⏲️Time Tracking and Partially Completing Tasks
Motion's Time Tracking feature allows you to precisely record the amount of time you've spent on tasks, even when they're not completed in one go. It's a powerful tool to help you manage your workflow and accurately track your progress.
What Does Time Tracking Solve?
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you're working on a task scheduled for the next few hours, but something unexpected comes up, and you can't complete the entire task? You've managed to complete a portion of it, say 30 minutes out of a 2-hour task, and now you need a way to inform Motion about it. You might say, "Hey Motion, I've spent 30 minutes on this 2-hour task, so there's still 1 hour and 30 minutes left to be done." That's where Time Tracking comes in handy!
Time Tracking for Tasks Scheduled for the Current Time
Question: "I am working on a task now, but I've just partially completed it. How can I update it in Motion?"
Answer: If a task is “in progress,” you can use our time tracking feature to tell Motion: “Hey Motion, I have partially completed this task.”
Right-click the task.
Click on “Stop Task” (because you want to indicate how much you've done).
Motion will ask, “How long did you work on this task just now?” Tell Motion how long you worked on the task (e.g., 30 minutes).
There's a second prompt that will ask how much more time you need to complete it. If you have a 2-hour task and you tell Motion you've completed one hour, the field for 'how much more time you need' will be reduced by 1 hour.
Time Tracking for Tasks Scheduled in the Future
Question: "How can I let Motion know I've partially completed a task that's scheduled for tomorrow but started today?"
Answer: You can track how much time of a task you've completed or tell Motion: “Hey Motion, I've partially completed this task,” by using our task time tracking feature. To do so:
Find the task you've been working on/have partially completed.
Right-click the task.
Click the “Start Now” button.
Motion will prompt: “How long are you going to work on this task now?” Tell Motion how long you worked on the task (e.g., 1 hour).
Right-click the task again.
Click “Stop Task.”
Motion will ask, “How long did you work on this task just now?” Answer (e.g., 1 hour).
The task will be partially completed and recorded at the time you did it.
Time tracking works like this:
Let's say it's 1 PM, and you click to "stop task." You tell Motion that you've just worked on this task for 2 hours. Well, you're essentially telling Motion, "Hey Motion, right now it's 1 PM, and I've just completed 2 hours of this task. So, from 11 AM to 1 PM, there should be 2 hours of this completed task on the calendar."
So, Motion will place the 1-hour block you just completed from 1 PM (the current time) backward to 11 AM (which is 1 PM minus 2 hours, the time you completed).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 🤔
Can I move completed tasks in Motion?
Yes, you can move completed tasks in Motion. Let's say it's Monday at 5 PM, and you realize you forgot to mark a task as completed from yesterday. You can simply mark it as completed now and move it to the day and time when you actually finished it.
If Motion asks me how much time I need to work on a task, and the original duration was 1 hour, but I say I need 3 hours, what happens?
If the duration of the task was originally set as 1 hour, and you indicate that you need 3 hours to complete it, the duration of the task will be increased to match the new time you need.
Is there any way to track how long I've spent on each task this week in Motion?
No, Motion's time tracking works differently. It allows you to record time spent on a specific task or portion of a task when you stop it. There isn't a feature for tracking cumulative hours across multiple tasks or weeks.
Can I track time in Motion?
Motion’s time tracking feature allows you to tell Motion, "I've completed 1 hour of this 4-hour task, so mark the 1 hour as completed and reschedule the other 3. However, we don't have a feature for tracking cumulative time spent on tasks in a reporting or analytics format.
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