Task Management

Lokus provides a comprehensive task management system integrated directly into your notes. Track tasks, manage projects, visualize workflows in Kanban boards, and organize work alongside your knowledge base - all without leaving your note-taking environment.

Overview

The task management system in Lokus goes beyond simple checkboxes, offering multiple task states, due dates, priorities, dependencies, and flexible views. Whether you’re managing personal to-dos or complex project workflows, Lokus adapts to your needs.

Key Features

Multiple task states (todo, doing, done, cancelled)
Kanban board view with drag-and-drop
Due dates and priorities for time management
Task dependencies for complex workflows
Progress tracking with statistics and charts
Filter and sort by multiple criteria
Calendar integration for time-based planning

Creating Tasks

Task Syntax

Create tasks using standard markdown checkboxes:

- [ ] Basic task
- [x] Completed task
- [>] In progress task
- [-] Cancelled task

Task States:

[ ] - Todo (not started)
[>] - Doing (in progress)
[x] - Done (completed)
[-] - Cancelled (won’t do)

Task Properties

Add metadata to tasks:

- [ ] Review pull request @john #development !high 📅 2024-03-20
- [ ] Write documentation @sarah #docs !medium 📅 2024-03-22 ⏱️ 2h
- [ ] Deploy to production #devops !critical 📅 2024-03-25 🔁 weekly

Property Types:

@user - Assignee
#tag - Category/project
!priority - Priority level (low, medium, high, critical)
📅 date - Due date (YYYY-MM-DD)
⏱️ duration - Estimated time
🔁 recurrence - Repeat pattern
^block-id - Task ID for references

Quick Task Creation

From Command Palette:

Press Cmd/Ctrl + P
Type “new task”
Enter task details
Choose location

From Editor:

Type - [ ] and Space
Enter task description
Add properties inline

From Sidebar:

Click ”+” in Tasks panel
Fill in task form
Assign properties
Save

Task Templates

Create reusable task templates:

## Meeting Preparation Template
- [ ] Review agenda #meeting 📅 {{date}}
- [ ] Prepare materials #meeting 📅 {{date-1}}
- [ ] Send invites @team #meeting 📅 {{date-2}}
- [ ] Book conference room #logistics 📅 {{date-3}}

Template Variables:

{{date}} - Today’s date
{{date+N}} - N days from now
{{date-N}} - N days ago
{{user}} - Current user
{{title}} - Note title

Task Views

List View

Default view showing tasks as list:

Features:

Hierarchical display (tasks and subtasks)
Inline editing
Quick state toggle
Drag to reorder
Expand/collapse sections

Grouping Options:

By status
By due date
By priority
By assignee
By project/tag
By note

Sorting Options:

Due date (ascending/descending)
Priority (high to low)
Created date
Modified date
Alphabetical
Custom order

Kanban Board

Visual workflow management:

Columns:

Backlog: Unscheduled tasks
Todo: Ready to start
Doing: In progress
Review: Awaiting review
Done: Completed
Cancelled: Won’t do

Board Features:

Drag tasks between columns
Swim lanes by priority/assignee
WIP (work in progress) limits
Quick add new tasks
Column collapse
Card customization

Card Display:

Task title
Due date indicator
Priority badge
Assignee avatar
Tags/labels
Progress bar (for subtasks)

Calendar View

Time-based task visualization:

Views:

Month view
Week view
Day view
Agenda view

Features:

Drag to reschedule
Visual date picker
Overdue highlighting
Multi-day tasks
Recurring tasks display
Task density indicators

Calendar Actions:

Click date to create task
Drag to change due date
Click task to edit
Right-click for options

Table View

Spreadsheet-like task management:

Columns:

Status (checkbox)
Title (text)
Due Date (date picker)
Priority (dropdown)
Assignee (user picker)
Tags (multi-select)
Progress (percentage)
Custom fields

Features:

Sort by any column
Filter by criteria
Bulk edit
Export to CSV
Column show/hide
Column reordering

Timeline View

Gantt chart for project planning:

Display:

Tasks on horizontal timeline
Duration bars
Dependencies as arrows
Milestones
Today indicator

