Tasks

Overview

Tasks is your to-do system in Self-Engine. The idea: write it down first, decide what it becomes later. Most tasks go through four stages:

1. Capture: note a thought right away, wherever you are in the app.
2. Clarify: go through the inbox and give each task a status, a project and tags if useful.
3. Plan: set the day you want to work on it (Planned) and when it has to be done (Deadline).
4. Do: work from Today, from Open or from a project, and check off what you finish.

Views

The sidebar of the Tasks module sorts your work by what needs attention. Every task shows up where it belongs:

• Completed shows done and cancelled tasks, newest first. Reopen a task from there.
• Archive keeps tasks you want out of sight. Bring them back with “Restore”.
• Deleted tasks go to the Trash. Restore them from there, or remove them for good with “Delete permanently”.

Capture tasks

There are two ways to add a task: from anywhere with Quick capture, or right in the list you have open.

1. 1

   Quick capture, from anywhere

   Click the plus in the header or press O, then C (or ⌘ / Ctrl + Shift + A). Choose “Task”, type a title and set Priority, Planned, Deadline and Project if you like. “Add” saves it.

   Tip After saving, the cursor jumps back to the title, so you can capture several tasks in a row.

2. 2

   Right in the list

   Every active task list and every project's task list has an “Add a task …” field at the top. Type a title, press Enter, done.

   • N jumps into the field of the current list. Like every shortcut, you can change it in the settings.
   • “Details” lets you set Status, Priority, Planned, Deadline and Project right away. Completed, Archive and Trash don't take new tasks.

Which status a new task gets depends on where you create it:

• With Quick capture and no project, it gets the status you set as the default for “New tasks”. Out of the box that is Inbox.
• In a project, in Open, or with a project selected, it gets your working status, so it lands right where you work.
• In Today, Planned is also set to today. Upcoming doesn't pick a date for you.

Edit tasks

Click a task to open its details. Everything about it is there:

The menu in the details duplicates or archives a task; the trash icon moves it to the trash. Duplicating also copies its subtasks.

Planned, Deadline & Reminder

A task has two independent dates. Together they decide whether it shows up in Today or Upcoming. There is no date that hides a task until then.

• A missed Planned day doesn't move on and doesn't make the task overdue. It stays in Today until you finish it or plan it again.
• The earlier of the two days counts. A deadline may lie before the Planned day. With a time, the task is overdue from that exact moment, while the sections in Today follow the day.
• Planned and Deadline don't appear as blocks in the calendar. To reserve time for a task, create an appointment there.

Status, priority & projects

Your statuses are yours: you choose their name, icon, color and order. Every status belongs to exactly one of six categories, and the category decides how a task behaves.

1. 1

   Add statuses

   Open Settings → Tasks → Statuses & appearance. Under “Task statuses”, “Add status” creates a new one; sort them and give each an icon, color and category. Renaming doesn't change behavior.

2. 2

   Pick default statuses

   Under “Default statuses”, choose the status for “New tasks” you capture and your “Working status” for projects and subtasks. Both must be open statuses.

3. 3

   Delete statuses

   If tasks still use a status, choose another one under “Replace with”. A default status needs a successor first, and at least one Done status always remains.

Subtasks & completion

Break big tasks into subtasks, nested as deep as you need. Subtasks take on their parent's project.

1. 1

   Add subtasks

   Open the task and click “New subtask” under “Subtasks”. Type a title, press Enter, repeat. Or use the plus right in the row.

2. 2

   Plan subtasks

   Give a subtask its own date if it should show up in Today or Upcoming. In other lists, reveal subtasks with “Expand subtasks” in the row or “Expand all” in the toolbar.

3. 3

   Complete the task

   A task can only be marked done when none of its subtasks is still open and no linked timer is running. Cancelled subtasks count as closed.

   Tip The progress ring in the row only counts done direct subtasks and becomes clickable at 100 %. If a subtask was cancelled, complete the task through the status picker.

Reopen finished work from Completed. Archive what you no longer want to see. What should go moves to the trash until you delete it permanently.

• Archive, trash, restore and permanent delete apply to the selected task and all its subtasks, not to its parents or siblings.
• Archived and trashed tasks can't be edited until you restore them.

Lists, board & filters

Each view adapts to how you work. The tools sit in the bar above the list:

• On the board, “Columns” shows and hides columns, “New status …” creates a status and “Manage statuses” opens the settings. Columns can be reordered and resized; drag tasks by their handle to reorder them.
• “Completed on the board” sets how long finished tasks stay on the board in Open and projects: from Today to Always, 1 day by default. Closed tasks leave Today and Upcoming right away.

Edit several tasks at once:

1. 1

   Start selecting

   Click “Select tasks” or press S. Then tick individual rows or use “Select all”.

2. 2

   Choose an action

   Change Status or Project, schedule them all for today with “Plan today”, or send them to the archive or the trash. The completion rules still apply.

3. 3

   Finish

   “Clear selection” empties the selection; “Exit selection” leaves selection mode.

Tasks & time tracking

Tasks connect to the time tracking of your projects:

• Timers and time entries can be linked to a task. The details show how many timers and entries belong to the task and its subtasks.
• Links only work within the same project, so a task needs a project before you track time on it. The time counts toward that project.
• If you change the project of a task with tracked time, “Change project” asks: move only the task and keep the past time where it is, or move the task with all its linked time. Stop a running linked timer first.

On your devices

This guide describes the web app. Other devices differ in a few places:

• Mac app: ⌘ + Shift + Space opens the menu bar window. “Capture” adds tasks; “Today” shows today's tasks and lets you change their status.
• The iPhone and Android apps are in development. They show Today and the other views with swipe gestures, but have no board, filters or search. Set deadline times and reminders in the web app.
• In the web app, open views in a tab with “Open in new tab” from the sidebar's context menu. Tabs remember where you were, not unsaved input, and only exist on this device.

Tips

• Capture first, sort later: don't break your flow to file a task perfectly.
• Go through the inbox regularly and give each task a working status. Setting a project alone doesn't move it out of the inbox.
• Plan your day with Planned. Whatever slipped yesterday is still in Today, no artificial deadline needed.
• Use deadlines only for real cut-offs, so “overdue” means something.
• Break big tasks into subtasks and give the next step its own date, so it shows up in Today.
• Keep the board lean: hide what you don't need under “Columns”, and switch to priority when urgency matters more than status.