Tasks | Motion Knowledge Base

In Motion, tasks can be classified as either free tasks or busy tasks.

⏱️Free Tasks

These tasks can be moved to a different time without any problems. Motion sets tasks as free until there are no other available time slots before the task's deadline. This gives you the flexibility to work on the task at a different time while still meeting the deadline. For example, if you have a task due on Friday, but you can't finish it on Monday, Motion will automatically move it to a later time, like Tuesday. This is okay because there are still other available time slots before the Friday deadline.

⚠️Busy Tasks

These tasks should not be moved too far into the future because doing so might cause the task to miss the deadline. Motion sets tasks as busy when they are scheduled for the last available time slot before the deadline. For example, if you have a task due on Tuesday night and it's initially scheduled for Monday afternoon, but you can't finish it, Motion will automatically move it to the next available time slot on Tuesday. However, this task becomes busy because there might be limited time slots left before the Tuesday night deadline. So, rescheduling it further into the future would risk missing the deadline.

Understanding the difference between free and busy tasks helps you manage your schedule effectively. Free tasks give you the flexibility to move them within a specific time frame, while busy tasks are fixed commitments that can't be moved without risking missing the deadline. By understanding the status of your tasks in Motion, you can balance your commitments, meet deadlines, and work in a way that suits you best.

Motion:

Google Calendar:

This is how tasks look like when displayed on the main calendar.

Task A is busy because it’s an instance of a daily recurring task with a deadline of December 11th.
Task B is free because its deadline is 9 days away.
Task C is busy because its deadline has passed.

🔒Fixed Task

To lock a task in place, you can drag an existing task to a new time slot. If you don’t complete the task within the set timeframe, Motion will automatically reschedule it for you just like any other task.

Overview

Recurring tasks can save you time and effort by automating the process of scheduling and managing tasks that need to be done on a regular basis. With our system, you can easily set up recurring tasks to ensure that you never miss a deadline or forget an important task.

Creating Recurring Tasks

To create a recurring task, follow these simple steps:

Navigate to the 'Calendar' tab.
Click 'Add Task' or use the shortcut 'Option + Space'.
Select the 'Recurring' option for your task represented by cycle arrows.
Define the frequency at which you'd like the task to recur.
Click 'Save' to lock in your recurring task.

Recurring task on the calendar:

Task modal:

Benefits of Recurring Tasks

There are several benefits to using recurring tasks:

Time and Energy Savings

By setting a task as 'Recurring,' it automatically appears on your calendar at the desired intervals. No need to create a new task for each instance—set it once, and our system takes care of the rest.

Intelligent Handling of Missed Tasks

If you miss a daily task, our system intelligently rolls it over to the next day instead of creating a duplicate task. This keeps your task list clean and focused, avoiding clutter and confusion.

Never Miss a Deadline Again

By leveraging the power of recurring tasks, you can ensure you never miss a deadline. Our easy-to-use interface allows you to set up repeating tasks in seconds, saving you time and increasing overall efficiency in task planning.

Sales Team Example

Consider a sales team with several routine tasks that need to be done consistently. For example, a sales representative might need to follow up with potential leads every week. This can be set up as a recurring task, ensuring that the sales representative doesn't miss this important task.

Here's how they'd use recurring tasks:

The sales representative creates a task called "Weekly Follow-up with Leads".
They set this task as 'Recurring' and choose a frequency of 'Weekly'.
The system will then automatically create a new instance of this task every week on their calendar.
If they miss to follow up in a particular week, the system intelligently pushes the task to the following week.

This way, the sales team can ensure they never miss following up with potential leads. They can also spend more time engaging with leads rather than keeping track of when to do the follow-ups.

Steps to Create an ASAP Task

Start at the 'Calendar' tab, your task planner for daily activities.
Click 'Add Task' or use the shortcut 'Option + Space'.
Choose 'ASAP' as the task's priority.
Click 'Save' to finalize your task.

ASAP tasks are crucial when it comes to managing a hectic workday. Here's why:

Priority Overload Management

When faced with a project's looming deadline or an unexpected urgent issue, setting a task as 'ASAP' ensures it takes precedence over all others. Keep your projects on track and maintain order in your schedule by addressing high-priority items promptly.

Straightforward and Quick Creation

Creating an 'ASAP' task is a simple process that doesn't require much time. Once set, the task is elevated to the top of your schedule, sharpening your focus on the most critical aspects of your work.

Highlighting What's Most Important

'ASAP' tasks serve as a beacon amidst the daily shuffle of tasks. Use them to highlight the most crucial work and ensure nothing critical gets overlooked.

Guiding You to Prioritized Action

Creating an 'ASAP' task is like having a lifeline in a sea of deadlines. It serves as a constant reminder and guide, directing your attention to what requires immediate action. By leveraging 'ASAP' tasks, you can effectively manage high-priority work, stay organized, and achieve timely results.

Introduction:

Marking tasks as "complete" is an essential action in managing your tasks effectively in Motion. Whether you're using the Calendar or the Projects and Tasks tab, there are simple steps to follow to mark a task as complete.

Marking a Task as Complete

Calendar Tab

Locate the task on the Calendar tab.
Click on the task ring to complete the task.
The task will be marked as complete.

Marking a Task as Complete

Projects Tab

Navigate to the Projects tab.
Find the task you wish to mark as complete.
Locate the "Status" column for the task.
Change the status to "Completed."
The task will be marked as complete.