Features:

Drag to adjust dates
Drag to adjust duration
Visual dependency editing
Critical path highlighting
Zoom levels (day/week/month)

Task Properties

Due Dates

Set and manage due dates:

Date Formats:

- [ ] Task 📅 2024-03-20
- [ ] Task 📅 tomorrow
- [ ] Task 📅 next Monday
- [ ] Task 📅 in 3 days
- [ ] Task 📅 Mar 20

Date Picker:

Calendar interface
Quick date buttons (today, tomorrow, next week)
Natural language input
Clear date option

Due Date States:

Future: Normal display
Today: Yellow highlight
Overdue: Red highlight
No Date: Gray/dimmed

Priorities

Set task importance:

Priority Levels:

Critical: Must do immediately (red)
High: Important and urgent (orange)
Medium: Normal priority (yellow)
Low: Nice to have (blue)
None: No priority set (gray)

Priority Syntax:

- [ ] Critical task !critical
- [ ] High priority !high
- [ ] Medium priority !medium
- [ ] Low priority !low

Priority Indicators:

Color-coded badges
Sort by priority
Filter by priority
Priority icons

Assignees

Assign tasks to users:

Assignment:

- [ ] Task assigned to John @john
- [ ] Multiple assignees @sarah @mike

Features:

User autocomplete
Avatar display
Filter by assignee
Assignee workload view
Email notifications

Tags and Labels

Categorize tasks:

Tagging:

- [ ] Task #project-alpha #backend #review
- [ ] Task #personal #errands

Tag Features:

Nested tags (#project/alpha)
Tag autocomplete
Color-coded tags
Tag cloud view
Filter by tags

Time Tracking

Track time spent on tasks:

Time Estimate:

- [ ] Task ⏱️ 2h
- [ ] Task ⏱️ 30m
- [ ] Task ⏱️ 1d

Time Tracking:

Start/stop timer
Manual time entry
Time logs
Total time spent
Compare estimate vs. actual

Time Formats:

Minutes: 30m, 45m
Hours: 2h, 3.5h
Days: 1d, 2d

Recurrence

Repeating tasks:

Recurrence Patterns:

- [ ] Daily standup 🔁 daily
- [ ] Weekly review 🔁 weekly
- [ ] Monthly report 🔁 monthly
- [ ] Quarterly planning 🔁 quarterly
- [ ] Custom 🔁 every 2 weeks on Monday

Recurrence Options:

Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly
Specific days of week
Specific dates of month
Custom intervals
End date or count

Recurring Task Behavior:

Auto-create next instance on completion
Skip weekends (optional)
Advance on completion or schedule

Task Dependencies

Creating Dependencies

Link tasks in sequence:

Syntax:

- [ ] Task A ^task-a
- [ ] Task B (depends on [[#^task-a]])
- [ ] Task C (after [[#^task-a]] and [[#^task-b]])

Dependency Types:

Finish-to-Start: B starts when A finishes
Start-to-Start: B starts when A starts
Finish-to-Finish: B finishes when A finishes
Start-to-Finish: B finishes when A starts

Dependency Visualization

Dependency Graph:

Visual connection between tasks
Critical path highlighting
Blocked task indicators
Dependency chain display

Blocked Tasks:

Dimmed appearance
Lock icon
“Blocked by” indicator
Automatic unblock on completion

Dependency Management

Actions:

Add dependency
Remove dependency
Change dependency type
View dependency chain
Find circular dependencies

Validation:

Detect circular dependencies
Warn about conflicts
Suggest resolution
Auto-fix option

Subtasks

Creating Subtasks

Hierarchical task structure:

- [ ] Main task
  - [ ] Subtask 1
  - [ ] Subtask 2
    - [ ] Sub-subtask 2.1
    - [ ] Sub-subtask 2.2
  - [ ] Subtask 3

Features:

Unlimited nesting levels
Indent with Tab
Outdent with Shift+Tab
Collapse/expand
Progress inheritance

Progress Tracking

Parent task shows subtask progress:

Display:

