Understanding Statuses and Labels in Motion
Statuses in Motion serve as the stage of a task in your workflow; they form the cornerstone of effective task management, offering clarity, organization, and optimization to your workflow by defining a task's position in its lifecycle.
In previous versions of Motion, the "Auto-scheduled" feature was categorized as a status, leading to some confusion. However, it has since been separated from task statuses, offering greater flexibility in task management.
Now, a task can be auto-scheduled (powered by Motion AI and placed on your calendar) while also having a status of your choice!
Default Statuses in Motion
Motion offers the following default statuses:
Backlog: Think of this as a holding area for tasks not yet ready to be scheduled.
Todo: Here lie your scheduled tasks awaiting action, ready for your attention.
In Progress: Self-explanatory – your task is underway and moving towards completion.
Blocked: External factors stopping your progress? That's what this status is for.
Completed: The finish line for your tasks. You can still schedule completed tasks on your calendar. 🎉
Custom Statuses in Motion
You have the flexibility to create your own personalized statuses to reflect the various stages of your tasks. To create a custom status, you can:
Go to the Settings tab.
Select a workspace on the left.
Go to the Statuses tab.
Click on “Add status” at the bottom.
Name your custom status and choose whether you'd like to enable or disable auto-scheduling.
Save your new status.
Why Statuses Are Important
Statuses play a pivotal role in bringing organization and clarity to your workspace, ensuring that tasks are managed efficiently. Here's how they contribute to the effectiveness of your task management:
1. Organization and Clarity
Imagine your workspace filled with tasks of different types, deadlines, and priorities. Without statuses, it would be a chaotic jumble. But with statuses, you can:
Group and Sort: In the Projects tab, tasks can be grouped by status, offering a visual representation of your project's progress. For example:
Navigate to Projects.
Click on My Tasks.
Select Kanban view.
Group tasks by status.
Sort them by priority. 🗂️
This approach tells Motion, “I want to see all the tasks assigned to me (in my tasks workspace), grouped into bins based on their status (group by), and I want to filter this information to show the most important tasks at the top and the least important tasks at the bottom.” 🤩
2. Custom Statuses on the Kanban View
Imagine you're part of a marketing team handling various campaign tasks. To keep everything organized, you can set up custom statuses like "Draft," "Review," and "Ready for Deployment" to track each campaign's progress.
Draft: This status signals campaigns in the initial planning stage.
Review: Indicates campaigns ready for supervisor or client review.
Ready for Deployment: Marks campaigns fully prepared for launch.
This way, you can quickly spot which campaigns need attention and which are good to go, ensuring smooth workflow for your projects.
Review Required: Shows tasks needing approval before moving forward, perfect for campaign drafts awaiting supervisor or client review.
On Hold: Marks tasks paused due to external factors, preventing anything from slipping through the cracks—ideal for tasks awaiting external input like materials or information.
In Testing: Identifies tasks in the testing phase, particularly helpful in software development to manage the testing process effectively.
Ready for Deployment: Signals tasks fully prepped for launch, aiding project managers in tracking readiness and ensuring everything's set before going live.
By creating custom statuses tailored to your unique workflow, you can make task management more intuitive and seamlessly integrated into your workspace.
Statuses vs. Labels: Understanding the Difference
In Motion, tasks can be categorized using both statuses and labels, but they serve different purposes and offer distinct advantages. It's essential to understand the difference between them:
Statuses
Statuses act like signposts, showing you where a task is at in your workflow journey or simply the current state of your task. They tell you the main stage a task is in, helping you keep tabs on its progress. Here's the lowdown on statuses:
In Progress 🚧: This means the task is currently being worked on and is moving towards completion.
Backlogged 📦: When a task is backlogged, it's waiting its turn for attention or action. It's basically in line, waiting to be dealt with.
Statuses help you stay organized and see at a glance where your tasks stand in your workflow.
Labels
Labels are like categories for tasks, giving them extra info or grouping them together. Unlike statuses, they don't show a task's main state, but they offer more flexibility. Check it out:
Q1 Project/Task 📊: This kind of label can show which project, category, or theme a task belongs to. For example, it could tell you if a task is part of a project for a specific quarter.
Inside Sales/Outside Sales 🏬: Labels can also highlight different aspects of tasks, like whether they're about inside sales or outside sales.
Labels are handy for adding more details, context, or organization to your tasks as needed.
Spotting Statuses and Labels: Where to Find Them
The most common places where you can find statuses and labels are:
In the list view within the Projects tab.
Within the task modal.
Statuses vs. Labels: Examples
To illustrate the difference further:
Imagine you're managing a software development project. You can use statuses to indicate whether a task is "In Progress," "Backlogged," "Completed," or "Blocked." This helps the team understand the task's current stage in development.
At the same time, you can use labels to tag tasks with labels like "Bug," "Feature Request," or "UI/UX." These labels offer extra information about the nature of the task, helping team members identify specific types of tasks.
In summary, while statuses provide a clear overview of a task's primary state in your workflow, labels offer flexibility in categorizing and adding contextual information to tasks. Both statuses and labels together contribute to efficient task management and organization within Motion.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 🤔
Can a task have multiple statuses?
A task in Motion can only have one status at a time. Statuses represent the primary stage in a task's lifecycle.
Why can't I auto-schedule a completed task?
Completed tasks have already reached their finish line, so there's no need to schedule them. However, you can still view completed tasks in the Calendar tab by clicking on Display Options at the top right, and then toggling on the "Show Completed Tasks" option.
Can I create custom statuses for different workspaces?
Yes, custom statuses are workspace-specific. You can create and use different custom statuses for each workspace, ensuring flexibility in task management across various projects.
How do I change a task's status?
To change a task's status, open the Calendar tab, click on the task, find the status section in the task modal, and select a status from the dropdown. You can do this for tasks within your workspace.
Can I delete custom statuses that I've created?
Yes, you can delete custom statuses you've created by going to Settings, selecting your workspace, clicking on Statuses, and deleting the unwanted custom status.
Understanding and effectively utilizing statuses in Motion can streamline your workflow, provide clarity, and optimize your task management experience. Customizing statuses, organizing projects, and leveraging auto-scheduling are powerful tools at your disposal. Happy tasking! 🌟📅
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