Why Tasks Look Different on the Calendar (Task States & Task Types)
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Note: This article assumes you've read "What is Auto-Scheduling and How to Auto-Schedule Your Tasks in Motion" [Link]. If you haven't, we recommend starting there for foundational concepts.
Tasks in Motion appear differently on the calendar based on their state and type. This visual distinction helps users quickly understand task progress, urgency, and scheduling constraints at a glance.
This guide will explain the meaning behind each task state and type, provide real-world examples, and highlight how recognizing these visual cues can enhance productivity and scheduling accuracy. Let’s dive in!
Task states represent the current condition or status of a task in Motion. They visually communicate where a task stands in its lifecycle, from on-time to overdue or unscheduled.
The task is scheduled according to the set deadline, with no issues.
Definition: Scheduled tasks that are progressing ahead of their scheduled deadline.
Visual Cue: Grey with a solid border and status ring.
Benefits: Instantly reassures users that tasks are moving forward without delays. Promotes peace of mind and allows prioritization of more pressing issues.
Example: A content writer sees "Draft Blog Post", indicating it's scheduled and on track for completion by Friday.
Definition: This state indicates that a task has been started or has seen some activity, and is moving toward completion. Essentially, if work has begun or there's been any movement on the task, it is considered “In Progress.”
Visual Cue: The task overlaps with the black timeline bar on the calendar if you are currently working on it. It may also display varying symbols (described in this article) and a color-coded status ring to indicate its current status.
Benefits: This state helps users easily track tasks that are progressing to completion, allowing for better prioritization and resource allocation. It also ensures that these tasks are actively managed, reducing the risk of them being forgotten or delayed. By visually distinguishing between tasks that are actively being worked on and those that are stalled or blocked, it promotes continuity in the workflow and ensures tasks progress toward completion without unnecessary interruptions.
Example: You begin working on an auto-scheduled task called "Create New Logo" and mark it as "In Progress." This signals to you and your team that the task is actively being worked on. When a higher-priority task is assigned to you, you switch its status to “Backlog,” and the status ring turns grey, indicating that the task is temporarily on hold.
Definition: The "Past Due" state refers to tasks that are either scheduled for a time slot beyond their original deadline in the future or have a deadline that has already passed. Motion will notify you about any tasks that fall into this category, regardless of whether the rescheduled time is in the future or the past.
Visual Cue: A red exclamation mark ❗ is displayed to highlight its 'Past Due' status, signaling that attention is required to either reschedule or complete the task.
Benefits: Provides an immediate visual alert ahead of time when a task is at-risk of being past-due. Allowing you to re-prioritize the task to ensure it's timely completion.
Example:
A task that was due last Friday wasn’t completed and has now rolled over to Monday.
A task due on a future date (e.g., three weeks from now) cannot meet its deadline due to scheduling constraints and has been rescheduled to the next available time slot, marked with a red exclamation mark.
Definition: 'Can’t Fit’ means that Motion’s AI could not find a feasible time slot to schedule this task into your calendar for the next 31 days (or 92 days for Motion teams).
When scheduling tasks, Motion’s AI looks at many things.
What is already scheduled (to learn more about scheduling click here).
What busy events are on the calendar (to learn read about busy events click here)
The relative priority of the task.
It usually happens when you’ve scheduled so many tasks or have so little availability on your calendar that Motion’s AI essentially says: ‘Hey, this is likely not going to fit anywhere for the next X (31 or 92) days.’
That’s what ‘Can’t fit’ means—it means the task simply cannot fit
Visual Cue: Pinned at the top of the calendar and shows a red exclamation mark❗. Recurring tasks that can’t fit also display a wheel symbol 🔄 alongside the red exclamation mark.
Benefits: It prevents tasks from slipping through the cracks and informs you of scheduling conflicts early. This prompts users to reconsider task priorities or adjust their schedule to make room.
Example: A long report-writing task is due by Friday, but your fully booked calendar prevents it from being scheduled within the auto-scheduling window. The red exclamation mark indicates that Motion couldn’t find time to fit it in.
Definition: Tasks that are part of a project workflow but tentatively haven't been scheduled yet because the stage they belong to has not been activated, usually due to the preceding stage not being completed. You can hide ghost tasks on the calendar via Display Options. (For more information about project workflows, click here).
Visual Cue: These tasks have a 🕓 icon, dotted border, and appear lighter than scheduled tasks. They serve as placeholders for upcoming actions but are not yet ready for scheduling until the respective stage is activated.
Benefits: Ghost tasks ensure that non-urgent tasks remain visible but do not clutter your calendar. They allow for flexible planning and capture future to-dos without disrupting current priorities. Scheduling ghost tasks on your calendar allows you to prepare enough time to complete all the tasks associated with a particular project.