- [ ] Main task [2/5]
  - [x] Subtask 1
  - [x] Subtask 2
  - [ ] Subtask 3
  - [ ] Subtask 4
  - [ ] Subtask 5

Progress Indicators:

Fraction (2/5)
Percentage (40%)
Progress bar
Visual completion
Color coding

Subtask Behavior

Auto-complete:

Complete all subtasks → parent auto-completes
Optional (configurable)

Auto-expand:

Expand when parent clicked
Show/hide subtasks
Remember state

Task Statistics

Overview Dashboard

View task metrics:

Statistics:

Total tasks
By status (todo, doing, done, cancelled)
By priority
By due date (today, this week, overdue)
Completion rate
Average completion time

Visualizations:

Pie chart (by status)
Bar chart (by priority)
Line chart (tasks over time)
Heatmap (completion by day)
Burndown chart (project progress)

Personal Analytics

Track your productivity:

Metrics:

Tasks completed per day/week/month
Completion rate trend
Average task duration
Most productive times
Task velocity

Reports:

Daily summary
Weekly review
Monthly report
Custom date range
Export reports

Project Analytics

Project-level insights:

Metrics:

Project progress
Task distribution
Team workload
Blocked tasks count
At-risk tasks (overdue, no progress)

Forecasting:

Estimated completion date
Tasks remaining
Velocity trend
Resource allocation

Filtering and Search

Quick Filters

Pre-built filter buttons:

Status Filters:

All tasks
Active (todo + doing)
Completed (done)
Open (not done or cancelled)

Time Filters:

Today
This week
This month
Overdue
No date

Priority Filters:

Critical
High
Medium
Low
Any priority

Advanced Filters

Build complex filter queries:

Filter Syntax:

status:todo AND priority:high
due:before-today OR overdue:true
assignee:@john AND tag:#project-alpha
has:subtasks AND progress:under-50%
created:>2024-01-01 AND status:!done

Filter Operators:

AND, OR, NOT
=, !=, >, <, >=, <=
contains, starts-with, ends-with
has, is, in

Saved Filters

Save frequently used filters:

Creating Saved Filters:

Build filter query
Click “Save Filter”
Name the filter
Optionally set as default

Pre-built Saved Filters:

My tasks today
Overdue tasks
High priority open
Blocked tasks
Unassigned tasks
Completed this week

Task Search

Full-text search in tasks:

Search Features:

Task content search
Search in notes with tasks
Search in comments
Fuzzy matching
Regex support

Search Syntax:

task:"review code"
task-in:[[Project Notes]]
task-tag:#urgent
task-assignee:@sarah

Integration

Note Integration

Tasks embedded in notes:

In-Note Tasks:

Create tasks anywhere in notes
Tasks appear in task views
Click to jump to note
Context shown in task panel

Task Blocks:

## Tasks for Today
- [ ] Review PR #123
- [ ] Update documentation
- [ ] Team meeting at 2pm
 
## Project Tasks
- [ ] Design mockups 📅 2024-03-20
- [ ] Implement feature 📅 2024-03-22

Calendar Integration

Sync with external calendars:

Supported Calendars:

Google Calendar
Outlook Calendar
Apple Calendar
CalDAV

Sync Features:

Two-way sync
Due dates to events
Tasks to calendar
Event to task creation
Conflict resolution

Email Integration

Create tasks from emails:

Gmail Integration:

Forward email to create task
Email content becomes task description
Attachments preserved
Reply-to link
See Gmail Integration

Email Actions:

“Add to Lokus” button
Create task with email context
Link back to email
Set due date from email

API Integration

Connect with external tools:

REST API:

// Create task
POST /api/tasks
{
  "title": "Review documentation",
  "status": "todo",
  "priority": "high",
  "due_date": "2024-03-20",
  "tags": ["docs", "review"]
}
 
// Update task
PATCH /api/tasks/:id
{
  "status": "done"
}

Webhook Events:

Task created
Task updated
Task completed
Task deleted
Due date approaching

Collaboration

Shared Tasks

Collaborate on tasks:

Features:

Assign to multiple users
Mention users in comments
Real-time updates
Activity history
Notifications

Permissions:

