Kanban task management: how tasks are organised
The term ‘Kanban’ describes a visual task management system that allows team members to manage work as it moves through a process from inception to completion.
todo.vu uses a Kanban task management system combined with task lists to help you visualise and prioritize your work, and find and track specific tasks and details quickly and easily.
In this Help article, we’ll explore:
- Where tasks are managed in todo.vu
- Workflow statuses in todo.vu’s Kanban system: ‘Snoozed’, ‘To do’ and ‘Done’
- Different Task Dashboard views
- Different Task views
- How and why to use the Task Dashboard context filter
- ‘Favouriting’ specific filtered views
- Moving tasks through workflow statuses
- Workflow status notifications
- Task sorting settings
- Task labels for custom workflows
- Keyboard shortcuts
Where tasks are managed in todo.vu
In todo.vu, your tasks are viewed and managed in a unique Task List / Kanban hybrid on the Task Dashboard page.
Tasks appear in lists, which are arranged into three clear Kanban columns according to their workflow status: either ‘Snoozed’, ‘To do’ or ‘Done’. Tasks can easily be added to or moved between columns, and your entire Kanban view can be filtered to view tasks that belong to a specific context, such as a client or project.
When you log in, todo.vu will open to the Task Dashboard page of your primary workspace by default. However, you can navigate to the Dashboard at any time by selecting the top icon on the left sidebar of your workspace; the ‘Tasks’ option.
Workflow statuses explained: Snoozed, To Do and Done
In todo.vu, your tasks are organized by their workflow status. Every one of your tasks will adopt a workflow status.
In addition to the ‘Snoozed’, ‘To-Do’, or ‘Done’ workflow statuses, a task can adopt a ‘Draft’ or ‘Archived’ status. A task will never be without a workflow status; it cannot exist in the workspace without one.
Let’s explore each of the workflow statuses in more detail:
Snoozed
The ‘Snoozed’ workflow status contains tasks that do not require immediate attention. In the ‘Snoozed’ Kanban column, these tasks stay out of your immediate ‘To do’ task list, so it can remain clear and manageable. However, ‘Snoozed’ tasks are still able to be captured and stored for future work.
When you add a task to ‘Snoozed’, you can leave it there until you choose to revisit it.
You can also configure ‘Snoozed’ tasks to move automatically to ‘To Do’ after a certain date or action has been taken; see below for more details on how to do this.
To do
Typically, your ‘To do’ workflow status will include priority tasks — tasks which are either in, or soon to be in, progress.
Your ‘To do’ list helps you stay on top of your workflow, as you have a clear view of what needs to be done, and by when, without distractions.
Note: If you create a task via Email, it will appear in the ‘To-do’ Workflow status by default.
Done
When a task is marked as ‘Done’, the task will move into the ‘Done’ Kanban column.
You can mark a task as Done from within that task, or you can drag it from the ‘To do’ to the ‘Done’ column with the drag n’ drop function.
Plus…
Draft tasks:
Draft tasks can only be kept as drafts in the ‘To do’ column. Draft tasks will begin with “DRAFT” in the task title.
Draft tasks allow you to create complicated tasks over longer time frames while keeping them private, as the task assignee and followers will only be notified once the task is no longer in Draft mode. You can even start the task timer on a draft task to track the time it takes you to create it.
As you create a new task, unless you have used the Quick-add function, your task will remain in Draft mode until you click, ‘Create task’.
Archived tasks:
Your Archived tasks are found within the ‘Done’ tasks column and hidden by default. You can see archived tasks by clicking on the ‘archived’ button in the top right of the ‘Done’ header.
Archived tasks enable you to safely hide, rather than delete, your information, so you can keep your workspace clear and tidy without having to risk any loss of data or critical information.
Clients, projects and tasks can all be archived.
Deleted tasks:
You can only delete a task if you were the task creator, and no time has been logged to that task. Deletion is permanent and there is no way to search for and recover deleted tasks.
Task Dashboard views
By default, your todo.vu Task Dashboard will display your tasks in lists in three columns, with your ‘Snoozed’ column on the left, your ‘To-do’ column in the middle, and your ‘Done’ column on the right.
You can change this order if you like, or enable ‘Focus mode’ to expand and view just one column’s task list on your Task Dashboard.
Here’s how:
Change column order
To change the column that sits in the middle of your Kanban columns, click the angle bracket (>) or (<) at the top of the left or right columns.
The angle bracket should appear as you move your cursor over the headers, unless your screen width is too small.
Otherwise, you may only have to click your cursor anywhere on either of the two outer columns to move them to the middle, or at the bottom of the screen for very small screen widths.
Note: You can add a task to any of the three Kanban columns with the Task Adder bar at the bottom of your Dashboard.
However, the Task Adder bar works only on the current Kanban column occupying the middle column, what we call the ‘Primary’ column. So, to add a task to a different Kanban column, you have to change your Primary column.
Expand Kanban columns
To make better use of screen space, you can expand your Primary (middle) column to enable ‘Focus mode’. Simply click on the angle brackets (< >) that appear on the Primary column header.
To disable Focus mode, simply click the brackets (> <) again.
Task views
You can view and interact with tasks in a way that works best for you with task views. These determine how each of your individual tasks display in your Task Dashboard and Workspace.
The different task view options are:
b) Task view – Window
Individual tasks will display in a pop-up window on your Task Dashboard.
c) Task view – Side-by-side
Individual tasks will open beside your task listing on your Task Dashboard. Your open task will change as you select different tasks from within the task listing. This tabular view is common to many email platforms.
a) Task view – Full screen
Individual tasks will display in full-screen view. Only the Workspace header and left sidebar will be visible in addition to your selected task. (This is much the same as the open task page in previous versions of todo.vu.)
