Recurring tasks: create and edit

Summary This module shows how to create a recurring task in PaT and how to change it later. You add a task, turn on recurring in its Advanced options, then set how often it recurs, how many times, when it first starts and how many days the assignee has to complete it. To change it later, open Recurring Tasks in your Activity tab. It has two parts: “Creating a recurring task”, then “Editing a recurring task from the Activity tab”.

Creating a recurring task

Summary This part covers creating a recurring task: add a task from the PaT Menu, open its Advanced options and turn on Recurring Task, then set its Frequency, Cycle, Occurances, Start Date and Days to complete. PaT then creates each task for you and escalates it automatically if it is missed, so important recurring work is never forgotten. It also shows where a recurring task sits in an SD.

Introduction. Recurring tasks are among PaT's most powerful features. Think of them as a personal assistant that manages tasks 24/7, so you can focus on the more critical parts of your work. Once you master recurring tasks, you can build processes and systems that never fall over.

Step 1

Open the PaT Menu: click the round + button at the bottom centre of the screen. A fan of round icons opens above it.

Step 2

Click Add a Task, the green icon with a tick in a box, at the left end of the fan. The Create a Task box opens.

Step 3

In Assign To, choose the assignee: the person who will do the task. Your own name is there to start with, so leave it to give the task to yourself. Then type the task's title in Task, in up to 100 characters.

Step 4

Click Advanced at the bottom right of the box, beside Submit. More options appear.

Step 5

Under the task's title is a text box. The title usually explains what's needed, but use the text box to give extra context if it helps. Anything you type there shows as a comment on the task each time it is triggered, so the assignee can always refer back to it.

Step 6

To make the task recurring, click the recurring task icon (two arrows in a loop), between the deadline and the priority. The Recurring Task panel opens.

Step 7

Tick the box to the right of the Recurring Task heading to make it a recurring task. To deactivate a recurring task later without deleting it, untick the box; tick it again to reactivate the task.

Step 8

In Frequency, choose how often the task recurs. For a task every 6 months, choose 6.

Step 9

In Cycle, choose days or months. For a task every 6 months, choose months.

Step 10

In Occurances, choose how many times the task occurs: from 1 to 52, or 4 ever (for ever).

Step 11

In Start Date, set when the first task starts: click the arrow at the right of the box to open the date selector.

Step 12

Select the date you want in the calendar.

Step 13

To change the task's due time, use the hour, minute and second boxes at the top of the calendar.

Step 14

Click OK at the bottom of the calendar to confirm your choice.

Step 15

Lastly, in Days to complete, choose how many days the assignee has to complete each task once it appears. Start Date tells PaT when the recurring task should be created; Days to complete sets how far ahead each task's deadline is, meaning when it must be completed by.

Step 16

For example, choose 7 days for a task that takes about a week. Each task then appears on the assignee's Task Wall 7 days before its due date, giving them a full week to complete it before the deadline.

Step 17

Click the back arrow under the settings, at the bottom left of the Recurring Task panel. You return to the task.

Step 18

Click Submit at the bottom right of the box.

Result. PaT now creates each task for you. Moving from calendar reminders, to-do lists and memory to a database you have programmed automates your task reminders, and lets PaT act for you, for example by escalating a task automatically when it is missed. This brings lasting benefits to the business and frees you from ever having to worry about the task again.

Recurring tasks in an SD

Step 19

When you create a recurring task, PaT generates an SD that acts as a folder for all the tasks it creates automatically. In the SD that holds it, the recurring task shows in blue as the last entry, with "RECUR:" before its title. The "RECUR:" prefix shows that the SD holds recurring tasks. Open it to see every task that has fired over time and its current status, such as WIP, Completed, Overdue, Pending RTC or Negotiating Deadline.

Step 20

To see the recurring task's details, click the edit icon (a pen on a square) at the right end of its row, just left of the flag.

Step 21

The Edit SD panel slides in from the right, with the Task Description, Due Date, Assignee, Assignor, Parent SD and Task Status. The note under them reads Only the task Assignor can edit this task. Parent SD links the recurring task to the SD it belongs to. The Assignee completes each task, and the Assignor reviews the work and approves or rejects each request to close it.

Note. To change how a recurring task recurs, such as its Frequency, Cycle, Occurances or Days to complete, use the Recurring Task editor, as the next part of this module shows.

Why recurring tasks are powerful. - If the Assignee leaves or becomes inactive, PaT automatically reassigns their recurring tasks to the Assignor, who must accept the work or delegate it to someone else. Tasks don't fall through the cracks during staff changes. - Where people forget, PaT never does. Once repetitive tasks are managed by PaT, they stop being missed. - If the Assignee misses a deadline, PaT's auto-escalation raises the issue up the chain of command, all the way to higher management or even the CEO if needed, so nothing important is overlooked.

Editing a recurring task from the Activity tab

Summary This part covers changing a recurring task you have created, from your Activity tab: its frequency, cycle, occurrences, next date, days to complete and assignee, its assignor and title, and the comments of the source task. It also covers deactivating a recurring task, and how to move one to a different parent SD.

Step 22

Click the orange Activity tab on the left edge of the screen. A panel opens on the left.

Step 23

Click Recurring Tasks at the top of the panel, between How To and Out Of Office. The panel becomes my Recurring Tasks.

Step 24

Click Active: by me to see the recurring tasks you have created.

Step 25

Each recurring task shows as a card, with its title, its frequency, how many have been completed, its next date and its parent SD. To edit one, click the recurring icon (two arrows in a loop) at the right of its card.

Step 26

The Recurring Task editor opens. It has the settings you chose when you created the task, with Next Date in place of Start Date, plus Assignee and two links under it.

Step 27

To deactivate a recurring task, untick the box to the right of the Recurring Task heading. The task becomes inactive.

Step 28

If that is the only change you want, click Submit at the bottom of the editor.

Step 29

To change how often the task recurs, choose a new number in Frequency.

Step 30

In Cycle, choose days or months.

Step 31

In Occurances, choose how many times the task occurs: from 1 to 52, or 4 ever.

Step 32

In Next Date, change the date the next task will be due.

Step 33

In Days to complete, change the number of days the assignee has to complete each task.

Step 34

To change the assignee, choose a new one in Assignee.

Changing the assignor, title or parent SD

Step 35

To change the task's assignor or title, click the first link under Assignee: click here to change the Assignor or Title of the source task. A window opens with the source task's details.

Step 36

Change the title in Title, at the top of the window.

Step 37

Change the assignor in Assignor.

Step 38

The parent SD can't be changed in this window, as the note under Parent Strategy Document explains. To move the recurring task to a different parent SD, open its current parent SD and find the row the recurring task is on. Click the edit icon on that row and select a new Parent SD.

Step 39

When you have finished, click Update at the bottom of the window.

Step 40

To edit the comments of the source task, click the second link in the editor: click here to edit the comments of the source task.

Step 41

When you have finished, click Submit at the bottom of the editor.