Kanban TaskerThe trouble with repeating to-dos
Some to-do apps make a new copy each time a repeating task comes round, whether or not you did the last one. Miss a few days and the list fills with copies of the same chore, all overdue, and the work that matters is buried under them. Kanban Tasker does it differently: the next task waits until the previous one is done.
What can repeat, and when
A recurring task is a rule. The tasks it makes are ordinary cards on your board.
- Daily, at one or more times of day.
- Weekly, on the days you choose.
- Monthly, on the days of the month you choose. The 31st means the last day in shorter months.
- Yearly, on the dates you choose.
- Between a start and an end date, or with no end.
Each task it makes lands in To Do (or in Appointments, if it is an appointment), due a set time after the occurrence, or with no due time at all. It carries a “Recurring” badge on the home screen and on the board, so you can tell it from a one-off task.
The rule: the next one waits for the previous one
When an occurrence comes round, Kanban Tasker looks at the task it made for the previous one:
- If that task is done or deleted, the new task is made.
- If it is still open, nothing is made. You still have one task for this, and that is enough.
As soon as you finish the open one, the latest occurrence that has already passed gets its task straight away. The occurrences in between are skipped, not stacked. A new recurring task gets the task for its next occurrence at once, so you see it on your board immediately.
For example, take “Water the plants” every Monday and Thursday at 18:00. You go away for ten days and leave the last one open. When you come back, there is still just one “Water the plants” task. Finish it, and one new task appears for the most recent Monday or Thursday.
Made on the server, in your time zone
The tasks are made by Kanban Tasker’s server whenever one of your devices syncs: every minute while the app is open, and after every change. Your phone and your browser therefore never make the same task twice. Each occurrence can get only one task, so a task you deleted never comes back. Times are wall-clock times in your account’s time zone (Settings, Time zone), and changes to and from summer time are taken into account.
Reminders
A recurring task reminds you before its next task is due, unless the previous task is still open, since then no new task is coming. The Android app sets reminders as alarms on the phone, so they arrive even when the app is closed. A browser shows them while the page is open.
Where to set one up
- When adding or editing a task: choose a recurrence for it.
- On the phone: the board’s clipboard icon opens your recurring tasks.
- On a computer: “Recurring tasks” in the sidebar.
Recurring tasks belong to a swimlane like any other task, so “Pay the rent” can live in Home and “Send the weekly report” in Work.
Try it with your own tasks
Make an account with Google or your e-mail, add a few tasks with due times, and let the home screen sort them. The Android app shows the same tasks.