To change Task Views
To change your task view setting, simply click the three-dot menu at the top right-hand side of the task to choose your view. The highlighted icon is dynamic and reflects your current view.
The Task Context filter
When you manage multiple clients, projects, tasks and team members, not to mention different labelling systems, it can be hard to see everything that you need to do, especially all in the one place.
That’s why the Task Dashboard incorporates comprehensive, but easy-to-use, filter functions.
With the search bar, you can choose to see the entire workflow — that is, all tasks ‘Snoozed’, ‘To Do’ and ‘Done’ — related to any context you want. Whether that context is a specific Project, Client, team member(User) or Label, or a combination of any of these, you can see all tasks related to this context in seconds.
You can even filter by keyword!
The filter to the left of the Task Dashboard allows you to refine your search even further.
This way, it’s easy to see and manage everything you need to do all in one place, no matter how many clients, projects, tasks, or team members you have.
There’s no need to switch between different dashboards, systems or platforms. You can also filter all tasks assigned, requested and followed by certain team members.
‘Favourite’ frequently-used contexts
Once you have filtered for a specific view on your Task Dashboard, click the star icon at the right-hand side of your the search bar. This allows you to ‘favourite’ the specific filters you have used, so you can quickly navigate to different views with a click of your mouse whenever you want to.
To search for and navigate to your favourited views, simply click on the star icon the the right of the search bar.
Note: No matter your filters, the Task Dashboard’s layout will stay the same, showing you at a glance which tasks are ‘Snoozed’, ‘To do’ or ‘Done’ for any specific context.
The same filtered context will show across all of your devices, no matter which you are working from, making it super simple to pick up where you left off.
Moving tasks through workflow statuses
As explained below, you can set up ‘Snoozed’ tasks to automatically change workflow states at a specified date.
You can update a task’s workflow state, for example from ‘To do’ to ‘Done’, by moving it between your workflow state columns with the drag n’ drop function*.
You can also manually change a Task’s workflow state by changing the Task’s status while the Task is open.
If you’d like to change multiple tasks’ workflow states at once, use the bulk edit function. While on todo.vu’s Kanban Task Dashboard page, click the avatar on your selected tasks in your Task listing, and use the options on the drop-down panel at the top of your dashboard to change these tasks’ workflow states.
*Note in the Task Sorting Settings below that, in order to use the Drag n’ Drop function, you have to have ‘Manual sort’ enabled.
Move Snoozed tasks automatically through the workflow
To configure Snoozed tasks to move automatically through the workflow, hit the Status checkbox of a your Snoozed task (or any task; this works on tasks ‘To do’ and ‘Done’).
Select the ‘Snooze’ option to open the drop-down menu. You will see three options; select one based on the action you’d like to configure.
- Until unsnoozed manually
- Until another task is done
If you choose this option, you will then be prompted to select another task that, once its workflow state is ‘Done’, will automatically move your ‘Snoozed’ task to the ‘To do’ workflow state.
- Until a given date
If you choose this option, you will then be prompted to select a date at which your Snoozed task will automatically move from ‘Snoozed’ to ‘To Do’.
Workflow status notifications
Any time a task is added to or moved between the three Workflow statuses, each follower of that task will receive a notification.
Task creators can override Workflow status changes; for example, if you had assigned a Task to a team member who marked it as ‘Done’, you can revert the Task back to ‘To do’ and add a note with further instruction.
Task sorting settings
Now that you understand how tasks are organised and managed on todo.vu’s Task Dashboard, let’s discuss how to organise your tasks within the Kanban columns themselves.
You can only sort tasks within the task list of the Primary column; that is, the Kanban column that sits in the middle of the three-column layout.
Click the settings icon at the top right-hand side of your primary column to see, and modify, options for sorting tasks within this Kanban column.
Last modified:
If you enable the ‘Last Modified’ option, the most recently modified task will appear at the top of your task list in your Primary column, followed sequentially by each previously modified task.
The drag n’ drop function will be disabled.
Urgent, Important & Unread:
If you enable the Urgent, Important or Unread options, you will see any tasks labelled as such at the top of your task list in your Primary column.
Never miss an important message or a task deadline again!
Hide Task IDs: Your due dates and Task labels will be clearly visible on every task listing on the new task dashboard. For an even cleaner, clearer overview of your work, disable the option to show Task IDs.
Use Task Labels for custom workflows
You can personalise your workflows in todo.vu even further by using Task Labels. See Finding Tasks for more information on searching by Label.
For instance, a software company may create Task Labels to signify certain states such as “In testing” or “Deployed”. Consultants may create a Label like “Awaiting client response”.
You can create custom Labels to use on your tasks as necessary and reap the benefits of an even more organised workflow.
Keyboard shortcuts
So that todo.vu is quick and easy to navigate, we have implemented several keyboard shortcuts, for example:
- [Ctrl]+F – Will place your cursor in the context filter (search bar)
Now, type in anything to search Clients, Projects and Labels. Use the arrow keys to choose your desired match. Press [Enter] to select, or [Backspace/Delete] to remove items from the filter.
- [Crtl]+U – Open the User filter modal.
Now, type in a User. Use the arrow keys to choose your desired match. Select a User with [Enter].
- [Crtl]+[Enter] – Will place your cursor in the Task adder.
Type in your task then press [Enter] to quickly add a task. Or, press [Shift]+[Enter] to add more details to the task. To modify the more advance task settings, press [Ctrl]+[Enter] after you finish typing in your task.