Example: You launch a new marketing campaign using a project workflow template. The project includes multiple stages, such as research, content creation, and campaign launch. As you activate the workflow, tasks in inactive stages, like "final review" or "post-launch analysis," may appear on the calendar as ghost tasks.
Definition: Fixed tasks have manually set or locked schedules, ensuring they stay at the designated time. This happens when you drag an auto-scheduled task to a new slot or manually create time blocks on the calendar.
Motion’s algorithm will only reschedule these tasks if they aren’t completed within 60 minutes of their scheduled time slot for completion.
Visual Cue: A lock icon 🔒 signifies that a task is in a fixed state.
Benefits: Locked tasks provide control over task placement, ensuring Motion won’t reschedule them unless the task(s) aren't actioned after their manually-scheduled time slot. This flexibility balances automation with personal preferences.
Example: You had an unforeseen meeting invite at 10 AM, so you manually moved your "Lead Generation" task to 1 PM, locking it into that slot. However, the AI rescheduled the task because it wasn't marked as completed within the set timeframe.
Task types describe how a task was created or structured, providing insights into its origin, recurrence, and any unique properties.
Visual Cue: These tasks are marked with a ✨ icon for easy distinguishing.
Benefits: Creating tasks using Motion's Siri and email integrations saves you time in the task creation process, and seamlessly ensures you keep your schedule up to date while on the go.
Example:
With Siri set up on your iPhone you can leave a meeting and immediately tell Siri to add the meetings action items to your schedule. Simply tell Siri to “Add ‘Prepare Presentation’ to Motion,” and the task seamlessly integrates into your calendar.
With email integration, let's say an important client email arrives requesting additional financial reporting before the contract can be signed. While on the go, you can quickly convert the email directly into a task by forwarding it to Motion’s special email address (tasks@usemotion.com) allowing for the task to be scheduled before you're even back to your computer.
Definition: Recurring tasks are those that repeat on a regular basis, such as walking the dog or checking emails. They help save time and effort by automating the scheduling and management of tasks that need to be done consistently. Missed instances of a recurring task may either go past due if the task has a more spread-out cadence, or may not be scheduled at all if it is a daily recurring task, as two instances of the same task cannot be scheduled on the same day.
Visual Cue: Marked with a 🔄 icon.
Benefits: Recurring tasks build consistency and automation into daily workflows, helping users manage routines effortlessly.
Example: A daily task for "Check emails" appears at 10 AM every weekday, or a monthly task for "Payroll" shows up on the designated day each month.
For more information on recurring tasks click [here]
Definition: Tasks that have been divided into smaller, manageable pieces. These tasks are part of a larger task block that have not yet been fully completed. When using the time tracker for a task, it will automatically split the task based on the amount of time you plan to spend on it versus the entire task duration.
Visual Cue: Displays a fraction symbol, such as ½.
Benefits: Chunking prevents overwhelm and encourages steady progress. It aligns with time management principles, making large projects manageable.
Example:
A complex project with a 5-hour estimate, but you prefer to work on it across the whole workweek, so you break it into 1-hour segments. Each chunk is labeled to reflect the portion of the total task.
You started a 2-hour task and told Motion you're spending 1 hour on it, so it split the task into two. Now, the first chunk says 1/2 and the second one says 2/2.
For more information on chunked tasks click [here]
Definition: A standard task without any recurring behavior but can have other symbols such as ✨, ❗, 🔒 etc. These tasks are typically scheduled once and have a status ring indicating their progress.
Visual Cue: Grey with a status ring.
Benefits: One-off tasks address specific, non-repeating actions. They ensure unique tasks don’t get lost in recurring cycles, keeping focus on special, standalone items.
Example: You create a task for “Submit Quarterly Report” scheduled and completed on Wednesday.
Definition: Reminders are tasks with a duration of 4 minutes or less, serving as timely prompts to help you stay on track. These tasks are pinned at the top of your calendar to nudge you about important actions, but they aren't scheduled directly on your calendar.
Visual Cue: Pinned at the top of the calendar with a status ring.
Why It Matters: Reminders help ensure that short tasks, like calling the doctor or watering the plants, aren’t forgotten. They keep these tasks visible without cluttering your calendar, helping you stay organized and on top of your to-do list.
Example: You set a reminder for "Call Doctor" at 4 PM next Thursday. When the time comes, you see the task at the top of your calendar and mark it as complete once you're done.
Summary: Motion's task states and types empower proactive management. Understanding these visual cues enhances productivity, prioritization, and calendar control.
How to Use Motion’s Predictive System.
How to Make a Project (PWT/Regular).
Tasks from Apple Intelligence.
Email Integration.
Time tracking and partial completion.