per item, such as The export downloads the rows for the current filters or A screenshot of the new button. Sub-tasks are the way there; Done when is where to end up.
Add items in the details panel, under the description, or with Done when in quick add. Empty and repeated items are left out. Agents can set the list too, when they create or update a task.
For work an agent will do, the list is its acceptance criteria. The agent reads it when it picks the task up, and its report answers each item with Met, Partly met or Not met, and a note on how it checked. The details panel then shows each answer next to its item. See Review finished work.
Dependencies
A task can wait for other tasks in the same project, such as a release that waits for its tests: a dependency. Dependencies only order the work. Nothing starts by itself, and the task's dates stay as they are.
- Draw them on the Timeline, from one task's bar to another task's row. See Dependencies.
- The Roadmap's task order names what each task waits for, such as After DEV-19. Agents add them with
connect_tasks. - What a task waits for counts as finished once it's Done or In review. After an agent handed it back partly done or blocked, it counts once you mark it done. See Partly done or blocked.
Dependencies stay within one project and never form a loop. Tasks that are yours can have them too.
Where a task lives
A task is in a project, directly in an area, or in the Inbox. In the details panel:
- Choosing a Project also sets the task's area to the project's area.
- No project takes the task out of its project and leaves it in the area.
- Choosing another Area, or Inbox, no area, also takes the task out of its project when the project is in a different area.
A task created in a project gets the project's default agent as its doer. See Who does a task.
Cancel or delete
Canceled keeps the task, its history and its sessions, out of the way. Deleting removes the task together with its sub-tasks, its session records, the agents' reports and their images, and its dependencies, and can't be undone.
Delete a task from its details panel (the trash button), from its menu in the calendar (Delete task), or through an agent. The details panel asks Delete WRK-12? first; the calendar menu asks for a second click.
Areas and projects
Create, rename, recolor, reorder, move, merge and delete areas and projects, select several at once, keep one project across your computers, give an area an icon or a picture of your own, and set a project's target date, folder, default agent and the project it starts after.
Due and planned dates
The difference between a task's due date and its planned date, how to set each, and how Today, Upcoming, the calendar, the timeline and the auto-planner use them.