View: See tasks
Comment: Add comments
Edit: Modify tasks
Admin: Manage permissions

Task Comments

Discuss tasks:

Comment Features:

Threaded discussions
Markdown support
@mentions
File attachments
Emoji reactions

Comment Actions:

Reply to comment
Edit/delete own comments
Resolve threads
Pin important comments

Activity Feed

Track task changes:

Events Logged:

Status changes
Property updates
Comments added
Assignments
Due date changes

Activity Display:

User who made change
Timestamp
Change description
Before/after values

Automation

Task Rules

Automate task management:

Rule Examples:

IF status changes to "done"
THEN move to "Completed" project

IF due date is tomorrow
THEN set priority to "high"

IF assigned to @john
THEN add tag #johns-tasks

IF overdue by 3 days
THEN notify @manager

Rule Components:

Trigger (when)
Condition (if)
Action (then)

Recurring Tasks

Automatic task creation:

Recurrence Setup:

Create task
Set recurrence pattern
Define end condition
Configure behavior

Recurrence Options:

Create on completion
Create on schedule
Skip weekends
Adjust for holidays

Task Templates

Template-based task creation:

Template Usage:

Create template with tasks
Apply template to project
Tasks auto-created
Dates calculated
Dependencies preserved

Mobile Support

Mobile Task Management

Tasks on mobile devices:

Features:

Quick task creation
Voice input
Swipe actions (complete, delete)
Offline support
Sync when online

Mobile Views:

List view (optimized)
Card view
Today view
Quick capture

Widgets

Home screen task widgets:

Widget Types:

Today’s tasks
Overdue tasks
Task counter
Quick add

Configuration

Task Settings

Configure in Settings > Tasks:

General:

Default task state
Auto-complete subtasks
Show completed tasks
Task counter badge

Appearance:

Task checkbox style
Completed task strikethrough
Priority colors
Date format

Behavior:

Move completed to bottom
Auto-archive completed
Confirm delete
Default due date

Notifications:

Due date reminders
Overdue alerts
Assignment notifications
Comment mentions

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action	Shortcut
New Task	Cmd/Ctrl + N
Toggle Complete	Cmd/Ctrl + Enter
Set Due Date	Cmd/Ctrl + D
Set Priority	Cmd/Ctrl + P
Assign Task	Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + A
Add Tag	Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + T
Open in Editor	Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + E
Delete Task	Delete

Best Practices

Task Organization

Effective Tasking:

Break large tasks into subtasks
Use clear, actionable descriptions
Set realistic due dates
Assign priorities appropriately
Add relevant context and links

Project Structure:

# Project: Website Redesign
 
## Planning Phase
- [ ] Conduct user research 📅 2024-03-25 @sarah #research
- [ ] Create wireframes 📅 2024-03-28 @john #design
- [ ] Review stakeholder feedback 📅 2024-03-30 #review
 
## Design Phase
- [ ] Design homepage 📅 2024-04-05 @john #design
  - [ ] Header design
  - [ ] Hero section
  - [ ] Footer design
- [ ] Design inner pages 📅 2024-04-10 @john #design
 
## Development Phase
- [ ] Setup development environment 📅 2024-04-15 @mike #dev
- [ ] Implement frontend 📅 2024-04-25 @mike #dev

Productivity Tips

Daily Workflow:

Review today’s tasks (morning)
Prioritize top 3 tasks
Focus on high-priority items first
Update task status as you work
Review completed tasks (evening)

Weekly Review:

Complete overdue tasks
Review upcoming week
Adjust priorities
Archive completed tasks
Plan next week’s focus

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue: Tasks not appearing in views Solution: Check filters, rebuild task index, verify task syntax

Issue: Subtask progress not updating Solution: Enable auto-progress in settings, manually refresh

Issue: Recurring tasks not creating Solution: Check recurrence pattern, verify future date, check errors

Issue: Task sync not working Solution: Check internet connection, verify permissions, re-authenticate

Next Steps

Explore Templates for task workflows
Use Canvas for visual task planning
Integrate with Gmail for email-based tasks
See Search for advanced task queries

Search & Discovery Bases (Database Views)