Date-based scheduling
In Lunatask, you can use date-based scheduling to move a task out of sight until it becomes actionable, i.e. defer it to a later date (hey Lunatask, remind me in three months that I need to ...).
Dates in Lunatask behave more like start dates or deferred dates, not like end dates or deadlines.
To do this, open the task detail and click on the option to schedule the task. The popup appears where you select a future date using the calendar or by typing the date — our natural language parser will do its best to interpret the date.
No need to open task detail to schedule tasks for a future date. Simply select any task in the list and press S – the scheduling window will now appear. Learn more about our keyboard shortcuts.
When the task is scheduled for a future date, it automatically gets Later status and moves to the bottom of the list as our lists are always sorted with the most actionable tasks on the top and least actionable on the bottom.
The "coming up" section
In most workflows, Lunatask will show scheduled/deferred tasks in a special section at the top of the list (named "coming up") to bring your attention back to them when the date comes.
Scheduled tasks are not meant to stay in the "coming up" section. Go over each task and move it where it now fits your plans – you can move it, for example, to Now, Next or Must (depending on the workflow in that area). When you do so, the date goes away.
You can think of date-based scheduling in Lunatask as future reminders and of the "coming up" section as a notification area, if that helps.
Plan your days
If you work in such a way that you plan your days or a week ahead (i.e. which tasks to do today and which tomorrow, for example), use our more rigid Plan Your Week scheduling workflow designed for this date-oriented use.
Lunatask's Kanban-like approach is "If the thing is not "now", don't worry about it. Work on what's now until the thing becomes "now". Until then, it can sit on top of your backlog." – except for the Plan Your Week workflow, that's how most of our workflows (like Now / Later and others) work.
While offering you a workflow to work in a date-oriented fashion, if you prefer, which still guides you to address existing, older tasks first, most of your workflows work differently – freeing you to focus on what’s important now – your current focus, instead of building a perfect plan that you’ll abandon or will become obsolete shortly as new priorities pop up, one misjudges how much energy the will have after 4PM, etc.
It’s easy to fall into this pit and feeling of shame or a sense of failure when you don't manage to complete all the tasks you planned for the day. Instead, try adopting a different approach – think about what’s now and what’s later. Pick and mark what’s most important now, just a few tasks, and leave the rest in "later" without worrying about it – you will get to those later. Now, instead of one overwhelming list of everything, you have a short, simple list of your current focus. Lunatask always keeps your “later“ tasks in order they came in, so you know what to attend to next when the time comes.
Need even more help with organization or prioritization? We have many other workflows, such as one that allows you to break down your current focus, your “now” tasks, even further into those that are either “must”, “should”, or just “want”, so you know what to work on first.
It’s a wonderful, more forgiving, human, and actually manageable way to prioritize work, life goals, and everyday tasks as they come and go. It always keeps your list focused and achievable – no dates needed.
Give it a try — and let go of date-based thinking that most apps encourage. Instead of managing your tasks like a calendar, you’ll get a smart, ever-evolving list that highlights what matters most right now.
App icon and menu badges
Depending on your menu badge configuration, you can be notified of coming up tasks using the badge on the area the task belongs to, and on the app icon itself. When you sign up, badges are configured to show the number of due or coming up tasks. You can change this in the settings. Learn more in our article dedicated to badges and notifications.
FAQ
Does Lunatask support deadlines?
No, Lunatask currently does not support end dates or deadlines for tasks. Please, treat the date more as a start date (or a date on which to decide what to do with the task, i.e. a deferred date) when scheduling tasks for the future. We recommend putting the deadline in the task name (i.e. Write a blog post (due 08/31)) and moving the task manually between "now"/"later" manually depending on where you want to have it.
Goals, useful for managing projects in Lunatask, do have due dates.