Tasks widget

The Tasks widget is the to-do list for the desk it sits on. It lists the tasks filed under that desk, lets you add new ones in a line, and gives you a box to tick when each one is finished. When you need to see more, one click widens it to your whole workspace.

Use it whenever a piece of work has steps: a launch checklist, the jobs for a house move, the actions from a meeting.

More about this widget Coming soon

Before you start

• The Tasks widget is included on every plan.
• It shows the tasks filed under the desk it is on. A new widget on a desk with no tasks yet says Nothing outstanding.

Add the Tasks widget

1. Open the desk.
2. Click Add widget in the middle of the header.
3. Click Tasks.

Tasks is the first widget in the Plan & track column of the Add widget menu. You can also type "tasks" in Search widgets… and press Enter.

You can also press ⌘ K (Ctrl K on Windows) and choose Add Tasks.

Add a task

1. Click in Add a task to this desk at the bottom of the widget.
2. Type the task.
3. Press Enter. The task joins the list, and the box is ready for the next one.

The box always adds to the desk the widget is on, even while the widget is showing Everywhere.

Tasks you create in other ways appear here too. For example, choosing A task on this desk in the New Desk window files the new task under the desk you are on. See Create a desk.

What each row shows

From left to right, a row shows only what applies to that task:

• The box. Tick it when the task is finished.
• The task's name. Click it to open the task's details (see below).
• Why it matters now, such as Past due, Due today, Due tomorrow or Due in 3 days. Past due and due today are shown in red.
• A moon if the task is snoozed. Rest the pointer on it to see the date it comes back.
• The queue, such as Review or Decide, for any task not in To Do (unless the list is grouped by queue).
• Initials of the person it is assigned to.
• A paper clip and a number when it has attachments.
• Subtasks done out of the total, such as 2/5.
• A coloured dot when the task is In progress or Parked. Rest the pointer on it to see which.
• The start date, followed by an arrow, when the task has one.
• The due date: Today, Tomorrow, Yesterday, a number of days overdue such as 3d overdue, the weekday for the coming week, or the date.
• The arrow at the end, which shows or hides the task's details.

Finish a task

Tick the box at the left of the row. The task is marked done and leaves the Active list.

The box's tooltip names what finishing means for that task's queue: Done for a To Do task, Reviewed for Review, Decided for Decide, Responded for Respond, Scheduled for Meet, Discussed for Discuss, Let it go for Remember and Got it for Know. To change a task's queue, see Plan a task in the Tasks widget.

To bring a finished task back, click Done at the top of the widget and untick its box (the tooltip says Reopen).

Choose what the list shows

The controls along the top of the widget change what you see. The widget remembers your choices.

Active, Done and All

• Active (the default): tasks that are not finished, leaving out snoozed tasks until they come back.
• Done: finished tasks.
• All: everything, including snoozed tasks. Finished tasks sit at the bottom.

This desk or Everywhere

The button at the right end of the controls switches between the two.

• This desk: the tasks filed under this desk, including tasks inside other tasks on it, which show as subtasks of the task they belong to.
• Everywhere: your whole workspace. Every desk appears as a row of its own, and the tasks filed on a desk count as that row's subtasks, so a desk with five tasks, two of them finished, shows 2/5. Open a desk's row to see and tick its tasks. This desk's own tasks are listed as rows too.

Flat, By queue or By when

The menu beside the tabs gathers the rows into sections, each with a count:

• Flat: one list, no sections.
• By queue: a section for each queue in use, in this order: To Do, Review, Decide, Respond, Meet, Discuss, Remember, Know.
• By when: Overdue, Today, Tomorrow, This week (the next seven days), Later and No date.

Sort or Ranked

• Sort (the default) orders tasks by due date, soonest first. Tasks with no date come last.
• Ranked puts the most pressing first, using the same ranking as Attention: tasks that are overdue or due soon lead, and tasks nobody has touched for a while move up.

Click the button to switch between the two. Finished tasks always sit at the bottom.

List or Table

List is the checklist described here. Table shows every task's status, assignee, start, due date, duration, what it waits for, lag, subtasks and files in one grid you can edit. See Plan a task in the Tasks widget.

Open a task

Click a task's name, or the arrow at the end of its row (Show details). The row opens in place, with a row of quick controls and the task's details underneath:

• Queue: what kind of task this is. It also sets the word on the task's box.
• Snooze 1d, 3d or 1w: put the task down for a day, three days or a week. It leaves the Active list and comes back on its own. Wake now brings it back early.
• Give it a desk: open the task as a desk of its own, so you can put widgets on it. Once it has widgets, this button says Its desk and takes you there.
• Status, assignee, dates, waits for, notes, attachments and subtasks. See Plan a task in the Tasks widget for each one.

To close the details, click the arrow again (Hide details).

A task that has its own desk

When a task already has a desk with widgets on it, clicking its name asks what you meant. The window says how many widgets the task's desk has, and offers:

• Open the task here: dates, subtasks and attachments, without leaving this desk.
• Go to its desk: leave this desk and open that one.

Press Esc or click outside the window to cancel. The arrow at the end of the row always opens the details here, without asking.

AI and the Tasks widget

The AI button on the widget's title bar opens the Plexii panel with this widget attached, so you can ask Plexii about it. The Tasks widget has no AI of its own. See Use a widget's AI button.

You can also type @ in a task's notes to mention a desk, a room, a document, a widget or a person. See Link desks, widgets and people with @.

Sharing

If you share the desk as a live view that people can watch, the Tasks widget appears there as a placeholder, so the people watching do not see your tasks. See Publish a live view of a desk.

Good uses

• A checklist for one job. Keep This desk, Flat and Sort, and tick tasks off as you go.
• This week at a glance. Group By when to see what is overdue, due today and due this week.
• Your next move. Switch to Ranked and work from the top.
• Every desk in one place. Put a Tasks widget set to Everywhere on a desk you use for planning.

Common questions

I added a task but I can't see it

Check the tab at the top. A new task appears under Active and All, not under Done. If the list is grouped By when, a task with no due date is under No date.

A task disappeared after I snoozed it

That is what snoozing does. The task comes back to Active on its own when the snooze ends. To see it now, click All (it has a moon beside it), open it and click Wake now.

Where are my subtasks?

Subtasks sit inside their task rather than in the main list. The row shows how many are finished, such as 1/3. Open the task to see, tick and add subtasks.

Clicking a task opened a window instead of the task

That task has its own desk. Choose Open the task here to stay where you are, or click the arrow at the end of the row to open the details directly.

Related tasks

• Plan a task in the Tasks widget
• Plan and track widgets
• Tasks, desks and subtasks Coming soon
• See every task in All Tasks Coming soon
• Attention widget
• Calendar widget