💡You can also open the task and click ‘✔️Complete task’ inside the modal.

Note: Dynamic Task Movement

It's important to note that if you do not mark a task as complete within 30 minutes of its scheduled time or deadline, Motion's dynamic scheduling feature will automatically move the task to optimize your calendar and prioritize other tasks.

Showing Completed Tasks

Calendar Tab

Open Calendar Settings by clicking the sound mixer icon at the top beside the search 🔍 icon.
Toggle on "Show Completed tasks."
Your completed tasks will be shown on the calendar.

Projects Tab

To see all completed tasks within a workspace, you can:

Navigate to the desired workspace.
Using the status filter at the top, uncheck all other statuses and select “Completed.”
Your completed tasks will be shown in the current view.

Undoing a Task

You can unmark a task as complete by following these steps:

Calendar Tab

Click the completed task on the calendar.
Change the status to unmark it as done.
The task will be auto-scheduled depending on the selected status.

Projects Tab

Navigate to the desired workspace.
Using the status filter at the top, uncheck all other statuses and select “Completed.”
Identify the task you want to undo.
Change the status from “Completed” to the appropriate status.
Turn on auto-scheduling to schedule the tasks on your calendar.

What Are They?

Short Task/Reminder Tasks in Motion are quick reminders or to-dos without a duration. Although they aren't scheduled on the calendar, tasks appear in the Task List on the right and at the top of the calendar for convenient access and visibility.

Distinctive Features

These tasks bypass typical parameters such as duration or priority, offering a simplified approach to task management.

When to Use Them

Use Short Task/Reminder Tasks for various non-time-specific activities like:

"Walk the dog" - a daily reminder to take care of your pet.
"Drink water" - a gentle nudge to stay hydrated throughout the day.
"Email John" - a prompt to contact a colleague or friend.
"Pick up dry cleaning" - a memo about personal errands.
"Order office supplies" - a note for administrative tasks.

Leverage these tasks to streamline your list and focus on time-specific responsibilities more effectively.

Introduction

In Motion, the Resolve Issues Box is an integral tool designed to alert you when certain tasks are scheduled beyond their set deadlines, or couldn't fit into your schedule. This guide will clarify how it works and provide ways to use it effectively for task management.

Tasks that go into the Resolve Issues Box:

Past Due tasks. Due to scheduling constraints or other factors, these tasks were rescheduled for a different day. Past-due tasks have a red exclamation mark ❗
Could Not Fit recurring tasks. Due to various constraints, these tasks cannot be scheduled within the rolling auto-schedule window. Could Not Fit recurring tasks have a red exclamation mark ❗and cycle arrows 🔄.

Motion's Scheduling Algorithm

Motion's scheduling algorithm, harnessing AI, allocates your tasks based on multiple factors like due date, start date, priority, deadline type, and more. At times, due to over-scheduling or constraints in time, some tasks might get scheduled beyond their deadlines, or go unscheduled at all.

The Resolve Issues Box

For instance, if it's Monday and you're working a 40-hour week, but you've slated 50 hours of tasks to complete by Friday. In this scenario, there are 10 hours of tasks that won't fit within your available work week, resulting in certain tasks being scheduled beyond their due dates. This is where the Resolve Issues Box becomes critical.

The Resolve Issues Box identifies these tasks and categorizes them based on their priority:

🔴 Red: High-priority task scheduled beyond the deadline or recurring task that couldn't fit

🟡 Yellow: Medium-priority task scheduled beyond the deadline or recurring task that couldn't fit

Addressing Issues

As a user, you have four options to address these issues:

Do ASAP

Schedule the task before all other tasks. This effectively increases the task's priority in the scheduling algorithm.

Example: Alex, a marketing manager, has a task to develop a new marketing plan due Friday. It's now Thursday, and the task is scheduled for next Monday, thus appearing in the Resolve Issues Box. Alex clicks on "Do ASAP,” boosting this task's priority. The scheduling algorithm then recalculates and slots the task for completion today.

Extend Deadline

Push back the deadline. If a task is scheduled beyond its due date, extending the deadline effectively resolves the scheduling conflict. Options include:

Adopting the scheduled date
Selecting a new due date

Example: Alex has another task, reviewing the monthly marketing report, initially due on Friday but scheduled for the following Tuesday. To resolve this, Alex chooses to "Extend Deadline" and pushes it back to next Wednesday. Since the task is already scheduled for Tuesday, it's no longer behind the due date and thus is removed from the Resolve Issues Box.

Ignore Warning

Disregard the notice and keep the task settings as is. This option is done on a per-task basis. If it’s a recurring task, options include:

Ignore the warning for the specific instance
Ignore the warning for all instances

Turn off Auto-scheduling

This option removes the task from the calendar. Users will need to re-auto-schedule the task when they're ready to tackle it.

Example: Alex identifies a lower priority task, updating the team contact list, which is also behind its deadline. Recognizing it's not urgent, Alex decides to turn off auto-scheduling and change the task’s status when necessary, removing it from his current schedule. When ready, he will re-auto-schedule this task.

To do this:

Click the pencil icon to open the task modal
Toggle off the auto-scheduling switch

By utilizing the Resolve Issues Box effectively, you can manage your tasks better, ensuring critical tasks are completed on time, and your work schedule remains manageable.