# Track a desk's status and time > Move a desk through To do, In progress and Done, watch a countdown against your estimate, and add time or finish when the estimate runs out. Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-status-time Section: Desks and the canvas > Desk tools Plans: All plans Updated: 2026-10-10 Every desk has a status, and a desk can also have an estimate of how long it will take. The status button in the header moves a desk along from To do to Done. When a desk with an estimate is In progress, PlexiDesk counts down the time left, and when the time runs out it asks whether you need more. ## The four statuses | Status | What it means | | --- | --- | | **To do** | Not started yet. Every new desk starts here. | | **In progress** | You are working on it. | | **Done** | Finished. | | **Parked** | Set aside for now. | You see these names in **All desks**, on each desk's card and in the **Status** column of Table view. You can also group and filter All desks by status. See [Browse All rooms and All desks](https://plexiidesk.com/help/rooms-desks-index). ## Change a desk's status The status button is the first of the desk's quick actions in the header. Its name says what clicking it will do next: | When the desk is | The button reads | Click it and the desk becomes | | --- | --- | --- | | To do | **Start** | In progress | | In progress | **Done** | Done | | Done | **Reopen** | To do | | Parked | **Resume** | To do | 1. Open the desk. 2. Rest the pointer on the first button in the quick-actions row to see its name. 3. Click it. The desk moves to its next status. Each time a desk moves to In progress, its clock starts from that moment. See [Desk quick actions in the header](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-quick-actions) for the rest of the row. ## Give a desk an estimate You give a desk its estimate, called **Duration**, when you create it. 1. Click **New desk** at the top of the side menu. The **New Desk** window opens. 2. Type how many minutes you expect the work to take in **Duration**, from 1 to 1440. 3. Fill in anything else you need, then click **Create Desk**. A desk without a duration still has a status, but no countdown. See [Create a desk](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-create). ## Watch the countdown 1. Open a desk that has a duration. 2. Click **Start**. The desk is now In progress. 3. The time left appears in the quick-actions row, just after the **Meeting** button, as minutes and seconds, for example **24:59**. It counts down every second. When the estimate runs out, the time keeps counting, with a minus sign in front to show how far over you are. It turns red so you notice. ## When the time is up When an In progress desk passes its estimate, the **Time's up on this task** window opens. It appears straight away if you are on the desk, or when you next open it. It shows how long the desk has been running against its estimate. Choose what to do: - **+15 min**, **+30 min** or **+1 hour** adds that much time to the estimate. The countdown carries on with the new total. - **Snooze 5 min** closes the window for five minutes. Pressing `Esc` does the same. If the desk is still over its estimate after that, the window opens again. - **Mark done** marks the desk Done. Time you add is kept with the desk, so you can see later how your real time compared with what you planned. ## Finish a desk 1. Click **Done** in the quick-actions row, or **Mark done** in the **Time's up on this task** window. 2. The desk becomes Done. If it has at least one widget on it, PlexiDesk asks **Save this as a template?**, so you can start similar work from the same setup next time. 3. To keep the setup, give the template a name, untick anything you do not want and click **Save template**. Otherwise click **Skip — just close**. PlexiDesk asks only once for each desk while you keep working, even if you reopen it and mark it Done again. See [Desk templates](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-templates). ## See how your estimates compare Once you have finished at least one desk that had a duration, and that you started with **Start** and finished with **Done**, the **New Desk** window shows **Your history** below Duration and Due: - **Your history** gives your real time as a percentage of your estimates, with the number of finished desks it is based on in brackets. Over 100% means your desks have taken longer than you planned; under 100% means less. - **Predicted real time** appears when you type a duration. It adjusts your estimate by your history. - **Median Desk takes** appears when the duration is empty. It is how long your typical desk takes. Time you added with **+15 min**, **+30 min** or **+1 hour** counts as part of the estimate here. > **Tip:** > If Your history says you usually take longer than you plan, try entering the Predicted real time as the duration for your next desk. ## Common questions ### There is no countdown on my desk The countdown only appears while the desk is In progress and has a duration. If the button reads **Start**, click it. If the desk was created without a duration, it has a status but no countdown. ### The Time's up window keeps coming back **Snooze 5 min** only hides it for five minutes. To stop it, add time with **+15 min**, **+30 min** or **+1 hour**, or click **Mark done**. ### How do I see all the desks I have in progress? Open **All desks** from the side menu, then set **Filter** to **In progress**, or set **Group** to **Status**. See [Browse All rooms and All desks](https://plexiidesk.com/help/rooms-desks-index). ### I reopened a desk. Does its clock start again? Reopening sets the desk back to To do. When you click **Start** again, its clock starts from that moment. ## Related tasks - [Desk quick actions in the header](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-quick-actions) - [Create a desk](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-create) - [Desk templates](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-templates) - [Start a focus session](https://plexiidesk.com/help)